n the palace
degli Ufizzi is said to have cost 40,000 ducats. Twenty-five men
were employed for twenty years in its construction; it is composed
of Florentine mosaic. This table did not strike me particularly; it
appeared overloaded with ornament.

Of the environs of Florence I only saw the Grand Duke's milk-farm, a
pleasant place near the Arno, amid beautiful avenues and meadows.

DEPARTURE FROM FLORENCE.

December 3d.

At seven in the evening I quitted Florence, and proceeded in the
mail-carriage to Bologna, distant about eighty miles. When the day
broke, we found ourselves on an acclivity commanding a really
splendid view. Numerous valleys, extending between low hills,
opened before our eyes, the snow-clad Apennines formed the
background, and in the far distance shone a gleaming stripe--the
Adriatic sea. At five in the evening of

December 4th

we reached Bologna.

This town is of considerable extent, numbers 50,000 inhabitants, and
has many fine houses and streets; all of these, however, are dull,
with the exception of a few principal streets. Beggars swarm at
every corner--an unmistakable token that we are once more in the
States of the Church.

December 5th.

This was a day of rest. I proceeded at once to visit the cathedral,
which is rich in frescoes, gilding, and arabesques. A few oil-
paintings are also not to be overlooked.

In the church of St. Dominic I viewed with most interest the
monument of King Enzio.

The picture-gallery contains a St. Cecilia, one of the earlier
productions of Raphael.

A fine fountain, with a figure of Neptune, graces the principal
square. In the Palazzo Publico I saw a staircase up which it is
possible to ride.

The most remarkable edifices at Bologna are the two square leaning
towers at the Porta Romagna. One of these towers is five, and the
other seven feet out of the perpendicular. Their aspect inspired me
with a kind of nervous dread; on standing close to the wall to look
up at them it really appeared as though they were toppling down. In
themselves these towers are not interesting, being simply
constructed of masonry, and not very lofty.

The finest spot in Bologna is the Campo Santo, the immense cemetery,
with its long covered ways and neat chapels, displaying a number of
costly monuments, the works of the first modern sculptors. Three
large and pleasant spots near these buildings serve as burial-places
for the poorer classes. In one the men