had to pay, to be demanded of them. The Christians immediately assembled their priests, to consult them, whether and in what manner they should pay this impost. Among this assembly there was a prelate, a very distinguished man, who thus spoke: 'Send me to the court of the sultan: I have a proposal to make to him. I shall tell him that we are ready to pay the tribute, as soon as he or his vizirs shall have answered a question which I will propound to them.' This plan was unanimously approved: the prelate accordingly set out, with the tribute and various presents from the Christians to the sultan, in a large pouch.

"Being introduced to the monarch, he delivered the presents transmitted from his province in the most respectful manner, with these words: We are ready and willing to pay your highness the caradschi, if you, your vizirs, or learned men, will answer a question which I shall propound to you. But if none should be able to answer it, you must not take it amiss if I return home without paying the tribute. Be it so!' replied the sultan: "I have at my court very wise and learned men; thy question must indeed be a difficult one, if none of them should be able to resolve it.'

ly possible to penetrate.' All the vizirs and doctors now became absorbed in profound meditation; but to no purpose did they mentally review all the explanations of the Koran, and all the traditions of Mahomet, they could make nothing of the question. All of them stood silent and ashamed, till one of them, deeply mortified to see so many wise and learned men reduced to such a dilemma by an infidel, boldly stepped forth, and thus addressed the king: It was scarcely worth while to summon so many of us on account of such a trifle. Let the monk propound his question to me, and I will immediately answer him.'

"Hereupon the prelate held the palm of his hand, with the fingers extended, towards the doctor, who at the same time shook his clenched fist at the Christian. The latter then turned his fingers towards the floor; and the doctor opened his hand and turned the fingers upwards. The ecclesiastic, perfectly satisfied with this gesture of the doctor's, immediately drew forth the pouch with the tribute from under his garment, delivered it to the sultan, and went his way. The king, curious to learn the meaning of this mute dialogue, questioned the doctor, who thus replied: 'Know, mighty sovereign, that "The sultan summoned all his when the prelate turned his open vizirs and doctors, and then asked hand towards me, he meant as much the prelate what was his question. as to say, I will give thee a slap in The latter, extending the fingers of the face. I instantly shewed him my his right hand, held the palm of it clenched fist, to intimate, that if he towards the assembly, and then turn-did slap my face, I would fetch him a thump in return. When he turned his hand downward, this signified, If thou strikest me with thy fist, I will knock thee down and trample upon thee like a worm. I then held my fingers upward, giving him to

ing the same fingers towards the floor, he said, "That is my question: guess what this signifies. For my part,' said the monarch, I shall not pretend to answer it: for it is a mystery, the meaning of which it seems scarce

understand, that if he attempted to treat me in that manner, I would throw him up so high into the air, that he should be devoured by the birds before he could descend to the ground again; and in this manner, by means of signs, the Christian and I made ourselves perfectly intelligible to one another.'

to you by the Almighty God. Your doctor thereupon threatened me with his fist, as much as to say, Yes, that they are, and this I am ready to maintain against all the world. When I afterwards directed my fingers towards the ground, I asked him, Why doth the rain fall from heaven upon the earth? He very correctly replied, by turning his fingers upward, that it rains in order that the grass and corn may shoot up, and that all the fruits of the earth may grow and flourish. You know, O queen, that such is the precise answer given in the Koran to that question. After this explanation of his enigma, the prelate departed, and the queen

king, who now perceived that she did not laugh without occasion, protested that he would no longer give implicit credit to his wise men, or suffer himself to be the dupe of their pretended learning..

"As soon as the wise doctor had finished his explanation, a murmur of applause pervaded the assembly. The vizirs admired his penetration, and the doctors, though inwardly vexed that they had not been able to comprehend the gestures of the prelate, freely acknowledged that their colleague surpassed them in sagacity and understanding. The sul-again burst into a loud laugh. The tan, highly delighted, was not content with bestowing mere praise, but gave the fortunate solver of the enigma five hundred zechins out of the tribute of the Christians; and he could not rest till he had communicated the whole affair to his favourite sultana. On hearing it she burst into a loud laugh. 'I knew,' said he, that the story would highly divert you: to which she replied, But the most diverting part of it is, that the doctor has, been imposing upon you. How is that possible?' 'Only send for the prelate; he will confirm what I say.'

