1894.] ESSAYS. 77 



a fatal leap. We were told that it was "an affair of the heart." 

 Here was an illustration of the rashness of the Italian nature. 



Genoa has long been celebrated for its handsome women. I was 

 disappointed and came to the conclusion that I was a poor judge of 

 beauty. I have seen just as handsome ladies in Worcester. The 

 men, rich and poor, are obliged to drill in the army for five years, 

 and are noticeably fine looking. At the art studio we saw a fine 

 painting of Columbus leaving his little son with a monk previous 

 to his setting out on his voyage of the discovery of America. A 

 beautiful monument of pure white marble was erected in 1862 to 

 his memory. He was born fifteen miles out of the city in a small 

 stone-house on the seashore. 



La Spezia is a rendezvous for men-of-war and is one of the chief 

 naval stations of Italy. The scenery of the gulf is very beautiful. 

 We saw the stars and stripes flying from an U. S. war ship which was 

 harboring here. 



Leghorn, or Livorno as the Italians call it, is quite an important 

 place. The land all about it is low and marshy, quite different from 

 Genoa, which is all up and down. Conspicuous on the wharf is a 

 monument of one of the king's sons with four black pirates from 

 Tunis chained at his feet, all in bronze. The pirates destroyed a 

 great deal of the commerce, and the king's sou volunteered to go in 

 search of and capture them. The rule was, if any ship entered the 

 port without raising the flag of Italy the offender should have his 

 head cut off. The son was so rejoiced at having captured the pirates 

 that he entered the harbor forgetting to hoist the colors. He was 

 beheaded, and this monument was erected to his memory by the 

 people. At this place we supplied ourselves with Leghorn hats. The 

 women beggars were seated on the steps of buildings industriously 

 knitting stockings. The children were nibbling at pumpkin seeds, 

 which are on the stands for sale just as peanuts are here. We loaded 

 here with a cargo of marble from the mines of Carrara. Part of it 

 was in blocks weighing five or six tons. 



Procuring a carriage, we drove from Leghorn through a level tract 

 of country containing wheat fields, groves of pine trees, mulberry 

 trees, and grape-vines to Pisa, situated on the famous Arno River, 

 which flows through one of the loveliest valleys in Italy. Long 

 before we reached the city we did not need any one to tell us that 

 what we saw in the distance, conspicuous above everything else, was 

 the celebrated Leaning Tower; one of the seven wonders of the world. 

 The walls of the city are five miles in circuit. When we reached the 



