26

VAL 1)1 PRATO.

struggles and fresh victories. From the shelves abovethe bright-berried mountain ash and delicate birchstretched out their arms to the stream, which, as ifimpatient for the vines, hurried past them and at lastbroke away with a hold leap, flying down over the rock-faces to the lower valley in a shower of foam and water-rockets.

Near the junction of a glen through which thetrack of the Passo di Eedorta climbs over to YalYerzasca, a steep descent beside the fall leads to thehamlet of San Carlo. The path here crosses a bridgeand keeps henceforth along a broken, richly woodedhill-side until, having swerved to the right, it joins atPrato the main valley.

And so down the moist high-road under the drippingwalnuts of Broglio, and again, after ten years, back toBignasco , beautiful even under the grey cloud-pall withits hill-shapes only suggested between the mists. Mostbeautiful when with the sunset a northern breezegathered up the vapour-wreaths and a full moon shonedown into Val Bavona marking with clearest lights andshadows all its buttresses, and drawing a responsivegleam from the pure snows at its head. A change toosudden to last. For while sitting on the bridge wewatched the moonbeams strike over the southward hill,and fall full on the eddying water at our feet and theflowery balconies on either hand, a white draperystretched slowly round the Cevio corner, and, as in theimmortal Chorus of Aristophanes , a gleaming companyof clouds sailed up on their way from the deep hollows ofthe lake to the wood-crowned heights of the mountain.The leader advanced but slowly with misty folds cling-ing to each crag; but it had scarcely passed when the