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| author | Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org> | 2025-10-15 04:35:37 -0700 |
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| committer | Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org> | 2025-10-15 04:35:37 -0700 |
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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/10939-0.txt b/10939-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..9aa935b --- /dev/null +++ b/10939-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,14479 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 10939 *** + +AFTER WATERLOO + +Reminiscences of European Travel 1815-1819 + +By + +MAJOR W.E. FRYE + +EDITED WITH A PREFACE AND NOTES + +By SALOMON REINACH + +Member of the Institute of France + + + + +LONDON +1908 + + + + +To + + V.A.M. + S.R. + + + + +PREFACE + +The knowledge of Major Frye's manuscript and the privilege of publishing it +for the first time I owe to the kindness of two French ladies, the Misses +G----. Their father, a well known artist and critic, used to spend the +summer months at Saint Germain-en-Laye together with his wife, who was an +English woman by birth. They had been for a long time intimately acquainted +with Major Frye, who lived and ended his life in that quiet town. The +Major's hostess, Mme. de W----, after his death in 1858, brought the +manuscript to Mrs. G---- and gave it to her in memory of her friend. It was +duly preserved in the G---- family, but remained unnoticed. The Misses +G---- rediscovered it in 1907, when it had been lying in a cupboard for +upwards of half a century. On their showing it to me I thought it was +interesting for many reasons, and worthy of introduction to the public. I +hope the reader will share my opinion, which is also that of several +English scholars and men of letters, to whom I communicated extracts from +the manuscript. + +The reminiscences are in the form of letters addressed to a correspondent +who, however, is never named and of whose health, family and private +circumstances not the slightest mention is to be found. So I am inclined to +believe that he never existed, and that Major Frye chose to imitate +President de Brosses and others who thus recorded their travelling +experiences in epistolary form. + +The manuscript--which will eventually be deposited in a public library--is +entirely in Major Frye's large and legible hand; at some later time it was +evidently revised by himself, but many names which I have endeavoured to +complete were left in blank or only indicated by initials. There are three +folio volumes, bound in paper boards. In this edition it has been thought +advisable to leave out a certain number of pages devoted to theatricals, of +which Major Frye was a great votary, and also some lengthy descriptions of +landscapes, museums and churches, the interest of which to modern readers +does not correspond to the space occupied by them. For the information +contained in the footnotes I am indebted to many correspondents, English, +French, Swiss, Belgian and Italian, to whom I here express my hearty +thanks. I am under special obligation to Sir Charles Dilke, Mr Oscar +Browning, Professor Novati, Professor Corrado Ricci, Commandant +Espérandieu, Professor Cumont, Professor Stilling and Mr Höchberg. + +Major Frye's tombstone is in the cemetery of Saint Germain, and reads thus: +"To the memory of Major William Edward Frye, who departed this life the 9th +day of October, 1858." On the same stone has been added in French: +"Perceval Edmond Litchfield, décédé le 15 Avril, 1888." About P.E. +Litchfield I know nothing; he must have been the Major's intimate friend +during the last period of his life. + + * * * * * + +W.E. Frye was born Oct. 29, 1784, and received his education at Eton +(1797-9) in the time of the French Revolution. "The system was," he says, +"to drill into the heads of the boys strong aristocratic principles and +hatred of democracy and of the French in particular." The effect produced +on the youth was the reverse of that intended. From 1799 to 1822 he +belonged to the British army: here is an abstract of his services: + + Ensign, 2nd Foot, 5th August, 1799. + Lieutenant, 2nd Foot, 7th March, 1800. + Half-pay, 4th Foot, 14th April, 1808. + Lieutenant, 24th Foot, 8th December, 1804. + Captain, 56th Foot, 18th April, 1805. + 3rd Ceylon Regt., 15th Feb., 1810. + Half-pay, 3rd Foot, 7th March, 1816. + 4th Foot, 24th Feb., 1820. + Brevet-Major, 12th August, 1819. + Sold out, 15th August, 1822. + +In 1799, Frye took a part in the British Expedition to Holland. In 1801 he +was in Egypt with Lord Abercrombie's army and received the medal for war +service. His career in India lasted six years and gave him occasion to +visit the three presidencies and Ceylon. In 1814 he returned on furlough to +Europe and was in Brussels during the Waterloo campaign. The subsequent +years--1815 to 1819--he employed visiting Western Europe, as appears from +his reminiscences. I have read letters of his which prove that he lived in +Paris from 1830 to 1832. Later, about 1848, he took an apartment in Saint +Germain, and died there in 1858. + +Major Frye was a very distinguished linguist; besides knowing Greek and +Latin, he understood almost all European languages, and was capable of +writing correctly in French, Italian and German. The Misses G---- have +shown me a rare book published by him at Paris in 1844 under the following +title: + +"Trois chants de l'Edda. Vaftrudnismal, Thrymsquidal, Skirnisfor, traduits +en vers français, accompagnés de notes explicatives des mythes et +allégories, et suivis d'autres poèmes par W.E. Frye, ancien major +d'infanterie au service d'Angleterre, membre de l'Académie des Arcadiens de +Rome. Se vend à Paris, pour l'auteur, chez Heideloff & Cie, Libraires, 18 +Rue des Filles St. Thomas. 1844" (In 8vo, xii, 115 pp.) + +At the end of that volume are translations by Major Frye of several +Northern poems--in German, Italian and English verse--from the Danish and +the Swedish; then come two sonnets in French verse, the one in honour of +Lafayette, the other about the Duke of Orléans, whose premature death he +compares with that of the Northern hero of the Edda, Balder. A part of +Frye's translation of the Edda, before appearing in book form, had been +published in _l'Echo de la Littérature et des Beaux Arts_, a periodical +edited by the Major's friend, M. de Belenet. + +Frye loved poetry, though his ideas on the subject were rather those of the +eighteenth century than our own. It is interesting to find an English +officer reading Voltaire, Gessner, Ariosto, and quoting them from memory +(which explains that some of his quotations had to be corrected). The +sentimental vein of Rousseau's generation still flows and vibrates in him, +as when he says that he has never been able to read the letters of Wolmar +to St Preux in Rousseau's _Nouvelle Héloïse_ without shedding tears. German +minor poetry, now quite forgotten, attracted him almost as much as the +great pages of Schiller, Bürger, and Goethe. The Misses G. possess a +manuscript translation in three volumes, in the Major's own hand, of +Wieland's _Agathodemon_ done into English. This he evidently intended to +publish, as he had written the title-page which is worded as follows: + +"Agathodemon, a philosophical romance translated from the German of Wieland +by W.E. Frye, member of the Academy degli Arcadi in Rome, and of the Royal +Society of Northern Antiquarians of Copenhagen, ex-major of infantry in His +British Majesty's service." + +Frye describes with accuracy, and shows much appreciation of fine scenery +and architecture. His judgements in painting and sculpture are sincere, +though often betraying the autodidact and amateur. He loved music, +especially Rossini's operas which were then beginning their long career of +triumph. Theatricals of all sorts, especially ballets, had a great +attraction for him and elicited his enthusiastic comments. In comparing +tragedies and comedies which he had seen performed in different countries, +he gave repeated proofs of his knowledge and critical insight. We can take +him as a good example of that intelligent class of English travellers whose +intercourse with the Continental _litterati_ has so well contributed to +establish the good reputation of British culture and refined appreciation +of the arts. + +The chief interest of Frye's reminiscences lies, however, in quite another +direction. He was a friend of liberty, a friend of France, an admirer of +Napoleon, and a hater of the Tory régime which brought about Napoleon's +downfall. "France's attempts at European domination, in the Napoleonic era, +are graciously described as but so many efforts towards spreading the light +of civilization over Europe." These words, written about a quite recent +work and à propos of the "Entente cordiale," apply perfectly to Frye's +reminiscences. Travelling immediately before and after the Emperor's +collapse, he found that everywhere, excepting in Tuscany, the French +domination was regretted, because the ideals of liberty and equality had +shone and vanished with the tricolour flag. He admires the French people, +though not the _Ultras_ and bigots, and has fine words of praise for the +French army: "Yes, the French soldier is a fine fellow. I have served +against them in Holland and in Egypt, and I will never flinch from +rendering justice to their exemplary conduct and lofty valour." He takes +trouble to refute the exaggerated reports which were then circulated all +over Europe about the cruelties and vandalism practised by the French: "If +the French since the Revolution have not always fought for liberty, they +have done so invariably for science; and wherever they carried their +victorious arms abuses were abolished, ameliorations of all kinds followed +and the arts of life were improved. Our government, since the accession of +George III, has never raised its arm except in favour of old abuses, to +uphold despotism and unfair privileges or to establish commercial +monopoly." + +Sometimes, indeed, speaking of his own country and its government, Major +Frye uses very hard words, which might seem unpatriotic if we did not know, +from many other memoirs and letters, to what a terrible strain orthodox +Toryism, coupled with bigotry and hypocrisy, had put the patience of +liberal Englishmen at that period. He called the British government "the +most dangerous, artful, and determined enemy of all liberty,"--"England," +he says, "has been always ready to lend a hand to crush liberty, to +perpetuate