spirits even in us children of a colder clime. It is positive enjoyment to look out on the blue unclouded skies, and the not less blue waters, that are glistening beneath the sunbeams, which are at this moment shining as brightly as if it were June, instead of April. Then the look of cheerfulness that each countenance one encounters wears, is exhilarating. Climate, aided by the light yet nutritious food in general use in Italy, is productive of a disposition to be pleased, that robs the asperities of life of half their bitterness; although it may indispose people to studious pursuits, or unfit them for laborious

ones.

Alas! alas! our fears were prophetic. We have this morning had a letter to announce to us the death of Andriani! He expired a few days after we left Nice, of an attack of gout in his stomach. Peace be to his manes! He was, indeed, amiable, intelligent, and well informed, and possessed an enviable degree of philosophy in supporting the attacks of a cruel disease, from which during many years he had but short respite. If he could have bequeathed his knowledge to any surviving friend, how rich would have been the bequest; or could he even have divided

it into legacies to each, how useful might it have been! What treasures of erudition and stores of knowledge die daily, leaving no trace but in the recollection of friends who have partaken of the rich treat.

Our horses are arrived, and to-morrow I intend to mount my favourite one, Mameluke, and explore some of the beautiful country in this vicinity, of which report speaks so highly, and the greater portion of which is only accessible on horseback.

Saw the Palazzo-Serra to-day. The splendour of one of its salons surpasses all that I have previously beheld, and gave rise to the appellation of the Palace of the Sun, bestowed upon it by a French tourist. The decoration of this apartment, exclusive of the pictures and porcelain, which are of great value, are said to have cost forty-four thousand pounds. This ill-judged magnificence in one room, throws the rest of the apartments into shade, and gives the impression that the palace is not sufficiently grand for it. Each side of this saloon is supported by marble columns, which are gilt; and between them are placed mirrors, which extend from the frieze to the floor. A fire-place is placed vis-à-vis at each end,

with mantel-pieces of great beauty, and exactly similar, and on them stand vases of ancient Sevres china, that excite the admiration, if not the envy, of every connoisseur. The doors are frosted with powdered lapis lazuli, which produces a very rich effect; and the architraves and pannels are finely carved and gilt. The furniture of this saloon is of the most splendid description, and the ensemble has more solid grandeur than that of any apartment I have ever beheld. Our sovereign would turn with distaste from the finest room in any of the royal residences, could he see this in the Palazzo Serra; and his love of splendour in decoration would be here fully gratified.

In passing through the streets at Genoa, it is amusing to look at the culinary occupations going on in each; with the exception of the three principal ones. Nor is there aught disgusting in the process, or in the odours exhaled; for the oil used in the friturás is of the pure olive, and the cooks are not only scrupulously clean in their dress, but the utensils they employ look equally so. Here the polenta, polpetta, and ravioli, the three favourite dishes of Genoa, are prepared; and great is the

demand for them, and the avidity with which they are devoured. But not only are the national dishes thus cooked in the streets, but shops are in each, and ranged on the quays, in which edibles of a more costly nature are to be procured; and where cutlets and capons, smoking hot, tempt by their savoury odours the appetites of the passers by. In the back of these shops are stoves, round which are placed all the necessary apparatus for cooking; and the proprietor, with one or two assistants, white-capped and aproned, with knife in belt, stand ready to boil, stew, fry, or broil, according to the wish of their visitors. A portion of the shop is devoted to undressed dainties, which are seen peeping forth from green leaves; and snowy napkins, waiting to be selected by some pedestrian epicure, who may see his dinner cooked, and eat it on the spot, in a very short space of time. These restaurants are chiefly frequented by artisans, and persons of that class; and much time is saved to them by the facility of finding their repasts prepared at a few minutes' notice. Men and women roll barrows through the streets, piled with trays, on which various kinds of comestibles are disposed, and thus serve the inmates

of the different artisans' houses, who are saved the trouble of cooking, and the expense and heat of fires. The cleanliness of these people, as well as that of the articles on which the food is placed, precludes the disgust one might experience at beholding such a constant succession of eatables passing and repassing; and it is amusing to witness the eagerness with which their approach is hailed.

6th.-Yesterday a courier reached us from London, with the sad news of the death of dear Mountjoy. Although long prepared for this melancholy event, it has fallen on us as heavily as if we counted on his days being lengthened. How difficult is the task of offering consolation to a father who has lost the heir to his house, and a child too who gave the promise of every virtue !

Lord Byron has evinced great kindness and feeling on this occasion. He has sent to inquire how his friend is, and has written to him, in a spirit of sympathy that it is gratifying to witness in one who has been suspected of possessing more warmth of imagination than of heart. A presentiment of evil seized me, when I saw a courier, his