who says, I know that painters usually give the Saint a Lyon for his companion; but I could not believe that the Venetian Lyon was the Saint himself, till I was convinced by the repeated 'affirmations of several creditable persons, and even of some noblemen: I can assure you that the Venetians are obliged to believe it, under pain of being thought heretics.' We cannot depend wholly upon the Sieur Dumont's authority; nor should we think ourselves bound to believe it, if he were not confirmed by an earlier traveller, old Fynes Morrison, who speaks of the image of St Marke of brasse, in the forme of a Lion, holding 'a booke, likewise of brasse.

Genoa is familiarly known as a city of palaces; and they occupy too many of M. Millin's pages. The least extensive, but the most remarkable of these buildings, is that which was erected at the public expense for Andrew D'Oria. The building is in good taste, and composed of costly materials. The fresco paintings, which are now scaling off the walls, are by the hand of Perina del Vaga, to whom the owner of the mansion was a liberal iron. In the garden is a colossal statue of Jupiter placing one foot on a great dog. The dog was a celebrated dog in his day; he is the great Roldano; and this monument is inscribed- Qui gian il gran Roldano cane del principe Giovanni Andrew D'Oria, '-who died at night, on the eighth day of Septem

ber 1615.

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Near the palace of the D'Orias is another, formerly belonging to the Giustiniani family. Gabriel Chiabrera, the Italian Pindar,' used to pass the autumn season under this hospitable roof. The room, in which he composed many of his best odes, has the following distich inscribed over the door.

'Intus agit Gabriel, Sacram ne rumpe quietem.
Dum strepis, ah periit nib minus Iliade!'

A delicate compliment truly.

The national character of the Genoese is by no means in good repute. A terrible array of quotations can be brought out against them; for they have often hitched into unlucky verse, from the days of Virgil the Lombard, down to the days of Dante the Florentine.

Ahi Genovesi, huomini diversi

D'ogni costume, e pien d' ogni Magagna

Perche non siete voi del mondo spersi.'

M. Millin, however, undertakes to vindicate them against all poetical, proverbial, historical, and traditional reproaches; and certainly it is by no means reasonable to tax the Genoese with cowardice, because the Ligurians were beat by Hannibal. And

as to the accusation in the old proverb, that their sea is without fish, mare senza pesce, it is a vile calumny ;-Signor Viviani having given a catalogue of 71 species found in the Gulf; to which M. Maximilian Spinola hath added an ample supplement of thirty-six more. M. Millin says, that the alterations in the government of Genoa have had great influence on their customs. Peace be to the memory of the Ligurian Republic; we doubt whether she has left any other vestige, except the impress on her coin struck in the year one- REPVBLICA LIGVRE ANNO I.' It is unfortunate that these chick-a-biddy_republics were all stifled before they entered their teens. But the dominion of the French had the most decided effect on the national character.

The Genoese do not rank high in the republic of letters. In 1682 Agostino Oldoino compiled his Athenæum Ligusticum, in which the author of the Golden Legend is placed at the head of their theological writers. Amongst their poets, Chiabrera can be quoted with due praise; but he stands alone. They have had several academies. The academy of the Adormentati, or the sleepy ones,' had an appropriate exit-Elle s'est éteinte sans bruit; and the members of the Academy of Sciences and Belles Lettres, which was instituted in 1783, notwithstanding their style, appear to have slept as soundly as their predecessors.

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M. Millin discusses the history of the Sacro Catino of Genoa at length. It is said to have been won by the crusaders at the celebrated siege of Cæsarea. There is a good engraving of it in an excellent old book-La Mottraye's travels. All La Mottraye's reputation was blasted by a flippant line of Voltaire. We were glad to see Dr Clark bearing testimony in favour of this work, now unworthily forgotten. M. Millin conjectures that the Catino was made in the East, at Constantinople or at Casarea,' under the lower empire.

