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deaf. "Helas, Corinne," said I, with a sigh sentimental enough to have melted the rocky heart of an opposite Alp. "Quel drole de chapeau." What an odd hat, was the rejoinder of my companion, as he eyed the picturesque coiffure of a fair peasant of the Vaud. This was too much, and threw me into the sulks considerably for the rest of the day.

Whilst I was contemplating Gibbon's garden and summerhouse at Lausanne, my French friend was in a paroxysm of admiration all as great, upon the form of an English carriage, upon the docked tails of the British steeds, and the consummate skill of their conductor. In short, my ultra was an Anglomane, who admired every thing appertaining to us, our constitution least and last. His coat was from Bond Street, his gig from Long Acre, whilst his birth and principles, his information and esprit, could not be mistaken as derived from the Faubourg St. Germain. Only conceive the delight of passing Clarens in such genteel company: contemplate for a moment an English sentimentalist, like myself, compelled to pass the scene of the Heloise in discussion with a French dandy on the best mode of tying cravats, and the merits of the Coté wine.

We parted, at last, with an au revoir of cordial insincerity, he proceeding to the St. Bernard, to purchase an hospital-dog, for no other reason, I suppose, than Alfieri's,

"Perche i Britanni miei usan cosi,"

and I through the Valais, to take a peep at fair Italy. Of rocks, mountains, waterfalls, and torrents, there was abundance; but as I am not a landscape but an animal painter, I mean, of that animal, man, the Alps themselves remained unsketched amongst my reminiscences. And of our species, the dull, though democratic Valaisan, offered no tempting model. Not a biped, indeed, could I get to sit for me, unless, perhaps, old Plait-il, our voiturier, whom we so christened from his eternal response. The rogue feigned deafness as a defence against all our questions and demands, and his steeds seemed to take the same vengeance upon him, for they seemed as deaf to his hints respecting quicker motions as he himself was to our's.

But we rolled over the Simplon, tippled Chambertin to the honour of Nap upon its summit in the right excellent hostelry there established, and entreated of the good landlady thereof to liberate her daughters, whom, we learned, she had imprisoned in their chambers on the approach of such a carriage full of gallants. The old lady courteously replied, that cellar and larder doors should fly open at our approach, but no others. Strange, thought we, here begins the caution of the south, and we are as yet but on its verge. What! lock up ladies in a temperature five thousand feet above the level of the sea: let that be noted down.

It is truly astonishing the penetration and knowledge of the world with which a traveller always takes it for granted he is endowed. We rolled down the Simplon, encountered in our day's journey a score of doganieri and camerieri, saw the passing faces of perhaps fifty peasants, and caught some faint echoes of the Italian tongue from true Italian mouths. Will you believe it? From this mighty experience, these important data, we proceeded forthwith to form and entertain opinions upon Italian character: before evening we had regulated every distinguishing mark between the people we were among, and their neighbours the French, and by the time we had been about twelve hours in the country, we had made such inconceivable progress in our inductions, that we lay down as perfectly acquainted in our ideas with Italy and the Italians, and as ready to write a quarto on the subject, as if we had been residing there ever since the days of Evander.

An exchange of prejudice even but for prejudice, is, nevertheless, an advantage; it shakes the dogmas of obstinate vanity, and liberalizes in no small degree. Truly, it was comical to reflect how many long-received and cherished opinions had been reversed in a few hours. We had expected to find servility, and found rudeness; expected sonnets to our dignity, and instead were met with a vacant stare, not even deigning to be supercilious; we looked for poverty, but could discover no signs of such in field or man; we expected coquetry in every female visage, and saw no feeling reflected in their glances, but that of blank indifference; we prepared our ears for a dulcet language,

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Melting like kisses from a female mouth,"

to understand which, moreover, we had made some years preparative study; and lo, we are saluted with a cackling, widemouthed, monosyllabic jargon, calculated to baffle the most Polyglot ear. In short, we did not make half a league of road without encountering somewhat to give the lie to our preconceptions, except indeed in one instance, the Austrian police, the bitterest calumniator could not belie them.

