Not that I would insinuate any thing derogatory to the renown of my countrymen—a renown, however, which I fear they have derived more from their golden, than their mental talents. Invention, genius, sublime flightsthese are gems which are rarely to be found in English soil. Warped and circumscribed as her children are in matters appertaining to brilliant imagination, their several manufactures are ably wrought, neatly polished, and skilfully finished. On the other hand, the Venetians, though capable of erecting the most gorgeous edifices, will leave the very window-frames in so incomplete a state, that they will not ward off the weather. The truth is, that scarcely any articles but those of right down domestic utility are called for in England, whose people are a kind of Quakers or Methodists, with regard to the blandishments of existence; while the more southern inhabitants of Europe, like the ritual they profess, delight in splendour and pageantry.

Perhaps I shall be excused for observing in this place, by way of illustration, that the British legitimate character, in the sphere of intelligence, bears along with it few portions of excursive imagery. It is neither copious in the lineaments of invention and originality, nor prolific in the charms of novelty. Milton, who

was educated in Italy, and Shakespeare, with all his merit, borrowed freely from the Italians, both with regard to the subject, the thought, and the expression; as well as most copiously from the Holy Scriptures. If Dante, Ariosto, and the Novellieri were carefully examined, together with the Bible, much of what those two English poets have written would not be found so very original, as many have hitherto imagined them to be. Not that I would insinuate that Shakespeare, for energy of language, for depth of thought, and for aptness of similitude, is not, par excellence, the greatest of poets: but, as a reformer of morals and a queller of the tumultuous passions, little, I think, can be said in his praise. Revenge and murder, and war and havock, are demons by far too familiar with him.

For

In didactic poetry, and in the science of moral philosophy, the English appear to me to have left the rest of the world far behind. close metaphysical reasoning; for geometry; for calculations in matters of finance; and for a knowledge of the arid sciences, of every description, connected with political economy, they bear away the palm. The very shopmen in England display instances of cool sagacity, which, though bottomed on sheer craft, are nevertheless admirable, and fully equal to the

astuzia of a member of the French corps diplomatique.

But, what do I infer from all this? It is the deed itself, and not the individual who performs it, that we ought to look at; if we wish to arrive at an impartial judgment, and to imitate the final justice of heaven. Habits are not conclusive; though they certainly contribute much towards the formation of character. For instance, all merchants are not uniformly narrow-minded. Much of the staid sort of temper above spoken of is the offspring of certain pursuits. Commercial and other men, travelling from any country to distant lands, bring back with them the secrets practised in business abroad, and those finesses and inventions cease, in the course of time, to be exotics; until, at length, augmented by constant accessions, excited by fresh luxuries, and stimulated by the furies of ambition, the more gentle elements of taste and elegant mental images take their departure; unable to domiciliate with the coarse passions which a spirit for traffic engenders, and which spirit is invariably inimical to the effusions of true genius-that description of genius, I mean, which imparts the light of truth, as the showers of heaven mature the fruits of the earth.

As tempests are accompanied by rains, which may be beneficial to the fields, so, amidst the storms of the soul, are occasional flashes of the divine spirit elicited. But, such flashes are neither safe nor desirable; since, the collision of particular bodies may produce fatal consequences, if the emitted sparks should accidentally be carried amidst inflammable sub

stances.

From all which, it is to be inferred, that the happiest condition is the condition of peace—

"O beauteous Peace!

Sweet union of a state! what else but thou
Gives safety, strength, and glory to a people?"

CHAPTER XIX.

VENICE.

A rapid Sketch of the Causes which led to the Overthrow of the Venetian Republic...... Under the fatal Influence of Francesco Pesaro, the Republic, in evil hour, declare for an Unarmed Neutrality.

AT the commencement of the French revolution, the Marquess Antonio Govion Broglio Solari, a Venetian nobleman, having made the

tour of Switzerland, with the Danish ambassador, Baron d'Eirben, returned by the way of Turin, for the purpose of claiming a considerable landed estate, belonging to the family of Solari; who, at the time of the plague in Piedmont, had dispersed themselves in various parts of Italy and France. The above branch settled at Venice, a second at Loretto, and a third, which took the name of Broglio, in France and all of them are still living.

Before the above-mentioned claim could be established, it was necessary that the Marquess should be presented to the King; without which, a sight of the public documents could not be obtained. The Marquess de Prie, and the Count Perrone were his securities. The King, regarding the family of Solari as aliens, and that of the Bevillacquas, who were in possession of the property, as his subjects, thought proper, for reasons of policy, to refuse the desired permission. But, to soften the disappointment, his Majesty offered to decorate the Marquess Solari with the order of the Cross of San Maurizio Lazzaro; which the Marquess, in his turn, thought fit to refuse, unless his Majesty would accompany it with a commende; as he was by no means ambitious, he said, of an empty title.