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fion. The Air is in the hottest Season conftantly refreshed by cool breezes from the Sea. The Vales produce excellent Wheat and Indian Corn, but are mostly covered with Vineyards, intermixt with Fruit-trees. Befides the common kinds, as Cherries, Apricots, Peaches, &c. they produce Oranges, Limes, Almonds, Pomegranates, Figs, Water Melons, and many other Fruits unknown to our Climates, which lie every where open to the Paffenger. The Hills are the greater part covered to the top with Vines, fome with Chefnut Groves, and others with thickets of Myrtle and Lentifcus. The Fields on the Northern fide are divided by hedge-rows of Myrtle. Several Founrains and Rivulets add to the Beauty of this Landfcape, which is likewife fet off by the variety of fome barren Spots, and naked Rocks. But that which crowns the Scene, is a large Mountain, rifing out of the middle of the Inland (once a terrible Volcano, by the Cients called Mons Epomeus) its lower parts

adorned with Vines and other Fruits, the middle affords Pafture to flocks of Goats and

Sheep, and the top is a fandy pointed Rock, from which you have the fineft Profpect in the World, furveying at one view, befides feveral pleafant Iflands lying at your Feet, a tract of Italy about three hundred Miles in length, from the Promontory of Antium, to tiest Rog

Tits, M. POP E, C, K, 26 The Cape of Palinurus. The greater pirt of which hath been fung by Homer and Virgil, as making a confiderable part of the Travels and Adventures of their two Heroes. The Ilands Capred, Prochyta, and Parthenope, together with Cajeta, Cuma, Monte, Mileno, the Habitations of Circe, the Syrent, and the Leftrigones, the Bay of Naples, the Promontory of Minerva, and the whole Campagnia felice, make but a part of this noble Landscape which would demand an Imagination as warm, and numbers as flowing as your own, to describ it. The Inhabitants of this delicious Ifle, as they are without Riches and Honours, fo are they without the Vices and Follies that attend them, and were they but as much strangers to Revenge, as they are to Avarice of Am bition, they might in fact answer the poeti cal Notions of the Golden Age. But they have got, as an alloy to their Happiness, an ill habit of murdering one another on flight Offences. We had an Inftance of this the fecond Night after our Arrival; a Youth of eighteen, being fhot dead by our Door: And yet by the fole fecret of minding our. own business, we found a means of living fecurely among thefe dangerous People. Would you know how we pass the time at Naples? Our chief Entertainment is the Devotion of our Neighbours. Besides the Q& gayett

gayety of their Churches (where Folks go to fee what they call una Bella Devotione (i. e.) a fort of Religious Opera) they make Fireworks almost every Week out of Devotion; the Streets are often hung with Arras out of Devotion; and (what is ftill more strange) the Ladies invite Gentlemen to their Houses, and treat them with Mufick and Sweetmeats, out of Devotion; in a word, were it not for this Devotion of its inhabitants, Naples would have little elfe to recommend it, be fide the Air and Situation. Learning is in no very thriving ftate here, as indeed no where elfe in Italy. However, among many pretenders, fome Men of tafte are to be met with. A Friend of mine told me not long fince, that being to visit Salvini at Florence, he found him reading your Homer. liked the Notes extreamly, and could find no other fault with the Verfion, but that he thought it approached too near a Paraphrase; which thews him not to be fufficiently acquainted with our Language. I wish you Health to go on with that noble Work, and when you have that, I need not wish you Succefs. You will do me the Juftice to believe, that whatever relates to your Welfare, is fincerely wifhed, by

Yours, &c.

He

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Mr.

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