cerning his country. They are particularly inquifitive about the Frank women, their dress, employments, marriages, treatment of children, and amusements. In return they are ingeniously communicative, and display talents, which, being little indebted to artificial cultivation, appear, as it were, to expand naturally, under a clear sky, and the influence of a delicious climate. Their questions are generally pertinent, and the remarks they occasionally make, on manners differing fo widely from their own, are often sprightly and judicious.

When the vifit is at length con- cluded, notice being given to clear the way, the phyfician fets out, preceded as before by the flave. But it rarely happens that he is not more than once stopped, to give advice to some of the domestics, who wait his return; for however flightly they may be indisposed, the temptation of telling their complaints to a doctor is irrefiftible. These damsels feldom have any other veil, than a handkerchief thrown over the head, one corner of which is held in the mouth; but, in order to avoid even that trouble, they frequently place themselves behind a door, or a window shutter, half open, in which fituation, thrusting out one arm, they infift on having the pulse examined. It fometimes happens, in the great harems, that another obstacle must be encountered before regaining the gate. This arifes from fome of the younger ladies, or flaves, who are at work in the court, refufing peremptorily either to veil, or retire; which is done merely in sport, to vex the conductress who is obliged of course to make a halt. In vain the bawls Dirb! and makes use by turns of entreaty,

threat, and reproach; till, finding all'in vain, the gives fair warning, and has recourse to a never failing ftratagem. She marches on, and bids the doctor follow. A complete route ensues; the damsels scamper different ways, catch hold of whatever offers first by way of veil, or attempt to conceal themselves be hind one another. It is only when none of the men are in the harem, that this scene of romping can take place. When the physician is con ducted by the aga himself, every thing pafles in orderly filence, and, in the chamber of the fick, none be. fides the elderly or married relations offer to join in the converfa tion: but it is seldom that the aga himself takes the trouble, after the few first vifits, except the doctor be a stranger to the family.

Account af the Turkish Ladies; from the fame.

THE

HE women, in their perfons, are rather engaging than handfome. It was remarked before, that they were pretty in infancy, but changed for the worse as they grew up: yet they retain for ever the fine piercing eye, and many to the last poffefs their exquifite features, though not their complection. They do not wear strays, and are at little pains to preserve their shape. In general they are low in stature, and such as are tall, for the most part, sloop. The women of condition affect a stately gate, but walk inelegantly, and the carriage of their body is devoid of that ease and air to which an European eve has been accustomed. The dress in which they appear abroad is not calculated to fet off the perfon;

the

The tranfient manner in which the Turkish women can only be

seen by a stranger renders it difficult, if not impoffible, to speak decidedly of their beauty, in comparison

with that of the women of other countries, who are seen with more familiarity. Their dress and veil, which are so disadvantageous to their shape, may perhaps (the latter particularly) be of advantage to their looks. I have had occafion to

fee great numbers, and thought them, in general, handfomer than the Christian and Jewish ladies; but I was fometimes inclined to doubt whether that opinion might not, in fome degree, be ascribed to feeing them partially, or when revealed in fuch a manner, as to give relief to their beauty: it is certain that many, whose faces I had at first thought exquifitely fine from under a loofe veil, loft confiderably when more exposed.

Account of the Republic of San Marino. By Dr. Gillies, Author of the History of Greece; from Sc

ward's Anecdotes of distinguished Perfons, &c.

T the distance of twelve miles from Rimini and the Hadriatic

A

Sea, we beheld a cloud-capt mountain, fleep, rugged, and inhofpitable, yet to Britons, whose aflection for their own happy ifland cherifhed even the fainteft image of congenial liberty, more attractive and more engaging than all the gay luxuriance of Tuscan* plains. A black expanfion of vapour partly concealed from our view, the territory of what the Greeks would have called a nation, feldom vifited by strangers, though affuredly most deferving of that honour. Liberty brightens and fertilizes the craggy rocks of St. Marino; and instead of paradifes inhabited by devils (for thus the recollection or fuppofition of better times indignantly characterizes the countries through which we had just travelled), this little state, we were told, would exhibit rugged hills and savage precipices cultivated and adorned by the stubborn industry of free men, who labour with alacrity, because they reap with fecurity. We panted at the thoughts of taking a nearer furvey of this political wonder, and were impatient to leave Rimini; but the coun try adjacent to that city was deluged with rain; the rivers continued to overflow; horfes could not fafely

a

clamber over rocks; and Rimini could not furnish us with mules. But they are delicate travellers whom fuch puny difficulties could reftrain from vifiting this illustrious mountain, where liberty, herself a mountain-goddess, has upwards of fourteen centuries fixed her rural throne. Careless of mules, or horses, or carriages, to which last the republic of St. Marino is at all times inaccessible, we adopted a mode of travelling, which, in country where pomp is immoderately studied, because wealth is too indifcriminately prized, might possibly have excluded unknown wanderers from the proud manfions of nobles and princes, the palaces of bishops, and the villas of cardinals, but which, we rightly conjectured, would recommend us as welcome guests to the citizens of St. Marino, whose own manliness of character muft approve the congenial hardihood of humble pedestrians.

