Foreign Correspondence

EoME, Dec. 23, 1872. Friend Pond: TV hoever undertakes to teil the story of Florence must of necessity say much of U galleries, for they are essuntially its nost distinguishing characteristic - its peculiar attraction to strangers. The ;wo great collections of art are those which are contained in the Uffizi and in the Pitti palaces, the former north of the Arno, the other distant about half a mile and on the eminence south of the river ; yet for all the purposes of examination hese two great galleries form but one vast collection, in which the visitor without interruptioa can walk frora room to room, through corridor and hall, for miles, ce-nselessly gazing upon one beautiful object after another, or, if he will, resting upon Neats of fascinatirtg softness that are ever recurring on the way. - That this may be hetter understood we will enter the Uffizi gallery, and, if we desire, can pass directly down the long corridor, only glnncing at the statuary and paiutings on either hand - or, which b moro probable, notwilhstanding we ïave seen it all before, we will leave the corridor at the first left hand door, and entering the Tuscan school of paintings continue through the successive rooms, ncluding the Tribune, stopping to gaze with loving admiration upon our favortes which we find along the way and at the further end, following the short corridor, cross to the other side and enter the passage which leads to the Pitti galery. This is a closed and continuous corridor in fact, and though carried ulong over intervening buildings to Ponte Vecchio and acrosi the Arno, resting on the shops which extend over the bridge, and thence to the Pitti palaco, spanning sevorul streets aud stopped by no obstruction, yet the stnmger travorsing it is so occnpiod with the interesting objects wbich line both sides of this passage from one extremity to the other, and often occupy cases placed along the center, that he is uneinscious of the distauce as well as of the siugularity of his transit. Along the fitst portion 01 the way are selectod engravings of variuus objects of irt, giviug a great portiun of the productions of some of the best artista, and by the best engravers. Then follows a splendid colieutiou of the original drawings of some of the inost noted names in the records of irt : the first sketches and rudo iiints as it were of works th;it were to ti ikü tbeir authors famous. Some uf úitse drawings are so rare and valuuble (bat they rank in value alnjost as nighly ts couipleted pictures or itatuüry. Spe :imens ot' nearly all the best known du. nters appear : thirty-seven by the tand uf Ilaphuel are of much greatpr ruitte than their weight in gold. Here nu as miiny by his great rival Michatl Ángulo, of iiearly equal worth. One can icaroely forget in the fierce warfaro bet.veen the admirers of these two that the t'ormer made his name imperisliable in 37 pears - the other in 99. Hore also we see :hu pen and ink sketches of Da Vinci, Bellini, Monteguo, Fiancia Del Salto, üruido lieni, Rubens, S. Rosa, Murillo1 Velasques, Durer, Caracol, Titian, VuuDyke, üeurgione, and hundreds of names well known, iucludiug those ïiaud old wtist monks Fra Angélico ana Fr Bartoilomeo. Beyond these for some distance both sides are hung with the fiuest tapestry, uianuf.ictured by Flemish artists after designs of Millugelo and other celebrated painters. These tapestries are muiiy of thuni beautitul as pictures and as fie-ih in color as if the work of our own times. Portions of the way contain p ints illustrating botany by some of the ti est flowers, and paintings of birds, anainis, and fiches represent the departaient cf zoology. At length we reach our destination and aawd by a very unimpressive 6tairease .o the corridor or entrance hall in which s a beauiiful vase of porphyry of giacoïul pioportious, though of the great diameter of níiiirly ten feet, and a vase ot evres porcelairi about eight feet in ueight. We now enter the giillory - not " large as that of Ufli.i, bilt o; itscollection of over five hundred pictures the numbur of indifferent oups is proportion ally much less than in that of ils rival. The seiection has betm so judiciods that une is in constant, delightful surprise as ne beauty after another meets the eye. And it niay be added that there is the ame superior taste displayed in the appointmeats of thegallery, as also in the superb ceilirig decorations aud tho vari ous tnarble and niosaic tables in many of tiie rooius. Of all tho grcat pictures we sav ery fewcan hero be namcd, and t lis principally with a view to give sorue no ion of tho great value of the collection rather than to give any valuable art information or criticisui. Thu halls are narued after the subjects of thj euiling illustrations and not after any attempted arrangetnent iutö the various schools In the H U of Vanüs are two very large vieWs by Salvator B09 t, hangiug on opposite sides of the room ; one is s landscape, the other a manu view, aud exhibits the bst maiinr Oi that groat uiaster in this kind of picture. A