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appearance of the people so suspicious, that we thought it prudent to barricado our doors when we retired to rest, and to "sleep upon our arms."

LETTER XXIX.

Ossaia-Cortona-Arezzo--Val d'Arno--Vullambrosa.

April 10,At an early hour we shook the dust from our feet, and departed from Torricelli. We left the banks of Thrasimenus and breakfasted at Ossaia, so named from the quantity of bones, collected after the battle above mentioned. As it was our intention to reach Arezzo at night, we had but a short time to look at Cortona.

This ancient and celebrated city is situated on the top of a hill, which commands a view of an extensive and fertile plain on the south, and on the east, a bold and varied tract of hills and mountains. It is one of the most ancient cities of Tuscany (we had now entered the Tuscan Territory) distant from Florence about eighteen leagues. The hill upon which Cortona is situated is of a conical shape, and the post road winds around its base so as to avoid the ascent. I walked alone before the carriage and passed through the city. Its general appearance is neat, and it contains many buildings of considerable magnifiThe streets are extremely well flagged, the fountains numerous and well supplied, the markets neat, and stored with fruits, meats, vegetables, &c.

cence.

Toward evening we passed Arezzo, situated upon a small eminence, in a plain. Its relation to the surrounding country has been compared with that of Rome. The walls

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are very entire, and are not concealed, either by buildings or by shades.

This city was the birth place of Petrarch, of Gui l'Aretin, who invented the manner of writing music, of Cesalpin, one of the first persons who laid a foundation for the science of Botany, by dividing plants into classes, as well as many other illustrious men. The weather had been rainy during the day, and while we were near Arezzo it began to snow, with a cold wind, which compelled us to close our windows, and wrap ourselves in our box coats,

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We arrived late and much fatigued at a miserable inn, where we found bad accommodations, except clean beds, and plenty of servants, which we never fail of finding. Iron bedsteads are universally used at the inns, and if they are placed a sufficient distance from the wall, they are so high that our constant tormentors the fleas, cannot ascend them. This is a discovery we have lately made, and it is a subject of no ordinary gratulation, that we can sometimes escape the persecutions of these remorseless enemies. My English companions (with the exception of the Admiral) having been accustomed to much better fare in their own country, can with difficulty submit to the privations we must unavoidably encounter.

April 11.-Our mules, slow as they are, take us along toward our journey's end, with too much rapidity to allow of our making many observations upon the cities we pass, and the scenery of the country. We have descended this morning into the Val d'Arno, so celebrated for its beauty and its fertility; yet at this season of the year, when there is a deficiency of vegetation, the traveller can hardly assent to the accuracy of those glowing descriptions, in which writers, and travellers, have

"chosen to paint this favored portion of the world. To those whose ideas of Italian scenery have been derived from English writers, this spot is rendered particularly interesting as the supposed origin of Milton's description of Paradise.

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We have stopped to refresh ourselves and to dine at a small inn, in sight of Vallambrosa; but the verdure of its forests, and fields, has been destroyed by the severe and Tong continued frosts, of winter. The plantations in the neighboring country are in fine order, but the de'elevity of the Apennines which is pointed out to us as ValTambrosa, presents to the eye, heaps of bare sand which fill and deaden the prospect. The appearance at present is certainly unlike Eden. The plantations are small, and we observe a greater number of laborers than we have 'heretofore noticed. Women toil in the field at every kind of labour, and they can be distinguished at a great 0 distance by the mixture of red and white in their dress. The vines are just putting forth their leaves, and the peasants are generally engaged in carrying off the branches, that were pruned after the last vintage.

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Florence the Medicean chapel-The Gallery of Flor- ence-Venus de Medicis-Anatomical preparations of wux-Venus of Canova-The Opera.

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I found an American gentleman at Florence, whom I had met at Boston under such circumstances as enabled 3 me to call on him as an acquaintance, and he very kindly

offered me his aid in making the short excursions to view the curiosities of the city which our short stay would permit. Citizens of the same country, in a foreign land, usually find it a source of peculiar pleasure to have an opportunity to interchange sentiments and compare remarks. Like solitary pilgrims jostling among the crowds of foreign cities, they usually meet as brothers, and delight to assist each other, in their laudable pursuits.This principle seems inherent in the human breast, and inséparable from the heart, alive to the prosperity and glory of its own country. It is a form of patriotism which springs spontaneously in the bosoms of those who are suffering a temporary exile; among men of honor and intelligence it is universal, and we are in no danger of insult, when we yield them at once our confidence and friendship.olagsA

Our stay will be so short that we concluded not to deliver letters, but to avail ourselves of the assistance of this American gentleman. In our first walk we endeavor. ed to form some idea of the geography of the city its squares, fountains, palaces, churches, &c. but were entic ed from object to object, till evening surprized us in the midst of our pursuit.

The city is built with dark coloured stones or lava, which gives it rather a dark and gloomy appearance. The buildings are high, uniform and regular; the streets neatly flagged, the stones being of a diamond shape, and laid with the most perfect regularity, but without side walks; and kept as clean as the interior of the houses and palaces. Among the public edifices are many gothic buildings, which are the first specimens of this style of architecture I have seen; but they do not. strike me agreeably.... Deporqali yev ad of

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The Duomo or cathedral, is the most remarkable building in the city, and one of the first objects which attracts thes curiosity of strangers. It is built with black and -white blocks of marble, so disposed as to give the walls a checkered appearance. The bell tower stands disconnected from the church, and the baptistry is a separate building. All these edifices are ornamented with small columns and minute sculpture, without attention to perspectives and the fine and extensive carved work is in ma ny instances placed so high as to be entirely out of the sight of the spectator. The Duomo is more ancient than St. Peters at Rome, and wants its perfect proportions and graceful ornaments. Modern architecture is about as ancient, as the foundation of this building. In it, Michael Angelo wrought and designed; but afterwards matured and perfected his manner at Rome. As the earliest pictures of Raphael resemble those of his master Pietro Perugino, so do the oldest buildings of M. Angelo, the Gothic originals which he studied. His windows were narrow and coloured, his arches pointed, columns clusdered; and in the building before us, the dome is an octagon, and the general exterior, broken into innumerable compartments. Many of the palaces of Florence bear andecided resemblance to the Duomo. The Ducal palace is nearly of the same antiquity, and judging from the appearance of the city, I presume its influence over the style and fashion of building, has been nearly as universalutad.

The Medicean chapel is a small edifice of more uniform richness, than any building we have seen at Rome or elsewhere. It is in an unfinished state, and there seems to be very little prospect of its ever being completed.

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