' We agreed that we would rather
have seen him and William Shakspeare, than all the men we ever read of.
Fancy poisoning a fellow out of envy--as Spagnoletto did! There are some
men whose admiration takes that bilious shape. There's a fellow in our
mess at the Lepre, a clever enough fellow too--and not a bad fellow to
the poor. He was a Gandishite. He is a genre and portrait painter, by
the name of Haggard. He hates J. J. because Lord Fareham, who is here,
has given J. J. an order; and he hates me, because I wear a clean shirt,
and ride a cock-horse.

"I wish you could come to our mess at the Lepre. It's such a dinner:
such a tablecloth: such a waiter: such a company! Every man has a beard
and a sombrero: and you would fancy we were a band of brigands. We are
regaled with woodcocks, snipes, wild swans, ducks, robins, and owls and
oionoisi te pasi for dinner; and with three pauls' worth of wines and
victuals the hungriest has enough, even Claypole the sculptor. Did you
ever know him? He used to come to the Haunt. He looks like the Saracen's
head with his beard now. There is a French table still more hairy than
ours, a German table, an American table. After dinner we go and have
coffee and mezzo-caldo at the Cafe Greco over the way. Mezzo-caldo is
not a bad drink--a little rum--a slice of fresh citron--lots of pounded
sugar, and boiling water for the rest. Here in various parts of the
cavern (it is a vaulted low place) the various nations have their
assigned quarters, and we drink our coffee and strong waters, and abuse
Guido, or Rubens, or Bernini selon les gouts, and blow such a cloud of
smoke as would make Warrington's lungs dilate with pleasure. We get very
good cigars for a bajoccho and half--that is very good for us, cheap
tobaccanalians; and capital when you have got no others. M'Collop is
here: he made a great figure at a cardinal's reception in the tartan of
the M'Collop. He is splendid at the tomb of the Stuarts, and wanted
to cleave Haggard down to the chine with his claymore for saying that
Charles Edward was often drunk.

"Some of us have our breakfasts at the Cafe Greco at dawn. The birds are
very early birds here; and you'll see the great sculptors--the old Dons,
you know, who look down on us young fellows--at their coffee here when
it is yet twilight. As I am a swell, and have a servant, J. J. and I
breakfast at our lodgings. I wish you could see Terribile our attendant,
and Ottavia our old woman! You wil