to the world any works of his own, contenting himself with editing the lucubrations of others. Although he never travelled, he was well acquainted, by catalogues and descriptions, with the libraries of other cities. There is an anecdote of an acquaintance asking him how many copies were known to be extant of a book noted for its rarity. "Only three," was Magliabecchi's reply. "One belongs to me; one is in the Vatican, and the third at Constantinople in the library of the Grand Turk; you will find it in the third room, on the bottom shelf to the right as you enter, where it is the seventh volume." A noble family of Verona, the Maffei, gave two eminent men to the Italy of the Eighteenth Century. The Marquis ALESSANDRO MAFFEI entered the services of the Elector of Bavaria, and rose to be Field Marshal. He was instrumental in gaining the great victory over the Turks at Belgrade in 1717. He died in Munich in 1730, and left _Memoirs_ which are both well-written and valuable as illustrating the history of his times. His brother, SCIPIONE MAFFEI, was born on the first of June, 1675. Scipione entered the Army and served under his brother during the War of the Spanish Succession. His first work was a book against the practice of duelling. When he returned to his native city, he published a literary journal in conjunction with Apostolo Zeno and Vallisnieri. He wrote a comedy, _La Ceremonia,_ and a tragedy, _Merope,_ which became widely celebrated throughout Europe as the prototype of Voltaire's tragedy on the same subject. Voltaire dedicated his _Merope_ to Maffei, but he was in reality jealous of the reputation the Italian work had acquired, and under a thin disguise he published letters laying bare its foibles and defects. The task was not very difficult, for Maffei's _Merope,_ beyond the fact of emanating from the pen of an elegant scholar, has little to recommend it. The characters are not very vividly drawn, and the blank verse is rather languid and unimpressive. His best and most enduring work is the _Verona Illustrata,_ a magnificent contribution to the history of his native town. He died in 1755. The Jesuit TIRABOSCHI produced a voluminous _History of Literature_ and his work has both judgement and research to give it permanent value.