'criminals; the black Christ and his banner; the ، scaffold; the soldiery; the slow procession, and the quick rattle and heavy fall of the axe; the splash of * the blood, and the ghastliness of the exposed heads— 'is altogether more impressive than the vulgar and 'ungentlemanly dirty "new drop," and dog-like agony ' of infliction upon the sufferers of the English sentence. Two of these men behaved calmly enough, but the first of the three died with great terror and ' reluctance. What was very horrible, he would not ، lie down; then his neck was too large for the aper'ture, and the priest was obliged to drown his excla'mations by still louder exhortations. The head was off before the eye could trace the blow; but from an ' attempt to draw back the head, notwithstanding it 'was held forward by the hair, he first head was cut off close to the ears: the other two were taken off ، more cleanly. It is better than the oriental way, and ‘(I should think) than the axe of our ancestors. The 'pain seems little, and yet the effect to the spectator, and the preparation to the criminal, is very striking ' and chilling. The first turned me quite hot and thirsty, and made me shake so that I could hardly ، hold the opera-class (I was close, but was determined ، to see, as one should see everything, once, with atten'tion); the second and third (which shows how dreadfully soon things grow indifferent), I am ashamed to say, had no effect on me as a horror, though I would 'have saved them if I could. Yours, &c.'

LETTER 281.

TO MR. MURRAY.

، Venice, June 4th, 1817.

.I have received the proofs of the " Lament of

Tasso," which makes me hope that you have also

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received the reformed Third Act of Manfred, from 'Rome, which I sent soon after my arrival there. My ' date will apprize you of my return home within these 'few days. For me, I have received none of your packets, except, after long delay, the "Tales of my 'Landlord," which I before acknowledged. I do not ' at all understand the why nots, but so it is;-no Manuel, no letters, no tooth-powder, no extract 'from Moore's Italy concerning Marino Faliero, no NOTHING as a man hallooed out at one of Burdett's elections, after a long ululatus of "No Bastille! No governor-ities! No-" God knows who or what ;but his ne plus ultra was "No nothing!"-and my ' receipts of your packages amount to about his meaning. I want the extract from Moore's Italy very 'much, and the tooth-powder, and the magnesia; I don't care so much about the poetry, or the letters, 'or Mr. Maturin's by-Jasus tragedy. Most of the things sent by the post have come-I mean proofs ' and letters; therefore send me Marino Faliero by 'the post, in a letter.

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'I was delighted with Rome, and was on horseback 'all round it many hours daily, besides in it the rest ' of my time, bothering over its marvels. I excursed ' and skirred the country round to Alba, Tivoli, Frescati, Licenza, &c. &c.; besides, I visited twice the Fall of Terni, which beats every thing. On my way back, close to the temple by its banks, I got some 'famous trout out of the river Clitumnus-the prettiest little stream in all poesy, near the first post from Foligno and Spoletto.-I did not stay at Florence, being anxious to get home to Venice, and having 'already seen the galleries and other sights. I left my commendatory letters the evening before I went, 'so I saw nobody.

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To-day, Pindemonte, the celebrated poet of Ve'rona, called on me; he is a little thin man, with 'acute and pleasing features; his address good and gentle; his appearance altogether very philosophical; 'his age about sixty, or more. He is one of their best going. I gave him Forsyth, as he speaks, or reads rather, a little English, and will find there a favour'able account of himself. He inquired after his old 'Cruscan friends, Parsons, Greathead, Mrs. Piozzi, ' and Merry, all of whom he had known in his youth. 'I I gave him as bad an account of them as I could, ' answering, as the false "Solomon Lob" does to "Totterton" in the farce," all gone dead," and ' damned by a satire more than twenty years ago; that the name of their extinguisher was Gifford; that they were but a sad set of scribes after all, and no great things in any other way. He seemed, as was 'natural, very much pleased with this account of his

old acquaintances, and went away greatly gratified 'with that and Mr. Forsyth's sententious paragraph ' of applause in his own (Pindemonte's) favour. After having been a little libertine in his youth, he is grown devout, and takes prayers, and talks to himself, to keep off the devil; but for all that, he is a very nice little old gentleman.

'I forgot to tell you that at Bologna (which is cele'brated for producing popes, painters, and sausages) 'I saw an anatomical gallery, where there is a deal of 'waxwork, in which

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I am sorry to hear of your row with Hunt; but suppose him to be exasperated by the Quarterly and your refusal to deal; and when one is angry and 'edites a paper, I should think the temptation too strong for literary nature, which is not always 'human. I can't conceive in what, and for what, he