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into coarse cloth for the peasantry. A better quality of cloth | is made of lambs' wool, and also a fine sort of flannel called pannizzu, made in the district of Sulcis. Cotton grows very well in the Campidano, but is not cultivated to any great extent. Madder grows wild, and is only used by the peasants for dyeing their coarse cloth. Some rock mosses are also gathered for dyeing. But the beautiful tincture of a delicate vermillion, mentioned by the antients by the name of tinctura Sardiniaca, is no longer known. Barilla is forbidden to be cultivated, except in certain places, from an opinion that it impoverishes the land. Bullocks' hides, sheep and goat skins, and kid or lamb skins, are exported in great quantities. Leather is imported from Marseille and other places. Among the yearly exports are from four to five thousand fox-skins; 2000 martin skins and 60,000 rabbit or hare skins. The forests abound with stags, daini or small deer, wild boars, and mufioni, or 'murvoni,' a species of large sheep, clothed with hair instead of wool.

The fisheries of Sardinia are very productive, especially the 'tonnare,' or establishments for taking the tunny-fish, which are at the Saline on the north coast, at Flumentargiu, Porto Paglia and Porto Scus on the south-west coast, and at Cala Vinagra, in the island of S. Pietro; and Cala Sapone, in that of S. Antioco. The shoal enters the Mediterranean from the Atlantic in the spring, skirts the shores of Spain and France, and then descending along the western coast of Corsica, part of it finds its way eastward through the Straits of Bonifacio, while the rest passes towards the Black Sea round the south end of Sardinia, remaining on the coast of the island from April till July. Most of the tunnies weigh from 100 to 300 pounds, but some of them are above 300. All the parts of the fish are turned to account, and most of them are salted. Captain Smyth gives an account of the expenses and receipt of a tonnara for one season, in which 3680 tunnies were caught. The expenses of the company, which hired the tonnara for 11257., amounted to 51747. The heaviest item besides the rent is the wear and tear of the nets, which are divided into several compartments called chambers, and made very strong, as the fish is powerful, and struggles hard. Then there is the oil and salt for pickling, the cost of the barrels, the wages of the men, &c. The receipts amounted to 14,690., leaving a profit of 95167. Most of the tunneries are let to foreigners, who ship off the produce to various ports of the Mediterranean, and a comparatively small proportion is used in the island.

The fishery of anchovies and sardines, which once used to be very productive, is much fallen off. Coral is taken off the west and south coasts, especially off Alghero, between the months of March and October; but this branch of industry is also abandoned by the natives to the Neapolitans and Genoese, who send from 200 to 300 boats annually, and carry off the produce, paying only a small impost, and a small duty for anchorage. Each felucca or boat generally collects coral to the value of about 1500 dollars, at the rate of 6d. per English pound weight. The coral is polishel and worked into necklaces, earrings, and other ornaments, at Genoa, Leghorn, Marseille, and Naples. Pearls of an inferior quality are obtained from the pinna nobilis, which abounds in shallow bays, as at Porto Conte and Liscia. The shell measures from 15 to 27 inches in length, and is sought chiefly for the tuft of silky hair, the byssus of the antients, which is attached to it. The filaments are of a glossy brown colour, about eight inches in length, and are easily spun into gloves, stockings, &c.

Sardinia was noted in antient times for its mines, which were worked to a great extent, as is attested by vast excavations and remains of founderies. South-west of Iglesias is Monte d'Oru, which appears to have derived its name from the gold formerly extracted from it; the mountain has been reduced by excavation to a mere shell. There is no doubt that silver was found in considerable quantities, and is even now procured occasionally, but the government it seems neither undertakes to work the mines nor allows private individuals to work them. A vein of pure mercury being discovered near Oristano, the fiscal magistrate seized the place, on the ground that the walls and cisterns of the town would be damaged by following up the vein. Iron and lead ore are found in abundance in many places, as well as copper. The government has however of late years sent mineralogists to explore the island. In the eastern mountains are found porphyry, basalt, alabaster, and marble. Chalcedonies, jaspers, cornelians, sardonyx, turquoises, and rock crystal are found in the districts of Sulcis and other

mountains of the west. Fossil wood is found at Ozieri and Bonorva, lignite at Villapuzzu, Tonara, and the neighbour hood of Sassari, and inferior coals at Villacidro, Martis, Mandas, Chiaramonte, and other places. Some alum is found in the grottoes of Sorrenti, nitre is procured at Isil: and Sammugheu, and is carried to Cagliari for the royal manufactory of gunpowder. Amianthus and asbestos are obtained at Ploaghe and Isili. On the Espalmador of S. Pietro there is a grey mixture of carbonate of lime and alumine, resembling fullers' earth, which is used by the natives in washing, and is called terra saponaria. There are numerous mineral springs. The principal are those of Sardara, Villa Cidro, Fordongianus, in the south, and Castel Doria, Dorgali, Codrongianus, and Benetutti, in the north. They are however unprovided with buildings or any sort of accommodation for invalids. Vestiges of antient thermæ exist at the sulphureous springs of Fordongianus, on the left bank of the Tirsi, but they are now quite forsaken.

