The

It is to be hoped that the stiletto may soon be confined to this use; and indeed the practice of stabbing is becoming every day more rare. French, by depriving the people of their knives, did much to put an end to this horrible custom; and the abridgment that has been made in the indulgence of sanctuaries, to which an assassin used to fly, and laugh at the officers of justice, will do more towards abolishing it altogether.

The administration of Cardinal Consalvi is calculated to do all that an honest, wise, and liberalminded minister can do, to correct the evils of a bad constitution. But in endeavouring to work for the public good, he is exposed to constant opposition from the collision of private interests.

Last year there was a scoundrel in the postoffice, who committed wholesale depredations upon the letters, and all the world complained of the loss of remittances. This fellow was however protected by a powerful opposition Cardinal, and it seemed that he could only be got rid of from the post-office, by the promise of an appointment of equal value in some other department.

Nothing can show in a stronger light the weakness of the government, than the regular system of robbers, established in open defiance of it, who

push their attacks within eighteen miles of the Pope's palace. Scarcely a month has passed since a most outrageous attempt was made to seize Lucien Buonaparte, at his own villa at Frascati. He had the good fortune to make his escape through a secret and subterraneous door, but the robbers carried off a poor painter to the mountains, who was staying in the house, supposing him to be Lucien. It was with some difficulty, and after three days' detention, that the painter convinced them at last, by giving specimens of his art, that he was really no prince; and they were not a little mortified at the discovery of their mistake; for their custom is to demand an ad valorem ransom, and the price of the painter was nothing in comparison with what they would have exacted for the Prince of Canino himself.

All endeavours to put down this barefaced system have failed. The military have been employed, but it seems the robbers can afford to pay them higher for being quiet, than the government can for being active.

Much is expected from the present governor of Rome; but what can be done by a single man, where the great mass is corrupt? When public spirit is extinct, and the people feel no interest in

the preservation of the government, there is no longer any security for the fidelity of agents, or the execution of orders.

17th. Festival of St. Anthony; who interpreted literally the injunction of the Scripture-"Go ye, into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature ;"—and who, according to the legend, like another Orpheus, charmed the beasts of the desert by his eloquence. On this day there was a general blessing of horses. A priest stands at the door of the church, and with a long brush dipped in a consecrated vessel, scatters the holy water upon the horses as they are driven up to receive the benediction. All the equipages of the nobility, splendidly caparisoned with ribbons, were assembled to participate in the ceremony. The best defence of such a ceremony will be found in the benefit likely to result to the objects of it, from its teaching that comprehensive charity, which includes even the inferior creatures in the great circle of Christian benevolence. There is something that takes a delightful hold on the imagination, in the simple creed of the untutored Indian,

"Who thinks, admitted to that equal sky,

His faithful dog shall bear him company."

Without attempting, however, to raise the myste

rious veil which is drawn over the lot of the lower animals in the scale of creation, it is difficult not to sympathize with any doctrines that inculcate kind and humane feelings towards them.

The indolence of the Romans is a common theme of remark; but I doubt whether it be well founded. Something must be allowed them on the score of their climate, the natural effect of which is to produce listlessness and languor. Still more should be added on account of their government, in the spirit of which there is no encouragement given to individual industry by the diffusion of equal rights. The barrenness of the Campagna has been attributed to this national indolence, which will not be at the pains of cultivating it. But I believe it would be more correct to say-not that the Campagna is barren, because it is not cultivated; -but that it is not cultivated, because it is barren. The Roman soldiers, before the time of Hannibal, in comparing their own country with that of the Capuans, argued thus;-"An æquum esse dedititios suos illâ fertilitate atque amœnitate perfrui; se, militando fessos, in pestilenti atque arido circa urbem solo luctari?” Liv. lib. 7. c. 38.

In many particulars the modern Romans evince no want of ingenuity or industry. In the delicate

and laborious workmanship of mosaic; in engraving in all its branches; and in the elegant manufactures of cameos out of oriental shell; they are very industrious. The demand for articles of this kind is constant, and as foreigners are the principal customers, I take it for granted that the profits are considerable, and that they flow directly into the pockets of the manufacturer. This is all that is necessary to promote industry; namely, that there should be a demand for the productions of a man's labour, and that he should have a security for the enjoyment of the fruits of his work.

The Italians are admirable drivers, and go far beyond our whip-club. I have seen eight horses in hand trot up the Corso; and have heard of twelve, arranged in three rows of four a-breast. Their rule of the road is directly the reverse of ours; they take the right hand in meeting, and the left in passing;-and if two persons are in an open carriage, or on a coach-box together, he who drives, will, in defiance of the eternal fitness of things, sit on the near side.

18th. A grand fête in St. Peter's. The Pope was borne into the church on the shoulders of men, seated in his chair of state, making continually, as he passed along, the sign of the cross in the air