dance, is the creation of a man who did not bring with him to Rome the means to build a modern puppet-shew. This miracle was accomplished without either Aladdin's lamp or the philosopher's stone, by the nephew of Pope Pius VI., once a common citizen of Cesena, and now the Duke of Braschi. This accident of birth, and the vampire spirit of monopoly which is the ruling principle of the papal governinent, obtained for him the privilege of receiving into his cellars and warehouses, at unconditional prices, the largest portion of all the grain and oil produced in the papal states; and how unfairly he repays the growers of these most important objects of rural economy may be inferred from the prevalent belief in Rome, that his profits average one hundred per cent. These exclusive privileges explain the blight ed state and prospects of agriculture in the Roman states, in which the traveller sees large surfaces of fertile soil producing only thistles and broom, instead of the corn, wine, and oil which, under a more paternal government, they would abundantly yield. The olive harvest of last year was materially deficient, and, to the infinite dis

may of all housekeepers, innkeepers, and cooks, the large stone reservoir, which supplies all Rome with oil, fell to so low an ebb, that, in the event of another unproductive year, the Duke of Braschi will in all probability be exposed to imminent peril, from the effects of popular effervescence. To the Romans and Neapolitans, oil for dressing fish, and snow for cooling purposes, are much more essential than an abundant supply of grain.

During this low level of the oil, two corpses became visible at the bot tom of the reservoir. When taken out, being in perfect preservation, like embryos in spirit, they were immediately recognised as the bodies of two oilporters, whose sudden disappearance, eighteen months before, had never been accounted for. These poor fellows, with probably too much wine in their heads, had doubtless lost their equilibrium while pouring the contents of their oil-tubs into the reservoir, and fallen into the oil, which, for eighteen months afterwards, had been daily employed to dress and flavour the food of more than 100,000 people.MATHISSON, 1796.

In the house of a sculptor, near the Borghese palace, I saw a colossal statue of Antinous, which that most fortunate of treasure-seekers, Gavin Ha milton, discovered in the soil and rub bish of Palestrina (the ancient Præ neste). At the time of this excavation the opulent Duke of Braschi, a nepote of the Pope, was collecting antiques, regardless of expense, to dignify his recently finished palace, in compliance with the long-established custom of the Roman nobles. Having previously commissioned Hamilton to find him a colossal statue, as an indispensable item in his gallery, the discovery of the Antinous was happily timed, and the Duke did not hesi tate to give the required price of 9000 scudi to the proprietor, who told him that to any one but a nepote of the Holy Father the price of this admirable statue would have been doubled.

Nor was the eulogium of the seller exaggerated. The enchanting beauty of this statue, which was adorned with Bacchanalian attributes, was sung in sonetti and canzone; and Visconti pronounced it the finest statue hitherto discovered of the so often and so variously sculptured favourite of Adrian. The naked surfaces were all perfect, and the drapery alone required partial restoration.

The superstitious Romans, wondering at the frequent discoveries of this indefatigable excavator, applied to him a ludicrous tradition, borrowed from the dark ages of Faust and Paracelsus; and circulated a report that he had promised his soul to the devil, in consideration of which his satanic majesty had undertaken to point out, by the hopping of a small blue flame, the exact spots under which the works of ancient art were buried.

In a delightful grove, at the Villa Borghese, is an edifice of classic de

sign, resembling somewhat a temple, and called the Museum Gabinum.

