Sardinia is now subject to the Duke of Savoy, who by the Quadruple Alliance, [Sidenote: A. D. 1720.] was obliged to accept it in lieu of Sicily, which was given to the Emperor. It is 140 miles long, and 70 broad, and contains 420,000 souls. The revenue arises chiefly from a duty upon salt, and is barely sufficient to defray its expences; but it certainly might be considerably augmented, as the soil produces wine, corn, and oil in abundance. Most of the salt that is exported, is taken by the Danes and Swedes; the English formerly took great quantities for Newfoundland, but having found the procuring it from Spain and Portugal more convenient, they now take little or none. A profitable tunny fishery is carried on at the south west part of the island, but it is monopolized by the Duke de St. Pierre, and a few more people, who happen to be proprietors of the adjoining land. Wild boars abound in the hilly parts of the island, and here are some few deer, not so large as ours, but in colour and make exactly the same. I tasted part of one at the Viceroy's, and found it by no means inferior to our doe venison. The Feudal System still subsists in a limited degree, and titles go with their estates, so that by purchasing the latter, you inherit the former. The regular troops seldom exceed two thousand men, but the militia amount to near twenty-six thousand, of whom eleven thousand are cavalry. Their horses are small, but uncommonly active. In a charge we should beat them, but on a march they would be superior to us. The country people are generally armed; but notwithstanding their having been so long under the Spanish and Italian government, assassinations are by no means frequent; and yet by the laws of the country, if a man stabs another without premeditated malice, within four hours after quarrelling with him, he is not liable to be hanged. On the other hand, the church affords no protection to the guilty. The Sardinians are not at all bigoted, and, next to the Spaniards, the English are their favorites. In 1708, the Viceroy was disposed to support the Duke of Anjou, but on the approach of the British fleet, the inhabitants obliged him to acknowledge Charles. The town stands on the side of an hill, rising from the sea, with a rampart round it. The situation is strong by nature; but the works are much out of repair. The worst of this port is, that, on account of the shoalness of the water, men of war are obliged to lay a long distance from the shore; and, although the bay is of a very considerable extent, yet the channel for large ships is so narrow, that, in working out with a contrary wind, it is difficult to avoid getting aground; but, as the bottom is, in general, soft, touching is attended with no bad consequence but the trouble of getting off.