CHARACTERS, 
being happily exempted from the 
terror of banditti, in time of peace, 
and marauders in time of war. 
We discovered the inn at St. Mari- 
no, asis usual in Italy, by the crowd 
before the door. Having entered, 
we were civilly received by the 
landiord, seated by the fire-side in 
company with several other stran- 
gers, and speedily presented with a 
bottle of sparkling white wine, the 
best we had tasted in [taly, and re- 
sembling Champagne in the charac- 
teristic excellencies of that sprightly 
Nquor. 
\Ve had not remained long in this 
caravansera (for such is the proper 
name for the place of hospitality in 
which we were received) when the 
dress, manners, and conversation of 
our fellow-traveilers strongly exci- 
ed our attention, and afforded scope 
for boundless speculation. They 
were the most savage-locking men 
that I had ever beheld; covered 
with thick capottas * of coarse dark- 
brown woollen, lined with | black 
Sheepskin. Their hats, which 
they kept on their heads, were of 
an enormous size, swelling to the 
circumference of an ordinary um- 
brella. With their dress and ap- 
pearance, their words and gestures 
bore too faithful a correspondence. 
Schioppi and coltellate (gun-shots and 
dagger-thrusis) were frequently in 
their mouths. As the wine went 
briskly round, the conversation be- 
came still more animated, and took 
a turn more decidedly terrible. 
They yow talked of nothing but 
fierce encounters, hair-breadth es- 
capes, and hideous lurking places. 
From their whole behaviour, there 
* Great coats. 
— 
[*17 
was reason to apprehend that we 
had unwarily fallen into company 
with Rinaldo’s party: but a few 
hints that dropped from- him who 
was most intoxicated, finally unde- 
ceived us, and discovered, -to our 
satisfaction and shame, that, instead 
of a band of robbers, we had only 
met with a party of smugglers. 
Their massy capottas and broad- 
brimmed hats formed their defensive 
armour against custom-house officers 
and Sbirri; + and the narratives, 
which they heard or related with 
such ardour and delight, contained 
the acts of prowess by which they 
had repelled the bravery of the Ro- 
mans, and the arts of stratagem by 
which they had deceived the cun- . 
ning of the ‘Fuscans. From the 
intermediate situation of St. Marino 
between the dominions of Tuscan 
and those of the pope, its territory 
is continually infested by visits from 
those unlicensed trafickers, who, 
being enemies by trade to those 
who-administer the laws and collect 
the revenues of their country, na- 
turally degenerate into daring and 
disorderly ruffians, the terror of 
peaceful men, and both the disgrace 
and the bane of civilized society. 
. From the company of the smug- 
glers we longed to separate, the 
more because they eagerly solicited 
our stay, promising to conduct us 
safely across the mountains, and to 
defend our persons and properties 
against robbers and assassins; but 
we thought it a piece of good for. 
tune, that our most valuable pro- 
perty, as we shewed to them, con- 
sisted in our swords and_ pistols, 
Having called our St. Marino host, 
+ Those who execute the orders of civil magistrates. 
Vor. XXXVII, 
[* B) 
we 
