LETTER IX.

ROUTE FROM FLORENCE.-AREZZO.-CORTONA.THRASYMENE. PERUGIA. ASSISI.-THE VALE AND TEMPLE OF CLITUMNUS.-SPOLETO.BANDITTI.-OTRICOLI.-THE WATERFALL OF TERNI, AND BYRON'S LINES ON IT.-BORGHETTO.-CIVITA CASTELLANA.-ROME.

To the Editor of the Halifax Express.

Rome, Oct. 28, 1840.

Dear Sir,-We left Florence, yesterday week, on our way to the "Eternal City." An Italian artist joined us; and, in conjunction with him, we took the whole of the inside places in the voiture, that we might be to ourselves.

Our route was along the vale of the Arno, until we came to Incia, where we crossed the river; and then passed through several villages,-travelling, for many miles, amongst most delightful scenery. The country is very rich in vegetation; and may be said to be unrivalled in picturesque objects for the pencil. We were told that the hills which rise from the valley of the Arno, produce finer grapes than any other part of Tuscany; and that the wine made here is of a very superior kind.

We stopped near Arezzo, where the road crosses a canal, which was made by order of Pope Clement the Seventh, at the same time that he ordered the Val Chiana to be drained, and thereby turned a pestilential marsh into fertile land. Arezzo is a town of some celebrity, having been the birth place of Mæcenas, Vasari,

and Petrarch. The Custom House there, and the Church, are the works of Vasari. In the Church there are a few good pictures, and particularly one, Judith showing the head of Holofernes, by Benvenuto, a modern artist.

The road from Arezzo to Cortona passes through one of the finest plains in Italy. Cortona is situated on a mountain, the sides of which are covered with vines and other fruit trees. The city has an Academy, with a Library and Museum. The Cathedral is a fine old building, and contains a celebrated painting of the Nativity, by Pietro di Cortona, who was a native of this city.

Soon after leaving Cortona, we ascended a hill, on the summit of which is the frontier Custom Honse. At this spot we quitted Tuscany, and entered the dominions of the Pope. We had to pay one paul each for having our passports signed; but, after that, we had no trouble, in this respect, until we reached the gates of Rome.

The Romans appear to have built their cities on the tops of hills;-at least, that is the case on this route; and generally they are strongly fortified. On descending the hill, from Cortona, we came in sight of the Lake of Perugia, the ancient Thrasymene. It was in the vicinity of this lake that Hannibal obtained his memorable victory over the Romans. Byron finely contrasts the scene which this spot presented, after that sanguinary conflict, with its present peaceful aspect.

I roam

By Thasymene's lake, in the defiles

Fatal to Roman rashness.

For there the Carthaginian's warlike wiles
Come back before me, as his skill beguiles

The host between the mountains and the shore,

Where courage falls in her despairing files,

And torrents, swollen to rivers with their gore,

Reek through the sultry plain, with legions scattered o'er.

Far other scene is Thrasymene now;

Her lake a sheet of silver, and her plain

Rent by no ravage save the gentle plough;

Her aged trees rise thick as once the slain

Lay where their roots are; but a brook hath ta'enA little rill, of seanty stream and bed,

A name of blood from that day's sanguine rain;

And Sanguinetto tells ye where the dead

Made the earth wet, and turned the unwilling waters red.

In the prospect beyond the lake, we had a view of some fine mountains; and the tops of those in the extreme distance were covered with snow. We passed many fine scenes, on our way to the lake, along the shore of which the road winds, and then ascends another hill. As we walked up this part of the road, we often looked back, to gaze on the lovely views behind us; and we had beautiful scenery all the way to Perugia.

The city of Perugia is very strongly fortified, and its massive walls are of immense strength. The Cathedral does not contain any painting of first-rate merit; and this surprised us, as it is known that Pietro Perugino was born here. In the Town Hall there are some frescoes by that artist; and in one of them he has introduced, in the character of the prophet Daniel, a portrait of his pupil, the celebrated Raffaelle.

