n suspension-bridge to
a rustic Breton bridge, composed of wood and bark, and covered with ivy.
And each of these bridges had its own warden, with a halbert across his
shoulder, and the wardens had little sentry-boxes to correspond with the
style of the bridges, some like hermitages, others like lighthouses, and
their own peculiar trumpets to proclaim loudly to approaching guests
over which of the bridges they ought to go to reach the castle.

Beyond the bridges extended the winding ways of the English garden,
which in those days had quite thrown into the background the earlier
taste for stony, wall-like, rectilinear alleys. A man might now wander
helplessly about for hours among densely foliaged trees without being
able to find his destination. He would see the beds beside him
everywhere thickly planted with flowers in full bloom, and at every turn
he would come upon arcades of jasmine with idyllic benches underneath,
or marble statues of ancient divinities overgrown with creeping gobaeas,
or pyramids of modish flowers piled one on the top of the other. In one
place he would behold masterly reproduced ruins, with agaric and cactus
monsters planted amongst them. In another place he would observe an
Egyptian tomb, with real mummies inside, and outside eternally burning
lamps, which were replenished with oil early every morning, or a Roman
altar with vessels of carved stone and Corinthian vases. Here and there,
in more open places, fountains and waterfalls plashed and gurgled in
marble basins, throwing jets of water into the air, and enabling merry
little goldfish to disport themselves, whence the stream flowed among
Oriental reeds into artfully hidden lakes, where, on the tranquil watery
mirror, swam beautiful white swans, which did not sing as sweetly as the
poets would have us believe, but made up for it by eating no end of
Indian corn, which was then very much dearer than pure wheat.

Supposing a man to have safely run the gauntlet of all these
obstructions and admired all these marvels, he would, at last, somehow
or other, stumble upon the terrace leading to this Tusculum, every stage
of which was planted thickly with orange trees, some in bloom, while
others were weighed down by loads of fruit. Among these orange trees
to-day we perceive that young gentleman we have already been fortunate
enough to meet. Nevertheless, as a whole twelve months has elapsed since
then, and the fashion has changed completely, we must lo