maintain herself and her children, of which | whole world, receive this book, written by a five were boys and two girls. One of the former, named Pietro, became a very clever lawyer, and rose to be judge in the supreme court of Vienna. At the time that he went to take up his abode there, his father was living in the city as an exile; he was himself a man of great learning, and to him has been attributed the Latin commentary on the "Divina Commedia," published in 1845, at the expense of Lord Vernon. Jacopo, the second son, was the author of two commentaries on the "Inferno," written in Latin, and published in 1848, also at the expense of the same generous nobleman. To Jacopo is likewise ascribed a poem entitled "Il Dottrinale," in which he frequently speaks of himself as Dante's son. Of the poet's daughters one was named Beatrice; she appears to have followed her father to Ravenna, and after his death, being unwilling to quit the spot where his ashes rested, she became a nun in the Convent of St. Stephen, in that city. In 1350 we find Boccaccio sending her ten flowers wrought in gold, a present from the Florentine republic, or, according to others, from the Goldworkers' Company of St. Michael, as an entry in the archives of the city records. fellow-citizen of thine own, praise it, honor it, read it over and over again, that thus thou mayest give greater glory to thyself and him. Petrarch was much annoyed at being considered jealous of a poet whose language he characterized as unpolished, even though he could not but allow that his ideas were sublime. "How could I," he exclaimed, "ever be jealous of a man whose verses are on the lips of all the common people, who is applauded by hoarse voices of inn-keepers, wool-staplers, butchers, and such like, persons whose praise is in reality nothing but blame? I am thankful to be without it, as were Homer and Virgil." Language like this on the lips of such a man is a fresh proof of the weakness of human nature. In the course of his life Dante was brought into contact with Francesco Stabili, better known under the name of Cecco d'Ascoli, a man of acute intelligence, but wanting in honesty of mind. He wrote a poem in six books which he entitled "Di Acerbe," and in which he attacks the fame of Dante, and in a style destitute alike of depth of learning and elegance of diction, treats many points of physics, philosophy, and theology, show self to be deluded by the false pretensions of astrology. He was finally condemned to be burnt alive as a necromancer, and died thus in Florence, a victim to the illadvised severity of the age in which his lot was cast. At a period when the two were still friends, Cecco on one occasion asked Dante whether nature could be conquered by art. Dante affirmed that it was possible, but Cecco asserted the contrary, and he gained the day; for, having trained a cat to go through certain per. formances, as for instance that of carrying a lighted taper, he let loose a rat in the room, whereupon the cat instantly dropped the candle to spring eagerly upon her nat ural prey. Í have already mentioned Boccaccio,ing how far the author had allowed himand alluded to the great reverence and affection he entertained for Dante, although he had scarcely seen him, and this only when he himself was a child. It is curious to notice, on the other hand, how jealous Petrarch, who created the lyric poetry of Italy, was of the fame of Dante, although he made every possible effort to conceal the feeling, and carefully abstained from mentioning his name in the whole of the letter to Boccaccio in which he expressed himself as follows: "You are a Christian and a philosopher, yet you do not indulge in self-complacency like a certain illustrious poet. There is another who occupies the first place, you fill the second, and I am content with the third." Boccaccio in reply sent a copy of the "Divina Commedia," accompanied by an epistle in Latin verse, of which the following is an extract : — Accept, O glory of Italy, this delightful work of Dante, than which I know no finer in any age. Grieve not to see that, owing to evil fortune, this great work of the exiled poet has as yet received no due appreciation at his country's hands. His exile gave him leisure and opportunity to show to future ages what modern poetry can be like. Thou who art an ornament of thy native country and of the It has been mentioned that Dante was an intimate friend of the great painter Giotto, and they seem to have learnt drawing together under Cimabue, who was then unrivalled in Florence as an artist. At any rate it is certain that Dante studied music in order to complete his education, and Bruni considers him to have attained great proficiency as a draughtsman. He tells us himself in the "Vita Nuova," how, when his thoughts were engrossed with Beatrice on the anniversary of her death, he sketched an angel, with features re sembling hers, and several writers even go so far as to assert that Giotto did not disdain to paint from designs supplied to him by Dante. Dante associated with the best musicians in Florence. Hence his acquaintance with Belacqua, who was skilful in the construction of stringed instruments, and is mentioned in the fourth canto of the Purgatorio." Some writers affirm that he was a pupil of Casella, whom he met at the foot of the mount of Purgatory, and whose sweet voice so charmed his ears, that he tells us it had power to soothe all the restless longings of his soul. There seems to be no foundation for the report that, when a young man, Dante tried his vocation in the Franciscan novitiate, but left before the time came to make his profession. It is impossible to say how the story originated." Beatrice he pictured to himself philosophy, in the guise of beautiful woman; and he goes on to tell us how he followed her footsteps everywhere, and was thus led to enter the schools presided over by religious, and be present at the disputations of philosophers. Some authors have fancied that Dante meant to imply the fact of his having joined the Franciscan order when he wrote the lines where he says: I had a cord girt about me, And with this I sometimes thought To catch the panther with the spotted skin.