a contemporary writer. He put
into her mouth a long and pious dying speech, in which she expressed
her trust in the blessed Virgin, and her hopes of pardon from eternal
justice and mercy. To my surprise, he also made her in one stanza
confess and repent the murder, or rather sacrifice,[T] which she had
perpetrated; which is contrary to the known fact, that Beatrice
_never_ confessed to the last moment of existence, nor gave any reason
to suppose that she repented. The whole was drawn out to too great a
length, and, with the exception of a few happy touches, and pathetic
sentiments, went off flatly. It was very little applauded.

The next subject was the "_Immortality of the Soul_," on which the
poet displayed amazing pomp and power of words, and a wonderful
affluence of ideas. He showed, too, an intimate acquaintance with all
that had ever been said, or sung, upon the same subject, from Plato to
Thomas Aquinas. I confess I derived little benefit from all this
display of poetry and erudition; for, after the first few stanzas,
finding himself irretrievably perplexed by the united difficulties of
the language and the subject, I withdrew my attention, and amused
myself with the paintings on the walls, and with reveries on the past
and present, till I was roused by the acclamations that followed the
conclusion of the poem; which excited very general admiration and
applause.

The company then furnished the _bouts-rimes_ for another sonnet: the
subject was "_L'Amor della Patria_." The title, even before he began,
was hailed by a round of plaudits; and the sonnet itself was excellent
and spirited. _Excellent_ I mean in its general effect, as an
_improvvisazione_:--how it would stand the test of cool criticism I
cannot tell; nor is that any thing to the purpose: these
extemporaneous effusions ought to be judged merely as what they
are,--not as finished or correct poems, but as wonderful exercises of
tenacious memory, ready wit, and that quickness of imagination which
can soar

----"al bel cimento
Sulle ali dell' momento."

To return to Sestini. It may be imagined, that on such a subject as
"_L'Amor della Patria_," the ancient Roman worthies were not
forgotten, and accordingly, a Brutus, a Scipio, a Fabius, or a
Fabricius, figured in every line. And surely on no occasion could they
have been more appropriately introduced:--in Rome, and when addressing
Romans, who showed, by their enthusiastic applause, that though