those in the south of Italy. They begin to partake of the coarser features and ruder habits of the north. Both sexes drink brandy, and instances of intoxication are not unfrequent. Many of the women of the higher classes are extremely beautiful; symmetrical in their forms, dignified and graceful in their manners, and uniting taste with richness in dress. We saw several with their hair frizzled and powdered, in the fashion of the last century.

We walked through the subterranean passage, leading from the Cathedral to the Archbishop's Palace. It has more than a twilight dimness, and the rumbling of carriages along one of the principal streets, was heard above our heads. The wall at the end of the covered way bears the following inscription: "Donne non passino per questa strada"-females must not travel this road. Such a prohibition, which was aimed at those who were in the habit of availing themselves of the obscurity of the avenue, has only served to make it the more frequented, and the injunction seems to be wholly neglected. In groping through its mazes, we

met crowds of women.

The Palace of the Viceroy, consisting of a centre and two wings, fronts upon the piazza del Duomo. It is occupied by Ranieri, Archduke of Austria, who resides here the greater part of the year, but had gone to Vienna at the time of our visit, probably to receive his orders from the Aulic Council. We found an immense waste of vacant and unfurnished apartments, like those in the regal palaces about St. Mark's, at Venice. Some of them are neatly finished in the French style, having been prepared for the residence of Napoleon and Eugene Beauharnois.

In one end of the basement of the Palace are deposited all the moveable memorials of Napoleon, swept from the saloons and heaped together as rubbish, on the ascendency of the present dynasty. Gallic eagles, Cupids, and winged lions of St. Mark nestle in confusion, among the score of heads of the Emperor by different artists. Much the finest of the group is a semi-colossal bust by Canova, which is said to be one of the most correct likenesses of Bonaparte ever taken. His temples are more hollow, and his nose more prominent, than in the ordinary representations of his face. The bust of Canova himself stands by the side of his immortal subject; and in the general outlines of the two heads, there is a strong resemblance,

LETTER XC.

MILAN CONTINUED FORUM OF NAPOLEON-CASTLE-CAMPUS

MARTIUS-AMPHITHEATRE-ARCH OF THE SIMPLON-GATE OF MARENGO-CORSO—PUBLIC GARDEN-MILITARY ACADEMY -HOSPITALS-AMBROSIAN LIBRARY-GALLERY-FRESCO OF THE LAST SUPPER-THE BRERA-ACADEMY OF FINE ARTS.

October, 1826.-One of the most prominent features in the topography of Milan, is the Campus Martius, with its surrounding structures. It is a green open plain, three or four miles in circumference, lying in the northern part of the city. One section of it is donominated the Forum of Napoleon, forming the parade, under the walls of the castle. It is intersected by walks and planted with young trees. Bonaparte intended to surround it with ranges of palaces, and to open a broad avenue thence in a direct line to the Cathedral. The Citadel rises between this forum, in embryo, and the Field of Mars. It is a monstrous pile, enclosing three spacious courts, crowded with Austrian troops. The corps of lancers were seen upon parade. They are armed with long spears, in the style of Cossacks. There is nothing in the architecture, furniture, or associations of this Castle, that can interest the visitant.

On the east of the Campus Martius, is the great Amphitheatre, constructed under the auspices of Napoleon. A superb gate, supported by Grecian pillars, and enriched with representations of chariot races in bas-relief, leads to the arena. On the western wall, stands a stately pavilion, with a splendid portico and colonnade in front. The amphitheatre is strictly classical in its form and construction, resembling similar works among the old Romans, to which it is scarcely inferior in size and substantial masonry. Its dimensions are something like 600 feet in length, and 400 in breadth. The arena is surrounded by a wall of granite, and the seats are composed of immense blocks of the same material, rising to the height of perhaps forty feet. A mound, sufficiently wide for a walk, covered with green turf, and shaded with trees, forms the parapet, and presents a circle of rich foliage. At

one end of the oval is a semicircular range of arches, with a balustrade at top, designed for the orchestra. 'The benches will accommodate 30,000 spectators.

This stupendous work was intended for a naumachia, as well as for Olympic games. A copious stream, drawn from Lake Como, flows under the walls of the amphitheatre, and thence to the city. The arena may be filled with water in a few minutes. At the coronation of Napoleon as King of Italy, the whole series of Roman games were celebrated in order, beginning with chariot races, and ending with a naval combat between boats, which came hither on the canal from Como.

On the northern side of the Campus Martius, terminates the great road over the Simplon, a work as splendid in utility, as the amphitheatre is in luxury. The eye looks through a vista of several miles, formed by lines of trees bordering the wide avenue. At the point of entrance into the city, a gate, or triumphal arch, is now in progress, upon a scale of magnificence proportioned to the grandeur of a terrace across the Alps, piercing their rocks, traversing their snows, and bridging their torrents. Some of its proud arches, and its gigantic columns, hewn from solid blocks of granite and marble, have been reared; and the rude masses for others strew acres of ground in the vicinity, as if another Coliseum were going up. The sculpture is beautiful; chaste in design, and as polished, as if intended for close inspection, in private saloons. Many of the bas-reliefs would not do discredit to the chisel of Thorwaldsen. The span of the central arch is sufficiently wide, to admit two or three carriages abreast, flanked by minor pasages for pedestrians. Each face is to be enriched by eight Corinthian pillars of white marble, colossal in their dimensions, and of exquisite workmanship.

