,transcriber's ,note3 ,evident printing errors have been changed1 but otherwise the original 7and antiquated7 spelling has been preserved1 in both ,english and other languages4 ,the errata have been corrected4 ,a ,,view ,,of ,,society ,,and ,,manners ,,in ,,italy3 ,,with ,,anecdotes relating to some ,,eminent ,,characters4 ,,by ,,john ,,moore1 ,m4,d4 ,,vol4 ,,ii4 ,strenua nos exercet inertia3 navibus atque ,quadrigis petimus bene vivere4 ,quod petis1 hic est4 ,,hor4 ,,the ,,second ,,edition4 ,,london3 ,printed for ,w4 ,,strahan2 and ,t4 ,,cadell1 in the ,strand4 ,,mdcclxxxi4 ,,contents ,,of ,,the ,,second ,,volume4 ,,letter ,,xlvi4 p4 #a4 ,busts and statues of distinguished ,romans--of ,heathen ,deities4--,passion of the ,greeks and ,romans for ,sculpture4--,farnesian ,hercules criticised by a ,lady4--,remarks on that statue4--,on the ,flora4--,effect which the sight of the statues of ,laocoon and his sons had on two spectators of opposite characters4--,mr4 ,lock's ,observations on the same group4--,the ,antinous4--,the ,apollo4 ,,letter ,,xlvii4 p4 #ba4 ,the present ,pope4--,ganganelli4--,a ,scotch ,presbyterian4 ,,letter ,,xlviii4 p4 #cd4 ,zeal of ,pius ,,vi4--,institution of the ,jubilee4--,ceremony of building up the holy door of ,st4 ,peter's by the present ,pope4--,the ceremony of high mass performed by the ,pope on ,christmas-day4--,character of the present ,pope4--,he is admired by the ,roman women4--,the ,benediction pronounced in the grand area before the church of ,st4 ,peter's4 ,,letter ,,xlix4 p4 #dh4 ,presented to the ,pope4--,reflections on the situation of ,sovereigns in general4--,the ,sovereign ,pontiff in particular4 ,,letter ,l4 p4 #fc4 ,modern ,romans4--,roman women compared with those of ,england4--,portrait painting in ,italy1 and elsewhere4 ,,letter ,,li4 p4 #gh4 ,carnival at ,rome4--,masquerades and other amusements in the ,corso4--,horse-races4--,serious ,opera4--,great sensibility in a young woman4--,extravagant expression of a ,roman citizen at the ,opera4--,a ,serenade on ,christmas morning4--,female performers prohibited on the ,theatres at ,rome4--,eunuchs substituted4--,the effect on the minds of spectators4 ,,letter ,,lii4 p4 #ia4 ,journey from ,rome to ,naples4--,veletri4--,otho4--,sermonetta 4--,peevish ,travellers4--,monte ,circello4--,piperno4--,fossa ,nuova4 ,,letter ,,liii4 p4 #ajd4 ,terracina4--,via ,appia4--,fundi4--,gaeta4--,illustrious ,french ,rebels4--,bourbon4--,minturn4--,marius4 --,hannibal4 ,,letter ,,liv4 p4 #abj4 ,naples4--,fortress of ,st4 ,elmo4--,conversation with a ,lady regarding the ,carthusians4--,manufactures4--,number of inhabitants4 ,,letter ,,lv4 p4 #aca4 ,manners4 ,,letter ,,lvi4 p4 #ach4 ,respect paid to ,kings during their lives4--,freedoms used with their characters after their deaths4--,the ,king of ,naples4--,a game at billiards4--,characters of the ,king and ,queen4 ,,letter ,,lvii4 p4 #adg4 ,the ,neapolitan ,nobles4--,the ,peasants4 ,,letter ,,lviii4 p4 #aeh4 ,citizens4--,lawyers4--,physicians4--,cl ergy4--,convents4--,lazzaroni4 ,,letter ,,lix4 p4 #afh4 ,herculaneum4--,portici4--,pompeia4 ,,letter ,,lx4 p4 #ahf4 ,poetical ,rehearsers in the streets of ,naples4--,street ,orators and ,historians--,improuvisatories4--,signor a ,corilla4--,sensibility of ,italians4--,english ,gentlemen of the ,ton4--,a ,neapolitan ,mountebank4 ,,letter ,,lxi4 p4 #bjd4 ,a visit to ,mount ,vesuvius4 ,,letter ,,lxii4 p4 #bag4 ,observations on the pulmonary ,consumption4 ,,letter ,,lxiii4 p4 #beg4 ,neapolitan and ,english customs and characters criticised and compared1 in a conversation between two ,english ,gentlemen4 ,,letter ,,lxiv4 p4 #bgc4 ,the liquefaction of ,st4 ,januarius's blood4--,procession1 ceremonies1 anxiety of the people4--,their preposterous abuse of the ,saint4--,observation of a ,roman ,catholic4 ,,letter ,,lxv4 p4 #bij4 ,the ,tomb of ,virgil4--,pausilippo4--,a ,neapolitan ,valet4--,grotta del ,cane4--,campi ,phlegrei1 ,solfaterra1 ,monte ,nuova1 c4--,puzzoli4--,baia4--,cum4 ,,letter ,,lxvi4 p4 #cja4 ,palace of ,casserta4--,african slaves4--,gardens4--,fortifications4 ,,letter ,,lxvii4 p4 #cjh4 ,character of the ,archduchess4--,attend the ,king and ,queen on a visit to four nunneries4--,entertainments there4--,effect of the climate on the constitution of ,nuns and others4 ,,letter ,,lxviii4 p4 #cah4 ,tivoli4 ,,letter ,,lxix4 p4 #ccj4 ,frescati and ,albano4--,dialogue between an ,english and ,scotch ,gentleman4 ,,letter ,,lxx4 p4 #cej4 ,florence4--,the ,english ,minister4--,grand ,duke and ,duchess4--,florentines4--,particular species of virt4 ,,letter ,,lxxi4 p4 #cei4 ,gallery4--,dialogue between an ,antiquarian and a young ,man concerning the ,arrotino4--,the ,tribuna4--,the ,gallery of ,portraits4 ,,letter ,,lxxii4 p4 #cgj4 ,state of the common people1 particularly the peasants in ,italy4--,of ,roman ,catholic ,clergy4--,clergy in general4 ,,letter ,,lxxiii4 p4 #chi4 ,manners4--,the ,count ,albany4 ,,letter ,,lxxiv4 p4 #cih4 ,cicisbeism4 ,,letter ,,lxxv4 p4 #djh4 ,the same subject continued4 ,,letter ,,lxxvi4 p4 #dba4 ,commerce4--,jews4--,actors4--,the ,chapel of ,st4 ,lorenzo4--,the rich not envied by the poor4--,the ,palazzo ,pitti4--,observations on the ,madonna della ,seggiola4 ,,letter ,,lxxvii4 p4 #dca4 ,a public ,discourse by a ,professor at the ,academy of ,arts at ,bologna4--,procession of ,corpus ,domini4--,modena4--,parma4--,different opinions respecting a famous picture of ,correggio4 ,,letter ,,lxxviii4 p4 #dda4 ,milan4--,the ,cathedral4--,museum4--,manners4 ,,letter ,,lxxix4 p4 #dea4 ,turin4--,st4 ,ambrose4--,a ,procession4--,mount ,cenis4--,modane4--,aiguebelle4--,hannib al's passage into ,italy4 ,,letter ,,lxxx4 p4 #dfd4 ,journey from ,geneva to ,besanon4--,observation of a ,french peasant4--,of an old ,woman4--,remarks of a ,french ,friseur on the ,english nation4 ,,letter ,,lxxxi4 p4 #dgb4 ,the ,marquis de ,f----4 ,,letter ,,lxxxii4 p4 #dhc4 ,reflections on foreign travel4 ,illustration ,a ,,view ,,of ,,society ,,and ,,manners ,,in ,,italy4 ,illustration ,,letter ,,xlvi4 ,rome4 ,i beg you may not suspect me of affectation1 or that ,i wish to assume the character of a connoisseur1 when ,i tell you1 that ,i have very great pleasure in contemplating the antique statues and busts1 of which there are such numbers in this city4 ,it is a natural curiosity1 and ,i have had it all my life in a strong degree1 to see celebrated men1 those whose talents and great qualities can alone render the present age an interesting object to posterity1 and prevent its being lost1 like the dark ages which succeeded the destruction of the ,roman empire1 in the oblivious vortex of time1 leaving scarcely a wreck behind4 ,the durable monuments raised to fame by the inspiring genius of ,pitt1 and the invincible spirit of ,frederick1 will command the admiration of future ages1 outlive the power of the empires which they aggrandized1 and forbid the period in which they flourished1 from ever passing away like the baseless fabric of a vision4 ,the busts and statues of those memorable men will be viewed1 by succeeding generations1 with the same regard and attention which we now bestow on those of ,cicero and ,csar4 ,we expect to find something peculiarly noble and expressive in features which were animated1 and which1 we imagine1 must have been in some degree modelled1 by the sentiments of those to whom they belonged4 ,it is not rank1 it is character alone which interests posterity4 ,we know that men may be seated on thrones1 who would have been placed more suitably to their talents on the working-table of a taylor2 we therefore give little attention to the busts or coins of the vulgar emperors4 ,in the countenance of ,claudius1 we expect nothing more noble than the phlegmatic tranquillity of an acquiescing cuckold2 in ,caligula or ,nero1 the unrelenting frown of a negro-driver1 or the insolent air of any unprincipled ruffian in power4 ,even in the high-praised ,augustus we look for nothing essentially great1 nothing superior to what we see in those minions of fortune1 who are exalted1 by a concurrence of incidents1 to a situation in life to which their talents would never have raised them1 and which their characters never deserved4 ,in the face of ,julius we expect to find the traces of deep reflection1 magnanimity1 and the anxiety natural to the man who had overturned the liberties of his native country1 and who must have secretly dreaded the resentment of a spirited people2 and in the face of ,marcus ,brutus we look for independence1 conscious integrity1 and a mind capable of the highest effort of virtue4 ,it is natural to regret1 that1 of the number of antique statues which have come to us tolerably entire1 so great a proportion are representations of gods and goddesses4 ,had they been intended for real persons1 we might have had a perfect knowledge of the face and figure of the greatest part of the most distinguished citizens of ancient ,greece and ,rome4 ,a man of unrelaxing wisdom would smile with contempt1 and ask1 if our having perfect representations of all the heroes1 poets1 and philosophers recorded in history1 would make us either wiser or more learned8 to which ,i answer1 ,that there are a great many things1 which neither can add to my small stock of learning nor wisdom1 and yet give me more pleasure and satisfaction than those which do2 and1 unfortunately for mankind1 the greatest part of them resemble me in this particular4 ,but though ,i would with pleasure have given up a great number of the ,jupiters and ,apollos and ,venuses1 whose statues we have1 in exchange for an equal1 or even a smaller1 number of mere mortals whom ,i could name2 ,i by no means consider the statues of those deities as uninteresting4 ,though they are imaginary beings1 yet each of them has a distinct character of his own of classical authority1 which has long been impressed on our memories2 and we assume the right of deciding on the artist's skill1 and applauding or blaming1 as he has succeeded or failed in expressing the established character of the god intended4 ,from the ancient artists having exercised their genius in forming the images of an order of beings superior to mankind1 another and a greater advantage is supposed to have followed2 it prompted the artists to attempt the uniting in one form1 the various beauties and excellencies which nature had dispersed in many4 ,this was not so easy a task as may by some be imagined2 for that which has a fine effect in one particular face or person1 may appear a deformity when combined with a different complexion1 different features1 or a different shape4 ,it therefore required great judgment and taste to collect those various graces1 and combine them with elegance and truth2 and repeated efforts of this kind are imagined to have inspired some of the ancient sculptors with sublimer ideas of beauty than nature herself ever exhibited1 as appears in some of their works which have reached our own times4 ,though the works of no modern artist can stand a comparison with the great master-pieces now alluded to1 yet nothing can be more absurd than the idea which some people entertain1 that all antique statues are of more excellent workmanship than the modern4 ,we see1 every day1 numberless specimens of every species of sculpture1 from the largest statues and bassos-relievos1 to the smallest cameos and intaglios1 that are undoubtedly antique1 and yet far inferior1 not only to the works of the best artists of ,leo the ,tenth's time1 but also to those of many artists now alive in various parts of ,europe4 ,the passion for sculpture1 which the ,romans caught from the ,greeks1 became almost universal4 ,statues were not only the chief ornaments of their temples and palaces1 but also of the houses of the middle1 and even the lowest1 order of citizens4 ,they were prompted to adorn them with the figures of a few favourite deities1 by religion1 as well as vanity3 no man1 but an atheist or a beggar1 could be without them4 ,this being the case1 we may easily conceive what graceless divinities many of them must have been2 for in this1 no doubt1 as in every other manufactory1 there must occasionally have been bungling workmen employed1 even in the most flourishing ra of the arts1 and goods finished in a very careless and hurried manner1 to answer the constant demand1 and suit the dimensions of every purse4 ,we must have a very high idea of the number of statues of one kind or other1 which were in old ,rome1 when we consider1 how many are still to be seen2 how many have at different periods been carried away1 by the curious1 to every country in ,europe2 how many were mutilated and destroyed by the gothic brutality of ,barbarians1 and the ill-directed zeal of the early ,christians1 who thought it a duty to exterminate every image1 without distinction of age or sex1 and without considering whether they were of ,god or man4 ,this obliged the wretched heathens to hide the statues of their gods and of their ancestors in the bowels of the earth1 where unquestionably great numbers of them still remain4 ,had they not been thus barbarously hewed to pieces1 and buried1 ,i had almost said1 alive1 we might have had several equal to the great master-pieces in the ,vatican2 for it is natural to imagine1 that the rage of the zealots would be chiefly directed against those statues which were in the highest estimation with the heathens2 and we must likewise imagine1 that these would be the pieces which they1 on their part1 would endeavour1 by every possible means1 to preserve from their power1 and bury in the earth4 ,of those which have been dug up1 ,i shall mention only a very few1 beginning with the ,farnesian ,hercules1 which has been long admired as an exquisite model of masculine strength2 yet1 admirable as it is1 it does not please all the world4 ,i am told that the women in particular find something unsatisfactory1 and even odious1 in this figure2 which1 however majestic1 is deficient in the charms most agreeable to them1 and which might have been expected in the son of ,jupiter and the beauteous ,alcmena4 ,a lady whom ,i accompanied to the ,farnese palace1 turned away from it in disgust4 ,i could not imagine what had shocked her4 ,she told me1 after recollection1 that she could not bear the stern severity of his countenance1 his large brawny limbs1 and the club with which he was armed2 which gave him more the appearance of one of those giants that1 according to the old romances1 carried away virgins and shut them up in gloomy castles1 than the gallant ,hercules1 the lover of ,omphale4 ,finally1 the lady declared1 she was convinced this statue could not be a just representation of ,hercules2 for it was not in the nature of things1 that a man so formed could ever have been a reliever of distressed damsels4 ,without such powerful support as that of the fair sex1 ,i should not have exposed myself to the resentment of connoisseurs1 by any expression which they might construe an attack upon this favourite statue2 but1 with their support1 ,i will venture to assert1 that the ,farnese ,hercules is faulty both in his form and attitude3 the former is too unwieldy for active exertion1 and the latter exhibits vigour exhausted4 ,a resting attitude is surely not the most proper in which the all-conquering god of strength could be represented4 ,rest implies fatigue1 and fatigue strength exhausted4 ,a reposing ,hercules is almost a contradiction4 ,invincible activity1 and inexhaustible strength1 are his characteristics4 ,the ancient artist has erred1 not only in giving him an attitude which supposes his strength wants recruiting1 but in the nature of the strength itself1 the character of which should not be passive1 but active4 ,near to ,hercules1 under the arcades of the same ,palazzo ,farnese1 is a most beautiful statue of ,flora4 ,the great advantage which ancient artists had in attending the exercises of the gymnasia1 has been repeatedly urged as the reason of their superiority over the moderns in sculpture4 ,we are told1 that besides the usual exercises of the gymnasia1 all those who proposed to contend at the ,olympic games1 were obliged1 by the regulations1 to prepare themselves1 by exercising publicly for a year at ,elis2 and the statuaries and painters constantly attended on the ,arena1 where they had opportunities of beholding the finest shaped1 the most graceful1 and most vigorous of the ,grecian youth employed in those manly sports1 in which the power of every muscle was exerted1 and all their various actions called forth1 and where the human form appeared in an infinite variety of different attitudes4 ,by a constant attendance at such a school1 independent of any other circumstance1 the artists are supposed to have acquired a more animated1 true1 and graceful style1 than possibly can be caught from viewing the tame1 mercenary models1 which are exhibited in our academies4 ,on the other hand1 ,i have heard it asserted1 that the artist1 who formed the ,farnesian ,flora1 could not have improved his work1 or derived any of its excellencies1 from the circumstances above enumerated2 because the figure is in a standing posture1 and clothed4 ,in the light1 easy flow of the drapery1 and in the contour of the body being as distinctly pronounced through it1 as if the figure were naked1 the chief merit of this statue is thought to consist4 ,but this reasoning does not seem just2 for the daily opportunities the ancient artists had of seeing naked figures1 in every variety of action and attitude1 must have given them advantages over the moderns1 in forming even drapery figures4 ,at ,sparta1 the women1 upon particular occasions1 danced naked4 ,in their own families2 they were seen every day clothed in light draperies2 and so secondary was every consideration1 even that of decency1 to art1 that the prettiest virgins of ,agrigentum1 it is recorded1 were called upon by the legislature1 without distinction1 to shew themselves naked to a painter1 to enable him to paint a ,venus4 ,whilst the moderns1 therefore1 must acknowledge their inferiority to the ancients in the art of sculpture1 they may be allowed merit1 on account of the cause1 to which it seems1 in some measure at least1 to be owing4 ,the finest specimens of antique sculpture are to be seen in the ,vatican4 ,in these the ,greek artists display an unquestionable superiority over the most successful efforts of the moderns4 ,for me to attempt a description of these master-pieces1 which have been described a thousand times1 and imitated as often1 without once having had justice done them1 would be equally vain and superfluous4 ,i confine myself to a very few observations4 ,the most insensible of mankind must be struck with horror at sight of the ,laocoon4 ,on one of my visits to the ,vatican1 ,i was accompanied by two persons1 who had never been there before3 one of them is accused of being perfectly callous to every thing which does not immediately touch his own person2 the other is a worthy1 good man3 the first1 after staring for some time with marks of terror at the groupe1 at length recovered himself2 exclaiming with a laugh1--8,egad1 ,i was afraid these d----d serpents would have left the fellows they are devouring1 and made a snap at me2 but ,i am happy to recollect they are of marble40--8,i thank you1 ,sir1 most heartily10 said the other1 8for putting me in mind of that circumstance2 till you mentioned it1 ,i was in agony for those two youths40 ,nothing can be conceived more admirably executed than this affecting groupe2 in all probability1 it never would have entered into my own head that it could have been in any respect improved4 ,but when ,i first had the happiness of becoming acquainted with ,mr4 ,lock1 a period of my life which ,i shall always recollect with peculiar pleasure1 ,i remember my conversing with him upon this subject2 and that ,gentleman1 after mentioning the execution of this piece1 in the highest terms of praise1 observed that1 had the figure of ,laocoon been alone1 it would have been perfect4 ,as a man suffering the most excruciating bodily pain with becoming fortitude1 it admits of no improvement2 his proportions1 his form1 his action1 his expression1 are exquisite4 ,but when his sons appear1 he is no longer an insulated1 suffering individual1 who1 when he has met pain and death with dignity1 has done all that could be expected from man2 he commences father1 and a much wider field is opened to the artist4 ,we expect the deepest pathos in the exhibition of the sublimest character that art can offer to the contemplation of the human mind3 ,a father forgetting pain1 and instant death1 to save his children4 ,this ,sublime and ,pathetic the artist either did not see1 or despaired of attaining4 ,laocoon's sufferings are merely corporal2 he is deaf to the cries of his agonizing children1 who are calling on him for assistance4 ,but had he been throwing a look of anguish upon his sons1 had he seemed to have forgotten his own sufferings in theirs1 he would have commanded the sympathy of the spectator in a much higher degree4 ,on the whole1 ,mr4 ,lock was of opinion1 that the execution of this groupe is perfect1 but that the conception is not equal to the execution4 ,i shall leave it to others to decide whether ,mr4 ,lock1 in these observations1 spoke like a man of taste3 ,i am sure he spoke like a father4 ,i have sensibility to feel the beauty and justness of the remark1 though ,i had not the ingenuity to make it4 ,it is disputed whether this groupe was formed from ,virgil's description of the death of ,laocoon and his sons1 or the description made from the groupe2 it is evident1 from their minute resemblance1 that one or other must have been the case4 ,the ,poet mentions a circumstance1 which could not be represented by the sculptor2 he says that1 although every other person around sought safety by flight1 the father was attacked by the serpents1 while he was advancing to the assistance of his sons-- --auxilio subeuntem ac tela ferentem4 ,this deficiency in the sculptor's art would have been finely supplied by the improvement which ,mr4 ,lock proposed4 ,reflecting on the dreadful condition of three persons entangled in the horrid twinings of serpents1 and after contemplating the varied anguish so strongly expressed in their countenances1 it is a relief to turn the eye to the heavenly figure of the ,apollo4 ,to form an adequate idea of the beauty of this statue1 it is absolutely necessary to see it4 ,with all the advantages of colour and life1 the human form never appeared so beautiful2 and we never can sufficiently admire the artist1 who has endowed marble with a finer expression of grace1 dignity1 and understanding1 than ever were seen in living features4 ,in the forming of this inimitable figure1 the artist seems to have wrought after an ideal form of beauty1 superior to any in nature1 and which existed only in his own imagination4 ,the admired statue of ,antinous is in the same ,court4 ,nothing can be more light1 elegant1 and easy2 the proportions are exact1 and the execution perfect4 ,it is an exquisite representation of the most beautiful youth that ever lived4 ,the statue of ,apollo represents something superior1 and the emotions it excites are all of the sublime cast4 ,,letter ,,xlvii4 ,rome4 ,the present ,pope1 who has assumed the name of ,pius the ,sixth1 is a tall1 well-made man1 about sixty years of age1 but retaining in his look all the freshness of a much earlier period of life4 ,he lays a greater stress on the ceremonious part of religion than his predecessor ,ganganelli1 in whose reign a great relaxation of church-discipline is thought to have taken place4 ,the late ,pope was a man of moderation1 good sense1 and simplicity of manners2 and could not go through all the ostentatious parade which his station required1 without reluctance1 and marks of disgust4 ,he knew that the opinions of mankind had undergone a very great change since those ceremonies were established2 and that some of the most respectable of the spectators considered as perfectly frivolous many things which formerly had been held as sacred4 ,a man of good sense may seem to lay the greatest weight on ceremonies which he himself considers as ridiculous1 provided he thinks the people1 in whose sight he goes through them1 are impressed with a conviction of their importance2 but if he knows that some of the beholders are entirely of a different way of thinking1 he will be strongly tempted to evince1 by some means or other1 that he despises the fooleries he performs1 as much as any of them4 ,this1 in all probability1 was the case with ,ganganelli2 who1 besides1 was an enemy to fraud and hypocrisy of every kind4 ,but1 however remiss he may have been with regard to the etiquette of his spiritual functions1 every body acknowledges his diligence and activity in promoting the temporal good of his subjects4 ,he did all in his power to revive trade1 and to encourage manufactures and industry of every kind4 ,he built no churches1 but he repaired the roads all over the ecclesiastical state2 he restrained the malevolence of bigots1 removed absurd prejudices1 and promoted sentiments of charity and good-will to mankind in general1 without excepting even heretics4 ,his enemies1 the ,jesuits1 with an intention to make him odious in the eyes of his own subjects1 gave him the name of the ,protestant ,pope4 ,if they supposed that this calumny would be credited1 on account of the conduct above mentioned1 they at once paid the highest compliment to the ,pope and the ,protestant religion4 ,the careless manner in which ,ganganelli performed certain functions1 and the general tenour of his life and sentiments1 were lamented by politicians1 as well as by bigots4 ,however frivolous the former might think many ceremonies in themselves1 they still considered them as of political importance1 in such a government as that of ,rome2 and the ,conclave held on the death of the late ,pope1 are thought to have been in some degree influenced by such considerations in chusing his successor4 ,the present ,pope1 before he was raised to that dignity1 was considered as a firm believer in all the tenets of the ,roman ,church1 and a strict and scrupulous observer of all its injunctions and ceremonials4 ,as his pretensions1 in point of family1 fortune1 and connexions1 were smaller than those of most of his brother cardinals1 it is the more probable that he owed his elevation to this part of his character1 which rendered him a proper person to check the progress of abuses that had been entirely neglected by the late ,pope2 under whose administration free-thinking was said to have been countenanced1 ,protestantism in general regarded with diminished abhorrence1 and the ,calvinists in particular treated with a degree of indulgence1 to which their inveterate enmity to the church of ,rome gave them no title4 ,several instances of this are enumerated1 and one in particular1 which1 ,i dare say1 you will think a stronger proof of the late ,pope's good sense and good humour1 than of that negligence to which his enemies imputed it4 ,a ,scotch presbyterian having heated his brain1 by reading the ,book of ,martyrs1 the cruelties of the ,spanish ,inquisition1 and the ,histories of all the persecutions that ever were raised by the ,roman ,catholics against the ,protestants1 was seized with a dread1 that the same horrors were just about to be renewed4 ,this terrible idea disturbed his imagination day and night2 he thought of nothing but racks and scaffolds2 and1 on one occasion1 he dreamt that there was a continued train of bonfires1 with a tar-barrel and a ,protestant in each1 all the way from ,smithfield to ,st4 ,andrews4 ,he communicated the anxiety and distress of his mind to a worthy sensible clergyman who lived in the neighbourhood4 ,this gentleman took great pains to quiet his fears1 proving to him1 by strong and obvious arguments1 that there was little or no danger of such an event as he dreaded4 ,these reasonings had a powerful effect while they were delivering1 but the impression did not last1 and was always effaced by a few pages of the ,book of ,martyrs4 ,as soon as the clergyman remarked this1 he advised the relations to remove that1 and every book which treated of persecution or martyrdom1 entirely out of the poor man's reach4 ,this was done accordingly1 and books of a less gloomy complexion were substituted in their place2 but as all of them formed a strong contrast with the colour of his mind1 he could not bear their perusal1 but betook himself to the study of the ,bible1 which was the only book of his ancient library which had been left2 and so strong a hold had his former studies taken of his imagination1 that he could relish no part of the ,bible1 except the ,revelation of ,st4 ,john1 a great part of which1 he thought1 referred to the whore of ,babylon1 or in other words1 the ,pope of ,rome4 ,this part of the scripture he perused continually with unabating ardor and delight4 ,his friend the clergyman1 having observed this1 took occasion to say1 that every part of the ,holy ,bible was1 without doubt1 most sublime1 and wonderfully instructive2 yet he was surprised to see that he limited his studies entirely to the last book1 and neglected all the rest4 ,to which the other replied1 ,that he who was a divine1 and a man of learning1 might1 with propriety1 read all the sacred volume from beginning to end2 but1 for his own part1 he thought proper to confine himself to what he could understand2 and therefore1 though he had a due respect for all the scripture1 he acknowledged he gave a preference to the ,revelation of ,st4 ,john4 ,this answer entirely satisfied the clergyman2 he did not think it expedient to question him any farther2 he took his leave1 after having requested the people of the family with whom this person lived1 to have a watchful eye on their relation4 ,in the mean time1 this poor man's terrors1 with regard to the revival of popery and persecution1 daily augmented2 and nature1 in all probability1 would have sunk under the weight of such accumulated anxiety1 had not a thought occurred which relieved his mind in an instant1 by suggesting an infallible method of preventing all the evils which his imagination had been brooding over for so long a time4 ,the happy idea which afforded him so much comfort1 was no other1 than that he should immediately go to ,rome1 and convert the ,pope from the ,roman ,catholic to the ,presbyterian religion4 ,the moment he hit on this fortunate expedient1 he felt at once the strongest impulse to undertake the task1 and the fullest conviction that his undertaking would be crowned with success2 it is no wonder1 therefore1 that his countenance threw off its former gloom1 and that all his features brightened with the heart-felt thrillings of happiness and self-applause4 ,while his relations congratulated each other on this agreeable change1 the exulting visionary1 without communicating his design to any mortal1 set out for ,london1 took his passage to ,leghorn1 and1 in a short time after1 arrived in perfect health of body1 and in exalted spirits1 at ,rome4 ,he directly applied to an ecclesiastic of his own country1 of whose obliging temper he had previously heard1 and whom he considered as a proper person to procure him an interview necessary for the accomplishment of his project4 ,he informed that gentleman1 that he earnestly wished to have a conference with the ,pope1 on a business of infinite importance1 and which admitted of no delay4 ,it was not difficult to perceive the state of this poor man's mind2 the good-natured ecclesiastic endeavoured to sooth and amuse him1 putting off the conference till a distant day2 in hopes that means might be fallen on1 during the interval1 to prevail on him to return to his own country4 ,a few days after this1 however1 he happened to go to ,st4 ,peter's church1 at the very time when his ,holiness was performing some religious ceremony4 ,at this sight our impatient missionary felt all his passions inflamed with irresistible ardour2 he could no longer wait for the expected conference1 but bursting out with zealous indignation1 he exclaimed1 8,o thou beast of nature1 with seven heads and ten horns6 thou mother of harlots1 arrayed in purple and scarlet1 and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls6 throw away the golden cup of abominations1 and the filthiness of thy fornication60 ,you may easily imagine the astonishment and hubbub that such an apostrophe1 from such a person1 in such a place1 would occasion2 he was immediately carried to prison by the ,swiss halberdiers4 ,when it was known that he was a ,british subject1 some who understood ,english were ordered to attend his examination4 ,the first question asked of him was1 8,what had brought him to ,rome80 ,he answered1 8,to anoint the eyes of the scarlet whore with eye-salve1 that she might see her wickedness40 ,they asked1 8,who he meant by the scarlet whore80 ,he answered1 8,who else could he mean1 but her who sitteth upon seven mountains1 who hath seduced the kings of the earth to commit fornication1 and who hath gotten drunk with the blood of the saints1 and the blood of the martyrs80 ,many other questions were asked1 and such provoking answers returned1 that some suspected the man affected madness1 that he might give vent to his rancour and petulance with impunity2 and they were for condemning him to the gallies1 that he might be taught more sense1 and better manners4 ,but when they communicated their sentiments to ,clement the ,fourteenth1 he said1 with great good humour1 8,that he never had heard of any body whose understanding1 or politeness1 had been much improved at that school2 that although the poor man's first address had been a little rough and abrupt1 yet he could not help considering himself as obliged to him for his good intentions1 and for his undertaking such a long journey with a view to do good40 ,he afterwards gave orders to treat the man with gentleness while he remained in confinement1 and to put him on board the first ship bound from ,civita ,vecchia to ,england1 defraying the expence of his passage4 ,however humane and reasonable this conduct may be thought by many1 there were people who condemned it as an injudicious piece of lenity1 which might have a tendency to sink the dignity of the sacred office1 and expose it to future insults4 ,if such behaviour as this did not pass without blame1 it may be easily supposed1 that few of the late ,pope's actions escaped uncensured2 and many who loved the easy amiable dispositions of the man1 were of opinion1 that the spirit of the times required a different character on the ,papal throne4 ,this idea prevailed among the ,cardinals at the late election1 and the ,conclave is supposed to have fixed on ,cardinal ,braschi to be ,pope1 from the same motive that the ,roman senate sometimes chose a ,dictator to restore and enforce the ancient discipline4 ,,letter ,,xlviii4 ,rome4 ,pius the ,sixth performs all the religious functions of his office in the most solemn manner2 not only on public and extraordinary occasions1 but also in the most common acts of devotion4 ,i happened lately to be at ,st4 ,peter's church1 when there was scarcely any other body there2 while ,i lounged from chapel to chapel1 looking at the sculpture and paintings1 the ,pope entered with a very few attendants2 when he came to the statue of ,st4 ,peter1 he was not satisfied with bowing1 which is the usual mark of respect shewn to that image2 or with kneeling1 which is performed by more zealous persons2 or with kissing the foot1 which ,i formerly imagined concluded the climax of devotion2 he bowed1 he knelt1 he kissed the foot1 and then he rubbed his brow and his whole head with every mark of humility1 fervour1 and adoration1 upon the sacred stump4--,it is no more1 one half of the foot having been long since worn away by the lips of the pious2 and if the example of his ,holiness is universally imitated1 nothing but a miracle can prevent the leg1 thigh1 and other parts from meeting with the same fate4 ,this uncommon appearance of zeal in the ,pope1 is not imputed to hypocrisy or to policy1 but is supposed to proceed entirely from a conviction of the efficacy of those holy frictions2 an opinion which has given people a much higher idea of the strength of his faith1 than of his understanding4 ,this being jubilee year1 he may possibly think a greater appearance of devotion necessary now1 than at any other time4 ,the first jubilee was instituted by ,boniface the ,eighth1 in the year #acjj4 ,many ceremonies and institutions of the ,roman ,catholic church are founded on those of the old ,heathens4 ,this is evidently an imitation of the ,roman secular games1 which were exhibited every hundredth year in honour of the gods#a2 they lasted three days and three nights2 they were attended with great pomp1 and drew vast numbers of people to ,rome1 from all parts of ,italy1 and the most distant provinces4 ,boniface1 recollecting this1 determined to institute something analogous1 which would immortalize his own name1 and promote the interest of the ,roman ,catholic religion in general1 and that of the city of ,rome in particular4 ,he embraced the favourable opportunity which the beginning of a century presented2 he invented a few extraordinary ceremonies1 and declared the year #acjj the first jubilee year1 during which he assured mankind1 that heaven would be in a particular manner propitious1 in granting indulgences1 and remission of sins1 to all who should come to ,rome1 and attend the functions there to be performed1 at this fortunate period1 which was not to occur again for a hundred years4 ,this drew a great concourse of wealthy sinners to ,rome2 and the extraordinary circulation of money it occasioned1 was strongly felt all over the ,pope's dominions4 ,clement the ,sixth1 regretting that these advantages should occur so seldom1 abridged the period1 and declared there would be a jubilee every fifty years2 the second was accordingly celebrated in the year #acej4 ,sixtus the ,fifth1 imagining that the interval was still too long1 once more retrenched the half2 and ever since there has been a jubilee every twenty-fifth year#b4 ,it is not likely that any future ,pope will think of shortening this period2 if any alteration were again to take place1 it most probably would be1 to restore the ancient period of fifty or a hundred years2 for1 instead of the wealthy pilgrims who flocked to ,rome from every quarter of ,christendom1 ninety-nine in a hundred of those who come now1 are supported by alms during their journey1 or are barely able to defray their own expences by the strictest conomy2 and his ,holiness is supposed at present to derive no other advantage from the uncommon fatigue he is obliged to go through on the jubilee year1 except the satisfaction he feels1 in reflecting on the benefit his labours confer on the souls of the beggars1 and other travellers1 who resort from all corners of ,italy to ,rome1 on this blessed occasion4 ,the ,states which border on the ,pope's dominions1 suffer many temporal inconveniencies from the zeal of the peasants and manufacturers1 the greater part of whom still make a point of visiting ,st4 ,peter's on the jubilee year2 the loss sustained by the countries which such emigrants abandon1 is not balanced by any advantage transferred to that to which they resort2 the good arising on the whole1 being entirely of a spiritual nature4 ,by far the greater number of pilgrims come from the kingdom of ,naples1 whose inhabitants are said to be of a very devout and very amorous disposition4 ,the first prompts them to go to ,rome in search of that absolution which the second renders necessary2 and on the year of jubilee1 when indulgences are to be had at an easier rate than at any other time1 those who can afford it generally carry away such a stock1 as not only is sufficient to clear old scores1 but will also serve as an indemnifying fund for future transgressions4 ,there is one door into the church of ,st4 ,peter's1 which is called the ,holy ,door4 ,this is always walled up1 except on this distinguished year2 and even then no person is permitted to enter by it1 but in the humblest posture4 ,the pilgrims1 and many others1 prefer crawling into the church upon their knees1 by this door2 to walking in1 the usual way1 by any other4 ,i was present at the shutting up of this ,holy ,door4 ,the ,pope being seated on a raised seat1 or kind of throne1 surrounded by ,cardinals and other ecclesiastics1 an anthem was sung1 accompanied by all sorts of musical instruments4 ,during the performance1 his ,holiness descended from the throne1 with a golden trowel in his hand1 placed the first brick1 and applied some mortar2 he then returned to his seat1 and the door was instantly built up by more expert1 though less hallowed1 workmen2 and will remain as it is now1 till the beginning of the nineteenth century1 when it will be again opened1 by the ,pope then in being1 with the same solemnity that it has been now shut4 ,though his ,holiness places but a single brick1 yet it is very remarkable that this never fails to communicate its influence1 in such a rapid and powerful manner1 that1 within about an hour1 or at most an hour and a half1 all the other bricks1 which form the wall of the ,holy ,door1 acquire an equal degree of sanctity with that placed by the ,pope's own hands4 ,the common people and pilgrims are well acquainted with this wonderful effect4 ,at the beginning of this ,jubilee-year1 when the late wall was thrown down1 men1 women1 and children scrambled and fought for the fragments of the bricks and mortar1 with the same eagerness which less enlightened mobs display1 on days of public rejoicing1 when handfuls of money are thrown among them4 ,i have been often assured that those pieces of brick1 besides their sanctity1 have also the virtue of curing many of the most obstinate diseases3 and1 if newspapers were permitted at ,rome1 there is not the least reason to doubt1 that those cures would be attested publicly by the patients1 in a manner as satisfactory and convincing as are the cures performed daily by the pills1 powders1 drops1 and balsams advertised in the ,london newspapers4 ,after the shutting of the ,holy ,door1 mass was celebrated at midnight2 and the ceremony was attended by vast multitudes of people4 ,for my own part1 ,i suspended my curiosity till next day1 which was ,christmas-day1 when ,i returned again to ,st4 ,peter's church1 and saw the ,pope perform mass on that solemn occasion4 ,his ,holiness went through all the evolutions of the ceremony with an address and flexibility of body1 which are rarely to be found in those who wear the tiara2 who are1 generally speaking1 men bowing under the load of years and infirmities4 ,his present ,holiness has hitherto suffered from neither4 ,his features are regular1 and he has a fine countenance2 his person is straight1 and his movements graceful4 ,his leg and foot are remarkably well made1 and always ornamented with silk stockings1 and red slippers1 of the most delicate construction4 ,notwithstanding that the papal uniforms are by no means calculated to set off the person to the greatest advantage1 yet the peculiar neatness with which they are put on1 and the nice adjustment of their most minute parts1 sufficiently prove that his present ,holiness is not insensible of the charms of his person1 or unsolicitous about his external ornaments4 ,though verging towards the winter of life1 his cheeks still glow with autumnal roses1 which1 at a little distance1 appear as blooming as those of the spring4 ,if he himself were less clear-sighted than he seems to be1 to the beauties of his face and person1 he could not also be deaf to the voices of the women1 who break out into exclamations1 in praise of both1 as often as he appears in public4 ,on a public occasion1 lately1 as he was carried through a particular street1 a young woman at a window exclaimed1 8,quanto e bello6 ,o quanto e bello60 and was immediately answered by a zealous old lady at the window opposite1 who1 folding her hands in each other1 and raising her eyes to heaven1 cried out1 with a mixture of love for his person1 and veneration for his sacred office1 8,tanto e bello1 quanto e santo60 ,when we know that such a quantity of incense is daily burnt under his sacred nostrils1 we ought not to be astonished1 though we should find his brain1 on some occasions1 a little intoxicated4 ,vanity is a very comfortable failing2 and has such an universal power over mankind1 that not only the gay blossoms of youth1 but even the shrivelled bosom of age1 and the contracted heart of bigotry1 open1 expand1 and display strong marks of sensibility under its influence4 ,after mass1 the ,pope gave the benediction to the people assembled in the ,grand ,court1 before the church of ,st4 ,peter's4 ,it was a remarkably fine day2 an immense multitude filled that spacious and magnificent area2 the horse and foot guards were drawn up in their most showy uniform4 ,the ,pope1 seated in an open1 portable chair1 in all the splendour which his wardrobe could give1 with the tiara on his head1 was carried out of a large window1 which opens on a balcony in the front of ,st4 ,peter's4 ,the silk hangings and gold trappings with which the chair was embellished1 concealed the men who carried it2 so that to those who viewed him from the area below1 his ,holiness seemed to sail forward1 from the window self-balanced in the air1 like a celestial being4 ,the instant he appeared1 the music struck up1 the bells rung from every church1 and the cannon thundered from the castle of ,st4 ,angelo in repeated peals4 ,during the intervals1 the church of ,st4 ,peter's1 the palace of the ,vatican1 and the banks of the ,tiber1 re-echoed the acclamations of the populace4 ,at length his ,holiness arose from his seat1 and an immediate and awful silence ensued4 ,the multitude fell upon their knees1 with their hands and eyes raised towards his ,holiness1 as to a benign ,deity4 ,after a solemn pause1 he pronounced the benediction1 with great fervour2 elevating his outstretched arms as high as he could2 then closing them together1 and bringing them back to his breast with a slow motion1 as if he had got hold of the blessing1 and was drawing it gently from heaven4 ,finally1 he threw his arms open1 waving them for some time1 as if his intention had been to scatter the benediction with impartiality among the people4 ,no ceremony can be better calculated for striking the senses1 and imposing on the understanding1 than this of the ,supreme ,pontiff giving the blessing from the balcony of ,st4 ,peter's4 ,for my own part1 if ,i had not1 in my early youth1 received impressions highly unfavourable to the chief actor in this magnificent interlude1 ,i should have been in danger of paying him a degree of respect1 very inconsistent with the religion in which ,i was educated4 #a ,the ,carmen ,seculare of ,horace was composed on occasion of those celebrated by ,augustus in the year of ,rome #gcf4 #b ,to this last abridgement ,i am indebted for having seen the ceremonies and processions on the termination of this sacred year4 ,,letter ,,xlix4 ,rome4 ,in my last1 ,i informed you of my having been seduced almost into idolatry1 by the influence of example1 and the pomp which surrounded the idol4 ,i must now confess that ,i have actually bowed the knee to ,baal1 from mere wantonness4 ,we are told that1 to draw near to that ,being1 who ought to be the only object of worship1 with our lips1 while our hearts are far from him1 is a mockery4 ,such daring and absurd hypocrisy ,i shall always avoid3 but to have drawn near to him1 who ought not to be an object of worship1 with the lips only1 while the heart continued at a distance1 ,i hope will be considered as no more than a venial transgression4 ,in short1 ,i trust1 that it will not be looked on as a mortal sin in ,protestants to have kissed the ,pope's toe4 ,if it should1 some of your friends are in a deplorable way1 as you shall hear4--,it is usual for strangers to be presented to his ,holiness1 before they leave ,rome4 ,the ,d---- of ,h----1 ,mr4 ,k----1 and myself1 have all been at the ,vatican together1 upon that important business4 ,your young acquaintance ,jack1 who1 having now got a commission in the army1 considers himself no longer as a boy1 desired to accompany us4 ,we went under the auspices of a certain ecclesiastic1 who usually attends the ,english on such occasions4 ,he very naturally concluded1 that it would be most agreeable to us to have the circumstance of kissing the slipper dispensed with4 ,having had some conversation1 therefore1 with his ,holiness1 in his own apartment1 while we remained in another room1 previous to our introduction2 he afterwards returned1 and informed us1 that the ,pontiff1 indulgent to the prejudices of the ,british nation1 did not insist on that part of the ceremonial2 and therefore a very low bow1 on our being presented1 was all that would be required of us4 ,a bow6 cried the ,d---- of ,h----2 ,i should not have given myself any trouble about the matter1 had ,i suspected that all was to end in a bow4 ,i look on kissing the toe as the only amusing circumstance of the whole2 if that is to be omitted1 ,i will not be introduced at all4 ,for if the most ludicrous part is left out1 who would wait for the rest of a farce8 ,this was a thunderstroke to our negociator1 who expected thanks1 at least1 for the honourable terms he had obtained2 but who1 on the contrary1 found himself in the same disagreeable predicament with other negociators1 who have met with abuse and reproach from their countrymen1 on account of treaties for which they expected universal applause4 ,the ,d---- of ,h---- knew nothing of the treaty which our introducer had just concluded2 otherwise he would certainly have prevented the negociation4 ,as ,i perceived1 however1 that our ambassador was mortified with the thoughts that all his labour should prove abortive1 ,i said1 that1 although he had prevailed with his ,holiness to wave that part of the ceremonial1 which his ,grace thought so entertaining1 yet it would unquestionably be still more agreeable to him that the whole should be performed to its utmost extent3 this new arrangement1 therefore1 needed not be an obstruction to our being presented4 ,the countenance of our ,conductor brightened up at this proposal4 ,he immediately ushered us into the presence of the ,supreme ,pontiff4 ,we all bowed to the ground2 the supplest of the company had the happiness to touch the sacred slipper with their lips1 and the least agile were within a few inches of that honour4 ,as this was more than had been bargained for1 his ,holiness seemed agreeably surprised2 raised the ,d---- with a smiling countenance1 and conversed with him in an obliging manner1 asking the common questions1 ,how long he had been in ,italy8 ,whether he found ,rome agreeable8 ,when he intended to set out for ,naples8--,he said something of the same kind to each of the company2 and1 after about a quarter of an hour or twenty minutes1 we took our leave4 ,next day1 his ,holiness sent his compliments to the ,d----1 with a present of two medals1 one of gold1 and the other of silver2 on both of which the head of the ,pontiff is very accurately engraved4 ,the manner in which the generality of sovereign princes pass their time1 is as far from being amusing or agreeable1 as one can possibly imagine4 ,slaves to the tiresome routine of etiquette2 martyrs to the oppressive fatigue of pomp2 constrained to walk every levee-day around the same dull circle1 to gratify the vanity of fifty or a hundred people1 by whispering a something or a nothing into the ears of each2 obliged to wear a smiling countenance1 even when the heart is oppressed with sadness2 besieged by the craving faces of those1 who are more displeased at what is withheld1 than grateful for the favours they have received2 surrounded1 as he constantly is1 by adepts in the art of simulation1 all professing the highest possible regard2 how shall the puzzled monarch distinguish real from assumed attachment8 and what a risk does he run1 of placing his confidence where he ought to have directed his indignation6 ,and1 to all these inconveniencies1 when we add this1 that he is precluded from those delightful sensations which spring from disinterested friendship1 sweet equality1 and the gay1 careless enjoyments of social life1 we must acknowledge1 that all that is brilliant in the condition of a sovereign1 is not sufficient to compensate for such restraints1 such dangers1 and such deprivations4 ,so far indeed are we from considering that envied condition as enviable1 that great part of mankind are more apt to think it insupportable2 and are surprised to find1 that those unhappy men1 whom fate has condemned to suffer the pains of royalty for life1 are able to wait with patience for the natural period of their days4 ,for1 strange as it may appear1 history does not furnish us with an instance1 not even in ,great ,britain itself1 of a king1 who hanged1 or drowned1 or put himself to death in any other violent manner1 from mere tdium1 as other mortals1 disgusted with life1 are apt to do4 ,i was at a loss to account for such an extraordinary fact1 till ,i recollected that1 however void of resources and activity the minds of monarchs may be1 they are seldom allowed to rest in repose4 ,the storms to which people in their lofty situation are exposed1 occasion such agitations as prevent the stagnating slime of tdium from gathering on their minds4 ,that kings do not commit suicide1 therefore1 affords only a very slender presumption of the happiness of their condition3 although it is a strong proof1 that all the hurricanes of life are not so insupportable to the human mind1 as that insipid1 fearless1 hopeless calm1 which envelopes men who are devoid of mental enjoyments1 and whose senses are palled with satiety4 ,if there is any truth in the above representation of the regal condition1 would not you imagine that of all others it would be the most shunned8 ,would not you imagine that every human being would shrink from it1 as from certain misery2 and that at least every wise man would say1 with the ,poet1 ,i envy none their pageantry and show1 ,i envy none the gilding of their woe8 ,not only every wise man1 but every foolish man1 will adopt the sentiment1 and act accordingly2 provided his rank in life removes him from the possibility of ever attaining the objects in question4 ,for what is situated beyond the sphere of our hopes1 very seldom excites our desires2 but bring the powerful magnets a little nearer1 and they attract the human passions with a force which reason and philosophy cannot controul4 ,placed within their reach1 the wise and the foolish grasp with equal eagerness at crowns and sceptres1 in spite of all the thorns with which they are surrounded4 ,their alluring magic seems to have the power of changing the very characters and natures of men4 ,in pursuit of them1 the indolent have been excited to the most active exertions1 the voluptuous have renounced their darling pleasures2 and even those who have long walked in the direct road of integrity1 have deviated into all the crooked paths of villany and fraud4 ,there are passions1 whose indulgence is so exceedingly flattering to the natural vanity of men1 that they will gratify them1 though persuaded that the gratification will be attended by disappointment and misery4 ,the love of power and sovereignty is of this class4 ,it has been a general belief1 ever since the kingly office was established among men1 that cares and anxiety were the constant attendants of royalty4 ,yet this general conviction never made a single person decline an opportunity of embarking on this sea of troubles4 ,every new adventurer flatters himself that he shall be guided by some happy star undiscovered by former navigators2 and those who1 after trial1 have relinquished the voyage--,charles1 ,christina1 ,amadeus1 and others--when they had quitted the helm1 and were safely arrived in port1 are said to have languished1 all the rest of their lives1 for that situation which their own experience taught them was fraught with misery4 ,henry the ,fourth of ,england did not arrive at the throne by the natural and direct road4 ,shakespear puts the following ,address to ,sleep1 into the mouth of this monarch3 ----,o ,sleep6 ,o gentle ,sleep6 ,nature's soft nurse1 how have ,i frighted thee1 ,that thou no more wilt weigh my eyelids down1 ,and steep my senses in forgetfulness8 ,why rather1 ,sleep1 liest thou in smoky cribs1 ,upon uneasy pallets stretching thee1 ,and hush'd with busy night-flies to thy slumber2 ,than in the perfum'd chambers of the ,great1 ,under the canopies of costly state ,and lull'd with sounds of sweetest melody8 ,o thou dull ,god6 why ly'st thou with the vile ,in loathsome beds2 and leav'st the kingly couch8 ,a watch-case1 or a common 'larum bell8 ,wilt thou1 upon the high and giddy mast1 ,seal up the ship-boy's eyes1 and rock his brains ,in cradle of the rude imperious surge2 ,and in the visitation of the winds1---- ,who take the ruffian billows by the top1 ,curling their monstrous heads1 and hanging them ,with deaf'ning clamours in the slipp'ry shrouds1---- ,canst thou1 ,o partial ,sleep6 give thy repose ,to the wet sea-boy in an hour so rude2 ,and1 in the calmest and most stillest night1 ,with all appliances and means to boot1 ,deny it to a ,king8---- ,however eager and impatient this ,prince may have formerly been to obtain the crown1 you would conclude that he was quite cloyed by possession at the time he made this speech2 and therefore1 at first sight1 you would not expect that he should afterwards display any excessive attachment to what gives him so much uneasiness4 ,but ,shakespear1 who knew the secret wishes1 perverse desires1 and strange inconsistencies of the human heart1 better than man ever knew them1 makes this very ,henry so tenaciously fond of that which he himself considered as the cause of all his inquietude1 that he cannot bear to have the crown one moment out of his sight1 but orders it to be placed on his pillow when he lies on his death-bed4 ,of all diadems1 the ,tiara1 in my opinion1 has the fewest charms2 and nothing can afford a stronger proof of the strength and perseverance of man's passion for sovereign power1 than our knowledge1 that even this ecclesiastical crown is sought after with as much eagerness1 perhaps with more1 than any other crown in the world1 although the candidates are generally in the decline of life1 and all of a profession which avows the most perfect contempt of worldly grandeur4 ,this appears the more wonderful when we reflect1 that1 over and above those sources of weariness and vexation1 which the ,pope has in common with other sovereigns1 he has some which are peculiar to himself4--,the tiresome religious functions which he must perform1 the ungenial solitude of his meals1 the exclusion of the company and conversation of women1 restriction from the tenderest and most delightful connexions in life1 from the endearments of a parent1 and the open acknowledgment of his own children2 his mind oppressed with the gloomy reflection1 that the man for whom he has the least regard1 perhaps his greatest enemy1 may be his immediate successor2 to which is added1 the pain of seeing his influence1 both spiritual and temporal1 declining every day2 and the mortification of knowing1 that all his ancient lofty pretensions are laughed at by one half of the ,roman ,catholics1 all the ,protestants1 and totally disregarded by the rest of mankind4 ,i know of nothing which can be put in the other scale to balance all those peculiar disadvantages which his ,holiness labours under1 unless it is the singular felicity which he lawfully may1 and no doubt does enjoy1 in the contemplation of his own infallibility4 ,,letter ,l4 ,rome4 ,in their external deportment1 the ,italians have a grave solemnity of manner1 which is sometimes thought to arise from a natural gloominess of disposition4 ,the ,french1 above all other nations1 are apt to impute to melancholy1 the sedate serious air which accompanies reflection4 ,though in the pulpit1 on the theatre1 and even in common conversation1 the ,italians make use of a great deal of action2 yet ,italian vivacity is different from ,french2 the former proceeds from sensibility1 the latter from animal spirits4 ,the inhabitants of this country have not the brisk look1 and elastic trip1 which is universal in ,france2 they move rather with a flow composed pace3 their spines never having been forced into a straight line1 retain the natural bend2 and the people of the most finished fashion1 as well as the neglected vulgar1 seem to prefer the unconstrained attitude of the ,antinous1 and other antique statues1 to the artificial graces of a ,french dancing-master1 or the erect strut of a ,german soldier4 ,i imagine ,i perceive a great resemblance between many of the living countenances ,i see daily1 and the features of the ancient busts and statues2 which leads me to believe1 that there are a greater number of the genuine descendants of the old ,romans in ,italy1 than is generally imagined4 ,i am often struck with the fine character of countenance to be seen in the streets of ,rome4 ,i never saw features more expressive of reflection1 sense1 and genius2 in the very lowest ranks there are countenances which announce minds fit for the highest and most important situations2 and we cannot help regretting1 that those to whom they belong1 have not received an education adequate to the natural abilities we are convinced they possess1 and placed where these abilities could be brought into action4 ,of all the countries in ,europe1 ,switzerland is that in which the beauties of nature appear in the greatest variety of forms1 and on the most magnificent scale2 in that country1 therefore1 the young landscape painter has the best chance of seizing the most sublime ideas3 but ,italy is the best school for the history painter1 not only on account of its being enriched with the works of the greatest masters1 and the noblest models of antique sculpture2 but also on account of the fine expressive style of the ,italian countenance4 ,here you have few or none of those fair1 fat1 glistening1 unmeaning faces1 so common in the more northern parts of ,europe4 ,i happened once to sit by a foreigner of my acquaintance at the ,opera in the ,hay-market1 when a certain ,nobleman1 who at that time was a good deal talked of1 entered4 ,i whispered him--8,that is ,lord ----40 8,not surely the famous ,lord ----10 said he4 8,yes10 said ,i1 8the very same40 8,it must be acknowledged then10 continued he1 8that the noble ,earl does infinite honour to those who have had the care of his education40 8,how so80 rejoined ,i4 8,because10 replied the foreigner1 8a countenance so completely vacant1 strongly indicates a deficiency of natural abilities2 the respectable figure he makes in the senate1 ,i therefore presume must be entirely owing to instruction40 ,strangers1 on their arrival at ,rome1 form no high idea of the beauty of the ,roman women1 from the specimens they see in the fashionable circles to which they are first introduced4 ,there are some exceptions2 but in general it must be acknowledged1 that the present race of women of high rank1 are more distinguished by their other ornaments1 than by their beauty4 ,among the citizens1 however1 and in the lower classes1 you frequently meet with the most beautiful countenances4 ,for a brilliant red and white1 and all the charms of complexion1 no women are equal to the ,english4 ,if a hundred1 or any greater number1 of ,english women were taken at random1 and compared with the same number of the wives and daughters of the citizens of ,rome1 ,i am convinced1 that ninety of the ,english would be found handsomer than ninety of the ,romans2 but the probability is1 that two or three in the hundred ,italians1 would have finer countenances than any of the ,english4 ,english beauty is more remarkable in the country1 than in towns2 the peasantry of no country in ,europe can stand a comparison1 in point of looks1 with those of ,england4 ,that race of people have the conveniencies of life in no other country in such perfection2 they are no where so well fed1 so well defended from the injuries of the seasons2 and no where else do they keep themselves so perfectly clean1 and free from all the vilifying effects of dirt4 ,the ,english country girls1 taken collectively1 are1 unquestionably1 the handsomest in the world4 ,the female peasants of most other countries1 indeed1 are so hard worked1 so ill fed1 so much tanned by the sun1 and so dirty1 that it is difficult to know whether they have any beauty or not4 ,yet ,i have been informed1 by some ,amateurs1 since ,i came here1 that1 in spite of all these disadvantages1 they sometimes find1 among the ,italian peasantry1 countenances highly interesting1 and which they prefer to all the cherry cheeks of ,lancashire4 ,beauty1 doubtless1 is infinitely varied2 and happily for mankind1 their tastes and opinions1 on the subject1 are equally various4 ,notwithstanding this variety1 however1 a style of face1 in some measure peculiar to its own inhabitants1 has been found to prevail in each different nation of ,europe4 ,this peculiar countenance is again greatly varied1 and marked with every degree of discrimination between the extremes of beauty and ugliness4 ,i will give you a sketch of the general style of the most beautiful female heads in this country1 from which you may judge whether they are to your taste or not4 ,a great profusion of dark hair1 which seems to encroach upon the forehead1 rendering it short and narrow2 the nose generally either aquiline1 or continued in a straight line from the lower part of the brow2 a full and short upper lip2 by the way1 nothing has a worse effect on a countenance1 than a large interval between the nose and mouth2 the eyes are large1 and of a sparkling black4 ,the black eye certainly labours under one disadvantage1 which is1 that1 from the iris and pupil being of the same colour1 the contraction and dilatation of the latter is not seen1 by which the eye is abridged of half its powers4 ,yet the ,italian eye is wonderfully expressive2 some people think it says too much4 ,the complexion1 for the most part1 is of a clear brown1 sometimes fair1 but very seldom florid1 or of that bright fairness which is common in ,england and ,saxony4 ,it must be owned1 that those features which have a fine expression of sentiment and meaning in youth1 are more apt1 than less expressive faces1 to become soon strong and masculine4 ,in ,england and ,germany1 the women1 a little advanced in life1 retain the appearance of youth longer than in ,italy4 ,with countenances so favourable for the pencil1 you will naturally imagine1 that portrait painting is in the highest perfection here4 ,the reverse1 however1 of this is true2 that branch of the art is in the lowest estimation all over ,italy4 ,in palaces1 the best furnished with pictures1 you seldom see a portrait of the proprietor1 or any of his family4 ,a quarter length of the reigning ,pope is sometimes the only portrait1 of a living person1 to be seen in the whole palace4 ,several of the ,roman ,princes affect to have a room of state1 or audience chamber1 in which is a raised seat like a throne1 with a canopy over it4 ,in those rooms the effigies of the ,pontiffs are hung2 they are the work of very inferior artists1 and seldom cost above three or four sequins4 ,as soon as his ,holiness departs this life1 the portrait disappears1 and the face of his successor is in due time hung up in its stead4 ,this1 you will say1 is treating their old sovereign a little unkindly1 and paying no very expensive compliment to the new2 it is not so conomical1 however1 as what was practised by a certain person4 ,i shall not inform you whether he was a ,frenchman or an ,englishman1 but he certainly was a courtier1 and professed the highest possible regard for all living monarchs2 but considered them as no better than any other piece of clay when dead4 ,he had a full length picture of his own ,sovereign in the principal room of his house2 on his majesty's death1 to save himself the expence of a fresh body1 and a new suit of ermine1 he employed a painter to brush out the face and periwig1 and clap the new ,king's head on his grandfather's shoulders2 which1 he declared1 were in the most perfect preservation1 and fully able to wear out three or four such heads as painters usually give in these degenerate days4 ,the ,italians1 in general1 very seldom take the trouble of sitting for their pictures4 ,they consider a portrait as a piece of painting1 which engages the admiration of nobody but the person it represents1 or the painter who drew it4 ,those who are in circumstances to pay the best artists1 generally employ them in some subject more universally interesting1 than the representation of human countenances staring out of a piece of canvas4 ,pompeio ,battoni is the best ,italian painter now at ,rome4 ,his taste and genius led him to history painting1 and his reputation was originally acquired in that line2 but by far the greater part of his fortune1 whatever that may be1 has flowed through a different channel4 ,his chief employment1 for many years past1 has been painting the portraits of the young ,english1 and other strangers of fortune1 who visit ,rome4 ,there are artists in ,england1 superior in this1 and every other branch of painting1 to ,battoni4 ,they1 like him1 are seduced from the free walks of genius1 and chained1 by interest1 to the servile drudgery of copying faces4 ,beauty is worthy of the most delicate pencil2 but1 gracious heaven6 why should every periwig-pated fellow1 without countenance or character1 insist on seeing his chubby cheeks on canvas8 8,could you not give a little expression to that countenance80 said a gentleman to an eminent ,english painter1 who showed him a portrait which he had just finished4 8,i made that attempt already10 replied the painter2 8but what the picture gained in expression1 it lost in likeness2 and by the time there was a little common sense in the countenance1 nobody knew for whom it was intended4 ,i was obliged1 therefore1 to make an entire new picture1 with the face perfectly like1 and perfectly meaningless1 as you see it40 ,let the colours for ever remain1 which record the last fainting efforts of ,chatham2 the expiring triumph of ,wolf2 or the indecision of ,garrick1 equally allured by the two contending ,muses6 ,but let them perish and fly from the canvas1 which blind self-love spreads for insipidity and ugliness6 ,why should posterity know1 that the first genius of the age1 and those whose pencils were formed to speak to the heart1 and delineate beauteous ,nature1 were chiefly employed in copying faces8 and many of them1 faces that imitate humanity so abominably1 that1 to use ,hamlet's expression1 they seem not the genuine work of ,nature1 but of ,nature's journeymen4 ,to this ridiculous self-love1 equally prevalent among the great vulgar and small1 some of the best painters in ,france1 ,germany1 and ,great ,britain1 are obliged for their subsistence4 ,this creates a suspicion1 that a taste for the real beauties of painting1 is not quite so universal1 as a sensibility to their own personal beauties1 among the individuals of these countries4 ,and nothing can be a stronger proof of the important light in which men appear in their own eyes1 and their small importance in those of others1 than the different treatment which the generality of portraits receive1 during the life1 and after the death1 of their constituents4 ,during the first of these periods1 they inhabit the finest apartments of the houses to which they belong2 they are flattered by the guests1 and always viewed with an eye of complacency by the landlord4 ,but1 after the commencement of the second1 they begin to be neglected2 in a short time are ignominiously thrust up to the garret2 and1 to fill up the measure of their affliction1 they finally are thrown out of doors1 in the most barbarous manner1 without distinction of rank1 age1 or sex4 ,those of former times are scattered1 like ,jews1 with their long beards and brown complexions1 all over the face of the earth2 and1 even of the present century1 ,barons of the most ancient families1 armed cap-a-pee1 are to be purchased for two or three ducats1 in most of the towns of ,germany4 ,french ,marquises1 in full suits of embroidered velvet1 may be had at ,paris still cheaper2 and many worshipful citizens of ,london are to be seen dangling on the walls of an auction-room1 when they are scarce cold in their graves4 ,,letter ,,li4 ,rome4 ,there are no theatrical entertainments permitted in this city1 except during the ,carnival2 but they are then attended with a degree of ardour unknown in capitals whose inhabitants are under no such restraint4 ,every kind of amusement1 indeed1 in this gay season1 is followed with the greatest eagerness4 ,the natural gravity of the ,roman citizens is changed into a mirthful vivacity2 and the serious1 sombre city of ,rome exceeds ,paris itself in sprightliness and gaiety4 ,this spirit seems gradually to augment1 from its commencement2 and is at its height in the last week of the six which comprehend the ,carnival4 ,the citizens then appear in the streets1 masked1 in the characters of ,harlequins1 ,pantaloons1 ,punchinellos1 and all the fantastic variety of a masquerade4 ,this humour spreads to men1 women1 and children2 descends to the lowest ranks1 and becomes universal4 ,even those who put on no mask1 and have no desire to remain unknown1 reject their usual clothes1 and assume some whimsical dress4 ,the coachmen1 who are placed in a more conspicuous point of view than others of the same rank in life1 and who are perfectly known by the carriages they drive1 generally affect some ridiculous disguise3 ,many of them chuse a woman's dress1 and have their faces painted1 and adorned with patches4 ,however dull these fellows may be1 when in breeches1 they are1 in petticoats1 considered as the pleasantest men in the world2 and excite much laughter in every street in which they appear4 ,i observed to an ,italian of my acquaintance1 that1 considering the staleness of the joke1 ,i was surprised at the mirth it seemed to raise4 8,when a whole city10 answered he1 8are resolved to be merry for a week together1 it is exceedingly convenient to have a few established jokes ready made2 the young laugh at the novelty1 and the old from prescription4 ,this metamorphosis of the coachmen is certainly not the most refined kind of wit2 however1 it is more harmless than the burning of heretics1 which formerly was a great source of amusement to our populace40 ,the street1 called the ,corso1 is the great scene of these masquerades4 ,it is crowded every night with people of all conditions3 ,those of rank come in coaches1 or in open carriages1 made on purpose4 ,a kind of civil war is carried on by the company1 as they pass each other4 ,the greatest mark of attention you can shew your friends and acquaintance1 is1 to throw a handful of little white balls1 resembling sugar-plums1 full in their faces2 and1 if they are not deficient in politeness1 they will instantly return you the compliment4 ,all who wish to make a figure in the ,corso1 come well supplied in this kind of ammunition4 ,sometimes two or three open carriages1 on a side1 with five or six persons of both sexes in each1 draw up opposite to each other1 and fight a pitched battle4 ,on these occasions1 the combatants are provided with whole bags full of the small shot above mentioned1 which they throw at each other1 with much apparent fury1 till their ammunition is exhausted1 and the field of battle is as white as snow4 ,the peculiar dresses of every nation of the globe1 and of every profession1 besides all the fantastic characters usual at masquerades1 are to be seen on the ,corso4 ,those of ,harlequin and ,pantaloon are in great vogue among the men4 ,the citizens wives and daughters generally affect the pomp of women of quality2 while their brothers1 or other relations1 appear as train-bearers and attendants4 ,in general1 they seem to delight in characters the most remote from their own4 ,young people assume the long beard1 tottering step1 and other concomitants of old age2 the aged chuse the bib and rattle of childhood2 and the women of quality1 and women of the town1 appear in the characters of country maidens1 nuns1 and vestal virgins4 ,all endeavour to support the assumed characters1 to the best of their ability2 but none1 in my opinion1 succeed so well as those who represent children4 ,towards the dusk of the evening1 the horse-race takes place4 ,as soon as this is announced1 the coaches1 cabriolets1 triumphal cars1 and carriages of every kind1 are drawn up1 and line the street2 leaving a space in the middle for the racers to pass4 ,these are five or six horses1 trained on purpose for this diversion2 they are drawn up a-breast in the ,piazza del ,popolo1 exactly where the ,corso begins4 ,certain balls1 with little sharp spikes1 are hung along their sides1 which serve to spur them on4 ,as soon as they begin to run1 those animals1 by their impatience to be gone1 shew that they understand what is required of them1 and that they take as much pleasure as the spectators in the sport4 ,a broad piece of canvas1 spread across the entrance of the street1 prevents them from starting too soon3 the dropping that canvas is the signal for the race to begin4 ,the horses fly off together1 and1 without riders1 exert themselves to the utmost2 impelled by emulation1 the shouts of the populace1 and the spurs above mentioned4 ,they run the whole length of the ,corso2 and the proprietor of the victor is rewarded by a certain quantity of fine scarlet or purple cloth1 which is always furnished by the ,jews4 ,this diversion1 such as it is1 seems highly entertaining to the ,roman populace2 though it appears a mighty foolish business in the eyes of ,englishmen4 ,an acquaintance of mine1 who had entirely ruined a fine fortune at ,newmarket1 told me1 that ,italian horse-races were the most absurd things in the world2 that there were not a hundred guineas lost or won during a whole ,carnival2 and nothing could be a greater proof of the folly of the people1 than their spending their time in such a silly manner4 ,masking and horse-races are confined to the last eight days2 but there are theatrical entertainments1 of various kinds1 during the whole six weeks of the ,carnival4 ,the ,serious ,opera is most frequented by people of fashion1 who generally take boxes for the whole season4 ,the opera1 with which this theatre opened1 was received with the highest applause1 though the music only was new4 ,the ,italians do not think it always necessary to compose new words for what is called a new opera2 they often satisfy themselves with new music to the affecting dramas of ,metastasio4 ,the audience here seem to lend a more profound and continued attention to the music1 than at ,venice4 ,this is probably owing to the entertainment being a greater rarity in the one city than in the other2 for ,i could perceive that the people of fashion1 who came every night1 began1 after the opera had been repeated several nights1 to abate in their attention1 to receive visitors in their boxes1 and to listen only when some favourite airs were singing3 whereas the audience in the pit uniformly preserve the most perfect silence1 which is only interrupted by gentle murmurs of pleasure from a few individuals1 or an universal burst of applause from the whole assembly4 ,i never saw such genuine marks of satisfaction displayed by any assembly1 on any occasion whatever4 ,the sensibility of some of the audience gave me an idea of the power of sounds1 which the dulness of my own auditory nerves could never have conveyed to my mind4 ,at certain airs1 silent enjoyment was expressed in every countenance2 at others1 the hands were clasped together1 the eyes half shut1 and the breath drawn in1 with a prolonged sigh1 as if the soul was expiring in a torrent of delight4 ,one young woman1 in the pit1 called out1 8,o ,dio1 dove sono6 che piacer via caccia l'alma80 ,on the first night of the opera1 after one of these favourite airs1 an universal shout of applause took place1 intermingled with demands that the composer of the music should appear4 ,il ,maestro6 il ,maestro6 resounded from every corner of the house4 ,he was present1 and led the band of music2 he was obliged to stand upon the bench1 where he continued1 bowing to the spectators1 till they were tired of applauding him4 ,one person1 in the middle of the pit1 whom ,i had remarked displaying great signs of satisfaction from the beginning of the performance1 cried out1 8,he deserves to be made chief musician to the ,virgin1 and to lead a choir of angels60 ,this expression would be thought strong1 in any country2 but it has peculiar energy here1 where it is a popular opinion1 that the ,virgin ,mary is very fond1 and an excellent judge1 of music4 ,i received this information on ,christmas morning1 when ,i was looking at two poor ,calabrian pipers doing their utmost to please her1 and the ,infant in her arms4 ,they played for a full hour to one of her images which stands at the corner of a street4 ,all the other statues of the ,virgin1 which are placed in the streets1 are serenaded in the same manner every ,christmas morning4 ,on my enquiring into the meaning of that ceremony1 ,i was told the above-mentioned circumstance of her character1 which1 though you may have always thought highly probable1 perhaps you never before knew for certain4 ,my informer was a pilgrim1 who stood listening with great devotion to the pipers4 ,he told me1 at the same time1 that the ,virgin's taste was too refined to have much satisfaction in the performance of those poor ,calabrians1 which was chiefly intended for the ,infant2 and he desired me to remark1 that the tunes were plain1 simple1 and such as might naturally be supposed agreeable to the ear of a child of his time of life4 ,though the serious opera is in highest estimation1 and more regularly attended by people of the first fashion2 yet the opera buffas1 or burlettas1 are not entirely neglected1 even by them1 and are crowded1 every night1 by the middle and lower classes4 ,some admired singers have performed there during the ,carnival1 and the musical composers have rendered them highly pleasing to the general taste4 ,the serious and burlesque operas prevail infinitely over the other theatrical entertainments at ,rome1 in spite of the united efforts of ,harlequin1 ,pantaloon1 and ,punchinello4 ,the prohibition of female performers renders the amusement of the ,roman theatre very insipid1 in the opinion of some unrefined ,englishmen of your acquaintance who are here4 ,in my own poor opinion1 the natural sweetness of the female voice is ill supplied by the artificial trills of wretched castratos2 and the aukward agility of robust sinewy fellows dressed in women's clothes1 is a most deplorable substitution for the graceful movements of elegant female dancers4 ,is not the horrid practice which is encouraged by this manner of supplying the place of female singers1 a greater outrage on religion and morality1 than can be produced by the evils which their prohibition is intended to prevent8 ,is it possible to believe1 that purity of sentiment will be preserved by producing eunuchs on the stage8 ,i should fear it would have a different effect4 ,at the funeral of ,junia1 the wife of ,cassius1 and sister of ,brutus1 the statues of all the great persons connected with her family by blood or alliance1 were carried in procession1 except those of her brother and husband4 ,this deficiency struck the people more than any part of the procession1 and brought the two illustrious ,romans into their minds with more force than if their statues had been carried with the others4--,prfulgebant ,cassius atque ,brutus1 says ,tacitus1 eo ipso1 quod effigies eorum non visebantur4 ,,letter ,,lii4 ,naples4 ,i take the first opportunity of informing you of our arrival in this city4 ,some of the principal objects which occurred on the road1 with the sentiments they suggested to my mind1 shall form the subject of this letter4 ,it is almost impossible to go out of the walls of ,rome1 without being impressed with melancholic ideas4 ,having left that city by ,st4 ,john de ,lateran's gate1 we soon entered a spacious plain1 and drove for several miles in sight of sepulchral monuments and the ruins of ancient aqueducts4 ,sixtus the ,fifth repaired one of them1 to bring water into that part of ,rome where ,dioclesian's baths formerly stood3 this water is now called aqua felice1 from ,felix1 the name of that pontiff1 while he was only a ,cordelier4 ,having changed horses at the ,torre de ,mezzo ,via1 so called from an old tower near the post-house1 we proceeded through a silent1 deserted1 unwholesome country4 ,we scarce met a passenger between ,rome and ,marino1 a little town about twelve miles from the former1 which has its name from ,caius ,marius1 who had a villa there2 it now belongs to the ,colonna family4 ,while fresh horses were harnessing1 we visited two churches1 to see two pictures which we had heard commended2 the subject of one is as disagreeable1 as that of the other is difficult to execute4 ,the connoisseur who directed us to these pieces1 told me1 that the first1 the slaying of ,st4 ,bartholomew1 by ,guercino1 is in a great style1 finely coloured1 and the muscles convulsed with pain in the sweetest manner imaginable2 he could have gazed at it for ever4 8,as for the other10 added he 8which represents the ,trinity1 it is natural1 well grouped1 and easily understood2 and that is all that can be said for it40 ,from ,marino1 the road runs for several miles over craggy mountains4 ,in ascending ,mons ,albanus1 we were charmed with a fine view of the country towards the sea2 ,ostia1 ,antium1 the lake ,albano1 and the fields adjacent4 ,the form and component parts of this mountain plainly shew1 that it has formerly been a volcano4 ,the lake of ,nemi1 which we left to the right1 seems1 like that of ,albano1 to have been formed in the cavity of a crater4 ,we came next to ,veletri1 an inconsiderable town1 situated on a hill4 ,there is one palace here1 with spacious gardens1 which1 when kept in repair1 may have been magnificent4 ,the staircase1 they assured us1 is still worthy of admiration4 ,the inhabitants of ,veletri assert1 that ,augustus was born there4 ,suetonius says1 he was born at ,rome4 ,it is certainly of no importance where he was born4 ,perhaps it would have been better for ,rome1 and for the world in general1 that he never had been born at all4 ,the ,veletrians are so fond of emperors1 that they claim a connexion even with ,tiberius and ,caligula1 who had villas in their neighbourhood4 ,the ruins of ,otho's palace are still to be seen about a mile from this city1 at a place called ,colle ,ottone4 ,of those four emperors1 the last-mentioned was by much the best worth the claiming as a countryman4 ,as for ,caligula1 he was a mischievous madman4 ,tiberius seems to have been born with wicked dispositions1 which he improved by art4 ,augustus was naturally wicked1 and artificially virtuous2 and ,otho seems to have been exactly the reverse4 ,though educated in the most vicious of courts1 and the favourite and companion of ,nero1 he still preserved1 in some degree1 the original excellence of his character2 and1 at his death1 displayed a magnanimity of sentiment1 and nobleness of conduct1 of which the highly flattered ,augustus was never capable4 8,alii diutius imperium tenuerint10 says ,tacitus2 8nemo tam fortiter reliquerit40 ,convinced that1 if he continued the contest with ,vitellius1 all the horrors of a civil war would be prolonged1 he determined to sacrifice his life to the quiet of his country1 and to the safety of his friends#c4 8,to involve you in fresh calamities10 said this generous prince to the officers who offered still to support his cause1 8is purchasing life at a price beyond what1 in my opinion1 is its value4 ,shall ,roman armies be led against each other1 and the ,roman youth be excited to mutual slaughter1 on my account8 ,no6 for your safety1 and to prevent such evils1 ,i die contented4 ,let me be no impediment to your treating with the enemy2 nor do you any longer oppose my fixed resolution4 ,i complain not of my fate1 nor do ,i accuse any body4 ,to arraign the conduct of gods or men1 is natural to those only who wish to live40 ,though they are not to be compared in other respects1 yet the death of ,otho may vie with that of ,cato2 and is one of the strongest instances to be found in history1 that a life of effeminacy and voluptuousness does not always eradicate the seeds of virtue and benevolence4 ,in the middle of the square of ,veletri1 is a bronze statue of ,urban the ,eighth4 ,i think they told us it is the workmanship of ,bernini4 ,descending from that town by a rough road1 bordered by vineyards and fruit-trees1 we traversed an unsalubrious plain to ,sermonetta2 between which1 and the post-house1 called ,casa ,nuova1 a little to the left of the highway1 are some vaults and ruins1 not greatly worthy of the notice of the mere antiquarian4 ,yet passengers of a singular cast of mind1 who feel themselves as much interested in the transactions recorded in the ,new ,testament1 as men of taste are in paintings or heathen antiquities1 stop a little here to contemplate the ,tres ,tabern1 which are said to be the three ,taverns mentioned in the ,acts of the ,apostles1 where the ,christian brethren from ,rome came to meet ,st4 ,paul1 when he was on his journey to that city4 ,i have seen1 however1 some ,christian travellers1 who1 without being connoisseurs1 were of opinion1 that old ruined houses derived little value from the circumstance above mentioned1 and who preferred a good modern inn to all the antiquities1 sacred or profane1 that they met with on their grand tours4 ,without presuming to blame any set of men for their particular taste1 ,i may venture to say1 that a traveller1 who loves always to see a well-peopled and well-cultivated country1 who insists on good eating every day1 and a neat comfortable bed every night1 would judge very wisely in never travelling out of ,england4--,i am certain he ought not to travel between ,rome and ,naples2 for on this road1 especially the part which runs through the ,ecclesiastical ,state1 the traveller's chief entertainment must arise from a less substantial foundation2 from the ideas formed in the mind1 at sight of places celebrated by favourite authors2 from a recollection of the important scenes which have been acted there2 and even from the thought of treading the same ground1 and viewing the same objects1 with certain persons who lived there fifteen hundred or two thousand years ago4 ,strangers1 therefore1 who come under the first description1 whose senses are far more powerful than their fancy1 when they are so ill advised as to come so far from home1 generally make this journey in very ill humour1 fretting at ,italian beds1 fuming against ,italian cooks1 and execrating every poor little ,italian flea that they meet with on the road4 ,but he who can put up with indifferent fare cheerfully1 whose serenity of temper remains unshaken by the assaults of a flea1 and who can draw amusement from the stores of memory and imagination1 will find the powers of both wonderfully excited during this journey4 ,sacred history unites with profane1 truth conspires with fable1 to afford him entertainment1 and render every object interesting4 ,proxima ,circe raduntur littora terr4 ,driving along this road1 you have a fine view of ,monte ,circello1 and ----the an bay1 ,where ,circe dwelt1 the daughter of the ,day2 ,goddess and queen1 to whom the powers belong ,of dreadful magic and commanding song4 ,this abode of the enchantress ,circe has been generally described as an island2 whereas it is1 in reality1 a promontory1 united to the continent by a neck of land4 ,the adventures of ,ulysses and his companions at this place1 with all the extraordinary things which ,homer has recorded of ,circe1 must serve to amuse you between ,casa ,nuova and ,piperno2 the road affords no other4 ,at ,piperno1 anciently ,privernum1 you quit ,circe1 for ,virgil's ,camilla1 a lady of a very different character1 whose native city this is#d4 ,near to ,piperno1 an abbey1 called ,fossa ,nuova1 is situated on the ruins of the little town of ,forum ,appii1 the same of which mention is made in the ,acts of the ,apostles1 and by ,horace1 in his account of his journey to ,brundusium4 ----,inde ,forum ,appi ,differtum nautis1 cauponibus atque malignis4 ,the abbey of ,fossa ,nuova is said to have made a very valuable acquisition of late1 no less than the head of ,st4 ,thomas ,aquinas4 ,we are told1 in the memoirs of that ,saint1 that he was taken ill as he passed this way1 and was carried to this convent1 where he died4 ,his body was afterward required by the king of ,france1 and ordered to be carried to ,thoulouse2 but before the remains of this holy person were removed from the convent1 one of the monks1 unwilling to allow the whole of such a precious deposite to be carried away1 determined to retain the most valuable part1 and actually cut off the saint's head1 substituting another in its stead1 which was carried to ,thoulouse1 very nicely stitched to the body of the saint4 ,the monk1 who was guilty of this pious fraud1 hid the true head in the wall of the convent1 and died without revealing the secret to any mortal4 ,from that time the supposititious head remained unsuspected at ,thoulouse2 but as impostures are generally detected sooner or later1 the venerable brethren of ,fossa ,nuova 7this happened much about the time that the ,cock-lane ghost made such a noise in ,london7 were disturbed with strange knockings and scratchings at a particular part of the wall4--,on this noise being frequently repeated1 without any visible agent1 and the people of the neighbourhood having been often assembled to hear it1 the monks at length agreed to pull down part of the wall at the place where the scratching and knocking were always heard4 ,this was no sooner done1 than the true head of ,st4 ,thomas ,aquinas was found as fresh as the day it was cut off2--on the vessel in which it was contained was the following inscription3 ,caput divi ,thom ,aquinatis4 ,and near it a paper1 containing a faithful narrative of the whole transaction1 signed by the monk who did the deed4 ,some people1 not making a proper allowance for the difference between a saint's head and their own1 say1 this cannot possibly be the head of ,thomas ,aquinas1 which must have putrified some centuries ago2 they say1 the paper is written in a character by much too modern2 they say1 the monks contrived the whole affair1 to give an importance to their convent2 they say--but what signifies what they say8 ,in this age of incredulity1 some people will say any thing4 ,we next came to ,terracina1 and here ,i must finish my letter2 in my next ,i shall carry you to ,naples4 #c ,hunc animum1 hanc virtutem vestram1 ultra periculis objicere1 nimis grande vit me pretium puto4 ,an ego tantum ,roman pubis1 tot egregios exercitus1 sterni rursus et republic eripi patiar8 ,este superstites1 nec diu moremur2 ego incolumitatem vestram1 vos constantiam meam4 ,de nemine queror1 nam incusare deos vel homines1 ejus est1 qui vivere velit4 ,,tacit4 ,hist4 lib4 ii4 #d ,hos super advenit ,volsc de gente ,camilla1 ,agmen agens equitum et florentes re catervas1 ,bellatrix3 ,non illa colo calathisve ,minerv ,fmineas assueta manus2 sed prlia virgo ,dura pati1 cursuque pedum prvertere ventos4 ,,neid4 lib4 vii4 ,,letter ,,liii4 ,naples4 ,terracina1 formerly called ,anxur1 was the capital of the warlike ,volsci#e4 ,the principal church was originally a temple of ,jupiter1 who was supposed to have a partiality for this town1 and the country around it4 ,virgil calls him ,jupiter ,anxurus4 ,enumerating the troops who came to support the cause of ,turnus1 he mentions those who plough the ,rutulian hills3 ,circeumque jugum2 queis ,jupiter ,anxurus arvis ,prsidet1 et viridi gaudens ,feronia luco3 ,qua satur jacet atra palus1 c4 ,near this place we fell in again with the ,appian ,way1 and beheld1 with astonishment1 the depth of rock that has here been cut1 to render it more convenient for passengers4 ,this famous road is a paved causeway1 begun in the year of ,rome #dda1 by ,appius ,claudius ,ccus the ,censor1 and carried all the way from ,rome to ,capua4 ,it would be superfluous to insist on the substantial manner in which it has been originally made1 since it still remains in many places4 ,though travellers are now obliged to make a circuit by ,casa ,nuova and ,piperno1 the ,via ,appia was originally made in a straight line through the ,palude ,pontine1 or ,palus ,pomptina1 as that vast marsh was anciently called3 it is the ,ater ,palus above mentioned1 in the lines quoted from ,virgil4 ,that part of the ,appian road is now quite impassable1 from the augmentation of this noxious marsh1 whose exhalations are disagreeable to passengers1 and near which it is dangerous to sleep a single night4 ,keysler and some others say1 that ,appius made this road at his own expence4 ,i do not know on what authority they make this assertion2 but1 whatever their authority may be1 the thing is incredible4 ,could a ,roman citizen1 at a period when the inhabitants of ,rome were not rich1 bear an expence which we are surprised that even the ,state itself could support8 ,though this famous road has received its name from ,appius1 ,i can hardly imagine it was completed by him4 ,the distance from ,rome to ,capua is above one hundred and thirty miles2 a prodigious length for such a road as this to have been made1 during the short course of one ,censorship2 for a man could be ,censor only once in his life4 ,this was an office of very great dignity2 no person could enjoy it till he had previously been ,consul4 ,it was originally held for five years2 but1 a hundred years before the time of ,appius1 the term was abridged to eighteen months4 ,he1 however1 who1 as ,livy tells us1 possessed all the pride and obstinacy of his family1 refused to quit the ,censorship at the end of that period2 and1 in spite of all the efforts of the ,tribunes1 continued three years and a half beyond the term to which the office had been restricted by the milian ,law4 ,but even five years is a very short time for so great a work2 yet this was not the only work he carried on during his ,censorship4 8,viam munivit10 says the ,historian1 8et aquam in urbem duxit40 ,the ,appian road was carried on1 afterwards1 from ,capua to ,brundusium1 and was probably completed so far1 in the time of ,horace2 as appears by this verse1 in one of his ,epistles addressed to ,lollius3 ,brundusium ,numici melius via ducat1 an ,appi4 ,terracina is the last town of the ,ecclesiastical1 and ,fundi the first of the ,neapolitan1 dominions4 ,this last town stands on a plain1 sheltered by hills1 which is seldom the case with ,italian towns3 it probably derives its name from its situation4 ,there is nothing very attractive in this place1 now1 more than in ,horace's time2 so we left it as willingly as he did3 ,fundos ,aufidio ,lusco ,prtore libenter ,linquimus4 ,continuing our route1 partly on the ,appian way1 we came to ,mola di ,gaeta1 a town built on the ruins of the ancient ,formi4 ,horace compliments lius ,lamia1 on his being descended from the first founder of this city3 ,auctore ab illo ducis originem1 ,qui ,formiarum mnia dicitur1 ,princeps4 ,the same ,poet puts the wine1 made from the grapes of the ,formian hills1 on a footing with the ,falernian3 ----mea nec ,falern ,temperant vites1 neque ,formiani ,pocula colles4 ,cicero had a villa near this place2 and it was on this coast where that great orator was murdered in his litter1 as he was endeavouring to make his escape to ,greece4 ,the fortress of ,gaeta is built on a promontory1 about three miles from ,mola2 but travellers1 who have the curiosity to go to the former1 generally cross the gulph between the two2 and immediately1 as the most remarkable thing in the place1 they are shewn a great cleft in a rock1 and informed that it was miraculously split in this manner at the death of our ,saviour4 ,to put this beyond doubt1 they shew1 at the same time1 something like the impression of a man's hand on the rock1 of which the following account is given4--,a certain person having been told on what occasion the rent took place1 struck the palm of his hand on the marble1 declaring he could no more believe their story1 than that his hand would leave its stamp on the rock2 on which1 to the terror and confusion of this infidel1 the stone yielded like wax1 and the impression remains till this day4 ,nothing is so injurious to the cause of truth1 as attempts to support it by fiction4 ,many evidences of the justness of this observation occur in the course of a tour through ,italy4 ,that mountains were rent at the death of our ,saviour1 we know from the ,new ,testament2 but1 as none of them are there particularized1 it is presumptuous in others to imagine they can point out what the ,evangelists have thought proper to conceal4 ,this rock1 however1 is much resorted to by pilgrims2 and the ,tartanes1 and other vessels1 often touch there1 that the seamen may be provided with little pieces of marble1 which they earnestly request may be taken as near the fissure as possible4 ,these they wear constantly in their pockets1 in case of shipwreck1 from a persuasion1 that they are a more certain preservative from drowning1 than a cork jacket4 ,some of these poor people have the misfortune to be drowned1 notwithstanding2 but the sacred marble loses none of its reputation on that account4 ,such accidents are always imputed to the weight of the unfortunate person's sins1 which have sunk him to the bottom1 in spite of all the efforts of the marble to keep him above water2 and it is allowed on all hands1 that a man so oppressed with iniquity1 as to be drowned with a piece of this marble in his pocket1 would have sunk much sooner1 if1 instead of that1 he had had nothing to keep him up but a cork jacket4 ,strangers are next led to the ,castle1 and are shewn1 with some other curiosities1 the skeleton of the famous ,bourbon1 ,constable of ,france1 who was killed in the service of the emperor ,charles the ,fifth1 as he scaled the walls of ,rome4 ,it is remarkable that ,france1 a nation which values itself so much on an affectionate attachment to its princes1 and places loyalty at the head of the virtues1 should have produced1 in the course of the two last centuries1 so many illustrious rebels3 ,bourbon1 ,coligni1 ,guise1 ,turenne1 and the ,conds2 all of them were1 at some period of their lives1 in arms against their sovereign4 ,that it is the duty of subjects to preserve their allegiance1 however unjustly and tyrannically their prince may conduct himself1 is one of the most debasing and absurd doctrines that ever was obtruded on the understanding of mankind4 ,when ,francis forgot the services which the gallant ,bourbon had rendered him at ,mirignan2 when1 by repeated acts of oppression1 he forgot the duty of a king2 ,bourbon spurned at his allegiance1 as a subject4 ,the ,spanish nobleman1 who declared that he would pull down his house1 if ,bourbon should be allowed to lodge in it1 either never had heard of the injurious treatment which that gallant soldier had received1 or he betrayed the sentiments of a slave1 and meant to insinuate his own implicit loyalty to the ,emperor4 ,mankind in general have a partiality for princes4 ,the senses are imposed on by the splendour which surrounds them2 and the respect due to the office of a king1 is naturally converted into an affection for his person3 there must therefore be something highly unpopular in the character of the monarch1 and highly oppressive in the measures of government1 before people can be excited to rebellion4 ,subjects seldom rise through a desire of attacking1 but rather from an impatience of suffering4 ,where men are under the yoke of feudal lords1 who can force them to fight in any cause1 it may be otherwise2 but when general discontent pervades a free people1 and when1 in consequence of this1 they take arms against their prince1 they must have justice on their side4 ,the highest compliment which subjects can pay1 and the best service they can render1 to a good prince1 is1 to behave in such a manner1 as to convince him that they would rebel against a bad one4 ,from ,mola we were conducted by the ,appian way1 over the fertile fields washed by the silent ,liris3 ----,rura qu ,liris quieta ,mordet aqua1 taciturnus amnis4 ,this river bounded ,latium4 ,on its banks are still seen some ruins of the ancient ,minturn4 ,after ,manlius ,torquatus1 in what some will call a phrenzy of virtue1 had offered up his son as a sacrifice to military discipline2 and his colleague ,decius1 immediately after1 devoted himself in a battle against the ,latins2 the broken army of that people assembled at ,minturn1 and were a second time defeated by ,manlius1 and their lands divided by the senate among the citizens of ,rome4 ,the first battle was fought near ,mount ,vesuvius1 and the second between ,sinuessa and ,minturn4 ,in the morasses of ,minturn1 ,caius ,marius1 in the seventieth year of his age1 was taken1 and brought a prisoner to that city1 whose magistrates ordered an assassin to put him to death1 whom the fierce veteran disarmed with a look4 ,what mortal1 says ,juvenal1 would have been thought more fortunate than ,marius1 had he breathed out his aspiring soul1 surrounded by the captives he had made1 his victorious troops1 and all the pomp of war1 as he descended from his ,teutonic chariot1 after his triumph over the ,cimbri4 ----,quid ilio cive tulisset ,natura in terris1 quid ,roma beatius unquam8 ,si circumducto captivorum agmine1 et omni ,bellorum pomp1 animam exhalsset opimam1 ,cum de ,teutonico vellet descendere curru4 ,several writers1 in their remarks on ,italy1 observe1 that it was on the banks of the ,liris that ,pyrrhus gained his dear-bought victory over the ,romans4 ,they have fallen into this mistake1 by confounding the ,liris with the ,siris1 a river in ,magna ,grcia1 near ,heraclea2 in the neighbourhood of which ,pyrrhus defeated the ,romans by the means of his elephants4 ,leaving ,garilagno1 which is the modern name of the ,liris1 we pass the rising ground where the ancient ,sinuessa was situated2 the city where ,horace met his friends ,plotius1 ,varius1 and ,virgil4 ,the friendly glow with which this admirable painter has adorned their characters1 conveys an amiable idea of his own4 ----,anim1 quales neque candidiores ,terra tulit2 neque queis me sit devinctior alter4 ,o1 qui complexus et gaudia quanta fuerunt6 ,nil ego contulerim jucundo sanus amico4 ,do you not share in the happiness of such a company8 ,and are you not rejoiced that they happened to meet near the ,ager ,falernus1 where they could have the best ,massic and ,falernian wines8 ,new ,capua1 through which the road from ,rome to ,naples lies1 is a small town of no importance4 ,the ancient city of that name was situated two miles distant from the new4 ,the ruins of the amphitheatre1 which are still to be seen1 give some idea of the ancient grandeur of that city4 ,before the amphitheatre of ,vespasian was built1 there was none in ,rome of equal size with this4 ,old ,capua is said1 at one period1 to have vied in magnificence with ,rome and ,carthage3 ,altera dicta olim ,carthago1 atque altera ,roma1 ,nunc prostrata jacet1 proprioque sepulta sepulchro4 ,the army of ,hannibal is said to have been conquered by the luxuries of this place2 but the judicious ,montesquieu observes1 that the ,carthaginian army1 enriched by so many victories1 would have found a ,capua wherever they had gone4 ,whether ,capua brought on the ruin of ,hannibal or not1 there can be no doubt that ,hannibal occasioned the ruin of ,capua4 ,having broken their connection with ,rome1 and formed an alliance with her enemy1 the ,capuans were1 in the course of the war1 besieged by the ,consuls ,fulvius and ,appius4 ,hannibal exerted all his vast abilities for the relief of his new friends2 but was not able to bring the ,roman army to a battle1 or to raise the siege4 ,when every other expedient had failed1 he marched directly to ,rome1 in the hopes of drawing the ,roman army after him to defend the capital4 ,a number of alarming events conspired1 at this time1 to depress the spirit of the ,roman ,senate4 ,the ,proconsul ,sempronius ,gracchus1 who commanded an army in ,lucania1 had fallen into an ambuscade1 and was massacred4 ,the two gallant brothers1 the ,scipios1 who were their generals in ,spain1 had been defeated and killed2 and ,hannibal was at their gates4 ,how did the ,senate behave at this crisis8 ,did they spend their time in idle harangues and mutual accusations8 ,did they throw out reflections against those senators who were against entering into a treaty with the ,carthaginians till their army should be withdrawn from ,italy8 ,did they recall their army from ,capua8 ,did they shew any mark of despondence8 ,in this slate of affairs1 the ,roman ,senate sent orders to ,appius to continue the siege of ,capua2 they ordered a reinforcement to their army in ,spain2 the troops for that service marching out at one gate of ,rome1 while ,hannibal threatened to enter by storm at another4 ,how could such a people fail to become the masters of the world6 ,the country between ,capua and ,naples displays a varied scene of lavish fertility1 and with great propriety might be named ,campania ,felix1 if the richest and most generous soil1 with the mildest and most agreeable climate1 were sufficient to render the inhabitants of a country happy4 #e ,anxur fuit qu nunc ,terracin sunt2 urbs prona in paludes4 ,,tit4 ,,liv4 lib4 iv4 ,,letter ,,liv4 ,naples4 ,the day after our arrival at this place1 we waited on ,sir ,w---- ,h----1 his ,majesty's minister at this court4 ,he had gone early that morning on a hunting party with the ,king2 but the ,portuguese ambassador1 at ,l----y ,h----'s desire1 undertook to accompany the ,d---- on the usual round of visits2 ,sir ,w---- was not expected to return for several days1 and the laws of etiquette do not allow that important tour to be delayed so long4 ,as we have been continually driving about ever since our arrival1 ,i am already pretty well acquainted with this town1 and the environs4 ,naples was founded by the ,greeks4 ,the charming situation they have chosen1 is one proof among thousands1 of the fine taste of that ingenious people4 ,the bay is about thirty miles in circumference1 and twelve in diameter2 it has been named ,crater1 from its supposed resemblance to a bowl4 ,this bowl is ornamented with the most beautiful foliage1 with vines2 with olive1 mulberry1 and orange trees2 with hills1 dales1 towns1 villas1 and villages4 ,at the bottom of the bay of ,naples1 the town is built in the form of a vast amphitheatre1 sloping from the hills towards the sea4 ,if1 from the town1 you turn your eyes to the east1 you see the rich plains leading to mount ,vesuvius1 and ,portici4 ,if you look to the west1 you have the ,grotto of ,pausilippo1 the mountain on which ,virgil's tomb is placed1 and the fields leading to ,puzzoli and the coast of ,baia4 ,on the north1 are the fertile hills1 gradually rising from the shore to the ,campagna ,felice4 ,on the ,south1 is the bay1 confined by the two promontories of ,misenum and ,minerva1 the view being terminated by the islands ,procida1 ,ischia1 and ,caprea2 and as you ascend to the castle of ,st4 ,elmo1 you have all these objects under your eye at once1 with the addition of a great part of the ,campagna4 ,independent of its happy situation1 ,naples is a very beautiful city4 ,the style of architecture1 it must be confessed1 is inferior to what prevails at ,rome2 but though ,naples cannot vie with that city in the number of palaces1 or in the grandeur and magnificence of the churches1 the private houses in general are better built1 and are more uniformly convenient2 the streets are broader and better paved4 ,no street in ,rome equals in beauty the ,strada di ,toledo at ,naples2 and still less can any of them be compared with those beautiful streets which are open to the bay4 ,this is the native country of the ,zephyrs2 here the excessive heat of the ,sun is often tempered with sea breezes1 and with gales1 wafting the perfumes of the ,campagna ,felice4 ,the houses1 in general1 are five or six stories in height1 and flat at the top2 on which are placed1 numbers of flower vases or fruit trees1 in boxes of earth1 producing a very gay and agreeable effect4 ,the fortress of ,st4 ,elmo is built on a mountain of the same name4 ,the garrison stationed here1 have the entire command of the town1 and could lay it in ashes at pleasure4 ,a little lower1 on the same mountain1 is a convent of ,carthusians4 ,the situation of this convent is as advantageous and beautiful as can be imagined2 and much expence has been lavished to render the building1 the apartments1 and the gardens1 equal to the situation4 ,to bestow great sums of money in adorning the retreat of men who have abandoned the world for the express purpose of passing the remainder of their lives in self-denial and mortification1 seems to be very ill judged2 and might1 on some occasions1 counteract the design of their retreat4 ,i expressed this sentiment to a ,neapolitan lady at ,sir ,w---- ,h----'s assembly1 the evening after ,i had visited this convent4 ,she said1 8that the elegant apartments1 the gardens1 and all the expensive ornaments ,i had particularised1 could not much impede a system of self-denial2 for they soon became insipid to those who had them constantly before their eyes1 and proved no compensation for the want of other comforts40 8,in that case10 said ,i1 8the whole expence might have been saved1 or bestowed in procuring comforts to others who have made no vows of mortification40 8,tolga iddio60 cried the lady1 forgetting her former argument1 8for none have so good a title to every comfortable and pleasant thing in this world1 as those who have renounced it1 and placed their affections entirely on the next2 instead of depriving these sanctified ,carthusians of what they already possess1 it would be more meritorious to give them what they have not40 8,give them then1 said ,i1 what will afford some satisfaction1 instead of the luxuries of sculpture1 and paintings and architecture1 which1 as you say1 become so soon insipid2 let them have enjoyments of a different kind4 ,why should their diet be confined to fish and vegetables8 ,let them enjoy the pleasures of