64 



advancement in commercial prosperity, and in ber imperial pos- 

 ition, political importance and religious freedom. The present 

 King appears to be a man of great determination and sound 

 judgment, and bis rule is favourable to progress. The people 

 generally are orderly, well-dressed, good looking and intelligent, 

 and full of business energy. The peasant population have the 

 character of being iplodding and peaceful. The Itahans are a 

 people possessed of high capabilities, and dwell in a land rich 

 in natural advantages. They must, under proper government, 

 take a front rank amongst European nations. 



Italy is always considered as the land of romance, of poetry 

 and of dreams, the land of infinite charm and dehght ; and so it 

 is. Would you refer to the dim past and call up visions of 

 ancient glory and might, see her Coliseum and Forum, and look 

 upon the speaking ruins of Pompeii ; would you see something 

 of her wealth and past grandeur, visit the rich and gorgeous 

 churches which crowd her cities, abounding in costly mosaics, 

 statuary, paintings, and precious stones; do you wish for scenes of 

 rarest grandeur or surpassing beauty, see the snow ridges between 

 Naples and Rome, or visit the North Italian lakes or the charming 

 vicinage of Naples ; do you wish to study art and revel in the 

 masters of sculpture and painting, then wander through her 

 galleries, museums and palaces ; do you want poetry and romance, 

 then see if Venice cannot supply to the full every aspiration. 

 Think of Shakespeare's Moor and Merchant ; look at the famed 

 Kialto and the Bridge of Sighs, gaze at the renowned St. 

 Mark's, or silently steal along its canals bathed in moonlight, 

 with sweetest music floating o'er its waters whilst a serene still- 

 ness pervades everything, and then say whether Italy is not in 

 truth pre-eminently attractive among the countries of the earth. 



Mr. Thompson stated that he had omitted Eome fi-om his paper, 

 as that city would furnish material for a whole evening, and that 

 he would confine his attention to Naples, Florence, and Venice. 



Of Naples he observed that it was a busy and populous com- 

 mercial centre, but it was not architecturally beautiful. The 

 streets were narrow and the buildings crowded. Eeference was 

 made to the Museum, the Chiaja with its sea-wall and promenade 

 along the beautiful bay, the Theatre San Carlos, the renowned 

 Horses of Bronze, and the numerous churches. The vivacious 

 Neapolitan was portrayed, and a picture drawn of the experi- 

 ences of tourists at the hands of the " vociferating Jehus " and 

 others. The lottery business was extensively carried on in Naples, 

 and was under Government patronage. The neighbourhood 

 abounds in iiicturesque and interesting places, and a visit to 

 Vesuvius was sketched. The view from the mountain was most 

 bewitching, as from it could be seen the Bay with its wide sweep 

 of blue waters and striking headlands, and the islands of Capri 



