. Italy. her help, there are always people glad ofan extra pair of hands. For wages she receives foodand lodging during the harvest, and a sack of nutsbesides. The hill-towns are very old. As a rule they are farolder than the cities of the plains below. They oftencling to the sides of cliffs ; they are perched on thetop of precipitous rocks, and many a one— Like an eagles nestHangs on the crestOf purple Apennine. The visitor to-day wonders why people ever built insuch out-of-the-way spots, so difficult to reach. Thereare plenty of hill towns and villages among the Apen-nines to which wheeled c
. Italy. her help, there are always people glad ofan extra pair of hands. For wages she receives foodand lodging during the harvest, and a sack of nutsbesides. The hill-towns are very old. As a rule they are farolder than the cities of the plains below. They oftencling to the sides of cliffs ; they are perched on thetop of precipitous rocks, and many a one— Like an eagles nestHangs on the crestOf purple Apennine. The visitor to-day wonders why people ever built insuch out-of-the-way spots, so difficult to reach. Thereare plenty of hill towns and villages among the Apen-nines to which wheeled carriages may not climb, or onlywith the greatest difficulty. Mules with heavy packsslung on either side of them do all the carrying ofgoods, or perhaps sleds drawn by oxen will toil up anddown the narrow stony path which leads to the yet, at the foot of the clifr^ there may be a pleasantgreen plain beside a swift river. The cows are drivendown to pasture there, the women go down with baskets 40. A SHOP IN THE MERCATO VECCHIA,FLORENCE. Chapters I II. I III. Among the Apennines of clothes to wash them in the clear water ; but atnight all climb up again to the fastness above. Whyis this ? Why was not the town built at the foot ofthe precipice instead of on its crest, where the housesare packed close on ledges of rock ? The reason is that these towns were built in far-offdays, when men thought of two things only in fixingupon a spot to raise their dwellings—food and order to get food, they built their homes near apatch of fertile land, which could be easily cultivatedwith their simple tools, and, in order to be safe, theyplaced their houses on the lofty rock which spranghigh above the plain. Here they were secure fromtheir enemies, and the compact mass of houses insidethe strong wall, which encircled the little city, madea stout fortress. In choosing the hill-top, the earlysettlers always looked for one which had its own springor fountain of water. Food
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