abuses and to rivet the fetters of monarchical, feudal and +ecclesiastical tyranny." And later on he inveighs against the English +merchants, who "contributed with their gold to uphold the corrupt system of +Pitt and to carry on unjust, unreasonable and liberticide wars." + +Whatever may be the final judgement of history on the Tory principles in +politics in the days of the Congress of Vienna, Major Frye's love of +liberty and intellectual progress entitle him to the sympathy of those who +share his generous feelings and do not consider that personal freedom and +individual rights are articles for home use only. Since Frye wrote, the +whole of Europe, excepting perhaps Russia, has reaped the benefits of the +French Revolution, and reduced, if not suppressed, what the Major called +"kingcraft and priestcraft." He did not attempt to divine the future, but +the history of Europe in the nineteenth century has been largely in +accordance with his desires and hopes. It is not a small merit for a +writer, in the midst of one of the most rabid reactions that the world has +known, to have clung with such tenacity to ideals, the complete victory of +which may now be contemplated in the near future. + +S.R. + + + + + + +CONTENTS + + + +PART I. + + +CHAPTER I + +MAY-JUNE, 1815 + +Passage from Ceylon to England--Napoleon's return--Ostend--Bruges +--Ghent--The King of France at Mass--Alost--Bruxelles--The Duke of +Wellington very confident--Feelings of the Belgians--Good conduct of +British troops--Monuments in Bruxelles--Theatricals--Genappe and +Namur--Complaints against the Prussian troops--Mons--Major-General +Adam--Tournay--A French deserter--General Clinton's division--Cavalry +review--The Duke de Berri--Back to Bruxelles--Unjust opinions about +Napoleon and the French--Battle at Ligny--The day of Waterloo in +Bruxelles--Visit to the battlefield--Terrible condition of the +wounded--Kindness of the Bruxellois. + + +CHAPTER II + +From Bruxelles to Liége--A priest's declamation against the French +Revolution--Maastricht--Aix-la-Chapelle--Imperial relics--Napoleon +regretted--Klingmann's "Faust"--A Tyrolese beauty--Cologne--Difficulties +about a passport--The Cathedral--King-craft and priest-craft--The +Rhine--Bonn and Godesberg--Goethe's "Götz von Berlichingen"--The Seven +Mountains--German women--Andernach--Ehrenbreitstein--German hatred against +France--Coblentz--Intrigues of the Bourbon princes in Coblentz--Mayence-- +Bieberich--Conduct of the Allies towards Napoleon--Frankfort on the +Mayn--An anecdote about Lord Stewart and Lafayette--German poetry--The +question of Alsace and Lorraine--Return to Bruxelles--Napoleon's surrender. + + +CHAPTER III + +From Bruxelles to Paris--Restoration of Louis XVIII--The officers of the +allied armies--The Palais Royal--The Louvre--Protest of the author against +the proposed despoiling of the French Museums--Unjust strictures against +Napoleon's military policy--The _cant_ about revolutionary robberies--The +Grand Opera--Monuments in Paris--The Champs Elysées--Saint-Cloud--The +Hôtel des Invalides--The Luxembourg--General Labédoyère--Priests and +emigrants--Prussian Plunder--Handsome behaviour of the English +officers--Reminiscences of Eton--Versailles. + + +CHAPTER IV + +From Paris to Bruxelles--Visiting the plains of Waterloo--The Duke de Berri +at Lille--Beauvais--Return to Paris--Remarks on the French theatre +--Talma--Mlle Duchesnois--Mlle Georges--French alexandrine verse--The Abbé +Delille--The Opéra Comique. + + +CHAPTER V + +From Paris to Milan through Dijon, Chalon-sur-Saone, Lyons, Geneva and the +Simplon--Auxerre--Dijon--Napoleon at Chalon-sur-Saone--The army of the +Loire--Mâcon--French _grisettes_--Lyons--Monuments and theatricals-- +Geneva--Character and opinions of the Genevois--Voltaire's chateau at +Ferney--The chevalier Zadera--From Geneva to Milan--Crossing the +Simplon--Arona--The theatres in Milan--Rossini--Monuments in Milan--Art +encouraged by the French--Mr Eustace's bigotry--Return to Switzerland +--Clarens and Vevey--Lausanne--Society in Lausanne--Return to Paris--The +Louvre stripped--Death of Marshal Ney. + + + +PART II + + +CHAPTER VI + +MARCH-JUNE, 1816 + +Ball at Cambray, attended by the Duke of Wellington--An Adventure between +Saint Quentin and Compiègne--Paris revisited--Colonel Wardle and Mrs +Wallis--Society in Paris--The Sourds-Muets--The Cemetery of Père La +Chaise--Apathy of the French people--The priests--Marriage of the Duke de +Berri. + + +CHAPTER VII + +Journey from Paris to Lausanne--Besançon--French refugees in Lausanne +--Francois Lamarque--General Espinassy--Bordas--Gautier--Michau--M. de +Laharpe--Mlle Michaud--Levade, a Protestant minister--Chambéry--Aix +--Details about M. de Boigne's career in India--English Toryism and +intolerance--Valley of Maurienne--Passage across Mont Cenis and arrival at +Suza--Turin. + + +CHAPTER VIII + +Journey from Turin to Bologna--Asti--Schiller and Alfieri--Italian +_cuisine_--The _vetturini_--Marengo--Piacenza--The Trebbia--Parma--The +Empress Maria Louisa--Modena--Bologna--The University--The Marescalchi +Gallery--Character of the Bolognese. + + +CHAPTER IX + +Journey across the Appennines to Florence--Tuscan idioms and +customs--Monuments and galleries at Florence--The Cascino--Churches-- +Theatres--Popularity of the Grand Duke--Napoleon's downfall not +regretted--Academies in Florence. + + +CHAPTER X + +Journey from Florence to Rome--Sienna--Radicofani--Bolsena--Montefiascone +wine--Viterbo--Baccano--The Roman Campagna--The papal _douans_--Monuments +and Museums in Rome--Intolerance of the Catholic Christians--The Tiber and +the bridges--Character of the Romans--The _Palazzi_ and _Ville_--Canova's +atelier--Theatricals--An execution in Rome. + + +CHAPTER XI + +From Rome to Naples--Albano--Velletri--The Marshes--Terracina--Mola di +Gaeta--Capua--The streets of Naples--Monuments and Museums--Visit to +Pompeii and ascent to Vesuvius--Dangerous ventures--Puzzuoli and +Baiae--Theatres at Naples--Pulcinello--Return to Rome--Tivoli. + + +CHAPTER XII + +NOVEMBER-DECEMBER, 1816 + +From Rome to Florence--Sismondi the historian--Reminiscences of +India--Lucca--Princess Elisa Baciqochi--Pisa--The Campo Santo--Leghorn-- +Hebrews in Leghorn--Lord Dillon--The story of a lost glove--From Florence +to Lausanne by Milan, Turin and across Mont Cenis--Lombardy in winter--The +Hospice of Mont Cenis. + + + +PART III + + +CHAPTER XIII + +MARCH-SEPTEMBER, 1817 + +Journey from Lausanne to Clermont-Ferrand--A wretched conveyance--The +first dish of frogs--Society in Clermont-Ferrand--General de Vergennes-- +Cleansing the town--Return to Lausanne--A zealous priest--Journey to Bern +and back to Lausanne--Avenches--Lake Morat--Lake Neufchatel--The Diet in +Bern--Character of the Bernois--A beautiful Milanese lady. + + +CHAPTER XIV + +SEPTEMBER, 1817-APRIL, 1818 + +Journey from Lausanne to Milan, Florence, Rome and Naples--Residence at +Naples--The theatre of San Carlo--Rossini's operas--Gaming in Naples--The +_Lazzaroni_--Public writers--Carbonarism--Return to Rome--Christmas eve at +Santa Maria Maggiore--Mme Dionigi--Theatricals--Society in Rome--The papal +government--Lucien Bonaparte, prince of Canino--Louis Napoleon, ex-King of +Holland--Pope Pius VII--Thorwaldsen--Granet--The Holy Week in Rome--The +Duchess of Devonshire--From Rome to Florence by the Perugia road. + + +CHAPTER XV + +APRIL-JULY, 1818 + +Journey from Florence to Pisa and from thence by the Appennines to +Genoa--Massa--Carrara--Genoa--Monuments and works of art--The +Genoese--Return to Florence--Journey from Florence through Bologna and +Ferrara to Venice--Monument to Ariosto in Ferrara--A description of +Venice--Padua--Vicenza--Verona--Cremona--Return to Milan--The Scala +theatre--Verona again--From Verona to Innspruck. + + +CHAPTER XVI + +JULY-SEPTEMBER, 1818 + +Innspruck--Tyrol and the Tyrolese--From Innspruck to Munich--Monuments and +churches--Theatricals--Journey from Munich to Vienna on a floss--Trouble +with a passport--Complicated system of Austrian money--Description of +Vienna--The Prater--The theatres--Schiller's _Joan of Arc_--A +_Kinderballet_--The young Napoleon at Schoenbrunn--Journey from Vienna to +Prague. + + +CHAPTER XVII + +SEPTEMBER, 1818-MARCH, 1819 + +The splendid city of Prague--The German expression, "To give the basket"-- +Journey from Prague to Dresden--Journey from Dresden to Berlin--A +description of Berlin--The Prussian Army--Theatricals--Peasants talk about +Napoleon--Prussians and French should be allies--Absurd policy of the +English Tories--Journey from Berlin to Dresden--A description of +Dresden--The battle of Dresden in 1813--Clubs at Dresden--Theatricals-- +German beds--Saxon scholars--The picture gallery--Tobacco an ally of +Legitimacy--Saxon women--Meissen--Unjust policy of Europe towards the King +of Saxony. + + +CHAPTER XVIII + +MARCH-APRIL, 1819 + +Journey from Dresden to Leipzig--The University of Leipzig--Liberal +spirit--The English disliked in Saxony--The English Government hostile to +liberty--Journey to Frankfort--From Frankfort to Metz and Paris--A.F. +Lemaître--_Bon voyage_ to the Allies--Return to England. + + * * * * * + + + + + + + + +CHAPTER I + +MAY-JUNE, 1815 + +Passage from Ceylon to England--Napoleon's return--Ostend--Bruges--Ghent-- +The King of France at Mass--Alost--Bruxelles--The Duke of Wellington very +confident--Feelings of the Belgians--Good conduct of British +troops--Monuments in Bruxelles--Theatricals--Genappe and Namur--Complaints +against the Prussian troops--Mons--Major-General Adam--Tournay--A French +deserter--General Clinton's division--Cavalry review--The Duke de +Berri--Back to Bruxelles--Unjust opinions about Napoleon and the +French--Battle at Ligny--The day of Waterloo in Bruxelles--Visit to the +battlefield--Terrible condition of the wounded--Kindness of the Bruxellois. + + +BRUXELLES, May 1, 1815. + +I proceed to the fulfilment of my promise, to give you from time to time +the details of my tour, and my reflections on the circumstances that occur +at this momentous crisis. + +To me, who have spent the greatest part of my life out of Europe, the whole +scene is so new that I am quite bewildered with it; and you will, I am +afraid, as I write on the impulse of the moment, find my ideas at times +rather incoherently put together. What changes have taken place in Europe +within the last two years! and how great were those which occurred during +the interval of my passage from Ceylon last year, which island I quitted +about the time that we received in that part of the world intelligence of +the battle of Leipsic! Having had a long passage from distant