340
B. II.
guftus, on his conqueft of Egypt , having brought toRome the treafure of its kings. gold and filver over-flowed in Italy ; the bulk of which found its way toConftantinople, when it became the feat of empire.By thefe means, Italy was fidly impoverilhed : thewhole ground had been covered with gardens andvillas, now deferred; and there was neither corn normanufactures to exchange for money Gold and filverbecame as rare in Italy as they had been of old ; andyet the fame taxes that had been paid with eafe duringplenty of money, were rigidly exacted, which ruinedall. The duchy of Ferrara, in a narrower compafs, af-fords a later example of the fame kind. It was one ofthe richeft and molt populous diftrkts in Italy , whengoverned by its own princes; but at prefent under thePapal defpotifm, it is reduced to poverty and depopu-lation. There may be feen extenlive meadows with-out a hand to cut down the grafs, or a beaft to eat it.The water-pa(Tages are not kept open : the ftagnatingwaters’are putrid, and infed the air with a poifonousfleam. In a word, that duchy is approaching to theunwholefome Hate of the Campagna di Roma, andfoon like it will become uninhabitable. Well may itbe faid, that oppreffive taxation is a monfter, which,after devouring every other thing, devours itfelf atlaft. Bologna furrendered to the Pope upon terms,referving many of its moft valuable privileges. Bolo-gna continues a rich and populous city; and by mo-derate taxes the Pope draws from it ten times the fumthat can be fqueezed out of Ferrara by all the enginesof oppreffion.
END OF THE SECOND VOLUME.