the table without any limitation4 ,and since they are so very meritorious1 why is your sex deprived of the happiness of their conversation1 and why are they denied the pleasure which the society of women might afford them80 8,cristo benedetto60 cried the lady1 8,you do not understand this matter4--,though none deserve the pleasures of this world1 but those who think only on the next2 yet none can obtain the joys of the next1 who indulge in the pleasures of this40 8,that is unlucky10 said ,i4 8,unlucky6 to be sure it is the most unlucky thing that could have happened1 ecco dove mi doleva10 added the lady4 ,though ,naples is admirably situated for commerce1 and no kingdom produces the necessaries and luxuries of life in greater profusion1 yet trade is but in a languishing condition2 the best silks come from ,lyons1 and the best woollen goods from ,england4 ,the chief articles manufactured here1 at present1 are1 silk stockings1 soap1 snuff boxes of tortoise shells1 and of the lava of ,mount ,vesuvius1 tables1 and ornamental furniture1 of marble4 ,they are thought to embroider here better than even in ,france2 and their macaroni is preferred to that made in any other part of ,italy4 ,the ,neapolitans excel also in liqueurs and confections2 particularly in one kind of confection1 which is sold at a very high price1 called ,diabolonis4 ,this drug1 as you will guess from its name1 is of a very hot and stimulating nature1 and what ,i should think by no means requisite to ,neapolitan constitutions4 ,the inhabitants of this town are computed at three hundred and fifty thousand4 ,i make no doubt of their amounting to that number2 for though ,naples is not one third of the size of ,london1 yet many of the streets here are more crowded than the ,strand4 ,in ,london and ,paris1 the people who fill the streets are mere passengers1 hurrying from place to place on business2 and when they choose to converge1 or to amuse themselves1 they resort to the public walks or gardens3 at ,naples1 the citizens have fewer avocations of business to excite their activity2 no public walks1 or gardens to which they can resort2 and are1 therefore1 more frequently seen sauntering and conversing in the streets1 where a great proportion of the poorest sort1 for want of habitations1 are obliged to spend the night as well as the day4 ,while you sit in your chamber at ,london1 or at ,paris1 the usual noise you hear from the streets1 is that of carriages2 but at ,naples1 where they talk with uncommon vivacity1 and where whole streets full of talkers are in continual employment the noise of carriages is completely drowned in the aggregated clack of human voices4 ,in the midst of all this idleness1 fewer riots or outrages of any kind happen1 than might be expected in a town where the police is far from being strict1 and where such multitudes of poor unemployed people meet together every day4 ,this partly proceeds from the national character of the ,italians2 which1 in my opinion1 is quiet1 submissive1 and averse to riot or sedition2 and partly to the common people being universally sober1 and never inflamed with strong and spirituous liquors1 as they are in the northern countries4 ,iced water and lemonade are among the luxuries of the lowest vulgar2 they are carried about in little barrels1 and sold in half-penny's worth4 ,the half naked lazzarone is often tempted to spend the small pittance destined for the maintenance of his family1 on this bewitching beverage1 as the most dissolute of the low people in ,london spend their wages on gin and brandy2 so that the same extravagance which cools the mob of the one city1 tends to inflame that of the other to acts of excess and brutality4 ,there is not1 perhaps1 a city in the world1 with the same number of inhabitants1 in which so few contribute to the wealth of the community by useful1 or by productive labour1 as ,naples2 but the numbers of priests1 monks1 fiddlers1 lawyers1 nobility1 footmen1 and lazzaronis1 surpass all reasonable proportion2 the last alone are computed at thirty or forty thousand4 ,if these poor fellows are idle1 it is not their own fault2 they are continually running about the streets1 as we are told of the artificers of ,china2 offering their service1 and begging for employment2 and are considered1 by many1 as of more real utility than any of the classes above mentioned4 ,,letter ,,lv4 ,naples4 ,there is an assembly once a week at the house of the ,british minister2 no assembly in ,naples is more numerous1 or more brilliant1 than this4 ,exclusive of that gentleman's good qualities1 and those accomplishments which procure esteem in any situation1 he would meet with every mark of regard from the ,neapolitan nobles1 on account of the high favour in which he stands with their ,sovereign4 ,sir ,w----'s house is open to strangers of every country who come to ,naples properly recommended1 as well as to the ,english2 he has a private concert almost every evening4 ,l----y ,h---- understands music perfectly1 and performs in such a manner1 as to command the admiration even of the ,neapolitans4 ,sir ,w----1 who is the happiest tempered man in the world1 and the easiest amused1 performs also1 and succeeds perfectly in amusing himself1 which is a more valuable attainment than the other4 ,the ,neapolitan nobility are excessively fond of splendour and show4 ,this appears in the brilliancy of their equipages1 the number of their attendants1 the richness of their dress1 and the grandeur of their titles4 ,i am assured1 that the ,king of ,naples counts a hundred persons with the title of ,prince1 and still a greater number with that of ,duke1 among his subjects4 ,six or seven of these have estates1 which produce from ten to twelve or thirteen thousand pounds a year2 a considerable number have fortunes of about half that value2 and the annual revenue of many is not above one or two thousand pounds4 ,with respect to the inferior orders of nobility1 they are much poorer2 many ,counts and ,marquisses have not above three or four hundred pounds a year of paternal estate1 many still less1 and not a few enjoy the title without any estate whatever4 ,when we consider the magnificence of their entertainments1 the splendour of their equipages1 and the number of their servants1 we are surprised that the richest of them can support such expensive establishments4 ,i dined1 soon after our arrival1 at the ,prince of ,franca ,villa's2 there were about forty people at table2 it was meagre day2 the dinner consisted entirely of fish and vegetables1 and was the most magnificent entertainment ,i ever saw1 comprehending an infinite variety of dishes1 a vast profusion of fruit1 and the wines of every country in ,europe4 ,i dined since at the ,prince ,iacci's4 ,i shall mention two circumstances1 from which you may form an idea of the grandeur of an ,italian palace1 and the number of domestics which some of the nobility retain4 ,we passed through twelve or thirteen large rooms before we arrived at the dining room2 there were thirty-six persons at table1 none served but the ,prince's domestics1 and each guest had a footman behind his chair2 other domestics belonging to the ,prince remained in the adjacent rooms1 and in the hall4 ,we afterwards passed through a considerable number of other rooms in our way to one from which there is a very commanding view4 ,no estate in ,england could support such a number of servants1 paid and fed as ,english servants are2 but here the wages are very moderate indeed1 and the greater number of men servants1 belonging to the first families1 give their attendance through the day only1 and find beds and provisions for themselves4 ,it must be remembered1 also1 that few of the nobles give entertainments1 and those who do not1 are said to live very sparingly2 so that the whole of their revenue1 whatever that may be1 is exhausted on articles of show4 ,as there is no ,opera at present1 the people of fashion generally pass part of the evening at the ,corso1 on the sea-shore4 ,this is the great scene of ,neapolitan splendour and parade2 and1 on grand occasions1 the magnificence displayed here will strike a stranger very much4 ,the finest carriages are painted1 gilt1 varnished1 and lined1 in a richer and more beautiful manner1 than has as yet become fashionable either in ,england or ,france2 they are often drawn by six1 and sometimes by eight horses4 ,as the last is the number allotted to his ,britannic ,majesty when he goes to parliament1 some of our countrymen are offended that any individuals whatsoever should presume to drive with the same number4 ,it is the mode here1 to have two running footmen1 very gaily dressed1 before the carriage1 and three or four servants in rich liveries behind2 these attendants are generally the handsomest young men that can be procured4 ,the ladies or gentlemen within the coaches1 glitter in all the brilliancy of lace1 embroidery1 and jewels4 ,the ,neapolitan carriages1 for gala days1 are made on purpose1 with very large windows1 that the spectators may enjoy a full view of the parties within4 ,nothing can be more showy than the harness of the horses2 their heads and manes are ornamented with the rarest plumage1 and their tails set off with riband and artificial flowers1 in such a graceful manner that you are apt to think they have been adorned by the same hands that dressed the heads of the ladies1 and not by common grooms4 ,after all1 you will perhaps imagine the amusement cannot be very great4 ,the carriages follow each other in two lines1 moving in opposite directions4 ,the company within smile1 and bow1 and wave the hand1 as they pass and repass their acquaintance2 and doubtless imagine1 that they are the most important figures in the procession4 ,the horses1 however1 seem to be quite of a different way of thinking1 and to consider themselves as the chief objects of admiration1 looking on the livery servants1 the volantis1 the lords1 and the ladies1 as their natural suit on all such solemn occasions4 ,,letter ,,lvi4 ,naples4 ,the greatest part of kings1 whatever may be thought of them after their death1 have the good fortune to be represented1 at some period of their lives1 generally at the beginning of their reigns1 as the greatest and most virtuous of mankind4 ,they are never compared to characters of less dignity than ,solomon1 ,alexander1 ,csar1 or ,titus2 and the comparison usually concludes to the advantage of the living monarch4 ,they differ in this1 as in many other particulars1 from those of the most distinguished genius and exalted merit among their subjects1 ,that the fame of the latter1 if any awaits them1 seldom arrives at its meridian till many years after their death2 whereas the glory of the former is at its fullest splendour during their lives2 and most of them have the satisfaction of hearing all their praises with their own ears4 ,each particular monarch1 taken separately1 is1 or has been1 considered as a star of great lustre2 yet any number of them1 taken without selection1 and placed in the historical galaxy1 add little to its brightness1 and are often contemplated with disgust4 ,when we have occasion to mention kings in general1 the expression certainly does not awaken a recollection of the most amiable or most deserving part of the human species2 and tyranny in no country is pushed so far1 as to constrain men to speak of them1 when we speak in general terms1 as if they were4 ,it would revolt the feelings1 and rouse the indignation1 even of slaves4 ,full freedom is allowed therefore on this topic2 and1 under the most arbitrary government1 if you chuse to declaim on the imbecility1 profligacy1 or corruption of human nature1 you may draw your illustrations from the kings of any country1 provided you take them in groupes1 and hint nothing to the detriment of the reigning monarch4 ,but1 when we talk of any one living sovereign1 we should never allow it to escape from our memory1 that he is wise1 valiant1 generous1 and good2 and we ought always to have ,solomon1 ,alexander1 ,csar1 and ,titus1 at our elbow1 to introduce them apropos when occasion offers4 ,we may have what opinion we please of the whole race of ,bourbon2 but it would be highly indecent to deny1 that the reigning kings of ,spain and ,naples are very great princes4 ,as ,i never had the happiness of seeing the father1 ,i can only speak of the son4 ,his ,neapolitan ,majesty seems to be about the age of six or seven-and-twenty4 ,he is a prince of great activity of body1 and a good constitution2 he indulges in frequent relaxations from the cares of government and the fatigue of thinking1 by hunting and other exercises2 and 7which ought to give a high idea of his natural talents7 he never fails to acquire a very considerable degree of perfection in those things to which he applies4 ,he is very fond1 like the ,king of ,prussia1 of reviewing his troops1 and is perfectly master of the whole mystery of the manual exercise4 ,i have had the honour1 oftener than once1 of seeing him exercise the different regiments which form the garrison here3 he always gave the word of command with his own royal mouth1 and with a precision which seemed to astonish the whole ,court4 ,this monarch is also a very excellent shot2 his uncommon success at this diversion is thought to have roused the jealousy of his ,most ,catholic ,majesty1 who also values himself on his skill as a marksman4 ,the correspondence between those two great personages often relates to their favourite amusement4--,a gentleman1 who came lately from ,madrid1 told me1 that the ,king1 on some occasion1 had read a letter which he had just received from his son at ,naples1 wherein he complained of his bad success on a shooting party1 having killed no more than eighty birds in a day3 and the ,spanish monarch1 turning to his courtiers1 said1 in a plaintive tone of voice1 8,mio filio piange di non aver' fatto piu di ottante beccacie in uno giorno1 quando mi crederei l'uomo il piu felice del mondo se potesse fare quaranta40 ,all who take a becoming share in the afflictions of a royal bosom1 will no doubt join with me1 in wishing better success to this good monarch1 for the future4 ,fortunate would it be for mankind1 if the happiness of their princes could be purchased at so easy a rate6 and thrice fortunate for the generous people of ,spain1 if the family connexions of their monarch1 often at variance with the real interest of that country1 should never seduce him into a more ruinous war1 than that which he now wages against the beasts of the field and the birds of the air4 ,his ,neapolitan ,majesty1 as ,i am informed1 possesses many other accomplishments2 ,i particularise those only to which ,i have myself been a witness4 ,no king in ,europe is supposed to understand the game of billiards better4 ,i had the pleasure of seeing him strike the most brilliant stroke that perhaps ever was struck by a crowned head4 ,the ball of his antagonist was near one of the middle pockets1 and his own in such a situation1 that it was absolutely necessary to make it rebound from two different parts of the cushion1 before it could pocket the other4 ,a person of less enterprise would have been contented with placing himself in a safe situation1 at a small loss1 and never have risqued any offensive attempt against the enemy2 but the difficulty and danger1 instead of intimidating1 seemed rather to animate the ambition of this ,prince4 ,he summoned all his address2 he estimated1 with a mathematical eye1 the angles at which the ball must fly off2 and he struck it with an undaunted mind and a steady hand4 ,it rebounded obliquely1 from the opposite side-cushion1 to that at the end2 from which it moved in a direct line towards the middle pocket1 which seemed to stand in gaping expectation to receive it4 ,the hearts of the spectators beat thick as it rolled along2 and they shewed1 by the contortions of their faces and persons1 how much they feared that it should move one hair-breadth in a wrong direction4--,i must here interrupt this important narrative1 to observe1 that1 when ,i talk of contortions1 if you form your idea from any thing of that kind which you may have seen around an ,english billiard-table or bowling-green1 you can have no just notion of those which were exhibited on this occasion3 your imagination must triple the force and energy of every ,english grimace1 before it can do justice to the nervous twist of an ,italian countenance4--,at length the royal ball reached that of the enemy1 and with a single blow drove it off the plain4 ,an universal shout of joy1 triumph1 and applause burst from the beholders2 but1 ,o thoughtless mortals1 ever blind to fate1 ,too soon dejected1 and too soon elate6 the victorious ball1 pursuing the enemy too far1 shared the same fate1 and was buried in the same grave1 with the vanquished4 ,this fatal and unforeseen event seemed to make a deep impression on the minds of all who were witnesses to it2 and will no doubt be recorded in the annals of the present reign1 and quoted by future poets and historians1 as a striking instance of the instability of sublunary felicity4 ,it is imagined that the cabinet of this ,court is entirely guided by that of ,spain2 which1 on its part1 is thought to be greatly under the influence of ,french counsels4 ,the manners1 as well as the politics1 of ,france1 are said to prevail at present at the ,court of ,madrid4 ,i do not presume to say of what nature the politics of his ,neapolitan ,majesty are1 or whether he is fond of ,french counsels or not2 but no true-born ,englishman existing can shew a more perfect contempt of their manners than he does4 ,in domestic life1 this ,prince is generally allowed to be an easy master1 a good-natured husband1 a dutiful son1 and an indulgent father4 ,the ,queen of ,naples is a beautiful woman1 and seems to possess the affability1 good-humour1 and benevolence1 which distinguish1 in such an amiable manner1 the ,austrian family4 ,,letter ,,lvii4 ,naples4 ,the hereditary jurisdiction of the nobles over their vassals subsists1 both in the kingdom of ,naples and ,sicily1 in the full rigour of the feudal government4 ,the peasants therefore are poor2 and it depends entirely on the personal character of the masters1 whether their poverty is not the least of their grievances4 ,if the land was leased out to free farmers1 whose property was perfectly secure1 and the leases of a sufficient length to allow the tenant to reap the fruits of his own improvements1 there is no manner of doubt that the estates of the nobility would produce much more4 ,the landlord might have a higher rent paid in money1 instead of being collected in kind1 which subjects him to the salaries and impositions of a numerous train of stewards2 and the tenants1 on their parts1 would be enabled to live much more comfortably1 and to lay up1 every year1 a small pittance for their families4 ,but the love of domineering is so predominant in the breasts of men who have been accustomed to it from their infancy1 that1 if the alternative were in their choice1 many of them would rather submit to be themselves slaves to the caprices of an absolute prince1 than become perfectly independent1 on the condition of giving independence to their vassals4 ,there is reason to believe that this ungenerous spirit prevails pretty universally among the nobility all over ,europe4 ,the ,german ,barons are more shocked at the idea of their peasants becoming perfectly free1 like the farmers of ,great ,britain1 than they are solicitous to limit the power of their princes3 ,and1 from the sentiments ,i have heard expressed by the ,french1 ,i very much doubt1 whether their high nobility would accept of the privileges of ,english peers1 at the expence of that insolent superiority1 and those licentious freedoms1 with which they may1 though no ,english peer can1 treat with impunity the citizens and people of inferior rank4 ,we need be the less surprised at this1 when we consider that1 in some parts of the ,british empire1 where the equable and generous laws of ,england prevail1 those who set the highest value on freedom1 who submit to every hardship1 and encounter every danger1 to secure it to themselves1 never have shewn a disposition of extending its blessings1 or even alleviating the bondage of that part of the human species1 which a sordid and unjustifiable barter has brought into their power4 ,the ,court of ,naples has not yet ventured1 by one open act of authority1 to abolish the immoderate power of the lords over their tenants4 ,but it is believed that the ,minister secretly wishes for its destruction2 and in cases of flagrant oppression1 when complaints are brought before the legal courts1 or directly to the ,king himself1 by the peasants against their lord1 it is generally remarked that the ,minister favours the complainant4 ,notwithstanding this1 the masters have so many opportunities of oppressing1 and such various methods of teasing1 their vassals1 that they generally chuse to bear their wrongs in silence2 and perceiving that those who hold their lands immediately from the ,crown1 are in a much easier situation than themselves2 without raising their hopes to perfect freedom1 the height of their wishes is to be sheltered1 from the vexations of little tyrants1 under the unlimited power of one common master4 ,the objects of royal attention1 they fondly imagine1 are too sublime1 and the minds of kings too generous1 to stoop to1 or even to countenance1 in their servants1 the minute and unreasonable exertions1 which are wrung at present from the hard hands of the exhausted labourer4 ,though the ,neapolitan nobility still retain the ancient feudal authority over the peasants1 yet their personal importance depends1 in a great measure1 on the favour of the ,king2 who1 under pretext of any offence1 can confine them to their own estates1 or imprison them at pleasure2 and who1 without any alleged offence1 and without going to such extremes1 can inflict a punishment1 highly sensible to them1 by not inviting them to the amusements of the ,court1 or not receiving them with smiles when they attend on any ordinary occasion4 ,unless this ,prince were so very impolitic as to disgust all the nobility at once1 and so unite the whole body against him1 he has little to fear from their resentment4 ,even in case of such an union1 as the nobles have lost the affection and attachment of their peasants1 what could they do in opposition to a standing army of thirty thousand men1 entirely devoted to the ,crown8 ,the establishment of standing armies has universally given stability to the power of the prince1 and ruined that of the great lords4 ,no nobility in ,europe can now be said to inherit political importance1 or to act independent of1 or in opposition to1 the influence of the crown2 except the temporal peers of that part of ,great ,britain called ,england4 ,as men of high birth are seldom1 in this country1 called to the management of public affairs1 or placed in those situations where great political knowledge is required2 and as his ,majesty relies on his own talents and experience in war for the direction of the army2 neither the civil nor military establishments open any very tempting field for the ambition of the nobles1 whose education is usually adapted to the parts in life which they have a probability of acting4 ,their fortunes and titles descend to them1 independent of any effort of their own4 ,all the literary distinctions are beneath their regard2 it is therefore not thought expedient to cloud the playful innocence of their childhood1 or the amiable gaiety of their youth1 with severe study4 ,in some other countries1 where a very small portion of literary education is thought becoming for young men of rank1 and where even this small portion has been neglected1 they sometimes catch a little knowledge of history and mythology1 and some useful moral sentiments1 from the excellent dramatic pieces that are represented on their theatres4 ,they also sometimes pick up some notion of the different governments in ,europe1 and a few political ideas1 in the course of their travels4 ,but the nobility of this country very seldom travel2 and the only dramatic pieces1 represented here1 are operas2 in which music1 not sentiment1 is the principal thing attended to4 ,in the other theatrical entertainments1 ,punchinello is the shining character4 ,to this disregard of literature among the nobles1 it is owing1 that in their body are to be found few tiresome1 scholastic pedants1 and none of those perturbed spirits1 who ruffle the serenity of nations by political alarms1 who clog the wheels of government by opposition1 who pry into the conduct of ministers1 or in any way disturb that total indifference with regard to the public1 which prevails all over this kingdom4 ,we are told by a great modern ,historian#f1 that 8force of mind1 a sense of personal dignity1 gallantry in enterprise1 invincible perseverance in execution1 contempt of danger and of death1 are the characteristic virtues of uncivilised nations40 ,but as the nobles of this country have long been sufficiently civilised1 these qualities may in them be supposed to have given place to the arts which embellish a polished age2 to gaming1 gallantry1 music1 the parade of equipage1 the refinements of dress1 and other nameless refinements4 #f ,vide ,dr4 ,robertson's ,history of the ,emperor ,charles ,v4 ,sect4 ,i4 ,,letter ,,lviii4 ,naples4 ,the citizens of ,naples form a society of their own1 perfectly distinct from the nobility2 and although they are not the most industrious people in the world1 yet1 having some degree of occupation1 and their time being divided between business and pleasure1 they probably have more enjoyment than those1 who1 without internal resources1 or opportunities of active exertion1 pass their lives in sensual gratifications1 and in waiting the returns of appetite around a gaming table4 ,in the most respectable class of citizens1 are comprehended the lawyers1 of whom there are an incredible number in this town4 ,the most eminent of this profession hold1 indeed1 a kind of intermediate rank between the nobility and citizens2 the rest are on a level with the physicians1 the principal merchants1 and the artists2 none of whom can make great fortunes1 however industrious they may be2 but a moderate income enables them to support their rank in society1 and to enjoy all the conveniences1 and many of the luxuries1 of life4 ,england is perhaps the only nation in ,europe where some individuals1 of every profession1 even of the lowest1 find it possible to accumulate great fortunes2 the effect of this very frequently is1 that the son despises the profession of the father1 commences gentleman1 and dissipates1 in a few years1 what cost a life to gather4 ,in the principal cities of ,germany and ,italy1 we find1 that the ancestors of many of those citizens who are the most eminent in their particular businesses1 have transmitted the art to them through several generations4 ,it is natural to imagine1 that this will tend to the improvement of the art1 or science1 or profession1 as well as the family fortune2 and that the third generation will acquire knowledge from the experience1 as well as wealth from the industry1 of the former two2 whereas1 in the cases alluded to above1 the wheel of fortune moves differently4 ,a man1 by assiduity in a particular business1 and by genius1 acquires a great fortune and a high reputation2 the son throws away the fortune1 and ruins his own character by extravagance2 and the grandson is obliged to recommence the business1 unaided by the wealth or experience of his ancestors4 ,this1 however1 is pointing out an evil which ,i should be sorry to see remedied2 because it certainly originates in the riches and prosperity of the country in which it exists4 ,the number of priests1 monks1 and ecclesiastics of all the various orders that swarm in this city1 is prodigious2 and the provision appropriated for their use1 is as ample1 ,i am assured1 that the clergy are in possession of considerably above one-third of the revenue of the whole kingdom1 over and above what some particular orders among them acquire by begging for the use of their convents1 and what is gotten in legacies by the address and assiduity of the whole4 ,the unproductive wealth1 which is lodged in the churches and convents of this city1 amounts also to an amazing value4 ,not to be compared in point of architecture to the churches and convents of ,rome1 those of ,naples surpass them in riches1 in the value of their jewels1 and in the quantity of silver and golden crucifixes1 vessels1 and implements of various kinds4 ,i have often heard these estimated at a sum so enormous as to surpass all credibility2 and which1 as ,i have no opportunity of ascertaining with any degree of precision1 ,i shall not mention4 ,this wealth1 whatever it amounts to1 is of as little use to the kingdom1 as if it still remained in the mines of ,peru2 and the greater part of it1 surely1 affords as little comfort to the clergy and monks as to any other part of the community2 for though it belongs to their church1 or their convent1 yet it can no more be converted to the use of the priests and monks of such churches and convents1 than to the tradesmen who inhabit the adjacent streets4 ,for this reason ,i am a good deal surprised1 that no pretext1 or subterfuge1 has been found1 no expedient fallen on1 no treaty or convention made1 for appropriating part of this at least1 to the use of some set of people or other4 ,if the clergy were to lay their hands on it1 this might be found fault with by the ,king2 if his ,majesty dreamt of taking any part of it for the exigencies of the state1 the clergy would undoubtedly raise a clamour2 and if both united1 the ,pope would think he had a right to pronounce his veto2 but if all these three powers could come to an understanding1 and settle their proportions1 ,i am apt to think a partition might be made as quietly as that of ,poland4 ,whatever scruples the ,neapolitan clergy may have to such a project1 they certainly have none to the full enjoyment of their revenues4 ,no class of men can be less disposed to offend ,providence by a peevish neglect of the good things which the bounty of heaven has bestowed4 ,self-denial is a virtue1 which ,i will not say they possess in a smaller degree1 but which1 ,i am sure1 they affect less than any other ecclesiastics ,i know2 they live very much in society1 both with the nobles and citizens4 ,all of them1 the monks not excepted1 attend the theatre1 and seem to join most cordially in other diversions and amusements2 the common people are no ways offended at this1 or imagine that they ought to live in a more recluse manner4 ,some of the orders have had the address to make a concern for their temporal interest1 and a desire of seeing them live full1 and in something of a jolly manner1 be regarded by the common people as a proof of zeal for religion4 ,i am informed1 that a very considerable diminution in the number of monks has taken place in the kingdom of ,naples since the suppression of the ,jesuits1 and since a liberty of quitting the cowl was granted by the late ,pope2 but still there is no reason to complain of a deficiency in this order of men4 ,the richest and most commodious convents in ,europe1 both for male and female votaries1 are in this city2 the most fertile and beautiful hills of the environs are covered with them2 a small part of their revenue is spent in feeding the poor1 the monks distributing bread and soup to a certain number every day before the doors of the convents4 ,some of the friars study physic and surgery1 and practise these arts with great applause4 ,each convent has an apothecary's shop belonging to it1 where medicines are delivered gratis to the poor1 and sold to those who can afford to pay4 ,on all these accounts the monks in general are greater favourites with the common people than even the secular clergy2 all the charity of the friars1 however1 would not be able to cover their sins1 if the stories circulated by their enemies were true1--by which they are represented as the greatest profligates and debauchees in the world4 ,without giving credit to all that is reported on this subject1 as the ,neapolitan monks are very well fed1 as this climate is not the most favourable to continency 7a virtue which in this place is by no means estimated in proportion to its rarity71 it is most likely that the inhabitants of the convents1 like the inhabitants in general1 indulge in certain pleasures with less scruple or restraint than is usual in some other places4 ,be that as it may1 it is certain that they are the most superstitious of mankind2 a turn of mind which they communicate with equal zeal and success to a people remarkably ignorant1 and remarkably amorous4 ,the seeds of superstition thus zealously sown on such a warm and fertile1 though uncultivated1 soil1 sometimes produce the most extraordinary crops of sensuality and devotion that ever were seen in any country4 ,the lazzaroni1 or black-guards1 as has been already observed1 form a considerable part of the inhabitants of ,naples2 and have1 on some well-known occasions1 had the government for a short time in their own hands4 ,they are computed at above thirty thousand2 the greater part of them have no dwelling-houses1 but sleep every night under porticos1 piazzas1 or any kind of shelter they can find4 ,those of them who have wives and children1 live in the suburbs of ,naples near ,pausilippo1 in huts1 or in caverns or chambers dug out of that mountain4 ,some gain a livelihood by fishing1 others by carrying burdens to and from the shipping2 many walk about the streets ready to run on errands1 or to perform any labour in their power for a very small recompence4 ,as they do not meet with constant employment1 their wages are not sufficient for their maintenance2 the soup and bread distributed at the door of the convents supply the deficiency4 ,the lazzaroni are generally represented as a lazy1 licentious1 and turbulent set of people2 what ,i have observed gives me a very different idea of their character4 ,their idleness is evidently the effect of necessity1 not of choice2 they are always ready to perform any work1 however laborious1 for a very reasonable gratification4 ,it must proceed from the fault of ,government1 when such a number of stout active citizens remain unemployed2 and so far are they from being licentious and turbulent1 that ,i cannot help thinking they are by much too tame and submissive4 ,though the inhabitants of the ,italian cities were the first who shook off the feudal yoke1 and though in ,naples they have long enjoyed the privilege of municipal jurisdiction1 yet the external splendour of the nobles1 and the authority they still exercise over the peasants1 impose upon the minds of the lazzaroni2 and however bold and resentful they may be of injuries offered by others1 they bear the insolence of the nobility as passively as peasants fixed to the soil4 ,a coxcomb of a volanti tricked out in his fantastical dress1 or any of the liveried slaves of the great1 make no ceremony of treating these poor fellows with all the insolence and insensibility natural to their matters2 and for no visible reason1 but because he is dressed in lace1 and the others in rags4 ,instead of calling to them to make way1 when the noise in the streets prevents the common people from hearing the approach of the carriage1 a stroke across the shoulders with the cane of the running footman1 is the usual warning they receive4 ,nothing animates this people to insurrection1 but some very pressing and very universal cause2 such as a scarcity of bread3 every other grievance they bear as if it were their charter4 ,when we consider thirty thousand human creatures without beds or habitations1 wandering almost naked in search of food through the streets of a well built city2 when we think of the opportunities they have of being together1 of comparing their own destitute situation with the affluence of others1 one cannot help being astonished at their patience4 ,let the prince be distinguished by splendour and magnificence2 let the great and the rich have their luxuries2 but1 in the name of humanity1 let the poor1 who are willing to labour1 have food in abundance to satisfy the cravings of nature1 and raiment to defend them from the inclemencies of the weather6 ,if their governors1 whether from weakness or neglect1 do not supply them with these1 they certainly have a right to help themselves4--,every law of equity and common sense will justify them1 in revolting against such governors1 and in satisfying their own wants from the superfluities of lazy luxury4 ,,letter ,,lix4 ,naples4 ,i have made several visits to the museum at ,portici1 principally1 as you may believe1 to view the antiquities dug out of ,herculaneum and ,pompeia4 ,the work publishing by ,government1 ornamented with engravings of the chief articles of this curious collection1 will1 in all probability1 be continued for many years1 as new articles worthy of the sculptor's art are daily discovered1 and as a vast mine of curiosities is supposed to be concealed in the unopened streets of ,pompeia4 ,among the ancient paintings1 those which ornamented the theatre of ,herculaneum are more elegant than any that have hitherto been found at ,pompeia4 ,all those paintings were executed upon the stucco which lined the walls2 they have been sawed off with great labour and address1 and are now preserved in glass cases2 the colours1 we are told1 were much brighter before they were drawn out of their subterraneous abode1 and exposed to the open air2 they are1 however1 still wonderfully lively3 the subjects are understood at the first glance by those who are acquainted with the ,grecian history and mythology4 ,there is a ,chiron teaching ,achilles to play on the lyre1 ,ariadne deserted1 the ,judgment of ,paris1 some ,bacchantes and ,fauns2 the largest piece represents ,theseus's victory over the ,minotaur4 ,it consists of seven or eight figures very well grouped1 but a ,frieze1 with a dancing woman1 on a black ground1 not above ten inches long1 is thought the best4 ,we ought not1 however1 to judge of the progress which the ancients had made in the art of painting1 by the degree of perfection which appears in those pictures4 ,it is not probable that the best paintings of ancient ,greece or ,italy were at ,herculaneum2 and1 if it could be ascertained that some of the productions of the best matters were there1 it would not follow that those which have been discovered are of that class4 ,if a stranger were to enter at random a few houses in ,london1 and see some tolerably good pictures there1 he could not with propriety conclude that the best of them were the very best in ,london4 ,the paintings brought from ,herculaneum are perfect proofs that the ancients had made that progress in the art1 which those pictures indicate2 but do not form even a presumption1 that they had not made a much greater4 ,it is almost demonstrable that these paintings are not of their best4 ,the same school which formed the sculptor to correctness1 would form the painter to equal correctness in his drawings1 however deficient he might be in all the other parts of his art4 ,their best statues are correct in their proportions1 and elegant in their forms3 ,these paintings are not correct in their proportions1 and are comparatively inelegant in their forms4 ,among the statues1 the drunken ,faun and the ,mercury are the best4 ,there are some fine bronze busts2 the intaglios and cameos1 which hitherto have been found either in ,herculaneum or ,pompeia1 are reckoned but indifferent4 ,the elegance of form1 with the admirable workmanship1 of the ornamental furniture and domestic utensils1 in silver and other metals2 the variety and beauty of the lamps1 tripods1 and vases2 sufficiently testify1 if there were no other proofs1 the fertile imagination and exquisite execution of the ancient artists4 ,and1 had their own poets and historians been quite silent concerning the ,roman refinements in the art of cookery1 and the luxury of their tables2 the prodigious variety of culinary instruments1 the moulds for jellies1 for confections1 and pastry1 which are collected in this museum1 would afford a strong presumption that the great men of our own days have a nearer resemblance to those ancient conquerors of the world1 than is generally imagined4 ,many of the ancient manuscripts found at ,herculaneum have been carried to ,madrid2 but a great number still remain at ,portici4 ,great pains have been bestowed1 and much ingenuity displayed1 in separating and unrolling the sheets1 without destroying the writing4 ,this has succeeded in a certain degree2 though1 in spite of all the skill and attention of those who are employed in this very delicate work1 the copiers are obliged to leave many blanks where the letters are obliterated4 ,the manuscripts hitherto unrolled and copied1 are in the ,greek language1 and not of a very important nature4 ,as the unrolling those papers must take up a great deal of time1 and requires infinite address1 it is to be wished that his ,neapolitan ,majesty would send one at least to every university in ,europe1 that the abilities of the most ingenious men of every country might be exercised on a subject so universally interesting4 ,the method which should be found to succeed best1 might be immediately made known1 and applied to the unfolding of the remaining manuscripts4 ,the probability of recovering those works1 whose loss the learned have so long lamented1 would by this means be greatly increased4 ,herculaneum and ,pompeia were destroyed by the same eruption of ,mount ,vesuvius1 about seventeen hundred years ago4 ,the former was a town of much more magnificence than the other2 but it is infinitely more difficult to be cleared of the matter which covers it4 ,sir ,william ,hamilton1 in his accurate and judicious observations on ,mount ,vesuvius1 asserts1 that there are evident marks that the matter of six eruptions has taken its course over this devoted town1 since the great explosion which involved it in the same fate with ,pompeia4 ,these different eruptions have all happened at considerable distances of time from each other4 ,this appears by the layers of good soil which are found between them4 ,but the matter which immediately covers the town1 and with which the theatre1 and all the houses hitherto examined1 were found filled1 is not lava1 but a sort of soft stone1 composed of pumice and ashes1 intermixed with earth4 ,this has saved the pictures1 manuscripts1 busts1 utensils1 and other antiquities1 which have been recovered out of ,herculaneum1 from utter destruction4 ,for if any of the six succeeding eruptions had happened previous to this1 and the red-hot liquid lava1 of which they consisted1 had flowed into the open city1 it would have filled every street1 scorched up every combustible substance with intense heat1 involving the houses1 and all they contained1 in one solid rock of lava1 undistinguishable1 and for ever inseparable1 from it4 ,the eruption1 which buried the city in cinders1 earth1 and ashes1 has in some measure preserved it from the more destructive effects of the fiery torrents which have overwhelmed it since4 ,when we consider that the intervals between those eruptions were sufficiently long to allow a soil to be formed upon the hardened lava of each2 that a new city has been actually built on the lava of the last eruption2 and that the ancient city is from seventy to one hundred feet below the present surface of the earth2 we must acknowledge it more surprising that any1 than that so few1 of its ornaments have been recovered4 ,at the beginning of the present century1 any body would have imagined that the busts1 statues and pictures of ,herculaneum had not a much better chance1 than the persons they represent1 of appearing again1 within a few years1 upon the surface of this globe4 ,the case is different with regard to ,pompeia4 ,though it was not discovered till about twenty-five years ago1 which is forty years almost after the discovery of ,herculaneum1 yet the probability was greatly in favour of its being discovered sooner1 for ,pompeia has felt the effects of a single eruption only2 it is not buried above twelve feet below the surface of the ground1 and the earth1 ashes1 cinders1 and pumice-stones1 with which it is covered1 are so light1 and so little tenacious1 that they might be removed with no great difficulty4 ,if the attention of his ,neapolitan ,majesty were not engrossed with more important concerns1 he might have the whole town uncovered in a very short space of time2 half the lazzaroni of ,naples could complete the business in one year4 ,hitherto only one street and a few detached buildings are cleared2 the street is well paved with the same kind of stone of which the ancient roads are made1 narrow causeways are raised a foot and an half on each side for the conveniency of foot passengers4 ,the street itself1 to my recollection1 is not so broad as the narrowest part of the ,strand1 and is supposed to have been inhabited by tradespeople4 ,the traces of wheels of carriages are to be seen on the pavement2 the distance between the traces is less than that between the wheels of a modern post-chaise4 ,i remarked this the more as1 on my first viewing the street1 ,i doubted whether there was room for two modern coaches to pass each other4 ,i plainly saw there was sufficient room for two of the ancient chariots1 whose wheels were of no greater distance than between the traces on the pavement4 ,the houses are small1 and in a very different style from the modern ,italian houses2 for the former give an idea of neatness and conveniency4 ,the stucco on the walls is hard as marble1 smooth and beautiful4 ,some of the rooms are ornamented with paintings1 mostly single figures1 representing some animal2 they are tolerably well executed1 and on a little water being thrown on them1 the colours appear surprisingly fresh4 ,most of the houses are built on the same plan1 and have one small room from the passage1 which is conjectured to have been the shop1 with a window to the street1 and a place which seems to have been contrived for shewing the goods to the greatest advantage4 ,the nature of the traffic carried on at one particular house1 is indicated by a figure in alto relievo of a very expressive kind1 immediately above the door4 ,it is to be wished they would cover one of the best houses with a roof1 as nearly resembling that which originally belonged to it as they could imagine1 with a complete assortment of the antique furniture of the kitchen and each particular room4 ,such a house fitted up with accuracy and judgment1 with all its utensils and ornaments properly arranged1 would be an object of universal curiosity1 and would swell the heart of the antiquarian with veneration and delight4 ,only imagine1 my dear ,sir1 what those gentlemen must feel1 when they see the venerable habitations of the ancients in their present mournful condition1 neglected1 despised1 abandoned to the peltings of rain1 and all the injuries of the weather6 those precious walls1 which1 were it possible to transport them to the various countries of the world1 would be bought with avidity1 and placed in the gardens of ,princes6 ,how must the bosoms of all true virtuosos glow with indignation1 when they behold the mansions of the ancient ,romans stripped of their ornaments1 dishonoured1 and exposed1 like a parcel of ragged galley slaves1 in the most indecent manner1 with hardly any covering to their nakedness2 while a little paltry brick house1 coming the ,lord knows how1 from a country which men of taste have always despised1 has been received with hospitality1 dressed in a fine coat of the richest marble1 adorned with jewels and precious stones1 and treated with every mark of honourable distinction6 ,in another part of the town of ,pompeia1 there is a rectangular building1 with a colonade1 towards the court1 something in the style of the ,royal ,exchange at ,london1 but smaller4 ,this has every appearance of a barrack and guard room2 the pillars are of brick1 covered with shining stucco1 elegantly fluted2 the scrawlings and drawings still visible on the walls1 are such as we might naturally expect on the walls of a guard room1 where soldiers are the designers1 and swords the engraving tools4 ,they consist of gladiators fighting1 some with each other1 some with wild beasts2 the games of the circus1 as chariot races1 wrestling1 and the like2 a few figures in caricatura1 designed probably by some of the soldiers1 in ridicule of their companions1 or perhaps of their officers2 and there are abundance of names inscribed on various parts of the wall1 according to the universal custom of the humblest candidates for fame in all ages and countries4 ,it may be safely asserted1 that none of those who have endeavoured to transmit their names to posterity in this manner1 have succeeded so well as the soldiers of the garrison of ,pompeia4 ,at a considerable distance from the barrack1 is a building1 known by the inscription upon it1 for a temple of the goddess ,isis2 there is nothing very magnificent in its appearance2 the pillars are of brick stuccoed like those of the guard room4 ,the best paintings1 hitherto found at ,pompeia1 are those of this temple2 they have been cut out of the walls and removed to ,portici4 ,it was absolutely necessary to do this with the pictures at ,herculaneum1 because there they could not be seen without the help of torches2 but here1 where they could be seen by the light of the ,sun1 they would1 in my humble opinion1 have appeared to more advantage1 and have had a better effect in the identical situation in which they were placed by the ancient artist4 ,a few still remain1 particularly one1 which is considered by travellers as a great curiosity2 it is a small view of a villa1 with the gardens belonging to it4 ,there is one house or villa without the walls1 on a much larger scale than any of the others4 ,in a large cellar1 or vaulted gallery1 belonging to this house1 there are a number of amphor1 or earthen vessels1 arranged along the walls2 most of them filled with a kind of red substance1 supposed to have been wine4 ,this cellar is sunk about two-thirds below the surface of the ground1 and is lighted by small narrow windows4 ,i have called it gallery1 because it is about twelve feet in width1 and is the whole length of two adjoining sides of the square which the villa forms4 ,it was used not only as a repository for wine1 but also as a cool retreat for the family during excessive hot weather4 ,some of this unfortunate family sought shelter in this place from the destructive shower which overwhelmed the town4 ,eight skeletons1 four being those of children1 were found here2 where they must have met a more cruel and lingering death1 than that which they shunned4 ,in one room1 the body of a man was found2 with an ax in the hand2 it is probable he had been endeavouring to cut a passage into the open air2 he had broken and pierced the wall1 but had expired before he could clear away the surrounding rubbish4 ,few skeletons were found in the streets1 but a considerable number in the houses4 ,before the decisive shower fell1 which smothered the inhabitants of this ill fated city1 perhaps such quantities of ashes and cinders were occasionally falling1 as frightened1 and obliged them to keep within doors4 ,it is impossible to view those skeletons1 and reflect on this dreadful catastrophe1 without horror and compassion4 ,we cannot think of the inhabitants of a whole town being destroyed at once1 without imagining that their fate has been uncommonly severe4 ,but are not the inhabitants of all the towns then existing1 of whom we think without any emotion of pity1 as completely dead as those of ,pompeia8 ,and could we take them one by one1 and consider the nature of their deaths1 and the circumstances attending that of each individual2 some destroyed by painful bodily diseases1 some by the torture of the executioner1 some bowed to the grave by the weight of accumulated sorrow1 and the slow anguish of a broken heart1 after having suffered the pangs of dissolution1 over and over again1 in the death of those they loved1 after having beheld the dying agonies of their children2 could all this1 ,i say1 be appraised1 calculated1 and compared1 the balance of suffering might not be found with the inhabitants of ,pompeia1 but rather with those of the contemporary cities1 who1 perhaps at that time1 as we do now1 lamented its severe fate4 ,,letter ,,lx4 ,naples4 ,as ,i sauntered along the ,strada ,nuova lately1 ,i perceived a groupe of people listening1 with much attention1 to a person who harangued them in a raised1 solemn voice1 and with great gesticulation4 ,i immediately made one of the auditory1 which increased every moment2 men1 women1 and children bringing seats from the neighbouring houses1 on which they placed themselves around the orator4 ,he repeated stanzas from ,ariosto1 in a pompous1 recitativo cadence1 peculiar to the natives of ,italy2 and he had a book in his hand1 to assist his memory when it failed4 ,he made occasional commentaries in prose1 by way of bringing the ,poet's expression nearer to the level of his hearers' capacities4 ,his cloak hung loose from one shoulder2 his right arm was disengaged1 for the purposes of oratory4 ,sometimes he waved it with a slow1 smooth motion1 which accorded with the cadence of the verses2 sometimes he pressed it to his breast1 to give energy to the pathetic sentiments of the ,poet4 ,now he gathered the hanging folds of the right side of his cloak1 and held them gracefully up1 in imitation of a ,roman senator2 and anon he swung them across his left shoulder1 like a citizen of ,naples4 ,he humoured the stanza by his voice1 which he could modulate to the key of any passion1 from the boisterous bursts of rage1 to the soft notes of pity or love4 ,but1 when he came to describe the exploits of ,orlando1 he trusted neither to the powers of his own voice1 nor the ,poet's genius2 but1 throwing off his cloak1 and grasping his cane1 he assumed the warlike attitude and stern countenance of that hero2 representing1 by the most animated action1 how he drove his spear through the bodies of six of his enemies at once2 the point at the same time killing a seventh1 who would also have remained transfixed with his companions1 if the spear could have held more than six men of an ordinary size upon it at a time4 ,il ,cavalier d' ,anglante ove pui spesse ,vide le genti e l'arme1 abbasso l'asta1 ,ed uno in quella1 e poscia un altro messe ,e un altro1 e un altro1 che sembrar di pasta1 ,e fino a sei ve n'infilz1 e li resse ,tutti una lancia2 e perche' ella non basta ,a piu ,capir1 lasci il settimo fuore ,ferito si che di quel colpo muore4 ,this stanza our declaimer had no occasion to comment upon1 as ,ariosto has thought fit to illustrate it in a manner which seemed highly to the taste of this audience4 ,for1 in the verse immediately following1 ,orlando is compared to a man killing frogs in marshy ground1 with a bow and arrow made for that purpose2 an amusement very common in ,italy1 and still more so in ,france4 ,non altrimente nell' estrema arena ,veggiam le rane de' canali e fosse ,dal cauto arcier ne i fianchi1 e nella schiena ,l'una vicina all' altera esser percosse1 ,ne dalla freccia1 fin che tutta piena ,non sia da un capo all' altero esser rimosse4 ,i must however do this audience the justice to acknowledge1 that they seemed to feel the pathetic and sublime1 as well as the ludicrous1 parts of the ancient ,bard4 ,this practice of rehearsing the verses of ,ariosto1 ,tasso1 and other poets1 in the street1 ,i have not observed in any other town of ,italy2 and ,i am told it is less common here than it was formerly4 ,i remember indeed1 at ,venice1 to have frequently seen mountebanks1 who gained their livelihood by amusing the populace at ,st4 ,mark's ,place1 with wonderful and romantic stories in prose4--8,listen1 ,gentlemen10 said one of them2 8let me crave your attention1 ye beautiful and virtuous ladies2 ,i have something equally affecting and wonderful to tell you2 a strange and stupendous adventure1 which happened to a gallant knight40--,perceiving that this did not sufficiently interest the hearers1 he exalted his voice1 calling out that his ,knight was uno ,cavalliero ,cristiano4 ,the audience seemed still a little fluctuating4 ,he raised his voice a note higher1 telling them that this ,christian ,knight was one of their own victorious countrymen1 8un' ,eroe ,veneziano40 ,this fixed them2 and he proceeded to relate how the ,knight1 going to join the ,christian army1 which was on its march to recover the ,sepulchre of ,christ from the hands of the ,infidels1 lost his way in a vast wood1 and wandered at length to a castle1 in which a lady of transcendent beauty was kept prisoner by a gigantic ,saracen1 who1 having failed in all his endeavours to gain the heart of this peerless damsel1 resolved to gratify his passion by force2 and had actually begun the horrid attempt1 when the shrieks of this chaste maiden reached the ears of the ,venetian hero2 who1 ever ready to relieve virgins in distress1 rushed into the apartment from whence the cries issued4 ,the brutal ravisher1 alarmed at the noise1 quits the struggling lady1 at the very instant when her strength began to fail2 draws his flaming