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from the hard hands of the exhaufted la bourer.

Though the Neapolitan nobility ftill retain the ancient feudal authority over the peasants, yet their perfonal 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 imprison them at pleasure; and who, without any alleged offence, and without going to fuch extremes, can inflict 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 disgust all the nobility at once, and fo unite the whole body against him, he has little to fear from their refentment. Even in cafe of fuch 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 said 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 affairs, or placed in thofe fituations 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, whose 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

of their own. All the literary diftinctions 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 ftudy. In fome other countries, where a very small 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 ufeful moral fentiments, from the excellent dramatic pieces that are represented on their theatres. They alfo 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 reprefented 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 disregard of literature among the no

bles,

bles, it is owing, that in their body are to be found few tirefome, 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

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prife, invincible perfeverance in execu

tion, contempt of danger and of death,

are the characteristic virtues of uncivil"ifed nations." But as the nobles of this country have long been fufficiently civilifed, thefe qualities may in them be fupposed 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.

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

LETTER LVIII.

Naples.

TH

HE citizens of Naples form a fociety of their own, perfectly diftinct from the nobility; and although they are not the most industrious people in the world, yet, having fome degree of occupation, and their time being divided between bufinefs and pleasure, they probably have more enjoyment than thofe, who, without internal resources, or opportunities of active exertion, pafs their lives in fenfual gratifications, and in waiting the returns of appetite around a gaming table. In the most refpectable clafs of citizens, are comprehended the lawyers, of whom there are an incredible number in this town, The most eminent of this profeffion hold, indeed, a kind of intermediate rank between the nobility and citizens;

the

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