It is a beautiful spot; they say it has the finest sculpture
and statuary in the world. We spent some time wandering around,
resting our eyes on the beautiful marble forms on every side.

They wuz a quiet crowd, too; jest as calm and silent as them they kep'
watch over.

Some of the most celebrated pictures in the world are to be seen in
the picture galleries at Milan, the Marriage of Mary and Joseph, by
Raphael, is considered the most valuable. We went to see the fresco of
the Lord's Supper, by Leonardo da Vinci, on the walls of an old
convent. But the wall is crumbled and the picture is faded and worn;
besides artists have tried to retouch it with just about as much
success as Josiah would have if he undertook to paint the sky indigo
blue, or Ury tried to improve a white lily with a coat of whitewash.
But we loved to look on it for what it wuz before Time's hand had laid
so heavy on it and artists had tried to protect it.

We wuz in Milan over Sunday and so we went to the Cathedral to
service, and agin I realized its marvellous beauty and magnitude. Its
ruff is supported by fifty-two columns, and it has eight thousand
life-sized statutes inside and outside, plenty enough for comfort even
if it wuz over-fond of statutes.

The Lazaretto, once used as a plague hospital, is now used as an
apartment-house for the poor; it has one thousand two-roomed
apartments in it, a city in itself.

Napoleon, ambitious creeter! wuz crowned king of Italy in Milan. And I
guess old Charlemaigne himself wuz, 'tennyrate a good many kings here
had the iron crown set on their forwards. I d'no what made 'em have
iron crowns, though Josiah said it would be real handy sometimes. He
said if a king wuz in a hurry, and you know they are sometimes in a
dretful hurry to be crowned before their heads are took off, it would
be real handy, for they could take the rim to a stove griddle, and
stand up some velvet pints on it and it would fit most any head. He
also spoke of a coal-scuttle.

But I said that I guessed they used iron to show that crowns are so
heavy and bore down on their heads so.

We visited Lake Como, Dorothy specially wantin' to see the palace of
Carlotta. Poor, broken-hearted Carlotta, whose mind and happiness wuz
destroyed by the shot that put an end to Maximilian's brave, misguided
life.

Poor Maximilian! poor Carlotta! victims of the foolish ambitions of an
empress, so they say. I wuz glad to throw the blossom of a pitying
t