214 



FLORENTINE WORK FLORIDA. 



libraries, an anatomical theatre, botanical gardens, 

 be. 



There are several theatres in ^Florence, two of 

 which are commonly open. The grand opera and 

 the ballet, both got up with splendour and taste, are 

 represented in the theatre della Pergola, and the 

 comic operas in the theatre del Cocomero. There 

 are, besides, several theatres for the lower classes, 

 and puppet-shows ; the witty and amusing Pulcinello, 

 mounted on a movable stage of light boards, plays 

 his merry tricks in the streets by day and night. 



The charms of a residence at Florence proceed 

 not only from the sight of its present beauty, but also 

 from the recollections of its past glory, the memorials 

 of which surround you at every step. More power- 

 ful than the remembrance of its military glory, of its 

 heroes in the middle ages, and the great council 

 assembled here in 1478, is the reflection, that arts 

 and sciences first revived here, and commenced the 

 regeneration of Europe. The most.celebrated names 

 in Italian literature and art are of Florentine origin. 

 Refinement, genius, and taste rendered the age of 

 Lorenzo de' Medici one of the most brilliant in his- 

 tory, and took root so deeply as to be still conspicuous 

 in the city where he ruled. The language of even 

 the lower people is pure and graceful, and full of 

 delicacy and expression. Generally speaking, the 

 people are lively, polite, social, devout, and, like 

 other Italians, fond of the theatre, but, in industry 

 and dexterity, surpassing most of them. 



There are celebrated silk-manufactures and dyeing 

 establishments in Florence ; its works in metal, 

 coaches, piano-fortes, scientific instruments, the pro- 

 ductions of its press, in short, all articles of luxury, 

 are made here of exquisite workmanship; its 

 commerce is considerable. The environs resemble 

 a beautiful garden, and, viewed from an elevated 

 point, seem to be sown with villas and villages, which, 

 as Ariosto remarked, would make a second Rome, 

 if they could be collected within a wall. A park, 

 with a farm-house, called the Cascine, which lies 

 close by the city, is crowded every evening, and 

 particularly during the festivals, with fashionable 

 visitors ; and the villas of the grand duke, Poggio 

 Imperiale, Careggi, Pratolino (with the statue of the 

 Apennines), Poggio a Calano, all of them richly 

 adorned, both by nature and art, are also charming 

 places for excursions. Florence is justly called la 

 bella? and Rome itself is hardly more attractive to the 

 traveller. The Nuova Guida per la Cittd di Firenze 

 (with views ; Florence) is very useful to the traveller. 

 Population between 70 and 80,000. 



FLORENTINE WORK; a kind of mosaic work, 

 consisting of precious stones and pieces of marble. 

 The Florentines were distinguished for this kind of 

 work hence the name. 



FLORIAN, JEAN PIERRE CLARIS DE, a graceful 

 French writer, was boro at the castle of Florian, 

 not far from Sauve, in the Lower Cevennes. His 

 predilection for Spanish literature was derived from 

 his mother, Gilette de Salgues, a native of Castile. 

 The taste for the age of chivalry and its customs, 

 which animates the romantic poetry of the Spaniards, 

 is clearly to be recognised in his works. An uncle 

 of Florian had married a niece of Voltaire ; his father 

 was a friend of this celebrated author, and the author 

 of the Henriu.de took pleasure in encouraging the 

 talents of the son of his friend, who soon became his 

 favourite. Florian entered the service of the duke 

 of Penthievre as page, and lived during the greater 

 part of the year with the duke in Paris. D'Argen- 

 tal, a friend of Voltaire, whose house was the resort 

 of artists and literary men, had a private theatre, 

 where the first dramatic essays of Florian were re- 

 presented. In these the author himself played the 



part of the harlequin. One of them, called Let deux 

 Billets, is still a favourite, At the same time, h 

 distinguished himself by his poem called Voltaire et 

 le Serf du Mont Jura, and the eclogue of Boaz and 

 Ruth. His e'loge of Louis XII. was less successful. 

 In 1788, he became a member of the French aca- 

 demy. After the death of the duke of Penthievre, he 

 retired to Sceaux, in consequence of the decree 

 banishing all nobles from Paris. While there, 

 engaged in finishing his poem Ephraim, he was 

 arrested by the orders of the committee of public 

 safety. The fall of Robespierre saved him from the 

 guillotine, and gave one of his friends an opportunity 

 to obtain his liberation ; but his sufferings, and par- 

 ticularly the dreadful suspense which he had endured 

 for a long time, had entirely exhausted him. He 

 died, soon after leaving the prison, at Sceaux, Sep- 

 tember 13, 1794. As a poet, Florian exercised 

 his talents successfully in more than one depart- 

 ment. Facility, grace, harmony, and a sensibility 

 rare in the French character, are the most striking 

 characteristics of his works. In elevated subjects, 

 he is deficient in fire, strength, and colouring. His 

 descriptions of manners are striking and faithful, par- 

 ticularly his pictures of pastoral life, as, for instance, 

 hi his favourite Estelle. As a writer of fables, he 

 ranks immediately after La Fontaine. Voltaire 

 called him by the tender name of Florianet, which 

 paints in a striking manner the species of poetry to 

 which the genius of Florian is adapted, and to which 

 belong his Galatee (imitated from Cervantes), Fables, 

 Contes en vers. His principal works are Estelle, 

 Gonzalve de Cordoue, Numa Pompilius, and, among 

 his dramatic works, the above mentioned Deux Bil- 

 lets. His Don Quixote may be read as a French 

 original, and is highly interesting, however little it 

 may be esteemed by later translators. The work 

 did not appear until after the death of the author. 



FLORIDA ; a country belonging to the United 

 States of America, bounded N. by Alabama and 

 Georgia, E. by the Atlantic, S. and W. by the gulf 

 of Mexico. The northern part of the western boun- 

 dary is formed by the Perdido, which separates it 

 from Alabama. Florida formerly extended as far west 

 as the Mississippi, the northern boundary being 

 formed by St Mary's river from the ocean to its 

 source, thence by a right line to the point where 

 Flint river unites with the Appalachicola, thence up 

 the Appalachicola to the parallel of lat. 31 N., 

 thence due west on that parallel to the Mississippi. 

 The part lying between the Mississippi and Pearl is 

 now included in the state of Louisiana ; and the 

 part between Pearl river and the Perdido, in the 

 states of Mississippi and Alabama. The part east 

 of the Perdido is under the territorial government of 

 Florida. Lon. 80 25' to ,87 20" W.; lat. 25 to 

 31 N. ; length from N. to S., about 400 miles ; 

 average breadth, about 140 ; square miles, about 

 50,000. The principal towns are Tallahassee, the 

 seat of government, Pensacola, St Augustine, New 

 Smyrna, and St Marks. The most considerable 

 rivers are St John's. Appalachicola, Indian river, 

 Suwaney, and Conetuh. The principal island is 

 Amelia island. The general aspect on the sea shore 

 is flat, sandy, and barren; furtherjnland, it is marshy, 

 abounding in natural meadows ; a range of low hills 

 extends through the peninsula. The river St John's, 

 which has a course of upwards of 200 miles, forms a 

 prominent feature of the country. The great swamp 

 Ouaquephenogaw or Okefonoco, nearly 300 miles in 

 circuit, lies on the north side, about half in Florida 

 and half in Georgia. To the south of this are the 

 Alachua savannas, a level and fertile tract, bare of 

 trees and shrubs. 



The lands of Florida, in their general charactei 