Sa couleur qui est celle de l'émeraude verte, est belle; sa forme est agréable, ses angles sont bien tranchés, ses anses pris dans la matière sont bien placées; et ses ornemens, qui consistent seulement en des rangées de points creux sont de bon gout; les soufflures sont peu nombreuses; et il est aisé de voir qu'après avoir été fondu entier, il a été habilement reparé avec le touret. M. le Chevalier Bossi pense qu'il a été fait à Rome, vers le commencement de l'ere vulgaire. Pour moi je persiste à croire qu'il a été fait dans l'orient, à Constantinople ou à Cesarée, sous le bas Empire. M. le Chevalier Bossi ne pense pas que sous les Empéreurs Grècs, on a pu faire un ouvrage si parfait. Mais le Cabinet du Roi de France possède des verres colorés du commencement de la première race qui viennent aussi de l'Orient, et dont la teinte et la transparence sont aussi parfaites. Sous un plat composé de morceaux de verre coloré enchassés dans de l'or, est

un grand disque de crystal factice qui porte l'image d'un Roi Sassanide.

The Catino used to be brought out of the sacristy of the Cathedral of St Lawrence, three times in the year, on three of the great festivals. A prelate of rank exposed it to the admiration of the faithful; and round him were ranged the Clavigeri, to whose care this sacred vase was confided. The Clavigeri, as their name imports, were entrusted with the keys of the sacristy, and they were bound never to part with them. The Catino, according to the legend, held the Paschal Lamb at the last supper; and it was supposed to be formed of an emerald stone of inestimable value. No one was allowed to touch it under heavy penalties; and all nice examination was prohibited by an edict passed on the 24th of May 1476--the preamble wisely stating, that too curious an examination of holy things is a token of lukewarm piety."

- - - ' des froids savans, d'audacieux philosophes, ont depuis longtemps elévé des doutes sur la matière du Catino. Keysler avoit déja enoncé ses soupçons. L'Abbé Barthelemy qui voyageoit dans l'Italie en 1755, écrivoit au Comte de Caylus, qu'il y avoit vu des soufflures. Le Condamine decrivit la forme de ces bulles dans un memoire qu'il lut à l'Academie des Sciences. '

The Catino was 'remis,' conveyed, as the wise call it, to the Cabinet of France.' But the Conservators' were of opinion, that they ought not to receive and take charge of it as an • emeraude sans prix,' without a careful investigation. They therefore demanded' that it should be carefully examined by a committee of members of the Institute, who coincided in the opinion of the audacious philosophers' who had preceded them; and decided that the Catino was composed of coloured glass. It has now travelled back to Genoa; but unfortunately it broke by the way. We trust the fault of the packing does not rest with the conservateurs.'

The first removal of the vessel was one of those innumerable acts of foolish rapacity which have disgraced the agents of the French Government. In the Cathedral of St Lawrence, the gem was worshipped in holiness by the multitude. It was their pride: they had neither the wish nor the ability of coolly examining into the truth of the legend which had been handed down from race to race. To them, it was a glorious trophy of the might of their forefathers. There it was seen only on solemn festivals, beneath the vaulted roof where it had been guarded with jealous vigilance during hundreds of years, surrounded by the tombs of the princes and warriors who had been the defence and pride of the commonwealth in

her good days of energy and freedom. In the French Cabinet,' one froid savant' turned it about, and examined the mouldings and the handles, and conjectured whether it came from Rome or from Constantinople; and another froid savant' held it up to the window, that the light might shine through it; and he descanted on the oxydes which were employed in colouring the frit. They had the vase, but now it was really worthless; it was a plaything, a toy, a curiosity. All the associations which ennobled the relic in its shrine, were lost and gone for ever, when the antique was coldly placed on show on a cupboard shelf, and seen through a pane of glass in the little room at the end of the library.-When national monuments are taken beyond the sphere of the vivifying influence of religious feeling, or historical recollection, the despoiler always finds that his own greediness has disappointed him. He steals fairy gold, and the treasure becomes a thing of nought, when borne beyond the threshold of the spell-bound palace. He gathers flowers, which instantly wither when broken from the stalk.

