244 
condu&t of fome of his fervants, that, on 
his very arrival at Naples, he changed 
the miniftry for the ecclefiaftical depart- 
ment, and filled all the vacant bifhopricks 
with worthy and refpeGlable perfons, con- 
demning to an humiliating exclufion all 
the intruded candidates who had thought 
of captivating his munificence by repre- 
fenting themielves as the fupporters of 
the royal jurifdiction. 
The univerfal convulfions of Europe 
new came on. Here is the end of ‘every 
recular hiftory of princes and of govern- 
ment! All theiractions, meafures, anec- 
dotes, were fwallowed up in the vortex 
of the French revolution. New perfons, 
and new fcenes appeared on the flage, 
which made us lofe fight of the eminent liv- 
3, characters, except in the mortifications 
and humiliations to which they were lia- 
ble. His majeity has certainly had his 
fhare of them. In the year 1792 his me- 
tropolis was threatened bya French f{qua- 
dron under admiral La Touche, who fent 
on fhore an obicure brigadier to dictate 
laws in his very-palace! Another revo- 
lutionift of the name of Machault dif- 
patched an ambaflador to Naples, declar- 
ed himfelf the protector of the ftudents 
and feribblers, entered into a confpiracy, 
Next to him the metaphyfical Septembri- 
zer Garat, who had notified the fentence 
of death to the unfortunate Lewis the 
XVIth, dared to prefent himfelf, in ihe fame 
capacity of ambaffador, toa monarch of 
the houfe of Bourbon. At the period of 
the renewal of the war, Mr. Caraccioli; 
his majelty’s chargé d’ affaires in Paris,was 
confined in the Temple, and the ambaffa- 
dor, Mr. Ruffo, who had previoufly fet 
off.was arreited in Rome,by order of thofe 
miferable puppets of the French Direétory 
who called themfelves Roman Republicans. 
How many indignities fucceeded, each 
of which would fuffice to difgrace the 
French name for ever! The fubfequent 
events relative to the aggreffion on the 
kingdom of Naples are too public and too 
connected-with the general hiftory of the 
war to be noticed in this brief article. 
We fhall therefore conclude this biogra- 
phicail effay on his Sieilian Majefiy with 
fome hints on the improvement of his 
kingdoms during his reign. The ope- 
rations 2t Pompei have been conducted 
with fuccefs. The magnificent building 
of the Royal Academy, in Naples, intend- 
ed by its nift founder, the Viceroy Count 
de Lemos, for the univerfity, has been fo 
Memoirs of the prefent King of the Two Sicilies. 
[April x, 
agerandized as to have become the belt of 
the kind in Europe. The eftablithment 
of the Royal Exchange has greatly facili- 
tated the external commerce ; and the per- 
fe&tion of the high roads from the capital 
to every quarter of the kingdom of Naples, 
(which is perhaps the greateft glory of his 
reign) has rendered the internal trade more 
eafy and expeditious. 
. Thefe improvements are, however, far 
inferior to what the public might have ex- | 
pected in the prefent enlightened period of 
improvement and progrefs of the human 
mind. 
In fome numbers of a periodical work, 
the writer of this article has publifhed his 
ideas as to the queftion—** Why the king- 
dems of the two Sicilies move fo flow in 
their march towards the perfection of fo- 
cial life.’ He has proved, he trufts, that 
almoft the whole depends on the geogra- 
phical fituation of the metropolis. In re~ | 
fpect, however, to other additional caules 
derived from adminiftration, he muft ob- 
ferve that, howfoever juft and beneficent be 
the mind of his prefent majefty, he cannot 
be faid to have ever poffeffed any ftrong and 
fteady paffion for civil and political im- 
provements. He has liftened attentively 
to the voice of reafon every time it has 
found accefs to him. But its way to the 
ear of princes is much impeded. Hehas 
likewife endeavoured to entruft every part 
of the adminiftration to perfons who were 
reprefented to him as the beft qualified for 
their refpective tafks. He has been not- 
with{tanding eminently unfortunate inthe 
choice of his minifters. No genuine ftatefman 
was ever to be found in his councils! Ta- 
nucci was no more than a learned civilian : 
Guizzeta was remarkable only for good 
fenfe and a methodical head ; all the re- 
mainder have been perfons of mean capa- 
cities, fome of whom were fo very con- 
temptible as to have induced a learned man 
of creat refpectability in Naples to ex- 
claimn—‘‘ That if his majefty had been 
pleafed to take in a box the names of ten- 
thonfand Neapolitans, at leaft of fome 
confideration im the ecclefiaftic, literary, 
and forenfic line, and to commit to the 
chance of a lottery the choice of minifters 
among them, the perfons on whom the 
lot might fall, could not be lefs adapted 
to government than thofe who actually go- 
verned ! F.M, 
(We ave promifed fome other Italian Charaéters ~ 
from tke fame intelligent Carre|pondent.) 
MONTHLY. 
