Page:Life in the Old World - Vol. II.djvu/20

30 a bay and harbor of great beauty. Spezia, where we are at the present time, at the close of our second day's journey, is a large harbor, in which we see large vessels lying at anchor. Spezia is also a considerably frequented bathing place, and one sees some bathing company still promenading the shore.

The sun is below the horizon, but the glow of his setting shines bright upon the bold group of the marble-mountains of Carrara. The evening star blazes above the sea, which breaks softly in long, calm, waves upon the shore. We have excellent quarters in the Croix de Malte, with white marble steps and all the appearance of a palace. We, Jenny and I, have each taken a salt-water bath, drank tea, read together, and now whilst my young friend has gone to rest, I write my last farewell to Piedmont, because in the morning we shall pass out of its territory. We are here on the extreme southern boundary. I am glad to have seen something of the beauty of Piedmont, also, in the north. How richly endowed is this state in every respect, how formed for the life of a free and happy people. Few countries combine more various beauty and peculiar characteristics. The valleys of the Waldenses, on the sources of the Po, at the foot of Monte Viso; the beautiful lakes Lago Maggiore and Como, with their borders of Alps, and enchanting shores; the rich plain, where all the fruits of the earth come to maturity; where increasing cities stand with their grand old memories, and new aspiring life; the country on the coast from Nizza, hither, with those grand harbors, and an incomparable climate, the salubrious bathing—where the sick find health—and