Venice is built on a number of small islets, and partly on piles, and is situated in the centre of a large lagoon at the head of the Adriatic Sea, from which the lagoon is separated by two narrow strips of land stretching from opposite shores, leaving a narrow channel between for ships to enter, which is strongly fortified. Instead of streets there are very numerous canals; and horses and carriages being useless, the inhabitants move about the streets in a picturesque description of boats called “gondolas.” The Palace of the Doges and the Cathedral of St. Marco are very fine buildings. The former is connected with the Hall of Justice by Lord Byron’s “Bridge of Sighs.” The monuments of the Doges, the paintings, and the Grecian antique statues collected here, are beautiful. In the Palazzo Manfrini there are many valuable paintings. The three portraits by Georgione, so greatly extolled by Lord Byron in his “Beppo,” are here. A curious anecdote respecting that poem has been related. It is said to have originated in a bet. A literary party, including Lord Byron, Sir Walter Scott, Tom Moore, and some foreigners of distinction, were dining together at Venice, when the conversation turned upon the flexibility or inflexibility of modern languages for the purposes of “colloquial poetry.” A general opinion was expressed that the English language was the least adapted. Lord Byron, however, maintained the contrary, and proposed a bet to produce a short poem in _that_ style, within twenty-four hours, against any other like poem that could be found in any language. The bet was accepted, and resulted in his writing “Beppo.” The umpire declared that Lord Byron had won his wager. Leaving Venice, the road to Florence passes through Ferrara and Bologna. Here the Campo Santo, or burial ground, is worth visiting; it contains many handsome monuments, and the gateway at the entrance is fine—the pillars of which are surmounted by colossal marble statues of “Time” and “Death.” Exquisite paintings are also to be seen here. Crossing the Apennines, you pass a spot called Pietra Mala, where gas escapes from the earth through small fissures, which were burning at the time. The flame did not rise above five or six inches, but varies according to the state of the atmosphere, and it spread over about half an acre of ground. I rejoined my fellow-travellers at Florence, where I remained ten days. This is a most delightful city, containing a variety of interesting objects. The Palazzo Pitti—the then Archducal residence—contains some of the most valuable paintings and sculptures to be found anywhere—the latter including the Venus de Medicis and Apollo Belvedere. Costly works in Mosaics and Cameos are produced at Florence, where artists in such works are very skilful. The Duomo, or Cathedral, is a fine building, and the fountains are ornamental.