"In like manner have you, O princes," continued the philosopher, still addressing the three sons of Togrul Bey," misunderstood the mysterious injunctions of your fa ther." The princes requested him to explain himself; on which he thus resumed When the great Togrul Bey said to his eldest son, Thou shalt build a palace in every large town in my dominions,' he meant to intimate, that he would do well to endeavour to gain the friendship of some wealthy and distinguished man in every great city, whose house might serve him for an asylum in case Fortune should ever turn her back upon him. When he advised the second, to marry a virgin every day,' this signified, that he should never lie down to rest at night, without the de lightful consciousness of having done

Bobe good action during the day. And when the king said to his third son, Add butter and honey to all that thou eatest, his meaning was, Be/sociable and affable; speak to

all men with such condescension and kindness, that they shall be obliged to commend thy benignity and goodness of heart.'

neither require any account of the feelings which the mountains, rivers, lakes, and islands of Italy, and the temples and churches of Rome, excit ed in my soul; nor an enumeration of the treasures of art, any more than a description of the useless lumber deposited in the palaces of that city; and pointedly decline any observations on the political fortunes of the peninsula-but merely desire a few hasty sketches in illustration of the character of the people, let us commence our remarks with the Italian vegetating in small towns, and let us watch him in the hours devoted to pleasure and recreation, and see how he contrives to kill time by means of various amusements, which indeed in other countries would be considered as torments.

SKETCHES OF CHARACTER, MANNERS, AND THE STATE OF SOCIETY IN THE COUNTRY TOWNS OF ITALY. DIFULLY Coincide in the opinion || at the sight of St. Peter's; as you you express, that a man, even without possessing the talents of a Hogarth, may attempt andelineation of the inhabitants of the country towns of Italy; but whether those to whom nature has denied the requisite qualifications ought to venture upon such an essay, is a question that may be much more easily and decidedly answered, than Hamlet's To be or not to be. As, however, my desire to gratify your wishes outweighs the scruples arising from the answering of the above question, I take up the pencil, encouraging myself with the idea, that it is only the people of petty towns whom I undertake to portray; and therefore the consequences attending a failure cannot be of so serious a nature, as if I had undertaken to depict the habits, manners, and customs of the Italians residing at Rome*, or of the inhabitants of the principal cities. As you grant me an express dispensation from touching upon Rome and Naples, and have no curiosity to know whether I ejaculated Ah! or Oh!

These amusements may be divided into ordinary and extraordinary. To the ordinary, that is, such as rejoice the heart of the easily satisfied Italian all the year round, belong, the coffee-house (called caffe, bottega da caffé, or merely bottega), the casino, and the corso. The extraordinary comprehend, the theatre, horseraces (corso dei barberi), playing at ball during the fair, balls, masquerades and the tombola during the carnival; and, finally, the sagra, which corresponds with the wakes or feasts of our English villages.

E

Whether the conversation in the above-mentioned botteghe is always entertaining and agreeable, I pretend not to decide; but on this point doubts have frequently arisen in my mind, as profound silence often reigns there for half an hour together. Indeed the visitors of such places, seated round the room with their hats pressed down over the eyes, and their mouths and noses muffled up in their cloaks, are so far from manifesting any sign of life, that a stranger on enter

collection of wax-figures, or a museum of mummies. This is nevertheless the Elysium of the Italians. In every town, be it ever so insignificant, there are several coffee-houses, and also a casino dei nobili, into which no bours geois is admitted. Every village of fifteen or twenty houses has its bot

