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themselves up to pillaging the ruins, as well as in the cabins,which the inhabitants had hastily constructed, often at thecost of every thing that remained to them, as a shelter fromthe heavy rains and snow which fell in greater quantity thanusual, at that inclement season of the year. Many other sof the liberated prisoners pursued a different course, andselling their labour at high prices, worked with advantage tothemselves and others at the excavations, the building oftemporary shelter, and fetching provisions from a distance.Of the numerous acts, remarkable for vice or virtue, ofwhich a pamphlet might be formed, I will only mentiontwo. A rich man, whose name I shall conceal, in deferenceto his worthy son, now living, caused excavations to be madein the ruins of his mansion, and having found his iron chest,containing a large sum of money, besides plate and jewelleryto a great amount, suddenly suspended the work, althoughhis uncle, his brother, and his wife, were underneath, andprobably still alive! Two brothers disputed the proprietor-ship to ample possessions, and were, as too frequently hap-pens amongst the nearest relatives, in a state of bitterenmity. Andrea fell buried under the house. Vincenzowas the legal heir to the disputed estate, but full of fraternalaffection and benevolence, his only care was to save hisbrother, whom he speedily restored to light and safety.Scarcely had the abandoned tribunals re-assumed their func-tions, when the ungrateful Andrea, deaf to the amicable andgenerous compromise proposed by his brother, re-com-menced the suit. He lost it, as well he ought; and he alsolost the respect and consideration of all classes of his fellow-countrymen, so as to be induced to emigrate for life.
One consolation remained to the poor in the midst of theirafflictions. They had the satisfaction of beholding the rich,and oftentimes supercilious barons, humbled to the dust. Thelatter had become the weaker party; so with downcast air,