The population of Sardinia amounted, in 1833, to 491,973. The island is divided for administrative purposes into eleven prefetture, or small provinces: Cagliari, Iglesias, Isili, Lanusei, Nuoro, Alghero, Busachi, Ozieri, Cuglieri, Tempio, Sassari. For ecclesiastical purposes it is divided into eleven dioceses: Cagliari, Oristano, Sassari, Galtelli-Nuovo, Iglesias, Ales, Alghero, Ampuriase Civita, Bosa, Bisarcio, and Ogliastra, which are subdivided into 382 parishes.__Cagliari, Sassari, and Oristano are archbishop's sees. There are also three mitred abbots, 93 convents of monks, and 13 of nuns. (Serristori, Statistica dell' Italia; Calendario Sardo.) Few of the convents are possessed of considerable property in land, the majority being mendicants. The number of monks does not exceed 1500. The Roman Catholic is the only religion of the country, no other is tolerated, and the natives boast that no heresy ever spread to this island. The court of the Inquisition, existing for centuries under the Aragonese and Spanish dynasties, probably contributed to this result.

Sardinia is at present administered by a viceroy, appointed by the king for three years: he has a salary of 60,000 francs. Every viceroy, on his arrival at Cagliari, takes a solemn oath to preserve inviolate the statutes and privileges of the island. Sardinia has a representative parliament, called Stamenti,' consisting of the three orders or estates, after the manner of other kingdoms during the middle ages: namely, the ecclesiastic stamento, selected from the prelates, the archbishop of Cagliari president; the military stamento consisting of all nobles, with or without fiefs, under the presidency of the most antient feudal nobleman above twenty years of age; and the royal stamento, composed of the representatives of the towns, under the Capogiurato of Cagliari. Each stamento holds its sittings apart, in a separate hall, and after separately discussing the matter in debate, they communicate by deputies. The assembly of the stamenti is convened and holden by and during the king's pleasure, and can therefore constitute no permanent opposition to the royal will. The chief topic of discussion is concerning donativi, or supplies requested by the sovereign. Still, when the stamenti have not been convened for a number of years, there has been repeatedly a loud outery for them, and at times something like a popular insurrection.

The feudal system continues in activity, though considerably limited by the interference of the crown. The seignorial rights vary according to the terms of the investiture, but the feudal lord is required, in all cases, to assist his vassals and support them during imprisonment. Nobles are subject to civil and criminal prosecutions, just as commoners are, with the privilege however of delaying their answer to any question for twenty-six days. The children of noblemen, unless there be a 'fide commesso,' or entail, in which case the property goes to the eldest, generally share the patrimony equally among them at the father's death, except the married daughters, who, when they have received their dowry, have no further claim. Besides manorial peers, of whom only one, the lord of Anglona, bears the title of prince, the others being marquises and counts, there is a numerous class of inferior nobles and knights, who have the privilege of carrying arms. Like the priests, they pay nothing to the feudal lord, but only to.the king and to the clergy.

Vassals in Sardinia are born free, and can change their lord and residence at will, but while on a lord's estate they are bound to feudal services and tenures, all above the age of eighteen paying annual tribute, either in money or kind, besides the usual imposts on the land and stock, the con

tributions for robberies and arson committed in the district, I worn. The cap or net for hair is also much worn in the and for the exemption from the 'roadia,' or one day's per- southern part of the island. In the highlands of Gallura sonal labour, and from other dominical services. These and Barbargia the men let their hair hang loose over taxes are levied in addition to the tithes, the royal imposts, their shoulders, which, with their bushy beards, gives them alms (asked as a due, and never refused) to mendicant a ferocious aspect. A kind of black kilt over loose linen monks, and other demands, which in some places amount drawers, with cloth leggings, completes the dress of the to seventy per cent. on the earnings of the vassal.

