Greek artists"-the Sanesi contend that their school was the earliest in modern art. "At present they can boast neither school nor artist, and were, some few years back, obliged to call in Adimollo, who has painted some of their palaces, and is too much admired here for the fire, the diversity, the estetico of his compositions. It is easier to delineate violent passion than the tranquil emotions of a great soul; to set a crowd of figures on the stretch of expression, than to animate but one hero by an action which shall leave him the serenity of a hero. What a distance from the bloated hyperboles of Lucan, to the unrestrained majesty of Virgil! from the attitudes of a player, to the natural dignity of a prince! from the vivacity and exertion of Adimollo, to the grace and silent pathos of Raphael!" Madame de Staël, in her Corinna, has a passage which betrays much the same train of thought, and shews that she was as much alive as Forsyth to the unaffected gracefulness and pathos of Raphael's manner. She contends, that "there is a species of rhetoric in painting as well as in poetry, and that all who cannot arrive at expression seek to atone for the defect by the beauty of the accessories, endeavouring to set off an attractive subject by richness of drapery and vivacity of attitude;—whereas, the mere representation of a Virgin, holding her infant in her arms-of an attentive old man, in the picture of the Miracle of the Mass at Bolsena-of another resting on his staff, in that of the School of Athens-or of a St. Cecilia, lifting up her eyes towards Heaven-produce, by the mere expression of the countenance, a sensation of a far deeper kind. These natural beauties develope themselves daily more and more; while, on the contrary, pictures painted for effect are always most striking at the first glance." At Fonte Giusta is Peruzzi's celebrated Sibyl, in the act of foretelling the birth of Christ to Augustus, and generally considered as one of the finest frescos in Si ena. "This figure," observes Lanzi, "Peruzzi has contrived to invest with such an air of inspiration, that even Raphael himself, when treating similar subjects, can, perhaps, hardly be said to have surpassed him; and yet less can Guido or Guercino." Forsyth admits the sublimity of the figure, but thinks it too sedate for the act of prophecy. "She does not, as in Virgil, pant, labour, rage with the god; nor, like the Pythia, does she reel and stare and foam with the poison of the Delphic mofeta: she rather displays the 'folgorar di bellezze altere e sante' of a Sophronia*." The cities of Italy, like those of ancient Greece, are remarkable for nothing so much as for their mutual hatred of each other. And, as if they could not find vent enough for this passion abroad, they are most of them split into little sections at home. "The strongest bond Might I point out the pictures which gave me most pleasure at Siena, the first should be Vanni's Descent from the Crossa jewel concealed in the obscure church of San Quirico. Here the horror inherent in the subject is softened by that amiable artist, who has finely diversified the affliction of the three Maries, and made the mother's something both human and heavenly. Casolani's Flight into Egypt, in the same church, is full of the tranquil graces, and beautifully mellow;-but should the child be old enough to travel on foot?-Forsyth. of union among Italians is only a coincidence of hatred. Never were the Tuscans so unanimous as in hating the other states of Italy; the Sanesi agreed best in hating all the other Tuscans; the citizens of Siena in hating the rest of the Sanesi; and in the city itself the same amiable passion was subdivided among the different wards. "This last ramification of hatred," continues Forsyth, "had formerly exposed the town to very fatal conflicts, till at length, in the year 1200, St. Bernardine instituted boxing as a more innocent vent to their hot blood, and laid the bruisers under certain laws, which are sacredly observed to this day. As they improved in prowess and skill, the pugilists came forward on every point of national honour; they were sung by poets, and recorded in inscriptions*. The elegant Savini ranks boxing among the holiday pleasures of Siena:” Tazze, vivande, compagnie d'amici, Maschere, pugni, ed il bollor lascivo, * One of these may be selected as a burlesque on the Latin inscriptions so common in Italy: Boxing, however, is not confined to Siena; it is common all over Tuscany, even in Florence itself, where, to say the truth, it puts on a very unscientific character. "There," says Rose, "to recur to poetry for assistance, Dalle lor man cazzotto non discende Their hands fair knocks or foul in fury rain, But blood from eyes and mouth and nostrils oozes. Whatever comes to hand, hair, nose, or gullet.—Rose. "If a man finds himself overmatched at this foul play, he usually shouts 'in soccorso!' and, by the aid of the first comer, turns the tables upon his antagonist. The latter also finds his abettors, and the combat thickens, till the street wears the appearance of the stage at the conclusion of Tom Thumb. “At Siena the art puts on a more scientific form. In this city are regular academies for pugilistic exercise, and a code for the regulation of boxing matches; a certain time for resurrection is accorded to the person knocked down, and the strife assumes all the features of a courteous combat. "The Sienese and Florentine boxers contend with what may be called courteous weapons-the unarmed fist; but |