* But in what connection does Dante mention the cord? He wanted to tame the monster Geryone, a symbol of fraud, so that it might carry Virgil and himself upon its back into the eighth circle; and what can this possibly have to do with the cord of St. Francis? Some have affirmed that he was buried in the dress of a Franciscan tertiary; but this does not seem to be true. The idea of his sublime work was not suggested to Dante either by the visions of Frate Alberico, the "Tesoretto" of his master Latini, or, indeed, by any other book. He only wove together the ideas which were familiar to the minds of all, in an age when the every-day talk of ordinary people was about stories of the infernal regions, apparitions of souls undergoing their purgatory, and visions of the celestial country. The state of plastic art affords a striking proof of this, for on every stone in the city, and on every rock • Io aveva una corda intorno cinta, by the wayside, might be seen representations of devils tormenting the reprobate, of souls patiently submitting to the action of the purifying fire, or of angelic beings, and the glories awaiting the just in eternal blessedness. Notwithstanding its individ. uality and originality, the poem of Dante is not so much an isolated production as a link with the preceding age, and a phase of human thought, fossilized, if we may so speak, and rendered permanent, in order to show the state of men's hearts and minds in the days when the poet lived, as well as in the period immediately preceding his own. With the masterly touch of true genius, he arranged all these materials so as to form a vast whole, which all succeeding generations should agree to pronounce the most sublime and stupendous work which the human intellect has ever achieved. He tells us that in the year of Jubilee, A.D. 1300, having reached the age of thirty-five, he lost his way in the dark wood of vice, and there was attacked by pride under the form of a lion, avarice under that of a wolf, and luxury under that of a panther. He despaired of being able to extricate himself, but through the prayers of Beatrice, Virgil was sent to lead him away from error, and guide him, first through the depths of Hell, and then over the mount of Purgatory, until Beatrice should herself raise him from one sphere to another, and he should finally find himself standing before the very throne of God. Dante changed Virgil and Beatrice into symbolic personages, making the former represent human learning, that is to say, philosophy, and the other divine science, that is to say, theology. Virgil showed Dante the dread abodes of eternal punishment, and also the various circles of Purgatory; at each onward step the poet met characters belonging either to ancient or modern history, and proposed to them, or else to his guide, the various questions suggested to his mind by the problems of human life. Some are solved by Virgil, some by the phantoms, the most important, theology, being reserved for Beatrice. The three elements of poetry, narration, impersonation, and inspiration, are all brought together in this poem, and we cannot do otherwise than admire its marvellous power. The "Divina Commedia," more than any other poem, unites force with conciseness; nowhere else are so vast a number of ideas conveyed in so few words; in a single verse is embodied a whole chapter of ethics, in the short space of a few lines are comprised many fundamental | you shape your course for the heart of dogmas of Catholic theology. Dante com- the great empire itself. bined the flights of the imagination with the speculations of reason; he treats of the beginning of the world and of its end; he depicts earth and heaven, men, angels, and demons, mingling grave dogmas with fanciful legends, bringing into juxtaposition the finite and the infinite. More thoroughly than any other poet does he understand human nature, with its perpetual aspirations after the infinite, and enter into the yearnings which continually lead it to look from the fleeting things of earth up to Him who, bounded neither by time or space, lives and moves throughout the whole of the vast universe which His fiat summoned into being. A. OLIVIERI. From The Spectator. IN LITHUANIA. I. FEW persons who have not actually lived in Lithuania are at all able to realize the distinctive character of that ancient grand duchy, which is to most of us just a part of Russia, and nothing more. We may possibly remember that its people are supposed to be of Slavonic descent, and its language nearly akin to Sanscrit, but we are just as likely to confuse it with Poland, a country with which it was so long united. Now, to compare a Lithuanian with a Pole, and vice versâ, is to affront either party very decidedly. In the eyes of the inhabitants of “the kingdom,' as Poland is designated by the people of the neighboring State, the Lithuanian is a heavy creature, caring for little beyond his business, of which he is thoroughly master, and entirely wanting in savoir vivre, while by him the Pole is regarded as shallow and vain. The truth lies, of course, between the two extremes; each has his virtues and each his little failings. On the whole, however, we are inclined to lean towards the sturdy Lithuanian, for whether he be prince or peasant, we feel that he can be depended upon; and his country has, as we have already said, a perfectly distinctive character, so that in whichever direction you cross the boundary, you at once perceive yourself to be in another nationality, not merely if you turn towards Protestant Courland, with its German-speaking population and the homely customs of Vaterland, or dive into Austrian or Russian Poland, but even if As to the physical aspect of the province, it is flat-hopelessly, absolutely flat and, moreover, damp and marshy; which