sword2 and a dreadful combat begins between him and the ,christian ,knight1 who performs miracles of courage and address in resisting the blows of this mighty giant2 till1 his foot unfortunately slipping in the blood which flowed on the pavement1 he fell at the feet of the ,saracen2 who1 immediately seizing the advantage which chance gave him1 raised his sword with all his might1 and--,here the orator's hat flew to the ground1 open to receive the contributions of the listeners2 and he continued repeating1 8raised his sword over the head of the ,christian ,knight0--8raised his bloody1 murderous brand1 to destroy your noble1 valiant countryman40--,but he proceeded no farther in his narrative1 till all who seemed interested in it had thrown something into the hat4 ,he then pocketed the money with great gravity1 and went on to inform them1 that1 at this critical moment1 the ,lady1 seeing the danger which threatened her deliverer1 redoubled her prayers to the ,blessed ,mary1 who1 a virgin herself1 is peculiarly attentive and propitious to the prayers of virgins4 ,just as the ,saracen's sword was descending on the head of the ,venetian1 a large bee flew1 quick as thought1 in at the window1 stung the former very smartly on the left temple1 diverted the blow1 and gave the ,christian ,knight time to recover himself4 ,the fight then recommenced with fresh fury2 but1 after the ,virgin ,mary had taken such a decided part1 you may believe it was no match4 ,the ,infidel soon fell dead at the feet of the ,believer4 ,but who do you think this beauteous maiden was1 on whose account the combat had begun8 ,why no other than the sister of the ,venetian ,hero4--,this young lady had been stolen from her father's house1 while she was yet a child1 by an ,armenian merchant1 who dealt in no other goods than women4 ,he concealed the child till he found means to carry her to ,egypt2 where he kept her in bondage1 with other young girls1 till the age of fifteen1 and then sold her to the ,saracen4 ,i do not exactly remember whether the recognition between the brother and sister was made out by means of a mole on the young lady's neck1 or by a bracelet on her arm1 which1 with some other of her mother's jewels1 happened to be in her pocket when she was stolen2 but1 in whatever manner this came about1 there was the greatest joy on the happy occasion2 and the lady joined the army with her brother1 and one of the ,christian commanders fell in love with her1 and their nuptials were solemnized at ,jerusalem2 and they returned to ,venice1 and had a very numerous family of the finest children you ever beheld4 ,at ,rome1 those street-orators sometimes entertain their audience with interesting passages of real history4 ,i remember having heard one1 in particular1 give a full and true account how the bloody heathen emperor ,nero set fire to the city of ,rome1 and sat at a window of his golden palace1 playing on a harp1 while the town was in flames4 ,after which the ,historian proceeded to relate1 how this unnatural emperor murdered his own mother2 and he concluded by giving the audience the satisfaction of hearing a particular detail of all the ignominious circumstances attending the murderer's own death4 ,this business of street-oratory1 while it amuses the populace1 and keeps them from less innocent and more expensive pastimes1 gives them at the same time some general ideas of history4 ,street-orators1 therefore1 are a more useful set of men than another class1 of which there are numbers at ,rome1 who entertain companies with extemporaneous verses on any given subject4 ,the last are called ,improuvisatoris2 and some people admire these performances greatly4 ,for my own part1 ,i am too poor a judge of the ,italian language either to admire or condemn them2 but1 from the nature of the thing1 ,i should imagine they are but indifferent4 ,it is said1 that the ,italian is peculiarly calculated for poetry1 and that verses may be made with more facility in this than in any other language4 ,it may be more easy to find smooth lines1 and make them terminate in rhime in ,italian1 than in any language2 but to compose verses with all the qualities essential to good poetry1 ,i imagine leisure and long reflection are requisite4 ,indeed ,i understand1 from those who are judges1 that those extempore compositions of the ,improuvisatori are in general but mean productions1 consisting of a few fulsome compliments to the company1 and some common-place observations1 put into rhime1 on the subject proposed4 ,there is1 however1 a lady of an amiable character1 ,signora ,corilla1 whose extempore productions1 which she repeats in the most graceful manner1 are admired by people of real taste4 ,while we were at ,rome1 this lady made an appearance one evening1 at the assembly of the ,arcadi1 which charmed a very numerous company2 and of which our friend ,mr4 ,r--y has given me such an account1 as makes me regret that ,i was not present4 ,after much entreaty1 a subject being given1 she began1 accompanied by two violins1 and sung her unpremeditated strains with great variety of thought and elegance of language4 ,the whole of her performance lasted above an hour1 with three or four pauses1 of about five minutes each1 which seemed necessary1 more that she might recover her strength and voice1 than for recollection2 for that gentleman said1 that nothing could have more the air of inspiration1 or what we are told of the ,pythian ,prophetess4 ,at her first setting out1 her manner was sedate1 or rather cold2 but gradually becoming animated1 her voice rose1 her eyes sparkled1 and the rapidity and beauty of her expressions and ideas seemed supernatural4 ,she at last called on another member of the society to sing alternately with her1 which he complied with2 but ,mr4 ,r----y thought1 though they were ,arcades ambo1 they were by no means cantare pares4 ,naples is celebrated for the finest opera in ,europe4 ,this however happens not to be the season of performing2 but the common people enjoy their operas at all seasons4 ,little concerts of vocal and instrumental music are heard every evening in the ,strada ,nuova1 the ,chiaca1 the ,strada di ,toledo1 and other streets2 and young men and women are seen dancing to the music of ambulatory performers all along this delightful bay4 ,to a mere spectator1 the amusements of the common people afford more delight1 than those of the great2 because they seem to be more enjoyed by the one class1 than by the other4 ,this is the case every where1 except in ,france2 where the high appear as happy as those of middle rank1 and the rich are very near as merry as the poor4 ,but1 in most other countries1 the people of great rank and fortune1 though they flock to every kind of entertainment1 from not knowing what to do with themselves1 yet seem to enjoy them less than those of inferior rank and fortune4 ,the ,english particularly are said to be in this predicament4 ,this may be true in some degree2 though ,i imagine there is more appearance than reality in it2 owing to an absurd affectation of indifference1 or what the ,french call nonchalance1 which has prevailed of late years4 ,a few insipid characters in high life1 whose internal vacancy leads them to seek amusement in public places1 and whose insensibility prevents them from finding it1 have probably brought this appearance of a want of all enjoyment into fashion4 ,those who wish to be thought of what is called the ton1 imitate the mawkish insipidity of their superiors in rank1 and imagine it distinguishes them from the vulgar1 to suppress all the natural expressions of pity1 joy1 or admiration1 and to seem1 upon all occasions1 in a state of complete apathy4 ,those amiable creatures frequent public places1 that it may be said of them1 ,they are not as other men are4 ,you will see them occasionally at the playhouse1 placed in the boxes1 like so many busts1 with unchanging features2 and1 while the rest of the audience yield to the emotions excited by the poet and the actors1 those men of the ton preserve the most dignified serenity of countenance2 and1 except that they from time to time pronounce the words ,pshaw6 and ,stuff6--one would think them the express representatives of the ,pagan gods1 who have eyes but do not see1 and ears but do not hear4 ,i know not what may be the case at the opera2 but ,i can assure you there are none of those busts among the auditories which the street-performers at ,naples gather around them4 ,i saw very lately a large cluster of men1 women1 and children1 entertained to the highest degree1 and to all appearance made exceedingly happy1 by a poor fellow with a mask on his face1 and a guitar in his hands4 ,he assembled his audience by the songs he sung to the music of his instrument1 and by a thousand merry stories he told them with infinite drollery4 ,this assembly was in an open place1 facing the bay1 and near the palace4 ,the old women sat listening1 with their distaffs1 spinning a kind of coarse flax1 and wetting the thread with their spittle2 their grandchildren sprawled at their feet1 amused with the twirling of the spindle4 ,the men and their wives1 the youths and their mistresses1 sat in a circle1 with their eyes fixed on the musician1 who kept them laughing for a great part of the evening with his stories1 which he enlivened occasionally with tunes upon the guitar4 ,at length1 when the company was most numerous1 and at the highest pitch of good humour1 he suddenly pulled off his mask1 laid down his guitar1 and opened a little box which stood before him1 and addressed the audience in the following words1 as literally as ,i can translate them3--8,ladies and gentlemen1 there is a time for all things2 we have had enough of jesting2 innocent mirth is excellent for the health of the body1 but other things are requisite for the health of the soul4 ,i will now1 with your permission1 my honourable masters and mistresses1 entertain you with something serious1 and of infinitely greater importance2 something for which all of you will have reason to bless me as long as you live40 ,here he shook out of a bag a great number of little leaden crucifixes4--8,i am just come from the ,holy ,house of ,loretto1 my fellow christians10 continued he1 8on purpose to furnish you with those jewels1 more precious than all the gold of ,peru1 and all the pearls of the ocean4 ,now1 my beloved brethren and sisters1 you are afraid that ,i shall demand a price for those sacred crosses1 far above your abilities1 and something correspondent with their value1 by way of indemnification for the fatigue and expence of the long journey which ,i have made on your account1 all the way from the habitation of the ,blessed ,virgin to this thrice renowned city of ,naples1 the riches and liberality of whose inhabitants are celebrated all over the globe4 ,no1 my generous ,neapolitans2 ,i do not wish to take the advantage of your pious and liberal dispositions1 ,i will not ask for those invaluable crucifixes 7all of which1 let me inform you1 have touched the soot of the holy image of the ,blessed ,virgin1 which was formed by the hands of ,st4 ,luke2 and1 moreover1 each of them has been shaken in the ,santissima ,scodella1 the sacred porringer in which the ,virgin made the pap for the infant ,jesus72 ,i will not1 ,i say1 ask an ounce of gold1 no not even a crown of silver2 my regard for you is such1 that ,i shall let you have them for a penny a piece40 ,you must acknowledge1 my friend1 that this morsel of eloquence was a very great pennyworth2 and when we recollect the sums that some of our acquaintance receive for their oratory1 though they never could produce so pathetic a specimen1 you will naturally conclude that eloquence is a much rarer commodity in ,england than in ,italy4 ,,letter ,,lxi4 ,naples4 ,i have made two visits to ,mount ,vesuvius1 the first in company with your acquaintance ,mr4 ,n----t4 ,leaving the carriage at ,herculaneum1 we mounted mules1 and were attended by three men1 whose business it is to accompany strangers up the mountain4 ,being arrived at a hermitage1 called ,il ,salvatore1 we found the road so broken and rough1 that we thought proper to leave the mules at that place1 which is inhabited by a ,french hermit4 ,the poor man must have a very bad opinion of mankind1 to choose the mouth of ,mount ,vesuvius for his nearest neighbour1 in preference to their society4 ,from the hermitage we walked over various fields of lava1 which have burst out at different periods4 ,these seemed to be perfectly well known to our guides1 who mentioned their different dates as we passed4 ,the latest appeared1 before we left ,rome1 about two months ago2 it was1 however1 but inconsiderable in comparison of other eruptions1 there having been no bursting of the crater1 or of the side of the mountain1 as in the eruption of #agfg1 so well described by ,sir ,william ,hamilton2 but only a boiling over of lava from the mouth of the volcano1 and that not in excessive quantity2 for it had done no damage to the vineyards or cultivated parts of the mountain1 having reached no farther than the old black lava on which soil had not as yet been formed4 ,i was surprised to see this lava of the last eruption still smoking1 and in some places1 where a considerable quantity was confined in a kind of deep path like a dry ditch1 and shaded from the light of the ,sun1 it appeared of a glowing red colour4 ,in other places1 notwithstanding its being perfectly black and solid1 it still retained such a degree of heat1 that we could not stand upon it for any considerable time1 but were obliged very frequently to step on the ground1 or on older lava1 to cool our feet4 ,we had advanced a good way on a large piece of the latest lava1 which was perfectly black and hard1 and seemed cooler than the rest2 while from this we looked at a stream of liquid lava1 which flowed sluggishly along a hollow way at some distance4 ,i accidentally threw my eyes below my feet1 and perceived something1 which mightily discomposed my contemplations4 ,this was a small stream of the same matter1 gliding to one side from beneath the black crust on which we stood4 ,the idea of this crust giving way1 and our sinking into the glowing liquid which it covered1 made us shift our ground with great precipitation2 which one of our guides observing1 he called out1 8,animo1 animo1 ,signori20 and immediately jumped on the incrustation which we had abandoned1 and danced above it1 to shew that it was sufficiently strong1 and that we had no reason to be afraid4 ,we afterwards threw large stones of the heaviest kind we could find1 into this rivulet1 on whose surface they floated like cork in water2 and on thrusting a stick into the stream1 it required a considerable exertion of strength to make it enter4 ,about this time the day began to overcast2 this destroyed our hopes of enjoying the view from the top of the mountain1 and we were not tempted to ascend any farther4 ,some time after1 ,i went to the summit with another party2--but ,i think it fair to inform you1 that ,i have nothing new to say on the subject of volcanos1 nor any philosophical remarks to make upon lavas4 ,i have no guess of what time may be necessary for the formation of soil1 nor do ,i know whether it accumulates in a regular progression1 or is accelerated or retarded by various accidents1 which may lead us into infinite errors1 when we calculate time by such a rule4 ,i have not the smallest wish to insinuate that the world is an hour older than ,moses makes it2 because ,i imagine those gentlemen whose calculations differ from his1 are very nearly as liable to be mistaken as he was2 because an attempt to prove it more ancient1 can be no service to mankind2 and finally1 because1 unless it could at the same time be proved that the world has acquired wisdom in proportion to its years1 such an attempt conveys an oblique reflection on its character2 for many follies may be overlooked and forgiven to a world of only five or six thousand years of age1 which would be quite unpardonable at a more advanced period of existence4 ,having forewarned you that ,i shall treat of none of those matters1 but simply describe what ,i saw1 and mention perhaps a few incidents1 none of which1 ,i confess1 are of great importance1 ,i leave it in your choice to ascend the mountain with me1 or not1 as you please4 ,having proceeded on mules as far as on the former occasion1 we walked to that part of the mountain which is almost perpendicular4 ,this appears of no great height1 yet those who have never before attempted this ascent1 fatigue themselves here much more than during all the rest of the journey1 notwithstanding their being assisted by laying hold of the belts which the guides wear about their waists for that purpose4 ,this part of the mountain appearing much shorter than it really is1 people are tempted to make a violent effort1 in the expectation of surmounting the difficulty at once2 but the cinders1 ashes1 and other drossy materials1 giving way1 the foot generally sinks back two-thirds of each step2 so that besides the height being greater than it appears1 you have all the fatigue of ascending a hill three times as high as this is in reality4 ,those1 therefore1 who set out too briskly at first1 and do not husband their strength at the beginning1 have reason to repent their imprudence1 being obliged to throw many a longing look1 and make many a fruitless vow1 before they1 with the wretched guide who lugs them along1 can arrive1 panting and breathless1 at the top2 like those young men who1 having wasted their vigour in early excesses1 and brought on premature old age1 link themselves to some ill-fated woman1 who drags them1 tormenting and tormented1 to the grave4 ,those who wish to view ,mount ,vesuvius to the greatest advantage1 must begin their expedition in the evening2 and the darker the succeeding night happens to be1 so much the better4 ,by the time our company had arrived at the top of the mountain1 there was hardly any other light than that which issued by interrupted flashes from the volcano4 ,exclusive of those periods when there are actual eruptions1 the appearance and quantity of what issues from the mountain are very various2 sometimes1 for a long space of time together1 it seems in a state of almost perfect tranquillity2 nothing but a small quantity of smoke ascending from the volcano1 as if that vast magazine of fuel1 which has kept it alive for so many ages1 was at last exhausted1 and nothing remained but the dying embers2 then1 perhaps1 when least expected1 the cloud of smoke thickens1 and is intermixed with flame2 at other times1 quantities of pumice stone and ashes are thrown up with a kind of hissing noise4 ,for near a week the mountain has been more turbulent than at any time since the small eruption1 or rather boiling over of lava1 which took place about two months ago2 and while we remained at the top1 the explosions were of sufficient importance to satisfy our curiosity to the utmost4 ,they appeared much more considerable there than we had imagined while at a greater distance2 each of them was preceded by a noise like thunder within the mountain2 a column of thick black smoke then issued out with great rapidity1 followed by a blaze of flame2 and immediately after1 a shower of cinders and ashes1 or red hot stones1 were thrown into the sky4 ,this was succeeded by a calm of a few minutes1 during which nothing issued but a moderate quantity of smoke and flame1 which gradually increased1 and terminated in thunder and explosion as before4 ,these accesses and intervals continued with varied force while we remained4 ,when we first arrived1 our guides placed us at a reasonable distance from the mouth of the volcano1 and on the side from which the wind came1 so that we were no way incommoded by the smoke4 ,in this situation the wind also bore to the opposite side the cinders1 ashes1 and other fiery substances1 which were thrown up2 and we ran no danger of being hurt1 except when the explosion was very violent1 and when red hot stones1 and such heavy substances1 were thrown like sky-rockets1 with a great noise and prodigious force1 into the air2 and even these make such a flaming appearance1 and take so much time in descending1 that they are easily avoided4 ,mr4 ,brydone1 in his admirable account of ,mount tna1 tells us1 he was informed1 that1 in an eruption of that mountain1 large rocks of fire were discharged1 with a noise much more terrible than that of thunder2 that the person who informed him1 reckoned from the time of their greatest elevation till they reached the ground1 and found they took twenty-one seconds to descend2 from whence he concludes their elevation had been seven thousand feet4 ,this unquestionably required a power of projection far superior to what ,vesuvius has been known to exert4 ,he himself measured the height of the explosions of the latter by the same rule2 and the stones thrown the highest1 never took above nine seconds to descend2 which1 by the same method of calculating1 shews they had risen to little more than twelve hundred feet4--,a pretty tolerable height1 and might have satisfied the ambition of ,vesuvius1 if the stones of tna had not been said to have mounted so much higher4 ,but before such an excessive superiority is granted to the latter1 those who are acquainted with ,mr4 ,brydone will recollect1 that they have his own authority for the one fact1 and that of another person for the other4 ,after having remained some time at the place where they were posted by the guides1 our company grew bolder1 as they became more familiarised to the object4 ,some made the circuit of the volcano1 and by that means increased the risque of being wounded by the stones thrown out4 ,your young friend ,jack was a good deal hurt by a fall1 as he ran to avoid a large portion of some fiery substance1 which seemed to be falling directly on his head4 ,considering the rash and frolicsome disposition of some who visit this mountain1 it is very remarkable that so few fatal accidents happen4 ,i have heard of young ,english gentlemen betting1 who should venture farthest1 or remain longest1 near the mouth of the ,volcano4 ,a very dreadful event had nearly taken place while our company remained4 ,the bank1 if it may be so called1 on which some of them had stood when they looked into the ,volcano1 actually fell in before we left the summit of the mountain4 ,this made an impression on all present1 and inclined them to abandon so treacherous a neighbourhood4 ,the steep hill of dross and cinders1 which we had found it so difficult to ascend1 we descended in a twinkling2 but1 as the night was uncommonly dark1 we had much trouble in passing over the rough valley between that and the ,hermitage1 near which the mules waited4 ,i ought to be ashamed1 however1 to mention the fatigue of this expedition2 for two ladies1 natives of ,geneva1 formed part of the company4 ,one of them1 big with child1 accompanied her husband as far as the ,hermitage1 and was then with difficulty persuaded to go back2 the other actually went to the summit1 and returned with the rest of the company4 ,before we set out for ,naples1 we were refreshed1 at a little inn at the bottom of the mountain1 with some glasses of a very generous and palatable wine1 called ,lachrima ,christi2 and experienced the truth of what an ,italian ,poet observed1 that the effects of this wine form a strong contrast with its name3 ,chi fu1 de ,contadini il pi indiscreto1 ,che sbigottir la gente1 ,diede nome dolente1 ,al vin1 che sopra ogn' altro il cuor f lieto8 ,lachrima dunque appellarassi un' riso1 ,parto di nobilissima vindemia4 ,,letter ,,lxii4 ,naples4 ,your account of our ,friend's state of health gives me much concern2 the more1 as ,i cannot approve the change he has made of a physician4 ,you say1 the doctor1 under whose care he is at present1 has employed his mind so entirely in medical researches1 that he scarcely displays a grain of common sense1 when the conversation turns on any other subject2 and that1 although he seems opinionative1 vain1 and ostentatious in his profession1 and full of false and absurd ideas in the common affairs of life1 yet he is a very able physician1 and has performed many wonderful cures4 ,be assured1 my dear ,sir1 that this is impossible2 for medical skill is not like the rod of an inchanter1 which may be found accidentally1 and which transfers its miraculous powers indiscriminately to a blockhead or a man of sense4 ,the number of weak1 gossipping men1 who have made fortunes by this profession1 do not prove the contrary4 ,i do not say that men of that kind cannot make fortunes2 ,i only assert they are not the most likely to cure diseases4 ,an interest with apothecaries1 nurses1 and a few talkative old ladies1 will enable them to do the first2 but a clear understanding1 and a considerable share of natural sagacity1 are qualities essentially necessary for the second1 and for every business which requires reflection4 ,without these1 false inferences will be drawn from experience itself2 and learning will tend to confirm a man in his errors1 and to render him more completely a coxcomb4 ,the profession of physic is that1 of all others1 in which the generality of mankind have the fewest lights1 by which they can discern the abilities of its professors2 because the studies which lead to it are more out of the road of usual education1 and the practice more enveloped in technical terms and hieroglyphical signs4 ,but ,i imagine the safest criterion by which men1 who have not been bred to that profession1 can form a judgment of those who have1 is1 the degree of sagacity and penetration they discover on subjects equally open to mankind in general1 and which ought to be understood by all who live in society4 ,you do not mention particularly what has been prescribed by either2 only that the former physician seemed to rely almost entirely on exercise and regimen1 whereas the present flatters our friend with a speedy cure1 by the help of the ,pectoral and ,balsamic medicines which he orders in such abundance1 and which he declares are so efficacious in pulmonary consumptions4 ,having lamented with you the mournful events which render the name of that disease peculiarly alarming to you1 and knowing your friendly solicitude about ,mr4 ----1 ,i do not wonder at your earnest desire to know something of the nature of a distemper with which he is threatened1 and which has proved fatal to so many of our friends4 ,but ,i am surprised that you have not chosen a more enlightened instructor1 when you have so many around you4 ,though conscious that ,i have no just claim to all the obliging expressions which your partiality to my opinions has prompted you to make use of1 yet ,i am too much flattered by some of them1 to refuse complying with your request4 ,my sentiments1 such as they are1 will at least have the merit of being clearly understood4 ,i shall observe your prohibition1 not to refer you to any medical book2 and shall carefully avoid all technical terms1 which you so much abominate4 ,with regard to your shewing my ,letter to any of the faculty2 if you find yourself so inclined1 ,i have not the smallest objection2 for those who have the greatest knowledge in their profession1 are best acquainted with its uncertainty1 and most indulgent to the mistakes or errors of others4 ,alas1 my friend6 how is it possible that physicians should avoid mistakes8 ,if the ablest mechanic were to attempt to remedy the irregular movements of a watch1 while he remained ignorant of the structure and manner of acting of some of the principal springs1 would he not be in danger of doing harm instead of good8 ,physicians are in the situation of such a mechanic2 for1 although it is evident that the nerves are the organs of motion and sensation1 yet their structure is not known4 ,some anatomists assert they are impervious cords2 others1 that they are slender tubes1 containing a fluid4 ,but what the nature of this fluid is2 whether it serves only to nourish the nerves themselves1 or is the medium by which they convey feeling and the power of motion to other parts1 is not ascertained even by those who argue for its existence2 far less is it explained in what manner ideas1 formed within the brain1 can1 by the means of solid cords1 or by a fluid contained in tubes1 communicate motion at pleasure to the legs and arms4 ,we are ignorant why the will1 which has no influence over the motion of an animal's heart1 should find the feet obedient to her dictates2 and we can no more explain how a man can move one leg over the other by volition1 or the mere act of willing1 than how he could1 by the same means1 move ,ossa on the top of ,olympus4 ,the one happens every moment1 the other would be considered as a miracle2 but they are equally unaccountable4 ,while parts so infinitely essential to life are not understood1 instead of being surprised that so many diseases baffle the skill of the physician1 we have more reason to be astonished that any can be alleviated or cured by his art4 ,the pen of the satirist1 no doubt1 may be fairly aimed against the presumption and ignorance of many individuals of this1 as of every other profession2 but cannot with justice be directed against the art itself3 since1 in spite of the obscurity which still involves some parts of the animal economy1 many disorders are relieved1 and some of the severest and most disagreeable to which the human body is liable1 are cured with certainty by the art of medicine4 ,unfortunately for mankind1 and in a particular manner for the inhabitants of ,great ,britain1 the pulmonary consumption is not of the number4 ,this disease may originate from various causes3 #ast4 ,an external bruise or wound4 #b;d4 ,the disease called pleurisy1 including in that term an inflammation of the lungs themselves1 as well as the membrane which covers them4 #c;d4 ,the bursting of some of the blood-vessels of the lungs1 independent of external injury1 and owing to a faulty conformation of the chest1 and the slenderness of the vessels4 #dth4 ,certain small tumours1 called tubercles1 in the lungs4 ,the first cause ,i have mentioned is an external bruise or wound4 ,an accident of that kind happening to the lungs1 is more dangerous and difficult to cure1 than when the same takes place in most other parts of the body2 because the lungs are vital organs1 essentially necessary to life1 and when their motion is impaired1 other animal functions are thereby injured2 because they are of an uncommonly delicate texture1 in which a rupture having once taken place1 will be apt to increase2 because they are in constant motion and exposed to the access of external air1 both of which circumstances are unfavourable to the healing of wounds1 and because the mass of blood distributed to the whole body passes previously through the lungs1 and consequently the blood-vessels of this organ are more numerous than those of any other part of the body4 ,when we consider these peculiarities1 it is natural to conclude1 that every wound of the lungs must necessarily prove mortal2 but experience has taught the contrary4 ,many wounds of the lungs heal of themselves1 by what is called1 the first intention4 ,the physician may prevent a fever1 by ordering the patient to lose blood in proper quantities1 and he may regulate the diet2 but the cure must be left to nature1 which she will perform with greater certainty1 if she is not disturbed by any of those balsams which the wounded are sometimes directed to swallow on such occasions4 ,but when the wound1 either from injudicious treatment1 or from its size1 or from the bad habit of the patient1 degenerates into an ulcer attended with hectic symptoms1 the disease must be treated as if it had arisen from any of the other causes4 ,the pleurisy1 or inflammation of the lungs1 is a disease more frequent in cold countries than in mild2 in the spring than in the other seasons2 and more apt to seize people of a sanguine constitution than others4 ,plentiful and repeated bleedings1 fomentations1 blisters near the affected part1 and a cooling1 diluting regimen1 generally remove it1 without its leaving any bad consequence4 ,sometimes1 by the omission of bleeding in due quantity at the beginning1 and sometimes in spite of all possible care1 it terminates in an abscess1 which1 on bursting1 may suffocate the patient2 or1 if the matter is coughed up1 becomes an open ulcer1 and produces the disease in question4 ,the third cause of the pulmonary consumption above mentioned1 is1 a spitting of blood1 from the bursting of vessels of the lungs1 independent of external wound or bruise4 ,people of a fair complexion1 delicate skin1 slender make1 long neck1 and narrow chest1 are more subject to this than others4 ,those who have a predisposition to this complaint1 by their form1 are most apt to be attacked after their full growth3 women from fifteen to three-and-thirty2 men two or three years later4 ,in ,great ,britain1 a spitting of blood generally occurs to those predisposed to it1 in the spring1 or beginning of summer1 when the weather suddenly changes from cold to excessive hot2 and when the heat is supposed to rarify the blood1 before the solids are proportionably relaxed from the contracted state they acquire during the cold of winter4 ,when a spitting of blood happens to a person who has actually lost brothers or sisters1 or other near relations1 by the pulmonary consumption1 as that circumstance gives reason to suspect a family taint or predisposition1 the case will1 on that account1 be more dangerous4 ,violent exercise may occasion the rupture of blood-vessels in the lungs1 even in those who have no hereditary disposition to such an accident2 it ought therefore to be carefully avoided by all who have4 ,violent exercise1 in the spring1 is more dangerous than in other seasons2 and1 when taken at the top of high mountains1 by those who do not usually reside there1 it has been considered as more dangerous than in vallies4 ,the sudden diminution of the weight of the atmosphere1 co-operating with the exercise1 renders the vessels more apt to break4 ,of all things the most pernicious to people predisposed to a spitting of blood1 is1 playing upon wind-instruments4 ,previous to the spitting of blood1 some perceive an uneasiness in the chest1 an oppression on the breath1 and a saltish taste in the spittle2 but these symptoms are not constant4 ,nothing can be more insidious than the approaches of this disease sometimes are4 ,the substance of the lungs1 which is so full of blood-vessels1 is not supplied so liberally with nerves2 the lungs1 therefore1 may be materially affected1 before danger is indicated by acute pain4 ,and it sometimes happens1 that people of the make above described are1 in the bloom of life1 and generally in the spring of the year1 seized with a slight cough1 which gradually increases1 without pain1 soreness in the breast1 difficulty of respiration1 or spitting of blood4 ,a slow fever supervenes every night1 which remits every morning1 with sweats4 ,these symptoms augment daily2 and1 in spite of early attention1 and what is thought the best advice1 the unsuspecting victims gradually sink into their graves4 ,those who by their make1 or by the disease having in former instances appeared in their family1 are predisposed to this complaint1 ought to be peculiarly attentive in the article of diet4 ,a spare and cooling regimen is the best4 ,they should avoid violent exercise1 and every other exciting cause2 and use the precaution of losing blood in the spring4 ,if their circumstances permit1 they ought to pass the cold months in a mild climate2 but1 if they are obliged to remain during the winter in ,great ,britain1 let them wear flannel next the skin1 and use every other precaution against catching colds4 ,the fourth cause above enumerated is1 tubercles in the lungs4 ,the moist1 soggy1 and changeable weather1 which prevails in ,great ,britain1 renders its inhabitants more liable1 than those of milder and more uniform climates1 to catarrhs1 rheumatisms1 pleurisies1 and other diseases proceeding from obstructed perspiration4 ,the same cause subjects the inhabitants of ,great ,britain to obstructions of the glands1 scrophulous complaints1 and tubercles in the substance of the lungs4 ,the scrophulous disease is more frequent than is generally imagined4 ,for one person in whom it appears by swellings in the glands below the chin1 and other external marks1 many have the internal glands affected by it4 ,this is well known to those who are accustomed to open dead bodies4 ,on examining the bodies of such as have died of the pulmonary consumption1 besides the open ulcers in the lungs1 many little hard tumours or tubercles are generally found2 some1 with matter2 others1 on being cut open1 discover a little blueish spot1 of the size of a small lead shot4 ,here the suppuration1 or formation of matter1 is just going to begin2 and in some the tubercle is perfectly hard1 and the colour whitish1 throughout its whole substance4 ,tubercles may remain for a considerable time in the lungs1 in this indolent state1 without much inconveniency2 but1 when excited to inflammation by frequent catarrhs1 or other irritating causes1 matter is formed1 they break1 and produce an ulcer4 ,care and attention may prevent tubercles from inflammation1 or may prevent that from terminating in the formation of matter2 but when matter is actually formed1 and the tubercle has become an abscess1 no remedy can stop its progress4 ,it must go on till it bursts4 ,if this happens near any of the large air-vessels1 immediate suffocation may ensue2 but1 for the most part1 the matter is coughed up4 ,from the circumstances above enumerated of the delicate texture1 constant motion1 and numerous blood-vessels of the lungs1 it is natural to imagine1 that a breach of this nature in their substance will be still more difficult to heal than a wound from an external cause4 ,so unquestionably it is2 yet there are many instances of even this kind of breach being repaired2 the matter expectorated diminishing in quantity every day1 and the ulcer gradually healing2 not1 surely1 by the power of medicine1 but by the constant disposition and tendency which exists in nature1 by inscrutable means of her own1 to restore health to the human body4 ,it may be proper to observe1 that those persons whose formation of body renders them most liable to a spitting of blood1 have also a greater predisposition than others to tubercles in the lungs4 ,the disease1 called the spasmodic asthma1 has been reckoned among the causes of the pulmonary consumption4 ,it would require a much greater degree of confidence in a man's own judgment1 than ,i have in mine1 to assert1 that this complaint has no tendency to produce tubercles in the lungs2 but ,i may say1 with truth1 that ,i have often known the spasmodic asthma1 in the most violent degree1 attended with the most alarming symptoms1 continue to harass the patients for a long period of time1 and at length suddenly disappear1 without ever returning2 the persons who have been thus afflicted1 enjoying perfect health for many years after4 ,it is not probable that tubercles were formed in any of these cases2 and it is certain they were not in some1 whose bodies were opened after their deaths1 which happened from other distempers1 the asthma having disappeared several years before4 ,certain eruptions of the skin1 attended with fever1 particularly the small-pox1 and still oftener the measles1 leave after them a foundation for the pulmonary consumption4 ,from whichever of the causes above enumerated this disease takes its origin1 when once an ulcer1 attended with a hectic fever1 is formed in the lungs1 the case is1 in the highest degree1 dangerous4 ,when it ends fatally1 the symptoms are1 a quick pulse1 and a sensation of cold1 while the patient's skin1 to the feeling of every other person1 is hot2 irregular shiverings1 a severe cough1 expectoration of matter streaked with blood1 morning sweats1 a circumscribed spot of a crimson colour on the cheeks1 heat of the palms of the hands1 excessive emaciation1 crooking of the nails1 swelling of the legs1 giddiness1 delirium1 soon followed by death4 ,these symptoms do not appear in every case4 ,although the emaciation is greater in this disease than in any other1 yet the appetite frequently remains strong and unimpaired to the last2 and although delirium sometimes comes before death1 yet in many cases the senses seem perfect and intire2 except in one particular1 that in spite of all the foregoing symptoms1 the patient often entertains the fullest hopes of recovery to the last moment4 ,would to heaven it were as easy to point out the cure1 as to describe the symptoms of a disease of such a formidable nature1 and against which the powers of medicine have been directed with such bad success1 that there is reason to fear1 its fatal termination has been oftener accelerated than retarded by the means employed to remove it6 ,to particularise the drugs which have been long in use1 and have been honoured with the highest encomiums for their great efficacy in healing inward bruises1 ulcers of the lungs1 and confirmed consumptions1 would in many instances be pointing out1 what ought to be shunned as pernicious1 and in others what ought to be neglected as futile4 ,salt water1 and some of the mineral springs1 which are unquestionably beneficial in scrophulous and other distempers1 have been found hurtful1 or at least inefficacious1 in the consumption2 there is no sufficient reason to depend on a course of these1 or any medicine at present known1 for preventing or dissolving tubercles in the lungs4 ,mercury1 which has been found so powerful in disposing other ulcers to heal1 has no good effect on ulcers of that organ2--though some physicians imagine it may be of service in the beginning to dissolve tubercles1 before they begin to suppurate2 but as there is no absolute evidence1 during life1 of indolent tubercles being formed1 there can be none that mercury cures them4 ,various kinds of gums1 with the natural and artificial balsams1 were long supposed to promote the healing of external wounds and ulcers1 and on that account were made the basis of a vast variety of ointments and plaisters4 ,it was afterwards imagined1 that the same remedies1 administered internally1 would have the same effect on internal ulcers2 and of course many of those gums and balsams were prescribed in various forms for the pulmonary consumption4 ,the reasoning on which this practice was established1 however1 seems a little shallow1 and is far from being conclusive2 for although it were granted1 that these balsams contributed to the cure of wounds1 when applied directly to the part1 it does not follow that they could carry their healing powers1 unimpaired1 from the stomach to the lungs1 through the whole process of digestion4 ,but more accurate surgery having made it manifest1 that the granulations which spring up to supply the loss of substance in external wounds1 and the healing or skinning over of all kinds of sores1 proceeds from no active virtue in the plaisters or ointments with which they are dressed1 but is entirely the work of nature1 and best performed when the mildest substances1 or even dry lint only is applied2 and that heating gums1 resins1 and balsams1 rather retard than promote their cure2 the internal use of such remedies ought to be rejected now1 on the same principles they were adapted formerly4 ,no kind of reasoning ought to have weight1 when opposed by fair experience4 ,but physicians have formed contrary and opposite conclusions1 with respect to the effect of the natural and artificial balsams1 even when they have laid all theory and reasoning aside1 and decided on their powers from practice and experiment only4 ,this is sufficient to prove1 at least1 that their efficacy is very problematical4 ,for my own part1 after the fairest trials1 and the most accurate observations ,i have been able to make1 ,i cannot say that ,i ever knew them of service in any hectic complaint proceeding from an ulcer in the lungs2 and ,i have generally found those physicians1 on whose judgment ,i have more reliance than on my own1 of the same opinion4 ,it is far from being uncommon to see a cure retarded1 not to say any thing stronger1 by the means employed to hasten it2 and physicians who found their practice on theoretical reasonings1 are not the only persons to whom this misfortune may happen4 ,those who profess to take experience for their sole guide1 if it is not directed by candour1 and enlightened by natural sagacity1 are liable to the same4 ,a man may1 for twenty years1 order a medicine1 which has in every instance done a little harm1 though not always so much as to prevent nature from removing the complaint at last2 and if the reputation of this medicine should ever be attacked1 he may bring his twenty years experience in support of it4 ,it ought to be remembered1 that as often as the animal constitution is put out of order1 by accident or distemper1 nature endeavours to restore health4 ,happily she has many resources1 and various methods of accomplishing her purpose2 and very often she succeeds best without medical assistance4 ,but medical assistance being given1 she frequently succeeds notwithstanding2 and it sometimes happens1 that both physician and patient are convinced1 that the means which did not prevent have actually performed the cure4 ,a peasant is seized with a shivering1 followed by feverishness1 and accompanied with a slight cough--he goes to bed1 and excessive heat and thirst prompt him to drink plentifully of plain water2 on the second or third day a copious sweat bursts from all his pores1 and terminates the disorder4 ,a person of fortune is seized with the same symptoms1 arising from the same cause1 and which would have been cured by the same means1 in the same space of time2 but the apothecary is called1 who immediately sends pectoral linctuses to remove the cough1 and afterwards gives a vomit1 to remove the nausea which the linctuses have occasioned3 the heat and fever augment2 the physician is called2 he orders the patient to be blooded1 to abate the violence of the fever1 and gives a little physic on some other account4 ,all this prevents the natural crisis by sweat2 and the patient being farther teased by draughts or powders every two or three hours1 nature cannot shake off the fever so soon by six or seven days1 as she would have done had she been left to herself4 ,she generally does her business at last1 however2 and then the physician and apothecary glory in the happy effects of their skill1 and receive the grateful thanks of their patient for having cured him of a dangerous fever4 ,every body of common penetration1 at all conversant in medical matters1 must have seen enough to convince them that the above description is not exaggerated2 but it is not to be inferred from this1 that the art of medicine is of no use to mankind4 ,there are many diseases in which nature sinks1 without medical assistance4 ,it is the part of the penetrating and experienced physician to distinguish these from others1 and leave it to the knavish and weak to assume the merit of cures in cases where they know1 or ought to know1 that medicine can do nothing4 ,some physicians1 who have abandoned the other resins and gums1 as useless or hurtful in hectic complaints1 still adhere to myrrh as a beneficial medicine2 but from what ,i can learn1 the cases in which this gum has been thought serviceable1 are hectic complaints1 from debility1 in consequence of excessive evacuations of various kinds1 and not proceeding from ulcerated lungs4 ,after it is fully established that myrrh is of use in such instances1 it will still be worthy of investigation1 whether it is of more or less than ,jesuits bark4 ,i have repeatedly mentioned blood-letting1 and a spare1 diluting regimen1 as the most powerful means of preventing and curing all affections of the lungs that depend on inflammation4 ,in the case of external wounds1 or bruises of the lungs1 this method facilitates the immediate cure by the first intention4 ,it is the chief thing to be depended on for the cure of pleurisies2 and it is often owing to a neglect1 or too sparing an use of this evacuation1 that the complaint terminates in an abscess4 ,in people predisposed by the form of their bodies1 or the nature of their constitutions1 to a spitting of blood1 it may prevent the turgid vessels from bursting2 and in those who have tubercles in the lungs1 it is of the greatest utility1 by preventing those tumours from inflaming1 and becoming ulcers2 but after the ulcers are actually formed1 ,i have great doubts with regard to the propriety of attempting a cure by repeated bleedings1 even in small quantities4 ,this method has been often tried2 but ,i fear the success with which it has been attended1 gives no encouragement to continue the practice4 ,that symptoms may be such1 in every period of this disease1 as to require this evacuation1 is not to be denied2 but there is a great difference in the application of what is considered as an occasional palliative1 and that from which we expect a radical cure4 ,in the one case1 it will only be used when some particular symptom strongly urges2 in the other1 it will be used at stated intervals1 whether the symptoms press or not2 and may tend to weaken the already debilitated patient1 without our having the consolation of knowing1 with certainty1 that it has had any other effect4 ,blisters do not weaken so much2 they are of undoubted use in pleurisies2 perhaps1 by exciting external inflammation1 they may contribute to draw off the inflammatory disposition within the breast3 perhaps--,but in whatever way they act1 ,i imagine ,i have frequently seen blisters and setons1 particularly the latter1 of considerable service1 even after the symptoms indicated the existence of an ulcer in the lungs4 ,as for the numerous forms of electuaries1 lohochs1 and linctuses1 composed of oils1 gums1 and syrups1 and by the courtesy of dispensatory writers called pectoral2 ,i am convinced they are of no manner of service in this complaint1 and seldom have any other effect than that of loading the stomach1 and impairing the digestion of salutary food4 ,so far from being of any permanent service to the disease1 they cannot be depended on for giving even a temporary relief to the cough2 when that symptom becomes troublesome1 gentle opiates will be found the best palliatives4 ,some practitioners object to these medicines1 on a supposition that they check expectoration2 but they only seem to have this effect1 by lulling the irritation to cough2 the same quantity will be expectorated in the morning1 after the influence of the opiate is over4 ,it is surely better that the matter should accumulate1 and the patient spit it up at once1 than allow him to be kept from rest1 and teased with coughing and spitting through the whole night4 ,these palliatives1 however1 are to be managed with great caution2 never exhibited while the patient enjoys a tolerable share of natural rest4 ,small doses should be given at first1 and not increased without absolute necessity4 ,exhibited in this manner1 they cannot do harm2 and those who reject the assistance of a class of medicines1 which afford ease and tranquillity in the most deplorable state of this disease1 ought to give better proofs than have hitherto appeared1 that they are able to procure their patients more valuable and lasting comforts than those they deprive them of4 ,the known efficacy of the ,peruvian bark1 in many distempers1 especially in intermittent fevers2 the remission of the symptoms1 which happens regularly every day at a particular stage of the pulmonary consumption1 and in some degree gives it the appearance of an intermittent1 joined to the failure of all other remedies1 prompted physicians to make trial of that noble medicine in this disease4 ,in consequence of these trials1 the bark is now pretty generally acknowledged to be serviceable in hectical complaints1 proceeding from debility1 and other causes1 exclusive of ulcerated lungs2 but when the disease proceeds from this cause1 the bark is supposed1 by some very respectable physicians1 always to do harm4 ,i am most clearly of the first opinion1 and perhaps it would not become me to dispute the second4 ,it may be permitted1 however1 to observe1 that the most discerning practitioners may be led into a notion1 that a very safe medicine does harm1 when it is exhibited at the worst stage of a disease1 in which hardly any medicine whatever has been found to do good4 ,in every stage of this disease1 elixir of vitriol may be used4 ,it is a pleasant and safe medicine1 but particularly efficacious when the patient is troubled with wasting sweats4 ,having1 in obedience to your request1 delivered my sentiments freely1 you will perceive1 that1 besides the objections already mentioned to the person under whose care our friend is at present1 ,i cannot approve of his being directed to take so many drugs1 or of his being detained in town1 at a season when he may enjoy1 in the country1 what is preferable to all medicine2 ,i mean air1 exercise1 and1 let me even add1 diet4 ,had ,i known of our friend's complaints earlier1 ,i should have advised him to have met the advancing spring in the ,south of ,france2 but at the season in which you will receive this letter1 the moderate warmth1 and refreshing verdure of ,england1 are preferable to the sultry heats and scorched fields of the ,south4 ,from the view ,i have of his complaints1 ,i can have no hesitation in advising you to endeavour to prevail on him to quit his drugs1 and to leave ,london without delay4 ,since he bears riding on horseback so well1 let him enjoy that exercise in an atmosphere freed from the smoke of the town1 and impregnated with the flavour of rising plants and green herbage2 a flavour which may with more truth be called pectoral1 than any of the heating resins1 or loathsome oils1 on which that term has been prostituted4 ,let him pass the summer in drinking the waters1 and riding around the environs of ,bristol4 ,it will be easy for him to find a house in the free air of the country1 at some distance from that town2 and it will be of use to have an additional reason for rising early1 and riding every morning4 ,it is of the greatest importance that he continue that exercise every day that the weather will permit3 a little cloudiness of the sky should not fright him from it2 there is no danger of catching cold during the continuation of that movement which assists digestion1 promotes the determination of blood from the lungs to the surface of the body1 and is more salutary in the morning than after dinner4 ,with respect to diet1 he should carefully observe the important rule of taking food frequently1 in small quantities1 and never making a full meal2 that the digestive organs may not be overpowered1 or the vessels charged with too large a quantity of chyle at a time2 which never fails to bring on oppressive breathing1 and augments the fever and flushing1 which in some degree succeeds every repast4 ,since all kinds of milk are found to disagree with his constitution1 that nourishment1 which is in general so well adapted to similar complaints1 must be omitted1 and light broths1 with vegetable food1 particularly of the farinaceous kind1 substituted in its place4 ,acids1 especially the native acid of vegetables1 are remarkably agreeable and refreshing to all who labour under the heat1 oppression1 and languor1 which accompany hectic complaints4 ,it is surprising what a quantity of the juice of lemons the constitution will bear1 without any inconveniency1 when it is accustomed to it by degrees2 and in those cases where it does not occasion pains in the stomach and bowels1 or other immediate inconveniencies1 it has been thought to have a good effect in abating the force of the hectic fever4 ,i have met with two cases1 since ,i have been last abroad1 in both of which there seemed to be a quicker recovery than ,i ever saw1 from the same symptoms4 ,the first was that of a young lady1 of about seventeen years of age1 and apparently of a very healthy constitution4 ,in bad weather1 during the spring1 she caught cold3 this being neglected in the beginning1 gradually grew worse4 ,when physicians were at length consulted1 their prescriptions seemed to have as bad an effect as her own neglect4 ,by the middle of summer her cough was incessant1 accompanied with hectic fever and flushings1 irregular shiverings1 morning sweats1 emaciation1 expectoration of purulent phlegm streaked with blood1 and every indication of an open ulcer in the lungs4 ,in this desperate state she was carried from the town to a finely situated village in ,switzerland1 where1 for several months1 she lived in the middle of a vineyard1 on ripe grapes and bread4 ,she had been directed to a milk and vegetable diet in general4 ,her own taste inclined her to the grapes1 which she continued1 on finding1 that1 with this diet only1 she was less languid1 and of a more natural coolness1 and that the cough1 fever1 and all the other symptoms gradually abated4 ,she seemed to be brought from the jaws of death by the change of air1 and this regimen only2 and she returned to her own home in high spirits1 and with the look and vigour of health4 ,the ensuing winter1 after being heated with dancing at the house of a friend1 she walked home in a cold night2 the cough1 