Our limits now compel us to abandon M. Millin or his tour, in order that we may be able to find room for the address with which he concludes; and in which he apologizes, with great modesty, for the defects into which he may have fallen.

Je sens, mieux encore qué ceux qui voudront bien le lire, tout ce que manque à mon ouvrage. L'etat de l'Italie, à l'epoque où j'ai visité les dernières contrées que je viens de decrire, ne m'a pas permis d'y sejourner autant que je l'aurois desiré. On verra du moins que je n'ai épargné aucun soin pour completer les notices que je voulois recueillir et publier sur les villes et les pays dont j'ai parlé,

Quelques personnes trouveroient peut-être des détails trop minutieux; mais mon dessein a été de donner une description de l'Italie aussi bien qu'un voyage; d'unir ce que j'ai vu, à ce que d'autres ont observé; de former enfin une masse de notices qui pût guider les voyageurs et les dispenser d'autres ouvrages, en indiquant cependant, sur chaque objet, ceux qu'on peut consulter.

Comme c'est surtout pour les lettres et pour les arts qu'on voyage en Italie, je me suis principalement attaché à ce qui est relatif à l'histoire litteraire ou à celle des arts.

Je n'ai pas la présomption de croire que mon livre doit faire autorité, mais je crois qu'il pourra au moins servir de guide; les additions, les corrections, les critiques dont il sera l'objet serviront à en composer un autre qui apportera davantage de cette perfection que bien peu d'hommes peuvent atteindre, et à laquelle je suis loin de penser que je sois parvenu.'

Such expressions ought to disarm the critic. We have principally to find fault with an occasional redundancy on points which are by no means connected with literary history, or with

the arts; and with which we have been put out of humour, because we are sure that it has occasioned the suppression of matters of greater importance. M. Millin often digresses into scientific details, which are never very profound, and not always very accurate. He considers Professor Vassalli Eandi as the inventor of the meterographe universel.' But the principle of the machine is unquestionably the same with that of the selfregistering barometer of the Reverend Arthur M'Gwire. An account of the latter may be found in the Transactions of the Royal Irish Academy for the year 1791, and in all our common Encyclopædias.

At Lans le Bourg, M. Millin was quite surprised at the sight of a curious engine invented by the industrious mechanicians of that town.

L'habitude de demonter et de remonter les voitures, a rendu les habitans de Lans le Bourg industrieux et mechaniciens. Je remarquai, dans quelques foyers, un tournebroche singulier. La fumée en est le moteur; le vent le force à monter; (!) elle frappe les rayons obliques d'une roue qui occupe l'entier du tuyeau, et qu'elle fait tourner. A cette roue tient un vis qui engraine dans le pignon d'une autre roue, et met le tournebroche en mouvement, comme le vent fait mouvoir des machines pour monter l'eau.'

In short, this elaborate combination of wheels, screws and pinions, is the singular philosophical instrument which in Engfish is vulgarly called a smoke-jack. We do not wish positively to claim the smoke-jack as an English invention, although it may be reasonably conjectured that this admirable assistant to the kitchen maid originated with the devourers of roast beef. But it is strange that M. Millin should have taken so much pains about it, as the tournebroche singulier' has been long known in France; and is described in a very common French book,-in Montucla's edition of Ozanam's Recreations.

M. Millin is unnecessarily minute and diffuse in natural history. We will pass over the account of the coral fishery, without inquiring whether it might not have been spared. But do we, or doth any one else, gain much information by being told that corail' is the corallium rubrum' of Lamark? The difficult word éponge' in the text of the same page, receives the explanatory gloss of spongia officinalis' in the note below. And that rare and wonderful fish the sole, is identified by quoting Lacepede,' to prove that it is the pleuronestes solea. do we like to see M. Millin, who can employ himself so much better in the cathedral or the library, lounging amongst the ⚫ échantillons des trois regnes de la nature' in the museum of natural history of Turin, and taking an inventory of the stuffed

Nor