The Sards were of old a very mixed race, partly of Celtic and Iberian stock, and partly of Greek and Etruscan race, to which a considerable infusion of Carthaginian and afterwards of Roman blood was added. In later times Pisans and Spaniards settled in the towns and lower country, but in the highlands the population has remained comparatively unmixed, and may be considered as the real descendants of the old Sards, who struggled hard against both Carthage and Rome. The Sards are of a middle stature, and well formed, with dark eyes and coarse black hair, though fresh complexions and blue eyes are also seen in the mountains. In the Campidano they are more swarthy than in the north part of the island, and have generally a large mouth and thick lips. They have strong intellectual faculties, though mostly uncultivated, and an enthusiastic attachment to their country and their native district, in consequence of which families seldom remove or disperse. They are kind and hospitable, but are easily offended and excited to revenge. Being accustomed from early age to the use of the gun, they are excellent marksmen, and will lie in ambush for their victim for whole days, until they have an opportunity of shooting him. If the family of the sufferer has influence enough to stir justice into active measures against the offender, the latter flies to the mountains, where he joins others of a similar description, and becomes a robber. Some of these bands however will not molest strangers; they do not call themselves robbers, but assassins. They levy contributions on the villages and shepherds to supply themselves with necessaries. But on the eastern coast, near Terranova, Dorgali, Galtelli, &c., there are real bands of robbers, who both plunder and murder: they are designated by the name malviventi.' The government however has of late years done much towards extirpating the robbers; it has abolished in a great measure the privilege of sanctuary; it has forbidden the use of fire-arms, except to the militiamen, the nobles, and other persons duly authorised; it has sent troops against the more obnoxious bands, and hunted and destroyed them. But as long as revenge is considered by all classes as a moral and hereditary obligation, outlaws will take shelter in the impracticable recesses of the mountains, where it is extremely difficult for the police and the military to discover and arrest them. Italian is the language of the government, and is also spoken by all educated persons in the large towns. The native tongue, which varies according to districts, is a dialect of the old Romance [ROMANCE LANGUAGE], and is evidently derived from the Latin, with an admixture of words of Greek and Arabic origin. The natives of the Barbargia district pride themselves on the number of Greek words which they retain, and their distinct but harsh and guttural enunciation, which is with difficulty attained by the rest of the Sards.

The language is considered to be purest in the Goceano and in the western district of Marghine, north of Oristano, but it is most elegantly spoken in the Sulcis. At Alghero the Catalonian is generally spoken, the inhabitants being in great measure the descendants of a Catalonian colony, established by Peter the Ceremonious, king of Aragon, in

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The dress of the females in the towns is an imitation of the Italian fashion; most women wear the Genoese 'mezzaro,' or white veil, thrown over the head and shoulders; those of the upper class wear bonnets. The peasantry adhere to their peculiar costumes. In the northern districts the women wear their sleeves divided in the Greek fashion, and a coarse white net envelops their hair, like that worn by the men. The females of the Sulcis wear a shawl round their heads, and scarlet stockings; at Orosei the women wear a highly ornamented busk projecting from between the breasts, in shape not unlike the prow of a galley, and they have moreover the Oriental custom of covering their mouths. In some places the head is covered with a yellow cloth having a deep red border, as in some parts of the kingdom of Naples; in others with a fine linen tied loosely under the chin. The petticoat is made very full, with small plaits; the shift is buttoned at the neck; the corset is low, over which, on gala days, a rich embroidered jacket is worn, with loose cuffs and silver buttons. Corals, rings, rosaries, and crosses are worn in profusion.

The villages are generally large and well situated, but with unpaved narrow streets, mean houses, and a general want of comfort. Large dunghills disfigure the principal avenues. The villages in the Gallura are built of granite blocks, and in the other northern districts of freestone; but in the southern division of the island most houses in the country are built of sun-dried bricks. The dwellings of the peasants have generally only one story, without windows, or if they have windows, they are not glazed. A whole family often dwells in a single room, with their chickens, dogs, and kids, whilst the patient ass turns the corn-mill in a corner. In the centre of the room there is a square hole in the clay floor for the fire; the smoke finds its way through the door or any accidental crevice. There is generally a large bed in one side of the room for the elders, the sick, or the stranger, for hospitality to travellers is common, and inns are scarce. The younger members of the family do not sleep in a bed till they marry, but they lie down round the fire-place on mats, and frequently in summer in the open air. A few low chairs and a low table constitute the remaining moveables. In the towns there are some tolerable mansions, though comfortless inside, like those of South Italy, and the access is generally dirty. The number of beds indicates the importance of the owner, whose own room contains the saddles, bridles, arms, cordage, and other implements, besides hams and dried sausages, which are hung up, and cabinets filled with walnuts, cheese, pastry, and dried fruit.

Throughout the island the cittadini, or inhabitants of walled towns, hold the contadini, or villagers, in utter contempt, a feeling which is cordially returned by the rustics, besides which the people of Cagliari and those of Sassari mutually hate each other. Kissing on meeting is an indispensable custom among men of all ranks. The hostess welcomes a stranger by a shake of the hand, saying, in a kind tone, the stranger is welcome.' Females however never sit at meals with visitors. It is to the honour of the Sardinian women that they are generally moral and dutiful wives, and the baneful custom of the cavalier servente is unknown. The extreme jealousy of the Sards, The nobles and citizens generally follow the fashions and their summary mode of avenging an injury, have proof Italy in their dress, but the country people have pecu-bably contributed to prevent its introduction. In converliar costumes. In the Campidano they wear a jacket or pelisse of undressed sheep or goat skins, with the fleece outside, the mastruca' mentioned by Cicero; that which is worn in the Gallura highlands is made of coarse native cloth; in the west, near Bosa, and in the Sulcis, they wear the 'collettu,' or close sleeveless waistcoat of tanned leather, folding on the breast and reaching nearly to the

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knee.

