372 MORE POT-POURRI 



mind was less exalted than Fra Angelico's. That may 

 easily be. His pictures are quite mundane, but the cos- 

 tumes and the landscape backgrounds are thoroughly 

 interesting, and the luxurious grandeur in these wonder- 

 fully preserved frescoes give one a thrilling idea of the 

 times. I was especially interested in the garden back- 

 grounds. The Roses were quite cultivated Roses and 

 very large. The Cypresses were faithfully painted as I 

 have seen nowhere else; some were quite natural, others 

 again were cut in rounds and shapes, probably the ear- 

 liest representation of topiary work in the world. The 

 flower beds were cut out in the grass, with hedges such 

 as one sees to-day round any modern hotel. The extra- 

 ordinary preservation of the frescoes is owing to their 

 having been in the dark. Now the owners have made a 

 large window, and a Philistine proprietor years ago cut 

 a door through the principal fresco. The portraits of 

 the Medicis on horseback, and the splendid clothes, 

 figure, and horse of the eastern Emperor, impressed 

 me with the feeling it was quite the finest thing of the 

 kind I had seen. 



I suppose everyone climbs up to the top of the 

 old Palazzo Vecchio and sees that old Medicean room, 

 once the library, where the huge white doors of the 

 book -cases are panelled with the most beautiful old 

 maps. If I remember rightly, America is represented 

 by the island of Cuba ! The colour of them is splen- 

 did. Even modern maps would make a beautiful decora- 

 tion for a white room, I think. German modern maps 

 are exceedingly well coloured, and some representing 

 seas and currents have a mystery and poetry quite 

 their own. 



The comparatively new public road on the San 

 Miniato hill, which Mr. Hare calls 'an enchanting drive,' 

 struck me as extremely well done, very well planted, and 



