in Italy, than the circumstance of all the restored Governments being obliged by their interests (tho’ contrary to their wishes and prejudices), to adopt and enforce them.  There is still required, however, a severer law for the punishment of post office defalcations.  Simple dismissal is by no means adequate, when it is considered how much mischief may ensue from such offences.  A very serious offence of this nature and which has made a great sensation, has lately occurred.  As all foreign letters must be franked, and as the postage to England is very high, one of the clerks at the Post office had been in the habit of receiving money for the franking of letters, appropriated it to his own use, and never forwarded the letters.  This created great inconvenience; a number of families having never received answers to their letters and being without the expected remittances, began to be uneasy and to complain.  An enquiry was instituted, and it was discovered that the clerk above mentioned had been carrying on this game to a great extent.  He used to tear the letters and throw the fragments into a closet.  Several scraps of letters were thus discovered and, on being examined, he made an ample confession of his practises.  He was merely discharged, and no other punishment was indicted on him.  I am no advocate for the punishment of death for any other crime but wilful murder; but surely this fellow was worse than a robber, and deserved a greater severity of punishment.

ROME, 10th February, 1818.

The Carnaval has long since begun, and this is the heaven of the Roman ladies.  On my remarking to a lady that I was soon tired of it and after a day or two found it very childish, she replied:  “Bisogna esser donna e donna Italiana per ben godere de’ piaceri del Carnevale.”

When I speak of the Carnaval, I speak of the last ten days of it which precede Lent.  The following is the detail of the day’s amusement during the season.

After dinner, which is always early, the masks sally out and repair to the Corso.  The windows and balconies of the houses are filled with spectators, in and out of masks.  A scaffolding containing an immense number of seats is constructed in the shape of a rectangle, beginning at the Piazza del Popolo, running parallel to the Corso on each side, and terminating near the Piazza di Venezia; close to which is the goal of the horse race that takes place in this enclosure.  Carriages, with persons in them, generally masked, parade up and down this space in two currents, the one ascending, the other descending the Corso.  They are saluted as they pass with showers of white comfits from the spectators on the seats of the scaffolding, or from the balconies and windows on each side of the street.  These comfits break into a white powder and bespatter the clothes of the person on whom they fall as if hair-powder had been thrown on them.  This seems to be the grand joke of this part of the Carnival.