Some collettus' are made of yellow or reddish leather from France, decorated with large silver buttons in the Maltese style. The shirt is fastened at the neck by silver buttons, but no cravat is worn. The cabbanu,' or heavy dark-brown Maltese cloak, is much worn by the farmers. In Cagliari the men of the lower orders wear "ed cap, but in most other parts of the island black caps are

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sation however the women talk very freely, and laugh heartily at indelicate allusions, as is the case in other southern countries. Among the peasants women are mere servants; they are busily employed about their children and poultry, in manufacturing their linen and 'orbacci' or coarse woollens, and in making bread, and fetching water.

The Sards are fond of feasting; they drink wines and cordials, though rarely to excess, and entertainments on particular occasions are given with a profuse hospitality. Fine wheaten bread is in general use, except among the shepherds of the eastern highlands, who eat a coarse kind of bread, and sometimes acorns. The Sards eat more butcher's meat than the Sicilians or South Italians. Poultry is rather scarce, but game is plentiful. The minestra,' or

substantial soup, made of pulse, cauliflowers, or herbs, is a national dish, as in Italy; and maccaroni, fideli, and paste of various sorts are manufactured at Cagliari and other places, and are in much request.

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and the horrid tree for mangling and dislocating limba which stood on one of the bastions of Cagliari, was pulled down in 1821, amidst the acclamations of the people. Culprits are still sometimes flogged through the streets upon an ass previous to execution. Common criminals sentenced to death are hanged, but nobles and lawyers are beheaded. Nobles accused of capital crimes are tried by a jury of seven peers.

The law is the chief profession for young men of respectable connections, as the whole regular force raised in the island consists of only one regiment, which is usually in Piedmont. The liberal arts afford no employment, and trade and commerce are considered ignoble. The highest legal rank is that of a member of the Supremo Real Consiglio' for the affairs of Sardinia, which consists of seven members, and sits at Turin. It is a supreme court, and decides finally upon all important matters, appeals, &c. It also examines the projects of law for the island, proposed by the king's ministers. The high court, called Reale Udienza, sits at Cagliari, and is divided into two sections, one for civil and the other for criminal cases. It is also a kind of council of

The Sards are no great pedestrians: the only mode of travelling for both sexes is on horseback. There are few coaches, and those only in the large towns, and the country people regard them as articles of effeminate luxury. Till lately there were no carriage-roads in the island, but by a royal decree of 1822, a high road of 125 miles in length was ordered to be cut from Cagliari to Sassari through the length of the island, passing by Oristano, and keeping as much as possible along the western plains. It was however necessary to pass the ridge of Menomeni, which runs across the middle of the island, as well as the hills south-east of Sassari, where a fine zigzag road, called 'Scala di Giocche,' has been cut down the face of an abrupt declivity 600 feet high. The whole of the road is now finished, as well as branch roads to the most important towns in the interior. The eastern highlands however still remain difficult of Field sports, such as hunting the boar, stag, or mouf-state for the viceroy, and it proposes to the king candidates flon, as well as sporting for birds, are favourite amusements with the Sards. Their religious festivities and processions, to which they are much attached, afford them also periodical seasons for rejoicing: they are attended with great pomp, and generally end in a feast. Weddings are celebrated with much ceremony and rejoicing. Captain Smyth observed traces of many customs which the Sards have in common with the modern Greeks, in their dances, music, arms, dresses, marriage ceremonies, and superstitions. Some of these peculiarities seem to be derived from the Romans, such as a belief in bad or good omens, the evil eye, a dislike to mention death, and the howlings of the 'accabadore,' a kind of præficæ, who are hired for mourning. The accabadora' in the mountainous districts of Barbargia and others used to perform another office, which was to throttle or suffocate dying persons in hopeless cases, in order to shorten the agony; hence the name, which means 'finisher,' but the practice was abolished in the last century through the remonstrances and exertions of a missionary called Padre Vassello. A belief in witchcraft and dæmoniacal possession is still prevalent, and exorcisms are resorted to as a cure in the latter case.

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The laws in force consist of-1, 'La Carta de Logu,' which is a code written in the Sardinian dialect, consisting of 198 chapters, which was published in 1395, by Eleanor Giudicessa,' or ruler of Arborea and of the greater part of the island. This charter or code, though tinctured with the barbarity of the times, is remarkable for its equity and wisdom, and being well adapted to the habits and opinions of the Sards, has been adopted all over the island; it remains in force, with few modifications, to the present day. 2, the Royal Pragmatics, a body of laws written in Spanish, and consisting of 51 chapters, which was promulgated by Philip IV. of Spain, in 1633. To it has been added a commentary, by D. Francisco de Vico, regent of the supreme council of Aragon. 3, Capitoli di Corte. These are memorials and petitions laid before the kings of Spain by the national stamenti, with the answers and decisions of the sovereign. To these also has been joined a commentary, by D. Giovanni Dexart, a Sardinian jurist. 4, The royal edicts, and the Pregoni,' or ordinances of the viceroys since the island has been under the dominion of the house of Savoy. 5, The new civil code, published in 1830, by the late king Charles Felix. (Calendario Sardo, 1831.)