state of things has, it will be perceived, its compensations during the long, severe winter. As far as the eye can reach we see nothing but field and forest, with here and there an occasional village, and on each side of the straight, narrow roads is a deep ditch that carries the drainage of the arable land to the river. A Lithuanian village is, however, a pretty sight, consisting, as it does, of a number of thatched houses interspersed with timber trees, each house having its fruit garden in front, and its little yard and outhouses, the whole surrounded by a wooden paling. The cottages are very small, having a frontage, say, of thirty feet, divided into three rooms, all on the ground floor, the stove, on which the family sleep at night, being in the central apartment. The cottages are built of logs, squared only on the inside; but the chimney, when there is one, is of brick. While the poorer ones remain in the rough, those of the better class are colored grey, their tiny windows having green or white shutters, on which groups of flowers are sometimes rudely painted. After the insurrection of 1863, and the consequent emancipation of the serf, the cottage and field, or rather bit of allotment ground which he had held from his mas ter, became his own property, and he now pays taxes for them to the government. But although a free man, perfectly conscious of his position in this respect, sufficient time has not yet elapsed to effect much change in his relations with the great proprietors, who are still looked upon in some sort as feudal chiefs, or, if we prefer to designate the relationship now subsisting as paternal, it is that of a parent who does not fail upon occasion to mingle wholesome chastisement with his fatherly care. The peasant, who knows extremely well how to look out for his own interest, takes good care to keep on very good terms with the grand seigneur; and the post of the latter is by no means a sinecure, for no business is satisfactorily settled that he has not had a hand in. Every morning, while his wife is administering medicines and other necessaries to the people who come to her sometimes from immense distances, he holds a levée. For one he draws out a will, for another he settles a dispute, for a third be decides the value of a piece of land, for a fourth be prepares a marriage contract; and be- which latter shade they affect very much, sides all this, he superintends very closely trimmed all round with black braid, and the management of his own estates, which buttoned up the front, with an apron of cover, perhaps, as much space as a good-colored print, and any amount of beads sized English county, and in order to do round the neck. The feminine head-gear all this he has to be perfectly familiar with is remarkably graceful, namely, a very half-a-dozen languages. He probably be- long white muslin scarf embroidered in longs, also, to the Zyaszd, an agricultural colors, twisted about the head and throat, society composed of a certain number of with the ends falling low down the back. large landed proprietors, who meet once a In winter-and winter we must rememmonth at each others' houses to examine ber lasts for fully eight months this into the state of their respective farms, glory is hidden, at least when out of doors, and discuss the best methods of proced- by the universal sheepskin, and by a thick ure in each department, everything being shawl or woollen handkerchief covering' looked into at these visits, the person on the head and tied round the waist. When whose estate the Zyaszd is held being the coat is new, the skin is either of obliged to rectify before the next meeting creamy whiteness or else dyed a bright whatever may been found faulty in his orange-color. It is long enough to reach management. Moreover, each member to the heels, is trimmed with curled wool, has to make a particular study of some either black or grey, and finished off at branch of farming, and to give a lecture the neck with a broad collar to match. upon it, so that the results are eminently Should a wedding take place in winter it is practical; and cattle-breeding, poultry- de rigueur for all the eight or ten bridesrearing, and fruit-growing come in for as maids to have fur coats exactly alike. In great a share of attention as the produc- summer these are replaced by long grey tion of cereal crops. woollen cloaks covering the whole dress. The Lithuanian peasant is a stalwart fellow, tall and fair, wearing a moustache, but no beard. He has a great fancy for bright colors, and while his tight-fitting jacket of home-made cloth will probably be of darkish red, nothing is too gay for his vest and trousers. Pea-green, orange, pink, light yellow, and sky-blue are the favorite shades for these garments, very narrow lines of black being woven into the material at wide intervals, so as to form a check. On week days the trousers are tucked into the high boots, but on Sundays they are let down over them. In summer-time we have a full view of this startling costume, which is surmounted by a cloth cap, and at this season a gang of laborers produces somewhat the effect of a walking flower-bed; but during the greater part of the year, this finery is concealed by the inevitable sheepskin coat, worn, of course," with the furry side in," and tightened at the waist by a leathern girdle, or on gala days, by a crimson sash, the head-covering being then a full velvet cap, like a bag, with a broad border and ear-flaps of curled wool. And if the men glory in trousers, so also do the women in skirts, which are of brightcolored, striped stuff, also home-made, and enormously full, as many as seven or eight being worn one over another, so as to produce a charming crinoline effect -the more distended the better the toilet being completed by a loose jacket of one color, usually light-grey or beet-root, A peasant wedding always takes place on Sunday, and if it is a grand one, the whole church is lighted up, even the side altars; it must be remembered