Taprobane, it +was only on my arrival at the Cape of Good Hope, that I learned, to my +utter astonishment, the news of the capitulation of Paris to the allied +powers, and of the overthrow of the power and dynasty of Napoleon. I +recollect that at the Cape there was great rejoicing and jubilee on this +occasion; but I confess, as to myself, I did not see any reason for giving +vent to this extravagant joy; and I must have had even at that time somehow +or other a presentiment of what would soon happen, as in communicating this +intelligence to a friend in India I made use of these words: "get a court +dress made, my good friend, and a big wig, ruffled shirt, and hair-powder, +and stick an old-fashioned sword by your side, for, depend on it, old +fashions will come into play again; the most arbitrary and aristocratic +notions will be revived and terrible machinations will be framed against +the liberties of Europe." + +Of course at the Cape we only heard one side of the question; and I began +to be almost convinced that it was as necessary for humanity, as for the +repose of Europe, that the giant should be put down; and I was consoled +when it was effected, ostensibly, at least, by the voice of the people. + +I had scarcely been three months in England, when the return of Napoleon +from Elba, and the extraordinary dislocation of the Bourbons from the +throne of France, summoned Europe again to arms; the crusade is preached at +Vienna, and behold! his Grace of Wellington appointed the Godfrey of the +holy league. I had reason, about six weeks before the news of this event +reached London, from some conversation I had with an intelligent friend, +who had just returned from a tour on the Continent, to suppose that the +slightest combination against the Bourbons would prove successful, from +their injudicious conduct and from the temper of the people; but I never +could have supposed that the return of the man of Elba would be hailed with +such unparalleled and unanimous acclamation. As I had long ago wished for +an opportunity of visiting the continent of Europe, which had never before +occurred to me, I eagerly embraced the offer made to me by my friend +Major-General Wilson, formerly Lieut.-Governor of Ceylon,[1] to accompany +him on a military tour through the country about to be the theatre of war. +Though I had never before visited the Continent (except with the British +army in the invasion of Holland in 1799, when I began my military career), +yet I was not wholly unprepared for travelling, having united to a +classical, as well as military education, a tolerable knowledge of history, +and a partial acquirement of the principal modern European languages, which +I had begun to learn when very young and which I kept up during my leisure +hours in India, which, like those of Don Quixote, were many. I preferred +this study infinitely to that of the Asiatic languages, for which I never +felt any taste, as I dislike bombast, hyperbole and exaggeration; and +though an ardent admirer of the Muses, I never could find pleasure in what +Voltaire terms "le bon style oriental, ou l'on fait danser les montagnes et +les collines," and I prefer the amatory effusions of Ovid to those of the +great King Solomon himself. + +The war will no doubt commence in Belgium, and of course the Emperor +Napoleon will be the assailant, for it cannot be supposed that after the +act of ban passed against him by the Amphictyons of Vienna he will remain +tranquil, and not strike the first blow, which may render him master of +Belgium and its resources. + +We embarked at Ramsgate on the first of May for Ostend on board of a small +vessel bound thither. Our fellow passengers were two officers of dragoons, +several commissaries with their servants, horses, etc. After a passage of +twenty-four hours, we entered the harbour of Ostend at one o'clock the +following day. Ostend, once so flourishing and opulent, has long since +fallen into decay; its usual dullness is however just now interrupted by +the bustle of troops landing to join the allied army. Cavalry, infantry, +artillery, horses, guns, stores, etc., are landed every minute. The quays +are the only parts of this city which can boast of handsome buildings; the +fortifications seem to be much out of repair; in fact, the aggrandizement +of Antwerp occasioned necessarily the deterioration of Ostend. + +The General and myself went to put up at the _Tête d'Or_, the only inn +where we could procure beds; and we embarked early next morning at the +embouchure of the canal on board of a _treckschuyt_ which conveyed us in +three hours to Bruges. + +The landscape between Ostend and Bruges is extremely monotonous, it being a +uniformly flat country; yet it is pleasing to the eye at this season of the +year from the verdure of the plains, which are all appropriated to +pasturage, and from the appearance of the different villages and towns, of +which the eye can embrace a considerable number. There is a good road on +the banks of the canal, and the troops, on their line of march, enlivened +much the scene. Bruges, formerly the grand mart and emporium of the +commerce of the East, not only for the Low Countries, but for all the North +of Europe, seems, if we may judge from the state of the buildings and the +stillness that prevails, to be also in a state of decline. We however had +only time to visit the _Hotel de Ville_ and to remark the immense height of +the steeple on the _Grande Place_. We observed a number of pretty women in +the streets and in the shops employed in lace making. Bruges has been at +all times renowned for the beauty of the female sex, and this brought to my +recollection a passage in Schiller's tragedy of the _Maid of Orleans_, +wherein the Duke of Burgundy says that the greatest boast of Bruges is the +beauty of its women. + +Another _treckschuyt_ was to start at twelve o'clock for Ghent; but we +preferred going by land and General Wilson hired a carriage for that +purpose. The distance is about thirty miles. The road from Bruges to Ghent +or Gand is perfectly straight, lined with trees and paved like a street. +The country is quite flat, and though there is nothing to bound the +horizon, the trees on each side of the road intercept the view. + +We arrived at Ghent about six in the afternoon of the 4th and had some +difficulty in finding room, as the different hotels were filled with +officers of the allied army; but at length, after many ineffectual +applications at several, we obtained admission at the _Hotel de Flandre_, +where we took possession of a double-bedded room, the only one unoccupied. + +Gand seems to be a very neat, clean and handsome city, with an air of +magnificence about it. The _Grande Place_ is very striking, and the +promenades are aligned with trees. We inspected the exterior of several +public buildings and visited the interior of several churches. In the +cathedral we had the honour of seeing at High Mass his most Christian +Majesty, Monsieur and the Comte de Blacas, Vicomte de Chateaubriand and +others, composing the Court of _notre Père de Gand_, as Louis XVIII is +humorously termed by the French, from his having fixed his head-quarters +here. A great many French officers who have followed his fortunes are also +here, but they seem principally to belong to the Gardes du Corps. A number +of military attended the service in the cathedral in order to witness the +devotions of the Bourbon family. Monsieur has all the appearance of a worn +out debauchee, and to see him with a missal in his hand and the strange +contrite face he assumes, is truly ridiculous. These princes, instigated no +doubt by the priests, make a great parade of their sanctity, for which +however those who are acquainted with their character will not give them +much credit. But religious cant is the order of the day _intra et extra +Iliacos muros_, abroad as well as in England. The King of France takes the +lead, having in view no doubt the advice of Buckingham to Richard III: + + A pray'r book in your hand, my Lord, were well, + For on that ground I'll make an holy descant. + +and M. de Chateaubriand will no doubt trumpet forth the devotion and +Christian humility of his master. Those, however, who are at all acquainted +with this prince's habits, and are not interested in palliating or +concealing them, insinuate that his devotions at the table are more sincere +than at the altar and that, like the Giant Margutte in the Morgante +Maggiore of Pulci, he places more faith and reliance on a cappone lesso +ossia arrosto than on the consecrated but less substantial wafer.[2] + +After contemplating this edifying spectacle, we returned to our inn, and +the next morning after breakfast we set out on our journey to Bruxelles. +The road is exactly similar to that between Bruges and Gand, but the +country appears to be richer and more diversified, and many country houses +were observable on the road side. We passed thus several neat villages. At +one o'clock we stopped at Alost to refresh our horses and dine. At the +table d'hôte were a number of French officers belonging to the Gardes du +Corps. On entering into conversation with one of them, I found that he as +well as several others of them had served under Napoleon, and had even been +patronised and promoted by him; but I suppose that being the sons of the +ancient _noblesse_ they thought that gratitude to a _parvenu_ like him was +rather too plebeian a virtue. Some of them, however, with whom I conversed +after dinner seemed to regret the step they had taken. "If we are +successful," said they, "it can only be by means of the Allied Armies, and +who knows what conditions they may impose on France? If we should be +unsuccessful, we are exiled probably for life from our country." During +dinner, two pretty looking girls with musical instruments entered the hall, +and regaled our ears with singing some romances, among which were _Dunois +le Troubadour_ and _La Sentinelle_. They sang with much taste and feeling. +I surmise this is not the only profession they exercise, if I might judge +from the _doux yeux_ they occasionally directed to some of the officers. +These girls did not at least seem by their demeanour as if likely to incur +the anathema of Rinaldo in the _Orlando Furioso_: + + meritamente muoro Una crudele, + +but rather more disposed to + + dar vita all'amator fidele.