6 TKIESTK. 



and Mr Bricc, one of the leading British mer- 

 chants at Trieste. 



Trieste is the principal seaport of the Austri- 

 an Empire, and three imperial ships of war 

 were lying there during our stay. The city is 

 built on the slopes that run down to the margin 

 of its magnificent harbour, at the head of the 

 Gulf of Venice. The blue Friuli mountains 

 shelter it to landward, and its curved bay, seen 

 by the light of an Adriatic moon, is only second 

 in loveliness to that of Naples. The commerce 

 of Trieste has vastly increased since the com- 

 pletion of the railway from Vienna, and it 

 promises at no distant period to become one of 

 the first commercial cities in Europe, as the 

 trade which had passed previously through the 

 Baltic, now to a great extent passes direct from 

 Vienna to Trieste, the mercantile establish- 

 ments of which city bespeak its oj^ulence, the 

 shops being quite as handsome and well stocked 

 as those of Vienna. The foreign residents, who 

 are numerous, have established an excellent 

 Club ; the Opera House is a very handsome 

 building, and so well supported as to be able 

 occasionally to afford the services of first-rate 



