296 UNCOMFORTABLE INN. ries. The village doctor was sent for on our arrival: his appearance was that of a ploughman or butcher; his coat thrown loose over his shoulders, as is the custom with that description of men in Ireland. He seemed as ignorant as the most unlettered boor; and altogether we are in a pitiable predicament, if the night's rest does not restore our poor Elizabeth. The people are unaccommodating and very imposing. With all the wretchedness which I have described, which, indeed, falls short of the reality, we have silver forks, spoons, and knives with silver handles, like bludgeons. Not a drop of milk can be procured to make whey or for our tea, nearer than nine miles. In the sitting-room, in which is the only fire-place, travellers of all descriptions are shewn. November 18. This morning we found Elizabeth covered with scarlet eruption. The fever is very high. We were kept awake by the incessant and loud noise of the footsteps of men, passing and repassing our door, to which there was not the slightest fastening, nor any furniture in the room to place against it to keep it close. We saw many suspicious-looking men pass in and out. Our Swiss Vetturino has just been to tell us, that if we remain another day, he could not answer for the safety of our luggage, so many ill-looking fellows being about; besides which, his horses are in danger of being starved, as he can procure no oats, and very little hay, and that little so inter ENTER TUSCANY.. 297 mingled with clay, that they cannot eat it. We have therefore determined on setting out in the morning as a lesser risk than remaining another day. November 19. This morning we put Elizabeth into the carriage, which she found much more comfortable than the bed, from whence we removed her. The fever is still very high, and her skin much inflamed. Two miles from Maggiore, we first had a view of lake Thrasimene. At Maggiore we were told there are still found quantities of bones and sarcophagi, supposed to be vestiges of Hannibal's battles. Casa di Piano being on the confines of the Roman territories, our trunks and passports were examined; but for one scudo we got off without much delay. We were not so fortunate in those of Tuscany. At Ossaja, the carriage was not permitted to proceed for an hour, though nothing was examined; but for a picture painted at Rome, a demand was made of fifteen piastres, as a deposit, to be returned at Florence. Besides this, we were obliged to give the Dogana man a fee of one piastre and two pauls for his trouble in delaying us. From the time when we entered Tuscany, nature assumed a different aspect; cultivation, verdure, and prosperity gladdened all around. The fields are fenced round with festoons of vines, through which the cattle, occasionally passing, add a new charm to the picturesque scenery. White habitations, 298 LAKE THRASIMENE. thickly interspersed, mark the industry, neatness, and comfort of the population, very different from the wretchedness which we had left in the Papal dominions. We did not halt at Cortona, Elizabeth not appearing the worse for travelling, but proceeded to Castiglione Fiorentino, twenty-five miles from Maggiore, where we are now most comfortably lodged, enjoying the luxury of excellent accommodations after what we suffered from the want of them for two days. Our route, the greater part of the day, was rendered interesting, by being the field of Hannibal's battles, along the winding banks of the lake Thrasimene, which sometimes lay embosomed in hills, crowned with groves of olives, &c. We perceived several fishing-boats upon it, and two or three little islands, on which are fishermens' huts. Tuesday Morning. Elizabeth has passed a comfortable night, and appears much better, so that there is nothing to prevent our going forward to Monte Varchi. We have had a pleasant day's journey, without stopping except for a short time at Arezzo, where is the house of Petrarch. The country on all sides is highly cultivated. We are again most comfortably accommodated; our attendants are nice girls, dressed in round black beaver hats with plumes of ostrich feathers, which is the general costume of the Contadine here. LETTER XLI. Florence, Wednesday, November 21. WE are at last in this capital of Tuscany, and I am thankful to say all tolerably well. The Lord is very merciful; may his praise be ever in our hearts, and upon our lips. Florence is at present so filled with English, that the friend to whom we had written, could only procure us apartments in a boarding-house. The master and mistress are English; officious, bustling people; it was with difficulty that they could be prevailed upon to let our party remain quietly in our own rooms. My sister and her daughter equally require a few days' rest in this place. We have been just told by the mistress of the house that they have taken a magnificent palace for a boarding-house, and that we must all remove thither in a day or two. Thursday. My sister was prevailed upon to go with these people to see their fine palace, a very unfit place for her, having been for a considerable time uninhabited: nothing could exceed the chill which we felt in traversing its spacious apartments. The weather is very cold and the wind blowing hard. Friday. Lord and Lady C. and Miss D. called. 300 PITTI PALACE-FLORENCE GALLERY. They said that they were going to the Pitti Palace, and invited me to accompany them. Here the Grand Duke of Tuscany resides when at Florence; at present he is at Pisa; and strangers have liberty to see the splendid collections of paintings, &c. here exhibited. I recognised an old acquaintance in one of the most admired pictures, Raphael's Madonna della Seggiola, of which brought B some time ago an incomparable copy from Italy. You may recollect that it is over the mantlepiece in the drawing-room at B. Canova's beautiful Venus stands alone under the dome of a circular apartment. Lady C. is young and beautiful, to which attractions is added a manner truly fascinating to all who know her. She took me to the famous Florence gallery, of which every one has heard; but of which I should imagine no one can form an idea from description; I shall therefore not fatigue either you or myself by attempting it. The hall of the Niobe alone would require many visits in order to become fully acquainted with its merits. The beautiful statue of the Venus de Medicis stands in the centre of the tribune. I was impatient now to return to the invalids, but my kind conductresses would first take me to the unfinished chapel of the Medici where workmen are still employed; of whom one of the ladies enquired how soon it would be terminated. "La Signora sarà terminata prima," was the answer. Indeed it does |