[3] + +Alost is a neat, clean town or large village, and the same description will +serve for all the towns and villages in Brabant and Flanders, as they are +built on the same plan. We arrived at Bruxelles late in the evening and put +up at the _Hotel d'Angleterre_. + +This morning, the General and myself went to pay our respects to the _Gran +Capitano_ of the _Holy League_, and we left our cards. He is, I hear, very +confident of the result of the campaign, and no doubt he has for him the +prayers of all the pious in England against those atheistical fellows the +French; and these prayers will surely elicit a "host of angels" to come +down to aid in the destruction of the Pandemonium of Paris where Satan's +lieutenant sits enthroned. The reflecting people here are astonished that +Napoleon does not begin the attack. The inhabitants of Belgium are in +general, from all that I can hear or see, not at all pleased with the +present order of things, and they much lament the being severed from +France. The two people, the Belgians and Hollanders, do not seem to +amalgamate; and the former, though they render ample justice to the +moderation, good sense, and beneficent intentions of the present monarch, +who is personally respected by every one, yet do not disguise their wish to +be reunited to France and do not hesitate to avow their attachment to the +Emperor Napoleon. This union does not please the Hollanders either, on +other grounds. They complain that their interests have been sacrificed +entirely to those of the house of Orange, and they say that from the +readiness they displayed in shaking off the yoke of France, and the great +weight they thereby threw into the scale, they were entitled to the +restitution of all their colonies in Asia, Africa, and America. The +colonies of the Cape of Good Hope and Ceylon are what they most regret; for +these colonies in particular furnished ample employment and the means of +provision for the cadets of patrician families. If you tell them they have +acquired the Belgic provinces as an indemnification, they answer: "So much +the worse for us, for now the patronage of the colonial offices must be +divided between us and the Belgians." + +The preparations for the grand conflict about to take place are carried on +with unabating activity; the conscription is rigorously enforced and every +youth capable of bearing arms is enrolled. Almost all the officers of the +Belgian army and a great proportion of the soldiery have served with the +French and have been participators of their laurels; one cannot therefore +suppose that they are actuated by any very devouring zeal against their +former commander; nor have I found amongst the shop-keepers or respectable +people with whom I have conversed, and who have been falsely represented as +having suffered much from the tyranny of Napoleon, any who dislike either +his person or government, and certainly none either high or low express the +cannibal wish that I heard some English country gentlemen and London +merchants utter for the destruction of Paris and of the French people, nor +would it be easy to find here men of the _humane_ and _generous_ sentiments +professed by some of our aldermen and contractors when they welcomed with +ferocious acclamations of joy and were ready to embrace the Baschkir or +Cossack who told them that he had slaughtered so many French with his own +hand; nor would the ladies here be so eager to kiss old Blucher as was the +case in London. + +This city is filled with British and Hanoverian troops. Their conduct is +exemplary, nor is any complaint made against them. The Highland regiments +are however the favourites of the Bruxellois, and the inhabitants give them +the preference as lodgers. They are extremely well behaved (they say, when +speaking of the Highlanders) and they cheerfully assist the different +families on whom they are quartered in their household labour. This +reflects a good deal of credit on the gallant sons of Caledonia. Their +superior morality to those of the same class either in England or in +Ireland must strike every observer, and must, in spite of all that the +_Obscuranten_ or _Chevaliers de l'Eteignoir_ and others who wish to check +the progress of the human mind may urge to the contrary, be mainly +attributed to the general prevalence of education _a la portée de tout le +monde_. Wherever the people are enlightened there is less crime; ignorance +was never yet the safeguard of virtue. As for myself I honour and esteem +the Scottish nation and I must say that I have found more liberal ideas and +more sound philosophy among individuals of that nation than among those of +any other, and it is a tribute I owe to them loudly to proclaim my +sentiments; for though personal gratitude may seem to influence me a little +on this subject, yet I should never think of putting forth my opinion in +public, were it not founded on an impartial observation of the character of +this enterprising and persevering people. A woman who had some Highlanders +quartered in her house told me in speaking of them: "Monsieur, ce sont de +si bonnes gens; ils sont doux comme des agneaux." "Ils n'en seront pas +moins des lions an jour du combat," was my reply. + +I have amused myself with visiting most of the remarkable objects here, but +you must not expect from me a detail of what you will find in every +description book. You wish to have my ideas on the subjects that most +strike me individually, and those you shall have; but it would be very +absurd and presumptuous in me to attempt to give a _catalogue raisonné_ of +buildings and pictures and statues, or to set up as a connoisseur when I +know nothing either of sculpture, of architecture or painting; nor am I +desirous of imitating the young Englishman, who, in writing to his father +from Italy, described so much in detail, and so scientifically, every +production, or staple, peculiar to the cities which he happened to visit, +that he wrote like a cheese-monger from Parma, like a silk mercer from +Leghorn, like an olive and oil merchant from Lucca, like a picture dealer +from Florence, and like an antiquarian from Rome. + + +BRUXELLES, May 10. + +The _Hôtel d'Angleterre_ where we are lodged is within four minutes walk +from the finest part of the city, where the Parc and Royal Palace is +situated. The Parc is not large, but is tastefully laid out in the Dutch +style, and is the fashionable promenade for the _beau monde_ of Bruxelles. +The women, without being strikingly handsome, have much grace; their air, +manner and dress are perfectly _à la francaise_. A good café and restaurant +is in the centre of one of the sides, and the buildings on the quadrangle +environing the Parc, which form the palace and other tenements are superb. +The next place I went to see was the _Hôtel de Ville_ and its tower of +immense height. It is a fine Gothic building, but that which should be the +central entrance is not directly in the centre of the edifice, so that one +wing of it appears considerably larger than the other, which gives it an +awkward and irregular appearance. On the Place or Square as we should call +it, where the _Hôtel de Ville_ stands, is held the fruit and vegetable +market, and a finer one or more plentifully supplied I never beheld. This +_Place_ is interesting to the historian as being the spot where Counts +Egmont and Hoorn suffered decapitation in the reign of Philip II of Spain, +by order of the Duke of Alva, who witnessed the execution from a window of +one of the houses. The conduct of these noblemen at the place of execution +was so dignified that even the ferocious duke could not avoid wiping his +eyes, hardened as his heart was by religious and political fanaticism; and +though he held them in abhorrence as rebels and traitors a tear did fall +for them down his iron cheek. How fortunate for the liberties of Holland +that William the Taciturn did not also fall into the claws of that Moloch +Philip! I next visited the museum and picture gallery, where I witnessed +the annual exposition of the modern school of painting. The specimens I saw +pleased me much, particularly because the subjects were well chosen from +history and the mythology, which to me is far more agreeable than the +subjects of the paintings of the old Flemish school; but I am told often +that I know nothing about painting, so I shall make no further remarks but +content myself with sending you a catalogue, with the pictures marked +therein which made most impression on me. With respect to the churches of +Brussels those of Ste. Gudule and of the Capuchins are the finest and most +remarkable. In the former is the Temptation of Adam by the Serpent, richly +carved in wood in figures as large as life grouped round the pulpit.[4] + +The _Place du Sablon_ is very striking from the space it occupies, and on +it is a fountain erected by Lord Bruce.[5] The fountains which are to be +met with in various parts of the city are highly ornamental, and among them +I must not omit to mention a singularly grotesque one which is held in +great veneration by the lower orders of the Bruxellois and is by them +regarded as a sort of Palladium to the city. It is the figure of a little +boy who is at _peace_, according to the late Lord Melville's[6] +pronunciation of the words, and who spouts out his water incessantly, +reckless of decorum and putting modesty to the blush. What would our +vice-hunters say to this? He is a Sabbath breaker in the bargain and +continues his occupation on Sundays as well as other days and _in fine_ he +rejoices in the name of _Mannekenpis_. + +The ramparts, or rather site of the ramparts (for the fortifications of +Bruxelles no longer exist), form an agreeable promenade; but the favourite +resort of all the world at Bruxelles in the afternoon is the _Attee verte_. +Here all classes meet; here the rich display their equipages and horses; +and the lower orders assemble at the innumerable _guinguettes_ which are to +be met with here, in order to play at bowls, dominoes, smoke and drink +beer, of which there is an excellent sort called _Bitterman._ The avenues +on each side of the carriage road are occupied by pedestrians, and on one +side of the road is the canal, covered at all times with barges and boats +decked with flags and streamers. At the cabarets are benches and tables in +the open air under the trees; and here are to be seen the artisan, the +bargeman and the peasant taking their afternoon _délassement_, and groups +of men, women and children drinking beer and smoking. These groups reminded +me much of those one sees so often in the old Flemish pictures, with this +difference, that the old costume of the people is almost entirely left off. +Female minstrels with guitars stroll about singing French romances and +collecting contributions from this cheerful, laughter-loving people. The +dark walk, as it