“Beaulieu had drawn up his forces behind the Adda, and fortified, with thirty pieces of cannon, a long bridge, in front of which was the town of Lodi, defended by his advanced posts: these Bonaparte attacked, and, after a sharp contest, drove into the town; from whence they passed the bridge, and joined the main body of their army. A battalion of French grenadiers, who had hitherto borne down all before them, now reached the bridge, shouting, “Vive la Republique,” but the dreadful fire kept up by the enemy having stopped their progress, Generals Berthier, Massena, Cervoni, &c. rushed forward: still, however, even their presence might have proved ineffectual, if it had not been for the gallantry of Bonaparte, who, snatching a standard from the hand of a subaltern, placing himself in front, animating his soldiers by his actions and gesticulations, for his voice was drowned by the noise of musquetry and cannon; till these intrepid fellows, led on by their beloved commander, passed the bridge, amidst showers of cannon balls, silencing the artillery, and throwing the main body of Beaulieu’s army in such disorder, that he fled with haste towards Mantua; having lost in this action twenty field pieces, and in killed, wounded, and prisoners, above two thousand men.” Although pressed for time, we could not deny ourselves the pleasure of passing over this renowned bridge; on arriving at the opposite side, we had the additional gratification of meeting with a beautiful maid of Lodi, at the wash-tub; and who appeared to interest my friend greatly, although he remarked that he had already seen several handsome females at Lodi. After a hasty dinner at the Gambero, or sign of the Lobster, our vittureno came to inform us, that he was unable to get his coach repaired in time, but that another was waiting, which would take us on to Milan. Thus we were transferred to a third coach; we had some suspicion that this last was a convenient arrangement between the two drivers, to enable the one who had brought us from Placentia to avoid going on with two passengers only; while, at the same time, it gave the other a full complement. However, we had no reason to complain, the road was good, and our new driver ran us into Milan, a distance of twenty miles, in three hours, and with a single pair of horses only. CHAP. XXIV. MILAN. On arriving at Milan, we took up our residence at the Croci di Malta, which is one of the most convenient houses in this place for foreigners, as it has an excellent table d’hôte. The next day, Sunday, was exceedingly cold, notwithstanding which, we commenced our examination of this fine old city. We first visited the magnificent cathedral, built entirely of white marble; to the very top of which we ascended, by a flight of five hundred and twelve steps. But it is better that I should borrow a description of this most noble edifice, than attempt an imperfect one of my own.