filaments of a kind of muscle, which they get off the rocks, where it
fixes itself by spinning a web from its own body, like the silk-worm
or spider. These caps and gloves are actually warmer than those made
of wool, and are of a fine glossy green colour.

[Illustration]

There are a great many beggars, I am sorry to say, in fair Italy, who
are called _Lazzaroni_, and they live on whatever they can get,
sleeping under porticos, piazzas, or any place they can find, and are,
as you may guess, excessively idle, like all other beggars.

There are also hordes of thieves, who are called _Banditti_, and who
rob people in the most daring manner, for there are very few police.
But there are also numerous persons who are quite well-behaved, and
do all they can to earn their bread honestly. Among these is a set of
men called _Improvisatori_, who tell stories, or repeat verses in the
streets, and get a good deal of money from those who stop to listen to
them. It must be very pleasant, on a cool summer evening, to sit under
some magnificent old portico, listening to some interesting poem, or
hearing a pretty story related.

Throughout Italy, one of the remarkable customs, is keeping of a grand
festival, which begins some weeks before Lent, and is called the
"Carnival;" on this occasion, every place is brilliantly adorned, and
the people go about singing, dancing, joking, and masquerading. The
most splendid Carnival is kept at Venice, a remarkable city of Italy,
built upon a several islands, the sea, which runs every where among
them, serving the inhabitants for streets.