"When we had refreshed ourselves with this welcome rest, we landed and sauntered along the delightful shore, the sands of which (without any exaggeration) were all of grains of gold and minute pearls. We penetrated more inland and saw meadows, the grass of which was not merely green, but of the brightest emerald colour. The brooks and rivulets ran not like simply sparkling streams, but like liquid diamonds; and appeared, as they meandered through the meadows, like crystal serpents. Then we came to a wood of various kinds of trees, so beautiful that we stood transfixed with wonder and delight. From the boughs of some, hung bunches of cherries, that looked like rubies; from others, apples, the cheeks of some like roses, of others like topazes. There were pears, of exquisite fragrance and colour, like the setting sun; in fine, there was every species of fruit we know, all here to be found in perfection, without being confined to any particular season. All here was spring, summer, autumn, in one,--heat without being oppressive, agreeable and delightful beyond belief. "All our senses were gratified, our eyes revelled in the beauty that lay around us, our ears were enchanted by the soft murmuring of the rivulets, and the singing of an infinite variety of small birds, which, hopping from tree to tree, and bough to bough, seemed as if they were detained as captives who wished not to be free; our sense of smell was regaled with the fragrance that exhaled from every herb, flower, and fruit, and our taste with the delicious proof they afforded of their excellence and sweetness; and it was pleasant to the touch to have them in our hands, so that we seemed to possess the pearls of the South, the diamonds of India, and the gold of Tebir."[J] "It is a pity, methinks, that Clodio is dead," whispered Ladislaus to his father-in-law, "for in truth Periander would have given him something to talk about." "Hold your tongue," said Transila, "you cannot say that he does not tell his story well."