The wine, Signore, is so fond of its native home, that a transportation of even a few miles turns it quite sour.

And yet it is a wine that keeps well in the cellar, underneath this floor, and gathers fragrance, flavor, and brightness, in its dark dungeon.

That very flask of Sunshine, now, has kept itself for you, sir guest (as a maid reserves her sweetness till her lover comes for it), ever since a merry vintage-time, when the Signore Count here was a boy!" "You must not wait for Tomaso to end his discourse about the wine, before drinking off your glass," observed Donatello.

"When once the flask is uncorked, its finest qualities lose little time in making their escape.

I doubt whether your last sip will be quite so delicious as you found the first." And, in truth, the sculptor fancied that the Sunshine became almost imperceptibly clouded, as he approached the bottom of the flask.