Colisea, in which he describes 260 different kinds that are found there. But I am informed this does not nearly include the whole, which, with the various sorts of mosses and lichens, amount to upwards of 300 species. Nearly one quarter of these are papilionaceous; and there are three sorts of hyacinths (one very beautiful,) peculiar to the vicinity of Rome. The remainder of the plants of the Colosseum are chiefly such as are found on old walls in the south of Europe.

At Rome the botanical garden is scarcely worth a visit. The science seems fallen into total neglect, and the professorship is a sinecure. At Pisa and Padua, I was surprised to find the plants arranged according to the system of Tournefort,-not of Linnæus. The gardens in both places are very well kept, and filled with a great variety of beautiful plants; so also is the botanical garden at Naples. Many of the finest have been described, and beautifully pourtrayed by Dr Tenore, in his superb work, the Flora Neapolitana. But with this exception, nothing can be more inert than the spirit of science at Naples, although one would suppose that the wonderful phenomena of Nature, in its vicinity, would rouse the observation and inquiry, even of the most obtuse minds. In the north of Italy, on the contrary, amidst its flat, unvaried, alluvial plains, science and philosophy have of late made rapid advances, and almost all the scientific men that Italy can now boast, are to be found there, particularly at Bologna and Milan. Many other cities, no doubt, can boast men of science and erudi

tion; but Milan, upon the whole, struck me as being the metropolis of literary talent, as Rome is of art. Schools, on the Lancastrian plan, have lately been established there, under the direction of Count Gonforlonieri, a decisive sign of the active spirit of improvement which distinguishes this enlightened city.

But Milan is not my theme, nor Modena,-though I must stop to observe that there the microscope has lately been brought to a wonderful degree of perfection by the ingenious Amici, who has completely succeeded in conquering the difficulty of increasing the magnifying power, without diminishing the light; from which defect in the old microscope, the more the object was magnified, the more confused it became, and it was impossible to obtain a perfect image. In the best of this kind, the light was only as 0.00.25, but in his it is as 1.00; and the magnifying power, which in them never exceeded 150 times, in his may be increased to 1000 times; while the object, instead of being, as formerly, confused, and indistinct, is perfectly clear and defined.

This is effected by the rays of light from a bright lamp being concentrated by a concave mirror, placed laterally to the tube, and thrown on the object; by means of another concave mirror, of an elliptical form, placed at the extremity of the tube, and by a small plane mirror at right angles between them, a magnified and distinct image of the object is formed in the focus, and is viewed through a magnifying lens, of any degree of power,

At Rome, however, there are few who are scientific, or who have even any interest in science. Nor is there a single Museum of natural history, public or private, worth looking at.

LETTER LXXXV.

CHILDBIRTH.-MARRIAGES AND FUNERALS.-DANCING.-GAMES.-FLATS, AND COMMON STAIRS.MEAT. COOKERY.-FOOD OF THE COMMON PEO

PLE, &c.

You ask me so many questions about births, marriages, burials, balls, houses, games, meat, cookery, Michael Angelo, wild boars, and singing birds, that I scarcely know how or where to begin. Some of these questions I believe I have already anticipated, and the rest I shall try to answer as laconically as possible.

It is certainly true that women seem to suffer less in child-birtlı in Italy,—and I believe in all warm climates, where the muscles are more relaxed,than in England, or any colder country ;* but they by no means look upon it as a mere joke, nor is there any thing entertaining in it, for they not un

* An English friend of mine assured me, she had suffered the most with her children that were born in Switzerland, the least with those that were born in Italy, and the medium degree with those born in England.

frequently die. Women of fortuné scarcely ever nurse their children, and babies of all degrees are most cruelly cased up in swaddling-clothes. As for marriages, you will be shocked to hear that there is a great proportion of the year in which people cannot marry at all. The forbidden seasons are from the beginning of Advent, till the seventh day of the new year; and from the beginning of Lent, till the end of Easter. Beside these stated interreg nums, the people voluntarily refrain from marrying on Friday, a day which, on account of the Cruci fixion, has been esteemed unlucky in all Christian

countries.

The marriage ceremony, I think, differs very little from that of the Church of England, (or, ra ther, the Church of England differs little from it,) except in a few signs of the cross, and sprinklings of holy water; and people are dressed very fine tỏ look happy, and cry a great deal to look miserable; and make great dinners, which nobody can eat, and receive the congratulations of their friends, which nobody can like, just as they do in England.

Burials, however, are conducted after a very different fashion. In no part of Italy, or any other country, have I seen such long and lugubrious funeral processions as in Rome. This custom, however, is confined to the wealthy citizens, for the lower orders, of course, cannot afford it, and the nobility do not give in to it. But when a rich shopkeeper, or any of his family dies, Rome is filled with the funeral-train. The corpse, dressed out