Lamia's winter-quarters . written onthe morrow of a certain fascinating young woman,whose name I cannot remember, but of whomPolitian, I have read, was, notwithstanding hiserudition, deeply enamoured, giving her hand to arival scholar, though which of them, I need scarcelysay, I have equally forgotten. The great Marullus, I think, said the Poet; and your fascinating young woman was Ales-sandra, the accomplished daughter of LorenzosChancellor, Bartolomeo della Scala, whose house,still standing, you must remind us to show you inFlorence. Our first business was to make acquaintancewith the immedi
Lamia's winter-quarters . written onthe morrow of a certain fascinating young woman,whose name I cannot remember, but of whomPolitian, I have read, was, notwithstanding hiserudition, deeply enamoured, giving her hand to arival scholar, though which of them, I need scarcelysay, I have equally forgotten. The great Marullus, I think, said the Poet; and your fascinating young woman was Ales-sandra, the accomplished daughter of LorenzosChancellor, Bartolomeo della Scala, whose house,still standing, you must remind us to show you inFlorence. Our first business was to make acquaintancewith the immediate surroundings of the home pro-vided for us by Veronicas indefatigable foresight,operating through a protracted correspondencenone of us had been deemed worthy to rural architecture of Tuscany is of a noblesimplicity; and, in the main portion of our villa,built in the course of the sixteenth century, therewas no deviation from the familiar type. But,adjoining it westward, and seemingly of more A TUSCAN VILLA. LAMIAS WINTER-QUARTERS 65 ancient date, were an upper and a lower loggia ofconventual aspect; the upper one having a slop-ing roof of rich red tiles supported by gracefulpillars of pietra serena, and the lower one servingas an Italian equivalent of an English verandah,only more spacious and more tasteful, in which wecould sun or shade ourselves according to themood of the weather. Together, they formed animpenetrable barrier against the well-known keen-ness of the tramontana, while the main buildingprovided ample shelter against possible inclemencyfrom the east. To the west our view was overthe final valley of the Arno, that spacious plain offertile cultivation tenderly protected by hills ofexquisite shape and moderate elevation, on whosebolder ridges stand historic towns of unmatchedpicturesqueness ; while southward, over vineyardsand olive-groves terraced down precipitously-sloping ground, we gazed on the domes and towersof the fair Tuscan capital. If one li
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