at another, engraving on copper; and again, he would occupy himself with musical composition. Literature, however, as it gave him less manual trouble, claimed most of his attention, and he wrote English verse with remarkable facility. A few of us were in the habit of meeting in the evenings, and holding literary conversations, at which such of our coterie as were authors used to recite their productions. It was on one of those occasions that Signor Volpi communicated to us the plan which he had formed of publishing in Florence and Rome an English annual miscellany, nearly similar to those which have since become so popular. He thought that when so great a number of English of the higher classes resided in Italy, such a publication would be likely to have considerable success. This projected work was to have been exclusively poetical, and was to consist of productions contributed by various travelling authors, whilst its embellishments were to have been designed and engraved by the editor. It was to differ from

its rivals in this respect, also, that each volumė was to contain at least one poem of some length, and to consist of two parts; the one to be entitled THE ROMANTIC ANNUAL,' while the other was to bear the title of MEMORIALS OF MOMUS AND HIS MERRY MEN.' When he was asked why he had chosen to unite such incongruous materials, he replied by a quotation from Ariosto:

Signor, far mi convien come fa il buono

Sonator, sopra il suo strumento arguto,
Che spesso muta corda, e varia suono
Ricercando ora il grave, ora l'acuto.

METRICAL

"One soon gets tired," said he "of too much sentiment, or too much fun: it is, therefore, better to chequer our annual pages, as the days of the year are diversified, with alternate smiles and tears."

As my friend had contrived to become acquainted with several eminent English poets, he had been, as he assured us, very successful in obtaining from them materials for his projected work, as will perhaps be seen in the following

pages. He told us that, amongst others, Lord Byron had very kindly given him two Tales; with an injunction, however, not to publish them as his compositions. It appeared that Signor Volpi was one day expressing the great admiration which he felt for the early productions of his lordship, and had alluded to the 'GIAOUR' in particular, regretting that the noble author had latterly relinquished writing those impassioned tales which had first won for him his great literary reputation. He told us that, in reply, Lord Byron had exclaimed :-" What! would you have me replunge into barbarism, after having become a civilized author? I have had a letter from Murray this very day, asking me to write something in the old style: but the fellow,' continued his lordship, shall not induce me to tickle the ears of the groundlings any more in that way.' He then told my friend that he had a juvenile production of his in that style, lying by him, which he thought might take well enough, though the story of it was

extravagant; but that he would not administer to the bad taste of the English Vandals, by allowing it to appear. After some entreaty, however, he was induced to give the manuscript to Signor Volpi, for his intended Annual, on obtaining a promise that it should not appear with the name of the real author. Subsequently he gave him also a comic tale, which he had caused to be published in England anonymously, like 'DON JUAN,' and which had been recognised as his by only one of the critical journals. This tale was entitled GIUSEPPINO,' and was reprinted, (I believe, as Lord Byron's,) at Philadelphia, in the year 1822. It now appears, with many additional stanzas by my late friend, under the title of 'GADDO.' The noble lord said that as it was not universally received as the twin-brother of 'BEPPO', he had determined not to acknowledge it, supposing it to be very inferior to its precursor. These facts were, I confess, communicated to me, and to one more person, as a secret; and, if Lord Byron were

still living, they should remain undivulged. But I consider it to be my duty, under existing circumstances, to afford the public whatever information I possess with regard to the authorship of ARNALDO', and 'GADDO'. It should, at the same time, be remembered that I do not assert any thing, on this subject, positively nor do I pretend myself to be able to form an opinion with regard to their authenticity. I have merely reported faithfully what I remember to have heard from the former possessor of the manuscripts from which the present volume has been printed. I will even say that I have

sometimes felt doubts as to the truth of his statement; for my late friend, though a man of strict veracity in all serious matters, was a very jocose personage, and as he had, evidently, an impression on his mind not quite favourable to my acuteness in guarding against what is called mystification, he may possibly have only amused himself in passing on me a harmless forgery.

The death of my friend was sudden for,