is called, near the park is a favourite walk of the upper +classes in the evening. There his Grace of Wellington is sometimes to be +seen with a fair lady under his arm. He generally dresses in plain clothes, +to the astonishment of all the foreign officers. He is said to be as +successful in the fields of Idalia as in those of Bellona, and the ladies +whom he honours with his attentions suffer not a little in their +reputations in the opinion of the _compères_ and _commères_ of Bruxelles. + +I have only been twice to the theatre since I have been here. The _Salle de +Spectacle_ is indifferent, but they have an excellent company of comedians. +The representations are in French. I saw the _Festin de Pierre_ of +Corneille exceedingly well performed. The actors who did the parts of Don +Juan and Sganarelle were excellent, and the scene with M. Dimanche, wherein +he demands payment of his bill, was admirably given. I have also seen the +_Plaideurs_ of Racine, a very favourite piece of mine; every actor played +his part most correctly, and the scene between the Comtesse de Pimbeche and +Chicaneau and L'Intimé wherein the latter, disguised as a _Bailli_, offers +himself to be kicked by the former, was given in very superior style. The +scene of the trial of the dog, with the orations of Petit Jean as +_demandeur_ and L'Intimé as _défenseur_, were played with good effect. I +never recollect having witnessed a theatrical piece which afforded me +greater amusement. + + +NAMUR, May 12. + +We left Brussels yesterday afternoon, and having obtained passports to +visit the military posts we went to Genappe, a small village half-way +between Bruxelles and Namur, where we brought to for the night at a small +but comfortable inn called _Le Roi d'Espagne_. Two battalions of the +regiment Nassau-Usingen are quartered in Genappe. We arrived at Namur this +morning at nine o'clock and put up at the _Hôtel d'Arenberg_. On the road +we stopped at a peasant's house to drink coffee; and we were entertained by +our hostess with complaints against the Prussians, who commit, as she said, +all sorts of exactions on the peasantry on whom they are quartered. Not +content with exacting three meals a day, when they were only entitled to +two, and for which they are bound to give their rations, they sell these, +and appropriate the money to their own use; then the demand for brandy and +_schnapps_ is increasing. But what can be expected from an army whose +leader encourages them in all their excesses? Blucher by all accounts is a +vandal and is actuated by a most vindictive spirit. The Prussians reproach +the Belgians with being in the French interest; how can they expect it to +be otherwise? They have prospered under French domination, and certainly +the conduct of the Prussians is not calculated to inspire them with any +love towards themselves nor veneration for the Sovereign who has such +all-devouring allies. I asked this woman why she did not complain to the +officers. She answered! "Hélas, Monsieur, c'est inutile; on donne toujours +la même réponse: '_Nichts verstehn_,'" for it appears when these complaints +are made the Prussian officers pretend not to understand French. + +Namur is now the head-quarters of Marshal Blucher, who is in the enjoyment +of divers _noms de guerre_, such as "Marshall Vorwärts," "Der alte Teufel." +On the high road, about two miles and a half before we reached Namur, we +met with a party of Prussian lancers, who were returning from a foraging +excursion. They were singing some warlike song or hymn, which was +singularly impressive. It brought to my recollection the description of the +Rhenish bands in the _Lay of the Last Minstrel_: + + Who as they move, in rugged verse + Songs of Teutonic feuds rehearse. + +The Prussian cavalry seem to be composed of fine-looking young men, and I +admire the genuine military simplicity of their dress, to which might be +most aptly applied the words of Xenophon when describing the costume of the +younger Cyrus: [Greek: _En tae Persikae stolae ouden ti hubrsmenae_][7] in +substituting merely the word [Greek: _Prussikae_] for [Greek: _Persikae_]. +One sees in it none of those absurd ornaments and meretricious foppery +which give to our cavalry officers the appearance of Astley's men.[8] + +The situation of Namur is exceedingly picturesque, particularly when viewed +from the heights which tower above the town, whereon stood the citadel +which was demolished by order of Joseph II, as were the fortifications of +all the frontier fortresses. The present Belgian Government however mean to +reconstruct them, and Namur in particular, the citadel of which, from the +natural strength of its position, is too important a post to be neglected. +The town itself is situated on the confluent of the Sambre and Meuse and +lies in a valley completely commanded and protected by the citadel. The +churches are splendid, and there is an appearance of opulence in the shops. +The inhabitants, from its being a frontier town, are of course much alarmed +at the approaching contest, for they will probably suffer from both +parties. We heard at the inn and in the shops which we visited the same +complaints against the Prussians. The country in the environs of this place +is exceedingly diversified, and it presents the first mountain scenery we +have yet met with. The banks of the Meuse hereabouts present either an +abrupt precipice or coteaux covered with vines gently sloping to the +water's edge. Namur is distant thirty-four miles from Brussels, and there +is water conveyance on the Meuse from here to Liége and Maastricht. + + +MONS, May 14. + +We started yesterday morning at four o'clock from Namur. The whole road +between Namur and Mons presents a fine, rich open country abounding in +wheat, but not many trees. We stopped to breakfast at Fleurus, at an inn +where there were some Prussian officers. One of them, a lieutenant in the +2nd West Prussian Regiment, had the kindness to conduct us to see the field +of battle where the French under Jourdan defeated the Austrians in 1794. It +is at a very short distance from the town; he explained the position of the +two armies in a manner perfectly clear and satisfactory to us. The Prussian +officers all seem very eager for the commencement of hostilities, and their +only fear is now that all these mighty preparations will end in nothing; +viz., either that the French people, alarmed at the magnitude of the +preparations against them, will compel the Emperor Napoleon to abdicate, or +that the Allies will grow cool and, under the influence of Austria, bring +about a negotiation which may end in a recognition of the Imperial title +and dynasty. They would compound for a defeat at first, provided the war +were likely to be prolonged. In the meantime, reinforcements continue to +arrive daily for their army. We hear but little news of the intentions or +movements of the other Allies; it being forbidden to enter into political +discussions, it is difficult to ascertain the true state of affairs. + +We continued our journey through Charleroy and Binch to this place. At a +small village between Binch and Mons we were stopped by a sentinel at a +Prussian outpost and our passports demanded. Neither the sentinel, however, +nor the sergeant, nor any of the soldiers present, could read or understand +French, in which language the passport was drawn up; but the sergeant told +me that the officers were in a house about a quarter of a mile distant and +that he would conduct me thither, but that he himself could not presume to +let us pass, from not knowing the tenor of our passport. I went accordingly +with the sergeant to this house, There I found the officer commanding the +piquet and several others sitting at table, carousing with beer and tobacco +and nearly invisible from the clouds of smoke which pervaded the room. I +explained to the officer who we were and requested him to put on the +passport his _visa_ in the German language, so that the non-commissioned +officers at the various posts through which we might pass would be able to +understand it and let us pass without hindrance. This he did accordingly +and we proceeded on our journey. + +We arrived here in the evening and put up at the _Hôtel Royal_. We found at +Charleroy, Binch and here, a number of people employed in repairing and +reconstructing the fortifications. Men, women and boys are all put in +requisition to accelerate this object, as it is the intention of the +Belgian Government to put all the frontier fortresses in the most complete +state of defence. On ascending one of the steeples this morning we had a +fine view of the surrounding country and of the height of Genappe, which +are close to Mons and memorable for the brilliant victory gained by +Dumouriez over the Austrians in 1792. The landscape presents an undulating +campaign country, gentle slopes and alternate plains covered with corn, as +far as the eye can reach, and interspersed with villages and farmhouses. In +Mons is a very large splendid shop or warehouse of millinery, perfumery, +jewellery, etc. It is called _La Toilette de Vénus_, and is served by a +very pretty girl, who, I have no doubt from her simpering look and eloquent +eyes, would have no objection to be a sedulous priestess at the altar of +the Goddess of Amathus. A battalion of Hollanders--a very fine body of +men--marched into this place yesterday evening; the rest of the garrison is +composed of Belgians, chiefly conscripts. + + +LEUZE, May 15. + +Yesterday morning we left Mons and proceeded to Ath to breakfast. A +multitude of people were employed there also at the fortifications. The +garrison of Ath is composed of Hanoverians. Ath reminded me of the wars of +King William III and my Uncle Toby's sieges.