children attract us by their bright eyes and dark
complexions, just touched with a soft rose-tint. We are surprised at the
multiplicity of donkeys, their bodies hidden by big loads of
merchandise; we observe with interest those handsome milk-white oxen,
with wide-spreading horns; we inhale the fragrance of the orange groves,
and remember that we are in Italy.

About a hundred miles from St. Mauro, the border town after crossing the
bridge of St. Louis, will take us by the Corniche road to Genoa. This
ancient capital rises in terrace form, presenting the aspect of an
amphitheatre whose base is the water's edge, while the city is situated
between the two lofty hills of Carignano on the east and St. Benigno on
the west. The harbor of Genoa is semicircular in form, nearly a mile
across, and is protected by two substantial piers, on one of which is a
lighthouse three hundred feet in height. From the seaward end of the
lighthouse pier we have a fine view of the town, the slope being covered
with palaces, churches, hotels, gardens, forts, and public buildings.
The arsenal, the prison, the custom-house, and government warehouses all
cluster about the wharves, where great business activity centres at all
times. The older part of the city consists of narrow and confusing
lanes, accessible only to foot-passengers. In the olden days, when this
city was first laid out after the fashion of the times, it was crowded
with fortified lines, and perched upon elevations to aid in resisting
the attack of an invading enemy. The newer portions present broad,
accessible thoroughfares, with one or two elegant boulevards.

The number of marble palaces in Genoa is really surprising, but they are
built in streets so narrow that their elaborate fronts lose
architectural effect. These were not all occupied by the class termed
the nobility, but were often the homes of merchant princes. Many of
these structures are now vacant or occupied for business purposes.
Splendid marble corridors and mosaic floors, with halls opening from
grand marble staircases, seem ill-adapted to the purposes of common
trade. A few of these structures belong to people whose condition
enables them to retain them as dwellings; others have been purchased by
the government and are occupied as public offices; and still others are
hotels. This city was the birthplace of Columbus, the "Great Genoese
Pilot," who first showed the way across the then trackless ocean to a
western worl