Behold us then at the gate of Milan, half entered, surrounded by those "officers of the human excise," as some one has called them, and awaiting their permit, in order to approve ourselves not contraband importation. Scattered through the thinly-planted space that surrounds the Arena, we marked, for the first time, the Austrian soldiery, each screwed up in the middle so as to resemble a wasp or a devil-on-two-sticks, with an economical cincture, certainly, that left little room for a substantial dinner. How the plump and stolid faces of the northerns seemed to dissolve beneath the avenging rays of a southern sun; yet they seemed an honest, if not a prepossessing race, and I sincerely

pitied the circumscription of their stomachs. But our contemplation was interrupted by a commissary of police demanding our "We have no papers." papers. "Whom do you know at Milan ?"-"Nobody."-" Then you have no business here, and must quit the city in twenty-four hours."-" But suppose I know Count * * * * and the Marchesa * * * *.” ****."-"Suppose, indeed," said the satellite of the laic inquisition, with a contraction of the muscles of his face that was meant for a smile, "if you do know them, let them attend at the police at four o'clock to-day to certify for you."-" What, can I not remain at Milan without bringing to the police immediately ladies and nobles, whom, whatever be my introduction, I never saw, and have no right to trouble ?"" Drive on, Sir; your certificate at four o'clock, or but twenty-four hours' leave." And balancing on this most comfortable alternative were we allowed to enter the metropolis of Lombardy.

?”

The certificate, however, was procured, and I myself lodged in the Corso della Porta Romana (how magnificent the address sounded), at a German inn, once, indeed, the palace of General Pino. The German landlord of this palace-inn, or inn-palace, had the character of being most polite, and polite enough I found him to introduce me, nolens volens, ere I had been six hours under his roof, to some Tomkins or other of an English spy, who, he assured me, would be most useful as a companion and cicerone. Mr. Tomkins, or Prince Tomkins, as perhaps he is by this, was a black-looking son of our own canaille, who contrived, on the strength of his secret services, to drive his caleche and pair at Milan. Much, however, as I mistrusted Mr. Tomkins, I accepted him from the introducing landlord with all the open-faced magnanimity of Alexander receiving the medicine-cup from his maligned physician. Nothing could equal the confidence with which the fellow treated me; a most liberal and unreserved abuse of the Austrians from the Archduke Regnier down to his lowest satellite, formed the great level of his conversation. However, a man need not be deeper than Chesterfield to be able to deal with such fellows, and the volto sciolto, pensieri stretti of one evening so satisfied my gentleman of my being an innocent flat, that I saw no more of him, at least at my side, his addresses being afterwards directed to some liberal, loud-talking gulls of my compatriots, whom, ten to one, he has since introduced to the inside of a prison, or at least kept in close surveil lance, as English carbonari.

Tomkins, however, was an entertaining fellow, and none knew better than he all the chit-chat of Milan. He had fastened on me luckily the first evening of my arrival, ere more agreeable and reputable introduction could be followed up, and consequently to

extract all the use and amusement possible from him, became my only refuge and revenge.