The distance from Rimini to the Borgo, or fuburbs of St. Marino, for the città, or city, stands half a mile higher on the hill, is computed at only ten Italian miles. But the badness of the weather and of the roads would have encreased the te dioufnefs of our fatiguing journey, had not our fancies been amused by the appearance and conversation of several perfons whom we occafionally met or overtook, and who, notwithstanding that hardness of features, which characterizes mountaineers, displayed in their words and looks a certain candour and fincerity, with an undescribed mixture of humanity and firmness, which we had rarely feen pourtrayed on the face of an Italian. Such virtues, perhaps, many Italian may poffefs; fuch virtues Raphael and Guido pro

bably difcerned in their contempo raries; unless it be supposed that the antique not only ennobled and exalted, but originally inspired their conceptions. Yet whatever might be the pre-eminence of Roman beauty, during the splendor of the Cinque Cento, it must be confefled of the Italians of our days, that the expreffion indicating virtues of the mild or generous cast seldom breaks through the dark gloom and fullen cares which contract their brows and clond their countenances.

At the distance of five miles from Rimini, a fmall rivulet, decorated by a difproportionably large fione bridge, which at another season of the year would have exemplified the Spanish proverb of a bridge without water, feparates the territory of St. Marino from those of the pope. Proceeding forward, we found the road extremely narrow, much worn by the rain, alternately rough and flippery, and always fo bad, that we congratulated each other on rejecting the use of the miferable rips that were offered to us at Rimini. In the midst of a heavy shower we clambered to the Borgo, situated on the fide of the hill, and distant (as already faid) half a mile from the città, on its fummit. The former is deftined for the habitation of peasants, artizans, and strangers; the honour of inhabiting the latter is referved for the nobles, the citizens, and thote who, in the language of antiquity, would be styled the public guelis of the commonwealth. In the who'e 'territory there is but one inn, ard that, of course, in the Borgo; for lone houses are rare in all parts of the continent; the British dominious alone, by their native ftrength and the excellence of their government, being

we paid him for his wine and his sausage (profciutti), and were pleafed to find, that, contrary to our universal experience of Italian landlords, he was uncommonly thankful for a very moderate gratification; a fingularity which, though it pro- pr bably proceeded from his being little converfant with English and other opulent travellers, we treafured with delight, as a confpicuous proof of republican* virtue that had escaped pure and unfullied from the contagion of those worthless guests with whom the nature of his trade condemned him often to affociate.

About two o'clock in the afternoon, we left the Borgo to climb up the Città, carrying our fwords in our right hands, a precaution which the company we had juft left warranted in this modern republic, but which, as Thucydides informs us in his proem, would have expofed us to be branded with the appellation of barbarians in the republics of Ancient Greece. Before we had reached the fummit of the hill, the cloud had difperted, the fun shone bright, we had breathed a purer air, and the clear light, which difplayed the city and territory of St. Marino, was heightened by contraft with the thick gloom which involved the circumjacent plains.

Transported with the contemplation of a landscape which feemed so admirably to accord with the political state of the mountain, a bright gem of liberty amidit the darkness of Italian fervitude, we clambered chearfully over the pre cipices, never reflecting, that, as there was not any place of reception for ftrangers in, the Città, we might poffibly Le exposed to the alnernative of fleeping in the ftreets, or returning to the caravansera, crouded with smugglers, whole intoxication might exaiperate their natural ferocity. From all our paft remarks, we had concluded, that the vice of drunkenness was abominated even by the lowest claffes of the Italians. We dreaded their fury and their knives in this unusual state of mind; butamidtt all our terrors could not forbear philofophif ington what we had feen, and conjecturing, from the tumultuous merriment and drunken debauchery of the smugglers, that the famed fobriety of the Italian nation is an artificial virtue arifing from fituation and accident, not depending on temperament, or refulting from character. Drinking is the vice of men whole lives are chequered by vicilfitudes of toil and ease, of danger and security. It is the vice of fol diers, mariners, and huntsmen; of