4 
168 
miles goes throuch a fine grazing coun- 
try; the furface rather uneven ;* trees nu- 
merous on hedge rows, but permit diltant 
objects to be feen from eafy rifing grounds: 
the foil afort of clay, and cattle as before 
defcribed.! Towards Brixworth the ioil 
is)more light, and the plow has more 
employ; good crops of turnips appear, 
and the people bufy getting in- fine barley 
and oats. In all the difti&s I have 
pafied fince the commencement of harvett, 
i have obferved, that barley and cats are 
cut with the fcythe, afterwards turned 
with rakes, then put into {mail cocks, 
afid when fufficiently dry, carted home, 
and ftacked in that loofe fiate; by that 
method much expence in reaping is faved, 
and both corn and firaw got better off the 
ground; and I can fee no reafon why 
north country farmers fhould not adopt 
it; but, fuch is the force of cyftem and 
prejudice, that it will probably bea very 
jong time, before that judicious praétice 
finds its way to Weftmorelend and Cum- 
beriand. Brixworth is a farming village, 
and what is fomewhat fingular, 1t wholly 
encompaffes a gentleman’s feat, (whofe 
name I have forgot) gardens, pleafuse- 
grounds, &c. which are extenfive; and 
that without the villagers’ being able to 
overlook any part of the gentleman’s pre-’ 
‘mifes. Here I lodged at the houfe of an 
honeft Yorkfhireman, who feemed to pre- 
fer this county to his own. In differ- 
ent parts of my tour, I frequently heard 
of north ccuntry curates and excifemen, 
aid in London, the compting-houfes are 
much fupplied with country lads from 
Cumberland and Weftmorelend, who ex- 
‘change the plow and flail for the pen, 
and prove as expert'with the one as. ‘the 
other. Whether it be owimeg to the keen 
and pure air of thefe counties, which 
fharpens the genius of their inhahitarts, 
er to the eafe and fmail expence with 
which education is acquired there, or to 
what other caufe we ought to attribute 
the fuperior arithmetical and literary 
‘knowledge, &c: obfervable in the mid- 
lime and lower clafies in the north, I fhall 
mot attempt to determine ; however, the 
fact; in my opinion, is indi{putable. 
[ to be contizued. | 
et  — 
For the Monthly Magazine. 
. Mr. Epviror, 
TO compleat the feries of my fentt- 
ments on Italian Literature, I now 
propofe to lay before your readers, a 
ummary view of the bet writers of the 
preceding centuries, and fome general re~ 
Italian Literatures 
marks on the language of that ¢outttrys © 
I fhallimfert here the-former part of mys 
obiervations, and referve for a future” 
Number~ of your Magazine; the -latter 
part. F f Ai OE 26 Fowantes 
-So great is the numberof Italian wris. 
ters upon all fubjeéts, that a foreigners: 
who withes to acquire a knowledge of 
the tongue, is expofed: ta the hazard of = 
making a bad choice, and to entertain, 
of courfe, the moft ftrange prejudices) 
againft the. -books and their writers. ~ 
The notice of fuch authors as have ob= 
tained the approbation. of all ages’and. 
countries, would be fuperfluous; the» 
names of Dante, Petrarca, Ariofto;Tafio, 
Guarini, Taffoni, and Sannazaros fpeak= 
ing futiiciently for themfelves; as beyond: 
ail cenfure or praife. My intention is: 
only to give my ideas concerning fich as” 
are well known in the republic of Jetters,) 
but whofe merit has not been as yet exs 
actly appreviated.. In this review I 
fhall moreover limit myfelf to fuch writ- 
ers as are of a general intereft, hifto- 
rians, philologifts, poets, &c, and for. 
fufficient reafons, I fhall take no notice’ 
of any of the prefent century, which is’ 
the true term from which the decay of 
the language has commenced, 
Montignor Della Cafa, is, in my opi- 
nion, the moft truly corredt arid elegant 
of all the Italian writers... His+works 
may be confidered as a model of what is 
called the dida&ic fiyle. He was arch+ 
bifhop of Benevento in the kingdom of 
Naples, and one of the greateft. men in 
the golden age of learning: He pubs 
lifhed, among other things, two inefti- 
mable traéts on the  Ciwilities of Life,” 
productions which muft endure till the 
final diffelution of fociety: One of them 
is entitled, * Galateo,? and eontains 
precepts on the manners of common foci- 
ety; the other, intitled, “© Treatife on 
Cemmon Duties,” teaches hew to behave 
inthe relations connected with fuperior 
er inferior acquaintances, » . 
A rival to the “Galateo” is the ‘“Corte- 
gicno,.or Accomplifhed Gentlemans?- of — 
Count Balthaflar Caftiglione,»a Mantuan, 
---That nobleman was bred:in the fplen- 
did court of the dukes of Urbino, and 
was well qualified,. in every fenfe of the 
word, to write on the duties of courtiers. 
His ityle is fprightly, elegant, natural, 
and eafy. By the Italians, the * Cor- 
tegiano”’ ts called a galden book, and -cer- 
tainly the epithet is applied juitly. 
Cardinal Bembo, a Venetian, was in. 
the court of Leo X. what in another il- 
luftrious ace the Mecenafes were ime that 
: 
