try--

Umbrageous grots and caves
Of cool recess, o'er which the mantling vine
Lays forth her purple grape, and gently creeps
Luxuriant.

It is always let, and, till he went away, was occupied by
Stackelberg, the Russian Ambassador.

In the evening went to a ball at the Duchesse d'Eboli's; very few
people, and hardly any English, and those not the best--only
four, I think: Sir Henry Lushington, the Consul; a Mr. Grieve, of
whom I know nothing but that his father was a physician at St.
Petersburg, and that he killed his brother at Eton by putting a
cracker into his pocket on the 5th of November, which set fire to
other crackers and burnt him to death; Mr. Auldjo, the man who
made a very perilous ascent of Mont Blanc, of which he published
a narrative; Mr. Arbuthnot, who levanted from Doncaster two years
ago--but most of the Italian women were there, and I was
surprised at their beauty. Acton, who introduced me to some of
them, assured me that they were models of conduct, which did not
precisely tally with my preconceived notions of Neapolitan
society. They danced, but with no music but a pianoforte. This is
one of the few houses here which is habitually open, for they
have not the means of doing much in the way of society and
gaiety; they are poor, and the Government (the worst in the
world) interferes. The Duchesse d'Eboli is poor, but she was a
beauty, and has had adventures of various sorts.

[Page Head: MATTEIS'S TRIAL]

April 21st, 1830 {p.336}

Dined with Keppel Craven yesterday; Acton, Morier, Duchesse
d'Eboli, and some other people.

The day was so disagreeable yesterday I could not go out--not
cold, but a hurricane and clouds of dust. The principal topic of
conversation at dinner was the trial, which goes on every day,
has already lasted a month, and is likely to last two or three
more. The Code Napoleon is in force here, so that there may
probably be something like a certain and equal administration
of justice between man and man; but this is a Government
prosecution, and therefore exempted from ordinary rules. The
history of this trial exemplifies the state of both the law and
the Government of this country. The accused are five in number;
the principal of them, Matteis, was an _intendente_, or governor,
of a province; 2nd, the advocate-general of the province; 3rd,
Matteis's secretary; and 4th and 5th, two spies. These men united
in a conspir