spitting of blood1 and other symptoms immediately returned1 and she died three months after4 ,in the other case1 there was not such a degree of fever1 but there was an expectoration of matter1 frequently streaked with blood1 and evident signs of an ulcer in the lungs4 ,the person who laboured under these symptoms1 had tried the usual remedies of pectorals1 pills1 linctuses1 c4 with the usual success4 ,he grew daily worse4 ,he had formerly found much relief from bleeding1 but had left it off for many months1 on a supposition that it had lost all effect2 and he had allowed an issue to be healed1 on the same supposition2 though he still persevered in a milk regimen4 ,i mentioned to him the case of the young lady1 as it is above recited4 ,he immediately took the resolution to confine himself to bread and grapes for almost his only food4 ,i advised him at the same time to have the issue opened1 and to continue that drain for some time2 but this he did not comply with4 ,he forsook1 however1 the town for the country1 and passed as much of the morning on horseback1 as he could bear without fatigue4 ,he soon was able to bear more2 and after about three weeks or a month1 his cough had greatly abated4 ,when he had persisted in this regimen between two and three months1 he had very little cough2 and what he spit up was pure phlegm1 unmixed with blood or matter4 ,he has now been well above a year2 and although ,i understand that he occasionally takes animal food1 he has hitherto felt no inconveniency from it4 ,he passed the second autumn1 as he had done the first1 at a house in the country1 surrounded with vineyards4 ,the greater part of his food consisted of ripe grapes and bread4 ,with such a diet1 he had not occasion for much drink of any kind2 what he used was simple water1 and he made an ample provision of grapes for the succeeding winter4 ,though ,i have no idea that there is any specific virtue in grapes1 for the cure of the pulmonary consumption1 or that they are greatly preferable to some other cooling1 sub-acid1 mild fruit1 equally agreeable to the taste1 provided any such can be found2 yet ,i thought it right to particularize what was used on those two occasions2 leaving it to others to determine1 what share of the happy consequences ,i have enumerated were owing to the change of air1 how much may have flowed from the exercise1 how much from the regimen1 and whether there is reason to think1 that the favourable turn in both cases depended on other circumstances1 unobserved by me4 ,i have now1 my dear ,sir1 complied with your request2 and although ,i have endeavoured to avoid technical verbosity1 and all unnecessary detail1 yet ,i find my letter has swelled to a greater size than ,i expected4 ,i shall be exceedingly happy to hear that any hint ,i have given has been serviceable to our friend4 ,if the cough should still continue1 after he has passed two or three months at ,bristol1 ,i imagine the most effectual thing he can do will be1 to take a voyage to this place2 he will by that means escape the severity of a ,british winter4 ,the voyage itself will be of service1 and at the end of it he will have the benefit of the mild air of the ,campagna ,felice1 be refreshed and nourished by the finest grapes1 and1 when tired of riding1 he will have continual opportunities of sailing in this charming bay4 ,,letter ,,lxiii4 ,naples4 ,as ,i was walking a few days since in the street with two of our countrymen1 ,t---- and ,n----1 we met some people carrying the corpse of a man on an open bier1 and others following in a kind of procession4 ,the deceased was a tradesman1 whose widow had bestowed the utmost attention in dressing him to the greatest advantage on this solemn occasion2 he had a perfectly new suit of clothes1 a laced hat upon his head1 ruffles1 his hair finely powdered1 and a large blooming nosegay in his left hand1 while the right was very gracefully stuck in his side4 ,it is the custom at ,naples to carry every body to church in full dress soon after their death1 and the nearest relations display the magnitude of their grief by the magnificent manner in which they decorate the corpse4 ,this poor woman1 it seems1 was quite inconsolable1 and had ornamented the body of her late husband with a profusion she could ill afford4 ,when the corpse arrives in church1 the service is read over it4 ,that ceremony being performed1 and the body carried home1 it is considered as having no farther occasion for fine clothes1 but is generally stript to the shirt1 and buried privately4 8,can any thing be more ridiculous10 says ,n----1 8than to trick a man out in his bed clothes after his death80 8,nothing10 replied ,t----2 8unless it be to order a fantastical dress at a greater expence on purpose1 as if the dead would not be satisfied with the clothes they wore when alive1 but delighted in long flowing robes in a particular style of their own40 ,t---- has long resided abroad1 and now prefers many foreign customs to those of his own country1 which frequently involves him in disputes with his countrymen4 ,the ,princess of ---- drove past4 8,there she goes10 says ,n----1 8with her cavalieros1 her volantis1 and all the splendour of a sovereign2 yet the wife of a plain ,english gentleman is in a far more enviable situation4 ,with all her titles and her high rank1 she is a meer servant of the ,queen's1 a dependant on the caprice of another2 a frown from her ,majesty would annihilate her40 8,those who are nothing1 exclusive of court favour10 replied ,t----1 8ought not be censured for devoting their time to court attendance4 ,but did you never hear of any who are dazzled with the glitter of court shackels in the boasted land of liberty2 people whom riches1 rank1 and the most flattering favours of fortune cannot make independent2 whose minds seem the more abject1 as their situation lays them under the less necessity of remaining in servitude2 who1 withered with age1 and repining with envy1 sacrifice every domestic duty1 and stalk around the mansions of royalty1 as ghosts are said to haunt those abodes in which they most delighted when they enjoyed life and vigour80 8,well1 well10 says ,n----1 8let us say no more about them1 since we are agreed1 that1 of all the old tapestry of courts1 those grotesque figures1 who1 without the confidence of those they serve1 continue to the last exhibiting their antique countenances at birthday balls1 and in the assemblies of youth and beauty1 are the most ridiculous40 ,at that instant the ,queen passed in her coach with the royal children1 and ,n---- made some comparative remarks in his usual style2 to which ,t---- replied1 8,in this particular ,i acknowledge the happiness of ,great ,britain4 ,i presume not to make comparisons2 the great character you have mentioned defies censure1 and is far superior to my praise4 ,but ,i must observe1 it appears singular that you1 who affect to despise all other countries1 and seem of opinion1 that what is most valuable in nature is always the product of ,england1 should bring your brightest illustration of that opinion from ,germany40 ,t----1 perceiving the advantage he had gained over his antagonist1 proceeded vigorously to censure1 what he called1 the absurd partiality of the ,english in their own favour2 and observed1 that it would be fortunate for them1 if the other nations of ,europe would allow them but a few of the numerous good qualities which they so lavishly attribute to themselves4 ,he severely attacked the common people1 and denied them even the character of good-nature1 which they have been thought to possess in an eminent degree4 ,he declared them to be rough and insolent in their manners 7for the truth of this he appealed to the opinion of all their neighbours71 cruel in their dispositions 7as a proof of which he instanced some of their favourite diversions71 and absurd in their prejudices1 which appears by their hatred and contempt of other nations2 by all of whom1 he asserted1 they were in return most cordially abhorred4 8,how1 indeed1 can it be otherwise10 continued he1 8considering the rough1 boisterous nature of their weather80 ,he then expatiated on the fertility of ,italy1 and the mild serenity of the climate2 to which he partly attributed the fertile genius and mild character of the ,italians4 8,no doubt10 he said1 8moral causes might contribute to the same effect2 for more pains were taken to cultivate and encourage good and quiet dispositions in the common people here than in ,england4 ,they were accustomed to perform their religious duties more regularly2 they had frequent opportunities of hearing the most excellent music in the churches2 they were instructed in history by orators in the street1 and were made acquainted with the beauties of their best poets in the same manner4 ,all these causes united must necessarily enlarge their minds1 and make them the most gentle1 humane1 and ingenious people in the world40 ,n---- shook his head1 as if he laid little stress on the others reasoning4 ,for my own part1 ,i remained silent1 being desirous that the dispute should go on between the two who had begun it4 ,continuing our walk a little without the town1 we saw a crowd of people looking over a wall1 which formed one side of a square1 expressly built for the purpose of bating cattle with bull dogs4 ,it is imagined that this renders their flesh more tender and agreeable to the taste2 and this is considered as a sufficient reason for torturing great numbers of bulls1 oxen1 and cows1 before they are slaughtered for the markets2 we found a multitude of spectators enjoying this amusement4 8,pray10 says ,mr4 ,n----1 addressing himself to ,t----1 8do you imagine this humane practice1 and the complacency which these refined spectators seem to take in beholding it1 proceed from the mildness of the climate1 the pains bestowed in teaching the people the duties of christianity1 the enlargement of their minds by history and poetry1 or from the gentle influence of music upon their dispositions80 ,then turning from ,mr4 ,t---- to me1 he continued1 8,not satisfied with knocking the poor animals on the head1 those unfeeling epicures put them to an hour's additional torture1 merely to gratify a caprice of their corrupted palates40 8,of all subjects10 replied ,t----1 recovering himself from the confusion into which ,n----'s questions had thrown him1 8those who take upon them to be the panegyrists of the ,english nation1 ought to avoid mentioning that species of epicurism which depends on eating1 lest they be put in mind of whipping pigs to death1 their manner of collaring brawn1 crimping fish1 and other refinements peculiar to that humane good-natured people40 ,n---- was just going to reply1 when a large bull1 rendered outrageous by the stones which the populace were throwing at him1 ran suddenly towards the gate at the instant the keepers were opening it on some other account2 which threw them into such confusion1 that they had not time to shut it before the bull burst out on the multitude4 ,he now became an object of terror to those who the moment before had looked on him as an object of mirth4 ,the mighty lords of the creation1 who consider other animals as formed entirely for their pastime1 their attire1 their food1 fled in crowds from one quadruped1 and would gladly have fallen on their knees and worshipped him1 like so many ,egyptians adoring ,apis1 if by so doing they could have hoped to deprecate the just wrath of the incensed animal4--,they found safety at length1 not in their own courage or address1 but in the superior boldness and agility of other animals1 who were leagued with man against him4 ,he was surrounded by dogs1 who attacked him on all sides--he killed some outright1 tossed and wounded many more2 but perceiving his own strength diminishing1 and the number of his enemies increasing every moment1 he threw himself into the sea1 and there found a temporary protection from the fury of his persecutors4--,but the dogs were instigated to follow2 they at length drove him from this last asylum2 and the poor1 torn1 bleeding1 exhausted animal was forced ashore1 three or four of the most furious of the dogs hanging at different parts of his head and neck4 ,when they were removed1 he raised his honest countenance1 and threw an indignant look upon the rabble1 as if to upbraid them for such a return for his own labours1 and all the essential services which his whole species render to mankind4 ,upon my soul ,i felt the reproach4 ,we could not bear his looks1 but sneaked away without feeling much pride on account of our near connection with those lords of the creation1 whom we had just beheld exerting their prerogative4 ,we walked along a considerable time without speaking4 ,n---- broke silence at last3 8,well10 said he1 8those amiable creatures whom we have quitted1 are what they call human beings2--they are more1 they are ,neapolitans1 men who are moved with the concord of sweet sounds2 from which ,i conclude 7,shakespear may say what he pleases71 that such men are as fit for treasons1 stratagems1 and spoils1 as those who never heard softer melody than that of marrow-bones and cleavers40 8,this fondness for barbarous amusements10 said ,i1 8cannot be stated exclusively to the account of ,neapolitans1 of ,english1 or of any other particular people4 ,i am afraid the charge lies against mankind in general2 from whatever motive it arises1 a large proportion of the individuals in all countries have displayed a decided taste for diversions which may be ranged in this class40 8,it ought to be remembered1 however10 says ,t----1 8that those fellows with their dogs1 who have been tormenting the bull1 are butchers1 and the lowest of the vulgar of this country2 whereas1 among those who order fish to be crimped1 and pigs to be whipped to death1 as well as among those who formerly attended ,broughton's amphitheatre1 and still attend cockpits1 will be found people of the first rank in ,england40 8,pray10 said ,n----1 addressing himself to me1 8did you ever see a cocagna80 ,i acknowledged ,i never had4 8,then10 continued he1 8,i beg leave to give you an idea of it4 ,it is a ,neapolitan entertainment1 relished by people of the first rank in this polished country2 where the very vagrants in the street are instructed in history1 and the human mind is refined by poetry1 softened by music1 and elevated by religion4 ,the cocagna--,pray mark me--the cocagna is an entertainment given to the people four succeeding ,sundays during the carnival4 ,opposite to the palace1 a kind of wooden amphitheatre is erected4 ,this being covered with branches of trees1 bushes1 and various plants1 real and artificial1 has the appearance of a green hill4 ,on this hill are little buildings1 ornamented with pillars of loaves of bread1 with joints of meat1 and dried fish1 varnished1 and curiously arranged by way of capitals4 ,among the trees and bushes are some oxen1 a considerable number of calves1 sheep1 hogs1 and lambs1 all alive1 and tied to posts4 ,there are1 besides1 a great number of living turkies1 geese1 hens1 pigeons1 and other fowls1 nailed by the wings to the scaffolding4 ,certain ,heathen ,deities appear also occasionally upon this hill1 but not with a design to protect it1 as you shall see immediately4 ,the guards are drawn up in three ranks1 to keep off the populace4 ,the ,royal ,family1 with all the nobility of the court1 crowd the windows and balconies of the palace1 to enjoy this magnificent sight4 ,when his ,majesty waves his handkerchief1 the guards open to the right and left2 the rabble pour in from all quarters1 and the entertainment commences4 ,you may easily conceive what a delightful sight it must be1 to see several thousand hungry1 half-naked lazzaroni rush in like a torrent1 destroy the whole fabric of loaves1 fishes1 and joints of meat2 overturn the ,heathen ,deities1 for the honour of ,christianity2 pluck the fowls1 at the expence of their wings1 from the posts to which they were nailed2 and1 in the fury of their struggling and fighting for their prey1 often tearing the miserable animals to pieces1 and sometimes stabbing each other40 8,you ought1 in candour1 to add10 interrupted ,mr4 ,t----1 8that1 though formerly they were fixed to the posts alive1 yet of late the larger cattle have been previously killed40--8,and pray1 my good ,sir10 said ,n----1 8will you be so obliging as to inform me1 what crime the poor lambs and fowls have committed1 that they should be torn in pieces alive80 8,this piece of humanity10 continued he1 8recalls to my memory a similar instance1 in a certain ingenious gentleman1 who proposed1 as the best and most effectual method of sweeping chimnies1 to place a large goose at the top2 and then1 by a string tied around her feet1 to pull the animal gently down to the hearth4 ,the sagacious projector asserted1 that the goose1 being extremely averse to this method of entering a house1 would struggle against it with all her might2 and1 during this resistance1 would move her wings with such force and rapidity1 as could not fail to sweep the chimney completely40 8,good ,god1 ,sir10 cried a lady1 who was present when this new method was proposed1 8,how cruel would that be to the poor goose60 8,why1 ,madam10 replied the gentleman1 8if you think my method cruel to the goose1 a couple of ducks will do40 ,,letter ,,lxiv4 ,naples4 ,on the first ,sunday of ,may1 we had an opportunity of seeing the famous ,neapolitan miracle1 of the liquefaction of ,saint ,januarius's blood1 performed4 ,this ,saint1 you know1 is the patron of ,naples2 which circumstance alone forms a strong presumption of his being a ,saint of very considerable power and efficacy2 for it is not to be imagined that the care of a city1 like ,naples1 which is threatened every moment with destruction from ,mount ,vesuvius1 would be entrusted to an under-strapper4 ,indeed there has1 on some occasions1 been reason to fear1 that1 great and powerful as this ,saint is1 the ,dmon of the mountain would have got the better of him2 however1 as ,saint ,januarius has been able to protect them hitherto1 and is supposed to be improved in the science of defence by long practice1 the ,neapolitans think it more prudent to abide by him than to choose another2 who1 though he may possibly be of higher rank1 and older standing1 cannot have equal experience in this particular kind of warfare4 ,saint ,januarius suffered martyrdom about the end of the third century4 ,when he was beheaded1 a pious lady of this city caught about an ounce of his blood1 which has been carefully preserved in a bottle ever since1 without having lost a single grain of its weight4 ,this of itself1 were it equally demonstrable1 might be considered as a greater miracle than the circumstance on which the ,neapolitans lay the whole stress1 viz4 that the blood which has congealed1 and acquired a solid form by age1 is no sooner brought near the head of the ,saint1 than1 as a mark of veneration1 it immediately liquefies4 ,this experiment is made three different times every year1 and is considered by the ,neapolitans as a miracle of the first magnitude4 ,as the divinity of no other religion whatever is any longer attempted to be proved by fresh miracles1 but all are now trusted to their own internal evidence1 and to those wrought at a former period1 this miracle of ,saint ,januarius is probably the more admired on account of its being the only one1 except transubstantiation1 which remains still in use1 out of the vast abundance said to have been performed at various periods in support of the ,roman ,catholic faith4 ,the latter is unquestionably the greater miracle1 of the two2 for to change a wafer into flesh and blood1 is more extraordinary than to liquefy any substance whatever3 ,yet ,i once imagined the liquefaction had rather the advantage in this particular2 that the change is more obvious to the senses4 ,but ,i have lately been otherwise instructed1 by an ingenious person1 who was formerly a ,jesuit4 ,on somebody 7not me1 for ,i never do make objections in matters of faith7 having observed1 ,that it was unfortunate that the great change operated on the wafer in transubstantiation1 was not visible1 the person above alluded to pronounced the miracle to be much greater on that account4 8,for pray1 ,sir10 said he1 addressing himself to the objector1 8suppose ,i should immediately turn that fowl1 pointing to a turkey which was at that moment stalking past2 suppose ,i should immediately turn that fowl into a woman1 would you not think it very extraordinary80 8,certainly10 replied the other4 8,well1 ,sir1 but after the change is actually made1 and the fowl has to all intents and purposes become a woman1 if it still retained the appearance of a turkey1 you must acknowledge that would be more extraordinary still4 ,in the same manner10 continued he1 8in the celebration of mass1 the conversion of the wafer into the real body and blood of ,jesus ,christ1 is a great miracle1 and highly to be venerated2 but1 after this wonderful change has actually taken place1 that the real body of ,christ should1 even in the eyes of the sharpest sighted spectators1 still retain its original form of a wafer1 is a great deal more amazing and stupendous40 ,but1 however great a superiority the miracle of transubstantiation may have over that of ,st4 ,januarius1 in the opinion of ,roman ,catholics in general1 the ,neapolitans imagine the latter is sufficient to convert infidels1 and put heretics out of countenance4 ,a zealous believer of this country1 having described the miracle1 breaks out into the following exclamations3 8,o illustre memoria6 ,o verit irrefragabile6 vengano gli ,heretici1 vengano1 e ,stupiscano1 ed aprano gli occhi alla verit ,cattolica1 et ,evangelica2 ,bastarebbe questo sangue di ,s4 ,gennaro sola fare testimonia della ,fede4 ,e possibile1 che a tanto1 et si famoso miraculo non si converta tutta la ,gentilit1 ed ,infedelt alla verit ,cattolica della ,romana chiesa80 ,though ,i am not such an enthusiastic admirer of the performance as this author1 yet1 on the other hand1 ,i do not think that ,protestants1 however much they may be convinced it is a trick1 have any right to call it a clumsy trick1 without explaining in what it consists4 ,this is a liberty which some travellers of great eminence have taken4 ,others have asserted1 that the substance in the bottle1 which is exhibited for the blood of the ,saint1 is something naturally solid1 but which melts with a small degree of heat4 ,when it is first brought out of the cold chapel1 say those gentlemen1 it is in its natural solid state2 but when brought before the ,saint by the priest1 and rubbed between his warm hands1 and breathed upon for some time1 it melts2 and this is the whole mystery4 ,though ,i find myself unable to explain on what principle the liquefaction depends1 ,i am fully convinced that it must be something different from this2 for ,i have it from the most satisfactory authority1 from those who had opportunities of knowing1 and who believe no more in the miracle than you do1 that this congealed mass has sometimes been found in a liquid state in cold weather1 before it was touched by the ,priest1 or brought near the head of the ,saint2 and that1 on other occasions1 it has remained solid when brought before him1 notwithstanding all the efforts of the ,priest to melt it4 ,when this happens1 the superstitious1 which1 at a very moderate calculation1 comprehends ninety-nine in a hundred of the inhabitants of this city1 are thrown into the utmost consternation1 and are sometimes wrought up by their fears into a state of mind which is highly dangerous both to their civil and ecclesiastical governors4 ,it is true1 that this happens but seldom2 for1 in general1 the substance in the phial1 whatever it may be1 is in a solid form in the chapel1 and becomes liquid when brought before the ,saint2 but as this is not always the case1 it affords reason to believe1 that1 whatever may have been the case when this miracle or trick1 call it which you please1 was first exhibited1 the principle on which it depends has somehow or other been lost1 and is not now understood fully even by the ,priests themselves2 or else they are not now so expert1 as formerly1 in preparing the substance which represents the ,saint's blood1 so as to make it remain solid when it ought1 and liquefy the instant it is required4 ,the head and blood of the ,saint are kept in a kind of press1 with folding doors of silver1 in the chapel of ,st4 ,januarius1 belonging to the cathedral church4 ,the real head is probably not so fresh1 and well preserved1 as the blood2 and on that account is not exposed to the eyes of the public1 but inclosed in a large silver bust1 gilt and enriched with jewels of high value4 ,this being what appears to the people1 their idea of the ,saint's features and complexion are taken entirely from the bust4 ,the blood is kept in a small repository by itself4 ,about mid-day1 the bust1 inclosing the real head1 was brought with great solemnity1 and placed under a kind of portico1 open on all sides1 that the different communities1 which come in procession1 may be able to traverse it1 and that the people may have the comfort of beholding the miracle4 ,the processions of that solemn day were innumerable2 all the streets of ,naples were crowded with the various orders of ecclesiastics1 dressed in their richest robes4 ,the monks of each convent were mustered under their own particular banners4 ,a splendid cross was carried before each procession2 and the images1 in massy silver1 of the ,saints1 peculiarly patronising the convents1 followed the cross4 ,in this order they marched from the convents to the pavilion1 under which the head of ,st4 ,januarius was placed1 and having done due obeisance to that great protector of this city1 they marched back by a different route1 in the same order1 to their convent4 ,but as there are a great many convents in ,naples1 and a great number of monks in each convent1 though the processions began soon after mid-day1 the evening was well advanced before the last of them had passed4 ,the grand procession of all began when the others had finished4 ,it was composed of a numerous body of clergy1 and an immense multitude of people of all ranks1 headed by the archbishop of ,naples himself1 who carried the phial containing the blood of the ,saint4 ,the ,d---- of ,h---- and ,i accompanied ,sir ,w---- ,h---- to a house directly opposite to the portico1 where the sacred head was placed4 ,we there found a large assembly of ,neapolitan nobility4 ,a magnificent robe of velvet1 richly embroidered1 was thrown over the shoulders of the bust2 a mitre1 refulgent with jewels1 was placed on its head4 ,the archbishop1 with a solemn pace1 and a look full of awe and veneration1 approached1 holding forth the sacred phial which contained the precious lump of blood4 ,he addressed the ,saint in the humblest manner1 fervently praying that he would graciously condescend to manifest his regard to his faithful votaries the people of ,naples1 by the usual token of ordering that lump of his sacred blood to assume its natural and original form4 ,in those prayers he was joined by the multitude around1 particularly by the women2 of whom there seemed more than their proportion4 ,my curiosity prompted me to leave the balcony1 and mingle with the multitude4 ,i got by degrees quite near the bust4 ,twenty minutes had already elapsed1 since the archbishop had been praying with all possible earnestness1 and turning the phial around and around without any effect4 ,an old monk stood near the archbishop1 and was at the utmost pains to instruct him how to handle1 chafe1 and rub the phial2 he frequently took it into his own hands1 but his manuvres were as ineffectual as those of the archbishop4 ,by this time the people had become exceedingly noisy2 the women were quite hoarse with praying2 the monk continued his operations with increased zeal2 and the archbishop was all over in a profuse sweat with vexation4 ,in whatever light the failure of the miracle might appear to others1 it was a very serious matter to him2 because the people consider such an event as a proof of the ,saint's displeasure1 and a certain indication that some dreadful calamity will ensue4 ,this was the first opportunity he had had of officiating since his nomination to the see4 ,there was no knowing what fancy might have entered into the heads of a superstitious populace2 they might have imagined1 or his enemies might have insinuated1 that the failure of the miracle proceeded from ,st4 ,januarius's disapprobation of the person in whose hands it was to have taken place4 ,i never saw more evident marks of vexation and alarm than appeared in the countenance of the right reverend personage4 ,this alone would have convinced me that they cannot command the liquefaction when they please4 ,while things were in this state ,i observed a gentleman come hastily through the crowd1 and speak to the old monk1 who1 in a pretty loud voice1 and with an accent and a grimace very expressive of chagrin1 replied1 8,cospetto di bacco dura come una pietra40 ,at the same time an acquaintance whispered me1 ,that it would be prudent to retire1 because the mob on similar occasions have been struck with a notion1 that the operation of the miracle was disturbed by the presence of heretics2 on which they are apt to insult them4 ,i directly took his hint1 and joined the company ,i had left4 ,an universal gloom had overspread all their countenances1 they talked to each other in whispers1 and seemed oppressed with grief and contrition4 ,one very beautiful young lady cried and sobbed as if her heart had been ready to break4 ,the passions of some of the rabble without doors took a different turn2 instead of sorrow1 they were filled with rage and indignation at the ,saint's obstinacy4 ,they put him in mind of the zeal with which he was adored by people of all ranks in ,naples2 of the honours which had been conferred on him2 that he was respected here more than in any other country on earth2 and some went so far as to call him1 an old ungrateful yellow-faced rascal1 for his obduracy4 ,it was now almost dark--and when least expected1 the signal was given that the miracle was performed4--,the populace filled the air with repeated shouts of joy2 a band of music began to play2 ,te ,deum was sung2 couriers were dispatched to the royal family1 then at ,portici1 with the glad tidings2 the young lady dried up her tears2 the countenances of our company brightened in an instant1 and they sat down to cards without farther dread of eruptions1 earthquakes1 or pestilence4 ,i had remarked1 during their suspence with respect to the success of the miracle1 that some imputed the delay partly to the weather1 which happened to be rainy1 and colder than is usual at this season2 and partly to the aukwardness of the ,archbishop1 who1 never having performed before1 was accused of not handling the phial in the same dexterous and efficacious manner that a person of experience would have done4 ,while they imputed the failure to those causes1 they seemed equally uneasy with the rest of the company about the consequences4 ,it struck me that the first sentiment was perfectly inconsistent with the second4 ,i mentioned this to a ,french gentleman1 who is here as travelling companion to the young ,comte de ,g----4 8,if10 said ,i1 8the weather1 or the unskilfulness of the ,archbishop1 has prevented the substance in the phial from becoming liquid1 this surely cannot be an indication that ,heaven or the ,saint is displeased2 if1 on the contrary1 the blood continuing solid in the presence of the ,saint1 proceeds from ,heaven or the ,saint being offended1 then no kind of weather1 and no kind of expertness on the part of the ,archbishop1 could have rendered it liquid40--8,monsieur10 said he1 8voil ce qu'on appelle raisonner1 ce que ces messieurs ne font jamais40 ,the same evening1 an acquaintance of mine1 who is also a ,roman ,catholic1 and who remained close by the ,archbishop till all was over1 assured me1 that the miracle had failed entirely2 for the old monk seeing no symptom of the blood liquefying1 had called out that the miracle had succeeded2 on which the signal had been given1 the people had shouted1 the ,archbishop had held up the bottle1 moving it with a rapid motion before the eyes of the spectators1 and nobody chusing to contradict what every body wished1 he had been allowed to cover up the phial1 and carry it back to the ,chapel1 with the contents1 in the same form they had come abroad4 ,how far this account is exactly true1 ,i will not take on me to assert2 ,i was not near enough to see the transaction myself1 and ,i have only the authority of this person1 having heard no other body say they had observed the same4 ,,letter ,,lxv4 ,naples4 ,the tomb of ,virgil is on the mountain of ,pausilippo1 a little above the grotto of that name2 you ascend to it by a narrow path which runs through a vineyard2 it is overgrown with ivy leaves and shaded with branches1 shrubs1 and bushes2 an ancient bay-tree1 with infinite propriety1 overhangs it4 ,many a solitary walk have ,i taken to this place4 ,the earth1 which contains his ashes1 we expect to find clothed in the brightest verdure4 ,viewed from the magic spot1 the objects which adorn the bay become doubly interesting4 ,the ,poet's verses are here recollected with additional pleasure2 the verses of ,virgil are interwoven in our minds with a thousand interesting ideas1 with the memory of our boyish years1 or the sportive scenes of childhood1 of our earliest friends and companions1 many of whom are now dead2 and those who still live1 and for whom we retain the first impression of affection1 are at such a distance as renders the hopes of seeing them again very uncertain4 ,no wonder1 therefore1 when in a contemplative mood1 that our steps are often directed to a spot so well calculated to create and cherish sentiments congenial with the state of our mind4 ,but then comes an antiquarian1 who1 with his odious doubts1 disturbs the pleasing source of our enjoyment2 and from the fair and delightful fields of fancy1 conveys us in a moment to a dark1 barren1 and comfortless desert2--he doubts1 whether this be the real place where the ashes of ,virgil were deposited2 and tells us an unsatisfactory story about the other side of the bay1 and that he is rather inclined to believe that the ,poet was buried somewhere there1 without fixing on any particular spot4 ,would to heaven those doubters would keep their minds to themselves1 and not ruffle the tranquillity of believers6 ,but1 after all1 why should not this be the real tomb of ,virgil8 ,why should the enthusiasts1 who delight in pilgrimages to this spot1 be deprived of that pleasure8 ,why should the ,poet's ghost be allowed to wander along the dreary banks of ,styx1 till the antiquarians erect a cenotaph in his honour8 ,even they acknowledge that he was buried on this bay1 and near ,naples2 and tradition has fixed on this spot1 which1 exclusive of other presumptions1 is a much stronger evidence in its favour than their vague conjectures against it4 ,in your way to the classic fields of ,baia and ,cum1 you pass through the grotto of ,pausilippo1 a subterraneous passage through the mountain1 near a mile in length1 about twenty feet in breadth1 and thirty or forty in height1 every where1 except at the two extremities1 where it is much higher4 ,people of fashion generally drive through this passage with torches1 but the country people and foot passengers find their way without much difficulty by the light which enters at the extremities1 and at two holes pierced through the mountain near the middle of the grotto1 which admit light from above4 ,mr4 ,addison tells us1 that the common people of ,naples in his time believed that this passage through the mountain was the work of magic1 and that ,virgil was the magician4 ,but this is the age of scepticism2 and the common people1 in imitation of people of fashion1 begin to harbour doubts concerning all their old established opinions4 ,a ,neapolitan ,valet-de-place asked an ,english gentleman lately1 ,whether ,signior ,virgilio1 of whom he had heard so much1 had really1 and bona fide1 been a magician or not8 8,a magician10 replied the ,englishman2 8ay1 that he was1 and a very great magician too40 8,and do you10 resumed the ,valet1 8believe it was he who pierced this rock80 8,as for this particular rock10 answered the ,master1 8,i will not swear to it from my own knowledge1 because it was done before ,i was born2 but ,i am ready to make oath1 that ,i have known him pierce1 and even melt1 some very obdurate substances40 ,two miles beyond the ,grotta di ,pausilippe1 is a circular lake1 about half a mile in diameter1 called ,lago d',agnano2 on whose margin is situated the famous ,grotta del ,cane1 where so many dogs have been tortured and suffocated1 to shew the effect of a vapour which rises about a foot above the bottom of this little cave1 and is destructive of animal life4 ,a dog having his head held in this vapour1 is convulsed in a few minutes1 and soon after falls to the earth motionless4 ,this experiment is repeated for the amusement of every unfeeling person1 who has half a crown in his pocket1 and affects a turn for natural philosophy4 ,the experiment is commonly made on dogs2 because they1 of all animals1 show the greatest affection for man1 and prefer his company to that of their own species1 or of any other living creature4 ,the fellows who attend at this cave have always some miserable dogs1 with ropes about their necks1 ready for this cruel purpose4 ,if the poor animals were unconscious of what was to happen1 it would be less affecting2 but they struggle to get free1 and show every symptom of horror when they are dragged to this cave of torment4 ,i should have been happy to have taken the effect of the vapour for granted1 without a new trial2 but some of the company were of a more philosophical turn of mind than ,i have any pretensions to4 ,when the unhappy animal found all his efforts to escape were ineffectual1 he seemed to plead for mercy by the dumb eloquence of looks1 and the blandishments natural to his species4 ,while he licked the hand of his keeper1 the unrelenting wretch dashed him a blow1 and thrust his head into the murderous vapour4 ,when the real utility of the knowledge acquired by cruel experiments on animals 7a practice which has been carried to dreadful lengths of late7 is fairly stated1 and compared with the exquisiteness of their sufferings1 the benefit resulting to mankind from thence will seem too dearly bought in the eyes of a person of humanity4 ,humanity6 ,if language had belonged to other animals besides man1 might not they have chosen that word to express--cruelty8 if they had1 thank ,god1 they would have done injustice to many of the human race4 ,i have left the poor dog too long in the vapour2 much longer than he remained in reality4 ,the ,d---- of ,h----1 shocked at the fellow's barbarity1 wrested the dog from his hands1 bore him to the open air1 and gave him life and liberty2 which he seemed to enjoy with all the bounding rapture of gladness and gratitude4 ,if you should ever come this way1 pray do not insist on seeing the experiment2 it is not worth while2 the thing is ascertained2 it is beyond a doubt that this vapour convulses and kills every breathing animal4 ,you come next to the favourite fields of fancy and poetical fiction4 ,the ,campi ,phlegrei1 where ,jupiter overcame the giants2 the solfaterra still smoking1 as if from the effects of his thunder2 the ,monte ,nova1 which was thrown suddenly from the bowels of the earth1 as if the sons of ,titan had intended to renew the war2 the ,monte ,barbaro1 formerly ,mons ,gaurus1 the favourite of ,bacchus2 the grotto of the ,cuman ,sibyl2 the noxious and gloomy lakes of ,avernus and ,acheron2 and the green bowers of ,elysium4 ,the town of ,puzzoli1 and its environs1 present such a number of objects1 worthy of the attention of the antiquarian1 the natural philosopher1 and the classic scholar1 that to describe all with the minuteness they deserve1 would fill volumes4 ,the ,temple of ,jupiter ,serapis at ,puzzoli1 is accounted a very interesting monument of antiquity2 being quite different from the ,roman and ,greek temples1 and built in the manner of the ,asiatics1 probably by the ,egyptian and ,asiatic merchants settled at ,puzzoli1 which was the great emporium of ,italy1 until the ,romans built ,ostia and ,antium4 ,sylla having abdicated the ,dictatorship1 retired1 and passed the remainder of his life in this city4 ,the ruins of ,cicero's villa1 near this city1 are of such extent1 as to give a high idea of the wealth of this great orator4 ,had ,fortune always bestowed her gifts with so much propriety1 she never would have been accused of blindness4 ,when the truly great are blessed with riches1 it affords pleasure to every candid mind4 ,neither this villa near ,puzzoli1 that at ,tusculum1 nor any of his other country-seats1 were the scenes of idleness or riot4 ,they are distinguished by the names of the works he composed there2 works which have always been the delight of the learned1 and which1 still more than the important services he rendered his country when in office1 have contributed to immortalize his name4 ,the bay between ,puzzoli and ,baia is about a league in breadth4 ,in crossing this in a boat1 you see the ruins called ,ponte di ,caligula1 from their being thought the remains of a bridge which ,caligula attempted to build across4 ,they are by others1 with more probability1 thought to be the ruins of a mole built with arches4 ,having passed over this gulph1 a new field of curiosities presents itself4 ,the baths and prisons of ,nero1 the tomb of ,agrippina1 the temples of ,venus1 of ,diana1 and of ,mercury1 and the ruins of the ancient city of ,cum2 but no vestiges now remain of many of those magnificent villas which adorned this luxurious coast1 nor even of the town of ,baia4 ,the whole of this beauteous bay1 formerly the seat of pleasure1 and1 at one period1 the most populous spot in ,italy1 is now very thinly inhabited2 and the contrast is still stronger between the antient opulence and present poverty1 than between the numbers of its antient and present inhabitants4 ,it must be acknowledged1 that we can hardly look around us1 in any part of this world1 without perceiving objects which1 to a contemplative mind1 convey reflections on the instability of grandeur1 and the sad vicissitudes and reverses to which human affairs are liable2 but here those objects are so numerous1 and so striking1 that they must make an impression on the most careless passenger4 ,,letter ,,lxvi4 ,naples4 ,as the ,court are not at present at ,casserta1 we have not seen that place in all its splendour2 we passed1 however1 one very agreeable day there1 with ,lady ,h---- and ,s--,h---- ,f----n4 ,the palace at ,casserta was begun in the year #agej1 after a plan of ,vanvitelli2 the work is now carried on under the direction of his son4 ,while the present ,king of ,spain remained at ,naples1 there were generally about two thousand workmen employed2 at present there are about five hundred4 ,it will be finished in a few years1 and will then1 unquestionably1 be one of the most spacious and magnificent palaces in ,europe4 ,it has been said1 that ,london is too large a capital for the island of ,great ,britain2 and it has been compared to a turgid head placed on an emaciated body4 ,the palace of ,casserta also seems out of proportion with the revenues of this kingdom4 ,it is not1 properly speaking1 a head too large for the body2 but rather an ornament1 by much too expensive and bulky for either head or body4 ,this palace is situated about sixteen miles north from ,naples1 on the plain where ancient ,capua stood4 ,it was thought prudent to found a building1 on which such sums of money were to be lavished1 at a considerable distance from ,mount ,vesuvius4 ,it were to be wished1 that the contents of the cabinet at ,portici were removed from the same dangerous neighbourhood4 ,that he might not be limited in ground for the gardens1 may have been his ,spanish ,majesty's motive for choosing that his palace should be at a distance from ,naples2 and that it might not be exposed to insult from an enemy's fleet1 was probably the reason that determined him to place it at a distance from the sea4 ,this immense building is of a rectangular form1 seven hundred and fifty feet ,english1 by five hundred and eighty2 about one hundred and twelve feet high1 comprehending five habitable stories1 which contain such a number of apartments as will accommodate the most numerous court1 without any accessary buildings4 ,the rectangle is divided into four courts1 each of about two hundred and fifty-two feet by one hundred and seventy4 ,in each of the two principal fronts1 are three corresponding gates1 forming three openings1 which pierce the whole building4 ,the middle gate forms the entry to a magnificent portico1 through which the coaches drive4 ,in the middle of this1 and in the centre of the edifice1 there is a vestibule of an octogonal form1 which opens into the four grand courts at four sides of the octogon2 two other sides open into the portico1 one to the staircase2 and1 at the eighth side1 there is a statue of ,hercules1 crowned by ,victory1 with this inscription1 ,,virtus ,,post ,,fortia ,,facta ,,coronat4 ,the grand staircase is adorned with the richest marble2 the upper vestibule to which you ascend by this noble stair1 is an octogon also1 and surrounded by twenty-four pillars of yellow marble1 each of which is of one piece of eighteen feet high1 without including the pedestal or capital4 ,from this upper vestibule there are entries into--,but ,i have a notion you are tired of this description1 which ,i assure you is likewise my case4 ,i beg1 therefore1 you may take it for granted1 that the apartments within1 particularly their ,majesties1 and that destined for balls and theatrical entertainments1 correspond with the magnificence of the external appearance4 ,among the workmen employed in finishing this palace and the gardens1 there are one hundred and fifty ,africans2 for as the ,king of ,naples is constantly at war with the ,barbary ,states1 he always has a number of their sailors prisoners1 all of whom are immediately employed as slaves in the gallies1 or at some public work4 ,there are at present at ,casserta1 about the same number of ,christian slaves2 all of these have been condemned to this servitude for some crime1 some of them for the greatest of all crimes2 they are1 however1 better clothed and fed than the ,africans4 ,this is done1 no doubt1 in honour of the ,christian religion1 and to demonstrate that ,christians1 even after they have been found guilty of the blackest crimes1 are worthier men1 and more deserving of lenity1 than ,mahometan prisoners1 however innocent they may be in all other respects4 ,the gardens belonging to this palace are equally extensive and magnificent4 ,a great number of fine statues1 most of them copies of the best antique1 are kept in a storehouse till the gardens are finished1 when they will be placed in them4 ,the largest and finest elephant ,i ever saw is here at present2 he is kept by ,african slaves3 they seem to know how to manage him perfectly2 he is well thriven1 and goes through a number of tricks and evolutions with much docility and judgment4 ,in the garden1 there is an artificial water and island4 ,this1 if one may venture to say so1 seems a little injudicious2 it brings to our memory the bay of ,naples1 with its islands1 a recollection by no means favourable to this royal contrivance4 ,in this island there is a kind of a castle1 regularly fortified1 with a ditch around it1 and ramparts1 bastions1 sally-ports1 c4 c4 and a numerous train of artillery1 some of them nine or ten ouncers4 ,i no sooner entered this fort1 than ,i wished that ,uncle ,toby and ,corporal ,trim had been of our party2 it would have charmed the soul of the worthy veteran and his faithful servant4 ,i asked the man who attended us1 ,what he imagined this fortification was intended for8--,sir ,h---- ,f---- said1 8,the cannon were certainly designed against the frogs1 who were continually attempting to scale the ramparts from the ditch40--,i asked again1 ,what was the real design of erecting this fort8 ,the man answered1 stretching out his arms1 and making as wide a circle with them as he could1 8,tutto1 tutto per il sollazo del ,re40 8,yes10 said ,i1 8it is surely in the highest degree reasonable1 that not only this fort1 but the whole kingdom1 should be appropriated to the amusement of his ,majesty40--8,certo10 replied the man4 ,i wished to see how far the fellow's liberality would go--8,not only this kingdom10 continued ,i1 8but all ,europe would be highly honoured in contributing to the amusement of his ,majesty40 8,certo1 certo10 said the man4 ,,letter ,,lxvii4 ,naples4 ,the ,king and ,queen lately paid a visit to four of the principal nunneries in this town4 ,their motive was1 to gratify the curiosity of the ,archduchess1 and her husband1 ,prince ,albert of ,saxony4 ,i ought to have informed you1 that this illustrious couple left ,vienna some months after us1 with an intention to make the tour of ,italy4 ,we had the honour of seeing them frequently while at ,rome1 where they conciliated the affections of the ,italian nobles by their obliging manners1 as much as they commanded respect by their high rank4 ,the ,archduchess is a very beautiful woman1 and more distinguished by the propriety of her conduct1 than by either birth or beauty4 ,as white1 by the link of contrast1 is connected with the idea of black2 so this amiable ,duchess sometimes recals those to people's memories1 whose ideas of dignity are strongly contrasted with hers4 ,conscious1 from her infancy1 of the highest rank1 and accustomed to honours1 it never enters into her thoughts that any person will fail in paying her a due respect2 while they1 eternally jealous that enough of respect is not paid them1 give themselves airs which would be intolerable in an ,empress4 ,a smile of benignity puts all who approach this ,princess perfectly at their ease1 and dignity sits as smoothly on her as a well-made garment2 while1 on them1 it bristles out like the quills of a porcupine1 or the feathers of an enraged turkey-cock4 ,as nobody is permitted to enter those convents1 except on such extraordinary occasions as this1 when they are visited by the ,sovereigns1 the ,british ,minister seized this opportunity of procuring an order for admitting the ,d---- of ,h---- and me4 ,we accordingly accompanied him1 and a few others1 who were in the ,king's suite4 ,i have seen various nunneries in different parts of ,europe1 but none that could be compared even with the meanest of those four in this city1 for neatness and conveniency4 ,each of them is provided with a beautiful garden2 and the situation of one is the happiest that can be imagined1 commanding a prospect nearly as extensive as that from the ,carthusian convent near the castle of ,st4 ,elmo4 ,those four nunneries are for the reception of young ladies of good families2 and1 into one in particular1 none but such as are of very high rank can be admitted1 either as pensioners1 or to take the veil4 ,each of the young ladies in this splendid convent1 have both a summer and a winter apartment1 and many other accommodations unknown in other retreats of this nature4 ,the royal visitors were received in all of them by the ,lady ,abbess1 at the head of the oldest of the sisterhood2 they were afterwards presented with nosegays1 and served with fruit1 sweetmeats1 and a variety of cooling drinks1 by the younger nuns4 ,the ,queen and her amiable sister received all very graciously2 conversing familiarly with the ,lady ,abbesses1 and asking a few obliging questions of each4 ,in one convent the company were surprised1 on being led into a large parlour1 to find a table covered1 and every appearance of a most plentiful cold repast1 consisting of several joints of meat1 hams1 fowl1 fish1 and various other dishes4 ,it seemed rather ill-judged to have prepared a feast of such a solid nature immediately after dinner2 for those royal visits were made in the afternoon4 ,the ,lady ,abbess1 however1 earnestly pressed their ,majesties to sit down1 with which they complied1 and their example was followed by the ,archduchess and some of the ladies2 the nuns stood behind1 to serve their ,royal guests4 ,the ,queen chose a slice of cold turkey1 which1 on being cut up1 turned out a large piece of lemon ice1 of the shape and appearance of a roasted turkey4 ,all the other dishes were ices of various kinds1 disguised under the forms of joints of meat1 fish1 and fowl1 as above mentioned4 ,the gaiety and good humour of the ,king1 the affable and engaging behaviour of the ,royal sisters1 and the satisfaction which beamed from the plump countenance of the ,lady ,abbess1 threw an air of cheerfulness on this scene2 which was interrupted1 however1 by gleams of melancholy reflection1 which failed not to dart across the mind1 at sight of so many victims to the pride of family1 to avarice1 and superstition4 ,many of those victims were in the full bloom of health and youth1 and some of them were remarkably handsome4 ,there is something in a nun's dress which renders the beauty of a young woman more interesting than is in the power of the gayest1 richest1 and most laboured ornaments4 ,this certainly does not proceed from any thing remarkably becoming in black and white flannel4 ,the ,lady ,abbess and the elderly nuns made no more impression in their vestal robes1 than those stale1 forlorn dames1 whom you may see displaying their family jewels and shrivelled countenances every night at ,ranelagh or in the side-boxes4 ,the interest you take in a beautiful woman is heightened on seeing her in the dress of a nun1 by the opposition which you imagine exists between the life to which her rash vows have condemned her1 and that to which her own unbiassed inclination would have led her4 ,you are moved with pity1 which you know is a-kin to love1 on seeing a young blooming creature doomed to retirement and self-denial1 who was formed by nature for society and enjoyment4 ,if we may credit the ancient poets1 those young women who are confined to a cloister life on any part of this coast1 are more to be pitied than they would be under the same restraint elsewhere4 ,they tell us1 the very air in this part of ,italy is repugnant to that kind of constitution1 and that turn of mind1 of which it would be peculiarly happy for nuns to be possessed4 ,propertius intreats his ,cynthia not to remain too long on a shore which he seems to think dangerous to the chastest maiden4 ,tu modo quamprimum corruptas desere ,baias-- 444 ,littora qu fuerant castis inimica puellis4 ,martial asserts1 that a woman who came hither as chaste as ,penelope1 if she remained any time1 would depart as licentious and depraved as ,helen1 ,penelope venit1 abit ,helene4 ,i have certainly met with ladies1 after they had resided some time at ,naples1 who1 in point of character and constitution1 were thought to have a much stronger resemblance to ,helen than to ,penelope2 but as ,i have no great faith in the sudden operation of physical causes in matters of this kind1 ,i never doubted of those ladies having carried the same disposition to ,naples that they brought from it4 ,though there are not wanting those who affirm1 that the influence of this seducing climate is evident now in as strong a degree as it is described to have been anciently2 that it pervades people of all ranks and conditions1 and that in the convents themselves2 ,even there where frozen chastity retires1 ,love finds an altar for forbidden fires4 ,others1 who carry their researches still deeper1 and pretend to have a distinct knowledge of the effect of aliment through all its changes on the human constitution1 think1 that the amorous disposition1 imputed to ,neapolitans1 is only in part owing to their voluptuous climate1 but in a far greater degree to the hot1 sulphureous nature of their soil1 which those profound naturalists declare communicates its fiery qualities to the juices of vegetables2 thence they are conveyed to the animals who feed on them1 and particularly to man1 whose nourishment consisting both of animal and vegetable food1 he must have in his veins a double dose of the stimulating particles in question4 ,no wonder1 therefore1 say those nice investigators of cause and effect1 that the inhabitants of this country are more given to amorous indulgencies1 than those who are favoured with a chaster soil and a colder climate4 ,for my own part1 ,i must acknowledge1 that ,i have seen nothing1 since ,i came to ,naples1 to justify the general imputations above mentioned1 or to support this very ingenious theory4 ,on the contrary1 there are circumstances from which the opposers of this system draw very different conclusions2 for every system of philosophy1 like every ,minister of ,great ,britain1 has an opposition4 ,the gentlemen in opposition to the voluptuous influence of this climate1 and the fiery effects of this soil1 undermine the foundation of their antagonists' theory1 by asserting1 that1 so far from being of a warmer complexion than their neighbours1 the ,neapolitans are of colder constitutions1 or more philosophic in the command of their passions1 than any people in ,europe4 ,do not the lower class of men1 say they1 strip themselves before the houses which front the bay1 and bathe in the sea without the smallest ceremony8 ,are not numbers of those stout1 athletic figures1 during the heat of the day1 seen walking and sporting on the shore perfectly naked2 and with no more idea of shame1 than ,adam felt in his state of innocence2 while the ladies from their coaches1 and the servant-maids and young girls1 who pass along1 contemplate this singular spectacle with as little apparent emotion as the ladies in ,hyde ,park behold a review of the horse-guards8 ,as ,sir ,w---- and ,l----y ,h---- are preparing to visit ,england1 and the ,d---- feels no inclination to remain after they are gone1 we intend to return to ,rome in a few days4 ,,letter ,,lxviii4 ,rome4 ,we delayed visiting ,tivoli1 ,frescati1 and ,albano1 till our return from ,naples4 ,the ,campagna is an uninhabited plain1 surrounding the city of ,rome1 bounded on one side by the sea1 and on the other by an amphitheatre of hills1 crowned with towns1 villages1 and villas1 which form the finest landscapes that can be imagined4 ,the ancient ,romans were wont to seek shelter from the scorching heats of summer1 among the woods and lakes of those hills2 and the ,cardinals and ,roman ,princes1 at the same season1 retire to their villas2 while many of the wealthier sort of citizens take lodgings in the villages1 during the season of gathering the vines4 ,on the road from ,rome to ,tivoli1 about three miles from the latter1 strangers are desired to visit a kind of lake called ,solfatara formerly ,lakus ,albulus1 and there shown certain substances1 to which they give the name of ,floating ,islands4 ,they are nothing else than bunches of bullrushes1 springing from a thin soil1 formed by dust and sand blown from the adjacent ground1 and glued together by the bitumen which swims on the surface of this lake1 and the sulphur with which its waters are impregnated4 ,some of these islands are twelve or fifteen yards in length2 the soil is sufficiently strong to bear five or six people1 who1 by the means of a pole1 may move to different parts of the lake1 as if they were in a boat4 ,this lake empties itself1 by a whitish1 muddy stream1 into the ,teverone1 the ancient ,anio2 a vapour1 of a sulphureous smell1 arising from it as it flows4 ,the ground near this rivulet1 as also around the borders of the lake1 resounds1 as if it were hollow1 when a horse gallops over it4 ,the water of this lake has the singular quality of covering every substance which it touches with a hard1 white1 stoney matter4 ,on throwing a bundle of small sticks or shrubs into it1 they will1 in a few days1 be covered with a white crust2 but1 what seems still more extraordinary1 this encrustating quality is not so strong in the lake itself1 as in the canal1 or little rivulet that runs from it2 and the farther the water has flowed from the lake1 till it is quite lost in the ,anio1 the stronger this quality is4 ,those small1 round encrustations1 which cover the sand and pebbles1 resembling sugar-plums1 are called ,confetti di ,tivoli4 ,fishes are found in the ,anio1 both above and below ,tivoli1 till it receives the ,albula2 after which1 during the rest of its course to the ,tiber1 there are none4 ,the waters of this lake had a high medical reputation anciently1 but they are in no esteem at present4 ,near the bottom of the eminence on which ,tivoli stands1 are the ruins of the vast and magnificent villa built by the emperor ,adrian4 ,in this were comprehended an amphitheatre1 several temples1 a library1 a circus1 a naumachia4 ,the emperor also gave to the buildings and gardens of this famous villa the names of the most celebrated places2 as the ,academia1 the ,lycum1 the ,prytaneum of ,athens1 the ,tempe of ,thessaly1 and the ,elysian fields and infernal regions of the poets4 ,there were also commodious apartments for a vast number of guests1 all admirably distributed with baths1 and every conveniency4 ,every quarter of the world contributed to ornament this famous villa1 whose spoils have since formed the principal ornaments of the ,campidoglio1 the ,vatican1 and the palaces of the ,roman ,princes4 ,it is said to have been three miles in length1 and above a mile in breadth4 ,some antiquarians make it much larger2 but the ruins1 now remaining1 do not mark a surface of a quarter of that extent4 ,at no great distance1 they shew the place to which the ,eastern ,queen ,zenobia was confined1 after she was brought in triumph to ,rome by the emperor ,aurelian4 ,the town of ,tivoli is now wretchedly poor2 it boasts however greater antiquity than ,rome itself1 being the ancient ,tibur1 which1 ,horace informs us1 was founded by a ,grecian colony4 ,tibur ,argo positum colono ,sit me sedes utinam senect4 ,ovid gives it the same origin1 in the fourth book of the ,fasti4 ----,jam mnia ,tiburis udi ,stabant2 ,argolic quod posuere manus4 ,this was a populous and flourishing town in remoter antiquity2 but it appears to have been thinly inhabited in the reign of ,augustus4 ,horace1 in an ,epistle to ,mcenas1 says1 ,parvum parva decent4 ,mihi jam non ,regia ,roma1 ,sed vacuum ,tibur placet---- ,though the town itself was not populous1 the beauty of the situation1 and wholesomeness of the air1 prompted great numbers of illustrious ,romans1 both before the final destruction of the ,republic1 and afterwards in ,augustus's time1 to build country-houses in the neighbourhood4 ,julius ,csar had a villa here1 which he was under the necessity of selling to defray the expence of the public shews and games he exhibited to the people during his dileship4 ,plutarch says1 that his liberality and magnificence1 on this occasion1 obscured the glory of all who had preceded him in the office1 and gained the hearts of the people to such a degree1 that they were ready to invent new offices and new honours for him4 ,he then laid the foundation of that power and popularity1 which enabled him1 in the end1 to overturn the constitution of his country4 ,caius ,cassius had also a country house here2 where ,marcus ,brutus and he are said to have had frequent meetings1 and to have formed the plan which terminated the ambition of ,csar1 and again offered to ,rome that freedom which she had not the virtue to accept4 ,here1 also1 was the villa of ,augustus1 whose success in life arose at the field of ,philippi from which he fled1 was confirmed by the death of the most virtuous citizens of ,rome1 and who1 without the talents1 reaped the fruits of the labours and vast projects of ,julius4 ,lepidus the ,triumvir1 ,ccilius ,metellus1 ,quintilius ,varus1 the poets ,catullus and ,propertius1 and other distinguished ,romans1 had villas in this town or its environs2 and you are shewn the spots on which they stood2 but nothing renders ,tibur so interesting1 as the frequent mention which ,horace makes of it in his writings4 ,his great patron and friend ,mcenas had a villa here1 the ruins of which are to be seen on the south bank of the ,anio2 and it was pretty generally supposed1 that the poet's own house and farm were very near it1 and immediately without the walls of ,tibur2 but it has been of late asserted1 with great probability1 that ,horace's farm was situated nine miles above that of ,mcenas's1 at the side of a stream called ,licenza1 formerly ,digentia1 near the hill ,lucretilis1 in the country of the ancient ,sabines4 ,those who hold this opinion say1 that when ,horace talks of ,tibur1 he alludes to the villa of ,mcenas2 but when he mentions ,digentia1 or ,lucretilis1 his own house and farm are to be understood2 as in the eighteenth ,epistle of the first book1 ,me quoties resicit gelidus ,digentia rivus1 ,quem ,mandela bibit1 rugosus frigore pagus2 ,quid sentire putas1 quid credis1 amice1 precari8 the seventeenth ,ode of the first book1 ,velox amnum spe ,lucretilem ,mutat ,lyco ,faunus2---- and in other passages4 ,but whether the poet's house and farm were near the town of ,tibur1 or at a distance from it1 his writings sufficiently show that he spent much of his time there2 and it is probable that he composed great part of his works in that favourite retreat4 ,this he himself in some measure declares1 in that fine ,ode addressed to ,julius ,antonius1 son of ,mark ,antony1 by ,fulvia2 the same whom ,augustus first pardoned1 and afterwards put privately to death1 on account of an intrigue into which ,antonius was seduced by the abandoned ,julia1 daughter of ,augustus4 ----,ego1 apis ,matin ,more modoque1 ,grata carpentis thyma per laborem ,plurimum1 circa nemus uvidique ,tiburis ripas1 operosa parvus ,carmina fingo4 ,if you ever come to ,tivoli1 let it not be with a numerous party2 come alone1 or with a single friend1 and be sure to put your ,horace in your pocket4 ,you will read him here with more enthusiasm than elsewhere2 you will imagine you see the philosophic poet wandering among the groves1 sometimes calmly meditating his moral precepts1 and sometimes his eye in a fine frenzy rolling with all the fire of poetic enthusiasm4 ,if ,tivoli had nothing else to recommend it but its being so often sung by the most elegant of the poets1 and its having been the residence of so many illustrious men1 these circumstances alone would render it worthy the attention of travellers2 but it will also be interesting to many on account of its cascade1 the ,sibyl's ,temple1 and the ,villa ,estense4 ,the river ,anio1 deriving its source from a part of the ,apennines1 fifty miles above ,tivoli1 glides through a plain till it comes near that town1 when it is confined for a short space between two hills1 covered with groves4 ,these were supposed to have been the residence of the ,sibyl ,albunea1 to whom the temple was dedicated4 ,the river1 moving with augmented rapidity as its channel is confined1 at length rushes headlong over a lofty precipice2 the noise of its fall resounds through the hills and groves of ,tivoli2 a liquid cloud arises from the foaming water1 which afterwards divides into numberless small cascades1 waters several orchards1 and1 having gained the plain1 flows quietly for the rest of its course1 till it loses itself in the ,tiber4 ,it is not surprising that the following lines have been so often quoted by those who visit the ,sibyl's ,temple1 because they delineate1 in the most expressive manner1 some of the principal features of the country around it1 ,me nec tam patiens ,lacedmon1 ,nec tam ,lariss percussit campus opim1 ,quam domus ,albune resonantis1 ,et prceps ,anio1 et ,tiburni lucus1 et uda ,mobilibus pomaria rivis4 ,the elegant and graceful form of the beautiful little temple ,i have so often mentioned1 indicates its having been built when the arts were in the highest state of perfection at ,rome4 ,its proportions are not more happy than its situation1 on a point of the mountain fronting the great cascade4 ,before they take their leave of ,tivoli1 strangers usually visit the ,villa ,estense1 belonging to the ,duke of ,modena4 ,it was built by ,hippolitus of ,este1 ,cardinal of ,ferrara1 and brother to the duke of that name2 but more distinguished by being the person to whom ,ariosto addressed his ,poem of ,orlando ,furioso4 ,the house itself is not in the finest style of architecture4 ,there are many whimsical waterworks in the gardens4 ,those who do not approve of the taste of their construction1 still owe them some degree of respect1 on account of their being the first grand waterworks in ,europe2 much more ancient than those of ,versailles4 ,the situation is noble1 the terraces lofty1 the trees large and venerable2 and though the ground is not laid out to the greatest advantage1 yet the whole has a striking air of magnificence and grandeur4 ,,letter ,,lxix4 ,rome4 ,frescati is an agreeable village1 on the declivity of a hill1 about twelve miles from ,rome4 ,it derives its name from the coolness of the air1 and fresh verdure of the fields around4 ,it is a bishop's see1 and always possessed by one of the six eldest ,cardinals4 ,at present it belongs to the ,cardinal ,duke of ,york1 who1 whether in the country or at ,rome1 passes the greatest part of his time in the duties and ceremonies of a religion1 of whose truth he seems to have the fullest conviction2 and who1 living himself in great simplicity1 and not in the usual style of ,cardinals1 spends a large proportion of his revenue in acts of charity and benevolence2 the world forgetting1 by the world forgot1 except by those who enjoy the comforts of life through his bounty4 ,tivoli was the favourite residence of the ancient ,romans4 ,the moderns give the preference to ,frescati1 in whose neighbourhood some of the most magnificent villas in ,italy are situated4 ,the villa ,aldobrandini1 called also ,belvedere1 is the most remarkable1 on account of its fine situation1 extensive gardens1 airy terraces1 its grottos1 cascades1 and waterworks4 ,over a saloon1 near the grand cascade1 is the following inscription3 ,,huc ,,ego ,,migravi ,,musis ,,comitatus ,,apollo1 ,,hic ,,delphi1 ,,hic ,,helicon1 ,,hic ,,mihi ,,delos ,,erit4 ,the walls are adorned with a representation of ,apollo and the ,muses2 and some of that ,god's adventures are painted in ,fresco by ,domenichino1 particularly the manner in which he treated ,marsyas4 ,this1 in my humble opinion1 had better been omitted2 both because it is a disagreeable subject for a picture1 and because it does no honour to ,apollo4 ,marsyas unquestionably was an object of contempt and ridicule1 on account of his presumption2 but the punishment said to have been inflicted on him exceeds all bounds1 and renders the inflictor more detestable in our eyes than the insolent satyr himself4 ,this story is so very much out of character1 and so unlike the elegant god of poetry and music1 that ,i am inclined to suspect it is not true4 ,there is a report1 equally incredible1 which has been propagated by malicious people concerning his sister ,diana2 ,i do not mean her rencounter with ,acton1 for the ,goddess of ,chastity may1 without inconsistency1 be supposed cruel1 but it is quite impossible to reconcile her general character with the stories of her nocturnal visits to ,endymion4 ,the villa ,ludovisi is remarkable for its gardens and waterworks4 ,the hills on which ,frescati is situated1 afford great abundance of water1 a circumstance of which the owners of those villas have profited1 all of them being ornamented with fountains1 cascades1 or waterworks of some kind or other4 ,the villa ,taverna1 belonging to the ,prince ,borghese1 is one of the finest and best furnished of any in the neighbourhood of ,rome4 ,from this you ascend through gardens to ,monte ,dracone1 another palace on a more lofty situation1 belonging also to that ,prince1 and deriving its name from the arms of his family4 ,the ancient city of ,tusculum is supposed to have stood on the spot1 or very near it1 where ,frescati now is built2 and at the distance of about a mile and a half1 it is generally believed1 was the ,tusculan villa of ,cicero1 at a place now called ,grotta ,ferrata4 ,some ,greek monks of the order of ,st4 ,basil1 flying from the persecution of the ,saracens in the eleventh century1 were permitted to build a convent on the ruins of ,cicero's famous house4 ,they still perform the service in the ,greek language4 ,whichever way you walk from ,frescati1 you have the most delightful scenes before you4 ,i passed two very agreeable days1 wandering through the gardens and from villa to villa4 ,the pleasure of our party was not a little augmented by the observations of ,mr4 ,b----1 a lively old gentleman from ,scotland1 a man of worth but no antiquarian1 and indeed no admirer of any thing1 ancient or modern1 which has not some relation to his native country2 but to ballance that indifference1 he feels the warmest regard for every thing which has4 ,we extended our walks as far as the lake of ,nemi1 a bason of water lying in a very deep bottom1 about four miles in circumference1 whose surrounding hills are covered with tall and shady trees4 ,here ,black ,melancholy sits1 and round her throws ,a death-like silence1 and a dread repose2 ,her gloomy presence saddens all the scene1 ,shades every flower1 and darkens every green4 ,i never saw a place more formed for contemplation and solemn ideas4 ,in ancient times there was a temple here sacred to ,diana4 ,the lake itself was called ,speculum ,dian1 and ,lacus ,trivi1 and is the place mentioned in the seventh ,book of the neid1 where the ,fury ,alecto is described blowing the trumpet of war1 at whose dreadful sound the woods and mountains shook1 and mothers1 trembling for their children1 pressed them to their bosoms4 ,contremuit nemus1 et sylv intonuere profund1 ,audiit et trivi longe lacus----#g ,et trepid matres pressere ad pectora natus4 ,we returned by ,gensano1 ,marino1 ,la ,riccia1 and ,castel ,gondolfo4 ,all the villages and villas ,i have named communicate with each other by fine walks and avenues of lofty trees1 whose intermingling branches form a continued shade for the traveller4 ,castel ,gondolfo is a little village near the lake ,albano1 on one extremity of which is a castle1 belonging to his ,holiness1 from which the village takes its name2 there is nothing remarkably fine in this villa1 except its situation4 ,near the village of ,castel ,gondolfo1 is the villa ,barbarini1 within the gardens of which are the ruins of an immense palace1 built by the ,emperor ,domitian4 ,there is a charming walk1 about a mile in length1 along the side of the lake from ,castel ,gondolfo to the town of ,albano4 ,the lake of ,albano is an oval piece of water of about seven or eight miles circumference1 whose margin is finely adorned with groves and trees of various verdure1 beautifully reflected from the transparent bosom of the lake2 and which1 with the surrounding hills1 and the ,castel ,gondolfo which crowns one of them1 has a fine picturesque effect4 ,the grand scale on which the beauties of nature appear in ,switzerland and the ,alps1 has been considered by some1 as too vast for the pencil2 but among the sweet hills and vallies of ,italy1 her features are brought nearer the eye1 are fully seen and understood1 and appear in all the bloom of rural loveliness4 ,tivoli1 ,albano1 and ,frescati1 therefore1 are the favourite abodes of the landscape-painters who travel to this country for improvement2 and in the opinion of some1 those delightful villages furnish studies better suited to the powers of their art1 than even ,switzerland itself4 ,nothing can surpass the admirable assemblage of hills1 meadows1 lakes1 cascades1 gardens1 ruins1 groves1 and terraces1 which charm the eye1 as you wander among the shades of ,frescati and ,albano1 which appear in new beauty as they are viewed from different points1 and captivate the beholder with endless variety4 ,one reflection obtrudes itself on the mind1 and disturbs the satisfaction which such pleasing scenes would otherwise produce2 it arises from beholding the poverty of infinitely the greater part of the inhabitants of those villages--,not that they seem miserable or discontented--a few roasted chesnuts1 and some bunches of grapes1 which they may have for a penny1 will maintain them2 but the easier they are satisfied1 and the less repining they are1 the more earnestly do we wish that they were better provided for4 ,good heavens6 why should so much be heaped on a few1 whom profusion cannot satisfy2 while a bare competency is withheld from multitudes1 whom penury cannot render discontented8 ,the most commanding view is from the garden of a convent of ,capucins1 at no great distance from ,albano4 ,directly before you is the lake1 with the mountains and woods which surround it1 and the castle of ,gondolfo2 on one hand is ,frescati with all its villas2 on the other1 the towns of ,albano1 ,la ,riccia1 and ,gensano2 beyond these you have an uninterrupted view of the ,campagna1 with ,st4 ,peter's church and the city of ,rome in the middle2 the whole prospect being bounded by the hills of ,tivoli1 the ,apennines1 and the ,mediterranean4 ,while we contemplated all these objects with pleasure and admiration1 an ,english gentleman of the party said to ,mr4 ,b----1 8,there is not a prospect equal to this in all ,france or ,germany1 and not any superior even in ,england40 8,that ,i well believe10 replied the ,caledonian2 8but if ,i had you in ,scotland1 ,i could shew you several with which this is by no means to be compared40 8,indeed6 ,pray in what part of ,scotland are they to be seen80 8,i presume you never was at the castle of ,edinburgh1 ,sir80 8,never40 8,or at ,stirling80 8,never40 8,did you ever see ,loch ,lomond1 ,sir80 8,i never did40 8,i suppose ,i need not ask1 whether you have ever been in ,aberdeenshire1 or the ,highlands1 or--0 8,i must confess once for all10 interrupted the ,englishman1 8that ,i have the misfortune never to have seen any part of ,scotland40 8,then ,i am not surprised10 said the ,scot1 taking a large pinch of snuff1 8that you think this the finest view you ever saw40 8,i presume you think those in ,scotland a great deal finer80 8,a very great deal indeed1 ,sir2 why that lake1 for example1 is a pretty thing enough2 ,i dare swear1 many an ,english nobleman would give a good deal to have such another before his house2 but ,loch ,lomond is thirty miles in length1 ,sir6 there are above twenty islands in it1 ,sir6 that is a lake for you4 ,as for their desert of a ,campagna1 as they call it1 no man who has eyes in his head1 ,sir1 will compare it to the fertile valley of ,stirling1 with the ,forth1 the most beautiful river in ,europe1 twining through it40 8,do you really in your conscience imagine10 said the ,englishman1 8that the ,forth is a finer river than the ,thames80 8,the ,thames60 exclaimed the ,north ,briton1 8,why1 my dear ,sir1 the ,thames at ,london is a mere gutter1 in comparison of the ,firth of ,forth at ,edinburgh40 8,i suppose then10 said the ,englishman1 recovering himself1 8you do not approve of the view from ,windsor ,castle80 8,i ask your pardon10 replied the other2 8,i approve of it very much2 it is an exceeding pretty kind of a prospect2 the country appears from it as agreeable to the sight as any plain flat country1 crowded with trees1 and intersected by enclosures1 can well do2 but ,i own ,i am of opinion1 that mere fertile fields1 woods1 rivers1 and meadows1 can never1 of themselves1 perfectly satisfy the eye40 8,you imagine1 no doubt10 said the ,englishman1 8that a few heath-covered mountains and rocks embellish a country very much80 8,i am precisely of that opinion10 said the ,scot2 8and you will as soon convince me that a woman may be completely beautiful with fine eyes1 good teeth1 and a fair complexion1 though she should not have a nose on her face1 as that a landscape1 or country1 can be completely beautiful without a mountain40 8,well1 but here are mountains enough10 resumed the other2 8look around you40 8,mountains60 cried the ,caledonian1 8very pretty mountains1 truly6 ,they call that ,castel ,gondolfo of theirs a castle too1 and a palace1 forsooth6 but does that make it a residence fit for a ,prince80 8,why1 upon my word1 ,i do not think it much amiss10 said the other2 8it looks full as well as the palace of ,st4 ,james's40 8,the palace of ,st4 ,james's10 exclaimed the ,scot1 8is a scandal to the nation2 it is both a shame and a sin1 that so great a monarch as the ,king of ,scotland1 ,england1 and ,ireland1 with his ,royal consort1 and their large family of small children1 should live in a shabby old cloister1 hardly good enough for monks4 ,the palace of ,holyrood-house1 indeed1 is a residence meet for a king40 8,and the gardens2 pray what sort of gardens have you belonging to that palace80 said the ,englishman2 8,i have been told you do not excel in those40 8,but we excel in gardeners10 replied the other1 8which are as much preferable as the creator is preferable to the created40 8,i am surprised1 however10 rejoined the ,south ,briton1 8that1 in a country like yours1 where there are so many creators1 so very few fruit-gardens are created40 8,why1 ,sir1 it is not to be expected10 said ,mr4 ,b----1 8that anyone country will excel in every thing4 ,some enjoy a climate more favourable for peaches1 and vines1 and nectarines2 but1 by ,g--1 ,sir1 no country on earth produces better men and women than ,scotland40 8,i dare say none does10 replied the other4 8,so as ,france excels in wines1 ,england in wool and oxen1 ,arabia in horses1 and other countries in other animals1 you imagine ,scotland excels all others in the human species40 8,what ,i said1 ,sir1 was1 that the human species in no country excel those in ,scotland2 and that ,i assert again1 and will maintain1 ,sir1 to my last gasp40 8,i do not intend to deny it10 said the ,englishman2 8but you will permit me to observe1 that1 men being its staple commodity1 it must be owned that ,scotland carries on a brisk trade2 for ,i know no country that has a greater exportation2 you will find ,scotchmen in all the countries of the world40 8,so much the better for all the countries of the world10 said ,mr4 ,b----2 8for every body knows that the ,scotch cultivate and improve the arts and sciences wherever they go40 8,they certainly improve their own fortunes wherever they go10 rejoined the other2--8like their gardeners1 though they can create little or nothing at home1 they often create very good fortunes in other countries2 and this is one reason of our having the pleasure of so much of their company in ,london40 8,whether it affords you pleasure or not1 ,sir1 nothing can be more certain10 replied the ,scot in the most serious tone1 8than that you may improve very much by their company and example4 ,but there are various reasons10 continued he1 8for so many of my countrymen sojourning in ,london4 ,that city is now1 in some measure1 the capital of ,scotland as well as of ,england4 ,the seat of government is there2 the ,king of ,scotland1 as well as of ,england1 resides there2 the ,scotch nobility and gentry have as good a right to be near the person of their ,sovereign as the ,english2 and you must allow1 that1 if some ,scotchmen make fortunes in ,england1 many of our best estates are also spent there4 ,but you mean to say1 that the ,scotch1 in general1 are poor in comparison of the ,english4 ,this we do not deny1 and cannot possibly forget1 your countrymen refresh our memories with it so often4 ,we allow1 therefore1 that you have this advantage over us2--and the ,persians had the same over the ,macedonians at the battle of ,arbela4 ,but1 whether ,scotland be poor or rich1 those ,scots who settle in ,england must carry industry1 talents1 or wealth with them1 otherwise they will starve there as well as elsewhere2 and when one country draws citizens of this description from another1 ,i leave you to judge which has the most reason to complain4 ,and let me tell you1 ,sir1 upon the whole1 the advantages which ,england derives from the ,union1 are manifest and manifold40 8,i cannot say10 replied the ,englishman1 8that ,i have thought much on this subject2 but ,i shall be obliged to you if you will enumerate a few of them40 8,in the first place10 resumed the ,scot1 8,has she not greatly increased in wealth since that time80 8,she has so10 replied the other1 smiling1 8and ,i never knew the real cause before40 8,in the next place1 ,has she not acquired a million and a half of subjects1 who otherwise would have been with her enemies8 ,for this1 and other reasons1 they are equivalent to three millions4 ,in the third place1 ,has she not acquired security8 without which riches are of no value4 ,there is no door open now1 ,sir1 by which the ,french can enter into your country4 ,they dare as soon be d---- as attempt to invade ,scotland2 so if you can defend your own coast1 there is no fear of you2 but without a perfect union with ,scotland1 ,england could not enjoy the principal benefit she derives from her insular situation40 8,not till ,scotland should be subdued10 said the ,englishman4 8,subdued60 repeated the astonished ,scot2 8let me tell you1 ,sir1 that is a very strange hypothesis2 the fruitless attempts of many centuries might have taught you that the thing is impossible2 and1 if you are conversant in history1 you will find1 that1 after the decline of the ,roman ,empire1 the course of conquest was from the ,north to the ,south40 8,you mean10 said the ,south ,briton1 8that ,scotland would have conquered ,england40 8,sir10 replied the other1 8,i think the ,english as brave a nation as ever existed1 and therefore ,i will not say that the ,scotch are braver2 far less shall ,i assert1 that they1 consisting of only a fifth part of the numbers1 could subdue the ,english2 but ,i am sure1 that rather than submit they would try2 and you will admit that the trial would be no advantage to either country40 8,although ,i am fully convinced10 said the ,englishman1 8how the experiment would end1 ,i should be sorry to see it made1 particularly at this time40 8,yet1 ,sir10 rejoined the ,scot1 8there are people of your country1 as ,i am told1 who1 even at this time1 endeavour to exasperate the minds of the inhabitants of one part of ,great ,britain against the natives of the other1 and to create dissension between two countries1 whose mutual safety depends on their good agreement2 two countries whom ,nature herself1 by separating them from the rest of the world1 and encircling them with her azure bond of union1 seems to have intended for one40 8,i do assure you1 my good ,sir10 said the ,english ,gentleman1 8,i am not of the number of those who wish to raise such dissension4 ,i love the ,scotch2 ,i always thought them a sensible and gallant people2 and some of the most valued friends ,i have on earth1 are of your country40 8,you are a man of honour and discernment10 said the ,caledonian1 seizing him eagerly by the hand2 8and ,i protest1 without prejudice or partiality1 that ,i never knew a man of that character who was not of your way of thinking40 #g ,the intervening words are cold1 and not much connected with the fine line which concludes the quotation4 ,,letter ,,lxx4 ,florence4 ,we arrived in this city the third day after leaving ,rome1 though ,i have delayed writing till now4 ,i wished to know something of the place1 and to be a little acquainted with the people4 ,the last is not difficult2 because the ,florentines are naturally affable1 and the hospitality and politeness of the ,british ,minister afford his countrymen frequent opportunities of forming an acquaintance with the best company in ,florence4 ,this gentleman has been here about thirty years1 and is greatly esteemed by the ,florentines4 ,it is probably owing to this circumstance1 and to the magnificent stile in which some ,english ,noblemen live1 who have long resided here1 that the ,english1 in general1 are favourites with the inhabitants of this place4 ,l----d ,c----r's conduct and disposition confirm them in the opinion they long have had of the good-nature and integrity of the nation to which he belongs4 ,his ,lady is of an amiable character1 and affords them a very favourable specimen of ,english beauty4 ,we have had no opportunity of seeing the ,grand ,duchess4 ,she is of a domestic turn1 and lives much in the country with her children1 of which she has a comfortable number2 but the ,grand ,duke having come to town for two days1 we had the honour of being presented to him at the ,palazzo ,pitti4 ,there is a striking resemblance of each other in all the branches of the ,austrian family4 ,wherever ,i had met with the ,grand ,duke1 ,i should immediately have known that he belonged to it4 ,he1 as well his brother who resides at ,milan1 has1 in a remarkable degree1 the thick lip2 which has long been a distinguishing feature in the ,austrian family4 ,he is a handsome man1 is rapid in his words and motions1 and has more vivacity in his manner than either the ,emperor or ,archduke2 like them1 he is good-humoured1 condescending and affable4 ,after the extinction of the ,medici family1 the ,florentines grumbled on account of the disadvantage and inconveniency of having ,sovereigns who did not reside among them4 ,they exclaimed that their money was carried away to a distant country1 and the most profitable offices at home filled by foreigners4 ,they have now got a ,sovereign who resides and spends his revenue among them1 and has provided the ,state most plentifully in heirs2 yet they still grumble4 ,they complain of the taxes--,but in what country of ,europe is there not the same complaint8 ,florence is1 unquestionably1 a very beautiful city4 ,independent of the churches and palaces1 some of which are very magnificent1 the architecture of the houses in general is in a good taste1 the streets are remarkably clean1 and paved with large broad stones1 chiseled so as to prevent the horses from sliding4 ,this city is divided into two unequal parts by the river ,arno1 over which there are no less than four bridges in sight of each other4 ,that called the ,ponte della ,trinit1 is uncommonly elegant4 ,it is built entirely of white marble1 and ornamented with four beautiful statues1 representing the ,four ,seasons4 ,the quays1 the buildings on each side1 and the bridges1 render that part of ,florence through which the river runs1 by far the finest4 ,the same is the case at ,paris2 and it happens fortunately for those two cities1 that those parts are almost constantly before the eye1 on account of the necessity people are continually under of passing and repassing those bridges2 whereas in ,london1 whose river and bridges are far superior to any in ,france or ,italy1 people may live whole seasons1 attend all the public amusements1 and drive every day from one end of the town to the other1 without ever seeing the ,thames or the bridges1 unless they go on purpose4 ,for this reason1 when a foreigner is asked which he thinks the finest city1 ,paris or ,london2 the moment ,paris is mentioned1 the ,louvre1 and that striking part which is situated between the ,pont ,royal and ,pont ,neuf1 presents itself to his imagination4 ,he can recollect no part of ,london equal in magnificence to this2 and ten to one1 if he decides directly1 it will be in favour of ,paris3 but if he takes a little more time1 and compares the two capitals1 street by street1 square by square1 and bridge with bridge1 he will probably be of a different opinion4 ,the number of inhabitants in ,florence is calculated by some at eighty thousand4 ,the streets1 squares1 and fronts of the palaces are adorned with a great number of statues2 some of them by the best modern masters1 ,michael ,angelo1 ,bandinelli1 ,donatello1 ,giovanni di ,bologna1 ,benvenuto1 ,cellini1 and others4 ,a taste for the arts must be kept alive1 independent almost of any other encouragement1 in a city where so many specimens are continually before the eyes of the inhabitants4 ,there are towns in ,europe1 where statues1 exposed night and day within the reach of the common people1 would run a great risque of being disfigured and mutilated2 here they are as safe as if they were shut up in the ,great ,duke's gallery4 ,florence has been equally distinguished by a spirit for commerce and for the fine arts2 two things which are not always united4 ,some of the ,florentine merchants formerly were men of vast wealth1 and lived in a most magnificent manner4 ,one of them1 about the middle of the fifteenth century1 built that noble fabric1 which1 from the name of its founder1 is still called the ,palazzo ,pitti4 ,the man was ruined by the prodigious expence of this building1 which was immediately purchased by the ,medici family1 and has continued1 ever since1 to be the residence of the ,sovereigns4 ,the gardens belonging to this palace are on the declivity of an eminence4 ,on the summit there is a kind of fort1 called ,belvedere4 ,from this1 and from some of the higher walks1 you have a complete view of the city of ,florence1 and the beauteous vale of ,arno1 in the middle of which it stands4 ,the prospect is bounded on every side by an amphitheatre of fertile hills1 adorned with country-houses and gardens4 ,in no part of ,italy1 that ,i have seen1 are there so many villas1 belonging to private persons1 as in the neighbourhood of this city2 the habitations of the peasants1 likewise1 seem much more neat and commodious4 ,the country all around is divided into small farms1 with a neat farm-house on each4 ,tuscany produces a considerable quantity of corn1 as well as excellent wine1 and great quantities of silk4 ,the peasants have a look of health and contentment3 the natural beauty of the ,italian countenance not being disgraced by dirt1 or deformed by misery1 the women in this country seem handsomer1 and are1 in reality1 more blooming1 than in other parts of ,italy4 ,when at work1 or when they bring their goods to market1 their hair is confined by a silk net1 which is also much worn at ,naples2 but on holidays they dress in a very picturesque manner4 ,they do not wear gowns1 but a kind of jacket without sleeves4 ,they have no other covering for the upper part of the arm but their shift sleeves1 which are tied with riband4 ,their petticoats are generally of a scarlet colour4 ,they wear ear-rings and necklaces4 ,their hair is adjusted in a becoming manner1 and adorned with flowers4 ,above one ear they fix a little straw hat2 and on the whole have a more gay1 smart1 coquetish air1 than any country-girls ,i ever saw4 ,churches1 and palaces1 and statues1 are no doubt ornamental to a city2 and the ,princes are praise-worthy who have taken pains to rear and collect them2 but the greatest of all ornaments are cheerful1 happy1 living countenances4 ,the taste is not general2 but1 ,i thank ,god1 ,i know some people who1 to a perfect knowledge and unaffected love of the fine arts1 join a passion for a collection of this kind1 who cannot1 without uneasiness1 see one face in a different style1 and whose lives and fortunes are employed in smoothing the corrosions of penury and misfortune1 and restoring the original air of satisfaction and cheerfulness to the human countenance4 ,happy the people whose ,sovereign is inspired with this species of virt6 ,,letter ,,lxxi4 ,florence4 ,i have generally1 since our arrival at ,florence1 passed two hours every forenoon in the famous gallery4 ,connoisseurs1 and those who wish to be thought such1 remain much longer4 ,but ,i plainly feel this is enough for me2 and ,i do not think it worth while to prolong my visit after ,i begin to be tired1 merely to be thought what ,i am not4 ,do not imagine1 however1 that ,i am blind to the beauties of this celebrated collection2 by far the most valuable now in the world4 ,one of the most interesting parts of it1 in the eyes of many1 is the series of ,roman ,emperors1 from ,julius ,csar to ,gallienus1 with a considerable number of their ,empresses1 arranged opposite to them4 ,this series is almost complete2 but wherever the bust of an ,emperor is wanting1 the place is filled up by that of some other distinguished ,roman4 ,such an honour is bestowed with great propriety on ,seneca1 ,cicero1 or ,agrippa1 the son-in-law of ,augustus4 ,but1 on perceiving a head of ,antinous1 the favourite of ,adrian1 among them1 a gentleman whispered me1--that minion1 pointing to the head1 would not have been admitted into such company any where but in ,florence4 ,it ought1 however1 to be remembered1 that the ,gallery is not an gyptian court of judicature1 where ,princes are tried1 after death1 for crimes committed during their life4 ,if the vices of originals had excluded their portraits1 what would have become of the series of ,roman ,emperors1 and particularly of the bust of the great ,julius himself1 who was husband to all the wives and ---- ---- ---- ,the gallery is sacred to art1 and every production which she avows1 has a right to a place here4 ,amidst those noble specimens of ancient sculpture1 some of the works of ,michael ,angelo are not thought undeserving a place4 ,his ,bacchus and ,faunus1 of which the well-known story is told1 have been by some preferred to the two antique figures representing the same4 ,the beautiful head of ,alexander is universally admired by all the virtuosi2 though they differ in opinion with regard to the circumstance in which the sculptor has intended to represent that hero4 ,some imagine he is dying2 ,mr4 ,addison imagines he sighs for new worlds to conquer2 others that he faints with pain and loss of blood from the wounds he received at ,oxydrace4 ,others think the features express not bodily pain or languor1 but sorrow and remorse1 for having murdered his faithful friend ,clitus4 ,you see how very uncertain a business this of a virtuoso is4 ,i can hardly believe that the artist intended simply to represent him dying2 there was nothing very creditable in the manner he brought on his death4 ,nor do ,i think he would choose to represent him moaning1 or languishing with pain or sickness2 there is nothing heroic in that2 nor do we sympathise so readily with the pains of the body1 as with those of the mind4 ,as for the story of his weeping for new worlds1 he will excite still less sympathy1 if that is the cause of his affliction4 ,the last conjecture1 therefore1 that the artist intended to represent him in a violent fit of remorse1 is the most probable4 ,the unfinished bust of ,marcus ,brutus1 by ,michael ,angelo1 admirably expresses the determined firmness of character which belonged to that virtuous ,roman4 ,the artist1 while he wrought at this1 seems to have had in his mind ,horace's ,ode ,justum et tenacem propositi virum ,non civium ardor prava jubentium1 ,non vultus instantis tyranni ,mente quatit solid1 c4 ,this would1 in my opinion1 be a more suitable inscription for the bust1 than the concetto of ,cardinal ,bembo1 which is at present under it#h4 ,michael ,angelo1 in all probability was pleased with the expression he had already given the features1 and chose to leave it as an unfinished sketch1 rather than risk weakening it by an attempt to improve it4 ,the virtuosi differ in opinion respecting the ,arrotino1 or ,whetter1 as much as about the head of ,alexander4 ,a young gentleman said to an antiquarian1 while he contemplated the ,arrotino1 8,i believe1 ,sir1 it is imagined that this statue was intended for the slave1 who1 while he was whetting his knife1 overheard ,catiline's conspiracy40--8,that is the vulgar opinion10 said the other2 8but the statue was1 in reality1 done for a peasant1 who discovered the plot into which the two sons of ,junius ,brutus entered for the restoration of ,tarquin40 8,i ask pardon1 ,sir10 said the young man2 8but although one may easily see that the figure listens with the most exquisite expression of attention1 yet ,i should think it very difficult to delineate in the features1 whether the listener heard a conspiracy1 or any thing else which greatly interested him1 and absolutely impossible to mark1 by any expression of countenance1 what particular conspiracy he is hearing40 8,your observation is just1 young man10 said the antiquarian1 8when applied to modern artists1 but entirely the reverse when applied to the ancient4 ,now1 for my own part1 ,i plainly perceive in that man's countenance1 and after you have studied those matters as profoundly as ,i have done you will see the same1 that it is the conspiracy for the restoration of ,tarquin1 and no other plot whatever1 which he listens to2 as for ,catiline's conspiracy1 it is not possible he could know any thing about it2 for1 good ,god6 people ought to reflect1 that the man must have been dead four hundred years before ,catiline was born40 ,as we are now in the famous octogonal room1 called ,tribuna1 ,i ought1 if ,i had any thing new to say1 to descant a little on the distinguishing excellencies of the ,dancing ,faun1 the ,wrestlers1 the ,venus ,urania1 the ,venus ,victrix2 and ,i would most willingly pay the poor tribute of my praise to that charming figure known by the name of ,venus de ,medicis4 ,yet1 in the midst of all my admiration1 ,i confess ,i do not think her equal to her brother ,apollo in the ,vatican4 ,in that sublime figure1 to the most perfect features and proportions1 is joined an air which seems more than human4 ,the ,medicean ,venus is unquestionably a perfect model of female beauty2 but while ,apollo appears more than a man1 the ,venus seems precisely a beautiful woman4 ,in the same room are many valuable curiosities1 besides a collection of admirable pictures by the best masters4 ,i do not know whether any are more excellent of their kind1 but ,i am convinced none are more attentively considered than the two ,venuses of ,titian2 one is said to be a portrait of his wife1 the other of his mistress4 ,the first is the fined portrait ,i ever saw1 except the second2 of this you have seen many copies3 though none of them equals the beauty of the original1 yet they will give a juster idea of it than any description of mine could4 ,on the back ground1 two women seem searching for something in a trunk4 ,this episode is found much fault with2 for my part1 ,i see no great harm the two poor women do3 none but those critics who search more eagerly after deformity than beauty1 will take any notice of them4 ,besides the ,gallery and ,tribuna1 the hundredth part of whose treasures ,i have not particularised1 there are other rooms1 whose contents are indicated by the names they bear2 as1 the ,cabinet of ,arts1 of ,astronomy1 of ,natural ,history1 of ,medals1 of ,porcelain1 of ,antiquities1 and the ,saloon of the ,hermaphrodite1 so called from a statue which divides the admiration of the ,amateurs with that in the ,borghese village at ,rome4 ,the excellence of the execution is disgraced by the vileness of the subject4 ,we are surprised how the ,greeks and ,romans could take pleasure in such unnatural figures2 in this particular their taste seems to have been as depraved1 as in general it was elegant and refined4 ,in this room there is a collection of drawings by some of the greatest masters1 ,michael ,angelo1 ,raphael1 ,andrea del ,sarto1 and others4 ,there is1 in particular1 a sketch of the ,last ,judgment by the first-named of these painters1 different1 and1 in the opinion of some1 designed with more judgment1 than his famous picture on the same subject in ,sixtus the ,fourth's chapel in the ,vatican4 ,the large room1 called the ,gallery of ,portraits1 is not the least curious in this vast ,musum4 ,it contains the portraits1 all executed by themselves1 of the most eminent painters who have flourished in ,europe during the three last centuries4 ,they amount to above two hundred2 those of ,rubens1 ,vandyke1 ,rembrandt1 and ,guido1 were formerly the most esteemed2 two have been added lately1 which vie with the finest in this collection--those of ,meng's and ,sir ,joshua ,reynolds4 ,the portrait of ,raphael seems to have been done when he was young2 it is not equal to any of the above4 ,the ,electress ,dowager of ,saxony has made a valuable addition to this collection1 by sending her own portrait painted by herself2 she is at full length1 with the palette and pencils in her hands4 ,coreggio1 after hearing the picture of ,st4 ,cecilia at ,bologna cried up as a prodigy1 and the ne plus ultra of art1 went to see it2 and conscious that there was nothing in it that required the exertion of greater powers than he felt within himself1 he was overheard to say1 8,anch' io sono pittore40 ,this illustrious princess was also conscious of her powers when she painted this portrait1 which seems to pronounce to the spectators1 ,anch' io sono pittrice4 #h ,dum ,bruti effigiem ,michael de marmore fingit1 ,in mentem sceleris venit1 et abstinuit4 ,,letter ,,lxxii4 ,florence4 ,having now crossed from the ,adriatic to the ,mediterranean1 and travelled through a considerable part of ,italy1 ,i acknowledge ,i have been agreeably disappointed in finding the state of the poorer part of the inhabitants less wretched than1 from the accounts of some travellers1 ,i imagined it was2 and ,i may with equal truth add1 that although ,i have not seen so much poverty as ,i was taught to expect1 yet ,i have seen far more poverty than misery4 ,even the extremity of indigence is accompanied with less wretchedness here than in many other countries4 ,this is partly owing to the mildness of the climate and fertility of the soil1 and partly to the peaceable1 religious1 and contented disposition of the people4 ,the miseries which the poorer part of mankind suffer from cold1 are1 perhaps1 greater than those derived from any other source whatever4 ,but in ,italy1 the gentleness of the climate protects them from this calamity nine months of the year4 ,if they can gather as much wood as to keep a moderate fire during the remaining three1 and procure a coarse cloke1 they have little to fear from that quarter4 ,those who cannot get employment1 which is often the case in this country1 and even those who do not choose to work1 which is the case with numbers all the world over1 receive a regular maintenance from some convent3 with this1 and what little they can pick up otherwise1 in a country where provisions are plentiful and cheap1 they pass through life1 in their own opinion1 with more satisfaction than if they had a greater number of conveniencies procured by much bodily labour4 ,whereas in ,great ,britain1 ,germany1 and other northern countries1 the poor have no choice but to work2 for if they remain idle1 they are exposed to miseries more intolerable than the hardest labour can occasion to the laziest of mankind2 they are invaded at once by the accumulated agonies of hunger and cold2 and if they have ever had sufficient credit to contract a little debt1 they are continually in danger of being thrown into a jail among pickpockets and felons4 ,with respect to the lowest of the tradespeople and the day-labourers in this country1 their wages are certainly not high2 nor are they willing1 by great efforts of industry1 to gain all they might2 but what they do gain is never wasted in intemperance1 but fairly spent in their families on the real necessaries and comforts of life4 ,the ,italians are the greatest loungers in the world1 and while walking in the fields1 or stretched in the shade1 seem to enjoy the serenity and genial warmth of their climate with a degree of luxurious indulgence peculiar to themselves4 ,without ever running into the daring excesses of the ,english1 or displaying the frisky vivacity of the ,french1 or the invincible phlegm of the ,germans1 the ,italian populace discover a species of sedate sensibility to every source of enjoyment1 from which1 perhaps1 they derive a greater degree of happiness than any of the other4 ,the frequent processions and religious ceremonies1 besides amusing and comforting them1 serve to fill up their time1 and prevent that ennui and those immoral practices which are apt to accompany poverty and idleness4 ,it is necessary1 for the quiet and happiness of every community1 that the populace be employed4 ,some politicians imagine1 that their whole time should be spent in gainful industry4 ,others think1 that though the riches of the state will not be augmented1 yet the general happiness1 which is a more important object1 will be promoted by blending the occupations of industry with a considerable proportion of such superstitious ceremonies as awaken the future hopes1 without lulling the present benevolence1 of the multitude2 but nobody can doubt1 that in countries where1 from whatever cause1 industry does not prevail1 processions and other rites of the same nature will tend to restrain the populace from the vices1 and of consequence prevent some of the miseries of idleness4 ,the peasantry of this country are unquestionably in a more comfortless state than a benevolent mind could wish them4 ,but1 ,england and ,switzerland excepted1 is not this the case all over ,europe8 ,in all the countries ,i have seen1 or had an account of1 the husbandmen1 probably the most virtuous1 but certainly the most useful part of the community1 whose labour and industry maintain all the rest1 and in whom the real strength of the state resides1 are1 by a most unjust dispensation1 generally the poorest and most oppressed4 ,but although the ,italian peasantry are by no means in the affluent1 independent situation of the peasantry of ,switzerland1 and the tenantry of ,england1 yet they are not subjected to the same oppressions with those of ,germany1 nor are they so poor as those of ,france4 ,great part of the lands in ,italy belong to convents2 and ,i have observed1 and have been assured by those who have the best opportunities of knowing1 that the tenants of these communities are happier1 and live more at their ease1 than those of a great part of the nobility4 ,the revenues of convents are usually well managed1 and never allowed to be squandered away by the folly or extravagance of any of its members2 consequently the community is not driven1 by craving and threatening creditors1 as individuals frequently are1 to squeeze out of their vassals the means of supplying the waste occasioned by their own vanity and expence4 ,a convent can have no incitement to severe and oppressive exactions from the peasants1 except sheer avarice2 a passion which never rises to such a height in a society where the revenue is in common1 as in the breast of an individual1 who is solely to reap the fruits of his own oppression4 ,the stories which circulate in ,protestant countries1 concerning the scandalous debauchery of monks1 and the luxurious manner in which they live in their convents1 whatever truth there may have been in them formerly1 are certainly now in a great measure without foundation4 ,i remember when ,i was at the ,grande ,chartreuse1 near ,grenoble1 which has a considerable district of land belonging to it1 ,i was informed1 and this information was confirmed by what ,i saw1 that those monks were gentle and generous masters1 and that their tenants were envied by all the peasantry around1 on account of the treatment they received1 and the comparatively easy terms on which they held their farms4 ,from the enquiries ,i have made in ,france1 ,germany1 and ,italy1 ,i am convinced that this is usually the case with those peasants who belong to convent lands2 and very often1 ,i have been informed1 besides having easy rents1 they also find affectionate friends and protectors in their masters1 who visit them in sickness1 comfort them in all distresses1 and are of service to their families in various shapes4 ,i have been speaking hitherto of the peasantry belonging to convents2 but ,i believe ,i might extend the remark to the tenants of ecclesiastics in general1 though they are often represented as more proud and oppressive masters than any class of men whatever2 an aspersion which may have gained credit the more easily on this account1 that instances of cruelty and oppression in ecclesiastics strike more1 and raise a greater indignation1 than the same degree of wickedness in other men2 they raise a greater indignation1 because they are more unbecoming of clergymen1 and they strike more when they do happen1 because they happen seldomer4 ,the ambition of ,popes some centuries ago1 when the ,court of ,rome was in its zenith1 the unlimited influence and power which particular ,churchmen acquired in ,england and ,france1 had those effects upon their actions and characters1 which ambition and power usually have on the characters of men2 it rendered them insolent1 unfeeling1 and persecuting4 ,yet1 for every cruel and tyrannical ,pope that history has recorded1 it will be easy to name two or three ,roman ,emperors who have surpassed them in every species of wickedness2 and ,england and ,france have had ,prime ,ministers with all the vices1 without the abilities1 of ,wolsey and ,richelieu4 ,those who declaim against the wickedness of the clergy1 seem to take it for granted that this body of men were the authors of the most horrid instances of persecution1 massacre1 and tyranny1 over men's consciences1 that are recorded in the annals of mankind2 yet ,philip ,,ii41 ,charles ,,ix4 and ,henry ,,viii4 were not ,churchmen2 and the capricious tyranny of ,henry1 the frantic fury of ,charles1 and the persevering cruelty of ,philip1 seem to have proceeded from the personal characters of these ,monarchs1 or to have been excited by what they considered as their political interest1 rather than by the suggestions of their ,clergy4 ,as the subjects of the ,ecclesiastical ,state are perhaps the poorest in ,italy1 this has been imputed to the rapacious disposition which some assert is natural to ,churchmen4 ,this poverty1 however1 may be otherwise accounted for4 ,bishop ,burnet very judiciously observes1 that the subjects of a government1 which is at once despotic and elective1 labour under peculiar disadvantages2 for an hereditary ,prince will naturally have considerations for his people which an elective one will not1 8unless he has a degree of generosity not common among men1 and least of all among ,italians1 who have a passion for their families which is not known in other places#i40 ,an elective ,prince1 knowing that it is only during his reign that his family can receive any benefit from it1 makes all the haste he can to enrich them4 ,to this it may be added1 that as ,popes generally arrive at ,sovereignty at an age when avarice predominates in the human breast1 they may be supposed to have a stronger bias than other ,princes to that sordid passion2 and even when this does not take