The Gate erected in commemoration of the battle of Marengo, and which bears the name of the well-fought field, is second only to the arch of the Simplon in grandeur. It is supported by four massive granite columns, of the Ionic order, and the structure is as substantial as it is lofty and elegant.

In the vicinity of the Porta Orientale, we found another cluster of interesting objects. The Corso extends in this direction, through the most fashionable part of the city. It is one of the broadest and finest avenues I have seen in Italy,

bordered by ranges of palaces, which display no common degree of taste and architectural magnificence. On one side of the Corso is the Public Garden, which is scarcely surpassed by that of the Tuilleries or the Champs Elysées in extent, in the beauty of its walks and groves, or in its artificial embellishments. Near the eastern gate is a Lazaretto, which was founded by one of the Dukes of Milan, as a refuge for the poor in cases of pestilence. Ranges of buildings, with arcades in front, extend round a green field a mile and a half in circuit, in the centre of which rises a chapel.

The useful institutions of the city are upon a scale as extensive as those for public amusement. We visited several of the former. The Military Academy, founded some twenty-five years since by the French, is a noble establishment. It has three hundred cadets, between the ages of ten and eighteen, all sons of officers and soldiers. Two hundred and fifty of the number are supported and educated free of expense the residue pay each forty francs a month. They are instructed in the Italian and German languages; in the ordinary branches of education; and in military tactics. After completing their course of studies, they are obliged to serve eight years in the army. An Austrian officer treated us with much politeness. He joined us voluntarily, went the rounds of the institution, and designated the objects most worthy of attention in the lecture rooms, chapel, refectory, kitchen, and dormitories.

A brief call was made at the Hospital Maggiore, which is one of the most extensive works of the kind I have ever examined. Its wards will accommodate three thousand inmates, It is built of ornamental brick and terra cotta, in the arabesque style. Its central court is spacious and stately. We entered the apartments and saw long ranges of the sick. The bedsteads are of wood, much less convenient, as well as less conducive to cleanliness and comfort, than those of iron. Most of the patients were labouring under fevers, which are the prevailing diseases at Milan, in the autumnal months, owing to the low grounds, stagnant waters, and the decomposition of vegetable matter, in the environs. Adjoining the great Hospital is another for foundlings, two thousand of whom are annually received-a fact which does not argue much in favour of the moral condition of the Milanese.

Our visit to the Ambrosian Library was full of interest. It is peculiarly rich in manuscripts and a choice selection of

books, amounting to about 80,000 volumes, neatly arranged, and kept with the utmost care. There is more literary activity at Milan, than in any other Italian city. I observed in the bookseller's shops most of the Greek, Latin, French, and English classics. The custode of this Library is an intelligent, gentlemanly, and obliging man, who gave us all the information required, and showed us some of the rarer manuscripts. Of these the most curious is a copy of Josephus, made in the 4th century, on papyrus. The fragile material is preserved between blank leaves of parchment. It is difficult to read the antiquated character, though the penmanship is remarkably neat. We saw Petrarch's Virgil, with his own commentaries, in his own hand-writing. It is a splendid folio, religiously guarded in a case, under lock and key, and is likely to survive for hundreds of years. The sacred manuscripts are extremely valuable, and a becoming spirit of liberality is manifested, in granting free access and in permitting scholars to peruse them at their leisure.

In the court-yard of the Library is a curious metallic tree, with its foliage painted green.. It is so good an imitation of nature, that the French tourist Lelande mistook it for a living plant, and cited its verdure, as a proof of the mildness of a Milanese winter! Happy is the traveller, who amidst an infinity of objects, falls into no worse blunders than this. From a cursory glance, the mistake might very readily ocConnected with the Library, is a Gallery of Fine Arts, which contains some very interesting works. Of these are a fine portrait of Leonardo da Vinci, the original cartoon of the School of Athens, by Raphael. The latter has been to Paris; and our guide would not listen to a doubt of its genu

cur.

ineness.

An early call was made at the old convent, standing near the Turin Gate, to see Leonardo da Vinci's far-famed fresco of the Last Supper, of which so many copies have been taken. It was painted in 1497, and is still regarded with intense interest, as the great original of all the pictures on the same subject. It extends quite across the eastern end of the Refectory, fifteen or twenty feet in width. The plastering of the wall has pealed off, and greatly impaired some of the figures, consisting of the Saviour and his twelve Disciples, seated at the table. Their attitudes as well as their faces are admirably varied. The original must soon perish; but accurate transcripts are so infinitely multiplied, that its