ide it looked down upon the blue and
beautiful bay, and on the other upon the mountains, which were almost
every where terraced up to form vineyards and olive groves, and
presented to view a perpetual succession of villas, convents, churches,
summer houses, and gardens.

At length they came in sight of the valley of Sorrento. It lay broadly
expanded before them, full of groves of orange and lemon trees, among
which were to be seen every where lofty walls of enclosure running in
all directions, and roofs of houses, and villas, without number, rising
among the trees. Towards the sea the ground terminated in a range of
cliffs that were almost as smooth and perpendicular as a wall.

The carriage gradually descended into this valley, and then went on
across it. Rollo and his party, in thus riding along, had the lofty
walls of the orange gardens on each side of the way, while here and
there there appeared a house, a shop, a church, or a hotel. After
traversing this region for nearly half an hour, the carriage stopped in
the stable yard of an inn, and the party descended. The guide was going
to show them the way to a garden where they could go in.

They walked along some way, still between lofty walls, with branches of
orange and lemon trees, full of fruit, seen every where above them,
until at length the guide stopped before a massive gateway, where he
knocked loud and long, by means of an ancient-looking iron knocker.
Presently a man came down a sort of road, which led through the garden,
and unlocking the gate, let the party in.

The road led to a house which was in the centre of the garden. The man
who opened the gate, however, knew very well that the visitors came, not
to see the people in the house, but to gather and eat some oranges. So
he led the way towards the part of the garden where the fruit was the
most abundant and the sweetest. After a while he came to a place where
there was a seat. The party took their places on this seat, while the
guide brought them oranges from the neighboring trees.[E]

[Footnote E: See Frontispiece.]

He supplied them very abundantly. He brought them not only all that they
wanted to eat, but gathered also a large number in clusters on the
branches, for them to carry to the carriage and take home.

The party remained in this garden for more than an hour, and then giving
the gardener a small piece of money,--the guide told them how much it
was proper to give,--they went away. They r