On his passage to Toulouse, the voiture which conveyed Mr. Holman, was overturned into a deep ditch. Noise, confusion, and terror were the only results of the accident, which to him must have been peculiarly unpleasant. His mode of obtaining exercise must have astonished the conducteur. Having jumped out of the coach, he secured his hold to the back part of it by a short cord, which served as a leading string; and, with this guide, followed on foot for several miles amid the shouts of the villagers who passed him.

Camacho's wedding itself scarcely produced a more romantic incident than one which occurred in the family of Madame the Countess de M-, with whom Mr. Holman resided during his stay in Montpelier; and we doubt whether the most experienced novelist could have related the little episode more thoroughly secundum artem.

"Her youngest daughter, Clementine, was a lovely girl, about seventeen years of age; but, alas ! it is impossible that I can do justice to charms which it was forbidden me to behold! A young gentleman one day walking accidentally near the house, observed this interesting girl leading a goat, tied with a string, over a rising ground, near the bosquet; struck with her beauty and simplicity, his imagination took fire, and a passion the most ardent possessed his soul; his constant delight was to wander near the spot which contained the object of his affections, and amply was he repaid, when he could thus steal a glimpse of her beloved form. But he was soon compelled to tear himself away to prosecute his studies in Paris; her image pursued him, and dwelt incessantly within his heart; and he returned to Montpellier with unabated affection. The diffidence so characteristic of pure and ingenuous love, prevented him, for a time, from declaring his passion; at length, however, he summoned sufficient resolution to demand an interview with the countess, but as he refused to send up his name and object, she declined seeing him; in a while he repeated the call, declaring that he had something particular to communicate, but still refusing to give his name; the countess consequently again refused to see him, but sent Clementine to inquire the nature of his business.

، Those who know how to love, may imagine his sensations, on finding the object of his ardent passion, thus unexpectedly placed before him; his perturbation amounted to a stupid confusion; he was incapable of utterance; and the unconscious maid left him without receiving the least explanation. His only consolation was now to repeat his wanderings around her habitation. One night I was myself alarmed by the sound of footsteps under my window, and for some time laboured under the impression, that an attempt was making upon the house. It was the unfortunate lover; who frequently spent whole nights around the spot, where he first saw his adored

mistress.

"On the morning of the 24th of June, I was disturbed from my sleep, by the sound of many persons talking in the house and garden, in a manner which convinced me that something dreadful had occurred; I immediately hurried to ascertain the nature of it. The first object which presented itself was Mademoiselle de Min tears, and I was told that a gentleman had killed himself in the garden. They afterward informed me that Madame M having risen early, had walked into the garden in company with M. de Cwho was just returned from a party in the town, with whom he had been passing the preceding night; that, at this juncture, they saw through some bushes, a gentleman sitting on the grass, and whom she was on the point of approaching to accost, when he rose up, took out a large knife, and plunged it into his breast. M. de Cimmediately sprang across the path, exclaiming, Mon Dieu! Mon ami, why have you done this!" The only reply from the unfortunate man was, Clementine! Clementine!' The countess ran to procure assistance, and the whole house was soon in confusion. The most sympathizing inquiries were made into the motives for committing so rash a deed, when, exhausted with loss of blood, he exclaimed, Ah! Clementine! for you I die! I feel you can never be mine, nor can I live without you!' He was now conveyed to a neighbouring house; a surgeon and the police officers soon arrived; the former reported, that the knife had been turned aside by a rib, but that he was in imminent danger. The police officer then proceeded in his duty, emptying his pockets, and conveying their contents to the bureau. A letter was found, directed to Madame de M—, with another enclosed for Clementine, and I was informed they were both written with very great propriety, and expressive of his unhappy passion.

" I quitted Montpellier a week after this event, at which time, the unfortunate lover continued in a hopeless state." P. 47.

One of the social regulations at Nice would excite some surprize in Berkeley and Grosvenor-squares. Whenever a dance is given at a private house, unless the party breaks up by ten o'clock, permission must be obtained from the Police. Six francs is charged for a licence, and a sentinel is placed at the door.

rose,

At Florence, Mr. Holman was thrown into extasies by the prima Donna at the Teatro Cocomero. He " leaned forward, and felt an irresistible impulse to spring upon the stage ;" fortunately, however, he constrained himself so as to sit still. Among his companions to Rome was an Italian, who found Captain "a good travelling name." He professed himself to be attached to mineralogy, and to have visited many countries; Turkey, Greece, Egypt, Persia, and most of Europe, except England. This gen-. tleman proved to be an itinerant dealer in precious stones.

4

At Ronciglione, Mr. Holman learnt an admirable practical lesson. An English servant, upon being scolded by his master for neglecting to procure himself a bed at the inn, offered as an excuse, that he did not know how to ask for one. Why, you fool," said his master, go up stairs, look out for an empty room, lock the door, and put the key in your pocket."

