ffers of guaranty on his part, availed to soften
towards us the rigor of the decree, which they say applies to all
foreigners. I have written to our consul at Leghorn to petition the
Government for our stay, as Mr. Ombrosi, the United States Consul here,
is not accredited by the Government."

He must have succeeded in obtaining permission to remain, although the
fact is not noted in the journal, for the next entry is on April 11, and
finds him still in Florence. It begins: "Various engagements preventing
my entering regularly in my journal every day's events as they occurred,
I have been compelled to make a gap, which I fill up from recollection."

Before following him further, however, I shall quote from a letter
written to his brothers on April 15, but referring to events which
happened some time before:--

"We have recently heard of the disasters of the Poles. What noble people;
how deserving of their freedom. I must tell you of an interesting
circumstance that occurred to me in relation to Poland. It was in the
latter part of June of last year, just as I was completing my
arrangements for my journey to Naples, that I was tempted by one of those
splendid moonlight evenings, so common in Italy, to visit once more the
ruins of the Coliseum. I had frequently been to the Coliseum in company,
but now I had the curiosity to go alone--I wished to enjoy, if possible,
its solitude and its solemn grandeur unannoyed by the presence of any
one.

"It was eleven o'clock when I left my lodgings and no one was walking at
that hour in the solitary streets of Rome. From the Corso to the Forum
all was as still as in a deserted city. The ruins of the Forum, the
temples and pillars, the Arch of Titus and the gigantic arcade of the
Temple of Peace, seemed to sleep in the gravelike stillness of the air.
The only sound that reached my ears was that of my own footsteps. I
slowly proceeded, stopping occasionally, and listening and enjoying the
profound repose and the solemn, pure light, so suited to the ruined
magnificence around me. As I approached the Coliseum the shriek of an owl
and the answering echo broke the stillness for a moment, and all was
still again.

"I reached the entrance, before which paced a lonely sentinel, his arms
flashing in the moonbeams. He abruptly stopped me and told me I could not
enter. I asked him why. He replied that his orders were to let no one
pass. I told him I knew better, that he had no such orders, th