a day). We were but indifferently lodged; however, it is the only inn we have yet feen in Sicily, and indeed, may be faid to be the only one in the island. It is kept by a noisy troublesome French-woman, who I find will plague us; there is no keeping her out of our rooms, and the never comes in without telling us of fuch a prince and such a duke, that were fo fuperlatively happy at being lodged in her houfe: we can easily learn that they were all defperately in love with her; and indeed fhe feems to take it very much amifs, that we are not inclined to be of the fame fentiments. I have already been obliged to tell her, that we are very retired fort of people, and do not like company; I find she does not esteem us the better for it; and this morning (as I paffed through the kitchen, without speaking to her) I overheard her exclaim, "Ah mon "Dieu! comme ces Anglois font fauvages." I believe we must take more notice of her, otherwife we shall certainly have our rent raised; but fhe is as fat as a pig, and as ugly as the devil, and lays on a quantity of paint on each of her fwelled cheeks that looks like a great plafter of red Morocco. Her picture is hanging in the room where I am now writing, as well as that of her husband, who, by the bye, is a ninny: they are no lefs vile curiofities than the originals. He is drawn with his fnuff-box open in one hand, and a difh of coffee in the other; and at the fame. time, fait l'dîmable à Madame. I took notice of this triple occupation, which feemed to imply

fomething particular. She told me that the thought was hers: that her husband was exceedingly fond of fnuff and of coffee, and wanted by this to fhew that he was ftill more occupied with her than with either of them. I could not help applauding the ingenuity of the conceit. Madame is painted with an immense bouquet in her breast, and an orange in her right-hand, emblematic of her sweetness and purity; and has the prettiest little fmirk on her face you can imagine. She told me that she insisted on the painter drawing her avec le fouris fur le visage, but as he had not efprit enough to make her smile naturally, he was obliged to force one, "qui "n'etoit pas tout a fait fi jolie que le naturel, "mais qui vaudroit toujours mieux que de "parroitre fombre;" I agreed with her perfectly; and affured her it became her very much, "parceque les dames graffes font toujours de "bonne humeur." I found, however, that the would willingly have excufed me the latter part of the compliment, which more than lost all that I had gained by the former. "Il est vrai" (faid fhe, a good deal piqued) j'ai un peu de l'em "bon point, mais pas tant graffe pourtant." I pretended to excufe myself, from not understanding all the fineffe of the language; and affured her, that de l'em bon point was the very phrafe I meant to make ufe of. She accepted the apology, and we are again reconciled; for, to give the devil his due, they are good-humoured. She made me a curtfey, and repeated, "Oui,

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"Monfieur, pour parler comme il faut, il faut "dire de l'em bon point. On ne dit pas graffe." I affured her, bowing to the ground, that the wor.d fhould for ever be razed from my vocabulary. She left me with a gracious fmile, and a curtfey much lower than the firft; adding, " Je "fçavois bien que Monfieur etoit un homme "comme il faut ;" at the fame time tripping off on her tip-toes, as light as a feather, to fhew me how much I had been mistaken. This woman made me recollect (what I have always obferved) how little the manners of the French are to be changed by their connection with other nations; allowing none to be in any degree worthy of imitation but their own. Although she has now been here these twenty years, the is ftill as perfectly French, as if she had never been without the gates of Paris; and looks upon every woman in Palermo with the utmost contempt, because they have never feen that capital, nor heard the fublime music of its opera. She is likewife (allowing for the difference of rank) an admirable epitome of all French women, whose universal paffion has ever been the desire of admiration, and of appearing young; and ever would be, I believe, were they to live to the age of a thousand. Any perfon that will take a look of the withered death's heads in their public places, covered over with a thick mafk of paint, will be convinced of this.

Now, our old

ladies, when they get to the wrong side of fixty,

generally take a jump up to the borders of fourscore, and appear no lefs vain of their years, than ever they were of their youth. I know fome of them, that I am fure are not lefs happy, nor lefs contented, nor (I might almost add) lefs admired with their wrinkles, than ever they were with their dimples. I do not know whether a cheerful old woman, who is willing to appear fo, is more refpectable, or more estimable; or a withered witch, who fills up every wrinkle with varnish, and at fourscore attempts to give herself the bloom of four-and-twenty, is ridiculous and contemptible: but as dinner is on the table, I fhall leave it to you to determine. Adieu.

LETTER XXII.

Palermo, June 238.

I SHA

SHALL have a great deal to write you about this city; we are every day more delighted with it, and shall leave it with much regret. We have now delivered our letters, in confequence of which we are loaded with civilities, and have got into a very agreeable set of acquaintance. But I fhall firft attempt to give you some little idea of the town, and then speak of its inhabitants. It is by much the most regular I have seen, and is built upon that plan, which I think all large cities ought to follow. The two great streets interfect each other in the centre of the city, where they form a handsome fquare, called the Ottangolo, adorned with elegant uniform buildings. From the centre of this fquare, you fee the whole of thefe noble streets, and the four great gates of the city which terminate them; the fymmetry and beauty of which produce a fine effect. The whole of these are to be magnificently illuminated fome time next month, and must certainly be the finest sight in the world. The four gates are each at the distance of about half a mile, (the diameter of the city being no more than a mile :) these are elegant pieces of architecture richly adorned; VOL. II. D