[265] "A Comment on the Divine Comedy of Dante," in English, printed
in Italy, has just reached me. I am delighted to find that this
biography of Love, however romantic, is true! In his _ninth year_,
Dante was a lover and a poet! The tender sonnet, free from all
obscurity, which he composed on Beatrice, is preserved in the above
singular volume. There can be no longer any doubt of the story of
Beatrice; but the sonnet and the passion must be "classed among
curious natural phenomena," or how far apocryphal, remains for
future inquiry.
[266] This work was published in 1742, and the scarcity of these
volumes was felt in Granger's day, for they obtained then the
considerable price of four guineas; some time ago a fine copy was
sold for thirty at a sale, and a cheap copy was offered to me at
twelve guineas. These volumes should contain seventeen portraits.
The first was written by Mr. Anderson, who, dying before the second
appeared, Lord Egmont, from the materials Anderson had left,
concluded his family history--_con amore_.
[267] Mr. Anderson, the writer of the first volume, was a feudal
enthusiast; he has thrown out an odd notion that the commercial, or
the wealthy class, had intruded on the dignity of the ancient
nobility; but as wealth has raised such high prices for labour,
commodities, &c., it had reached its _ne plus ultra_, and commerce
could be carried on no longer! He has ventured on this amusing
prediction, "As it is therefore evident that NEW MEN _will never
rise again in any age with such advantages of wealth_, at least in
considerable numbers, their _party_ will gradually decrease."
[268] Much curious matter about the old Countess of Westmoreland and
her seven castles may be found in Whitaker's History of Craven, and
in Pennant.