Echoes of Old Florence. By Leader Scott. (T. Fisher Unwin.)
—Mr. Scott thinks that much, possibly too much, hes been written about the art, the architecture, and antiquities of Florence, while the human interest has been neglected. Ac- cordingly he has searched in chronicles and memoirs of medireval times, and has found not a few curious and interesting notices of life, social and political. It would probably be difficult to find a city richer in lore of this kind than Florence. Its life found literary expression earlier than was the case in England The monastic interiors are indeed described with some fullness ; but the homes of the citizens have to be re-created, so to speak, out of docu- ments; the books are wanting. This is just what Florence has ; and it is of this that Mr. Leader Scott has made use in this volume. The personages who make their appearance in these pages are various ; the range is from Popes to wooloarders. The story of the aspirant to the honours of chivalry, Agnolo di Gherardo (circa A.D. 1291), is particularly amusing.
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