THE ORANGE GARDENS.
The last excursion which Rollo made in the environs of Naples, was to a
beautiful valley which was situated some miles to the south of the city,
on the shores of the bay, which was full of groves of lemons and
oranges. The place was called _Sorrento_. The town of Sorrento and its
environs occupy a broad plain, which is elevated somewhat from the sea,
and yet, being surrounded, on all sides towards the land, with ranges of
very elevated land, it is really a valley. The reason why the oranges
and lemons grow so well there is, partly because the soil is very rich,
and partly because the valley opens towards the south, and is sheltered
by the mountains towards the north, and this makes the climate of the
spot very warm.
Rollo himself formed the plan of this excursion. One evening his uncle
came home from the museum looking very tired. He laid his note book upon
the table, threw himself down upon the sofa, and said,--
"Rollo, I am tired out."
"What makes you so tired?" asked Rollo.
"Hard work in the museum," said Mr. George; "but I have got through.
To-morrow I mean to rest, and I wish you would take me off to-morrow,
somewhere on an excursion. I don't care where it is, provided I have
nothing to think or to say about it. I don't want even to know where I
am going."
"Shall I invite Mrs. Gray and Rosie to go too?" asked Rollo.
"I don't care whether you do or not," said Mr. George. "Do as you
please, provided I have nothing to say about it. Make all the
arrangements, and call me to-morrow morning when you are ready."
Accordingly, the next morning, about half an hour after breakfast, Rollo
went into Mr. George's room, and told him that he was ready. So Mr.
George followed Rollo down stairs. He found a carriage at the door, with
Mrs. Gray and Rosie sitting in it. Josie was there, too, on the box with
the driver.
Mr. George got in, and Rollo directed the coachman to go on.
The coachman drove for half an hour through the busiest part of the
city, and at length stopped at the railway station.
"Now, uncle George," said Rollo, "you must go into the waiting room with
Mrs. Gray and Rosie, while I get the tickets."
Rollo bought tickets for a place called _Castellamare_, which is a
romantic town built on the shore of the bay at the foot of Vesuvius. It
is famous, among other things, for the hot springs of medicinal water
which come up out of the ground there, I suppose from under the volcano,
or from so near the neighborhood of it that the water is heated by the
volcanic fires. Castellamare is a great naval station for the government
of the country, and for this reason, as well as on account of the
springs, they have made a railroad to it from Naples.
On coming out into the street at the station at Castellamare, Rollo and
his party were greeted by a sudden burst of clamor from a crowd of
coachmen and guides, all wanting to be hired.
"Pay no attention to all these people, uncle George," said Rollo, "but
follow me."
So saying, Rollo pushed forward, followed by his party, until he reached
a place where he could see the carriages. There were a great number of
them. They were harnessed with three horses to each. They were there to
take travellers on excursions along the coast, and among the neighboring
mountains. They were ready to go to Sorrento, or to Pæstum, or to
Amalfi, or wherever any travellers wished to go.
Rollo paid no attention to the clamor, but quietly surveyed the
carriages which were standing in the street before him. The coachmen of
some of them were on the sidewalk; those of others stood up in their
carriages, shouting all the time to Rollo, and cracking their whips.
Rollo at last selected the one which he thought would be best for the
purpose, and went quietly to it. Partly by signs, and partly by
disconnected words in Italian, he made a bargain with the man to take
them to Sorrento and back; and then the carriage drove up to the
sidewalk, and all the party got in. Rollo also selected a guide. The
guide mounted on the box with the coachman. Josie took a seat inside.
The party enjoyed a magnificent ride along the coast for eight or ten
miles. The road was excellent. It was built on the declivities of the
mountains, which here crowd close upon the sea. It was very smooth and
hard, and was finished with a sidewalk, and with avenues of trees,
almost all the way. On one side 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 rambled about some time longer
in Sorrento, and visited the brow of the cliffs which overhung the sea.
At length they went back to the carriage, and set out on their return
to Naples, with all the vacant spaces in the carriage filled with the
clusters of oranges which they had gathered in the garden.
The next day after this, Mr. George and Rollo closed their visit in
Naples, and set out in the diligence for Rome.
* * * * *
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Little Roza's Offering.
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Among the stories in the present volume are the following:--
Bessie's Garden.
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The Lancers.
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The Working Fairies.
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The Princess.
A story of wrong and suffering.
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