I Have
Stayed There Two Or Three Times And Found It Very Comfortable;
Doubtless, Now That Signor Lombardi Of The Hotel Prosa Has Taken
It, It Will Become A More Popular Place Of Resort.
I took a trap from Faido to Ambri, and thence walked over to
Quinto; here the path begins to ascend, and after an hour Ronco is
reached.
There is a house at Ronco where refreshments and
excellent Faido beer can be had. The old lady who keeps the house
would make a perfect Fate; I saw her sitting at her window
spinning, and looking down over the Ticino valley as though it were
the world and she were spinning its destiny. She had a somewhat
stern expression, thin lips, iron-grey eyes, and an aquiline nose;
her scanty locks straggled from under the handkerchief which she
wore round her head. Her employment and the wistful far-away look
she cast upon the expanse below made a very fine ensemble. "She
would have afforded," as Sir Walter Scott says, "a study for a
Rembrandt, had that celebrated painter existed at the period," {9}
but she must have been a smart-looking handsome girl once.
She brightened up in conversation. I talked about Piora, which I
already knew, and the Lago Tom, the highest of the three lakes.
She said she knew the Lago Tom. I said laughingly, "Oh, I have no
doubt you do. We've had many a good day at the Lago Tom, I know."
She looked down at once.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 58 of 279
Words from 15295 to 15548
of 75076
