MY DEAR SIR,

Engagements in Naples, which we could not decline, and the shortness of our stay, allowed us to make but one more excursion to the country. This was to the new palace at Casertta. The outside has nothing to boast of but the grandeur of its size; but for convenience, the plan is, perhaps, the best which has ever been laid out. It is a square of six hundred feet each side; and that no room may be lost, the interior court is divided into four, by a range of buildings in the shape of a cross, the head of which forms a most magnificent church, lined with the marble from the Temple of Serapis at Puzzoli. It hath not many paintings, but that of the Presentation is reckoned inestimable. I do not mean to criticise this admirable work, but it is natural to imagine that the painter intended the Virgin Mary to be his principal character, and yet, in spite of myself, my attention was constantly drawn from her to the surrounding figures.

The great staircase forms one of the finest coup d'oeils of the kind I ever beheld. It is in the center of the whole edifice, opposite the church gates. The dome is painted with Apollo and the Muses, in a circle, and the four seasons in the corners. The steps and balustrade are all of marble of different colours, on a very grand scale, crowned with two capital lions. If any fault can be found with this elegant piece of architecture, it is that the area below is too small in proportion to the grandeur of this part of the building.

It is intended that this Palace shall contain apartments for all the Officers of State, &c. who by the skill of the architect, will be most conveniently lodged; as yet, however, none but those of the King are completed. These are finished in the richest style, and with a neatness and elegance that prevents our being dazzled by their magnificence. The walls are washed with light colours (for the Italians use no paper), with elegant mouldings of gold and silver, and the ceilings are adorned with a variety of most beautiful paintings. That of the Three Graces in the Queen's bath, is a most masterly piece; they have just been bathing, the beauty of their faces and symmetry of their persons, are beyond description.

Several of the lower rooms are filled with statues, not yet put up. The best is Agrippina sitting on a chair, with her feet out, so very natural, that I was on the point of bowing to her. The Theatre is nothing extraordinary. The aqueduct we had not time to see.

St. Januarius is the tutelar saint of the Neapolitans. His feast is now celebrating. The people out of doors affect to laugh at the idea of his blood liquifying, but when the pretended miracle was performed, all of them kissed the phial with great fervour. The Nobile have given an oratorio in honor of him; Sir William Hamilton sent us tickets for it.

During this festival the operas are suspended; which has prevented our seeing more than two. The Theatre of St. Carlos, performers, dresses, &c. are, in every respect, superior to ours; and yet, instead of half-a-guinea, the price of admittance is only about eighteen pence.

In England, the singers are never obliged to exert themselves for any time together: here I have heard La Banti in a cantata that hath required a constant exertion for near half an hour; Tomeone, though less powerful, is more pleasing: in Pace caro mio Sposo, she is absolutely incomparable. The Coltalines make too many faces; and this is often the case with the men; but, however hideous in private parties, it is not much observed on the stage. Their dances are longer than ours, and, when they form part of the piece, are accompanied by voices.

It would be presumption to attempt to describe the manners of the Italians on so short an acquaintance. Suffice it to say, that we have been treated with the utmost attention; that the people are remarkably partial to our nation; and that being an English Officer is a sufficient introduction to the first company.

If the lower sort have sometimes taken advantage of our inexperience, it is no more than we have suffered at home; for, who are more imposing, particularly to foreigners, than the publicans, waiters, and all that class of people, in England?

In short, I should be apt to give a very high character of the Neapolitans, had I not been told that they do not merit the favorable opinion I have formed of them, and that the civility of the men often ends in winning your money, whilst that of the women proceeds from an amorous disposition, tinctured with avarice: but all this it would be ungenerous to believe, since we have not experienced an instance of either. The frailty of women I can pity, as well as condemn: but how a lady can sell her virtue, is, though perhaps it may be accounted for here, what Englishmen I hope will never comprehend.

The Princess BelmontÉ is particularly entitled to our regard. Her fortune renders her superior to any sordid views; and yet she has always been remarkable for the kindest attention to our countrymen. Her Highness invited us to a party at her casino, and shewed us a room entirely furnished in the English style, with the best productions of Bunbury, Hamilton and Strange.

We have been at several conversazioni, which, in the principal houses, include every other amusement. A suit of rooms is thrown open; the largest for a promenade in summer, and dancing in winter; the next for music; a third for billiards; a fourth for fruit, ices, &c. and the rest for cards and dice. But, if only four or five people meet together, the Italians call it a conversazione.

The Court has been at Castello Mare ever since we arrived. We mean to call there on our way out of the bay; and Lord Hervey, from whom we have received the greatest civilities, has promised to accompany us. His Lordship is one of the King's most intimate friends; and Lady Hervey, whose gentleness and good sense insure her the hearts of all those who have the honour to approach her, is particularly esteemed and respected by the Queen, and all the Italian nobility.

I mentioned before, that the Spaniards ceded Naples to the Emperor, by the Treaty of Utrecht; but Philip V. of Spain's second wife, Elizabeth Farnese, heiress to the Duke of Parma, giving him a pretence for invading Italy, in her right, he made a conquest of Sicily and Naples: but the other European Powers obliged him to form them into a separate kingdom, and to give it to Charles, his eldest son by the Princess of Parma.--A. D. 1735.

All Philip's children by his first marriage dying without issue, Charles succeeded to the crown of Spain, and resigned " A. D. 1759." Sicily and Naples to his third son, Ferdinand IV. the present King, the eldest being an ideot, and the second becoming Prince of the Asturias, and heir to Spain.

The government, being founded on conquest, is of course despotic. The King generally keeps up near thirty thousand men, who seem to be tolerable troops. The officers are obliged to have a public military education, and are astonished that this is not the case with us. The navy consists of three two-deckers, about a dozen frigates, and twenty galleys. They are at war with the Algerines, but seldom take a prize.

The revenue of the King of Naples is near a million sterling. When supplies are wanted, his Majesty has only to issue an edict, mentioning the cause, and the manner in which they are to be raised. He generally says, that it is by the desire of his Council, which only consists of his principal Ministers, and the Queen, who is allowed a considerable share in the administration of the kingdom, from its independence being in a manner obtained through the female line, as I conjecture; for the short time I have been in this country has not permitted me to make myself master of its laws, which, as well as several other matters, I must pass over till my return. As to churches and convents, I will not detain you with any account of them; for they are nearly alike in most Roman Catholic states.

Naples is in Lat. 40° 53', Long. 14° 12' East, and, by the shortest course, about a thousand miles from Gibraltar.