THE GENIUS OF ITALY: BEING SKETCHES OF ITALIAN LIFE, LITERATURE, AND RELIGION. BY REV. ROBERT TURNBULL, с NEW-YORK: GEORGE P. PUTNAM, 155 BROADWAY. LONDON: DAVID BOGUE, FLEET STREET. MDCCCXLIX. PREFACE. LET no one suppose that, in the following pages, we are about to inflict upon him another Tour in Italy. Our object is not so much to write incidents of travel, or descriptions of scenery, roads, public buildings, and that "sort of thing," with which most volumes on Italy are filled to repletion; but to furnish some idea of the real character and spirit of the Italian people; to give brief, and, if possible, vivid glimpses of their life, literature, and religion, as these are embodied in men and books, in history and usages. In order to do this with greater freshness and interest, we have taken our readers along with us through the principal parts of the country, especially the larger and more influential cities, and have indulged only in such occasional descriptions of scenery and localities as might furnish a sufficient background for our observations, or a becoming framework for our portraits. The genius of a country is always localized; and it gives one a clearer and more impressive view of its religion, literature, and |