portrait called ' La Bella di Titiano " is also here : but little need be said n praisc of the other beautiful paintings ia this room when it is kuown that tliey are from artists like Van Dyke, Gueroino, Titian, Dure, Garofalo, Guido Reni, and their equals. A tablu of stutuary inarble with a center formeel of Öpanish nmerald and encircled bj' black antique marble is also here to be seen and adniired. Standing on thig table is a email group in bionze representiilg Columbuain the 1de al attitude of just discovering1 Araeric from a commanditig eminence, while fou emblematic feuiale tigures show tlie fou 1 qiiarieft of the globe thu brouglit int uftion. In the Hall of Apollo we found a vory beautiful work of Murillo, with ; whom we have soldpm met, yot alwáys with real onjoymont. It is a " Holy Family." Tho child is standing with ono hand thrown back upon the Madonna's bosom, (vs if to support his uncnrtain foothold upon her lap. Another by thi3 artist is of equal excellence, called, for distinction's sake, the Virgin of the Rosa ry. Two portraits by Raphael, more beautiful than the tableaux of many artists; Renibrant's portrait of hiuiself, a real beauty; as also Dol Sarto's of hiruself. Both are fine-looking and both were splendid artists, and each probably had a favorite subject,- somewhat the reverse of that old adago applied to the lawyer who nianagus his own case. Del Sarto's " Descent frora the Cross "' and pictures of similar inerit occupied the walls of this room. But it should be mentioned that Titian's " Mary Magdalen " is ainong them, as copies of this picture are of ten een and it is inuch admired. It repscsents a beautiful woman with her auburn hair gracefully thrown across her bosoin. In the Ilall of Mars our eyes were gladdened with the sight of the celebrated " Madonna della Seggiola" of Raphael, so of ten seen iu prints, ftlao his " Madonna dull' Iuipannata."- In the Hall of Júpiter an Auuunciation, by Del Sarto, seetued to be not only a fine picture but enibodied a happy couception of the subject. TheVirgin appears as if surprised while engaged in hor daily duties, and turns baok to listen to the angel's anuunciation. There are so many of these pictures in which the Virgin appears seated bolt upright, as if expecting the messenger. The " St. Mark " of FiaJartollomeois a grand colossal íigure, a it companion pieco for the " Sampson " f Guido Reni, at Bologna. Heie also ia great names of the best Imown ; ts appear in such uniform excellence ïat selection seems a ditficult task. - wo tables of Egyptian porphyry with ïlaid sea shells in chalccdony were of uch exquisite perfention that we coul 1 lmost believe that the objects were real, nd could be taken in the hand. In the enter of this room is a well executed Goddess of Liberty seated upon her ïrone, holding a tablet in which she hus written Montebello Palestro and S. Marino, in which battles the Italians have i recent times once more won fo themelves somethiug more thau a merely gegraphical position on the map of Euope. The Hall of Saturn is incrodibly ich in the noble works of the worlJ's reat painters. The Cleopatra of Guido lehi; Magdalen of Dotnenichino ; Dre..m f St. John, by 0. DoLci ; Madonna Balachiuo, by Raphael; Charles I. and his tueen, by Van Dyke ; CUrist and the Svangelists, by Fr Bartoilomeo; Nympb nd Satyr, by Geojgione ; Head of a Child, by Corruggio ; et idomm genus, will ive sbme idea of the attractions here splayed. In tho Saloon of TJlysses is a most eautii'ul " St. Lucia," by C. Dolci, as veil as several other works of his, all excuted with that perfection of finish, fine oloring and exquisita delie icy of exuisite delicacy of expi-essiou which make tie pioturos of this artist appeal to the eart as well as tho eye. A certiún want f boldness and grandeur ot' design, and erhaps an absenua of fertüe invtjiition, ave prevented uim froio taking the highst rank, but hè will nevevor lack waiin dmirers. A landscape and sea view of 5. llosa are also among the treasures of his room. In the Saloou of Proinetheus he uiost beautiful thing that is to be een is a magnificent rouud table of mo aic upon an oriental lapis Uzuli ground. t was made at the roy.il mQttf autory , md oocupied the u,rtist fourteen years in ts couipletion. Nothiug coald well bj uore beautiful or perfect than its fiiryike variety and delicacy of design. Ths tundard of bronza is the work of Dupie. epreseuting the seasons ia lts elaoorato reliëfs: the whole is only valueJ at 30,000 pounds sterling. But ït is impossioie to notice all the rooms that remain and we will close tuis iinpjifjct sketjh of the i'itti gallery by meioly statuig that in additiou to the uiany pictuies thus passed Dy there is a bust of Napoleon I., by Canova, wliioh is said to be a real Uk - ïess, and if so the Emperor had a most reiuiirkable protrusion above the eyus which caused a correspondiug dupression aetween the eytbrows - a leatuie not so observable in the portraits. And of the Venus of Canova no words of prais.i eau je in excess of iti luaivolous oeauty, while the Hall of tlie B.uh isone of thosu chiirming nooks whiou wo souetijnoá read about iu wotks of tancy but seldom see. Four columus öf veide autique support the ceiliug, winch is decoiatud in stuoco of the most delicate designs, and in each of the four corner niches stand a beautiíul Venus in the ünest marüle, and tables of oriental petriüed wood occupy each side. As a whole this gallery i nounworthy rival ot the larger Uihzi. Oue of the mout attr.tetive places in Florence fora ramble is thé Bubal ■ Gardens. 