notice, I have always experienced the same kindness, and the same never failing source of interesting conversation. We went yesterday

to take our leave: the sisters embraced Mrs. L. with tender affection; and in going away offered so many kind wishes for our happiness, and said so many flattering things about the guests whom they had honored with their acquaintance, that, while I have left any honest feelings, I shall remember with pleasure and gratitude the amiable inhabitants of this sequestered village.

To conclude my subject I must add, that, if a painter wished to draw the residence of an author of romance, this would be the best spot whence he could take his design.'

As the tour of the Swiss Cantons is registered in the form of a minute and meagre diary, we may cross the Alps without farther ceremony, and stop at Turin, merely to mention that Mr. and Mrs. Lemaistre were refused permission to see the late king's and queen's apartments, because they were occupied by General and Madame Jourdan. In his progress to Genoa, the author surveyed the field of Marengo, and enters into details which we cannot quote at length, but which are well deserving of perusal. The bost-boy, who drove him, had conducted General Melas's aide-de-camp to Bonaparte's quarters, the night after the battle, and was obliged to drive the carriage over the dead bodies which completely stopped up the road. He said the wheels cracked every moment with the noise of broken bones."

Genoa, Pavia, and Milan, are dissected in the usual style, without furnishing much to arrest attention. Of the scene of action at Lodi, and of the particulars of that bloody engagement, we expected an ample account: but we are thus miserably disappointed; After walking over the ground, and satisfying my curiosity on the subject, I returned to Lodi, and continued my journey towards Parma.'

Leaving the cumbersome descriptions of Bologna, Florence, Siena, Rome, and Naples, to professed antiquaries and amateurs, we shall be contented to quote two ludicrous instances of the ignorance of the Neapolitan noblesse :

A duchess, whom I have seen, and who possesses one of the most splendid palaces in Naples, asked a friend of mine, who was lately a member of the house of commons, why we kept such late hours in England, and particularly why we dined when it was almost time to sup. Mr. answered, that one principal cause of that custom arose from the sittings of parliament, which many gentlemen were. obliged to attend. Le parlement," interrupted the lady, for she could speak a few words of French; "que c'est que le parlement ? est ce une promenade, un corso? Je n'ai jamais centendu parler de cet endroit la."

• The other anecdote is this. During the late war, a Neapolitan marquis came into the box of a foreign minister at the theatre of San

Carlos,

Carlos, and asked his excellency if he had heard the news which had just arrived. Being answered in the negative, he continued with a tone of importance," Sir, the English fleet have blockaded Mantua!" The ambassador smiled. "You don't believe me?" rejoined the Neapolitan: "my authority is indisputable: I received the intelligence from the king himself."

The particulars relative to the court of their Sicilian majesties, of Portici and its museum, and of Herculaneum and Pompeii, may still afford gratification to many, who are strangers to the more voluminous illustrations of Southern Italy. As a specimen of the author's best manner, we transcribe his remarks on Pompeii:

From Portici, we drove to Pompeia, or Pompeii (for it is called by both names), a distance of ten miles. The country is beautiful, and the road excellent. Our expectations, highly as they had been raised, were, on arriving, much exceeded by the reality. Pompeii is not, like Herculaneum, under ground, and only visible in parts, and by torch-light: the whole is seen in open day; and the ruins might be taken for those of a city only just destroyed. We walked through the streets, the pavement of which still exists; and the marks of the carriages which once rolled over them are clearly discerned. The streets are narrow, and have flag stones on each side for foot-passengers. We saw two perfect amphitheatres, with the seats which the citizens of Pompeii formerly occupied; and plainly distinguished the boxes of the consuls, marked by corresponding ornaments. The public inscriptions also remain.

We next entered the temple of Isis, and beheld the altar, the secret staircase and hiding place whence the priests pronounced the answers of the oracle, the place of slaughter, and that of sacrifice, &c. &c. We likewise visited the barracks of the soldiers, which stood at one end of the town.

The private houses are but small, and each possesses a hall, or entrance room, in which a fountain of water constantly played. The apartments would be thought very little even in England, and in this hot climate must have been very inconvenient.