Mr. Tomkins, therefore, and your humble servant, sallied forth upon the eve of a broiling August day, and directed our steps towards the Corso. The Piazza of the Duomo, that had been silent and deserted during the sultriness of noon, was now thronged with personages, and echoing with voices. Carriages were rolling to the promenade, and old women creeping to vespers; on one side the venders of water-melon vociferously extolled their insipid fruit, and entreated of you with Italian earnestness by all the gods to buy; on the other, Pulichinello was erecting his nightly booth; the cafés were full of dandy Milanese sipping ices, and the beer-houses with Austrians smoking and tippling the vilest of small beer: it was the gayest of gay scenes, and over-excited an Englishman to gaze on and to list to. The Duomo fitly lorded o'er the scene, and the dazzling brightness of the pure marble fabric accorded equally with, and formed a link between, the fair sky of Italy and the noisy throng of its sons. On we passed, myself at least in delight, towards the Porta Orientale, along the chief street of Milan, an unrivalled one truly for magnificence and beauty. At its extremity we turned to the left along the ramparts, and found ourselves amidst all the fashionable crowd and bustle of the Corso. The walk or drive is advantageously elevated, and offers a pleasing view of old Mediolanum, over the gardens of the royal villa. The steeds and carriages however that thronged the Corso bore the proper objects of my attention and research, and I soon put my Cicerone's powers of communication to the proof by incessant demands upon them. ****

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Upon my word, there's a gay equipage, and what a gigantic chasseur, with a plume equalling himself in size and height !"

"That," quoth my companion, "belongs to Mrs. G., a fair country woman of ours, that has been showing off these many winters amongst the Milanese, and whose sole delight is to outvie the people she has come amongst by the new model of her carriage, the beauty and trapping of her steeds, and the brawniness and begilding of her armed chasseur.”

"Indeed," said I, "by her dress and equipage, and noisy conversation I should have deemed her an Italian princess at the least. The gentleman then on the gray English steed, and with the English hunting-frock, who now addresses her, is, I suppose, some dandy of our nation too."

"There you are again mistaken. The Italianized female was an Englishwoman. The Englified male is an Italian, the Count C. Mark the English groom that follows him; the fellow is known by the name of the count's tutor, and, I dare say, with very good reason."

"What a quere, shabby, old caleche," continued I, directing my observation elsewhere, and "how full."

"It is the Marquis-," Tomkins replied; "one of the oldest and richest of the Lombard noblesse, at this moment immersed in grief with his whole family from the proscription and misfortunes of his nearest and noblest relatives, and still, you see, he promenades his sorrows on the Corso.

"See the princely carriage that follows the marquis's old caleche; that's my tailor seated in it, 'tis his own: a carriage costs little at Milan; there are no sure funds or ways to lay up money to advantage, and the tradesman spends his gain in shew and enjoyment."

"And the nobles are content to be thus bearded?"

"Ay, in the streets, but in private they keep to their own circle or casino. Even when a noble Italian does choose to be hospitable and live in a magnificent style, it is always at his country-seat that. he so launches forth, never in the city."

While we were thus conversing, an event took place, without recounting which my picture of a Milanese scene of pleasure would be by no means complete. A young nobleman, whom my companion whispered me to be the Baron T, and to whom, by-the-by, I had a concealed letter of introduction, had frequently caracoled up and down past us, and had struck me not a little by the elegance of his air and the nobleness of his features. The Austrian gendarmerie, it should be premised, is ever in attendance on all houses and places of amusement; indeed it seems a received maxim with continental governments, that people could not be happy where they were not; which made a French acquaintance of ours cry out, Oh! que j'aime les bons gendarmes, ou ils sont, on s'amuse toujours. Knowing this, we had taken little notice of the bons gendarmes; they followed the Baron T however, and just permitted him to arrive as far as midCorso, when they gathered round, and arrested him, choosing this place of course to compliment in public the Milanese noblesse. It was astonishing the little bustle or agitation that attended this event, to me so new. One of the most popular and beloved nobles of Milan was led off for scarce an imputed crime, without heart interested or voice raised for him. "Tis true, many a fair cheek in gay carriages seemed for a moment blanched, and many a youthful cavalier's lip was compressed with indignation. But it passed, and the young noble was consigned to his prison.

"There it is," said my companion, as we arrived at the end of the Corso, "that white fabric yonder, there are immured the gallant and liberal nobles of the land, and the bitterest aggravation perhaps of their carcere duro is, that the joyous noise and revel of the Corso can reach hence to their solitary cells."

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