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£58 “Prefent State of Society and Manners at Rome. [June 1, 
hes farniture. He wants neither ftove nor 
chimney in his habitation. A woollen 
cloak (which even the meaneft Roman is 
mot withcut) is a fufficient prote@ion 
from the cold and the women carry a 
chafing-dith, with which they ft at their 
doors, recline at the windows, walk in 
fireets, which, the whole winter through, 
is never out of their hands, and, as their 
infeparable companion, is denominated 
maritea. Even men have recourfe to the 
dame method againft the cold ; and it ap- - 
pears at fir’ a little extraordinary to 
rangers, to fee perfons ef all conditions, 
and even military men, with chafing- 
difhes in their hands in winter and fans 
in fummer. On the other hand, parafols, 
which here appear fo neceflary, are never 
ufed. - s 
‘The fare of the Roman is as fimple as 
his furniture. The climate itfelf tmpofes 
the neceffity of moderation, and no hard 
Jabour demands any particular exertion of 
his ftrength. What fuftices the common 
Roman for a whole day, would fcarcely 
be a breakfaft for a peafant of Lower 
Saxony or Weftphalia; but the latter, it 
Zs true, often does. more work before 
breakfaft, than the Roman during the 
whole day. No one keeps in his houfe 
the feaft ftore of provifions,” but every 
tnerning purchafesa daily fupply. Ac- 
cording to the Roman cuftom, a great 
portion of thofe domeftic offices, which, 
ga other countries, belcng to the wife, are 
here performed by the hufpand. Every 
citizen who does not live in ftyle, that is, 
who keeps no fervants, goes to market 
each morning, before he proceeds to bufi- 
siefs, for butcher’s meat and vegetables, 
which he afterwards dreffes, and brings 
to table, while the fguora fbofa lies in 
bed, or fits unemployed, without concern- 
ing herfelf about any of the domeftic du- 
ties. Few females learnto boil a joint of 
meat, or to make a fhirt. The domeftic 
occupations ef a genuine Roman female 
confift nearly of the following routine :— 
the rifes late, gazes about her for an hour 
at the window, in fummer handles the 
cooling fan, and in winter the genial ma- 
vito, keeps up an amorous correfpondence, 
and enters into converfation with her fe- 
male neighbours, commonly on the fubject 
of her amori. It is natural to fuppofe, 
that there are many exceptions to this 
rule, particularly among the lower claffes ; 
but that management and attenticn to the 
domeftic economy which is the province 
of our wives and daughters, would here 
be fought in vain among the beft. 
The tables of the great are comparae 
tively extremely frugal. You feldom find 
more than foup, meat, beiled and roafted, 
vegetables, and a deffert of cheefe and 
fruit, even at the table of a principe. At 
right, perhaps, a fallad and eggs, or fruit 
aud dread, conftitute the whole cena. 
During the femmer-months, the Roman 
makes two nights in the twenty-four 
hours. The heat during the day is fo 
Oppreflive and relaxing, that the corporeal 
powers would be entirely exnaufted by un- 
interrupted activity: the nights, on the 
contrary, ate cool and refrefhng. For 
this reafon nobody works im the fultry 
hours of the afternoon. From one till 
four all the fhops are fhut: all baften te 
enjoy repofe ; and the ftreets during that 
interval are as ftill and as empty as at 
night. When the violent heat is palt, 
every one refumes his employment. At 
the approach of night, the inhabitants 
pour into the ftreets and public places of 
the city, or fit before their doors, to enjoy 
the agreeable coolnefs. The Corfo is full 
of people till midnight, and bands. of 
merry fingers and guitar players traverfe 
the ftreets, to ferenade their acquaintance 
or their miftrefles. 
It is cuftomary here, as in Italy in ge= 
neral, to fleep naked. However indiffes 
rent this cuftom, introduced by the heat 
of the climate, may appear in itfelf, it has 
no {mall influence on the tdeas and mans 
ners, of which the latter, as far as regards 
the relations between the fexes, and female 
modefty, are much more free here than ia 
the north of Europe. A principal caufe 
cf this freedom appears to be, that the 
eye is here more accufomed to the fight 
of the naked figure. How many, efpe- 
cially of the fair fex, are there not among 
us, who have never feen a2 naked human 
body, and, from exceflive modefty, are 
even afhamed of the fight of their own !— 
Here, on the contrary, where not only 
fingle individuals, or hufband and wife, 
but likewife parents and children, fleep 
together naked in one bed, where each 
from his infancy is accuftomed to fee 
not only himfelf but others without any 
clothing, the fenfes become fo habituated 
to the fight of nakednefs, that it is néither 
avoided with fuch exceflive modefty nor 
concealed with fuch care as in fome other 
countries. The half-naked beggars in 
the ftreets, who would fhock the chafte 
eyes of our females, are beheld without 
the leaft fhynefs by the Roman ladies, 
however difgufting the fpectacle they in 
general prefent: andthe naked figures in 
ftatues and paintings, which fo eafily in. . 
flame the fancy or the moral feelings of 
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