This multiplicity of laws, upon which numerous forms have been grafted, tends to embarrass the course of justice, and gives rise to much litigation and delay. The country judges are very poor, and venality is of common occurrence. Besides this, should a local magistrate prove more than usually active in his office, he is sure to rouse the vengeance of some of the parties, and Sardinian revenge respects no persons, neither magistrates nor priests. The effect of the whole system, especially in the remote districts, is a fearful insecurity of person and property. The superior courts which sit in the towns have a better character for impartiality, but the procedure is very imperfect. In criminal cases the judges in their interrogatories follow the old practice of inducing the accused to criminate himself, by browbeating and endeavouring to entrap him by insidious questions, & method known in Italy by the name of 'interrogatorio suggestivo.' Torture has been abolished in Sardinia,

to fill up the vacant bishoprics and the judicial and juridical offices. A numerous train of fiscal advocates, solici tors, advocates for the poor, assessors, secretaries, and notaries is attached to the court. The Magistrato della Reale Governazione is a high court, which sits at Sassari for civil and criminal matters relating to the northern part of the island. There is an appeal from it to the Real Consiglio at Turin. In every town or considerable district of the island there is a magistrate called Vicar, in some places Podestà, or Consul in others, who, with an assessor and secretary, judges in the first instance for the town and surrounding territory. The prefects in each of the eleven provinces are also judges in civil matters. There is a commercial court at Cagliari called 'Consolato,' which decides all commercial suits, besides which the Regia Capitania' constitutes a sort of Admiralty court for the island. A court called "Tribunale delle Contenzioni,' decides questions which arise between the ecclesiastical and lay powers; it consists of a judge called Cancelliere Regio Apostolico,' who is a clerical dignitary, and a secretary. This court was established in the latter part of the 14th century, in consequence of serious differences between the clergy and the sovereign, and has been sanctioned by several popes.

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Sardinia is free from the burthen of the conscription, which has been entailed by the French revolution upon most countries of continental Europe. It furnishes by voluntary enlistment one regiment to the royal army, besides which it has its militia, an irregular force of about 6000 cavalry and 1200 infantry, the officers of which wear a uniform, but receive no pay. The privates have no distinguishing dress. except a cockade which they wear on particular occasions; they are armed with a long gun, a knife, and a cutlass, and are expected to patrole the country to arrest malefactors, to repair to any point which might be invaded by an enemy, and to assist the Board of Health in preserving the coasts from contagion. Besides these there is a kind of yeomanry called Barancelli,' an armed association for protecting property, especially in the lowlands, against robbers. Every village has its party, under a captain annually selected from among the most respectable inhabitants, and he chooses his | men. They maintain a strict watch during the night, from a certain hour in the evening, which varies according to the season, and is made known to the inhabitants by the sound of a bell, after which no one is allowed to be out of doors i the tolling of the morning bell. The barancelli are obliged to make restitution for all thefts. To become a baranceli a man must have property to a certain amount, and be wei known for his integrity. During the year of his service, and the following year also, he is exempt from royal and baronial service, and has the right of bearing arms. The remuneration of the barancelli arises from every landholder paying ar annual sum, the aggregate amount of which, after deducting the losses which may have occurred, is divided among the men at the end of the year. In the year 1819, Count Reve the viceroy, disliking so many armed men about the country wished to abolish the barancelli, and supply their place wi regular cavalry from Piedmont, called Royal Carabineers like the French gendarmes, but as they proved inefficie for want of local knowledge, and the deadly hatred of th peasantry agamist them, the king was obliged to restore the barancelli under the name of 'Cacciatori Provinciali.' The

think it their duty to arrest robbers only, and not persons flying from justice for other causes.

These minute details are given for the purpose of showing the social and domestic condition of the island, which has remained almost unchanged since the middle ages, and which is a curious specimen of the former state of Italy, Spain, Portugal, and other countries of Western Europe. The regular force in the island consists of about 3000 Piedmontese troops, distributed in the several towns. There are only three regularly fortified towns: Cagliari, Alghero, and Castel Sardo. The coasts are defended by a line of stout towers, garrisoned by a body of coast-guards called Torrari, under the superintendence of a council of three members, chosen for three years, one from each stamento, and are supported by a tax on exports. The naval force of the island consists of one armed brig and two gun-boats called 'corridors.'