The descent from Perugia towards the Tiber is, in many parts of the road, very steep; and it consequently affords those extensive prospects which always interest the traveller who is viewing them for the first time. Between Perugia and Foligno, we passed several towns, one of which, Assisi, is celebrated as the birth place of St. Francesco and of Metastasio. The town is situated on a rising ground, and has in it an extensive building, which, we were informed, is occupied by the nuns of St. Clare.

Shortly after leaving Assisi, we entered the vale of Clitumnus, through which the road passes; and, before we arrived at La Vene, we came to the small temple which was formerly dedicated to the river Clitumnus. It is built of white marble; and, having been consecrated for the religious services of the Church of Rome, it has been thereby preserved from injury. Architects consider it a perfect gem; and it is situated in one of

the most lovely spots that can be well imagined. The portico is towards the river; and, as the road goes behind the building, the traveller may easily pass by without observing it.

But thou, Clitumnus! in thy sweetest wave

Of the most living crystal that was e'er

The haunt of river-nymph, to gaze and lave

Her limbs where nothing hid them, thou dost rear Thy grassy banks, whereon the milk-white steer Grazes; the purest god of gentle waters!

And most serene of aspect, and most clear;

Surely that stream was unprofaned by slaughters,—
A mirror and a bath for Beauty's youngest daughters!

And on thy upper shore a temple still,

Of small and delicate proportion, keeps, Upon a mild declivity of hill,

Its memory of thee; beneath it sweeps'

Thy current's calmness; oft from out it leaps The finny darter with the glittering scales, Who dwells and revels in thy glassy deeps: While, chance, some scattered water-lily sails

Down where the shallower wave still tells its bubbling tales.

The next town at which we stopped was Spoleto. It is surrounded by beautifully coloured mountains, with craggy precipices; and the interest of the scenery is greatly enhanced by the towers of its castles, with ancient trees about them. One of the principal points of attraction here is a lofty aqueduct, which crosses a ravine, and affords, with the adjacent scenery, fine subjects for the artist's pencil.

At Spoleto, two monks took the outside places on our voiture, and their company rendered our travelling more secure. One of them was the Superior of a Convent at Rome; and both were very pleasant gentlemen.

On our way to Terni, we descended into a wild and picturesque glen, some parts of which were so gloomy as to excite fears of banditti, and raise in the mind rather disagreeable ideas of violence and murder. Just as we were in the midst of these cogitations, we met a cart, loaded with men chained together, and guarded by two

horse soldiers. We had not gone more than two miles farther, when we met another cart, with a similar load; and, a few miles farther on, we found foot soldiers, stationed on the high road, for the protection of travellers, even during the day.

On arriving at Otricoli, we made a short stay there, in order to visit the waterfall of Terni. From one of Cicero's letters to Atticus, we learn that this waterfall was not the work of nature, but of art; and that the channel which conducts the stream to the precipice, was made under the direction of Marcus Curius, in order to drain the marshes of the country above. The inhabitants of Reate,-considering that, whatever benefits might have accrued to others, they were themselves injured by the loss of the water,-retained Cicero to plead their cause against the inhabitants of Interamna. The river above the cataract is the Velino; and that below, which receives the cascade, is the Nera.

We took a guide from the inn; and, after walking halfway towards the falls, we were obliged to take shelter, in a cottage, from a shower of rain. The inside of the house was neat and clean; and an elderly female was spinning on the distaff. The woman's employment, long ago exploded in the land of our nativity, was quite new to us; and we were very much pleased with the scene altogether.

After the shower was over, we walked forward, through a grove of orange trees, which filled the air with a fragrance that was most delightful. We then arrived at the entrance to a private garden, through which we had to pass, to get a view of the fall. Our feelings became excited, as we drew near the sound of the water; and every step we advanced, the noise became louder and louder, until we stood before the mighty cascade, and beard the full thunder of its "hell of waters."

The torrent falls a distance of three hundred feet, into an abyss which the spectator almost dreads to look into. It is the grandest object, of the kind, I ever The mass of water rushing from its channel into the gulf below, the tremendous roar of the cataract,—

saw.