SECRETARY'S REPORT. 283 



miles along its shore and sailed across it, but we liad not long- 

 to stay. The windows of the hotel looked directly out over 

 the lake, and a pretty little balcony gave us a still more 

 extended view. Garibaldi held this town some time, during 

 the last war with Austria, which was ended so unfortunately 

 for Italy by the peace of Villafranca. We saw written about 

 upon the buildings, " Brothers, Rome and Garibaldi," which 

 seemed to indicate the popular feeling for this leader and which 

 corresponded with what we had found in the southern parts of 

 Italy. Here occurred the only shower we had then seen in 

 that country, accompanied by sharp thunder and lightning. It 

 was much needed, and the bracing air which followed was 

 quite refreshing. 



The middle and north of Italy are very nearly in the latitude 

 of Canada Weftt. The latitude of Milan, Venice, Genoa and 

 Nice, where winter is scarcely known, corresponds precisely 

 with portions of Canada West. Montreal, in Canada East, is in 

 latitude 45° 31', and Venice in latitude 45° 26', a difference of 

 only about six miles. A line run from A^enice, directly west, 

 would pass quite near to Montreal, and leave Toronto a hun- 

 dred and twenty miles to the south. Toronto is within a mile 

 of the latitude of Nice, and nearly as far south as Leghorn. 



And yet the mean temperature of the coldest month at 

 A^enice is only 35|° of Fahrenheit, while that of Montreal is 

 13°. The difference, therefore, is in the winter and summer. 

 In the one, the winter is extremely cold and severe and the 

 summer hot and dry, in the other, the winter is extremely mild 

 and the summer comparatively equable. 



Returning from Lake Como to Milan we pursued our way 

 westward through the monotonous plains of Piedmont. Tlic 

 early part of the way from Milan lies in the Milanese territory, 

 and is still a part of Lombardy. The battle-field of Magenta is 

 at a railway station not far from Milan, and the evidences of the 

 hard fight still exist upon the houses, some of which were 

 riddled with balls. The land is level here, and the fields 

 stretch off almost as far as the eye can reach. At the time of 

 the battle tliey were covered with grain, so a gentleman sitting 

 by my side asserted, and the forces of the two contending 

 armies made terrible havoc with the growing crops. 