The burying-ground of Diomedes and the villa of a rich citizen, were the next objects which drew our attention. The latter is the only edifice which conveys some idea of a large mansion.

From the limited dimensions of the houses here (notwithstanding the paintings and other valuable articles found within them, which prove that economy cannot have occasioned this diminutive style of building); and from the circumstance of not one ancient dwelling being left at Rome, though the Coliseum, the Pantheon, and even parts of the emperors' palace, remain; I am inclined to conjecture, that a custom, originating in the spirit of republicanism, made the masters of the world avoid every appearance of ostentation in private habitations; while the utmost magnificence, luxury, and taste abounded in the theatres and forums, where the people assembled; in the mansions where the magistrates, the consuls, or the emperors resided;

in the baths devoted to public use; and in the temples of the gods. As I am no antiquary, I pretend not to give a decisive opinion on a fact with which I am so litttle acquainted; and only throw out this idea as one which has suggested itself more than once since I crossed the Alps.

I resume the subject of Pompeii. In the cellars of the villa, several bodies were found, supposed to have been those of servants; while in another part were discovered surrounded with bags of useless gold, the carcasses of their masters. Fine paintings al-fresco are still visible, and some of them are on transparent marble. When water is thrown on these pictures, they appear in all the freshness of their original colouring. The subjects of some of these paintings are not very decorous according to modern ideas of delicacy; and the symbol of the god of gardening appears rather too frequently in the decoration of houses. Different signs distinguishing the different trades carried on in shops, are plainly perceived; and among them, those of a tavern-keeper, on which all sorts of refreshment are painted.

Having given you these few particulars, I need scarcely mention how much we were gratified in strolling about a place inhabited by the Romans, and which looked as if they had ceased but yesterday to occupy it. Identifying their persons with their habitations, we seemed to see them at their games, at their devotions, in the interior of their private dwellings, at their military exercises, walking or driving about their streets, enjoying social converse, preparing feasts, or consulting the oracle of their gods: in short, in their daily occupations,-in the kitchen, the bedchamber, the cellar, the library, the market, the walk, the forum, the theatre, the camp, and the temple.

It

Perhaps you will not think it amiss that I should remind you how Pompeii was destroyed, and by what circumstance discovered. It was an ancient city, supposed to have been buried, like Herculaneum, under a shower of lava, in the eruption of the year 79 of our era. was also discovered accidentally, about the middle of the last century, by some peasants who were digging for the roots of trees near the river Sano, four leagues and a half from Naples and two and a half from the crater of Vesuvius. This town was covered over by a heap of cinders of a grey color, mixed with white stones: and these again were covered by other cinders of a darker hue. The buildings were much nearer the level of the ground than those at Herculaneum, and were indeed only a few feet from view: they were therefore cleared with much greater ease: and thence arises the circumstance, which I had before occasion to remark, that through Pompeii one can walk as in the streets of a modern city, while Herculaneum is under ground, only seen by torchlight and in detached parts.

:

It is singular enough that Pompeii is itself built on heaps of cinders similar to those by which it was so long hid from view and as vaulted subterraneous buildings have been discovered, it is more than probable that these ruins stand on those of another city. From the number of skeletons and the quantity of gold found here, it is coneluded that the inhabitants were more suddenly surprised than those of Herculaneum, and that most of them were the victims of the erup tion.

We

We are not equally gratified when Mr. Lemaistre dwells on the circumstances of a nun taking the veil, which have been so often described, and with more touching effect, by former writers. Let us hasten back to Rome, then, where an obliging M. Fagan, a painter, who acts as English Minister, (though without appointment or salary,) introduces the author and his lady to Pope Pius VII. in the garden of the palace of Monte Cavallo. Mr. Fagan immediately fell on his knees, and kissed his hand. I made an inclination of the body, and performed the same ceremony. Mrs. L. also offered to kiss his hand, but he would not allow her to do so.' His holiness is described as a man of a grave and respectable appearance, very negligent of dress, but of pleasing and affable manners, and of liberal and tolerant sentiments.