[9] There was so little +remarkable to be seen at Ath that we proceeded to this place shortly after +breakfast and arrived at one o'clock, it being only ten miles distance +between Ath and Leuze. We took up our quarters with Major-General Adam, who +commands the Light Brigade of General Sir H. Clinton's division. This +brigade is quartered here and in the adjacent farmhouses. General Adam, +though he has attained his rank at a very early age, is far more fitted for +it than many of our older generals, some of whom (I speak from experience) +have few ideas beyond the fixing of a button or lappel, or polishing a +belt, and who place the whole _Ars recondita_ of military discipline in +pipe-clay, heel-ball and the goose step. Fortunately for this army, the +Duke of Wellington has too much good sense to be a martinet and the good +old times are gone by, thank God, when a soldier used to be sentenced to +two or three hundred lashes for having a dirty belt or being without a +_queue_. To the Duke of York also is humanity much indebted for his +endeavours to check the frequency of corporal punishment. The Duke of York, +with all his zeal for the service, never loses sight of the comfort of the +soldier and is indefatigable in his exertions to ameliorate his conditions. +We had a pleasant dinner party at General Adam's, and at night I went to +sleep at the house occupied by Captain C., one of the aides-de-camp of the +General,[10] an active, intelligent officer who had formerly served in the +marines, which service he had quitted in order to enter the regular army. + + +May 16. + +Yesterday morning we paid a visit to Tournay, which is distant from Leuze +about ten miles, and we breakfasted at the _Signe d'Or_. We then proceeded +to pay our respects to the Commandant General V.[11] The garrison consists +of Belgians. General V. had been some time in England as a prisoner of war. +He was made prisoner, I think he said, at Batavia. He received us very +politely, and not only gave us permission to visit the works of the +citadel, but sent a sergeant to accompany us. The new citadel is building +on the site of the old one, and, like it, is to be a regular pentagon. The +fortifications of the city itself are not to be reconstructed; these of the +citadel, which will be very strong, rendering them superfluous. The +sergeant was a native of Würtemberg and had served in the army of his own +country and in that of France in most of the campaigns under Napoleon. He +was a fine old veteran, and very intelligent, for he explained to us the +nature of the works with great perspicuity. With true Suabian dignity he +refused a five franc piece which I offered him as a slight remuneration for +the trouble he had taken, and as he seemed, I thought, rather offended at +the offer, I felt myself bound to apologize. From the number of workmen +employed in repairing the citadel, it will not be long before it is placed +in a respectable state of defence. Tournay is a large handsome city and the +spacious quais on the banks of the Scheld which runs through it add much to +the neatness of its appearance. It is only ten miles distant from Lille, +but all communication from France is stopped. We learned that some of the +Hanoverians had been deserting. In return we met with a young French hussar +who had come over to the Allies. He seemed to be an impudent sort of +fellow, and said, with the utmost _sang-froid_, that the reason he deserted +was that he had not been made an officer as he was promised, and he hoped +that Louis XVIII would be more sensible of his merits than the Emperor +Napoleon. We returned to Leuze to dinner in the afternoon. This morning we +went to assist at a review of General Clinton's division, on a plain called +_Le Paturage_, about seven miles distant from Leuze. The Light Brigade and +the Hanoverian Brigades form this division. The manoeuvres were performed +with tolerable precision, but they were chiefly confined to advancing in +line, retiring by alternate companies covered by light infantry and change +of position on one of the flanks by _échelon_. The British troops were +perfect; the Hanoverians not so, they being for the most part new levies. +In one of the _échelon_ movements, when the line was to be formed on the +left company of the left battalion, a Hanoverian battalion, instead of +preserving its parallelism, was making a terrible diversion to its right, +when a thundering voice from the commander of the brigade to the commandant +of the battalion: "_Mein Gott, Herr Major, wo gehn Sie hin?_" roused him +from his reverie; when he must have perceived, had he wheeled up into line, +the fearful interval he had left between his own and the next battalion on +the left. + +After the review had finished we repaired to the château of the Prince de +Ligne, then occupied by Lieut.-General Sir H. Clinton, to partake of a +breakfast given by him and his lady. On the breaking up of the breakfast +party, General Wilson and myself remained at the château to dine with +General Adam _al fresco_ in the garden under the trees. The palace and +garden of the Prince de Ligne are both very magnificent. The latter is of +great extent, but too regular, too much in the Dutch taste to please me. +Little or no furniture is in the palace; but there are some family pictures +and a theatre fitted up in one of the halls for the purpose of private +theatricals. In the garden is a monument erected by the late Prince de +Ligne to one of his sons, Charles by name, who was killed in the Russian +service at the siege of Ismail. The present prince is a minor and resides +at Bruxelles. + + +GRAMMONT, May 18. + +We left Leuze yesterday afternoon and arrived here at seven in the evening +in order to be present at the cavalry review the next morning. We partook +of an elegant supper given to us by our friend, Major Grant of the 18th +Hussars, and we were much entertained and enlivened by the effusions of his +brilliant genius and inexhaustible wit. The whole cavalry of the British +army passed in review this morning before the Duke of Wellington, who was +there with all his staff and received the salutes of all the corps like +Godfrey, _con volto placido e composto_. It was a very brilliant spectacle. +The Duke de Berri was present. I think I never beheld so ignoble and +disagreeable a countenance as this prince possesses. I thought to myself +that he had much better have stayed away from this review; for he must be +insensible to all patriotism who could take pleasure in contemplating a +foreign force about to enter and ravage his own country. We learn that the +Duchess d'Angoulême is to have a review of the _fidèles_ very shortly. She +is certainly much more warlike than the males of that family; this +disposition is increased by her religious fanaticism. This renders her, of +course, a most dangerous person to meddle with politics; but great +allowances must be made for her feelings, which must naturally be +embittered by the recollection of so much suffering during the Revolution +and of the barbarous and inhuman treatment experienced by her father and +mother. + +I observed a peculiarity in this part of the country, viz., that there are +villages lying close to each other in some of which French is spoken, in +others Flemish; and that, with some few exceptions, the inhabitants of +neighbouring villages are reciprocally unintelligible. General Wilson does +not intend to return to Bruxelles. I shall accompany him as far as Gand and +then return to Bruxelles to await the issue of the contest. + + +BRUXELLES, June 11. + +I took leave of General Wilson at Gand on the 22nd of last month and +immediately returned here, where I have been ever since. I have shifted my +quarters to a less expensive hotel and am now lodged at the _Hôtel de la +Paix_. We get an excellent dinner at the table d'hôte for one and a half +francs, wine not included; this is paid for extra, and is generally at the +price of three francs per bottle. This hotel is very neatly fitted up and +is very near the _Hôtel de Ville_. At the table d'hôte I frequently meet +Prussian officers who on coming in to visit Bruxelles put up here. We have +just learned the proceedings of the _Champ de Mai_ at Paris, by which it +appears that Napoleon is solemnly recognized and confirmed as Emperor of +the French. This intelligence sent a young Prussian officer, who sat next +to me, in a transport of joy, for this makes the war certain. The Prussians +seem determined to revenge themselves for the humiliation they suffered +from the French during the time they occupied their country, and I +sincerely pity by anticipation the fate of the French peasants upon whom +these gentlemen may chance to be quartered. Terrible will be the first +shock of battle, and it may be daily expected, and dreadful will be the +consequences to the poor inhabitants of the seat of war. Cannot this war be +avoided? I am not politician enough to foresee the consequences of allowing +Napoleon to keep quiet and undisturbed possession of the throne of France; +but the consequences of a defeat on the part of the Allies will be the loss +of Belgium and the probable annihilation of the British army; certainly the +dissolution of the coalition, for the minor German powers, and very likely +Austria also, would be induced to make a separate peace. We can clearly see +that Napoleon has not now the power he formerly possessed and that the +Republican party, into whose hands he has thrown himself, seem disposed not +only to remain at peace, but to shackle him in every possible manner. It is +evident, too, that his last success was owing to the dislike of the people +to the Bourbons from their injudicious and treacherous conduct; and the +threats and impossible language held by the priests and emigrants towards +the holders of property paved the way for the success of his enterprise and +enabled him to achieve a triumph unparalleled in history. + +On the contrary, by forcing him to go to war, should he gain the first +victory, Belgium will be re-united to France, all the resources of that +country brought into the scale against the Allies; Napoleon will be more +popular than ever, the Republican party will be put to silence, the +enthusiasm of the army will rise beyond all restraint, and, in a word, +Napoleon will be himself again. The other Allies can do little without the +assistance of England, and our finances are by no means in a state to bear +such intolerable drains. + +As to the Prussians, on minute enquiry I do not find that they were so +ill-treated by the French as is generally believed, and that, except the +burden of having troops quartered on them (no small annoyance, I allow), +they had not much reason to complain. The quartering of the troops on them +and the payment of the war contributions was the necessary consequence of +the occupation of their country by an enemy; but I have just been reading a +German work, written by a native of Berlin, shortly after the entry of the +French troops in that city after the battle of Jena in 1806. This work is +entitled _Vertraute Briefe aus Berlin_, and in it the author distinctly +declares that the discipline observed by the French troops during the +occupation of Berlin was highly strict and praiseworthy, and that the few +excesses that took place were committed by the troops of the Rhenish +Confederation; and he adds that the inhabitants preferred having a French +soldier quartered on them to a Westphalian, Bavarian or Würtembergher. +Further, the troops that behaved with the greatest oppression and insolence +towards the burghers were those belonging to a corps composed of native +Prussians, raised for the service of Napoleon by the Prince of +Isenburg.