"It is a very good place for women. I like the dialect and their
manner very much. There is a _naïveté_ about them which is very
winning, and the romance of the place is a mighty adjunct; the _bel
sangue_ is not, however, now amongst the _dame_ or higher orders;
but all under _i fazzioli_, or kerchiefs (a white kind of veil
which the lower orders wear upon their heads);--the _vesta
zendale_, or old national female costume, is no more. The city,
however, is decaying daily, and does not gain in population.
However, I prefer it to any other in Italy; and here have I pitched
my staff, and here do I purpose to reside for the remainder of my
life, unless events, connected with business not to be transacted
out of England, compel me to return for that purpose; otherwise I
have few regrets, and no desires to visit it again for its own
sake. I shall probably be obliged to do so, to sign papers for my
affairs, and a proxy for the Whigs, and to see Mr. Waite, for I
can't find a good dentist here, and every two or three years one
ought to consult one. About seeing my children I must take my
chance. One I shall have sent here; and I shall be very happy to
see the legitimate one, when God pleases, which he perhaps will
some day or other. As for my mathematical * * *, I am as well
without her.

"Your account of your visit to Fonthill is very striking: could you
beg of _him_ for _me_ a copy in MS. of the remaining _Tales_?[17] I
think I deserve them, as a strenuous and public admirer of the
first one. I will return it when read, and make no ill use of the
copy, if granted. Murray would send me out any thing safely. If
ever I return to England, I should like very much to see the
author, with his permission. In the mean time, you could not oblige