place1 their needy relations are continually prompting them to acts of oppression1 and suggesting ways and means of squeezing the people4 ,other causes might be assigned2 but1 that it does not originate from the imputation above mentioned1 seems evident from this1 that the peasants of particular ecclesiastics1 and of the convents in the ,pope's dominions1 as well as in other countries1 are generally less oppressed than those of the lay lords and princes4 ,from what has been thrown out by some celebrated wits1 and the common-place invective of those who affect that character1 one would be led to imagine that there is something in the nature of the clerical profession which has a tendency to render men proud and oppressive4 ,such indiscriminating censure carries no conviction to my mind1 because it is contradicted by the experience ,i have had in life1 and by the observations1 such as they are1 which ,i have been able to make on human nature4 ,i do not mean1 in imitation of the satirists above mentioned1 to put the ,clergy of all religions on the same footing4 ,my opportunities of knowledge are too slender to justify that2 my acquaintance with this order of men having been in a great measure confined to those of the ,protestant ,church1 men of learning and ingenuity1 of quiet1 speculative1 and benevolent dispositions2 it is usually1 indeed1 this turn of mind which has inclined them to the ecclesiastical profession4 ,but though my acquaintance with the ,roman ,catholic ,clergy is very limited1 yet the few ,i do know could not be mentioned as exceptions to what ,i have just said of the ,protestant2 and1 exclusive of all personal knowledge of the men1 it is natural to think that the habitual performance of the ceremonies of the ,christian religion1 though intermingled with some superstitious rites1 and the preaching the doctrines of benevolence and good-will towards men1 must have some influence on the lives and characters of those who are thus employed4 ,it is a common error1 prevailing in ,protestant countries1 to imagine that the ,roman ,catholic ,clergy laugh at the religion they inculcate1 and regard their flocks as the dupes of an artful plan of imposition4 ,by far the greater part of ,roman ,catholic priests and monks are themselves most sincere believers1 and teach the doctrines of ,christianity1 and all the miracles of the legend1 with a perfect conviction of their divinity and truth4 ,the few who were behind the curtain when falsehood was first embroidered upon truth1 and those who have at different periods been the authors of all the masks and interludes which have enriched the grand drama of superstition1 have always chosen to employ such men1 being sensible that the inferior actors would perform their parts more perfectly1 by acting from nature and real conviction4 8,paulum interesse censes10 says ,davus to ,mysis1 8ex animo omnia ut fert natura1 facias an de industria#aj40 ,the accounts we receive of their gluttony1 are often as ill-founded as those of their infidelity4 ,the real character of the majority of monks and inferior ecclesiastics1 both in ,france and ,italy1 is that of a simple1 superstitious1 well-meaning race of men1 who for the most part live in a very abstemious and mortified manner1 notwithstanding what we have heard of their gluttony1 their luxury1 and voluptuousness4 ,such accusations are frequently thrown out by those who are ill entitled to make them4 ,i remember being in company with an acquaintance of yours1 who is distinguished for the delicacy of his table and the length of his repasts1 from which he seldom retires without a bottle of ,burgundy for his own share1 not to mention two or three glasses of ,champaign between the courses4 ,we had dined a few miles from the town in which we then lived1 and were returning in his chariot2 it was winter1 and he was wrapped in fur to the nose4 ,as we drove along1 we met two friars walking through the snow2 little threads of icicles hung from their beards2 their legs and the upper part of their feet were bare1 but their soles were defended from the snow by wooden sandals4 8,there goes a couple of dainty rogues10 cried your friend as we drew near them2 8only think of the folly of permitting such lazy1 luxurious rascals to live in a ,state1 and eat up the portion of the poor4 ,i will engage that those two scoundrels1 as lean and mortified as they look1 will devour more victuals in a day1 than would maintain two industrious families40 ,he continued railing against the luxury of those two friars1 and afterwards expatiated upon the epicurism of the clergy in general2 who1 he said1 were all alike in every country1 and of every religion4 ,when we arrived in town1 he told me he had ordered a little nice supper to be got ready at his house by the time of our return1 and had lately got some excellent wine1 inviting me at the same time to go home with him2 for1 continued he1 as we have driven three miles in such weather1 we stand in great need of some refreshment4 ,that in all ,roman ,catholic countries1 and particularly in ,italy1 the clergy are too numerous1 have too much power1 too great a proportion of the lands1 and that some of them live in great pomp and luxury1 is undeniable4 ,that the common people would be in a better situation1 if manufactures and the spirit of industry could be introduced among them1 is equally true2 but1 even as things are1 ,i cannot help thinking that the state of the ,italian peasantry is preferable1 in many respects1 to that of the peasants of many other countries in ,europe4 ,they are not beaten by their ecclesiastical lords1 as those of ,germany are by their masters1 on every real or imaginary offence4 ,they have not their children torn from them1 to be sacrificed to the pomp1 avarice1 or ambition of some military despot2 nor are they themselves pressed into the service as soldiers for life4 ,in ,england and in ,france the people take an interest in all national disputes1 and consider the cause of their country or their ,prince as their own2 they enter into the service voluntarily1 and fight with ardour for the glory of the country or ,king they love4 ,those ideas enable them to submit to a thousand hardships without repining1 and they feel the sensations of happiness in the midst of toil1 want1 and danger4 ,but in ,germany1 where the passions are annihilated1 and a man is modelled into a machine before he is thought a good soldier1 where his blood is sold by the ,prince to the highest bidder1 where he has no quarrel with the enemy he murders1 and no allegiance to the ,monarch for whom he fights1 the being liable to be forced into such a service1 is one of the most dreadful of all calamities4 ,yet a regiment of such compelled soldiers1 dressed in gaudy uniform1 and powdered for a review1 with music sounding and colours flying1 makes a far more brilliant appearance than a cluster of peasants with their wives and children upon a holiday4 ,but if we could examine the breasts of the individuals1 we should find in those of the former nothing but the terror of punishment1 hatred of their officers1 distrust of each other1 and life itself supported only by the hope of desertion2 while the bosoms of the latter are filled with all the affections of humanity1 undisturbed by fear or remorse4 #i ,vide ,bishop ,burnet's ,travels4 #aj ,andria ,terentii4 ,,letter ,,lxxiii4 ,florence4 ,society seems to be on an easy and agreeable footing in this city4 ,besides the conversazionis which they have here1 as in other towns of ,italy1 a number of the nobility meet every day at a house called the ,casino4 ,this society is pretty much on the same footing with the clubs in ,london4 ,the members are elected by ballot4 ,they meet at no particular hour1 but go at any time that is convenient4 ,they play at billiards1 cards1 and other games1 or continue conversing the whole evening1 as they think proper4 ,they are served with tea1 coffee1 lemonade1 ices1 or what other refreshments they choose2 and each person pays for what he calls for4 ,there is one material difference between this and the ,english clubs1 that women as well as men are members4 ,the company of both sexes behave with more frankness and familiarity to strangers1 as well as to each other1 than is customary in public assemblies in other parts of ,italy4 ,the ,opera at ,florence is a place where the people of quality pay and receive visits1 and converse as freely as at the ,casino above mentioned4 ,this occasions a continual passing and repassing to and from the boxes1 except in those where there is a party of cards formed2 it is then looked on as a piece of ill manners to disturb the players4 ,i never was more surprised1 than when it was proposed to me to make one of a whist party1 in a box which seemed to have been made for the purpose1 with a little table in the middle4 ,i hinted that it would be full as convenient to have the party somewhere else2 but ,i was told1 good music added greatly to the pleasure of a whist party2 that it increased the joy of good fortune1 and soothed the affliction of bad4 ,as ,i thought the people of this country better acquainted than myself with the power of music1 ,i contested the point no longer2 but have generally played two or three rubbers at whist in the stage-box every opera night4 ,from this you may guess1 that1 in this city1 as in some other towns in ,italy1 little attention is paid to the music by the company in the boxes1 except at a new opera1 or during some favourite air4 ,but the dancers command a general attention3 as soon as they begin1 conversation ceases2 even the card-players lay down their cards1 and fix their eyes on the ,ballette4 ,yet the excellence of ,italian dancing seems to consist in feats of strength1 and a kind of jerking agility1 more than in graceful movement4 ,there is a continual contest among the performers1 who shall spring highest4 ,you see here none of the sprightly1 alluring gaiety of the ,french comic dancers1 nor of the graceful attitudes1 and smooth flowing motions of the performers in the serious opera at ,paris4 ,it is surprising1 that a people of such taste and sensibility as the ,italians1 should prefer a parcel of athletic jumpers to elegant dancers4 ,on the evenings on which there is no opera1 it is usual for the genteel company to drive to a public walk immediately without the city1 where they remain till it begins to grow duskish4 ,soon after our arrival at ,florence1 in one of the avenues of this walk we observed two men and two ladies1 followed by four servants in livery4 ,one of the men wore the insignia of the garter4 ,we were told this was the ,count ,albany1 and that the ,lady next to him was the ,countess4 ,we yielded the walk1 and pulled off our hats4 ,the gentleman along with them was the ,envoy from the ,king of ,prussia to the ,court of ,turin4 ,he whispered the ,count1 who1 returning the salutation1 looked very earnestly at the ,d---- of ,h----4 ,we have seen them almost every evening since1 either at the opera or on the public walk4 ,his ,g--does not affect to shun the avenue in which they happen to be2 and as often as we pass near them1 the ,count fixes his eyes in a most expressive manner upon the ,d----1 as if he meant to say--our ancestors were better acquainted4 ,you know1 ,i suppose1 that the ,count ,albany is the unfortunate ,charles ,stuart1 who left ,rome some time since on the death of his father1 because the ,pope did not think proper to acknowledge him by the title which he claimed on that event4 ,he now lives at ,florence1 on a small revenue allowed him by his brother4 ,the ,countess is a beautiful woman1 much beloved by those who know her1 who universally describe her as lively1 intelligent1 and agreeable4 ,educated as ,i was in ,revolution principles1 and in a part of ,scotland where the religion of the ,stuart family1 and the maxims by which they governed1 are more reprobated than perhaps in any part of ,great ,britain1 ,i could not behold this unfortunate person without the warmest emotion and sympathy4 ,what must a man's feelings be1 who finds himself excluded from the most brilliant situation1 and noblest inheritance that this world affords1 and reduced to an humiliating dependance on those1 who1 in the natural course of events1 should have looked up to him for protection and support8 ,what must his feelings be1 when on a retrospective view he beholds a series of calamities attending his family1 that is without example in the annals of the unfortunate2 calamities1 of which those they experienced after their accession to the throne of ,england1 were only a continuation8 ,their misfortunes began with their royalty1 adhered to them through ages1 increased with the increase of their dominions1 did not forsake them when dominion was no more2 and1 as he has reason to dread1 from his own experience1 are not yet terminated4 ,it will afford no alleviation or comfort1 to recollect that part of this black list of calamities arose from the imprudence of his ancestors2 and that many gallant men1 in ,england1 ,scotland1 and ,ireland1 have at different periods been involved in their ruin4 ,our sympathy for this unfortunate person is not checked by any blame which can be thrown on himself4 ,he surely had no share in the errors of the first ,charles1 the profligacy of the second1 or the impolitic and bigotted attempts of ,james against the laws and established religion of ,great ,britain and ,ireland2 therefore1 whilst ,i contemplate with approbation and gratitude the conduct of those patriots who resisted and expelled that infatuated monarch1 ascertained the rights of the subject1 and settled the constitution of ,great ,britain on the firm basis of freedom on which it has stood ever since the ,revolution1 and on which ,i hope it will ever stand1 yet ,i freely acknowledge1 that ,i never could see the unfortunate ,count ,albany without sentiments of compassion1 and the most lively sympathy4 ,i write with the more warmth1 as ,i have heard of some of our countrymen1 who1 during their tours through ,italy1 made the humble state to which he is reduced a frequent theme of ridicule1 and who1 as often as they met him in public1 affected to pass by with an air of sneering insult4 ,the motive to this is as base and abject as the behaviour is unmanly2 those who endeavour to make misfortune an object of ridicule1 are themselves the objects of detestation4 ,a ,british nobleman or gentleman has certainly no occasion to form an intimacy with the ,count ,albany2 but while he appears under that name1 and claims no other title1 it is ungenerous1 on every accidental meeting1 not to behave to him with the respect due to a man of high rank1 and the delicacy due to a man highly unfortunate4 ,one thing is certain2 that the same disposition which makes men insolent to the weak1 renders them slaves to the powerful2 and those who are most apt to treat this unfortunate person with an ostentatious contempt at ,florence1 would have been his most abject flatterers at ,st4 ,james's4 ,,letter ,,lxxiv4 ,florence4 ,in a country where men are permitted to speak and write without restraint on the measures of government2 where almost every citizen may flatter himself with the hopes of becoming a part of the legislature2 where eloquence1 popular talents1 and political intrigues1 lead to honours1 and open a broad road to wealth and power2 men1 after the first glow of youth is past1 are more obedient to the loud voice of ambition than to the whispers of love4 ,but in despotic states1 and in monarchies which verge towards despotism1 where the will of the prince is law2 or1 which amounts nearly to the same thing1 where the law yields to the will of the prince2 where it is dangerous to speak or write on general politics1 and death or imprisonment to censure the particular measures of government2 love becomes a first1 instead of being a secondary object2 for ambition is1 generally speaking1 a more powerful passion than love2 and on this account women are the objects of greater attention and respect in despotic than in free countries4 ,that species of address to women which is now called gallantry1 was1 if ,i am not mistaken1 unknown to the ancient ,greeks and ,romans2 nothing like it appears in any of ,terence's comedies1 where one would naturally expert to find it1 if any such thing had existed when they were written4 ,it now prevails1 in some degree1 in every country of ,europe1 but appears in different forms according to the different characters1 customs1 and manners1 of the various countries4 ,in the courts of ,germany it is a formal piece of business2 etiquette governs the arrows of ,cupid1 as well as the torch of ,hymen4 ,mistresses are chosen from the number of quarters on their family coats of arms1 as well as from the number of their personal charms2 and those ladies who are well provided in the first1 seldom are without lovers1 however deficient they may be in the second4 ,but though many avenues1 which in ,england lead to power and distinction1 are shut up in ,germany1 and the whole power of government is vested in the sovereign1 yet the young nobility cannot bestow a great deal of their time in gallantry4 ,the military profession1 which in the time of peace is perfect idleness in ,france and ,england1 is a very serious1 unremitting employment in ,germany4 ,men who are continually drilling soldiers1 and whose fortunes and reputations depend on the expertness of the troops under their command1 cannot pay a great deal of attention to the ladies4 ,every ,french gentleman must be a soldier2 but fighting is the only part of the business they go through with spirit2 they cannot submit to the ,german precision in discipline1 their souls sink under the tediousness of a campaign1 and they languish for a battle from the impetuosity of their disposition1 and impatience to have the matter decided one way or the other4 ,this1 with many particular exceptions1 is the general style of the ,french noblesse2 they all serve an apprenticeship to war1 but gallantry is the profession they follow for life4 ,in ,england1 the spirit of play and of party draws the minds of the young men of fortune from love or gallantry2 those who spend their evenings at a gaming house1 or in parliament1 seldom think of any kind of women but such as may be had without trouble2 and1 of course1 women of character are less attended to than in some other countries4 ,when ,i was last at ,paris1 the ,marquis de ,f---- found an ,english newspaper on my table2 it contained a long and particular account of a debate which had happened in both houses of parliament2 he read it with great attention while ,i finished a letter1 and then throwing down the paper1 he said to me1 8,mais1 mon ami1 pendant que vos messieurs s'amusent a jaser comme cela dans votre chambre des pairs et votre parlement#aa1 parbleu un etranger auroit beau jeu avec leurs femmes40 ,intrigues of gallantry1 comparatively speaking1 occur seldom in ,england2 and when they do1 they generally proceed from a violent passion1 to which every consideration of fortune and reputation is sacrificed1 and the business concludes in a flight to the continent1 or a divorce4 ,they manage matters otherwise in ,france2 you hardly ever hear of flights or divorces in that country2 a hundred new arrangements are made1 and as many old ones broken1 in a week at ,paris1 without noise or scandal2 all is conducted quietly et felon les rgles2 the fair sex are the universal objects of respect and adoration1 and yet there is no such thing as constancy in the nation4 ,wit1 beauty1 and every accomplishment united in one woman1 could not fix the volatility of a ,frenchman2 the love of variety1 and the vanity of new conquests1 would make him abandon this phnix for birds far less rare and estimable4 ,the women in ,france1 who are full of spirit and sensibility1 could never endure such usage1 if they were not as fickle and as fond of new conquests as their lovers4 ,in ,italy1 such levity is viewed with contempt1 and constancy is1 by both sexes1 still classed among the virtues4 ,that high veneration for the fair sex which prevailed in the ages of chivalry1 continued long after in the form of a sentimental platonic kind of gallantry4 ,every man of ingenuity chose unto himself a mistress1 and directly proclaimed her beauty and her cruelty in love ditties1 madrigals1 and elegies1 without expecting any other recompence than the reputation of a constant lover and a good poet4 ,by the mere force of imagination1 and the eloquence of their own metaphysical sonnets1 they became persuaded that their mistresses were possessed of every accomplishment of face and mind1 and that themselves were dying for love4 ,as in those days women were constantly guarded by their fathers and brothers before marriage1 and watched and confined by their husbands for the rest of their lives2 the refined passions above described were not exposed to the same accidents which so frequently befal those of modern lovers2 they could neither fall into a decay from a more perfect knowledge of the ladies character1 nor were they liable to sudden death from enjoyment4 ,but whilst the women were adored in song1 they were miserable in reality2 confinement and distrust made them detest their husbands1 and they endeavoured to form connections with men more to their taste than either jealous husbands or metaphysical lovers4 ,to treat a woman of character as if she were an unprincipled wanton1 is the most likely way to make her one4 ,in those days of jealousy1 a continual trial of skill seems to have subsisted between husband and wife1 as if every lord1 soon after marriage1 had told his lady1 8,now1 ,madam1 ,i know perfectly well what you would be at2 but it is my business to prevent you3 ,i'll guard you so well1 and watch you so closely1 that it shall never be in your power to gratify your inclinations40 8,you are perfectly in the right1 my lord10 replied the lady1 with all meekness1 8pray guard and watch as your wisdom shall direct2 ,i1 also1 shall be vigilant on my part1 and we shall see how the business will end40 ,the business generally did end as might have been expected2 and the only consolation left the husband was1 to endeavour to assassinate the happy lover4 ,but when ,french manners began to spread over ,europe1 and to insinuate themselves among nations the most opposite in character to the ,french1 jealousy was first held up as the most detestable of all the passions4 ,the law had long declared against its dismal effects1 and awful denunciations had been pronounced from the pulpit against those who were inflamed by its bloody spirit2 but without effect1 till ridicule joined in the argument1 and exposed those husbands to the contempt and derision of every fashionable society1 who harboured the gloomy dmon in their bosoms4 ,as in ,england1 after the ,restoration1 people1 to shew their aversion to the ,puritans1 turned every appearance of religion into ridicule1 and from the extreme of hypocrisy flew at once to that of profligacy2 so in ,italy1 from the custom of secluding the wife from all mankind but her husband1 it became the fashion that she should never be seen with her husband1 and yet always have a man at her elbow4 ,i shall conclude what ,i have to say on this subject in my next4 #aa ,the ,french in general are apt to make the same mistake with the ,marquis2 they often speak of the ,house of ,peers and the ,parliament as two distinct assemblies4 ,,letter ,,lxxv4 ,florence4 ,before the ,italian husbands could adopt or reconcile their minds to a custom so opposite to their former practice1 they took some measures to secure a point which they had always thought of the highest importance4 ,finding that confinement was a plan generally reprobated1 and that any appearance of jealousy subjected the husband to ridicule1 they agreed that their wives should go into company and attend public places1 but always attended by a friend whom they could trust1 and who1 at the same time1 should not be disagreeable to the wife4 ,this compromise could not fail of being acceptable to the women1 who plainly perceived that they must be gainers by any alteration of the former system2 and it soon became universal all over ,italy1 for the women to appear at public places leaning upon the arm of a man2 who1 from their frequently whispering together1 was called her ,cicisbeo4 ,it was stipulated1 at the same time1 that the lady1 while abroad under his care1 should converse with no other man but in his presence1 and with his approbation2 he was to be her guardian1 her friend1 and gentleman-usher4 ,the custom at present is1 that this obsequious gentleman visits the lady every forenoon at the toilet1 where the plan for passing the evening is agreed upon2 he disappears before dinner1 for it is usual all over ,italy for the husband and wife to dine together tte--tte1 except on great occasions1 as when there is a public feast4 ,after dinner the husband retires1 and the ,cicisbeo returns and conducts the lady to the public walk1 the conversazion1 or the opera2 he hands her about wherever she goes1 presents her coffee1 sorts her cards1 and attends with the most pointed assiduity till the amusements of the evening are over2 he accompanies her home1 and delivers up his charge to the husband1 who is then supposed to resume his functions4 ,from the nature of this connection1 it could not be an easy matter to find a ,cicisbeo who would be equally agreeable to the husband and wife4 ,at the beginning of the institution1 the husbands1 as ,i have been informed1 preferred the platonic swains1 who professed only the metaphysicks of love1 and whose lectures1 they imagined1 might refine their wives ideas1 and bring them to the same way of thinking2 in many instances1 no doubt1 it would happen1 that the platonic admirer asked with less seraphic ends2 but these instances serve only as proofs that the husbands were mistaken in their men2 for however absurd it may appear in the eyes of some people1 to imagine that the husbands believe it is only a platonic connection which subsists between their wives and the ,cicisbeos2 it is still more absurd to believe1 as some strangers who have passed through this country seem to have done1 that this whole system of ,cicisbeism was from the beginning1 and is now1 an universal system of adultery connived at by every ,italian husband4 ,to get clear of one difficulty1 those gentlemen fall into another much more inexplicable2 by supposing that the men1 who of all the inhabitants of ,europe were the most scrupulous with regard to their wives chastity1 should acquiesce in1 and in a manner become subservient to1 their prostitution4 ,in support of this strange doctrine1 they assert1 that the husbands being the ,cicisbeos of other women1 cannot enjoy this privilege on any other terms2 and are therefore contented to sacrifice their wives for the sake of their mistresses4 ,that some individuals may be profligate enough to act in this manner1 ,i make no doubt4 ,similar arrangements we hear instances of in every country2 but that such a system is general1 or any thing near it1 in ,italy1 seems to me perfectly incredible1 and is contrary to the best information ,i have received since ,i have been here4 ,it is also urged1 that most of the married men of quality in ,italy act in the character of ,cicisbeo to some woman or other2 and those who are not ,platonic lovers1 ought to suspect that the same liberties are taken with their wives which they take with the spouses of their neighbours2 and therefore their suffering a man to visit their wives in the character of a cavaliero servente1 is in effect conniving at their own cuckoldom4 ,but this does not follow as an absolute consequence2 for men have a wonderful faculty of deceiving themselves on such occasions4 ,so great is the infatuation of their vanity1 that the same degree of complaisance1 which they consider as the effect of a very natural and excusable weakness1 when indulged by any woman for themselves1 they would look on as a horrible enormity if admitted by their wives for another man2 so that whatever degree of licentiousness may exist in consequence of this system1 ,i am convinced the majority of husbands make exceptions in their own favour1 and that their ladies find means to satisfy each individual that he is not involved in a calamity1 which1 after all1 is more general in other countries1 as well as ,italy1 than it ought4 ,even when there is the greatest harmony and love between the husband and wife1 and although each would prefer the other's company to any other1 still1 such is the tyranny of fashion1 they must separate every evening2 he to play the cavaliero servente to another woman1 and she to be led about by another man4 ,notwithstanding this inconveniency1 the couples who are in this predicament are certainly happier than those whose affections are not centered at home4 ,some very loving couples lament the cruelty of this separation1 yet the world in general seem to be of opinion1 that a man and his wife who dine together every day1 and lie together every night1 may1 with a proper exertion of philosophy1 be able to support being asunder a few hours in the evening4 ,the ,cicisbeo1 in many instances1 is a poor relation or humble friend1 who1 not being in circumstances to support an equipage1 is happy to be admitted into all the societies1 and to be carried about to public diversions1 as an appendage to the lady4 ,i have known numbers of those gentlemen1 whose appearance and bodily infirmities carried the clearest refutation1 with respect to themselves personally1 of the scandalous stories of an improper connection between cavaliero serventes and their mistresses4 ,i never in my life saw men more happily formed1 both in body and mind1 for saving the reputation of the females with whom they were on a footing of intimacy4 ,the humble and timid air which many of them betray in the presence of the ladies1 and the perseverance with which they continue their services1 notwithstanding the contemptuous stile in which they are often treated1 is equally unlike the haughtiness natural to favoured lovers1 and the indifference of men satiated with enjoyment4 ,there are1 it must be confessed1 ,cicisbeos of a very different stamp1 whose figure and manners might be supposed more agreeable to the ladies they serve1 than to their lords4 ,i once expressed my surprise1 that a particular person permitted one of this description to attend his wife4 ,i was told1 by way of solution of my difficulty1 that the husband was poor1 and the ,cicisbeo rich4 ,it is not in ,italy only where infamous compromises of this nature take place4 ,i have also known instances1 since ,i have been in this country1 where the characters of the ladies were so well established1 as not to be shaken either in the opinion of their acquaintances or husbands1 although their cavaliero serventes were in every respect agreeable and accomplished4 ,but whether the connection between them is supposed innocent or criminal1 most ,englishmen will be astonished how men can pass so much of their time with women4 ,this1 however1 will appear less surprising1 when they recollect that the ,italian nobility dare not intermeddle in politics2 can find no employment in the army or navy2 and that there are no such amusements in the country as hunting or drinking4 ,in such a situation1 if a man of fortune has no turn for gaming1 what can he do8 ,even an ,englishman1 in those desperate circumstances1 might be driven to the company and conversation of women1 to lighten the burden of time4 ,the ,italians have persevered so long in this expedient1 that1 however extraordinary it may seem to those who have never tried it1 there can be no doubt that they find it to succeed4 ,they tell you1 that nothing so effectually sooths the cares1 and beguiles the tediousness of life1 as the company of an agreeable woman2 that though the intimacy should never exceed the limits of friendship1 there is something more flattering and agreeable in it than in male friendships2 that they find the female heart more sincere1 less interested1 and warmer in its attachments2 that women in general have more delicacy1 and--4 ,well1 well1 all this may be true1 you will say2 but may not a man enjoy all these advantages1 to as great perfection1 by an intimacy and friendship with his own wife1 as with his neighbour's8 8,non1 ,monsieur1 point du tout10 answered a ,frenchman1 to whom this question was once addressed4 8,et pourquoi donc8 ,parceque cela n'est pas permis40 ,this you will not think a very satisfactory answer to so natural and so pertinent a question--,it is not the fashion6 ,this1 however1 was the only answer ,i received all over ,italy4 ,this system is unknown to the middle and lower ranks2 they pass their time in the exercise of their professions1 and in the society of their wives and children1 as in other countries2 and in that sphere of life1 jealousy1 which formed so strong a feature of the ,italian character1 is still to be found as strong as ever4 ,he who attempts to visit the wife or mistress of any of the tradespeople without their permission1 is in no small danger of a ,coltellata4 ,i have often heard it asserted1 that ,italian women have remarkable powers of attaching their lovers4 ,those powers1 whatever they are1 do not seem to depend entirely on personal charms1 as many of them retain their ancient influence over their lovers after their beauty is much in the wane1 and they themselves are considerably advanced in the vale of years4 ,i know an ,italian nobleman1 of great fortune1 who has been lately married to a very beautiful young woman1 and yet he continues his assiduity to his former mistress1 now an old woman1 as punctually as ever4 ,i know an ,englishman who is said to be in the same situation1 with this difference1 that his lady is still more beautiful4 ,in both these instances1 it is natural to believe that the beautiful young wives will always take care to keep their husbands in such a chaste and virtuous way of thinking1 that1 whatever time they may spend with their ancient mistresses1 nothing criminal will ever pass between them4 ,whatever satisfaction the ,italians find in this kind of constancy1 and in their friendly attachments to one woman1 my friend the ,marquis de ,f---- told me1 when ,i last saw him at ,paris1 that he had tried it while he remained at ,rome1 and found it quite intolerable4 ,a certain obliging ecclesiastic had taken the trouble1 at the earnest request of a lady of that city1 to arrange matters between her and the ,marquis1 who was put into immediate possession of all the rights that were ever supposed to belong to a ,cicisbeo4 ,the woman nauseated her husband1 which had advanced matters mightily2 and her passion for the ,marquis was in proportion to her abhorrence of the other4 ,in this state things had remained but a very short time1 when the ,marquis called one afternoon to drive the ,abb out a little into the country1 but he happened to have just dined4 ,the meals or this ecclesiastic were generally rather oppressive for two or three hours after they were finished2 he therefore declined the invitation1 saying1 by way of apology1 8,je suis dans les horreurs de la digestion40 ,he then enquired how the ,marquis's amour went on with the lady4 8,ah1 pour l'amour1 cela est peu prs pass10 replied the ,marquis1 8et nous sommes actuellement dans les horreurs de l'amiti40 ,,letter ,,lxxvi4 ,florence4 ,the ,florentines imputed the decay of the republic to the circumstance of their ,sovereign residing in another country2 and they imagined1 that wealth would accumulate all over ,tuscany1 and flow into ,florence1 from various quarters1 as soon as they should have a residing ,prince1 and a ,court established4 ,it appears1 that their hopes were too sanguine1 or at least premature4 ,commerce is still in a languid condition1 in spite of all the pains taken by the ,great ,duke to revive it4 ,the ,jews are not held in that degree of odium1 or subjected to the same humiliating distinctions here1 as in most other cities of ,europe4 ,i am told1 some of the richest merchants are of that religion4 ,another class of mankind1 who are also reprobated in some countries1 are in this looked on in the same light with other citizens4 ,i mean the actors and singers at the different ,theatres4 ,why ,christians1 in any country1 should have the same prejudice against them as against ,jews1 many are at a loss to know2 it cannot1 certainly1 be on the same account4 ,actors and actresses have never been accused of an obstinate1 or superstitious adherence to the principles or ceremonies of any false religion whatever4 ,to attempt a description of the churches1 palaces1 and other public buildings1 would lead1 in my opinion1 to a very unentertaining detail4 ,few cities1 of its size1 in ,europe1 however1 afford so fine a field of amusement to those who are fond of such subjects2 though the lovers of architecture will be shocked to find several of the finest churches without fronts1 which1 according to some1 is owing to a real deficiency of money2 while others assert1 they are left in this condition1 as a pretext for levying contributions to finish them4 ,the chapel of ,st4 ,lorenzo is1 perhaps1 the finest and most expensive habitation that ever was reared for the dead2 it is encrusted with precious stones1 and adorned by the workmanship of the best modern sculptors4 ,some complain that1 after all1 it has a gloomy appearance4 ,there seems to be no impropriety in that1 considering what the building was intended for2 though1 certainly1 the same effect might have been produced at less expence4 ,mr4 ,addison remarked1 that this chapel advanced so very slowly1 that it is not impossible but the family of ,medicis may be extinct before their burial-place is finished4 ,this has actually taken place3 the ,medici family is extinct1 and the chapel remains still unfinished4 ,of all the methods by which the vanity of the ,great has distinguished them from the rest of mankind1 this of erecting splendid receptacles for their bones1 excites the least envy4 ,the sight of the most superb edifice of this kind1 never drew a repining sigh from the bosom of one poor person2 nor do the unsuccessful complain1 that the bodies of ,fortune's favourites rot under ,parian marble1 while their own will1 in all probability1 be allowed to moulder beneath a plain turf4 ,i have already mentioned the number of statues which ornament the streets and squares of ,florence1 and how much they are respected by the common people4 ,i am told1 they amount in all to above one hundred and fifty1 many of them of exquisite workmanship1 and admired by those of the best taste4 ,such a number of statues1 without any drapery1 continually exposed to the public eye1 with the far greater number of pictures1 as well as statues1 in the same state1 to be seen in the palaces1 have produced1 in both sexes1 the most perfect insensibility to nudities4 ,ladies who have remained some time at ,rome and ,florence1 particularly those who affect a taste for virt1 acquire an intrepidity and a cool minuteness1 in examining and criticising naked figures1 which is unknown to those who have never passed the ,alps4 ,there is something in the figure of the ,god of ,gardens1 which is apt to alarm the modesty of a novice2 but ,i have heard of female dilettantes who minded it no more than a straw4 ,the ,palazzo ,pitti1 where the ,great ,duke resides1 is on the opposite side of the ,arno from the ,gallery4 ,it has been enlarged since it was purchased from the ruined family of ,pitti4 ,the furniture of this palace is rich and curious1 particularly some tables of ,florentine work1 which are much admired4 ,the most precious ornaments1 however1 are the paintings4 ,the walls of what is called the ,imperial ,chamber1 are painted in fresco1 by various painters2 the subjects are allegorical1 and in honour of ,lorenzo of ,medicis1 distinguished by the name of the ,magnificent4 ,there is more fancy than taste displayed in those paintings4 ,the other principal rooms are distinguished by the names of ,heathen ,deities1 as ,jupiter1 ,apollo1 ,mars1 ,venus1 and by paintings in fresco1 mostly by ,pietro da ,cortona4 ,in the last mentioned1 the subjects are different from what is naturally expected from the name of the room1 being representations of the triumphs of ,virtue over ,love1 or some memorable instance of continency4 ,as the ,medici family have been more distinguished for the protection they afforded the arts1 than for the virtues of continency or self-denial1 it is probable1 the subject1 as well as the execution of these pieces1 was left entirely to the painter4 ,i happened lately to be at this palace1 with a person who is perfectly well acquainted with all the pictures of any merit in ,florence4 ,while he explained the peculiar excellencies of ,pietro's manner1 a gentleman in company1 who1 although he does not pretend to the smallest skill in pictures1 would rather remain ignorant for ever1 than listen to the lectures of a connoisseur1 walked on1 by himself1 into the other apartments1 while ,i endeavoured to profit by my instructor's knowledge4 ,when the other gentleman returned1 he said1 8,i know no more of painting than my pointer2 but there is a picture in one of the other rooms1 which ,i would rather have than all those you seem to admire so much2 it is the portrait of a healthy1 handsome1 country woman1 with her child in her arms4 ,there is nothing interesting in the subject1 to be sure1 because none of us are personally acquainted with the woman4 ,but ,i cannot help thinking the colours very natural4 ,the young woman's countenance is agreeable1 and expressive of fondness and the joy of a mother over a first-born4 ,the child is a robust1 chubby-cheeked fellow2 such as the son of a peasant should be40 ,we followed him into the room1 and the picture which pleased him so much1 was the famous ,madonna della ,seggiola of ,raphael4 ,our instructor immediately called out ,viva6 and pronounced him a man of genuine taste2 because1 without any previous knowledge or instruction1 he had fixed his admiration on the finest picture in ,florence4 ,but this gentleman1 as soon as he understood what the picture was1 disclaimed all title to praise2 8because10 said he1 8although1 when ,i considered that picture1 simply as the representation of a blooming country wench hugging her child1 ,i admired the art of the painter1 and thought it one of the truest copies of nature ,i ever saw2 yet1 ,i confess1 my admiration is much abated1 now that you inform me his intention was to represent the ,virgin ,mary40 8,why so80 replied the ,cicerone2 8the ,virgin ,mary was not of higher rank4 ,she was but a poor woman1 living in a little village in ,galilee40 8,no rank in life10 said the other1 8could give additional dignity to the person who had been told by an ,angel from heaven1 that she had found favour with ,god2 that her ,son should be called the ,son of the ,highest2 and who1 herself1 was conscious of all the miraculous circumstances attending his conception and birth4 ,in the countenance of such a woman1 besides comeliness1 and the usual affection of a mother1 ,i looked for the most lively expression of admiration1 gratitude1 virgin modesty1 and divine love4 ,and when ,i am told1 the picture is by the greatest painter that ever lived1 ,i am disappointed in perceiving no traces of that kind in it40 ,what justice there is in this gentleman's remarks1 ,i leave it to better judges than ,i pretend to be1 to determine4 ,after our diurnal visit to the ,gallery1 we often pass the rest of the forenoon in the gardens belonging to this palace4 ,the vale of ,arno2 the gay hills that surround it2 and other natural beauties to be viewed from thence1 form an agreeable variety1 even to eyes which have been feasting on the most exquisite beauties of art4 ,the pleasure arising from both1 however1 diminishes by repetition2 but may be again excited by the admiration of a new spectator1 of whose taste and sensibility you have a good opinion4 ,i experienced this on the arrival of ,mr4 ,f----r1 a gentleman of sense1 honour1 and politeness1 whose company gave fresh relish to our other enjoyments in this place4 ,it is now some time since he left us2 and ,i am not at all unhappy in the thoughts of proceeding1 in a day or two1 to ,bologna1 in our road to ,milan4 ,,letter ,,lxxvii4 ,milan4 ,for a post or two after leaving ,florence1 and about as much before you arrive at ,bologna1 the road is very agreeable2 the rest of your journey between those two cities is over the sandy ,apennines4 ,we had the good fortune to find at ,bologna ,sir ,william and ,lady ,h----1 ,mr4 ,f----t1 ,mr4 ,k----1 ,lord ,l----1 and ,sir ,h---- ,f----n4 ,our original intention was to have proceeded without delay to ,milan1 but on such an agreeable meeting it was impossible not to remain a few days at ,bologna4 ,i went to the academy on the day of distributing the prizes for the best specimens and designs in painting1 sculpture1 and architecture2 a discourse in praise of the fine arts was pronounced by one of the professors1 who took that opportunity of enumerating the fine qualities of the ,cardinal ,legate2 none of the virtues1 great or small1 were omitted on the occasion2 all were attributed in the superlative degree to this accomplished prince of the church4 ,the learned orator acknowledged1 however1 that this panegyric did not properly belong to his subject1 but hoped that the audience1 and particularly the ,legate himself1 who was present1 would forgive him1 in consideration that the eulogy had been wrung from him by the irresistible force of truth4 ,the same force drew forth something similar in praise of the ,gonfalonier and other magistrates who were present also2 and what you may think very remarkable1 the number and importance of the qualities attributed to those distinguished persons kept an exact proportion with their rank4 ,power in this happy city seems to have been weighed in the scales of justice1 and distributed by the hand of wisdom4 ,all the inferior magistrates1 we were informed1 are very worthy men1 endowed with many excellent qualities2 the ,gonfalonier has many more1 and the ,legate possesses every virtue under the sun4 ,if the ,pope had entered the room1 the too lavish professor would not have been able to help him to a single morsel of praise which had not been already served up4 ,this town is at present quite full of strangers1 who came to assist at the procession of ,corpus ,domini4 ,the ,duke of ,parma1 several ,cardinals1 and other persons of high distinction1 besides a prodigious crowd of citizens1 attended this great festival4 ,the streets through which the ,host was carried under a magnificent canopy1 were adorned with tapestry1 paintings1 looking-glasses1 and all the various kinds of finery which the inhabitants could produce4 ,many of the paintings seemed unsuitable to the occasion2 they were on profane1 and some of them on wanton subjects2 and it appeared extraordinary to see the figures of ,venus1 ,minerva1 ,apollo1 ,jupiter1 and others of that abdicated family1 arranged along the walls in honour of a triumph of the ,corpus ,christi4 ,on our way to ,milan we stopped a short time at ,modena1 the capital of the duchy of that name4 ,the whole duchy is about fifty miles in length1 and twenty-six in breadth2 the town contains twenty thousand inhabitants2 the streets are in general large1 straight1 and ornamented with porticoes4 ,this city is surrounded by a fortification1 and farther secured by a citadel2 it was anciently rendered famous by the siege which ,decimus ,brutus sustained here against ,marc ,antony4 ,we proceeded next to ,parma1 a beautiful town1 considerably larger than ,modena1 and defended1 like it1 by a citadel and regular fortification4 ,the streets are well built1 broad1 and regular4 ,the town is divided unequally by the little river ,parma1 which loses itself in the ,po1 ten or twelve miles from this city4 ,the theatre is the largest of any in ,europe2 and consequently a great deal larger than there is any occasion for4 ,every body has observed1 that it is so favourable to the voice1 that a whisper from the stage is heard all over this immense house2 but nobody tells us on what circumstance in the construction this surprising effect depends4 ,the ,modenese was the native country of ,correggio1 but he passed most of his life at ,parma4 ,several of the churches are ornamented by the pencil of that great artist1 particularly the cupola of the cathedral2 the painting of which has been so greatly admired for the grandeur of the design and the boldness of the fore-shortenings4 ,it is now spoiled in such a manner1 that its principal beauties are not easily distinguished4 ,some of the best pictures in the ,ducal ,palace have been removed to ,naples and elsewhere2 but the famous picture of the ,virgin1 in which ,mary ,magdalen and ,st4 ,jerom are introduced1 still remains4 ,in this composition1 ,correggio has been thought to have united1 in a supreme degree1 beauties which are seldom found in the same piece2 an excellence in any one of which has been sufficient to raise other artists to celebrity4 ,the same connoisseurs assert1 that this picture is equally worthy of admiration1 on account of the freshness of the colouring1 the inexpressible gracefulness of the design1 and the exquisite tenderness of the expression4 ,after ,i had heard all those fine things said over and over again1 ,i thought ,i had nothing to do but admire2 and ,i had prepared my mind accordingly4--,would to ,heaven that the respectable body of connoisseurs were agreed in opinion1 and ,i should most readily submit mine to theirs6 ,but while the above eulogium still resounded in my ears1 other connoisseurs have asserted1 that this picture is full of affectation2 that the shadowing is of a dirty brown1 the attitude of the ,magdalen constrained and unnatural2 that she may strive to the end of time without ever being able to kiss the foot of the infant ,jesus in her present position2 that she has the look of an ideot2 and that the ,virgin herself is but a vulgar figure1 and seems not a great deal wiser2 that the angels have a ridiculous simper1 and most abominable air of affectation2 and finally1 that ,st4 ,jerom has the appearance of a sturdy beggar1 who intrudes his brawny figure where it has no right to be4 ,distracted with such opposite sentiments1 what can a plain man do1 who has no great reliance on his own judgment1 and wishes to give offence to neither party8 ,i shall leave the picture as ,i found it1 to answer for itself1 with a single remark in favour of the angels4 ,i cannot take upon me to say how the real angels of heaven look2 but ,i certainly have seen some earthly angels1 of my acquaintance1 assume the simper and air of those in this picture1 when they wished to appear quite celestial4 ,the duchies of ,modena1 ,parma1 and ,placentia1 are exceedingly fertile4 ,the soil is naturally rich1 and the climate being moister here than in many other parts of ,italy1 produces more plentiful pasturage for cattle4 ,the road runs over a continued plain1 among meadows and corn fields1 divided by rows of trees1 from whose branches the vines hang in beautiful festoons4 ,we had the pleasure of thinking1 as we drove along1 that the peasants are not deprived of the blessings of the smiling fertility among which they live4 ,they had in general a neat1 contented1 and cheerful appearance4 ,the women are successfully attentive to the ornaments of dress1 which is never the case amidst oppressive poverty4 ,notwithstanding the fertility of the country around it1 the town of ,placentia itself is but thinly inhabited1 and seems to be in a state of decay4 ,what first strike a stranger on entering this city1 are two equestrian statues1 in bronze1 by ,giovanni di ,bologna2 they stand in the principal square1 before the ,town-house4 ,the best of the two represents that consummate general ,alexander ,farnese1 ,duke of ,parma and ,placentia1 who commanded the army of ,philip ,,ii4 in the ,netherlands4 ,the inscription on the pedestal mentions his having relieved the city of ,paris1 when called to the assistance of the ,league into ,france1 where his great military skill1 and cool intrepidity1 enabled him to baffle all the ardent impetuosity of the gallant ,henry4 ,he was certainly worthy of a better master1 and of serving in a better cause4 ,we cannot1 without regret1 behold a ,prince1 of the ,duke of ,parma's talents and character1 supporting the pride of an unrelenting tyrant1 and the rancour of furious fanatics4 ,except the ,ducal ,palace1 and some pictures in the churches1 which ,i dare swear you will cordially forgive me for passing over undescribed1 ,i believe there is not a great deal in this city worthy of attention2 at all events ,i can say little about them1 as we remained here only a few hours during the heat of the day1 and set out the same evening for ,milan4 ,,letter ,,lxxviii4 ,milan4 ,milan1 the ancient capital of ,lombardy1 is the largest city in ,italy1 except ,rome2 but though it is thought rather to exceed ,naples in size1 it does not contain above one-half the number of inhabitants4 ,the cathedral stands in the centre of the city1 and1 after ,st4 ,peter's1 is the most considerable building in ,italy4 ,it ought by this time to be the largest in the world1 if what they tell us be true1 that it is near four hundred years since it was begun1 and that there has been a considerable number of men daily employed in completing it ever since2 but as the injuries which time does to the ancient parts of the fabric keep them in constant employment1 without the possibility of their work being ever completed1 ,martial's epigram1 on the barber ,eutrapelus1 has been applied to them with great propriety4 ,that poor man1 it seems1 performed his operations so very slowly1 that the beards of his patients required shaving again on the side where he had begun1 by the time he had finished the other4 ,,eutrapelus ,,tonsor ,,dum ,,circuit ,,ora ,,luperci1 ,,expungitque ,,genas1 ,,altera ,,barba ,,subit4 ,no church in ,christendom is so much loaded1 ,i had almost said disfigured1 with ornaments4 ,the number of statues1 withinside and without1 is prodigious2 they are all of marble1 and many of them finely wrought4 ,the greater part cannot be distinctly seen from below1 and therefore certainly have nothing to do above4 ,besides those which are of a size1 and in a situation to be distinguished from the street1 there are great numbers of smaller statues1 like fairies peeping from every cornice1 and hid among the grotesque ornaments1 which are here in vast profusion4 ,they must have cost much labour to the artists who formed them1 and are still a source of toil to strangers1 who1 in compliment to the person who harangues on the beauties of this church1 which he says is the eighth wonder of the world1 are obliged to ascend to the roof to have a nearer view of them4 ,this vast fabric is not simply encrusted1 which is not uncommon in ,italy1 but intirely built of solid white marble1 and supported by fifty columns1 said to be eighty-four feet high4 ,the four pillars under the cupola1 are twenty-eight feet in circumference4 ,by much the finest statue belonging to it is that of ,st4 ,bartholomew4 ,he appears flayed1 with his skin flung around his middle like a sash1 and in the easiest and most degag manner imaginable4 ,the muscles are well expressed2 and the figure might be placed with great propriety in the hall of an anatomist2 but1 exposed as it is to the view of people of all professions1 and of both sexes1 it excites more disgust and horror than admiration4 ,like those beggars who uncover their sores in the street1 the artist has destroyed the very effect he meant to produce4 ,this would have sufficiently evinced that the statue was not the work of ,praxitiles1 without the inscription on the pedestal4 ,,non ,,me ,,praxitiles1 ,,sed ,,marcus ,,finxit ,,agrati4 ,the inside of the choir is ornamented by some highly esteemed sculpture in wood4 ,from the roof hangs a case of crystal1 surrounded by rays of gilt metal1 and inclosing a nail1 said to be one of those by which our ,saviour was nailed to the cross4 ,the treasury belonging to this church is reckoned the richest in ,italy1 after that of ,loretto4 ,it is composed of jewels1 relics1 and curiosities of various kinds2 but what is esteemed above all the rest1 is a small portion of ,aaron's rod1 which is carefully preserved there4 ,the ,ambrosian ,library is said to be one of the most valuable collections of books and manuscripts in ,europe4 ,it is open a certain number of hours every day2 and there are accommodations for those who come to read or make extracts4 ,in the ,museum1 adjoining to the ,library1 are a considerable number of pictures1 and many natural curiosities4 ,among these they shew a human skeleton4 ,this does not excite a great deal of attention1 till you are informed that it consists of the bones of a ,milanese ,lady1 of distinguished beauty1 who1 by her last will1 ordained that her body should be dissected1 and the skeleton placed in this ,museum1 for the contemplation of posterity4 ,if this ,lady only meant to give a proof of the transient nature of external charms1 and that a beautiful woman is not more desirable after death than a homely one1 she might have allowed her body to be consigned to dust in the usual way4 ,in spite of