A Room With A View - Forster E.M..pdf - Cove Systems

No one encouraged him to talk. Presently Mr.
Eager gave a signal for the carriages to stop
and marshalled the party for their ramble on
the hill. A hollow like a great amphitheatre, full
of terraced steps and misty olives, now lay
between them and the heights of Fiesole, and
the road, still following its curve, was about to
sweep on to a promontory which stood out in
the plain. It was this promontory, uncultivated,
wet, covered with bushes and occasional
trees, which had caught the fancy of Alessio
Baldovinetti nearly five hundred years before.
He had ascended it, that diligent and rather
obscure master, possibly with an eye to
business, possibly for the joy of ascending.
Standing there, he had seen that view of the
Val d'Arno and distant Florence, which he
afterwards had introduced not very effectively
into his work. But where exactly had he stood?
That was the question which Mr. Eager hoped
to solve now. And Miss Lavish, whose nature
was attracted by anything problematical, had
become equally enthusiastic.