tity of
water, would be a charming pastoral stream, if it was transparent; but
it is always muddy and discoloured. About ten or a dozen miles below
Florence, there are some marble quarries on the side of it, from whence
the blocks are conveyed in boats, when there is water enough in the
river to float them, that is after heavy rains, or the melting of the
snow upon the mountains of Umbria, being part of the Apennines, from
whence it takes its rise.

Florence is a noble city, that still retains all the marks of a
majestic capital, such as piazzas, palaces, fountains, bridges,
statues, and arcades. I need not tell you that the churches here are
magnificent, and adorned not only with pillars of oriental granite,
porphyry, Jasper, verde antico, and other precious stones; but also
with capital pieces of painting by the most eminent masters. Several of
these churches, however, stand without fronts, for want of money to
complete the plans. It may also appear superfluous to mention my having
viewed the famous gallery of antiquities, the chapel of St. Lorenzo,
the palace of Pitti, the cathedral, the baptisterium, Ponte de Trinita,
with its statues, the triumphal arch, and every thing which is commonly
visited in this metropolis. But all these objects having been
circumstantially described by twenty different authors of travels, I
shall not trouble you with a repetition of trite observations.

That part of the city which stands on each side of the river, makes a
very elegant appearance, to which the four bridges and the stone-quay
between them, contribute in a great measure. I lodged at the widow
Vanini's, an English house delightfully situated in this quarter. The
landlady, who is herself a native of England, we found very obliging.
The lodging-rooms are comfortable; and the entertainment is good and
reasonable. There is a considerable number of fashionable people at
Florence, and many of them in good circumstances. They affect a gaiety
in their dress, equipage, and conversation; but stand very much on
their punctilio with strangers; and will not, without great reluctance,
admit into their assemblies any lady of another country, whose noblesse
is not ascertained by a title. This reserve is in some measure
excusable among a people who are extremely ignorant of foreign customs,
and who know that in their own country, every person, even the most
insignificant, who has any pretensions to family, either inherits, or
assumes the tit