Litchfield enquirer., 1845-05-01
. asit waIe. by . slTanglr in I,r q ae1p0iio

land.
 Thesdag. Esb. Ia--zWe have already been ves.
 kindly and hospilably received by M. '. our Con
 sul at this place, and iast evening" niisF ening VII
 we adjourned to lhe Opera House. called the Cnrl'
 Felice, to witness masquerade ball, about te com
 mence at one in the mgrniHg, aifer the OperI
 was over-which fhis music loving people could iT
 no wise give up. even for masquerade. When
 we arrived. the preparations ot changlng the the.
 atre into ball ro0ms were not yet completed; and
 as we were there only as spectators, we took our seats in lodge or boxs m a tier abotss from
 whence we could have Q general view nf the whole About one. the multitude who were wait
 ing in drawing room adjoining, entered, and oth- CTS were soon added to the motely crowd. By far the greater part were gentlemen m ordinary attire, who came merely as spectators, but willing to en- ioy any amusement to be obtained by joining them selves to the merry throng. Nearly all the ladies were in disguise; some in hideous or fantastic paste board faces; others in simple dominoes of lace. or different colored velvet. Sometimes the form. as we'll as the face. is disguised. In such cases very little taste is displayed m the dress
 Some of the ladies wore dresses, as if at an ordia
 " ball Of party, with lace or silk mask; others
 dresses. &c. some like old women, with huge old fashioned caps, or with 3 gray wig, dressed in a quaint old style. Among the gentlemen were some very dignified looking Turks in huge turbans, knights in glittering armour, Greeks, Jews, and Spanish cavaliers, mingled with countrymen in humble dress, old men disguised like youths, and young men as grandsires. Their chief amusement seemed to be,in trying to find out others, without being discovered themselves; in saying rude things which no one must resent, and telling their things they supposed known only to themselves. Those in masks maystalk to any one, and others to them, and the same freedom IS used in waitzing-the only kind of dancing -quadrilles, [ presume, requiring too much form and ceremo- ny in their arrangement. All can enter the ball room. and join the dancers that choose. For my- self was loo fatigued to walk or stand. and was very well satisfied with the view afforded by my elevated position, which, as the Theatre was bril lianfly lighted, was much better than from below. The gentlemen of our party, however, went down, and walked to and fro awhile, By two o'clock, l ' had seen quite enough, aud feeling very tired, as we'll as sleepy we took leave and made the best of our way home, meeting many in masque on their way to the ball. aaaTs sises.rii
 The streets present nothing but palaces, and un- 1 like Venice whose palaces are desolate and decay ed, those of Genoa are occupied, f not by the de- scendants of their original princey possessors, at least by those who have the wealth to make the splendor of their interior embellishments corres- pond with the exterior magni6cence.F Some oil them contain few good paintings :; but the prince .Iy edifces themselves were best worthy of admi- ratien for Genoa is not at present celebrated for its patronage of the fine arts. In one, the palace Serra, called from its richness the Palace of the Sun, there is an apartment called the Salon Dor, Golden Roonn.) It seems really glittering with gold; and as if its beautifully futed marble col umns were not sufficiently rich in themselves they too are gilded with gold. The sides of the room were of lapis lazul@, spginkled with gold. Over a
 marble fire place magnifcenty sculptured. At opposite sides of the room were immense mirrors, with chandeliers inserted in the centre of them, the mirrors seeming to multiply by reflection the goggeous furnishing of the room, x. x 2, x s,S We visited the Ducal palace, apd went into the
 Hallsof the Doges, once containing fine statues {; but which were broken and destroyed in the revo- Hutton of 1797 Their places are now filled by al-
 legorical figures in plaster, with drapery of white
 calico. This palace is now used for public affairs
 and business officers. It has very handsome
 front, and within some tolefable frescoes. The
 kings palace is at present occupied by the queen. ! We also saw her majesty, and one of her ladies
 enter her carriage for their morning drive. After 1 this, we walked to see the bridge of Carignano,
 built by an ancient patrclan family of the Repub- l Iic to give easier access to fine church. by con- meeting two higb hills that ntervened between the lcity and the church. Beneath it are houses seven
 stories high, and from itis fine and extensive view.a ~ As9# Haa ssF85i wsI hsfa ss Aa 1 Each Wednesday morning, we directed our stops | lumbus. Atler entering the room, we were obl- l ged to wait half an hour, till the keys could be I sent for. The manuscripts are kept in pillar surrnounted by marble bust ot the great naviga- 1 tor and world dscoverer. This pillar has three different keys to unlock it each key s kept by
 different person. and each of these gentlemen must \ be present atthe opening of the treasure house. The only things in his own hand writing, were l three letters in Spanish. Therew two volumes I of Letters containing his Correspondence with
 Ferdinand and Isabella. copied on parchment, but
 not by himself There were also letters to Colum- bus, from Philip II. of Spain. x 'f @ ss.3 ! Leaving this, we took long, but pleasant walk
 to visit the Albergo de Poveri, Hospital for the Poor, which we had heard highly lauded. It is g
 very extensive, as we'll handsome ediice, having l more the appearance of a palace than Poor House It.is capable of accommodating two thousand tws
 hundred inmates. Its halls and corridors are filled with busts and statues of its munifcent founder.
 and donors. The long corridors are handsomely 4 arched and lighted, affording a fine promenade ts theinvalds and infrm, and a play ground for thu \ young Boysswere playing ball and other sports \ as We passed through. There ara various manu factufes carried on here-spinning, knitting, an, N weaving linen of every description. as well a
 cloth carpets rugs and table covers are made here z The men and women are separate in every thing
 each having their workshops and hospitals. w
 were shown through the women's department by n very pretty nun, or sister of Charity. several II whom find employment as.nursps in the Hospital. \ or superintendents of the various departments. In the evening, we attended another ball, give by the nobility here. The wife of the Governor - the City had died in the morning, and there wel not as many of the nobility as there would othel wise have been; but it being the last ball of tn Carnival, it was too great temptation for many ', resist and there was large collection of Italian ? and fewer English, than at the balls we have d tended in other places. Iwas carried there in
 sedan chair, accompanied by Mir. O. and Mir. q. ],