edifice (the Cathedral) to which it belongs, opens so suddenly upon the
visitor, that he will never forget what feelings of joy and surprise he
experienced on making the last turn around the corner, when these splendid
edifices leaped upon him so unexpectedly in all their beauty and magesty.

The church of Santa Croce, whose foundation was laid in 1294, is "the
Pantheon of Tuscany." It contains the tomb of Michael Angelo, and
magnificent monuments of Dante, of Alfiero, of Macchiavelli, of Galileo
and of many others of less fame.

The houses in which were born Michael Angelo, Dante, Amerigo Vespucci,
Macchiavelli and Galileo may be found and identified by the memorial
tablets which mark them.

_Piazza della Signoria_ is the business as well as the historic center of
Florence. Here stands the old capitol of the republic, begun in 1298. It
was afterwards the residence of Cosmo I. Near this palace is a magnificent
fountain of the time of Cosmo I. I cannot tell positively, now, whether
the sculpture and architecture of Florence is so much richer than what I
saw elsewhere in Europe, or whether the enchanting beauty of sculpturesque
and architectural master-strokes at the Cathedral, the Campanile, St.
Croce, and the Fountain and Palace in this magnificent square, may not
have thrown me into the condition of one in a dream; but I certainly felt
all the time that I spent in Florence like one in another world, where
scenes of fascinating beauty were surrounding me on every side, and
feelings of ecstatic delight precluding me from any but a dream-like
enjoyment of the scenery around. I was without any acquaintance or
companion the whole day, which in connection with the fact that I was
thousands of miles away from the familiar scenes of home, where every
object that I contemplated was new and different from what I was wont to
see, could not fail to make me feel like one in a dream. I went along the
_Portico degli Uffizi_ adorned with throngs of statues of celebrated
Tuscans, and into the famous Uffizi Gallery, founded by the Medici, and
one of the most precious collections in the world. In the _Tribune_, the
inner sanctuary of the great temple of art ("the richest room in all the
world, a heart that draws all hearts to it") I saw the Venus de Medici,
the Dancing Faun, the Apollino, the Wrestlers, and other masterpieces of
ancient sculpture; also, among the paintings, some of the best works of
Raphael, Angelo, Titian and others.