could do
this very easily. Many of these windows were open, and persons were
sitting at them, sewing or reading. At some of them groups of children
were standing. They were looking out to see the diligence go by. The
street was so narrow that Rollo found himself very near these persons as
he passed by.

"A little nearer," said he to his uncle George, "and I could shake hands
with them."

In a very few minutes the coach passed under a great arched gateway
leading through the wall of the city, and thence over a sort of
drawbridge which spanned the moat. Immediately afterwards it entered a
region of smooth, green fields, and pretty rural houses, and gardens,
which presented on every side very charming pictures to the view.

"Now, uncle George," said Rollo, "won't we have a magnificent ride?"

Rollo was not disappointed in his anticipations. He found the ride to
Berne a very magnificent one indeed. The road was smooth and hard as a
floor. From side to side it was flat and level, and all the ascents
which it made were so gradual that the horses trotted on at their full
speed, without any cessation, sweeping around long and graceful curves,
which brought continually into view new landscapes, each one, as it
seemed, more varied and beautiful than the one which had preceded it.
From his lofty seat on the banquette Rollo looked abroad over a very
wide extent of country; and when the coach stopped at the villages or
post houses to change horses, he could look down with great advantage
upon the fresh teams as they were brought out and upon the groups of
hostlers and post boys employed in shifting the harness. He could hear,
too, all that they said, though they generally talked so fast, and
mingled their words with so much laughter and fun, that Rollo found that
he could understand but little.

[Illustration: THE DILIGENCE ON THE ROAD.]

Rollo was particularly struck, as he was whirled swiftly along the road,
by the appearance of the Swiss houses. They were very large, and were
covered with a very broad roof, which extended so far over the walls on
every side as to appear like a great, square, broad-brimmed hat.
Under this roof were platforms projecting from the house, one on each
story, like piazzas. These piazzas were very broad. They were bordered
by balustrades on the outer edge, and were used for sheds, store houses,
and tool rooms. There were wood piles, wagons, harrows, and other
farming implements, bundles of straw,