the name of two brothers, natives of Venice, who, each in his own sphere, attained considerable distinction in Italian literature. Gasparo, the elder, and, as he is often called, the "Addison" of Italy, was born in 1715. He inherited a large fortune, which, as he was careless and indifferent in money matters, soon melted away, and he was compelled to write for a livelihood. Such means as he had been able to save from the wreck of his fortunes were swamped by an unsuccessful speculation of his wife (a woman of considerable literary powers and accomplishments), who undertook the management of the theatre of San Angelo at Venice, and failed utterly. Till the age of sixty Gozzi supported himself by his pen. His most valuable contributions to literature are his Osservatore Veneto, on the model of the English Spectator, distinguished by a high moral spirit, a fine play of fancy, and a pleasant glancing satire, couched in the choicest diction; his Lettere Famigliari, a delightful collection of short racy pieces in prose and verse on every subject, and generally pointing some useful moral; and his Opere in versi e in prosa, consisting chiefly of dramatic pieces, translated for the most part from the French, and displaying, like all Gozzi's works, great elegance of style. Not the least valuable of his works is his defence of Dante (whom he enthusiastically admired), against the attack of Bettinelli. Much of the work which passed through his hands in the course of his long literary career was merely done to meet the exigencies of the hour. Such were his translations of Fleury's Ecclesiastical History, Marmontel's Tales, Pope's Essay on Criticism, &c. He is also said to have written the greater part of Foscarini's History of Venetian Literature, the so-called author having only contributed the plan and an unfinished sketch of the work. Gozzi's life closed in peace and happiness. On the suppression of the Order of Jesus in 1774 he was commissioned to organize a new school system for the north of Italy. He executed his commission with such ability that he was appointed to do the same good office to the university of Padua. In this city he died in 1786, in the seventy-third year of his age.

CARLO GOZZI, his younger brother, was born in 1722. He was a man of greater vigour of mind and general force of character than his brother Gaspard. Before his sixteenth year he had written four poems of great length, besides a vast number of smaller pieces. His literary career, however, like that of his brother, though always congenial enough, became at length, through that brother's mismanagement of the common inheritance, a necessity. In 1761 he produced his comedy of The Three Oranges, which had an immense run from its successful revival of the masks and impromptu dialogues so long popular in Italy, but which Goldoni had recently banished from the stage. (See GOLDONI.) He followed up his success with a series of similar pieces, and was able to make head for a time against Goldoni. Like Goldoni, Gozzi enjoys the somewhat strange privilege of being a greater favourite abroad than at home. Native critics, indeed, deny him altogether the praises liberally bestowed on him by Ginguené, Madame de Staël, and other French writers. His Useless Memoirs of his own Life were discontinued in 1798; at least no part of them was published after that date. Gozzi died in 1806 at the advanced age of eighty-four. (See Ginguené's articles on the Gozzi in the Blog: Unite., where a complete list of the works of the two brothers will also be found.)