Scientific education is given by the two universities of Cagliari and Sassari, each being under the inspection of a council, magistrato sopra gli studj,' of which the respective archbishops are presidents. The university of Cagliari is attended by about 250 students, and has the faculties of theology, medicine and surgery, law, and philosophy, with a full list of professors in each. Among the accessories are a library of above 15,000 volumes and a cabinet of natural history and antiquities founded by the late King Charles Felix. The university of Sassari, frequented by about 180 students, has likewise five faculties, but with a smaller number of professors, namely, three for theology, five for law, three for medicine, one for surgery, and five for philosophy and eloquence, or, as it is called, the arts. The accessory establishments consist of a cabinet of natural history, founded in 1823, and a library of only 5000 volumes. An interesting account of the university of Sassari was given in the Bollettino di Notizie Statistiche' of Milan for the year 1834. Poor students from the country, while following their course of studies, support themselves by acting as attendants, errand-boys, &c. to wealthy families in the town, and are called 'Majoli.' In the head town of every province there is a 'Scuola di Latinita Inferiore; the aggregate number of the pupils is about 6650, of whom above 1000 are in that of Cagliari. In pursuance of an ordinance of the late King Charles Felix, dated 1823, most villages have an elementary school for boys, in which reading, writing, and arithmetic are taught, besides the doctrines of religion and the elementary principles of agriculture. There are no public establishments for female education; those young females who can afford it become for a time boarders in the convents of nuns. It was stated some years ago by the Baron Ferussac, in the 'Bulletin Universel des Sciences,' from authentic sources, that the results of elementary instruction and other improvements, such as the opening of roads and the establishment of a more effective police, which have taken place within the last twenty years, were already felt in the manners and morals of the people, and that murders, for instance, which are said to have amounted once to above 100 in one year, had decreased by about onehalf.

The art of medicine is not in great repute among the Sards, and they have a proverb, Bivi de miegu e mori miserabile;' Whoever lives by the doctor dies miserably.' In almost every town there is an hospital for the sick, the insane, and the foundlings, supported by bequests and voluntary contributions, and served by the Benfratelli, or Order of S. Juan de Dios.

The mechanical arts are in a very low state; the guns of Tempio are in some repute, but the cutlery is of the commonest sort; the potteries are very coarse, and wooden platters are used by the country people; builders and carpenters are very indifferent workmen, besides which all artizans are extremely indolent. Superior workmen come from Piedmont or Genoa.

The principal towns of Sardinia are:-1, CAGLIARI, the capital and the residence of the viceroy. 2, Sassari, the head town of the north part of the island, situated on a gentle declivity, in a pleasant and fertile country, about nine miles from the coast, is little if at all inferior to Cagliari, and, from its healthiness and other circumstances, preferable to it as a residence. Sassari has a good main street, which is the only one paved, fine public walks, shaded by trees, outside of the walls, twenty-four churches, ten convents, three nunneries, a clerical seminary, the university, a college kept by the Jesuits, several palaces, among which those of the governor and of the duke dell'Asinara are the largest and most remarkable, a public hospital, two tolerable locande,' or inns, besides coffee-shops, and some good shops of various kinds, among others a bookseller's shop, a rarity in Sardinia; about 20,000 inhabitants. The cathedral is a large structure, with a very elaborate façade. Provisions are good, abundant, and cheap; fruit and garden vegetables are ex cellent, wine good, and of various sorts. The town has no springs or wells, but good water is brought to the houses by water-carriers, from a handsome fountain called del Rosello outside of the walls. Sassari was built in the seventh century of our æra, by emigrants from the antient town of Turris, which had been ruined by the Longobards. A fine road leads to Porte Torres, which is the nearest harbour; and where the mail packet puts in from Genoa twice a month. 3, ALGHERO. 4, Oristano, a town of about 4,500 inhabitants, in a low unhealthy plain, near the mouth of the Tirsi, has several churches and convents, a clerical seminary, a college kept by the Scolopj, and a spacious cathedral, with a detached octangular belfry, which is the most striking object in the town. A spiral staircase of 150 steps leads to the top, from whence there is a splendid view. Oristano is a busy lively place in the winter and spring, but in summer all those who can, leave it for a healthier residence. Several noble families inhabit the town. 5, Bosa, a town of about 3500 inhabitants, finely situated in a valley, between two flattopped hills, on the north bank of the river Termo, a short distance from the sea. Bosa has nine churches, some convents, a clerical seminary, several paved streets, and a long bridge over the river. The country around is very productive of oil, wine, fruit, flax, cheese, &c., and the inhabitants are very active; most of the travelling pedlars about the island are from Bosa. But the town is extremely unhealthy in summer. 6, Iglesias, a pleasant town, in a healthy spot, on an elevated and fertile plain, amidst limestone hills, is abundantly supplied with good water, conducted by an aqueduct, 8000 feet in length, to a fountain in the centre of the town. The streets are dirty and ill-paved, but they contain some good houses. The cathedral and bishop's palace are remarkable structures. The town is surrounded by a dilapidated Pisan wall, and the remains of a castle are seen on a hill to the north. Iglesias reckons about 9000 inhabitants. 7, Tempio, the head town of the mountainous province of Gallura, in the north-eastern highlands, stands in a very healthy situation; it has several large houses three stories high, built of granite, with wooden balconies, a collegiate church, a nunnery, a Scolopj college, and about 6000 inhabitants. The general appearance of the town is gloomy, as well as the dark dresses, black bushy hair and beards of the generally handsome, stalk about with a coarse woollen petticoat turned over their heads so as to conceal their faces. 8, Quartu, east of Cagliari, near the sea-coast, has about 5000 inhabitants, and carries on considerable trade in wine, fruit, and fisheries. 9, Villacidro, at the foot of the mountains north-west of Cagliari, in a healthy situation, has 5500 inhabitants. 10, Osilo, on a mountain 2000 feet above the sea, east of Sassari, has 5400 inhabitants. 11, Sorso, in the same district, has 4000 inhabitants. 12, Bonorva has 4000 inhabitants. There are many large villages of between 2000 and 3000-inhabitants, scattered all over the island.