The coffee-houses are places of rendezvous for the higher class as well as for the common people, the theatre of their joys and sorrows. They are amphibious animals, living chiefly at the bottega, and very rarely in any other element. As the Romans of old required nothing more than panem et circenses, so the modern Italian can, in case of need, dispense with the panem, but by no means with the bottega. A person not belonging to the class of those who have some occupation, or rathering would suppose he had got into a who occupies himself with nothing whatever (and this class is extremely numerous), spends ten or twelve hours a day in this favourite resort. But as he would no doubt find a continued stay in one and the same bottega rather tiresome, he changes his do>micile at certain stated hours, and migrates from one bottega to ano-tega, which differs from similar esther. Count Capitombolo, for example, quits his palace at the hour of ten in the forenoon, and repairs to the bottega, No. 1, in or before which he lounges till two o'clock. The hour of dinner summons him home; but at four o'clock we see him again, according as wind and weather permit, seated in or before the bottega, No. 2, where, with his chin propped by his cane, and looking straight before him, he awaits the evening; and when it grows dusk, after he has perhaps taken a few turns under the portici of the town, beyond the gates of which he rarely ventures, he pro-and intense an interest as if the game, ceeds to the bottega, No. 3, or the which has transferred three bajocchi casino, where, in spite of wide and from one pocket to another, had defrequent yawns, he resolutely holds cided the fate of Italy*. out till midnight; and then, after swallowing a cup of coffee, and having duly performed the routine of the day, he consigns his weary limbs to well-deserved repose.

tablishments in towns in no other respect than that, instead of lounging conti and cavalieri, meagre, longnosed peasants occupy the benches, or in close groups surround a table, at which bazzica or tressette, the favourite game of the Italians, is played, following it with undivided attention, conversing while the cards are dealing on the game that is just finished, censuring the errors committed, shouting a Ma bravo, per Dio! to Bartolomeo, Pietro, or any other who has shewn himself to be an adept, and manifesting as strong

* No sooner had I committed this simile to paper, than I perceived that it is a lame one. What does Bartolomeo or Pietro care about the fate of Italy? Had it been reversed, it might indeed

In the evening the botteghe in the || ed with it, to walk together in happy towns are filled with ladies, who union through life, no lady can aptake their places round the room, pear in public arm in arm with her each with her canaliere servente by husband, without rendering herself her side. Though this term, as well highly ridiculous: whereas, by the as cicisbeo, is well known in Eng- side of the above-mentioned anfibio land, yet I dare say many of my animale, she may go wherever she good country-folks have a very im- pleases, and stay where she likes perfect notion of this anfibio animale; best. Hanging on his arm, she apand therefore some account of these pears at church, in the theatre, in notorious creatures and their various the bottega, in the casino, and on relations, together with a classifica- the corso; nor does she part from tion of them framed upon the latter, him till, weary with the occupations may prove not unacceptable. of the day, she hastens home about three in the morning, to assure her husband that she is well, neither knowing nor caring how or where he has passed his time since noon the preceding day.

The cavaliere servente is a gentleman who does nothing, who has nothing to do, who knows not how, and indeed has not the slightest wish to do any thing; but who devotes every moment he can spare from his own concerns to the service of the || lady by whom he has been selected as her humble servant, or for whose constant attendant and companion he has been appointed by the hushand or family of the donna. It is well known that the daughters of the nobles and gentry, as soon as they have attained their sixth or seventh year, are placed in some convent or other, to be educated, or more correctly speaking, uneducated. When the girl is grown up to be a zitella da marito, or in other words, when she is marriageable, and the family have found a suitable match for her, they hasten to present to the said zitella her destined husband, and not uncommonly at the same time her cavaliere servente; which precaution is the more to be commended, inasmuch as after the nuptial benediction, and the exhortation connecthave applied: for example, Bartolomeo manifested as intense an interest for the fate of Italy as if it had been worth three bajocchissi

The ladies are, as every body knows, always oppressed with business; and as in Italy no business out of doors can be transacted without the assistance of the cavaliere, whose duty moreover it is to collect all the news of the town, it is obvious that none but a man whose profession is the dolce far niente, can be qualified to undertake and perform the arduousoffice of a servente. These cavalieri serventi may be divided into three classes, according to the relation in which they stand to the lady and her husband. If a cavaliere be chosen by the lady herself, his lot is not rarely an enviable one; and he belongs to the first class, which I shall call the happy serventi. If he have been appointed by the husband, he is justly to be pitied; for he is not only the attendant and companion, but also, especially in the first year after marriage, the keeper and guardian of the jewel committed to his custody, and responsible to the owner for its safety: hence he is sometimes placed in the most difficult and dis