The Arkansas advocate., 1834-10-24
I From fhe Baltimore American. l

Begging is, in Italy, a regular business or calling, systematically followed and re-
 lied on for livelihood by a considerable portion of the population, as honest indus try is in the Unlted States. THEODORE s. FkY, Esq. in one Of his late letters from Italy, gives the following graphic descrip- ton of this degraded class, who cling to idleness with tenaeity that all it's attendant wfe'eAe@a cannot eTereawe
 After the runs and the eathedgals, one of the most remarkable features of this re- nowned country is the beggars. Ii is said that in some sections their number has been recently diminished. I still recog- nised in them. however, the original ofmanY picture which previous travellers have drawn. There can he no portion of the globe were they appear more out of place, and in stronger contrast with all around them, and yet they swarm the roads in fiocls. They do not, as iii other nations, coufine themselvesto cities, the mere acci- dental victims of idleness, intemperance, or misfortune, and the natural result of a dense population, but they spring upon you on all sides. Not only do they arrest you on the steps of the theatre, lie in wait on the vestibule of the palace, and at the altar of the cathedral, but they rise like Rhoderick Dhus band from behind the fig trees and the olive; Ill the midst of inc loveliest fields; upon the ocean beach, in valleys teeming in abundance. which precludes the idea of want, and on the pinnacles of lofty mountains, where you expect but the scream of the vulture, or the swarthy brow of the brigand. IL is humiiating specta- cle amid the unriyaleG proiuslon of nature, to sec. d creature apparently stricken with all the wretchedness that can blast humani- ty, start from beneath vine overburdened with grapes, or grove bending under or anges, or from an arched gateway, richly decked with statuary, or a fountain that costs fortune, and plead in tones too syco- phantic, with looks too wo-begone and elo- auent for description. for the nerest pit tance that casual charity may grant. As their throngs are so numerous, ther Indiyl- dual gains must be small; and many of these most extraordinary personificatlons of poverty famine-disease and despair. stand
 in perfect silence by the road side, holding forth their tattefed hats with trembling hands, to the gay, the atiiuent, the young, the beautiful and the happy, as they glide on their career of pleasure. What must be the reflections of these unhappy beings! What comparisons mus. they have drawn be- tween themselves and others. Can you not fancy one wandering through these scenes where all things are bright but him. self-aeed- -houseless-- fiendless--desti-I tute-despised, and waiting by the gate of a stately villa, for the passing by of some being with heart. Wearily drags the heightened hour. The sun flames up the east, and levels hIs evening beams against the mountains s-yet he Is neglected and weak with hunger. The arrogant position sometimes cracks his whip in his face, orl the pampered dog barks at him as he creeps along, and night finds him at a loss where i,, h y h; is;s bead Sometimes at the noise of an approaching carriage, 3 anttering hone aeitates his stagsfistftt breast again he hold forth his feeble hands to the group