'Ihty were tinst projecte.l iu ljül), and afterward eularged aud iuiproved, uutil at the present diy it is one of the tinest gardens in Italy. Ou Thursdays and Sundays the p ople are iudisoriuiin ately admitted, aud straugersain procure cards ot' admüsion at any time. The grounds are very extensive and varitd in surface, lai 1 out with the finest taste, and kept in most perfect order. Long winding paths, extended avenues, artificial grottos, beautiful fountains, lakes with snovvy swans, splendid views from nuble terraces, rich shrubbory and statuary everywhero. The hedgos which border the main avenues are sornetiines fifteon feet high, and kapt clippod an inner surface as straight as an árrow for long d's tar.cs. Other avenues havo the border triramed to a pörfec'; arch and interlacëd overhead till the distant opening appears a mets point; Elsewhere low hedges of . rcses, iu full fiower, added not a little to t.lip General charm. Busts and statues I ■ of eminent men of anciont and modern times and groups of sculptura wers GVer in sight and must be numbered by i dreds. Near the palace an open space is fitted up as an amphitheater, semicircular in form, and where in former times the festivities of court wero often held ; fronting this is a very capacious : tain whose circular mrble basin, thirty feet in diameter, bears upon its edge a dozen or more mischievous cüpids. A colossal statuo of Plenty stands above : the high terrace, and one of Oceanus occupies the center of a small island in the lako The inequaüties of the surface aro i very great and have been so judiciously i improved that a day of exploraüon could be spent in tho constant discovery of new i beauties and cozy nooks and corners. We did not omit to visit the house of MichaelAngelo and i tion of pictures and antiquities in one of our sight-seeing excursions. There is no probability of inspiring anything of the genius loei in visiting pirces ttius hallowed as the former residencs of true greatness, yet it is a satisfaction to havo been iu the ' stndio, with small models in was and clay of his " David " and other subjucts stili preserved there ; to have 'taken in hand the caue with which in his great age he supported his steps ; to have seen the slippers in which Re once doubtless loved to sit in thpt room, surrounded to the last with his appliances for work.- There is not any largo collection of his models or drawings as uiight naturally have been expected. They were probably eagerly secured by public gallerios long before the design of his collection was formed by his descendant, some two hundred vears ago. Those that still remain are a few heii-looms, as it were, of the fnmily. A small copy of the ceiling of the Sistine chapel at Rome, also a small sketch of the Last Judgment, and a few drawings, together with a bas relioi in piaster of tv Descent faom the Cros?, and bas relief Madonna in marblc, are about all that are here. But in hist'trieal paintings relating to the groat artist the collection is quite complete, embraciiig almost every phase of his remarkablo life, and by uiany eminent artists. And espccially valuable is the collection of portr.iits, ut different ages, of ono who ocupied so commanding an eminence in the three great departments of art. - Among these is a bronze bust frota a cast taken after death, and which, notwithstanding his very great age, presenta the features of an exceedingly well preserved face. The last of the name left this collection to the guardiansliip of the city, and it will doubtless bo oarefully guarded froiu the mischanoes af dispersión. Even still mure attracted were we by the affinities of a common languivge, to the house where Elizabeth Barrett Browning - one of the sweetest singers in En trüsh poesy of which our literature can b ast - so long resuled and finally died. - ïhereis nothing particularly notieeable in tha hou?e itself. It is a plain-looking four-stoiied edifice, in a public streec, but no', in a fuSBiönable purt of the city, and is now occupied as a boarding and lodging tuiuse, in which American and English strangers very aften find their teniporary accommodations. In this connection mention of our visit to the Protestant Cemetary seems appropriate, for one of the chief attractions which draws the 8trai„ger to that sweet place of those who havo laid down their lives in a strange iand is the fact that there also ia her grave and monument Pioceeding directly up the central path about half its length and nearly to the top of the ascent we como to a pUin but extremely