Strangers, on their arrival at Rome, form no high idea of the beauty of the Roman women, from the fpecimens they fee in the fashionable circles to which they are first introduced. There are fome exceptions; but in general it muft be acknowledged, that the prefent race of women of high rank are more diftinguished by their other ornaments, than by their beauty. Among the citizens, how ever, and in the lower claffes, you frequently meet with the most beautiful countenances. For a brilliant red and white, and all the charms of complexion, no women are equal to the English. If a hundred, or any greater number, of English women were taken at random, and compared with the fame number of the wives and daughters of the citizens of Rome, I am convinced, that ninety of the English would be found handfomer than ninety of the Romans; but the probability is, that two or three i in the hundred Italians deed, are fo hard worked, fo ill fed, fo much tanned by the fun, and fo dirty, that it is difficult to know whether they have any beauty or not. Yet I have been informed, by fome amateurs, fince I came here, that, in fpite of all thefe difadvantages, they fometimes find, among the Italian peafantry, countenances highly intereting, and which they prefer to all the cherry cheeks of Lancahire. Beauty, doubtlefs, is infinitely varied; and, happily for mankind, their taste and opinions, on the fubject, are equally various. Notwithstanding this variety, how. ever, a ftyle of face, in fome meafure peculiar to its own inhabitants, has been found to prevail in each different nation of Europe. This peculiar countenance is again greatly varied, and marked with every degree of difcrimination between the extremes of beauty and uglinefs. I will give you a sketch of the general ftyle of the most would have finer countenances beautiful female heads in this counthan any of the English. English try, from which you may judge beauty is more remarkable in the whether they are to your talte or country, than in towns; the pea. not. fantry of no country in Europe can ftand a comparifen, in point of looks, with thofe of England. That race of people have the conveniencies of life in no other country in fuch perfection; they are no where fo well fed, fo well defended from the injuries of the feafons; and no where else do they keep themselves fo perfectly clean, and free from all the vilifying effects of dirt. The English country girls, taken collectively, are, unquetionably, the handfomelt in the world. The female pea. fants of most other countries, in A great profufion of dark hair, which feems to encroach upon the forehead, rendering it fhort and narrow; the nofe generally either aquiline, or continued in a straight line from the lower part of the brow; a full and fhort upper lip; (by the way, nothing has a worfe effect on a countenance, than a large interval between the nose and mouth) the eyes are large, and of a sparkling black. The black eye certainly labours under one difadvantage, which is, that, from the iris and pupil being of the fame colour, the contraction and and dilatation of the latter is not and have no defire to remain unfeen, by which the eye is abridged known, reject their ufual clothes, of half its powers. Yet the Ita- and affume some whimsical drefs. Han eye is wonderfully expreffive; The coachmen, who are placed in fome people think it fays too much. a more confpicuous point of view The complexion, for the most than others of the fame rank in part, is of a clear brown, fometimes life, and who are perfectly known fair, but very feldom florid, or of by the carriages they drive, genethat bright fairness which is com- rally affect fome ridiculous dif mon in England and Saxony. It guife: Many of them chufe a womust be owned, that thofe fea- man's dreís, and have their faces fures which have a fine expreffion painted, and adorned with patches. of fentiment and meaning in However dull these fellows may youth, are more apt, than lefs be, when in breeches, they are, expreffive faces, to become foon in petticoats, confidered as the ftrong and mafculine. In Eng- pleafanteft men in the world; and land and Germany, the women, excite much laughter în every street a little advanced in life, retain the in which they appear. I obferved appearance of youth longer than in to an Italian of my acquaintance, Italy. that, confidering the ftalenefs of the joke, I was furprifed at the mirth it feemed to raise. "When "a whole city," anfwered he, "are refolved to be merry for a "week together, it is exceed "few ettablished jokes ready "made; the young laugh at the There are no theatrical enter tainments permitted in this city, except during the Carnival; but they are then attended with a degree of ardour unknown in capitals whofe inhabitants are under ingly convenient to have a no fuch restraint Every kind of amufement, indeed, in this gay feafon, is followed with the great- novelty, and the old from preeft eagerness. The natural