Schloss Labers, Oberma1s.

A life of leisure need not be a life of laziness. Montaigne has truly said, " It is not merely possessing, but enjoying, that makes us happy." But how many possessors of fine libraries find opportunity to use them amid a city's feverish excitement and engrossing toil ? To every thoughtful soul there comes a time when the inevitable end of life presents itself as an approaching certainty. However remote it may appear under favorable conditions, the distance to life's terminus can be approximately measured. If he who thus confronts the afternoon of life be wise, he will reflect that all he can enjoy from Nature and the literary treasures of the past must be obtained in these few intervening years. Thrice happy, then, is he who can in time enshrine his household gods within some peaceful paradise, where, with the constant inspiration of majestic mountains or the sea, and in the company of one or more congenial souls, he may no longer quote each day to his remorseful heart the sad reproach of Wordsworth: - "The world is too much with us; late and soon, Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers; Little we see in Nature that is ours".

Villa Colorado, Obermais.

Tyrolese Horses.

Schloss Rubein, Obermais.

Monument To DR. Tappeiner.

More practical reasons, also, may influence the choice of those who settle in Meran. Its nearness to Vienna, Munich, Venice, and Milan of course increases its attractiveness; while it must be remembered that a European health resort offers special advantages to permanent, as well as transient, guests. In a large foreign city one feels himself a solitary unit in a multitude; uncared for, unobserved, and left to find his happiness as best he can amid a bustling, unsympathetic crowd. But in an Austrian or German 'Kur-Ort" a Managing Committee is all the time employing money, tact, and ingenuity for the sole purpose of embellishing the place, and making it healthful and agreeable to all residents. Thus, in Meran a handsome, level promenade, with a full southern exposure, has been constructed for a mile and a half along the river bank. A winding path has also been, at great expense, built up with massive masonry and iron railings on the cliffs that overlook the town; and this is so scientifically made, and has such easy grades, that invalids in roll-chairs can be comfortably wheeled to all its points of observation. This favorite walk is called, appropriately, the Tappeiner Way, in honor of its promoter, Dr. Tappeiner, whose bust adorns the summit of the route, and to whose liberality the town is much indebted. A good stock-company is also every year engaged for Meran's dainty theatre, where operettas alternate with plays. A public reading-room is furnished with many of the prominent journals of the world. Open-air concerts are given twice daily by a talented orchestra; and famous musical artists, some of whom have made successful tours in America, are brought here during the season. Another attractive feature is the "International Sport-Platz," where a circular track, a mile and a half in length, gives ample space for bicycling and racing. Here lovers of athletic sports find good facilities for football, hockey, cricket, tennis, and croquet; and a broad, carefully flooded field of ice, kept smooth as glass, affords a splendid opportunity for skating. Balls, too, take place at stated intervals; and harvest festivals, fruit displays, confetti conflicts, military concerts, and out-of-door dramatic performances are given through the year, as evidences of a system that aims to make the sojourn here of every guest both beneficial and agreeable.

Courtyard Of Schloss Rube1n.

A Bit Of The Tappeiner Way.

In The Sport-Platz, Meran.

Of all these forms of entertainment the one which gives undoubtedly the greatest amount of pleasure to the largest number is the music of the "Kur-Kapelle" - an orchestra of twenty-nine musicians, some of whom well deserve the name of artists. As they are usually reengaged season after season, they have the advantage of knowing one another's style, and consequently play together with great precision. A proof of the excellence of their music is the fact that, nearly every day last winter, I saw, both at their open-air performances and at their more elaborate symphony and chamber concerts, the noble and expressive face of Mr. Carl Zerrahn, who wore his crown of silvered hair with grace and dignity, as he sat listening in the sunshine; musing perhaps on his own triumphs in the United States, where during more than forty years he was the director of the famous Handel and Haydn Society, and achieved a series of successes which form a prominent part of the musical history of America. The great r61e played by the sun in the cure and comfort of all visitors to Meran is seen in the fact that the hours chosen for these daily concerts are regulated by the strength of the solar rays. Thus, in the winter, the band plays usually from half-past ten to twelve; and in the afternoon from half-past one to three. Even the places for the music vary, according to the weather, from the sun-bathed, open shore of the Passer in front of the Kur-Haus, to a sheltered gallery, farther up the river, called the Wandelhalle. On the few very cold or stormy days, when sitting out of doors is not advisable, the band is heard in the comfortable music hall of the Casino. All these details are mentioned, not with the purpose of furnishing a manual for visitors to Meran, but as an illustration of how in European health resorts the happiness and welfare of their guests are studied and promoted. A still more practical proof of this is the rule that during the concerts no smoking is permitted on the promenade; and even the habit, indulged in by some ladies, of dragging their skirts along the walks is absolutely forbidden, the prohibition being firmly but politely enforced by a policeman.