I first thought of this story-I should say I planned it, if the expression were not misleading-when living at the Lake of Como. There, in a lovely little villa-the "Cima"-on the border of the lake, with that glorious blending of Alpine scenery and garden-like luxuriance around me, and little or none of interruption or intercourse, I had abundant time to make acquaintance with my characters and follow them into innumerable situations, and through adventures far more extraordinary and exciting than I dared afterwards to recount.