[12] In his recruiting address the prince invites the Prussian +youth to enter into the service of the invincible Napoleon, and tells him +that to the soldier of Napoleon everything is permitted. The regiment was +soon fitted up and the soldiers began to put in practice in good earnest +the theory of the _affiche_. They committed excesses of all sorts; and one +officer in particular behaved so brutally and infamously to a poor tailor +on whom he was quartered, and to whom, before he entered the French +service, he was under the greatest obligations, that General Hulin, the +commandant of the place at Berlin during the French occupation, was obliged +to cashier him publicly on the parade and to cause his epaulettes to be +torn from his coat in order to mark the disgust and indignation that he and +all the French officers felt at the base ingratitude of this man. + +This work, "Vertraute Briefe" (confidential letters), contains much curious +matter and very interesting anecdotes respecting the corruption, venality +and depravation that prevailed in the Prussian Court and army previous to +the war in 1806. Let this suffice to show that the Prussians have not so +much reason to complain against the French as they pretend to have; +besides, the conduct of the Prussian Government itself was so vacillating +and contradictory that they had themselves only to blame for what they +suffered. They should have supported Austria in 1805. But the fact is that +the vanity and the _amour propre_ of the Prussian military were so hurt at +the humiliation they experienced at and after the battle of Jena that it +was this that has embittered them so much against the French. + +Let it not, however, be supposed for a moment that I seek to excuse or +palliate the conduct of Napoleon towards Prussia. I have always thought it +not only unjust but impolitic. Impolitic, because Prussia was, and ought +always to be, the obvious and natural ally of France, and Napoleon, instead +of endeavouring to crush that power, should have aggrandized her and made +her the paramount power in Germany. It was in fact his obvious policy to +cede Hanover in perpetuity to Prussia, and have rendered thereby the breach +between the Houses of Brandenburgh and Hanover irreparable and +irreconcilable. This would have thrown Prussia necessarily into the arms +of France, in whose system she must then have moved, and all British +influence on the Continent would have been effectually put an end to. +Another prime fault of Napoleon was that he did not crush and dismember +Austria in 1809 as he had it in his power to do; and by so doing he would +have merited and obtained the thanks and good will of all Germany for +having overturned so despotic and light-fearing a Government. But he has +paid dearly for these errors. Instead of destroying a despotic power +(Austria), he chose rather to crush an enlightened and liberal nation, for +such I esteem the Prussian nation, and I always separate the Prussian +people from their Government. The latter fell, and fell unpitied, after one +battle; but it has been almost miraculously restored by the unparalleled +exertions and energies of the burghers and people. May this be a lesson to +the Government! and may the King of Prussia not prove ungrateful! + +Troops continue to arrive here daily, and now that the ceremony of the +_Champ de Mai_ is over, we may expect that Napoleon will repair to his army +and commence operations. + + +June 17. + +Napoleon arrived at Maubeuge on the 18th and the grand conflict has begun. +The Prussians were attacked on the 14th and 15th at Ligny and driven from +their position.[13] They are said to have suffered immense loss and to be +retreating with the utmost confusion. Our turn comes next. The thunder of +the cannon was heard here distinctly the most part of yesterday and some +part of our army must have been engaged. Our troops have all marched out of +Bruxelles in the direction of the frontier. In the affair with the +Prussians we learn that the Duke of Brunswick was killed and that Blucher +narrowly escaped being made prisoner. + + +June 18. + +The grand conflict has begun with us. It is now four o'clock p.m. The issue +is not known. The roar of the cannon continues unabated. All is bustle, +confusion and uncertainty in this city. Cars with wounded are coming in +continually. The general opinion is that our army will be compelled to +retreat to Antwerp, and it is even expected that the French will be in +Bruxelles to-night. All the towns-people are on the ramparts listening to +the sound of the cannon. This city has been in the greatest alarm and +agitation since the 16th, when a violent cannonade was heard during the +afternoon. From what I have been able to collect, the French attacked the +Prussians on the 14th, and a desperate conflict took place on that day, and +the whole of the 15th,[14] when the whole of the Prussian army at Ligny, +Fleurus and Charleroy was totally defeated and driven from its position; a +dislocation of our troops took place early in the morning of the 16th, and +our advanced guard, consisting of the Highland Brigade and two Battalions +of Nassau-Usingen, fell in with the advanced guard of the French Army +commanded by Marshal Ney near Quatre-Bras, and made such a gallant defence +against his corps d'armée as to keep it in check the whole day and enable +itself to fall back in good order to its present position with the rest of +the army, about ten miles in front of Bruxelles. Indeed, I am informed that +nothing could exceed the admirable conduct of the corps above mentioned. +Yesterday we heard no cannonade, but this afternoon it has been unceasing +and still continues. All the caricatures and satires against Napoleon have +disappeared from the windows and stalls. The shops are all shut, the +English families flying to Antwerp; and the proclamation of the Baron de +Capellen[15] to the inhabitants, wherein he exhorts them to be tranquil and +assures them that the Bureaux of Government have not yet quitted Bruxelles, +only serves to increase the confusion and consternation. The inhabitants in +general wish well to the arms of Napoleon, but they know that the retreat +of the English Army must necessarily take place through their town; that +our troops will perhaps endeavour to make a stand, and that the +consequences will be terrible to the inhabitants, from the houses being +liable to be burned or pillaged by friend or foe. All the baggage of our +Army and all the military Bureaux have received orders to repair and are +now on their march to Antwerp, and the road thither is so covered and +blocked up by waggons that the retreat of our Army will be much impeded +thereby. Probably my next letter may be dated from a French prison. + + +BRUXELLES, June 21. + +Judge, my friend, of my astonishment and that of almost everybody in this +city, at the news which was circulated here early on the morning of the +19th, and has been daily confirmed, viz., that the French Army had been +completely defeated and was in full flight, leaving behind it 220 pieces of +cannon and all its baggage, waggons and _munitions de guerre_. I have not +been able to collect all the particulars, but you will no doubt hear enough +of it, for I am sure it will be _said_ or _sung_ by all the partisans of +the British ministry and all the Tories of the United Kingdom for months +and years to come; for further details, therefore, I shall refer you to the +Gazette. The following, however, you may consider as a tolerably fair +précis of what took place. The attack began on the 18th about ten +o'clock[16] and raged furiously along the whole line, but principally at +Hougoumont, a large _Métairie_ on the right of our position, which was +occupied by our troops, and from which all the efforts of the enemy could +not dislodge them. The slaughter was terrible in this quarter. From twelve +o'clock till evening several desperate charges of cavalry and infantry were +made on the rest of our line. Both sides fought with the utmost courage and +obstinacy, and were prodigal of life in the extreme. But it is generally +supposed that our army must have succumbed towards the evening had it not +been for the arrival of Bulow's division of Prussians, followed closely by +Blucher and the rest of the army, which had rallied with uncommon celerity. +These moved on the right flank of the French, and decided the fortune of +the day by a charge which was seconded by a general charge from the whole +of the English line on the centre and left of the French. Seeing themselves +thus turned, a panic, it is said, spread among the young Guard of the +French army, and a cry of "_Sauve qui peut! nous sommes trahis!_" spread +like wildfire. The flight became universal; the old Guard alone remained, +refused quarter and perished like Leonidas and his Spartans. The Prussian +cavalry being fresh pursued the enemy all night, _l'épée dans les reins_, +and it may be conceived from their previous disposition that they would not +be very merciful to the vanquished. Indeed, on the 15th, it is said that +the French were not very merciful to them. It was like the combat of +Achilles and Hector. + + No thought but rage and never ceasing strife + Till death extinguish rage and thought and life. + +France will now call out to Napoleon as Augustus did to Varus, "Give me +back my legions!" The loss on both sides was very great, but it must have +been prodigious on the side of the French. The whole Allied Army is in full +pursuit. Several friends and acquaintances of mine perished in this battle, +viz., Lieut.