distance from the southern termination of the lake, and crossed the Ticino in a ferry-boat to the small town of Sesto Calende, where we found ourselves in the Austrian dominions, and were obliged to submit to a fresh examination of our passports and luggage. We were now in Lombardy, across the plain of which we proceeded at considerable speed towards Milan. Having exchanged our close diligence for one in the shape of an omnibus, we quite enjoyed the drive, the open windows not only admitting plenty of air to mitigate the heat, but also affording us an opportunity of surveying what we were permitted to behold of the country, between the mulberry and other trees which line the road. The whole extent, as far as the eye could reach, resembled an immense garden, exhibiting vineyards, with stripes of maize, hemp, &c., bordered by chestnut, apple, pear, and almond trees.

The posting stations of Gallerate, Buon Gesu, Rho, and other villages through which we passed, exhibited nothing that attracted our notice, except the large and heavy appearance of some of the houses, and the numerous coteries in which the inhabitants were assembled on benches or chairs, within the courts, or along the shady side of the streets. The heat was such as to render all active

employment more or less irksome. We entered Milan by the splendid Piazza d' Armi, or the triumphal arch, within which is an immense esplanade with barracks, and took up our abode at the Hotel Royal, at no great distance from the cathedral.

CHAPTER II.

Milan-Cathedral-Ambrosian library-Rare manuscripts-Church of St. Ambrose-Ambrosian office-Reforms in the dark agesRefusal of the Milanese to submit to Rome-False alarm-Vercelli-Cathedral of St. Eusebius-Manuscript of the four Gospels written by that prelate-Anglo-Saxon manuscript-TurinPignerol-Subornation of Vaudois children.

July 11th.-HAVING only a short time to spend in Milan, my observations were necessarily too limited to admit of my forming anything like an adequate idea of that populous and splendid city. Notwithstanding the long ravages of time, and the numerous devastations of war, it still retains a magnificence, which is said to be scarcely surpassed even by Rome itself. Though no situation could have been chosen more unfavourable in its character,-the whole of the surrounding country being one continuous, unbroken plain; and though many of the streets are narrow and crooked, yet it is impossible not to be struck with the number of its splendid edifices, and the strictly architectural style in which many of the buildings are finished.

The object which first of all attracts the attention of the traveller is the cathedral, which, after having

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CATHEDRAL OF MILAN.

been to the post-office to inquire after letters from home, I hastened to visit. It is an immense pile, upwards of 500 feet in length, 275 in breadth, and 248 in height-all of white marble. The height of the spire, including the statue of the Virgin, to whom the church is dedicated, is 360 feet. The extreme width of the structure takes off the effect which its height would otherwise produce, so that, at first view, the spectator feels somewhat disappointed. Next to St. Peter's at Rome, however, it is the largest church in Italy. The architecture is a mixture of the Gothic and the Grecian, with some touches of the Roman, the result of its having been executed at different periods, by architects differing from each other in taste and skill. On turning aside the drapery which hung down within the door, and waved gracefully to the wind, I was at once awed by the solemn grandeur of the nave, receding in deep perspective between fifty-two massive pillars of red granite, and terminated in the distance by the high altar, with the choir behind it, and three beautifully painted windows rising above. As I advanced across the marble pavement I felt as if in a vast solitude, there being only a single individual here and there to be seen, remarkably diminished in size by the gigantic character of the surrounding objects. The subdued tones which occasionally proceeded from the organ added to the effect which the whole was calculated to produce. Along the aisles are numerous altars ornamented with images of the Virgin and Child, and painted representations of

CHAPEL OF ST. CHARLES BORROMEO.

65

sacred objects. Immediately under the dome is the chapel of St. Charles Borromeo, whose body is enshrined in rock crystal, and appears dressed out in the splendid sacerdotal robes which he was accustomed to wear. The chapel is octangular, and exhibits, in numerous compartments, some of the most remarkable incidents in the life of the saint.

As

In the evening, a little before sunset, I ascended to the roof of the cathedral, which is covered with marble slabs, and presents to the view the amazing number of 4,000 pillars and statues, disposed in rows, or topping the elevations of the edifice; among these, some from the chisels of Thorwaldsen and Canova are the most interesting. The effect, on looking from various points along the rows, extending the whole length of the cathedral, is indescribably grand. the spire was undergoing repairs, I could not ascend it; but the prospect from the elevation I had already gained could scarcely have been improved by the ascent. Immediately underneath lay the vast city, with its variety of palaces, theatres, churches, convents, and other public buildings; beyond which, appeared walks, gardens, and villas, peeping out at different distances from behind the rows of trees, stretching in different directions. And then, as far as the eye could reach, nothing was visible but the immense plains of Lombardy, bounded on the north by the Alps, among which Monte Rosa was specially prominent, and by the more distant Apennines on the south. I cast an eager look

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THE AMBROSIAN LIBRARY.

towards the mountains of the Vaudois in the west, but the atmosphere in that direction was not sufficiently clear to admit of their being seen.

On descending to the square before the cathedral, I got upon an omnibus, and rode down the noble street leading to the Porta Orientale, and the Corso, or fashionable promenade, which I found crowded with the richest equipages, and the citizens, both on horseback and on foot, all enjoying the cool breeze of the evening under the shade of the mulberry trees with which it is planted. It is properly the remains of one of the old ramparts which have been demolished.

July 12th.-Went this morning to the Ambrosian Library. The building in which this valuable collection of books, paintings, antiques, &c., is preserved, is low and unpretending; but no sooner has the visitor entered than he forgets its external appearance in the display of literary treasures which catches his eye. It is reported to contain 140,000 volumes, besides 15,000 manuscripts. The reading room was well filled with students, both young and old, who all appeared to be busily engaged in reading, collating, or copying the various works that lay before them. The librarians very politely showed me any books which I wished to consult. It was here that segnor Angelo Maio, when curator of the library, had his attention first directed to the subject of palimpsest MSS., by his discovering part of three orations of Cicero under the text of the poet Sedulius, and afterwards three others under that of a Latin version