Trouville, to bathe in silver sandals and scant bathing-dresses trimmed with lace, would, I apprehend, be quite at home in the costume of a bacchante.

Among the pleasant réunions during the season in Florence are the receptions given by our excellent minister. In consequence of a Russian nobleman having taken a dislike to Florence since it has become a capital, and left the city, his fine palace in the Via dei Servi has been appropriated to the use of the British minister. The rooms, though small in comparison to those in many of the palaces in Florence, are extremely elegant; the walls of one are hung with richly-embossed leather. At these parties you meet the upper thousand of Florence, and all who have had the pleasure of attending them will remember how admirably Mrs. Elliott discharges her duties of hostess.

6

Compared with the blaze of those soft contentments,' as eastern ladies pleasantly call diamonds, seen at the balls in Rome, those worn at the Florence balls and parties are insignificant. There are of course many rich and rare family jewels among Florentine families, but they will not bear comparison with those that dazzle your eyes in the Eternal City. But let not Florence be envious: if Rome possesses finer jewels, the City of Flowers can boast

greater beauty, Florence women being handsomer than those in Rome. If Moore be unjust to the Florentines in one respect, he only does them justice when, alluding to them, he says:

We oft are startled by the blaze
Of eyes that pass with fitful light
Like fire-flies on the wing at night.

But why, oh, ye Florentines! to whom is given language of exquisite harmony, will you mar it by loud and harsh talk. The bocca Toscana of a young Florentine is often beautiful, but the words proceeding from it are, not unfrequently, painfully discordant. You do not, it is true, offend quite so much in this respect as Roman ladies; but still your voices are far from gentle, and would be infinitely improved by being subdued.

Late hours, which seem de rigueur in the fashionable world, are the rule in Florence, réunions rarely taking place before eleven o'clock, when the opera terminates. The London man of fashion, who assigned as a reason that he did not go to theatres because they clashed with dinner-parties, would have no such excuse in Florence, hospitality of this kind being rarely exercised. So the Florentines patronise the opera and French theatre, where they see their friends, and go from thence to parties

and balls, where they amuse themselves in a manner that leads you to believe that they would not endorse the late Sir George Lewis's opinion respecting the world and its pleasures. Indeed, although we may be sure that Florentines have their share of anxiety and trouble, you will rarely see them victims of philanthropic dissipation, like the glumlooking Englishman, who, propping himself up against a wall, and surveying the company with a very melancholy expression, was addressed by a vivacious Frenchman: Ah! mon cher monsieur, comme vous avez l'air de vous amuser!'

Public entertainments in Florence are limited to theatres and concerts; so all gentlemen who do not patronise these places, and have no private engagement, repair to the caffès, where they smoke 'cavours,' drink coffee or lemonade, and talk politics, while ladies who are indifferent to the drama or music, fall back on religion or love. It is a remarkable fact that throughout Italy there is but one public garden where you can hear good music and obtain refreshments: this is at Milan. But Florence as a capital is in her babyhood; and who knows but long ere she comes of age, she may have more than one Cremorne amidst the groves of the Cascine, and Anonymas' in the drives?

The Carnival at Florence-Throwing of Bouquets and BonbonsCarnival at Milan-Masked Balls The Veglioni at the Pergola -A Bishop and the Cancan-Fast Characters-Suppers in the Private Boxes-An elegant Entertainment-Byron's Specific against Dulness-Masquerades at Venice-The Ridotto-Masked Balls at the Goldoni-Brawls-A fatal Quarrel-The Cattivi' Piedmontese.

MAY we accept the fact, that the carnival at Florence is a very tame affair now, in comparison to

what it used to be in former years, as a proof that the Florentines are wiser than their forefathers? Be this as it may, there is no doubt that, if you desire to see a mad carnival, such as are depicted in old engravings, you must not go to Florence. Even Rome, in its political bondage, manages to get up a far more stirring carnival than Florence; though it must be acknowledged that, of late years, the chief actors in the Corso revels have been English.

Miles of handsome carriages, containing welldressed women, grave-looking men, and occasional throwing of bouquets and genuine bonbons-frequently enclosed in elegant cases-may not be a very exciting spectacle; but, after all, it is surely better than the Roman carnival, where the socalled fun consists in pelting people with chalk pellets and flour. Probably, if the Florentines had license to pelt each other in the same fashion, they would not be slow in availing themselves of the privilege; indeed, I was assured that the reason why they are debarred this pastime is, that romping playfulness would soon exceed the bounds of safety, and that, in the height of excitement, objects would be thrown of a far more dangerous nature than flowers or confetti. Although the non-throwing law