chaste monument of beautiful flne white uiarule, being in form a neatly sculptured sarcophagus resting upon four sujjporting pillars, which in turn rest upon a simple slab beneath. The ends and one side bear bas relief designs of three forms of the lyre, upon the other side is a fine medalion portrait of the poetess, and the only iuscription is " E. B. B "- This was all, but it was euough, and whüTi tuose iaitials and the fair face with ihe surrounding silent harps are seen, who that lovcs the swoetcst poetry of modern times wiil tai; to pause with reverent respeet at the modest shrine which lier genius will f jrever sacred. - Duscending a path tö the right alüiost to the extreme side of thé cemetery, upon the gmitfe slope therö stands a plain lirown freestone s!ab at the head of a iráve where all that is mortal of Theödore Parker is taidng its last long sleep. Differ as we may about the theological views of this man, all will concede to him a wonderful intellectual strength united to an admirable for whatever tendud to the amelioraf.ion of oppression in every form, and to social and mental culture. Itisthe genius of such men that gives an attractive glow 10 their most erratic vagaries, whethsr in tlio world of métaphysic3 or religious tiiought ; but for goodnees of heart and cuitured mind united to profound earnestness we may feel a deep respect, e?pe cially when laid low by an early death. There is no iriseription but the wellknown name and the dates of his birth and death ; and this with the dark color of tho head-itone reuders his last earthly Lome as plain and iheonspicuous as it coiild well bë. Göing now to the oppos'.te side of these small but really beautiful grounds and the eye restb upon arA other ñama vvell-knowu to the rcading woildj and once well abusod in America, as the recollections of many can verify, when Trollope btcame for a time the syuonym of villificatiou. All tuis illfeeling disappeared as Americana grew into a better consciousaess of their ability to sui-vive thosu " Tales of a Traveler. ' She lived hero in Florence many years and was mufih endertfod to allí Descfindiiig the slöpö on this sido we again stand bo-fore an acquaintance, as it were, whose reputation once placed his name i auiong thü brightest of that galaxy which shone in the literary sky of Englftnd a ljttlfl moro than a tion ago. A slab of white inarble inscribed " Walter Savago Landor," with date of birth and death is the oniy memorial whioh marks the spot where now, after his " life's fitful fevcr, he sleeps well." The poet Arthur Hugh Cl )ugh is another whom the god3 loved, and disappearing from life ere yet all the bright exptctations of his adniirors luid beeu realized, he, too, here awaits the great resurrcction. There are but few öï the monuments that partake of any ambitious display of wealth or of elabórate design. - The grounds are necessarily of limited extent, an though once quite beyond the expanding city are already embraceil by its recent rapid growth. AU olimes and all classes are here brought side by side by side, for, being a Protestant cemetery is almost exclusively the strangers' burial place. And it is a pleasant sight to see how well it is Cared for. Owing to its restricted limits theru has been no opportunity to introduce winding paths or any purely ornamental decoration, yet the rectangular paths are kept nicely clean, the borders of box two feet high are properly clipped, and roses of beautiful varieties and gratcful fragrance were blossoming all about A few cypresses with graceful erectness art" scattered over the enclosure, and by thuir rich foliage of evergreen fittingly decórate tho spot. In the description of the church of St. Croee mention should have been made of the very fine monument recently erected in the large piazza which fronts this church, to Üanto. A colosal statue of the I'oet stands upon au elevated pedestal, inaking the whole height forty feet. A lion bearing a shield with inoltoes occupies each corner, and the anus of the larger citics of Italy encircle the baso. - The inscription, " To Daite, by Italy," is the only dadication. And this monument, inaugurated with a great "itstu," on the 600th annive;?ary df the poet's bhth. is the iinest of the many that have been erected to his memory, and forms a national recoguition, as it purpoits, of the great honor contened on Italy by this gfeatest of her poets. The square in whioh it stands is ono in which from its great size and convenienoe the popular demonstrations of earlier times íVequently took place. The rage of partisaa ïivalry in Florence during the poet's daJ' w;i8 of thu most violent character, and spared not even him, for in 1327 he was forced to leave his nütive city an exile, and during his banishment died. There are many things which combine to makt Florence not merely a resort for tonrists, but there is a large nuinber of American residents here as well as Bnglish, and the number of American artists constantly here is more than doublé that froni auy oi the Kuropean States. Yours ever,