like _Leather_!

[_Extra Chorus, descriptive of a Cobbler hammering on his Lapstone_.]
"Then Rub a dub, dub!
Rub a dub, dub!
Rub a dub, dub!!! say we!

II.

"War is a wonderful science,
Mars was its patron, I'm told,
How did he used to accoutre
Armies in battles of old?
With casque, and with sling, and with shield,
With bow-string and breastplate together;
Thus, in the ages of old,
War was begun out of--LEATHER!

[_Chorus_.]
"Then Leather! sing Leather! my lads!
Mars and his weapons of Leather!!!
Of all the things under the sun,
Hurrah! there is nothing like _Leather_!

[_Extra Chorus_.]
"Then Rub a dub, dub!
Rub a dub, dub!
Rub a dub, dub!!! say we!

III.

"Love is a pleasing emotion,
All of us know it by heart;
Whence, can you tell me, arises
Love's overpowering smart?
Tipped with an adamant barb,
Gracefully tufted with feather,
Love's irresistible dart
Comes from a quiver of--LEATHER!

[_Chorus_.]
"Then Leather! sing Leather, my lads!
Darts! and Distraction!! and Leather!!!
Of all the things under the sun,
Hurrah! there is nothing like _Leather_!

[_Extra Chorus_.]
"Then Rub a dub, dub!
Rub a dub, dub!
Rub a dub, dub!!! say we!

IV.

"Orators wrote out their speeches,
Poets their verses recited,
Statesmen promulgated edicts,
Sages their maxims indited.
Parchment, my lads, was the article
All used to write on together;
Thus the Republic of Letters
Sprang into life out of--LEATHER!

[_Chorus_.]
"Then Leather! sing Leather, my lads!
Poetry! Science!! and Leather!!!
Of all the things under the sun,
Hurrah! there is nothing like _Leather_!

[_Extra Chorus_.]
"Then Rub a dub, dub!
Rub a dub, dub!
Rub a dub, dub!!! say we!"

CHAPTER XLII.

FLORENCE.--DESPERATION OF BUTTONS, OF MR. FIGGS, AND OF THE DOCTOR.

Florence, the fair!--Certainly it is the fairest of cities. Beautiful
for situation; the joy of the whole earth! It has a beauty that grows
upon the heart. The Arno is the sweetest of rivers, its valley the
loveliest of vales; luxuriant meadows; rich vineyards; groves of
olive, of orange, and of chestnut; forests of cypress; long lines of
mulberry; the dark purple of the distant Apennines; innumerable white
villas peeping through the surrounding groves; the mysterious haze of
the s