A letter is devoted to some of the most remarkable objects in Venice, and another to reflections on leaving Italy. In both we perceive a striking agreement with the accounts of former tourists. From Venice, the author proceeded by Pontieba, Clagenfurt, Newmarkt, &c. to Vienna. Here we have a long and loud celebration of the Austrian family, and of the magnificent entertainments given by the state officers and foreign ministers. At page 285, an excellent anecdote is related of Joseph II.: but it is better told in Soave's Novelle Morali, under the title of La Vedova Ammalata. If we rightly recollect, it is the very first story in that justly popular collection. With much pleasure we quote Mr. Lemaistre's honourable mention of Count and Countess P., who are not unknown to many respectable families in this island:

Count P., a young man of noble and ancient descent, and possessed of large property in the province of Stiria, born with strong natural talents and a bias in favour of literary pursuits, went at an early age to the university of Edinburgh, in order to gratify his thirst for knowledge and his taste for letters. At the house of the professor where he lived, he became acquainted with his present lady, then miss C., niece of the late lord C. Her superior mind made an indelible impression on his heart: the attachment was mutual, and he returned to Vienna a married man. As he passed through London with his bride, whom I had long known, I was first introduced to him; and in becoming acquainted with him it was impossible not to respect and esteem the thousand good qualities he possesses. Meeting him now, six years afterwards, in his own country, I saw with pleasure that the enthusiastic attachment which had occasioned his marriage had rather increased than diminished. It happens, indeed, but rarely, that two persons of so much genius and literary taste are united; and this reciprocity of pursuit has no doubt contributed not a little to cement their attachment.

They have a son who seems to have inherited the talents of his parents; while, like them, his person is slender and his health delicate.

At five years old this wonderful boy, who may fairly be considered as a prodigy, has read various books of science; is well acquainted with history and music; and is so versed in geography, for which he has a particular turn, that he has lately, without any assistance, made a map of Vienna for Mrs. L., which I mean to keep as a curiosity. I begged him yesterday to tell me how I should return to England without touching on the Hanoverian, French, or Dutch territories; and he instantly traced on the globe the only remaining road. He sits on a carpet surrounded with his books: and when the gravest and most acute remarks fall from the lips of this little person, a spirit seems to speak, rather than a child; and the fine expression which parkles in his countenance tends to increase the idea. Among other singularities he has taught himself to write; but as his models were books, he prints his letters, and begins from the right hand instead of the left. He was born at Vienna: but having been attended from his earliest infancy by a nurse from Aberdeen, he usually speaks English, or rather Scotch-his accent being completely northern. He also understands the German and French languages; the latter of which he acquired with inconceivable facility.

I could not help introducing to your acquaintance this estimable family and this extraordinary child. If, instead of being the son of those to whom I owe my principal pleasure at Vienna, he had been a stranger, I should equally have thought it right to mention him. He is a phenomenon: and should he live, and continue to make an equal progress in knowledge, he will rival the fame of Sir Isaac Newton. Sincerely do I hope that his excellent parents may see him attain that celebrity for which I believe him destined.'

The journey from Vienna to Dresden and Berlin presents us with little that is either novel or striking. On account of the renewal of hostilities, Mr. and Mrs. Lemaistre repaired precipitately to Tonningen, and embarked in the first packet for this country.

The English text of these volumes is tolerably correct: but we are not permitted to bestow the same compliment on the French and Italian, which are sometimes inserted without any obvious necessity. To a thé is a very superfluous affectation of to tea; and even if the Swiss phraseology had been requisite, the term should have been goûter. A supper sounds better to an English ear than a cena: but Mr. Lemaistre, with his usual departure from the common orthography, uniformly writes cene. On one occasion, we are saluted by a JETTE-d'eau, which, to use this gentleman's French, we think is a little malHONNETTE. His disregard of genders sometimes inclines us to suspect that he is d'u 'une certaine age; and our conjecture de

rives confirmation from such misnomers as cicesbeo, cavaliere servante, marquisse and marquisa for marchese, and santissima Sudone, for santissimo Sudario. Cesare is changed into Casare, and even the hackneyed cicerone into ciceroni. Lapes occurs as

the