372 COFFEE. 



Carnival ; the pavement is covered with soft earth, and a half 

 dozen or more fine horses without riders, saddles, or bridles, are 

 turned loose at one end of a long street and spurred on by prickly- 

 balls, which are fastened by strings to a girth-strap, so that they 

 will swiag against the legs of the horse as he runs ; they are urged 

 at the top of their speed for a distance of a mile or more, the 

 foremost at the goal receiving a prize of greater or less value. 

 There is no barrier to separate the horses from the mass of people 

 which line the street on either side, and when the horses run well 

 together the space is too narrow and serious accidents occur. The 

 many balconies along the Corso are gaily decorated during Car- 

 nival time, and are filled with spectators of the festivities, places 

 frequently commanding a high rent. During the first three days 

 of the festivities " comfit " throwing is largely indulged in, and 

 the last night an illumination takes place, every person carrying 

 a wax taper which he strives to keep alight, at the same time en- 

 deavoring to extinguish that of his next neighbor ; this makes a 

 deal of fun, and the effect of thousands of tapers gleaming from 

 every point through the long street is very picturesque. 



CrrEON AND MAOAEOm. 



Citron and macaroni are Italian products ; therefore I trust 

 the reader will take no exception to my coupling Italy — she of the 

 sunny skies and the cradle of the arts — with the prosaic items 

 above mentioned. People buy and use '' Leghorn citron," and, 

 when I came to Leghorn, I naturally expected to see it growing 

 there, and post myself upon this article from beginning to end. 

 But when I came to inquire for citron on the tree, it was nowhere 

 to be found, and my visit to the manufactories developed the fact 

 that the citron, a species of lemon, or the lemon, a species of 

 citron, is chiefly grown in the islands of Sardinia and Corsica, 

 where it is gathered, cut into halves, placed in salt, pickled, and 

 shipped in casks to Leghorn, the principal point of preparation 

 for use. As the citrons arrive in Leghorn, they look like very 

 large lemons, with a tremendously thick rind, and very little sub- 

 stance inside of it. From the time they are cut they remain in 

 the salt pickle, say thirty days, and are tough, leathery, bitter, and 



