A LIST OF BOOKS - JScholarship

156 LETTERS.
into which you seem to have been led by
books of traveUers, who do not appear to
remember that sympathy is essential to insight.
Gossip is a miserable guide whereby
to explore the mysteries of character; and
observation, such as the passing traveller
usuaUy enjoys in the South of Europe,
displays but a tithe of the existent female
beauty. Walk on a pleasant day, it has
often been said, in Hyde Park, and you shall
see more beautiful women
than you will
find in any ItaHan city, though you walk in
it a month.
This is undoubtedly a fact, nor
one at all to be wondered at, when we
remember that it is not the custom in Italy
for ladies to promenade the streets.
They
are chiefly to be seen at home, and occasionally
at the Corso and at the Opera.
Their
lives are infinitely more secluded than those
of EngHsh females; and the possession of
great attractions only renders them more so.