s in Florentine history,
which we were now approaching. We wound round hills, traversed deep
ravines, heard on every side the thunder of the swollen torrents, and,
when the parting vapour permitted, had glimpses of the luxuriant woods
of myrtle and laurel that clothe these valleys,--

"Where round some mouldering tower pale ivy creeps,
And low-brow'd rocks hang nodding o'er the deeps."

At last we found ourselves on the banks of a broad and swollen
river,--the Save,--with no means of transit save a dismantled bridge,
so sorely shattered by the flood, that it was an even question whether
our vehicle might not, like the last straw on the dromedary's back, sink
the structure outright.

We dismounted, and, by the help of lights, measured first the bridge,
and next the _diligence_, and found that the breadth of the former
exceeded that of the latter by just two inches. The passengers passed on
foot; the _diligence_, with the baggage, came after; and so all arrived
safely on the other side. Our first care was to assemble a council of
war in the poor inn which stood on the spot, and deliberate what next to
do.

The _conducteur_ opened the debate. "We had," he said, "twenty miles of
road still before us; the way lay through deep ravines, and over
torrents which the rains must have rendered impassable: it would be long
past midnight till we should reach Florence,--if we should ever reach
it: his opinion was, therefore, that we ought to stay where we were;
nevertheless, if we insisted, he would go on at all risks." So
counselled our leader; and if we wanted an argument on the other side,
we had only to look around. The walls of the inn were naked and black;
the floor was covered inch-deep with slime, the deposit of the flood
which had that day broke into the dwelling; and the place was evidently
unequal to the "entertainment" of such a number of "men and horses" as
had thus unexpectedly been thrown upon it. It is not wonderful, in these
circumstances, that a small opposition party sprung up, headed by an
English lady, whose delicate slippers were never made for such a floor
as that on which she now stood. She could see no danger in going on, and
urged us to set forward. Better counsels prevailed, however; and we
resolved to endure the evils we knew, rather than adventure on those we
knew not.

The next matter to be negotiated was supper, of which the aspect of the
place gave no great promise. The landlady was a thin, wiry