Nero, as Pontifex ; and of Adrian, as Heros, afford abundant evidence how well the universal principles of true proportion were understood, and applied at the period of their sculpture. It is important also to the student of ancient history to observe, that the only genuine statue of Germanicus (as Heros) was discovered in friendly contiguity with those of several contemporaries, who were, according to history, his enemies. In two busts of Domitius Corbulo, who subjected Britain to the Roman yoke, I discovered a strong resemblance in the eyes and profile to the great Frederick of Prussia; a coincidence which reminded me of the striking likeness to Catherine of Russia discoverable in a marble bust of Messalina in the Capitoline museum. One of the most classical and perfect specimens of ancient sculpture in the Museum Gabinum is a Gnomon, the dial of which is adorned with the heads of the twelve superior deities, and the twelve signs of the zodiac. The workmanship of the whole is of the highest order of excellence and finish, and the redundant locks of the Thunderer are exquisitely chiselled. A curious illustration of the mysteries of a Roman lady's toilet may be found here, in the bust of a female with a movable wig. This head, which is well sculptured, is said to be the bust of Julia Pia, the wife of the Emperor Septimius Severus. Several instances of similar wigged busts occur in the Capitoline museum.- MATHISSON,

Here are assembled the numerous and remarkable busts and statues which the British painter, Gavin Hamilton, discovered amidst the rubbish and substructions of the ancient city of Gabii. This fortunate excavator, who appeared to trace antiquities with a divining-rod, was immeasurably delighted with a result so splendid and comprehensive; and the prince Borghese, to whom, as lord of the soil, onethird of the booty belonged, purchased the whole, and raised for its reception an edifice, combining with due attention to the effects of light and shade, a classic elegance and propriety worthy of the days of Vitruvius. Amongst the most remarkable statues in this rich and important museum are several of Roman emperors, and of distinguished as well as notorious members of their families. Here is the finest head of Tiberius which has yet been discovered; adorned with the crown of oak leaves, in allusion to his conquest of Germany. The bust of Marcus Agrippa surpasses every other head of this great soldier and patron of architecture, which has escaped the devastation of the middle ages. The features of this time-honoured man bear the impress of masculine sense and firmness, daring energy, and old Roman honesty. The statue of Agrippina, the wife of Germanicus, is superlatively lovely, and remark able for nobility of countenance. It is indeed a personification of womanly dignity, adorned with more than human beauty. The magnificent statues of Caligula, as Imperator; of

1796.

The national pride of the Italian rarely extends beyond the bounds of his native city. It has even narrower limits. In Rome, the Trasteverini pride themselves upon their uncontaminated Quirite blood; and, notwithstanding their poverty and low rank in the social scale, they despise the illustrious mongrels on the other side of the Tiber. They regard as foreigners all people who reside without their own walls, or beyond the river; and, until lately, no genuine Trasteverino could marry out of his own caste with out degradation. The Albanese boast that Albano is the mother-city of the mighty Rome; the people of Velletri, that their city was the birth-place of

Augustus Cæsar; and, when I was lately in Cori, the ancient Cora, my hostess told me, that I had the ho nour to be in a city 700 years older than Rome, and once the mistress of the whole papal territory. “Therefore," she added, "you ought not to despise the mean streets and low houses." The same feeling prompts every little town in the Roman states to dignify its gate with the proud inscription, "Senatus, populusque," &c. Thus all the patriotic enthusiasm of the Italians is borrowed from periods of antiquity; and, where these are not sufficiently imposing, the people assist them with romantic fictions. Hence the wondrous traditions asso

The Italian proverb of " Aspettare e non venire," &c. has long been familiar to every nation in Europe; but the "Trinity of Wisdom," from which it is borrowed, is comparatively unknown. It consists of a number of verses, of which I have selected the best. In some of them, fine moralities are conveyed; others are humorous only; but most of them are founded in a practical knowledge of human nature:

La Trinità della sapienza. Tre sorte di persone sono odiose : Il povero superbo,

Il ricco avaro,

Il vecchio pazzo.

Tre sorte d'uomini da fuggire:

Cantori,

Vecchi, Innamorati.

Tre cose imbrattono la casa :
Galline,
Cani,
Donne.

Tre cose conservano l'amico : Onorarlo in presenza, Lodarlo in assenza, Ajutarlo ne' bisogni,

Tre cose sono desiderabili; Sanità,

Buona fama, Ricchezze.

Tre cose da morire:

Aspettar e non venire,
Star a letto e non dormire,
Servire e non gradire.