s of Englishmen in a growl at the scanty accommodation.

Arriving at Leghorn the next morning at six, I found myself in rather an
anxious predicament, for, having _planned_ to arrive at Leghorn before
my wife, I had not named any special hotel for our meeting; but owing to
my having missed the train at Genoa, she had arrived before me, and
where she had gone I knew not. However, trusting to her good sense and
courage, I began my search with a light heart; and, after two
unsuccessful attempts, was rejoiced to find her all safe. Like myself,
she had experienced rather rough weather on her passage from Malta; but
had appreciated the little breaks in the voyage afforded by the vessel
stopping at Catania, Messina, and Naples.

On exploring the town a little after breakfast, we caught a glimpse of
the great ironclad _Lepanto_, which the Italians had just launched, and
a great unwieldy monster she looked.

Leghorn is a dead and alive sort of place, and we had no inclination to
remain there; so took the 10.45 train to Florence, at which city we
arrived safely in the evening, and proceeded at once to the Hotel de
Russie.

I had always had a great longing to see Florence, the home of Italian
genius:

"Florence! beneath the sun,
Of cities fairest one."

Rain had fallen pretty freely here as elsewhere, and for the first few
days we had to take advantage of every gleam of sunshine to obtain an
outing.

Florence is divided into two parts by the Arno; the northern side is the
oldest part, and contains the best hotels and restaurants. From one
window we saw the yellow river rushing tumultuously over the artificial
weirs that are built to prevent its unhealthy stagnation. Across this
_unpoetical_ river are several stone bridges; the central one, which is
something like old London Bridge, is almost covered with houses, chiefly
small jewellers'. Artists consider that this adds to the picturesqueness
of the river, but I would have preferred a clear view up to the
mountains at its head. It is a very interesting city, with its narrow
streets, quaint buildings, piazzas, and monuments of ancient glory.
There are two or three rather fine streets leading from the railway
station, and culminating in the Cathedral Piazza. These contain several
noble palatial residences of the ancient nobility, massively built of
great rough-hewn stones, attached to which are large iron rings with
holders for torches, and at the corners antique ir