gra- " fcription. fcription. This metamorphovity of the Roman citizens is chang-fis of the coachmen is certain ed into a mirthful vivacity; and the ferious, fombre city of Rome exceeds Paris itfelf in fprightlinefs and gaiety. This spirit feems gradually to augment, from its commencement; and is at its height in the last week of the which comprehend the carnival. The citizens then appear in the ftreets, masked, in the characters of harlequins, pantaloons, punchinellos, and all the fantallic variety of a masquerade. This humour spreads to men, women, and children; defcends to the lowest ranks, and becomes univerfal. Even thofe who put on no mafk, fix "ly not the moft refined kind of "wit; however, it is more "harmless than the burning of "beretics, which formerly was a great fource of amufement to our populace." 44 The treet called the corfa, is the great fcene of these mafquerades. It is crowded every night with people of all conditions: Thofe of rank come in coaches, or in open carriages, made on purpofe. A kind of civil war is carried on by the company, as they pafs each other. The greatest mark of attention you can fhew your friends and acquaintance, is, to throw a handful of little white balls, refembling fugar-plums, full in their faces; and, if they are not deficient in politenefs, they will inftantly return you the compliment. All who with to make a figure in the corfo, come well fupplied in this kind of ammuni tion. Sometimes two or three open carriages, on a fide, with five or fix perfons of both fexes in each, draw up oppofite to each other, and fight a pitched battle. On thefe occafions, the combatants are provided with whole bags full of the fmall fhot above mentioned, which they throw at each other, with much apparent fury, till their ammunition is exhaufted, and the field of battle is as white as fnow. The peculiar dreffes of every nation of the globe, and of every profeffion, befides all the fantaftic characters ufual at masquerades, are to be feen on the corfo. Thofe of harlequin and pantaloon are in great vogue among the men. The citizens wives and daughters generally affect the pomp of women of quality; while their brothers, or other relations, appear as trainbearers and attendants. In general, they feem to delight in characters the most remote from their own. Young people affume the long beard, tottering ftep, and other concomitants of old age; the aged chufe the bib and rattle of childhood; and the women of quality, and women of the town, appear in the characters of country maidens, nuns, and veflal virgins. All endeavour to fupport the affumed characters to the beft of their ability; but none, in my 7 opinion, fucceed fo well as thofe who reprefent children. Towards the dusk of the evening, the horse race takes place. As foon as this is announced, the coaches, cabriolets, triumphal cars, and carriages of every kind, are drawn up, and line the ftreet, leaving a space in the middle for the racers to pass. These are five or fix horfes trained on purpose for this diverfion; they are drawn up a breaft in the Piazzo del Popolo, exactly where the Corfo begins. Certain halls, with little fharp fpikes, are hung along their fides, which ferve to fpur them on. As foon as they begin to run, those animals, by their impatience to be gone, fhew that they understand what is required of them, and that they take as much pleasure as the fpectators in the sport. A broad piece of canvas, fpread across the entrance of the Atreet, prevents them from ftarting too foon: the dropping that canvas is the fignal for the race to begin. The horses fly off together, and, without riders, exert themselves to the utmoft; impelled by emulation, the shouts of the populace, and the spurs above mentioned. They run the whole length of the corfo; and the proprietor of the victor is rewarded by a certain quantity of fine fcarlet or purple cloth, which is always furnished by the Jews. Making and horfe-races are confined to the last eight days; but there are theatrical entertainments, of various kinds, during the whole fix weeks of the carnival. The ferious opera is most frequented by people of fashion, who generally take boxes for the whole feafon. The opera, with which this theatre theatre opened, was received with the highest applaufe, though the mufic only was new. The Italians do not think it always neceffary to compofe new words for what is called a new opera; they often fatisfy themselves with new mufic to the affecting dramas of Metaftafio. The audience here feem to lend a more profound and continued attention to the mufic, than at Venice. This is probably owing to the entertainment being a greater rarity in the one city than in the other; for I could perceive that the people of fashion, who came every night, began, after the opera had been repeated feveral nights, to abate in their attention, to receive vifitors in their boxes, and to liften only when fome favourite airs were finging: whereas the audience in the pit