Although sciences and literature are not much esteemed in Sardinia, yet the island has produced many learned men, of whom few are known beyond its precincts. The follow-men, and the Moorish costume of the women, who, though ing deserve particular mention:- Fara, author of the work De Rebus Sardois,' Cagliari, 1580; Father Madao, who has written on the language of Sardinia; the judge Mameli, who published an improved edition of the Carta de Logu; Matthejo, author of 'Sardinia Sacra,' fol., Rome, 1761; the jurist and historian Azuni, and his opponent, Father Napoli, who has refuted, in his Note Illustrate,' many of Azuni's statements concerning his native country; Cetti, the author of a very creditable work on the natural history of the island, Anfibj, Pesci, Uccelli, e Quadrupedi della Sardegna, 3 vols. 8vo., Sassari, 1774; and lastly, Don Giuseppe Manno, who has published a good history of Sardinia, Storia di Sardegna,' 3 vols. 8vo., Turin, 1826, as well as a little work on the Vizi dei Litterati;' besides several poets, either in the vernacular language or in Italian and Latin.

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History of Sardinia.-Iolaus is said to have led a Greek colony into Sardinia, and to have founded Olbia on the northeast coast, afterwards a considerable town in the Roman period, and of which vestiges are found near Terranova.

Strabo (p. 225) says that the colonists of Iolaus inhabited | the island jointly with the barbarians, who were Tyrrheni. From an inscription found at Stampace, it appears that Caralis or Cagliari assumed at one time the name of 'Civitas Iola. The island became well known to the Greeks, and Herodotus (v. 106) mentions that Histæus of Miletus promised to Darius the son of Hystaspes that 'he would render the great island of Sardo (Sardinia) tributary to his power. According to Pliny, Timæus called the island Sandaliotis, from its resemblance to a sandal: it was also called Ichnusa by the Greeks, from its likeness to the print of a foot. Nura, afterwards one of the chief towns of the island, is particularly noticed in the Roman period on account of the inhabitants having accused the prætor Scaurus of malversation, on which occasion Scaurus was defended by Cicero. But the ante-Roman origin of Nura is proved by one of those singular structures called Nuraggi, which is a large cone, constructed of coarse blocks without mortar, and flanked by four small ones, upon which rests the foundation of a Roman aqueduct that supplied Nura with water. There are also at Nura other Roman remains, such as a small theatre, baths, &c., all very much defaced, Nura is said to have been destroyed in the wars of the Vandals. The Nuraggi are attributed by some to Iberian colonists and their leader Norax. They are a kind of tower in the form of a truncated cone, constructed of large blocks of stone, lava, porphyry, or freestone, without cement, and forming two concentric walls, between which are stairs leading to the summit. The inner part has generally two vaulted rooms, one above the other. The entrance at the base is very low, and leads through both walls to the lower chamber. The stairs give access to the upper chamber. The Nuraggi are of two sorts; the most common, and probably the most antient, bear no marks of the chisel, and are constructed of massive blocks, with irregular faces, and smaller stones in the interstices. The exterior materials of the others are evidently worked by tools; and though the stones are not exactly square, they are placed in horizontal layers, and gradually diminish in size towards the summit. The Nuraggi stand generally on the summit of hills commanding a view of the plains. Some rest upon a solid and spacious substructure or platform walled round in the same manner, and in which are constructed hidden chambers, which communicate with the central one by a covered gallery. Captain Smyth gives the plan and section of one of these, which is in the plain of Giavesu near Bonorva. It is about 40 feet high, including the substructure, and the cone is about 40 feet in diameter where it rises above the substructure. One of the loftiest Nuraggi is between Samagheu and Fordungianus, in the district of Busachi, east of Oristano: it is nearly 60 feet high, and is called by the natives Su Nuraggi longu.' Nuraggi are scattered all over Sardinia, to the number of several hundred, and are seen in every state, some nearly perfect, others a heap of rubbish. They are very numerous in the district of Sulcis, or the south-west part of the island, and also in the hilly region of Le Marghine, north of Oristano. There are also fine specimens of them in the Campo d' Ozieri, and at Isili and Gennuri in the Campidano. The original purpose of these buildings was probably for watch and defence, though in after-ages some of them may have been used as monuments for the dead, fragments of Roman terracotta and coins of the Empire having been found in them; neither literal nor symbolical characters are discovered in these singular

structures.