66

66

Mr. Holman, in spite of his blindness, visited all that other travellers are in the habit of visiting at Rome; and moreover was present at the illumination of St. Peter's, and the exhibition of fire-works at the castle of St. Angelo on Easter Sunday. What pleasure he could derive from them it would be difficult to determine; but that they may not be a blank to his readers, he transcribes ten pages of description from a recent work, "Rome in the xixth Century." We rather doubt the accuracy of the information which he obtained, respecting Roman jurisprudence. A malefactor was executed, during his stay, for various robberies and murders, though he had only attained the age of three and twenty. Mr. Holman then continues:

"Criminals are not here arraigned before their judge and accusers, but the charge is examined, and the sentence awarded in private, nor is the convict acquainted with the nature of his sentence, if the punishment of death is decreed, until the middle of the night before execution, when a priest gives the information, and urges him to confession, in which case, the sentence is carried into effect at nine o'clock in the morning; otherwise, if he refuses to confess, it is deferred until three in the afternoon." P. 154.

The most extraordinary part of Mr. Holman's tour was his ascent of Vesuvius. The guide, who accompanied him, was not a little astonished, and seemed pleased with the surprise which he was sure the King must express, when the circumstance was made known to him, in the report which is daily presented of visitors to the Mountain. The Album in the half-way hermitage, was enriched on this occasion by the following distich; the sentiment of which, if we may judge by the book before us, is the key to its author's character; a character in every thing opposed to that of Smellfungus.

"Some difficulties meet full many;

I find them not, nor seek for any."

In crossing the Alps, Mr. Holman joined a friend who was deaf; and at the inn at Modane, the hostess was both deaf and dumb. This singular trio at first had some diffi

culty in establishing a communication. A tour through Italy would be deficient in one of its most characteristic accompaniments if it had not a robbery. Mr. Holman, though peculiarly exposed to a misfortune of this kind, had the good luck to escape. But he heard of one which befel a gentleman, with whom he spent an evening at Rome.

"Having, with three other gentlemen, engaged a carriage for the day, to see the falls of Tivoli, the party were detained by dining before their return, until the approach of evening. On arriving within two miles of Rome, they were compelled to turn out for a short distance, into a temporary road, in consequence of the main one being under repair; here, from the darkness of the night, which had become so intense that they could not see their horses' heads, the coachman lost his way, and was obliged to make inquiries of various charcoal drivers, whom they fell in with; at length they were on the point of regaining the main road, when the coachman cried out Genti, Genti,' immediately upon which, the carriage was surrounded by banditti. The gentlemen all attempted to rush out of the carriage, in hopes of escaping through the darkness of the night, but, with the exception of Mr. L- were immediately secured and plundered. The latter gentleman, after having a musket discharged at him, the fire of which singed his coat and waist coat, while the ball passed so near as to leave a black mark on his side, succeeded in getting to a dry ditch, bounded by a wall, which he in vain attempted to scale; he therefore determined to lie quiet until the affair was over, taking a valuable watch out of his pocket, and concealing it in one of his gaiters: shortly after, he heard his friends calling him by name, when concluding that the robbers were gone, he quitted his place of concealment, and advanced towards them, when, to his great surprise, he was seized by the robbers and plundered. They felt for his watch, which he pretended not to have with him, but this would not do; with a dagger at his breast, they menaced instant death if it was not produced; he then stated that he had left it at his place of concealment, and begged them to accompany him to search for it, when after pretending to seek for it, he gave it up, requesting that one particular seal might be returned: this however, after a consultation with their captain, was refused.

"The banditti now departed, directing the party not to stir until they were off the ground, when they proceeded without farther interruption to Rome. The reason of Mr. L- being called by his friends to be robbed, was this, that the banditti, fully aware of a fourth person having escaped, threatened to murder the whole of the three, unless he was produced, so that they found it necessary for their own safety to discover him. One of the gentlemen was slightly wounded in the hand by a stiletto, in his attempt to escape. On reaching Rome, they immediately repaired to the police, who expressed concern, but took the matter very coolly, and instead of

sending out a party in pursuit, desired them to call again in the morning; and here the affair ended. Strong suspicion fell on the charcoal drivers, for they had passed many of their carts just before; and such persons, as well as the peasantry of this country, are all notorious robbers, whenever a convenient opportunity offers." -P. 145.

The information added by this volume to the traveller's stock is necessarily circumscribed; and we can scarcely recommend it as a guide-book to the practical tourist, or a Catalogue Raisonnée of foreign wonders to the fire-side lounger. But it is not without its interest, as a specimen of how much may be done by an active and energetic spirit. The tone of contentment and good humour, which runs through it, attaches us to the author; and it is with a feeling of much satisfaction, that we deposit him in safety once more on the shores of England.

ART. XII. The Flemish, Dutch, and German Schools of Painting. By the Rev. J. T. James. 8vo. pp. 412. 12s. Murray. 1822.

WE are very well pleased to meet Mr. James once again upon a subject on which he has already evinced so much good taste and sound information*; and, although we are not among those who think that the productions of the schools of painting to which he has now addressed himself are deserving to be mentioned in the same day, we could almost say in the same century, as those which have sprung from the Italian pencil, we have no objection to listen to their pretensions when they are so ably advocated as we find them to be in the volume before us: and we have no little satisfaction in finding that, after all which can be said in favour of the Dutch and German painters has been as well said as Mr. James says it, even the warmest admirer of them must be compelled to admit their great inferiority, in almost every point but the mechanism of art, to their southern brethren.

After a very complete catalogue of the Flemish and Dutch schools, with notices of the dates of the several artists, and the subjects to which they devoted their skill, Mr. James proceeds to his history. Our readers will be astonished at the fertility of the art, but we doubt whether the aspirant of the easel wil Inot

* Vide British Critic, July, 1820.