The morning was again wet, and the roads rendered very heavy, but in the afternoon the weather cleared up, and we were enabled to walk for a couple of hours. At six in the evening, we arrived at an auberge, named La Scala, where we were to spend the night; it was a single house, placed at the foot of the hill, and leading up to the village of Radicofani, situated considerably farther up the mountain, of that name, at a point inaccessible for carriages; still higher up beyond the village is a rock of singular form projecting over it, on the top of which stands the castle Radicofani, the whole forming a most picturesque scene. Before our arrival at La Scala, a servant had preceded us, and secured the best apartments for the use of a lady and her family, who were travelling in another voiture. The lady was stated to be Madame Frimont, wife of the Austrian general of that name, on her way from Milan to join her husband at Naples; it is probable, however, that this might be only a _ruse de guerre_, to secure greater attention; we were glad, however, to get a supper as we could, and I was obliged to sleep in the same room with our vittureno, otherwise the poor fellow must have lain down with his horses in the stable, which it would have been cruel to have compelled him to have done, particularly as he was the most civil and accommodating driver I had yet met with; indeed I would sooner have given up the whole room, than deprived him of half of it. In the morning, we set off at five o’clock with six horses to ascend the tremendous hill of Radicofani, and a very severe duty it was for them; nor could we reasonably relieve them of part of their weight by walking, as it both rained heavily, and the wind was at the same time boisterous, and, as we approached the summit, extremely cold. At nine o’clock, when we had partly descended on the other side, we stopped at the last village in the Tuscan states, where custom-house officers are stationed to examine the baggage and passports of travellers; we escaped however inspection of the former by the payment of a paul each; after this we proceeded to enter the earthly dominions of his holiness the pope. Soon after the road became execrably bad, and we stuck so fast in the mud and ruts, that the poor horses had the greatest difficulty in dragging the carriage forward; I am informed that this place is in winter frequently quite impassible; we attempted to walk, but could not proceed without the risk of being half buried, so that before we resumed our places, our Italian companions began to cry out for St. Antonio, and half a score more saints, to come to their assistance.