immediately from the Crown, are in a much easier fituation than them felves, without raising their hopes to perfect freedom, the height of their wishes is to be fheltered, from the vexations of little tyrants, under the unlimited power of one common master. The objects of royal attention, they fondly imagine, are too fublime, and the minds of kings too generous, to ftoop to, or even to countenance, in their fervants, the minute and unreasonable exactions, which are wrung at prefent from the hard hands of the exhaufted labourer.

Though the Neapolitan nobility ftill retain the ancient feudal authority over the peasants, yet their personal importance depends, in a great measure, on the favour of the King; who, under pretext of any offence, can confine them to their own eftates, or imprifon them at pleasure; and who, without any alleged offence, and without going to fuch extremes, can inflict a punish

a punishment, highly fenfible to them, by not inviting them to the amusements of the Court, or not receiving them with fmiles when they attend on any ordinary occafion. Unless this Prince were fo very impolitic as to difguft all the nobility at once, and fo unite the whole body against him, he has little to fear from their refentment. Even in case of such an union, as the nobles have loft the affection and attachment of their peasants, what could they do in oppofition to a ftanding army of thirty thousand men, entirely devoted to the crown? The establishment of ftanding armies has univerfally given ftability to the power of the prince, and ruined that of the great lords. No nobility in Europe can now be faid to inherit political importance, or to act independent of, or in oppofition to, the influence of the crown; except the temporal peers of that part of Great Britain called England.

As men of high birth are feldom, in this country, called to the management of

public

public affairs, or placed in those situations where great political knowledge is required; and as his Majefty relies on his own talents and experience in war for the direction of the army; neither the civil nor military establishments open any very tempting field for the ambition of the nobles, whofe education is ufually adapted to the parts in life which they have a probability of acting. Their fortunes and titles defcend to them, independent of any effort of their own. All the literary distinctions are beneath their regard; it is therefore not thought expedient to cloud the playful innocence of their childhood, or the amiable gaiety of their youth, with fevere study. In fome other countries, where a very fmall portion of literary education is thought becoming for young men of rank, and where even this small portion has been neglected, they fometimes catch a little knowledge of hiftory and mythology, and fome useful moral fentiments, from the excellent dramatic pieces that are represented

on

on their theatres. They also fometimes pick up fome notion of the different governments in Europe, and a few political ideas, in the course of their travels. But the nobility of this country very feldom travel; and the only dramatic pieces represented here, are operas; in which mufic, not fentiment, is the principal thing attended to. In the other theatrical entertainments, Punchinello is the fhining character. To this difregard of literature among the nobles, it is owing, that in their body are to be found few tiresome, fcholaftic pedants, and none of thofe perturbed fpirits, who ruffle the ferenity of nations by political alarms, who clog the wheels of government by oppofition, who pry into the conduct of minifters, or in any way disturb that total indifference with regard to the public, which prevails all over this kingdom. We are told by a great modern Hiftorian*, that "force of mind, a fenfe "of perfonal dignity, gallantry in enter

Vide Dr. Robertfon's Hiftory of the Emperor Charles V. Sect. I.

"prife, invincible perfeverance in execu"tion, contempt of danger and of death, 66 are the characteristic virtues of uncivil"ifed nations." But as the nobles of this country have long been fufficiently civilifed, these qualities may in them be supposed to have given place to the arts which embellish a polished age; to gaming, gallantry, mufic, the parade of equipage, the refinements of drefs, and other nameless refinements.