The first Carthaginian expedition to Sardinia, of which the epoch however is not ascertained, was led by Machæus, or Malchus, or Melech, who landed on the island, but was defeated by the natives, for which he was banished on his return to Carthage. Some time after, about 490 B.C., Hasdrubal and Hamilcar, sons of Mago, led another expedition to Sardinia, which gained a footing in the southern part of the island, and built or colonized Caralis and Sulcis. Hasdrubal however lost his life in fighting against the natives, who appear to have struggled bravely against the invaders.

We have no account of the wars of the Carthaginians in Sardinia, but it appears that they never reduced it entirely, as the natives took refuge in the mountains, ever ready to rise at any favourable opportunity. The lower country however was permanently in possession of the Carthaginians until the first Punic war. Sulcis was one of their chief colonies, but the site of that once wealthy town is now a

subject of controversy, some placing it on the southern coast, where a district still retains the name; whilst others, with more plausibility, place it in the small island opposite, called S. Antioco, north of the town of that name, where considerable remains of walls, of a moat, and an extensive necropolis are seen, and where, in 1819, an inscription was found, in which Sulcis is styled a Roman municipium, and the name of the chief magistrate, L. Corn. Marcellus, is recorded. In the same neighbourhood, in 1820, part of a brass armour was discovered, which is now in the museum of Cagliari, and which is believed to be of Greek workmanship. (Grassi, Ricerche Storiche intorno alle Armature scoperte nell' Isola di S. Antioco.) In the neighbouring island of S. Pietro an amphora full of Carthaginian brass coins was found by a farmer in ploughing the ground, while Captain Smyth was at anchor near the spot.

During the first Punic war the Romans attacked and defeated the Carthaginian fleet at Olbia, where Hanno, the commander, fell; and again they gained another naval victory over the Carthaginians at Caralis, but they do not seem to have got a permanent footing on the island, which at the conclusion of the war still belonged to Carthage. But the mercenary troops that garrisoned the island, following the example of those at Carthage, revolted, and killing their commander Bostar and the other Carthaginians, took possession of the principal strongholds, and committed all kinds of depredations on the natives, who rose in arms, and at last drove them away. The mercenaries repaired to Italy, where they were countenanced by the Romans, eager for a pretence to seize upon that fine island. Taking advantage of the condition of their rivals, who were just released from the horrors of the war of the mercenaries, the Romans threatened Carthage with a new war unless Sardinia were formally made over to them. The Carthaginians were obliged to comply, besides paying the expenses of the Roman armament. The Romans, under T. Manlius Torquatus and M. P. Matho, met with considerable resistance from the Sards, but they succeeded in subjugating the principal part of the island, which was incorporated, with Corsica, into a Roman province, under a prætor, about B.C. 228.

After the breaking out of the second Punic war, the Sards, weary of their Roman masters, applied to Carthage for assistance. The Roman garrisons were in a weak state, and the prætor Q. M. Scævola was ill from the climate. The senate sent T. M. Torquatus with reinforcements to Sardinia, where he found the natives of the central part in open insurrection, under a chief called Arsicorus, who was soon after joined by a Punic force. A general battle took place near Caralis, in which the Sards and Carthaginians were utterly defeated, and Cornus, the stronghold of the insurgents, surrendered to the Romans. (Liv., 23, c. 40, &c.) After this Sardinia remained quite during the rest of the Punic war.

About 178 B.C., Sardinia, being in a state of open insurrection, was made a consular province, and T. Sempronius Gracchus was sent to it with an additional force of two legions and 12,000 Latin confederate troops. Sempronius de feated the Ilienses, the supposed descendants of some Trojan emigrants, and the Balari, another fierce tribe, believed to be the descendants of Iberian colonists, who lived in the eastern highlands. All the people of Sardinia returned to the allegiance of Rome, and a double tribute was imposed upon them. The number of prisoners brought to Rome, and there sold in the market as slaves, gave rise to the proverb, 'Sardi venales,' which, from its double meaning, was afterwards construed into a term of reproach. It was stated that 80,000 Sards had either fallen or been made prisoners.

Caius Gracchus, the son of Sempronius, being quæstor in Sardinia, the Barbaricini, or mountaineers of the district still called Barbargia, revolted again, and another expedi tion was sent from Rome to subdue them, on which occa sion bloodhounds were employed. Gracchus was accused by his enemies at Rome of courting undue popularity with the Sards to the detriment of his own country. He repaired to Rome, and eloquently defended himself from the charge, stating that it was true he had neither exacted forced gifts, nor torn women from the arms of their husbands, nor brough away vases full of money after emptying the wine out of them, as many other Roman officers had done; but that be had gone to Sardinia with a full purse and had returned with an empty one.' His vindication so pleased the people of Rome, that they elected him tribune.

During the great civil wars Sardinia shared the calam

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