that the Lithuanians are devout Roman Catholics. The bride is led in by two young men and followed by her bridesmaids, who all, like herself, are in their best dresses, and wear crowns of flowers. The bridegroom is accompanied by several young men, and behind the wedding party are the two mothers. A table is placed within the sanctuary, having on it a crucifix and candles, and it is there that the priest stands to unite the couple, and the bride would be guilty of very bad manners if she did not weep the whole time. If she is not inclined to do so the old women scold her. They then go home and feast for several days and nights, the first entertainment being given by the bride's mother, the next by that of the bridegroom, after which other relations follow suit. The national dance, which is something like a jig, and very difficult, is performed by a number of couples at once, and in the middle of it the bride and bridegroom disappear, and go to their own house. When a peasant has a marriageable daughter who has reached the age of twenty or twenty-four without finding a suitor, he puts a little tree or a flower-pot in the window, or a knot of pink and blue ribbon, this being the recognized intimation that a prétendant will not be unac ceptable. From The Month. LAND MOLES AND WATER MOLES. The Lithuanian peasants are industri- the chiefs of their clans. When a noble ous and thrifty. Their food consists of speaks to a peasant he always calls him potatoes, buckwheat porridge, beetroot, "friend "" or "brother," but nevertheless sauerkraut, kluski - a sort of maccaroni, expects and receives every demonstration but quite black pancakes, rye bread, and of respect from him, and if these should meat either beef or pork eaten once perchance not be readily shown, his sera day in soup. They always have two vants very soon teach the offender betsoups for dinner, one without meat and ter manners; for here, as elsewhere, the the other with, the former being quite retainer is wont to take the side of sour. A bath-house is erected in every his master against those of his own village, and used once a week by all the class. peasants, who bring their own fuel. When they have remained long enough in the heated atmosphere, they take a plunge in the river, and wind up by beating themselves well with birch twigs. They live in a kind of rough comfort, and are never in want, but are not nearly so expansive AMONG the smaller mammalia, seeking as their Russian neighbors, these latter safety in concealment, we find the land being always ready with some friendly mole, having a very primitive skeleton and speech: "Ah! that is your eldest daugh- small brains, an extremely timid and unter," they will say on meeting a lady and obtrusive little creature, which yet exerher little girl. She must be of such an cises no little influence upon our welfare. age, I remember her christening very well; Constantly surrounding our country habiI suppose she is very clever now, and has tations, it greatly checks the rapid increase learned a great many things," and so on. of those worms, which, living beneath the These Russians are of the sect of the soil, would otherwise destroy the crops Starowierzi (men of the old faith); there that are necessary to our very existence. are some peculiarities in their doctrine Among the insectivora the mole is unand ritual, and the Russo-Greeks are not doubtedly the most skilful and successful very fond of them. They are a simple, digger. All that have watched him workkindly folk, but very poor; and their vilag his tortuous way through the ground lages, of which there are many, are not nearly so well built as those of the Lithuanians, neither do they possess land of their own, for, having always been Russian subjects, they gained nothing at the time of the insurrection, since it was not nec essary to conciliate them; they, therefore, have to pay rent for their holdings, but cannot be turned out of them. The gifts to the Lithuanian peasantry were made by the Russian government with the view of ingratiating itself with them and punishing the nobles, upon whom it comes down with severity at every opportunity, treat ing them, in fact, more hardly than the Poles, because these latter, having been more recently conquered, are thought to have a better right to claim their free-bones to a shoulder-blade of remarkable dom, while the action of the Lithuanians is looked upon as rebellion. The noble Lithuanian families have, therefore, no love for Russia, while the peasants, on the other hand, rather incline towards her, being far from possessing much devotion to the lords of the soil, who have for centuries held them in bondage, and would willingly do so still, although, as we have shown, they are quite ready to take advantage of the favorable dispositions of those who may be styled in some sort in search of food must admit that it would be difficult to find a miner more admirably fitted for his work. Though his skeleton is more roughly formed than that of the higher animals, his ear almost closed, and his bright eyes almost hidden, the organs necessary for his work are wonderfully fitted for that which they have to perform. His broad, shovel-like front paws- with their five strong claws, set each in a long groove at the tip of the last finger-joint are powerful tools for shovelling away the earth, when he turns them outwards, and pushes with them just as if he were swimming. Besides which, they are placed in strong, short, broad front legs fixed by collar strength, and the breast-bone is curiously formed so as to throw the legs.forward, bringing them, when he is burrowing, on a level with his nose. Even this organ has its part to play, being long and slender, with a small bone at the tip, which helps him in pushing his way forward, while his hind feet are firmly planted flat on the ground. His nose also serves to pick out the worms and beetles from their holes. In one species this peculiar bone of the nose has twenty-two small cartilagi |