Obs. The city of Naples, after Constantinople, is the most beautiful capital in the world: the inhabitants are computed at more than 400,000, a third of whom reside in the streets, and are called Lazaroni.

108. The antient and esteemed republics of Venice and Genoa were, by the congress at Vienna, in 1815, united, the former to Austria, and the latter to the kingdom of Sardinia.

109. Sicily, the finest island in Europe, is separated from Calabria by the strait of Messina, famous for the Scylla and Charybdis of the antients, the former a rock, the latter a whirlpool. The chief towns are Palermo, Messina, and Syracuse.

110. Sardinia, a large but poor island, is situated in the centre of the Mediterranean: the principal town is Cagliari. Corsica, belonging to France, is mountainous, and its chief town is Bastia.

111. The small but important island of Malta lies about sixty miles south of Sicily, and is celebrated for its fine port, and for the strength of its fortifications. It now belongs to Great Britain. - Elba, an island of Tuscany, is famous as the chosen retreat of the Emperor Napoleon, when he abdicated the throne of France in 1814.

112. The principal rivers of Italy are, the Po, the Arno, the Tiber, the Var, and the Adige. Its capes are, Spartivento, Colonne, Leuca, Otranto and Testa. Its gulfs are, the Adriatic, sometimes called a Sea, the gulf of Taranto, and the gulf of Genoa.

OF SPAIN.

113. Spain is remarkable for its valuable possessions in South America, and for its fine climate, soil, and commanding geographical and commercial situation.

114. Spain is divided into fourteen districts, or

provinces, containing about ten millions of inhabitants; Granada and Murcia on the south are the most fertile tracts in Europe; but Spain has hitherto, from want of spirit and industry, been, comparatively, a poor country.

115. Its chief towns are, Madrid, the capital; Barcelona, Seville, Granada, Malaga, Saragossa Alicant, Toledo, Salamanca, and Cadiz.

Obs. Madrid contains 8000 houses, and a population of 150,000; the convents are 66, and there are fifteen gates of granite, many of which are elegant. The churches and monasteries contain many noble paintings, and the royal palace. display considerable magnificence. The Prado is a spacious course, on which the great display their elegant equipages.

116. The principal rivers are, the Ebro, the Tagus, and the Douro. The Pyrenees separate Spain from France; and among the mountains ought to be remembered the holy mountain of Montserrat, inhabited by hermits and devotees.

117. On a promontory, in the south of Spain, stands Gibraltar, which has been in the possession of the English since 1704; and is so defended by nature and art, as to be considered impregnable.

118. The chief islands lying near Spain are, Majorca, Minorca, and Iviza, called the Balearic Isles, and deservedly celebrated for their fertility and fine climate.

OF PORTUGAL.

119. Portugal, like Spain, has been enervated by its foreign possessions. The political circumstances of the times have induced its sovereign, John VI. to remove his court to Rio-Janeiro, in SouthAmerica; but a new constitution of government at home seems calculated to improve the character and condition of the Portuguese nation.