all the cosmetics1 and other auxiliaries which vanity employs to varnish and support decaying beauty and flaccid charms1 the world have been long satisfied that death is not necessary to put the fair and the homely on a level2 a very few years1 even during life1 do the business4 ,there is no place in ,italy1 perhaps ,i might have said in ,europe1 where strangers are received in such an easy1 hospitable manner1 as at ,milan4 ,formerly the ,milanese ,nobility displayed a degree of splendour and magnificence1 not only in their entertainments1 but in their usual style of living1 unknown in any other country in ,europe4 ,they are under a necessity at present of living at less expence1 but they still shew the same obliging and hospitable disposition4 ,this country having1 not very long since1 been possessed by the ,french1 from whom it devolved to the ,spaniards1 and from them to the ,germans1 the troops of those nations have1 at different periods1 had their residence here1 and1 in the course of these vicissitudes1 produced a style of manners1 and stamped a character on the inhabitants of this duchy1 different from what prevails in any other part of ,italy2 and nice observers imagine they perceive in ,milanese manners the politeness1 formality1 and honesty imputed to those three nations1 blended with the ingenuity natural to ,italians4 ,whatever uneasiness the inhabitants of ,milan may feel1 from the idea of their being under ,german government1 they seem universally pleased with the personal character of ,count ,fermian1 who has resided here many years as ,minister from ,vienna1 equally to the satisfaction of the ,empress ,queen1 the inhabitants of ,milan1 and the strangers who occasionally travel this way4 ,the ,great ,theatre having been burnt to the ground last year1 there are no dramatic entertainments1 except at a small temporary playhouse1 which is little frequented2 but the company assemble every evening in their carriages on the ramparts1 and drive about1 in the same manner as at ,naples1 till it is pretty late4 ,in ,italy1 the ladies have no notion of quitting their carriages at the public walks1 and using their own legs1 as in ,england and ,france4 ,on seeing the number of servants1 and the splendour of the equipages which appear every evening at the ,corso on the ramparts1 one would not suspect that degree of depopulation1 and diminution of wealth1 which we are assured has taken place within these few years all over the ,milanese2 and which1 according to my information1 proceeds from the burthensome nature of some late taxes1 and the insolent and oppressive manner in which they are gathered4 ,the natural productions of this fertile country must occasion a considerable commerce1 by the exportation of grain1 particularly rice2 cattle1 cheese1 and by the various manufactures of silken and velvet stuffs1 stockings1 handkerchiefs1 ribands1 gold and silver laces and embroideries1 woollen and linen cloths1 as well as by some large manufactures of glass1 and earthen ware in imitation of china1 which are established here4 ,but ,i am told monopolies are too much protected here1 and that prejudices against the profession of a merchant still exist in the minds of the only people who have money4 ,these cannot fail to check industry1 and depress the soul of commerce2 and perhaps there is little probability that the inhabitants of ,milan will overcome this unfortunate turn of mind while they remain under ,german dominion1 and adopt ,german ideas4 ,the peasants1 though more at their ease than in many other places1 yet are not so much so as might be expected in so very fertile a country4 ,why are the inhabitants of the rich plains of ,lombardy1 where ,nature pours forth her gifts in such profusion1 less opulent than those of the mountains of ,switzerland8 ,because ,freedom1 whose influence is more benign than sunshine and zephyrs1 who covers the rugged rock with soil1 drains the sickly swamp1 and clothes the brown heath in verdure2 who dresses the labourer's face with smiles1 and makes him behold his increasing family with delight and exultation2 ,freedom has abandoned the fertile fields of ,lombardy1 and dwells among the mountains of ,switzerland4 ,,letter ,,lxxix4 ,chamberry4 ,we made so short a stay at ,turin that ,i did not think of writing from thence4 ,i shall now give you a sketch of our progress since my last4 ,we left ,milan at midnight1 and arrived the next evening at ,turin before the shutting of the gates4 ,all the approaches to that city are magnificent4 ,it is situated at the bottom of the ,alps1 in a fine plain watered by the ,po4 ,most of the streets are well built1 uniform1 clean1 straight1 and terminating on some agreeable object4 ,the ,strada di ,po1 leading to the palace1 the finest and largest in the city1 is adorned with porticoes equally beautiful and convenient4 ,the four gates are also highly ornamental4 ,there can be no more agreeable walk than that around the ramparts4 ,the fortifications are regular and in good repair1 and the citadel is reckoned one of the strongest in ,europe4 ,the royal palace and the gardens are admired by some4 ,the apartments display neatness1 rather than magnificence4 ,the rooms are small1 but numerous4 ,the furniture is rich and elegant2 even the floors attract attention1 and must peculiarly strike strangers who come from ,rome and ,bologna2 they are curiously inlaid with various kinds of wood1 and kept always in a state of shining brightness4 ,the pictures1 statues1 and antiquities in the palace are of great value2 of the former there are some by the greatest masters1 but those of the ,flemish school predominate4 ,no royal family in ,europe are more rigid observers of the laws of etiquette1 than that of ,sardinia2 all their movements are uniform and invariable4 ,the hour of rising1 of going to mass1 of taking the air2 every thing is regulated like clock-work4 ,those illustrious persons must have a vast fund of natural good-humour1 to enable them to persevere in such a wearisome routine1 and support their spirits under such a continued weight of oppressive formality4 ,we had the satisfaction of seeing them all at mass2 but as the ,d---- of ,h---- grows more impatient to get to ,england the nearer we approach it1 he declined being presented at court1 and we left ,turin two days after our arrival4 ,we stopped a few hours1 during the heat of the day1 at a small village1 called ,st4 ,ambrose1 two or three posts from ,turin4 ,i never experienced more intense heat than during this day1 while we were tantalized with a view of the snow on the top of the ,alps1 which seem to overhang this place1 though1 in reality1 they are some leagues distant4 ,while we remained at ,st4 ,ambrose there was a grand procession4 ,all the men1 women1 and children1 who were able to crawl1 attended2 several old women carried crucifixes1 others pictures of the saint1 or flags fixed to the ends of long poles2 they seemed to have some difficulty in wielding them1 yet the good old women tottered along as happy as so many young ensigns the first time they bend under the regimental colours4 ,four men1 carrying a box upon their shoulders1 walked before the rest4 ,i asked what the box contained1 and was informed by a sagacious looking old man1 that it contained the bones of ,st4 ,john4 ,i enquired if all the ,saint's bones were there2 he assured me1 that not even a joint of his little finger was wanting2 8,because10 continued ,i1 8,i have seen a considerable number of bones in different parts of ,italy1 which are said to be the bones of ,st4 ,john40 ,he smiled at my simplicity1 and said the world was full of imposition2 but nothing could be more certain1 than that those in the box were the true bones of the ,saint2 he had remembered them ever since he was a child--and his father1 when on his death-bed1 had told him1 on the word of a dying man1 ,that they belonged to ,st4 ,john and no other body4 ,at ,novalezza1 a village at the bottom of ,mount ,cenis1 our carriages were taken to pieces1 and delivered to ,muleteers to be carried to ,lanebourg4 ,i had bargained with the ,vitturino1 before we left ,turin1 for our passage over the mountain in the chairs commonly used on such occasions4 ,the fellow had informed us there was no possibility of going in any other manner2 but when we came to this place1 ,i saw no difficulty in being carried up by mules1 which we all preferred1 to the great satisfaction of our knavish conductor1 who thereby saved the expence of one half the chairmen1 for whose labour he was already paid4 ,we rode up this mountain1 which has been described in such formidable terms1 with great ease4 ,at the top there is a fine verdant plain of five or six miles in length1 we halted at an ,inn1 called ,santa ,croce1 where ,piedmont ends and ,savoy begins4 ,here we were regaled with fried trout1 catched in a large lake within sight1 from which the river ,doria arises1 which runs to ,turin in conjunction with the ,po4 ,though we ascend no higher than this plain1 which is the summit of ,mount ,cenis1 the mountains around are much higher2 in passing the plain we felt the air so keen1 that we were glad to have recourse to our great-coats2 which1 at the bottom of the hill1 we had considered as a very superfluous part of our baggage4 ,i had a great deal of conversation in passing the mountain with a poor boy1 who accompanied us from ,novalezza to take back the mules2 he told me he could neither read nor write1 and had never been farther than ,suza on one side of the mountain1 and ,lanebourg on the other4 ,he spoke four languages1 ,piedmontese1 which is his native language2 this is a kind of ,patois very different from ,italian2 the ,patois of the peasants of ,savoy1 which is equally different from ,french2 he also spoke ,italian and ,french wonderfully well2 the second he had learnt from the ,savoyard chairmen1 and the two last from ,italian and ,french travellers whom he has accompanied over ,mount ,cenis1 where he has passed his life hitherto1 and which he seems to have no desire of leaving4 ,if you chance to be consulted by any parent who inclines to send their sons abroad merely that they may be removed from ,london1 and acquire modern languages in the most conomical manner1 you now know what place to recommend4 ,in none where opportunities for this branch of education are equal1 is living cheaper than at ,mount ,cenis1 and ,i know nothing in which it has any resemblance to ,london1 except that it stands on much the same quantity of ground4 ,i asked this boy1 why he did not learn ,english4--,he had all the inclination in the world4--8,why don't you learn it then as well as ,french80 8,on attrape le ,franois1 ,monsieur1 bon gr1 mal gr10 answered he1 8mais ,messieurs les ,anglois parlent peu40 ,when we arrived at the ,north side of the mountain we dismissed our mules1 and had recourse to our ,alpian chairs and chairmen4 ,the chairs are constructed in the simplest manner1 and perfectly answer the purpose for which they are intended4 ,the chairmen are strong-made1 nervous1 little fellows4 ,one of them was betrothed to a girl at ,lanebourg1 and was to be married that evening4 ,i could not1 in conscience1 permit him to have any part in carrying me1 but directly appointed him to ,jack's chair4 ,the young fellow presented us all with ribbons1 which we wore in our hats in honour of the bride4 8,are you very fond of your mistress1 friend10 said ,i8 8,il faut que je l'aime beaucoup10 answered he1 8puisque1 pauvre garon comme me voila1 je donne trente livres au prtre pour nous marier40 ,to tax matrimony1 and oblige the people who beget and maintain children to pay to those who maintain none1 seems bad policy2 and it is surprising that a prince who attends so minutely1 as his ,sardinian ,majesty1 to the welfare of his subjects1 does not remedy so great an abuse4 ,as our carriers jogged zig-zag1 according to the course of the road1 down the mountain1 they laughed and sung all the way4 8,how comes it10 said ,i to the ,d----1 8that chairmen are generally merrier than those they carry8 ,to hear these fellows without seeing them1 one would imagine that we had the laborious part1 while they sat at their ease40 8,true10 answered he2 8and the same person might conclude1 on hearing the bridegroom sing so cheerfully1 that we were just going to be married and not he40 ,we arrived in a short time at the ,inn at ,lanebourg1 nothing having surprised me so much in the passage of this mountain1 the difficulty and danger of which has been greatly exaggerated by travellers1 as the facility with which we achieved it4 ,as soon as the scattered members of our carriages were joined together1 we proceeded on our journey4 ,the road is never level1 but a continued ascent and descent along the side of high mountains4 ,we sometimes saw villages situated at a vast height above us2 at other times they were seen with difficulty in the vales1 at an immense depth below us4 ,the village of ,modane stands in a hollow1 surrounded by stupendous mountains4 ,it began to grow dark when we descended from a great height into this hollow2 we could only perceive the rugged summits1 and sides of the mountains which encircle the village1 but not the village itself1 or any part of the plain at the bottom2 we therefore seemed descending from the surface1 by a dark abyss leading to the centre of the globe4 ,we arrived safe at ,modane1 however1 for the road is good in every respect1 steepness excepted4 ,next morning we continued our course1 by a miserable place called ,la ,chambre1 to ,aiguebelle1 a village of much the same description4 ,according to some authors1 this was the road by which ,hannibal led his army into ,italy4 ,they assert1 that the plain at the summit of ,mount ,cenis was the place where he rested his army for four days1 and from which he showed his soldiers the fertile plains of ,italy1 and encouraged them to persevere3 others assert that he led his army into ,italy by ,mount ,st4 ,bernard4 ,this is a discussion into which ,i am not qualified to enter2 but ,m----r ,g----l ,m----l1 a gentleman of learning1 probity1 and great professional merit1 in his way to ,italy1 where he now is1 endeavoured to trace the route of the ,carthaginian army with great attention2 and imagines he has been successful in his researches4 ,he has also ascertained the spots on which some of the most memorable battles were fought1 by carefully comparing the description of ,polybius1 and other authors1 with the fields of battle1 and has detected many mistakes1 which have prevailed on this curious subject2 every where supporting his own hypothesis by arguments which none but one who has carefully perused the various authors1 and examined the ground with a soldier's eye1 could adduce4 ,the same gentleman has likewise made some observations relating to the arms of the ancient ,romans1 and their tactics in general1 which are equally new and ingenious1 and which1 it is hoped1 he will in due time give to the public4 ,we arrived at the inn at ,aiguebelle just in time to avoid an excessive storm of thunder and rain1 which lasted with great violence through the whole night4 ,those who have never heard thunder in a very mountainous country1 can form no idea of the loudness1 repetition1 and length of the peals we heard this night4 ,many of the inhabitants of those mountains have never seen better houses than their own huts1 or any other country than the ,alps4 ,what a rugged1 boisterous piece of work must they take this world to be6 ,i fancy you have by this time had enough of mountains and vallies1 so if you please we shall skip over ,montmelian to ,chamberry1 where we arrived the same day on which we left ,aiguebelle4 ,to-morrow we shall sleep at ,geneva4 ,i did not expect much sleep this night from the thoughts of it1 and therefore have sat up almost till day-break writing this letter4 ,,letter ,,lxxx4 ,besanon4 ,the ,d---- of ,h---- went some weeks ago to visit an acquaintance in one of the provinces of ,france4 ,as ,i inclined rather to pass that time at ,geneva1 we agreed to meet at ,paris1 whither ,jack and ,i are thus far on our way4 ,i must now fairly confess that ,i found myself so happy with my kind friends the ,genevois1 that ,i could not spare an hour from their company to write to you or any correspondent1 unless on indispensable business4 ,i might also plead1 that you yourself have been in some measure the cause of my being seduced from my pen4 ,in your last letter2 which ,i found waiting for me at the post-house at ,geneva1 you mention a late publication in terms that gave me a curiosity to see it2 and an ,english gentleman1 who had the only copy which has as yet reached that city1 was so obliging as to lend it me4 ,the hours which ,i usually allot to sleep1 were all ,i had in my power to pass alone2 and they were very considerably abridged by this admirable performance4 ,the extensive reading there displayed1 the perspicuity with which historical facts are related1 the new light in which many of them are placed1 the depth of the reflections1 and the dignity and nervous force of the language1 all announce the hand of a master4 ,if the author lives to complete his arduous undertaking1 he will do more to dissipate the historical darkness which overshadows the middle ages1 give a clearer ,history of the ,decline and ,fall of the ,roman ,empire1 and fill up1 in a more satisfactory manner1 the long interval between ancient and modern history1 than all the writers who have preceded him4 ,this accounts for my long silence4 ,you see ,i resume my pen the very first opportunity1 after the causes ,i have assigned for it are removed1 which ought to give the more weight to my apology4 ,as ,i have frequently been at ,lyons1 ,i chose1 on this occasion1 to return to ,paris by ,franche ,comt and ,champagne4 ,we accordingly set out very early yesterday morning1 and were by no means in high spirits when we left ,geneva1 and passed along the side of the lake1 through the ,pais de ,vaud4 ,the beauties of that country1 though they astonish at first sight1 yet1 like the characters of the inhabitants1 they improve on intimacy4 ,every time ,i have looked at the lake of ,geneva1 and its delightful environs1 ,i have discovered something new to admire4 ,as ,i entered the ,canton of ,bern1 ,i often turned about1 and at last withdrew my eyes from those favourite objects1 with an emotion similar to what you feel on taking leave of a friend1 whom you have reason to think you shall never see again4 ,the first place we came to1 on entering ,france from the ,canton of ,bern1 is a poor little town on an hill2 ,i forget its name4 ,while the postillion stopped to put something to rights about the harness1 ,i stepped into a shop where they sold wooden shoes2 and in the course of my conversation with a peasant1 who had just purchased a pair for himself1 and another for his wife1 he said1 8les ,bernois sont bien leur aise1 ,monsieur1 pendant que nous autres ,franois vivons tres durement1 et cependant les ,bernois sont des hrtiques40 8,voil10 said an old woman1 who sat in a corner reading her breviary2 8voil10 said she1 taking off her spectacles1 and laying her beads on the book1 8ce que je trouve incomprhensible40 ,this was1 however1 at the extremity of ,france1 and in a province lately acquired2 for it must be confessed1 that it is not common for the ,french to imagine that any country whatever has the advantage of theirs in any one circumstance2 and they certainly are not so apt to grumble as some of their neighbours1 who have less reason4 ,when ,i was last at ,geneva1 a ,french hair-dresser--,let me intreat you not to shew this to your friend ----1 who is so fond of people of quality1 that he thinks there is no life out of their company4 ,he would pshaw1 and curse my poor peasants1 and old women1 and hair-dressers1 and accuse me of being too fond of such low company4 ,as for the old women1 ,i am much mistaken if there are not at least as many to be found of both sexes in high life as in low2 for the others1 ,i declare ,i have no particular affection1 but ,i am fond of strokes of nature and character1 and must look for them where they are to be found4 ,i introduce the present hair-dresser to your acquaintance1 because1 if ,i am not mistaken1 he spoke the sentiments of his whole nation1 high and low4 ,you shall judge4 ,this young fellow attended me every morning while ,i remained at ,geneva2 he had been a year or two at ,london2 and while he dressed my hair1 his tongue generally moved as quick as his fingers4 ,he was full of his remarks upon ,london1 and the fine people whose hair he pretended to have dressed4 8,do you not think10 said ,i1 8that people may live very happily in that country80 8,mais--pour cela oui1 ,monsieur40 8,do you think1 then1 they are happy80 8,pour cela1 non1 ,monsieur40 8,can you guess at the reason why they are not1 though they have so much reason to be so80 8,oui1 ,monsieur1 elle est toute simple40 8,pray what is the reason they are not happy80 8,c'est1 qu'ils ne font pas destins l'tre40 ,a very genteel young man1 a ,genevois1 happened to call on me1 for two minutes1 while this friseur was with me4 ,the young gentleman had passed some time at ,paris1 and was dressed exactly in the ,parisian taste4 8,he has much the air of one of your countrymen10 said ,i to the ,frenchman1 as soon as the other had left the room4 8,mon ,dieu6 quelle diffrence10 cried the friseur4 8,for my part1 ,i can see none10 said ,i4 8,monsieur10 resumed he1 8soyez persuad qu'aucun ,genevois ne sera jamais pris pour un ,franois40 8,there are certainly some petit-matres to be found in this town10 said ,i4 8,pardonnez moi10 replied he1 8ils ne sont que petit-matres manqus40 8,did you ever see an ,englishman10 said ,i1 8who might pass for a ,frenchman80 8,jamais de la vie1 ,monsieur60 replied he1 with an accent of astonishment4 8,suppose him10 said ,i1 8a man of quality80 8,n'importe40 8,but10 continued ,i1 8suppose he had lived several years at ,paris1 that he was naturally very handsome1 and well made1 that he had been educated by the best ,french dancing-master1 his clothes made by the best ,french taylor1 and his hair dressed by the most eminent friseur in ,paris80 8,c'est beaucoup1 ,monsieur1 mais ce n'est pas assez40 8,what60 exclaimed ,i1 8would you still know him to be an ,englishman80 8,assurment1 ,monsieur40 8,what6 before he spoke80 8,au premier coup d'il1 ,monsieur40 8,the ,devil you would2 but how80 8,c'est que ,messieurs les ,anglois ont un air--une manire de se prsenter--un--que sais-je moi--vous m'entendez bien1 ,monsieur--un certain air si ,gau--0 8,quel air maraud80 8,enfin un air qui est charmant1 si vous voulez1 ,monsieur10 said he rapidly1 8mais que le ,diable m'emporte si c'est l'air ,franois40 ,to-morrow ,i shall take a view of this town1 and proceed immediately after breakfast to ,paris3 mean while ,i wish you very heartily good night4 ,,letter ,,lxxxi4 ,paris4 ,i ,made a longer stay at ,besanon than ,i intended1 and am now about to inform you what detained me4 ,the morning after the date of my last1 as ,i returned to the inn from the parade1 where ,i had been to see the troops1 ,i met a servant of the ,marquis de ,f----1 who ran up to me the moment he knew me1 and1 in a breath1 told me1 that his master was at ,besanon2 that he had been exceedingly ill1 and thought1 by the physicians1 in great danger2 but his complaint having terminated in an ague1 they had now the strongest hopes of his recovery4 ,i desired to be conducted immediately to him4 ,i found the ,marquis alone2 pale1 languid1 and greatly emaciated4 ,he expressed1 however1 equal pleasure and surprise at this unexpected visit2 said1 he had been in danger of making a very long journey1 and added1 with a smile1 that no man had ever set out with less inclination1 for he hated travelling alone1 and this was the only journey he could ever take1 without wishing some of his friends to accompany him4 ,he rejoiced1 therefore1 that he had been recalled in time to meet me before ,i should pass on to ,paris4 8,but tell me10 continued he1 8for ,i have ten thousand questions to ask--but let us take things in order2 ,eh bien1 donnez nous donc des nouvlles du ,pape8 ,on nous a dit que vous aviez pass par la ceremonie de la ,pantoufle4 ,ne pourroit on pas pendre au tragique une misre comme cela chez vous o le ,saint ,pere passe pour une ,babylonienne de mauvaise vie80 ,before ,i could make any answer ,i chanced to turn my eyes upon a person whom ,i had not before observed1 who sat very gravely upon a chair in a corner of the room1 with a large periwig in full dress upon his head4 ,the ,marquis1 seeing my surprise at the sight of this unknown person1 after a very hearty fit of laughter1 begged pardon for not having introduced me sooner to that gentleman 7who was no other than a large monkey71 and then told me1 he had the honour of being attended by a physician1 who had the reputation of possessing the greatest skill1 and who certainly wore the largest periwigs of any doctor in the province4 ,that one morning1 while he was writing a prescription at his bed-side1 this same monkey had catched hold of his periwig by one of the knots1 and instantly made the best of his way out at the window to the roof of a neighbouring house1 from which post he could not be dislodged1 till the ,doctor1 having lost patience1 had sent home for another wig1 and never after could be prevailed on to accept of this1 which had been so much disgraced4 ,that1 enfin1 his valet1 to whom the monkey belonged1 had1 ever since that adventure1 obliged the culprit1 by way of punishment1 to sit quietly for an hour every morning1 with the periwig on his head4--,et pendant ces moments de tranquilit je suis honor de la socit du vnrable personage4 ,then addressing himself to the monkey1 8,adieu1 mon ami1 pour aujourdhui--au plaisir de vous revoir20 and the servant immediately carried ,monsieur le ,medecin out of the room4 ,afraid that the ,marquis might be the worse for talking so much1 ,i attempted to withdraw1 promising to return in the evening2 but this ,i could not get him to comply with4 ,he assured me1 that nothing did him so much harm as holding his tongue2 and that the most excessive headach he had ever had in his life1 was owing to his having been two hours without speaking1 when he made his addresses to ,madam de ----2 who could never forgive those who broke in upon the thread of her discourse1 and whom he lost after all1 by uttering a few sentences before she could recover her breath after a fit of sneezing4 ,in most people's discourse1 added he1 a sneeze passes for a full stop4 8,mais dans le ,caquet eternel de cette femme ce n'est qu'un virgule40 ,i then enquired after my friends ,dubois and ,fanchon4--,he told me1 that his mother had settled them at her house in the country1 where she herself chose1 of late1 to pass at least one half of the year2 that ,dubois was of great service to her1 in the quality of steward1 and she had taken a strong affection for ,fanchon1 and that both husband and wife were loved and esteemed by the whole neighbourhood4 8,i once10 continued the ,marquis1 8proposed to ,fanchon1 en badinant1 to make a trip to ,paris1 for she must be tired of so much solitude40 8,have ,i not my husband80 said she1 8,your husband is not company10 rejoined ,i1 8your husband1 you know1 is yourself4 ,what do you think was her answer80 8,elle m'a rpondu10 continued the ,marquis1 8,ah1 ,monsieur le ,marquis1 plus on s loigne de soi-mme1 plus on s'carte du bonheur40 ,in the progress of our conversation1 ,i enquired about the lady to whom he was to have been married1 when the match was so abruptly broken off by her father4 ,he told me1 the old gentleman's behaviour was explained a short time after our departure from ,paris1 by his daughter's marriage to a man of great fortune2 but whose taste1 character1 and turn of mind were essentially different from those of the young lady4 8,i suppose then10 said ,i1 8she appeared indifferent about him from the beginning40 8,pardonnez moi10 replied the ,marquis1 8au commencement elle joua la belle passion pour son mari1 jusqu' scandaliser le monde1 peu peu elle devint plus raisonable1 et sur cet article les deux epoux jourent bientt fortune gale1 prsent ils s'amusent se chicaner de petites contradictions qui jettent plus d'amertume dans le commerce que de torts dcids40 8,did you ever renew your acquaintance80 8,je ne pouvois faire autrement1 elle a marqu quelques petits regrets de m'avoir trait si cruellement40 8,and how did you like her10 said ,i1 8on farther acquaintance80 8,je lui ai trouv10 answered he1 8tout ce qu'on pent souhaiter dans la femme d'un autre40 ,the ,marquis1 feeling himself a little cold1 and rising from the sopha to ring for some wood1 had a view of the street4 8,o ho10 cried he1 looking earnestly through the window1 8regardez1 regardez cet homme0--8,quel homme80 said ,i4 8,cet homme gros ventre10 said he2 and while he spoke1 his teeth began to chatter4 8,ah1 ,diable1 voil mon chien d'accs--cet homme qui marche comme un ,di--,di--,dindon1 c'est l'aumonier du regiment40 ,i begged he would allow himself to be put to bed1 for by this time he was all over shivering with the violence of the ague4 8,non1 non1 ce n'est rien10 said he1 8il faut absolument que je vous conte cette histoire4 ,cet homme qui s'engraisse en nettoy--nett--et--et--en nettoyant l'ame de mes soldats1 faisoit les yeux doux la femme d'un ,ca--,ca--,caporal--,diantre je n'en peux plus4 ,adieu1 mon ami1 c'est la plus plaisante hist--sis--peste6 demandez mes gens40 ,he was put to bed directly4 ,i found the court below full of soldiers1 who had come to enquire after their ,colonel4 ,before ,i had reached the street1 the ,marquis's ,valet-de-,chambre overtook me1 le ris sur la bouche1 et les larmes aux yeux1 with a message from his master4 ,the soldiers crowded about us1 with anxiety on all their countenances4 ,i assured them1 there was no danger2 that their ,colonel would be well within a very few days4 ,this was heard with every mark of joy1 and they dispersed1 to communicate the good news to their comrades4 8,ah1 ,monsieur10 said the ,valet1 addressing himself to me1 8il est tant aim de ces braves ,garons6 et il merite si bien de l'tre60 ,next day he looked better1 and was in his usual spirits2 the day following1 he was still better2 and having taken a proper quantity of the bark during the interval1 he had no return of the fever4 ,as he has promised to continue the use of the bark1 in sufficient doses1 for some time1 and as relapses are not frequent at this season of the year1 ,i am persuaded the affair is over1 and that he will gradually gain strength till he is perfectly recovered4 ,he received me with less gaiety than usual1 the day on which ,i took my leave1 and used many obliging expressions1 which1 however you may smile1 ,i am entirely disposed to believe were sincere2 for ,altho' the candy'd tongue lick absurd pomp1 ,and crook the pregnant hinges of the knee1 ,where thrift may follow fawning3 ----,why should the poor be flatter'd8 ,just as ,i was returning1 we heard the music of the troops marching off the parade4--8,apropos10 cried he1 8,how do your affairs go on with your ,colonies80 ,i said1 ,i hoped every thing would be arranged and settled very soon4 8,ne croyez vous pas10 said he1 8que ces ,messieurs10 pointing to the troops which then passed below the window1 8pourroient entrer pour quelque chose dans l'arrangement80 ,i said1 ,i did not imagine the ,americans were such fools as to break all connection with their friends1 and then risk falling into the power of their enemies4 8,il me semble10 answered he1 8que ces ,messieurs font assez peu de cas de votre amiti1 et aussi1 quand vous aurez prouv qu'ils ont tort1 il ne s'en suivra pas que vous ayiez toujours eu raison40 8,allons10 continued he1 seeing that ,i looked a little grave1 8point d'humeur20 then seizing my hand1 8permettez moi1 je vous prie1 d'aimer les ,anglois sans har les ,amricains40 ,i soon after parted with this amiable ,frenchman1 whose gaiety1 wit1 and agreeable manners1 if ,i may judge from my own experience1 represent the character and disposition of great numbers of his countrymen4 ,after a very agreeable journey by ,gray1 ,langres1 and ,troyes1 we arrived at this capital a few days ago4 ,,letter ,,lxxxii4 ,paris4 ,although it is a considerable time since my arrival1 yet1 as you made so long a stay at ,paris while we were in ,germany1 ,i could not think of resuming my observations on the manners of this gay metropolis4 ,it has been said1 that those times are the most interesting to read of1 which were the most disagreeable to live in4 ,so ,i find the places in which it is most agreeable to reside1 are precisely those from which we have the least inclination to write4 ,there are so many resources at ,paris1 that it always requires a great effort to write letters1 of any considerable length1 from such a place4 ,this is peculiarly my case at present1 as ,i have the happiness of passing great part of my time with ,mr4 ,a---- ,s----t1 whom ,i found at this hotel on my arrival4 ,the integrity1 candour1 and ability1 of that gentleman's conduct1 during a long residence1 have procured him a great number of friends in this capital1 and have established a character which calumny attempted in vain to overthrow4 ,now that ,i have resolution to take up my pen1 ,i shall endeavour to clear the debt for which you dun me so unmercifully4 ,i own1 ,i am surprised1 that you should require my opinion on the uses of foreign travel1 after perusing1 as you must have done1 the ,dialogues1 lately published by an eminent divine1 equally distinguished for his learning and taste4 ,but as ,i know what makes you peculiarly solicitous on that subject at present1 ,i shall give you my sentiments1 such as they are1 without farther hesitation4 ,i cannot help thinking1 that a young man of fortune may spend a few years to advantage1 in travelling through some of the principal countries of ,europe1 provided the tour be well-timed1 and well-conducted2 and1 without these1 what part of education can be of use8 ,in a former letter1 ,i gave my reasons for preferring the plan of education at the public schools of ,england1 to any other now in use at home or abroad4 ,after the young person has acquired the fundamental parts of learning1 which are taught at schools1 he will naturally be removed to some university4 ,one of the most elegant and most ingenious writers of the present age has1 in his ,inquiry into the ,causes of the ,wealth of ,nations1 pointed out many deficiencies in those seminaries4 ,what that gentleman has said on this subject1 may possibly have some effect in bringing about an improvement4 ,but1 with all their deficiencies1 it must be acknowledged1 that no universities have produced a greater number of men distinguished for polite literature1 and eminent for science1 than those of ,england4 ,if a young man has1 previously1 acquired the habit of application1 and a taste for learning1 he will certainly find the means of improvement there2 and1 without these1 ,i know not where he will make any progress in literature4 ,but whatever plan is adopted1 whether the young man studies at the university1 or at home with private teachers1 while he is studying with diligence and alacrity1 it would be doing him a most essential injury1 to interrupt him by a premature expedition to the ,continent1 from an idea of his acquiring the graces1 elegance of manner1 or any of the accomplishments which travelling is supposed to give4 ,literature is preferable to all other accomplishments1 and the men of rank who possess it1 have a superiority over those who do not1 let their graces be what they may1 which the latter feel and envy1 while they affect to despise4 ,according to this plan1 a youth1 properly educated1 will seldom begin his foreign tour before the age of twenty2 if it is a year or two later1 there will be no harm4 ,this is the age1 it may be said1 when young men of fortune endeavour to get into ,parliament3 it is so2 but if they should remain out of ,parliament till they are a few years older1 the affairs of the nation might possibly go on as well4 ,it may also be said1 if the tour is deferred till the age of twenty1 the youth will not1 after that period of life1 attain the modern languages in perfection4 ,nor will he acquire that easy manner1 and fine address1 which are only caught by an early acquaintance with courts1 and the assemblies of the gay and elegant4 ,this is true to a certain degree2 but the answer is1 that by remaining at home1 and applying to the pursuits of literature1 he will make more valuable attainments4 ,i am at a loss what to say about those same graces2 it is certainly desirable to possess them1 but they must come1 as it were1 spontaneously1 or they will not come at all4 ,they sometimes appear as volunteers1 but cannot be pressed into any service2 and those who shew the greatest anxiety about them1 are the least likely to attain them4 ,i should be cautious1 therefore1 of advising a young man to study them either at home or abroad with much solicitude4 ,students of the graces are1 generally1 the most abominably affected fellows in the world4 ,i have seen one of them make a whole company squeamish4 ,though the pert familiarity of ,french children would not become an ,english boy1 yet it merits the earliest and the utmost attention to prevent or conquer that aukward timidity which so often oppresses the latter when he comes into company4 ,the timidity ,i speak of1 is entirely different from modesty4 ,i have seen the most impudent boys ,i ever knew1 almost convulsed with constraint in the presence of strangers1 or when they were required to pronounce a single sentence of civility4 ,but it was only on such occasions they were bashful4 ,among their companions or inferiors1 they were saucy1 rude1 and boisterous4 ,if boys of this description only were liable to bashfulness1 it would be a pity to remove it4 ,but although this quality is distinct from modesty1 it is not incompatible with it4 ,boys of the most modest and most amiable disposition are often overwhelmed with it2 from them it ought to be removed1 if it can be done1 without endangering that modesty which is so great an ornament to youth1 and indeed to every period of life4 ,this1 surely1 may be done in ,england1 as well as in any other country2 but it is too much neglected3 many consider it as a matter of no importance1 or that it will wear off by time4 ,we see it1 however1 often annihilate1 and always impair the effect of the greatest and most useful talents4 ,after the care of forming the heart by the principles of benevolence and integrity1 perhaps one of the most important parts of education is1 to habituate a boy to behave with modesty1 but without restraint1 and to retain the full possession of all his faculties in any company4 ,to attain1 betimes1 that ease and elegance of manner1 which travelling is supposed to bestow1 and that the young gentleman may become perfectly master of the modern languages1 some have thought of mixing the two plans2 and1 instead of allowing him to prosecute his studies at home1 sending him abroad1 immediately on his coming from school1 on the supposition that1 with the assistance of a tutor and foreign professors1 he will proceed in the study of philosophy1 and other branches of literature1 during the three or four years which are employed in the usual tour4 ,it will not be denied1 that a young man who has made good use of his time at school and at the university1 who has acquired such a taste for science as to consider its pursuits as a pleasure1 and not a task1 may1 even during his travels1 mix the study of men with that of books1 and continue to make progress in the latter1 when the greater part of his time is dedicated to the former4 ,but that such a taste will1 for the first time1 spring up in the breast of a boy of sixteen or seventeen1 amidst the dissipation of theatres1 reviews1 processions1 balls1 and assemblies1 is of all things the least probable4 ,others1 who think lightly of the importance of what is usually called science to a young man of rank and fortune1 still contend1 that a knowledge of history1 which they admit may be of some use even to men of fortune1 can certainly be acquired during the years of travelling4 ,but what sort of a knowledge will it be which a boy1 in such a situation1 will acquire8 ,not that which ,lord ,bolingbroke calls philosophy1 teaching by examples1 a proper conduct in the various situations of public and private life1 but merely a succession of reigns1 of battles1 and sieges1 stored up in the memory without reflection or application4 ,i remember a young gentleman1 whom a strong and retentive memory of such events often set a prating very mal--propos2 one of his companions expressed much surprise at his knowledge1 and wondered how he had laid up such a store4 8,why1 truly10 replied he1 with frankness1 8it is all owing to my bungling blockhead of a valet1 who takes up such an unconscionable time in dressing my hair1 that ,i am glad to read to keep me from fretting2 and as there are no newspapers1 or magazines1 to be had in this country1 ,i have been driven to history1 which answers nearly as well40 ,but it sometimes happens1 that young men who are far behind their contemporaries in every kind of literature1 are wonderfully advanced in the knowledge of the town1 so as to vie with the oldest professors in ,london1 and endanger their own health by the ardour of their application4 ,the sooner such premature youths are separated from the connections they have formed in the metropolis1 the better2 and as it will not be easy to persuade them to live in any other part of ,great ,britain1 it will be necessary to send them abroad4 ,but1 instead of being carried to courts and capitals1 the best plan for them will be1 to fix them in some provincial town of ,france or ,switzerland1 where they may have a chance of improving1 not so much by new attainments1 as by unlearning or forgetting what they have already acquired4 ,after a young man has employed his time to advantage at a public school1 and has continued his application to various branches of science till the age of twenty1 you ask1 what are the advantages he is likely to reap from a tour abroad8 ,he will see mankind more at large1 and in numberless situations and points of view1 in which they cannot appear in ,great ,britain1 or any one country4 ,by comparing the various customs and usages1 and hearing the received opinions of different countries1 his mind will be enlarged4 ,he will be enabled to correct the theoretical notions he may have formed of human nature1 by the practical knowledge of men4 ,by contemplating their various religions1 laws1 and government1 in action1 as it were1 and observing the effects they produce on the minds and characters of the people1 he will be able to form a juster estimate of their value than otherwise he could have done4 ,he will see the natives of other countries1 not as he sees them in ,england1 mere idle spectators1 but busily employed in their various characters1 as actors on their own proper stage4 ,he will gradually improve in the knowledge of character1 not of ,englishmen only1 but of men in general2 he will cease to be deceived either by the varnish with which men are apt to heighten their own actions1 or the dark colours in which they1 too often1 paint those of others4 ,he will learn to distinguish the real from the ostensible motive of men's words and behaviour4 ,finally1 by being received with hospitality1 conversing familiarly1 and living in the reciprocal exchange of good offices with those whom he considered as enemies1 or in some unfavourable point of view1 the sphere of his benevolence and good-will to his brethren of mankind will gradually enlarge4 ,his friendships extending beyond the limits1 of his own country1 will embrace characters congenial with his own in other nations4 ,seas1 mountains1 rivers1 are geographical boundaries1 but never limited the good-will or esteem of one liberal mind4 ,as for his manner1 though it will probably not be so janty as if he had been bred in ,france from his earliest youth1 yet that also will in some degree be improved4 ,however persuaded he may be of the advantages enjoyed by the people of ,england1 he will see the harshness and impropriety of insulting the natives of other countries with an ostentatious enumeration of those advantages2 he will perceive how odious those travellers make themselves1 who laugh at the religion1 ridicule the customs1 and insult the police of the countries through which they pass1 and who never fail to insinuate to the inhabitants that they are all slaves and bigots4 ,such bold ,britons we have sometimes met with1 fighting their way through ,europe1 who1 by their continual broils and disputes1 would lead one to imagine that the angel of the ,lord had pronounced on each of them the same denunciation which he did on ,ishmael the son of ,abraham1 by his handmaid ,hagar4 8,and he will be a wild man1 and his hand will be against every man1 and every man's hand against him#ab40 ,if the same unsocial disposition should creep into our politics1 it might arm all the powers in ,europe against ,great ,britain1 before she gets clear of her unhappy contest with ,america4 ,a young man1 whose mind has been formed as it ought1 before he goes abroad1 when he sees many individuals preserve personal dignity in spite of arbitrary government1 an independent mind amidst poverty1 liberal and philosophic sentiments amidst bigotry and superstition2 must naturally have the highest esteem for such characters1 and allow them more merit than those even of his own country1 who think and act in the same manner in less unfavourable circumstances4 ,besides these advantages1 a young man of fortune1 by spending a few years abroad1 will gratify a natural and laudable curiosity1 and pass a certain portion of his life in an agreeable manner4 ,he will form an acquaintance with that boasted nation1 whose superior taste and politeness are universally acknowledged2 whose fashions and language are adopted by all ,europe2 and who1 in science1 power1 and commerce1 are the rivals of ,great ,britain4 ,he will have opportunities of observing the political constitution of the ,german empire2 that complex body1 formed by a confederacy of princes1 ecclesiastics1 and free cities1 comprehending countries of vast extent1 inhabited by a hardy race of men1 distinguished for solid sense and integrity1 who1 without having equalled their sprightlier neighbours in works of taste or imagination1 have shewn what prodigious efforts of application the human mind is capable of in the severest and least amusing studies1 and whose armies exhibit at present the most perfect models of military discipline4 ,in contemplating these1 he will naturally consider1 whether those armies tend most to the aggrandizement of the ,monarch1 or to defend or preserve any thing to the people who maintain them1 and the soldiers who compose them1 equivalent to the vast expence of money1 and the still greater quantity of misery which they occasion4 ,viewing the remains of ,roman taste and magnificence1 he will feel a thousand emotions of the most interesting nature1 while those whose minds are not1 like his1 stored with classical knowledge1 gaze with tasteless wonder1 or phlegmatic indifference2 and1 exclusive of those monuments of antiquity1 he will naturally desire to be acquainted with the present inhabitants of a country1 which at different periods has produced men who1 by one means or another1 have distinguished themselves so eminently from their contemporaries of other nations4 ,at one period1 having subdued the world by the wisdom and firmness of their councils1 and the disciplined vigour of their armies1 ,rome became at once the seat of empire1 learning1 and the arts4 ,after the ,northern barbarians had destroyed the overgrown fabric of ,roman power1 a new empire1 of a more singular nature1 gradually arose from its ruins1 artfully extending its influence over the minds of men1 till the ,princes of ,europe were at length as much controlled by the bulls of the ,vatican1 as their ancestors had been by the decrees of the ,senate4 ,commerce also1 which rapine and slaughter had frightened from ,europe1 returned1 and joined with ,superstition in drawing the riches of all the neighbouring nations to ,italy4 ,and1 at a subsequent period1 ,learning1 bursting through the clouds of ignorance which overshadowed mankind1 again shone forth in the same country1 bringing in her train1 ,poetry1 ,painting1 ,sculpture1 and ,music1 all of which have been cultivated with the greatest success2 and the three last brought1 by the inhabitants of this country1 to a degree of excellence unequalled by the natives of any other country of the world4 ,when to these considerations we add1 that there is reason to believe that this country had arrived at a great degree of perfection in the arts before the beginning of the ,roman republic1 we are almost tempted to believe1 that local and physical causes have a considerable influence in rendering the mind more acute in this country of ,italy1 than any where else2 and that if the infinite political disadvantages under which it labours were removed1 and the whole of this peninsula united in one ,state1 it would again resume its superiority over other nations4 ,lastly1 by visiting other countries1 a subject of ,great ,britain will acquire a greater esteem than ever for the constitution of his own4 ,freed from vulgar prejudices1 he will perceive1 that the blessings and advantages which his countrymen enjoy1 do not flow from their superiority in wisdom1 courage1 or virtue1 over the other nations of the world1 but1 in some degree1 from the peculiarity of their situation in an island2 and1 above all1 from those just and equitable laws which secure property1 that mild free government which abhors tyranny1 protects the meanest subject1 and leaves the mind of man to its own exertions1 unrestrained by those arbitrary1 capricious1 and impolitic shackles1 which confine and weaken its noblest endeavours in almost every other country of the world4 ,this animates industry1 creates fertility1 and scatters plenty over the boisterous island of ,great ,britain1 with a profusion unknown in the neighbouring nations1 who behold with astonishment such numbers of ,british subjects1 of both sexes1 and of all ages1 roaming discontented through the lands of despotism1 in search of that happiness1 which1 if satiety and the wanton restlessness of wealth would permit1 they have a much better prospect of enjoying in their own country4 ,clum non animum mutant qui trans mare currunt4 ,strenua nos exercet inertia1 navibus atque ,quadrigis petimus bene vivere4 ,quod petis1 hic est4 #ab ,vide ,genesis1 chap4 xvi4 verse #ab4 ,,the ,,end4 ,,translations ,,of ,,the ,,latin ,,and ,,italian ,,quotations ,,in ,,the ,,second ,,volume4 ,page #ai4 ,the wretched father running to their aid1 ,with pious haste1 but vain1 they next invade4 ,,dryden4 #dd4 ,how beautiful he is6 ,o how beautiful he is6 ,ibid4 ,he is as beautiful as he is holy4 #hf4 ,o ,god1 where am ,i8 what pleasure ravishes my soul6 #ij4 ,the memory of ,cassius and ,brutus made a deeper impression on the minds of the spectators1 on this very account1 that their statues were not seen in the procession4 #ie4 ,many have held the empire longer2 none ever relinquished it from more generous motives4 #ii4 ,now by rich ,circe's coast they bend their way4 #ajj4 ,last with her martial troops all sheathed in brass1 ,camilla came1 a queen of ,volscian race2 ,nor were the web or loom the virgin's care1 ,but arms and coursers1 and the toils of war4 ,she led the rapid race1 and left behind ,the flagging floods1 and pinions of the wind3 ,lightly she flies along the level plain1 ,nor hurts the tender grass1 nor bends the golden grain4 ,,pitt4 #aja4 ,to ,forum-,appii thence we steer1 a place ,stuff'd with rank boatmen1 and with vintners base4 ,,francis4 #ajb4 ,the head of ,st4 ,thomas ,aquinas4 #ajd4 ,and the steep hills of ,circe stretch around1 ,where fair ,feronia boasts her stately grove1 ,and ,anxur glories in her guardian ,jove2 ,where stands the ,pontine lake---- ,,pitt4 #ajg4 ,whether is it best to go by the ,numician or ,appian way to ,brundusium8 #ajh4 ,we willingly leave ,fundi1 where ,alifidius ,luscus is chief magistrate4 #ajh4 ,from whom the illustrious race arose1 ,who first possessed the ,formian towers4 ,,francis4 ,ibid4 ,my cups are neither enriched with the juice of the ,falernian grapes1 nor that of those from the ,formian hills4 #aad4 ----the rich fields that ,liris laves1 ,where silent roll his deepning waves4 ,,francis4 #aaf4 ,pure spirits these2 the world no purer knows2 ,for none my heart with such affection glows4 ,how oft did we embrace6 our joys how great6 ,is there a blessing1 in the power of fate1 ,to be compared1 in sanity of mind1 ,to friends of such companionable kind8 ,,francis4 #aag4 ,formerly called another ,carthage1 or another ,rome2 it now lies buried in its own ruins4 #abd4 ,god forbid6 #abe4 ,blessed ,jesus6 #abf4 ,it is that which vexes me4 #adb4 ,my son laments1 that he has not killed more than eighty birds in one day1 whereas1 ,i should think myself the happiest man in the world1 if ,i could kill forty4 #ahh4 ,the knight of ,aglant now has couch'd his spear1 ,where closely prest the men and arms appear3 ,first one1 and then another1 helpless dies2 ,thro' six at once the lance impetuous flies1 ,and in the seventh inflicts so deep a wound1 ,that prone he tumbles lifeless to the ground4 ,,hoole4 #ahh1 #ahi4 ,thus by some standing pool or marshy place1 ,we see an archer slay the croaking race ,with pointed arrow1 nor the slaughter leave1 ,till the full weapon can no more receive4 ,,hoole4 #aig4 ,both ,arcadians1 but not equally skilled in singing4 #baf4 ,what inconsiderate fellow1 to terrify people1 could first give the mournful name of tears to that wine which1 above all others1 renders the heart glad1 and excites cheerfulness8 #bgg4 ,o illustrious memorial6 ,o irrefragable truth6 ,come hither1 ye heretics6 come hither1 and be astonished1 and open your eyes to catholic and evangelic truth4 ,the blood of ,st4 ,januarius alone is a sufficient testimony of the truth4 ,is it possible1 that such a great and famous miracle does not convert all heretics and infidels to the truths of the ,roman ,catholic church8 #bhe4 ',sblood6 it is still as hard as a stone4 #cjd4 ,virtue crowns him after many great achievements4 #cjg4 ,all1 all for the ,king's amusement4 ,ibid4 ,surely4 ,ibid4 ,surely1 surely4 #cad4 ,i intreat you to forsake1 as soon as possible1 the corrupt coast of ,baia4 ,ibid4 ,a coast most unfriendly to modest maids4 #cbj4 ,confections of ,tivoli4 #cbb4 ,may ,tibur1 to my latest hours1 ,afford a kind and calm retreat2 ,tibur1 beneath whose lofty towers1 ,the ,grcians fix'd their blissful seat4 ,,francis4 #cbb4 ,the walls of the moist ,tibur then flood1 which was founded by the ,greeks4 ,ibid4 ,for little folks become their little fate1 ,and at my age1 not ,rome's imperial seat1 444 ,but ,tibur's solitude my taste can please4 #cbe4 ,when retired to the cool dream of ,digentia1 which supplies the cold village of ,mandela with water2 what1 my friend1 do you imagine1 are my sentiments and wishes8 ,ibid4 ,pan from ,arcadia's heights descends1 ,to visit oft my rural seat---- ,,francis4 ,but as a bee1 which thro' the shady groves1 ,feeble of wing1 with idle murmurs roves1 ,sips on the bloom1 and1 with unceasing toil1 ,from the sweet thyme extracts his flow'ry spoil1 ,so ,i1 weak bard6 round ,tibur's lucid spring1 ,of humble strain laborious verses sing4 ,,francis4 #cbh4 ,but me not patient ,lacedmon charms1 ,nor fair ,larissa with such transport warms1 ,as pure ,albuneus' rock resounding source1 ,and rapid ,anio1 headlong in his course1 ,or ,tibur1 fenced by groves from solar beams1 ,and fruitful orchards bath'd by ductile dreams4 ,,francis4 #cca4 ,hither ,i1 ,apollo1 have come1 accompanied by the ,muses4 ,this shall henceforth be our ,delphos1 ,delos1 and ,helicon4 #cce4 ,the woods all thunder'd1 and the mountains shook1 ,the lake of ,trivia heard the note profound4 444 ,pale at the piercing call1 the mothers prest ,with shrieks their starting infants to the breast4 ,,pitt4 #cfb4 ,the man in conscious virtue bold1 ,who dares his secret purpose hold1 ,unshaken hears the crowd's tumultuous cries1 ,and the stern tyrant's brow ---- ---- defies4 ,,francis4 #cfc4 ,while ,michael was forming this statue1 shocked with the recollection of ,brutus' crime1 he left his design unfinished4 #cfi4 ,i also am a painter4 #chc4 ,do you imagine there is but little difference between acting from feeling1 as nature dictates1 or from art8 #ddd4 ,i am the workmanship of ,marcus ,agratus1 not of ,praxiteles4 #ejb4 ,if they1 who through the venturous ocean range1 ,not their own passions1 but the climate1 change2 ,anxious thro' seas and land to search for rest1 ,is but laborious idleness at best4 ,,francis4 ,,errata4 ,page #abf4 line #ah4 for snuff boxes1 or tortoise shells1 and the lava1 c4 read snuff boxes of tortoise shells1 and of the lava1 c4 #aei4 ---- #ba4 for vote read veto #baa4 ---- #ad4 for than it has been read than at any time4 #chd4 ---- #f4 ,before the word ,accusations read ,such4 #djh4 ---- #f4 for the confinement read that confinement4