Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1895-07-03

book. Perhaps. these simple little hap
penings may not seem very much to any
one who Is outside OF the atmosphere OF
Florence. When one looks at them by
the sober light Of reflection they appear
rather trivial. But It is easy to be enter
tained when one has such an example as
the Italians give You Will see dozens Of
these brown loafers leaning over the papa
pet OF the bridge. and you will think the
attraction must be bridge Jumper or
sdicidc at the least. You approach. You.
too, lean your elbows on the stone and
look over. Two or three small boats are
moored below. and a man in each one is
scooping up sand with large shovel.
You are very scornful at first. and you
grumble, us that alI?" But somehow
your elbows stay glued to the paraphet,
and you follow the movements of the men
below with a languid interest which holds
you there for long minutes when you
might have been doing a church or some
other sight"
The other day came across the bridge
late in the afternoon. 1t was a hot day.
as 1t has a way OF being in Florence the
last Of May. IL was particularly hot on
the bridge. but for all that the people
were standing three or four deep along
one side. 1t just couldn't be those old
sand-diggers this time. II must be an
accident | elbowed my way through the
crowd. | reached the parapet and looked
over. A two-oared scull from the boat
house had pulled up on the bank in the
shadow of the bridge and the occupants
were enjoying littlI rest. That was alb
solutely all. The most surprising part OF
II is that you so quickly fall into the
same habits Of idleness. People who come
to Italy with an appetite for sights not
to be satisfied with less than five or
six a day. Will be discovered at the END
Of few weeks swinging their heels on
marble tombs. cutting the side rooms In
the galleries. and talking about the ne
cessity for afternoon maps.
on this same Ponte allie Grazie there
are various old souls who have things to
sell There is an old woman who sells.
or at least keeps for sale big basketful
of buns. spotted with large raisins. These
buns are covered with the accumu-
lated dust OF long exposure on the pub
lie highway. 1 have never seen any one
eat of those buns except the old woman
herself. who demonstrates her faith in
them by eating one every day for lunch
con. The old man near Der has i
more thriving business HIS stock in
trade is pumpkin-seeds. which seem to be
n popular delicacy among the F'loren-
tines. They take a handful out OF the
basket and toss a penny back In exchange.
Then they go of munching as con-
tentedly as a small American boy with
bag OF peanuts. Another old fellow
has a brass bowl half ful OF things which
look like great. swollen grains of corn.
They are bought at the rate Of a sou for
a spoonful, and seem to be relished. Apro-
pos of things to eat, one does
not much wonder at the inertia
Of ha. tai v.ba bOV little
they eat. 1t is a common enough thing
to see workman gnawing at big piece
or coarse bread, without butter or meat.
or anything else with it. This would APP
pear TO constitute his midday meal, ex-
cept for the flask of chianti. which is
more matter of course than the bread
itself. a man couldn't be expected to be
very energetic on such diet as that.
SPECIAL DAYS.
As for the surprises. one ought not to
be astonished by the number of special
days" which are always cropping up 10
add picturesqueness to the ordinary life OF
Florence, but one cannot quite help 1t. For
instance, within the last week there have
been three such occasions; LAST Thursday
was Ascension Day. when most of the
shops were closed: Sunday was election
day, and, for once. all the shops were
po Neri; and yesterday was the anniver-
sary Of one of the battles for Italian
| independence. This last event was cele-
| brated by a grand mass at Santa CrOce.
attended by the Prince Of Naples, all
the municipal authorities, the officers Of
the regiments stationed here. and every
| body Of any importance whatever. The
| officers and authorities arrived In process
sion. headed by the Prince of Naples
! III. l.. :
Misunderstanding young man. with
lightish hair and moustache. and a
most unattractive face. He wore the uni
form of his regiment, and carried his
cap. which was quite hidden by a perfect
cascade of soft white feathers. He came
down the aisle Of the big church. taking
as long strides as he possibly could In
order TO keep In step with the tall Syndic,
Piero Torrigiani. (rhe Syndic. or Mayor.
is a member of noble old family, and
the Duke Of StroZz is the Assessor of
Florence) The Prince ambled along, or
rather strobe along. chatting very gayly
with the Syndic. who. however, did not
seem in responsive mood He evidently
regarded IL as a solemn occasion. The
Prince wasn't troubled by any such
qualms Perhaps he thought the soldiers
in whose memory the service was held
had been dead too long TO be mourned.
! At any rate he chatted volubly and smiled
10 right and left. They say he has water
on the brain.
Apropos Of anniversaries and OF sur
prises. | had a little start this morning
as l turned into the Via Tornabuoni and
saw the Stars and Stripes Tapping in
the wind 1t was In front Of the American
consulate. but / had not noticed any flag
there before. For a good, enough reason
was 1t out to-day, though I'll warrant
most Americans who saw ii had TO think
twice before they remembered that il
was Decoration Day. Perhaps, after all.
that is one of the greatest surprises OF the
few one has in Florence. the way in which
the city takes hold Of the imagination
and fills 1t and makes one forget.