cord almost invariably begins with "At the Colonna Palace all
day"; or, "At the Vatican all day"; or wherever else he may have been
working at the time.

The heat of the Roman summer seems not yet to have inconvenienced him,
for he does not complain, but simply remarks: "Sun almost vertical,...
houses and shops shut at noon." He has this to say of an Italian
institution: "Lotteries in Rome make for the Government eight thousand
scudi per week; common people venture in them; are superstitious and
consult _cabaliste_ or lucky numbers; these tolerated as they help sell
the tickets."

While working hard, he occasionally indulged himself in a holiday, and on
June 16 he, in company with three other artists, engaged a carriage for
an excursion to Albano, Aricia, and Genzano, "to witness at the latter
place the celebrated _festa infiorata_, which occurs every year on the
17th of June."

After spending the night at Albano, which they found crowded with artists
of various nationalities and with other sight-seers, "We set out for
Genzano, a pleasant walk of a little more than a mile through a winding
carriage-road, thickly shaded with fine trees of elm and chestnut and
ilex. A little fountain by the wayside delayed us for a moment to sketch
it, and we then continued our way through a straight, level, paved road,
shaded on each side with trees, into the pretty village of Genzano."

Finding that the principal display was not until the afternoon, they
strolled to the Lake of Nemi, "situated in a deep basin, the crater of a
volcano." Those Italian lakes which he had so far seen, while lovely and
especially interesting from their historical or legendary associations
and the picturesque buildings on their shores, seemed to the artist (ever
faithful to his native land) less naturally attractive than the lakes
with which he was familiar at home--Lake George, Otsego Lake, etc. He had
not yet seen Como or Maggiore. Then he touches upon the great drawback to
all travelling in Italy:--

"Throughout the day, wherever we went, beggars in every shape annoyed us,
nor could we scarcely hear ourselves talk when on the borders of the lake
for the swarms which importuned us. A foolish Italian, in the hope
probably of getting rid of them, commenced giving a _mezzo biochi_ to
each, and such a clamor, such devouring eyes, such pushing and bawling,
such teasing importunity for more, and from some who had received and
concealed their gift, I could no