uniformly preserve the moft perfect filence, which is only interrupted by gentle murmurs of pleasure from a few individuals, or an univerfal burst of applaufe from the whole affembly. I never faw fuch genuine marks of fatisfaction difplayed by any affembly, on any occafion whatever. The fenfibility of fome of the audience gave me an idea of the power of founds, which the dulnefs of my own auditory nerves could never have conveyed to my mind. At certain airs, filent enjoyment was expreffed in every countenance; at others, the hands were clafped together, the eyes half fhut, and the breath drawn in, with a prolonged figh, as if the foul was expiring in a torrent of delight. One young woman, in the pit, called out, "O "Dio, dove fono! che piacer via "caccia l'alma ?" On the firft night of the opera, after one of thefe favourite airs, an univerfal fhout of applaufe took place, intermingled with demands. that the compofer of the mufic fhould appear. Il maestro! il maftro! refounded from every corner of the house. He was prefent, and led the band of mufic; he was obliged to ftand upon the bench, where he continued bowing to the fpectators, till they were tired of applauding him. One perfon, in the middle of the pit, whom I had remarked difplaying great figns of fatisfaction from the beginning of the performance, cried out, "He deferves to be "made chief mufician to the Vir"gin, and to lead a choir of an gels! This expreffion would be thought ftrong, in any country; but it has peculiar energy here, where it is a popular opinion, that the Virgin Mary is very fond, and an excellent judge, of mufic. I received this information on Christmas morning, when I was looking at two poor Calabrian pipers doing their utmost to please her, and the infant in her arms. They played for a full hour to one of her images which ftands at the corner of a street. All the other ftatues of the Virgin, which are placed in the streets, are ferenaded in the fame manner every Christmas morning. On my enquiring into the meaning of that ceremony, I was told the above-mentioned circumftance of her character, which, though you may have always thought highly probable, perhaps you never before knew for certain. My informer was a pilgrim, who stood litening with great devotion to the pipers. He told me, at the fame time, that the Virgin's tafte N APLES was founded by the Greeks. The charming fituation they have chofen, is one proof, among thousands, of the fine taste of that ingenious people. The bay is about thirty miles in circumference, and twelve in diameter; it has been named crater, from its fuppofed refemblance to a bowl. This bowl is ornamented with the most beautiful foliage, with vines, with olive, mulberry, and orange trees; with hills, dales, towns, villas, and villages. At the bottom of the bay of Naples, the town is built in the form of a vaft amphitheatre, floping from the hills towards the fea. If, from the town, you turn your eyes to the eaft, you fee the rich plains leading to mount Vefuvius, and Portici. If you look to the weft, you have the grotto of Paufilippo, the mountain on which Virgil's tomb is placed, and the fields leading to Puzzoli and the coaft of Baia. On the north, are the fertile hills, gradually rifing from the fhore to the Campagna Felice. On the fouth, is the bay, confined by the two promontories of Mifenum and Minerva, the view being terminated by the islands Procida, Ifchia, and Caprea; and 8 as you afcend to the caftle of St. Elmo, you have all these objects under your eye at once, with the addition of a great part of the Campagna. are 萨 Independant of its happy fituation, Naples is a very beautiful city. The ftyle of architecture, it must be confeffed, is inferior to what prevails at Rome; but tho' Naples cannot vie with that city in the number of palaces, or in the grandeur and magnificence of the churches, the private houses in general are better built, and more uniformly convenient; the streets are broader and better paved. No treet in Rome equals in beauty the Strada di Toledo at Naples; and fill lefs can any of them be compared with those beautiful streets which are open to the bay. This is the native country of the zephyrs; here the exceflive heat of the fun is often tempered with fea breezes, and with gales, wafting the perfumes of the Campagna Felice. The houses, in general, are five or fix ftories in height, and flat at the top; on which are placed numbers of flower vales or fruit trees, in boxes of earth, producing a very gay and agreeable effect. The fortrels of St. Elmo is built on a mountain of the fame name. The garrifon ftationed here have the entire command of the town, and could lay it in afhes at plea fure. A little lower, on the fame mountain, is a convent of Carthufians. The fituation of this convent is as advantageous and beautiful as can be imagined; and much expence has been lavished to render the building, the apartments, and the gardens, equal to the fituation. Though |