Italian Letters, vols 1,2 | Page 3

of
life." "And they shall not be kept off," said I; and advancing towards
them, I endeavoured to convince them, that, however unworthy of his

succession, I would endeavour to keep alive the spirit of their
benefactor, and would leave them as little reason as possible to regret
his loss. Oh! my St. Julian, who but must mourn so excellent a parent,
so amiable, so incomparable a man!
But you talked to me of the flattering change in my situation. And shall
I confess to you the truth? I find nothing in it that flatters, nothing that
pleases me. I am told my revenues are more extensive. But what is that
to me? They were before sufficiently ample, and I had but to wish at
any time, in order to have them increased. But I am removed to the
metropolis of the kingdom, to the city in which the court of my master
resides, to the seat of elegance and pleasure. And yet, amidst all that it
offers, I sigh for the rural haunts of Palermo, its pleasant hills, its
fruitful vales, its simplicity and innocence. I sit down to a more
sumptuous table, I am surrounded with a more numerous train of
servants and dependents. But this comes not home to the heart of your
Rinaldo. I look in vain through all the circle for an equal and a friend. It
is true, when I repair to the levee of my prince, I behold many equals;
but they are strangers to me, their faces are dressed in studied smiles,
they appear all suppleness, complaisance and courtliness. A
countenance, fraught with art, and that carries nothing of the soul in it,
is uninteresting, and even forbidding in my eye.
Oh! how long shall I be separated from my St. Julian? I am almost
angry with you for apologizing for your kind monitions and generous
advice. If my breast glows with any noble sentiments, it is to your
friendship I ascribe them. If I have avoided any of the rocks upon
which heedless youth is apt to split, yours is all the honour, though
mine be the advantage. More than one instance do I recollect with
unfeigned gratitude, in which I had passed the threshold of error, in
which I had already set my foot upon the edge of the precipice, and was
reclaimed by your care. But what temptations could the simple Palermo
offer, compared with the rich, the luxurious, and dissipated court of
Naples?
And upon this scene I am cast without a friend. My honoured father
indeed could not have been my companion, but his advice might have

been useful to me in a thousand instances. My St. Julian is at a distance
that my heart yearns to think of. Volcanos burn, and cataracts roar
between us. With caution then will I endeavour to tread the giddy circle.
Since I must, however unprepared, be my own master, I will endeavour
to be collected, sober, and determined.
One expedient I have thought of, which I hope will be of service to me
in the new scene upon which I am to enter. I will think how my friend
would have acted, I will think that his eye is upon me, and I will make
it a law to myself to confess all my faults and follies to you. As you
have indulged me with your correspondence, you will allow me, I
doubt not, in this liberty, and will favour me from time to time with
those honest and unbiassed remarks upon my conduct, which it is
consonant with your character to make.

Letter III
The Same to the Same Naples Since I wrote last to my dear count, I
have been somewhat more in public, and have engaged a little in the
societies of this city. You can scarcely imagine, my friend, how
different the young gentlemen of Naples are from my former associates
in the university. You would hardly suppose them of the same species.
In Palermo, almost every man was cold, uncivil and inattentive; and
seemed to have no other purpose in view than his own pleasure and
accommodation. At Naples they are all good nature and friendship.
Your wishes, before you have time to express them, are forestalled by
the politeness of your companions, and each seems to prefer the
convenience and happiness of another to his own.
With one young nobleman I am particularly pleased, and have chosen
him from the rest as my most intimate associate. It is the marquis of
San Severino. I shall endeavour by his friendship, as well as I can, to
make up to myself the loss of my St. Julian, of whose society I am
irremediably deprived. He does not indeed possess your abilities, he
has not the same masculine