of it. It was mounted on a frame
of timbers that had been set up for it in the water, at a little
distance from the shore. The wheel itself was much like the wheel of a
steamboat; only, in addition to the ordinary float boards, it had a
series of buckets on the edge of it, which took up the water from the
stream, as the wheel revolved, and emptied it into a trough above, as
they went over. From this trough there was a circular pipe, made very
strong, which conveyed the water by a subterranean aqueduct into the
field opposite, where it rose into a reservoir by the pressure of the
column in the pipe, and was used to irrigate the ground.

Across the river at this place was a beautiful view of fields,
vineyards, terraces, and gardens; for on that side the bank was high,
and as the sun shone directly upon it, the whole scene presented to view
was extremely bright and beautiful.

At one of the gates which opened through the hedge, Rollo stopped to
look in. He saw gardens laid out in squares, with corn, and beans, and
various garden vegetables growing luxuriantly in them. There were rows
of fruit trees, too, bordering the paths, and at a distance were to be
seen houses scattered here and there over the plain, the dwellings of
the owners of the land. Each house had its little barns and granaries
connected with it, the whole group being half concealed by the foliage
of the trees and shrubs that had been planted around it.

"Will it do for us to go in," said Rollo to his father, "and walk a part
of the way through these gardens?"

"Yes," said his father, "I presume it will do; but perhaps we had better
go down all the way by the path, and come back by the gardens."

"Yes, sir," said Rollo; "that will be much the best plan.

"But, father," continued Rollo, "if we should go across these gardens,
and keep on in that direction for some time, I suppose that we should
come to the Arve."

"Yes," said his father; "the Arve is coming down from the mountains, and
flowing towards the Rhone not very far from here, on the other side of
this flat land. This land constitutes a sort of tongue lying between the
two rivers. I suppose it has been formed by the deposits that the Arve
brings down. I have no doubt that if we should walk across the tongue of
land, we should come to the Arve; but it is better to go on down the
path till we reach the point where the two rivers come together."

"Well," said Rollo, "we will go on."

So they went