From Lausanne the merry party traveled toward Florence by easy stages,
stopping at Lake Como, Milan, Verona, Venice, Genoa, and Leghorn. At
Florence, where they arrived early in November, they met Fred Stowe
and his friend, Samuel Scoville, and here they were also joined by
their Brooklyn friends, the Howards. Thus it was a large and
thoroughly congenial party that settled down in the old Italian city
to spend the winter. From here Mrs. Stowe wrote weekly letters to her
husband in Andover, and among them are the following, that not only
throw light upon their mode of life, but illustrate a marked tendency
of her mind:--
FLORENCE, _Christmas Day,_ 1859.
MY DEAR HUSBAND,--I wish you all a Merry Christmas, hoping to spend
the next one with you. For us, we are expecting to spend this evening
with quite a circle of American friends. With Scoville and Fred came
L. Bacon (son of Dr. Bacon); a Mr. Porter, who is to study theology at
Andover, and is now making the tour of Europe; Mr. Clarke, formerly
minister at Cornwall; Mr. Jenkyns, of Lowell; Mr. and Mrs. Howard,
John and Annie Howard, who came in most unexpectedly upon us last
night. So we shall have quite a New England party, and shall sing
Millais' Christmas hymn in great force. Hope you will all do the same
in the old stone cabin.
Our parlor is all trimmed with laurel and myrtle, looking like a great
bower, and our mantel and table are redolent with bouquets of orange
blossoms and pinks.
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