custom in the East; when one place was decayed, the others had to make up the sum among themselves. In some parts this system was carried so far, that during the second half of the seventeenth century, under Cosmo III., whole villages were ruined; and it was the greatest misfortune for the country that this Cosmo reigned for a period of half a century. In this manner the country became desolate by fiscal extortions. Wherever the population has once become extinct, it rarely re-appears; the emperor Leopold II. did every thing in his power to mend matters, but it was of little avail. The third part comprising the marshy country from the Arno as far as the Gonfalina, is a large and low district with many marshes and lakes, extending as far as Luna and Pescia; it has quite the appearance of the countries in the Netherlands. In the time of Hannibal, it was one continuous marsh, but he made his way through it, and deceived the Romans, who thought it impossible for him to advance through that morass, and accordingly considered themselves quite safe. We may say in general that the manner, in which the Romans at that time carried on the war, was beneath all criticism. The upper Arno was formerly a lake, and near Faesulae, too, there was a lake, but they have been drained by making a passage for the waters through the Gonfalina and La’ncisa. I shall now proceed to give you an account of the separate towns, mentioning at once the things for which they were remarkable at different periods, for our time is too short accurately to separate the geography of the different periods. LUCA. The northern part about Luca was afterwards in the hands of the Ligurians, and nothing is known about it in regard to the Etruscan period. Soon after the Hannibalian war, the town was taken by the Romans who established a colony there, for the purpose of securing the possession of the country. Throughout the middle ages, Luca was a place of considerable importance.