Mexico weekly ledger. (Mexico, Mo.) 1855-1956, 1894-12-13

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mystic Spanish, the rich Venetian,
the bold Flemish and the exagger-
ated Dutch.
The architecture of Florence is not
inferior to its painting and sculpture.
The Cathedral is its principal archi.
tectural monument. AT the end of
the thirteenth century theFlorentines
resolved to build a church of great
magniticence. Many eminent archi-
tects were employed, and after more
| than century's incessant labor the
present edifice stood completed. In
form it is great Latin cross, sur
mounted by the widest dome in
Europe, and from the foundation to
the summit of the dome it is en-.
crusted with white and black marble
and ornamented with many fine
statues. The inner walls are highly
ornamented with statues and paint
ings, and the floors are paved with
various culored marbles. The Ital.
ians hardly ever attach a bell to the
building itself, but nearly always
have separate Campanile or bell
tower near by. The Campanile of
Florence, designed by Giolto, is a
light airy structure of various coIored
marble rising to height of nearly
three hundred feet. The last of the
group of cathedral buildings is the
Bap;istery, entered by three great
bronze doors. on which is wrought
in exquisite pictures the whole
history Of the Bible. The Emperor
Charles V. thought the Campanile
beautiful enough to be enclosed in a
glass case, and Michael Angelo de-
clared the bronze doors worthy to be
the portals of heaven itself.
| The church of San Lorenzo is eel.
ebrated as the burial place of the
Medicean princes, who SO long WELD
ed the destinies of the city, and who
were at once the builders of its mag
nifcence and the destroyers of its
liberties. A small octanguiar chapel
built at a cost of four millions of
dollars, and lined with agate jasper,
lapis lazuli and other precious
stones, contains the sarcophagi of six
or eight Medicean princes, while
Julian and Lorenzo himself rest in
the Sacristy surrounded by Day and
Night, Twilight and Dawn, which
are among the masterpieces of
Michael Angelo.
Any description of Florence would
be incomplete without some refer
ence to the church of Santa Croce,
the Westminster Abbey of Florence.
The best architecture of Italy is all
concentrated in churches and they
are at once places of worship, art
galleries, museums and mausoleums.
The Santa Croce contains the tombs
of Dante, Alfieri, Michiavelli, Galileo
and Michael Angelo, many of whom
rest under magnificent memorials.
We saw so many tombs all over
Italy that one of our party said be
was afraid we would find our own
tombs if we didn't stop hunting
other peoples.
The Museum of San Marco, the
old monastery immortalized by
George Elliott in RomoIa, is worthy
of a visit both on account of its as
sociations with Savonarola, and on
account of the devotional frescoes
with which the artist-monks orna-
mented their cells, and the beautiful
MSS. which they spent their lives
in Illuminating.
ALI hero worshipers make devout
pilgrimages to the homes of Galileo,
| Michael Angelo and the Brownings.
A lack of reverence, and vein OF
skepticism in my nature, keeps me
from rendering due homage to the
swords, canes and slippers of de.
parted genius; aud usually ended
by shocking a literary Bostonian
friend, who, Of course, experienced
the proper emotions. However, ]
did not fail to appreciate the mem
orial tablet placed by the Italians
lon the Browning home as tribute
to the gifted poetess who bound in
a golden circlet the hearts OF Eng
land and Italy,
Ouida, accompanied by her fay-
orite dog,was an interesting figure Or
the streets OF Florence. With al