men and women are feen dancing to the mufic of ambulatory performers all along this delightful bay. To a mere fpectator, the amusements of the common people afford more delight, than those of the great; because they seem to be more enjoyed by the one clafs, than by the other. This is the cafe every where, except in France; where the high appear as happy as thofe of middle rank, and the rich are very near as merry as the poor. But, in moft other countries, the people of great rank and fortune, though they flock to every kind of entertainment, from not knowing what to do with themselves, yet seem to enjoy them lefs than thofe of inferior rank and fortune.

The English particularly are faid to be in this predicament. This may be true in fome degree; though I imagine there is more appearance than reality in it; owing to an abfurd affectation of indifferenee, or what the French call nonchalance, which has prevailed of late years. A few infipid characters in high life, whofe internal vacancy leads them to feek amufement in public places, and whofe infenfibility prevents them from finding it, have probably brought this appearance of a want of all enjoyment into fashion. Those who wish to be thought of what is called the ton, imitate the mawkish infipidity of their fuperiors in rank, and imagine it distinguishes them from the vulgar, to suppress all the natural expreffions of pity, joy, or admiration, and to

feem upon all occafions, in a state of complete apathy. Thofe amiable creatures frequent public places, that it may be faid of them, They are not as other men are. You will fee them occafionally at the playhouse, placed in the boxes, like fo many bufts, with unchanging features; and, while the reft of the audience yield to the emotions excited by the poet and the actors, those men of the ton preferve the most dignified ferenity of countenance; and, except that they from time to time pronounce the words Phaw! and Stuff!-one would think them the express reprefentatives of the Pagan gods, who have eyes but do not fee, and ears but do not hear.

I know not what may be the cafe at the opera; but I can affure you there are none of those busts among the auditories which the street-performers at Naples, gather around them. I faw very lately a large cluster of men, women, and children, entertained to the highest degree, and to. all appearance made exceedingly happy, by a poor fellow with a mask on his face, and a guitar in his hands. He affembled his audience by the fongs he fung to the music of his inftrument, and by a thousand merry ftories he told them with infinite drollery. This affembly was in an open place, facing the bay, and near the palace. The old women fat liftening, with their diftaffs, spinning a kind of coarse flax, and wetting the thread with their fpittle; their grand-children sprawled at their feet, amused with the twirling

of the spindle, the men and their wives, the youths and their miftreffes, fat in a circle, with their eyes fixed on the musician, who kept them laughing for a great part of the evening with his ftories, which he enlivened occafionally with tunes upon the guitar. At length, when the company was most numerous, and at the highest pitch of good-humour,, he suddenly pulled off his mask, laid down his guitar, and opened a little box which stood before him, and addreffed the audience in the following words, as literally as I can tranflate them: "Ladies and gentle

men, there is a time for all things; we have "had enough of jefting; innocent mirth is ex"cellent for the health of the body, but other

things are requifite for the health of the foul. "I will now, with your permiffion, my honour"able mafters and miftreffes, entertain you "with fomething ferious, and of infinitely

greater importance; fomething for which all "of you will have reason to bless me as long 66 as you.live." Here he fhook out of a bag a great number of little leaden crucifixes."I am just come from the Holy House of "Loretto, my fellow-chriftians," continued he," on purpose to furnish you with those ❝ jewels, more precious than the gold of Peru, " and all the pearls of the ocean. Now, my "beloved brethren and fifters, you are afraid "that I fhall demand a price for those sacred "croffes far above your abilities, and something

correfpondent with their value, by way of

"indemnification for the fatigue and expence of "the long journey which I have made on your 66 account, all the way from the habitation of "the Bleffed Virgin, to this thrice renowned "city of Naples, the riches and liberality of "whofe inhabitants are celebrated all over the

globe. No, my generous Neapolitans; I do "not wish to take the advantage of your pious "and liberal difpofitions. I will not ask for "thofe invaluable crucifixes (all of which, let

me inform you, have touched the foot of the "holy image of the Blessed Virgin, which was "formed by the hands of St. Luke; and, more

over, each of them has been fhaken in the "Santiffima Scodella, the facred porringer in "which the Virgin made the pap for the infant "Jefus); I will not, I fay, afk an ounce of "gold, no not even a crown of filver; my re"gard for you is fuch, that I fhall let you have "them for a penny a piece."

You must acknowledge, my friend, that this morfel of eloquence was a very great pennyworth; and when we recollect the fums that fome of our acquaintance receive for their oraTM tory, though they never could produce fo pathetic a specimen, you will naturally conclude that eloquence is a much rarer commodity in England than in Italy.

LETTER LXII

Naples.

I HAVE made two vifits to Mount Vefuvius, the first in company with your acquaintance Mr. Nt. Leaving the carriage at Herculaneum, we mounted mules, and were attended by three men, whose business it is to accompany strangers up the mountain. Being arrived at a hermitage, called Il Salvatore, we found the road fo broken and rough, that we thought proper to leave the mules at that place, which is inhabited by a French hermit. The poor man must have a very bad opinion of mankind, to choose the mouth of Mount Vefuvius for his nearest neighbour, in preference to their fociety. From the hermitage we walked over various fields of lava, which have burst out at different periods. These feemed to be perfectly well known to our guides, who mentioned their different dates as we paffed. The latest appeared, before we left Rome, about two months ago; it was, however, but inconfiderable in comparison of other eruptions, there having been no bursting of the crater, or of the fide of the mountain, as in the eruption of 1767, fo well` defcribed by Sir William Hamilton; but only a boiling over of lava from the mouth of the VOL. III.

C