ith the richest foliage;
vines, mulberry, olive, and orange trees; and with high hills and deep
dales, towns, villas, and villages. The soil is extremely fertile, and
produces abundance of grain, the finest fruits and vegetables, with
flax, saffron, and manna. The climate is delightful, except in
summer, when the weather is dreadfully hot, and the winters are so
mild, that ice and snow are quite rarities, except in the mountains; I
wonder what my little-boy friends would do there, for a skate on the
ice, or a merry game of snow-balls?

Rome, the capital of Italy, is a splendid city, full of the remains of
ancient temples, pillars, arches, and fountains; but many of them
sadly ruinous and decayed. There are a great many Jews in it, who are
forced to live in a particular part, called the _ghetto_, which means
a place for Jews. The city of Rome and the surrounding country are
very unwholesome during summer, in consequence of the land not being
properly drained, as it used to be in the times of the ancient Romans,
so that it is dangerous to dwell near them at that season of the year.
The numerous vineyards in Italy, are not divided by hedges, but by
rows of rather fine trees, the vines clinging in graceful festoons
from one bough to another. In some parts of the country, there are
various picturesque corn fields and meadows, bordered by olive trees.

The Italians are not a very industrious people, but they make silk
stockings, soap, snuff-boxes of the lava of Mount Vesuvius, tables of
marble, and ornaments of shells, besides gloves and caps of the
filaments of a kind of muscle, which they get off the rocks, where it
fixes itself by spinning a web from its own body, like the silk-worm
or spider. These caps and gloves are actually warmer than those made
of wool, and are of a fine glossy green colour.

[Illustration]

There are a great many beggars, I am sorry to say, in fair Italy, who
are called _Lazzaroni_, and they live on whatever they can get,
sleeping under porticos, piazzas, or any place they can find, and are,
as you may guess, excessively idle, like all other beggars.

There are also hordes of thieves, who are called _Banditti_, and who
rob people in the most daring manner, for there are very few police.
But there are also numerous persons who are quite well-behaved, and
do all they can to earn their bread honestly. Among these is a set of
men called _Improvisatori_, who tell stories, or repeat verses in the
st