-General Sir T. Picton, Colonel Sir H. Ellis and Colonel +Morice. + + +June 22. + +This morning I went to visit the field of battle, which is a little beyond +the village of Waterloo, on the plateau of Mont St Jean; but on arrival +there the sight was too horrible to behold. I felt sick in the stomach and +was obliged to return. The multitude of carcases, the heaps of wounded men +with mangled limbs unable to move, and perishing from not having their +wounds dressed or from hunger, as the Allies were, of course, obliged to +take their surgeons and waggons with them, formed a spectacle I shall never +forget. The wounded, both of the Allies and the French, remain in an +equally deplorable state. + +At Hougoumont, where there is an orchard, every tree is pierced with +bullets. The barns are all burned down, and in the court-yard it is said +they have been obliged to burn upwards of a thousand carcases, an awful +holocaust to the War-Demon. + +As nothing is more distressing than the sight of human misery when we are +unable to silence it, I returned as speedily as possible to Bruxelles with +Cowper's lines in my head: + + War is a game, which, were their subjects wise, + Kings should not play at. + +I hope this battle will, at any rate, lead to a speedy peace. + + +June 28. + +We have no other news from the Allied Army, except that they are moving +forward with all possible celerity in the direction of Paris. You may form +a guess of the slaughter and of the misery that the wounded must have +suffered, and the many that must have perished from hunger and thirst, when +I tell you that all the carriages in Bruxelles, even elegant private +equipages, landaulets, barouches and berlines, have been put in requisition +to remove the wounded men from the field of battle to the hospitals, and +that they are yet far from being all brought in. The medical practitioners +of the city have been put in requisition, and are ordered to make +domiciliary visits at every house (for each habitation has three or four +soldiers in it) in order to dress the wounds of the patients. The +Bruxellois, the women in particular, have testified the utmost humanity +towards the poor sufferers. It was suggested by some humane person that +they who went to see the field of battle from motives of curiosity would do +well to take with them bread, wine and other refreshments to distribute +among the wounded, and most people did so. For my part I shall not go a +second time. Napoleon, it is said, narrowly escaped being taken. His +carriage fell into the hands of the Allies, and was escorted in triumph +into Bruxelles by a detachment of dragoons. So confident was Napoleon of +success that printed proclamations were found in the carriage dated from +"Our Imperial Palace at Laecken," announcing his victory and the liberation +of Belgium from the insatiable coalition, and wherein he calls on the +Belgians to re-unite with their old companions in arms in order to reap the +fruits of their victory. This was certainly rather premature, and reminds +me of an anecdote of a Spanish officer at the siege of Gibraltar, related +by Drinkwater in his narrative of that siege.[17] When the British garrison +made a sortie, they carried the advanced Spanish lines and destroyed all +their preparations; the Spanish officer on guard at the outermost post was +killed, but on the table of his guard room was found his guard report +filled up and signed, stating that "nothing extraordinary had happened +since guard-mounting." + +Mr L. of Northumberland, having proposed to me to make a tour with him to +Aix-la-Chapelle and the banks of the Rhine, I shall start with him in a day +or two. + + +[1] Sir Wiltshire Wilson (1762-1842), Commander of the Royal Artillery in + Ceylon, 1810-1815.--Ed. + +[2] Pulci, _Morgante_, canto XVIII, ottava 114-115. The Giant Morgante + meets the villain Margutte and asks him if he be a Christian or a + Saracen. Margutte answers that he cares not, but only believes in + boiled or in roasted capon: + + Rispose allor Margutte: A dirtel tosto + Io non credo pio al nero ch'all' azzurro. + Ma nel cappone, o lesso, o vuogll arrosto.... + +[3] Ariosto, _Orlando Furioso_, iv, 63, f.--ED. + +[4] A work of H, Verbruggen of Antwerp (1677).--ED. + +[5] Lord Bruce, Earl of Ailesbury, caused this fountain to be erected in + 1751, as a token of gratitude to the town of Bruxelles where he had + lived in exile.--E.D. + +[6] Henry Dundas, Viscount Melville (1741-1811), elevated to the peerage in + 1802.--ED. + +[7] Xenophon, _Education of Cyrus_, II, 4, 4.--ED. + +[8] Astley's Amphitheatre, near Westminster Bridge.--ED. + +[9] Uncle Toby, in Laurence Sterne's _Tristram Shandy_.--ED. + +[10] Lieutenant R.P. Campbell, aide-de-camp to Major-General Adam.--ED. + +[11] In May, 1815, the officer commanding-in-chief at Tournai was + General-Major A.C. Van Diermen.--ED. + +[12] Karl Friedrich Ludwig Moritz, Fürst zu Ysenburg-Bierstein (1766-1820), + took service with Austria (1784), with Prussia (1804), and later with + Napoleon (1806), who commissioned him as brigadier-general. The + shameless conduct of this officer is exposed by B. Poten, _Allgemeine + Deutsche Biographie_, vol. XLIV, p. 611.--ED. + +[13] The battle at Ligny was fought on June 16.--ED. + +[14] The facts and dates here given are of course inaccurate; but this + proves that Major Frye wrote his text in the very midst of the crisis, + and that his manuscript has not been tampered with.--ED. + +[15] Baron van Capellen, a Dutch statesman, was governor-general of the + Belgian provinces, residing at Bruxelles. He was afterwards + governor-general of Dutch India. Born in 1778, he died in 1848. His + memoirs have been published in French by Baron Sirtema de Grovestins + (1852), and contain an interesting passage on that momentous day, + 18th June, 1815.--ED. + +[16] Not before half past eleven.--ED. + +[17] John Drinkwater, also called Bethune (1762-1844), published a + well-known _History of the Siege of Gibraltar, 1779-1783_.--ED. + + + + +CHAPTER II + +From Bruxelles to Liége--A priest's declamation against the French +Revolution--Maastricht--Aix-la-Chapelle--Imperial relics--Napoleon +regretted--Klingmann's "Faust"--A Tyrolese beauty--Cologne--Difficulties +about a passport--The Cathedral--King-craft and priest-craft--The +Rhine--Bonn and Godesberg--Goethe's "Götz von Berlichingen"--The Seven +Mountains--German women--Andernach--Ehrenbreitstein--German hatred against +France--Coblentz--Intrigues of the Bourbon princes in Coblentz--Mayence-- +Bieberich--Conduct of the Allies towards Napoleon--Frankfort on the +Mayn--An anecdote about Lord Stewart and Lafayette--German poetry--The +question of Alsace and Lorraine--Return to Bruxelles--Napoleon's surrender. + + +LIÉGE, June 26. + +Mr L. and myself started together in the diligence from Bruxelles at seven +o'clock in the evening of the 24th inst. and arrived here yesterday morning +at twelve o'clock. I experienced considerable difficulty in procuring a +passport to quit Bruxelles, my name having been included in that of General +Wilson, which he carried back with him to England. Our Ambassador was +absent, and I was bandied about from bureau to bureau without success; so +that I began at last to think that I should be necessitated to remain at +Bruxelles all my life, when fortunately it occurred to Mr L. that he was +intimately acquainted with the English Consul, and he kindly undertook to +procure me one and succeeded. On arrival here we put up at the _Pommelette +d'Or_. The price of a place in the diligence from Bruxelles to Liége is +fifteen franks. We passed thro' Louvain, but too late to see anything. The +country about Liége is extremely striking and picturesque; the river Meuse +flows thro' the city, and the banks of the river outside the town are very +_riants_ and agreeable. Liége is a large, well-built city, but rather +gloomy as to its appearance, and lies in a hollow completely surrounded by +lofty hills. The remains of its ancient citadel stand on a height which +completely commands the city; on another height stands a monastery, a +magnificent building. There are a great many coal-pits in the vicinity of +Liége, and a great commerce of coals is carried on between this city and +Holland by the _treckschuyte_ on the Meuse. We visited the ancient +Episcopal palace and the Churches. The Palace is completely dismantled. +This city suffered much during the revolt of the Belgian provinces against +the Emperor Joseph II, and having distinguished itself by the obstinacy of +its defence, it was treated with great rigour by the Austrian Government. +The fortifications were blown up, and nothing now remains on the site of +the old citadel but a large barrack. I remained two whole hours on this +height to contemplate the beauties of the expanse below. The banks of the +river, which meanders much in these parts, and the numerous _maisons de +campagne_ with the public promenades and allées lined with trees, +exhilarate the scene of the environs, for the city itself is dull enough. +Several pretty villas are situated also on the heights, and were I to dwell +here I should choose one of them and seldom descend into the valley and +city below, + + Where narrow cares and strife and envy dwell. + +Liége, however sombre in its appearance, is a place of much opulence and +commerce. A Belgian garrison does duty here. At the inn, after dinner, I +fell into conversation with a Belgian priest, and as I was dressed in black +he fancied I was one of the cloth, and he asked me if I were a Belgian, for +that I spoke French with a Belgian accent; "Apparemment Monsieur est +ecclésiastique?--Monsieur, je suis né Anglais et protestant." He then began +to talk about and declaim against the French Revolution, for that is the +doctrine now constantly dinned into the ears of all those who take orders; +and he concluded by saying that things would never go on well in Europe +until they restored to God the things they had taken from Him. I told him +that I differed from him very much, for that the sale of the Church domains +and of the lands and funds belonging to the suppressed ecclesiastical +establishments had contributed much to the improvement of agriculture and +to the comfort of the peasantry, whose situation was thereby much +ameliorated; and that they were now in a state of affluence compared with +what they were before the French Revolution. I added: "Enfin, Monsieur, +Dieu n'a pas besoin des choses terrestres." On my saying this he did not +chuse to continue the conversation, but calling for a bottle of wine drank +it all himself with the zest of a Tartuffe. I believe that he was surprised +to find that an Englishman should not coincide with his sentiments, for I +observe all the adherents of the ancient régime of feudality and +superstition have an idea that we are anxious for the re-establishment of +all those abuses as they themselves are, and it must be confessed that the +conduct of our Government has been such as to authorize them fully in +forming such conjectures, and that we shall be their staunch auxiliaries in +endeavouring to arrest and retrograde the progress of the human mind. In +fact, I soon perceived that my friend was not overloaded with wit and that +he was one of those priests so well described by Metastasio: + + Il di cui sapere + Sta nel nostro ignorar.... + + +MAASTRICHT, 27th June. + +This morning, after a promenade on the banks of the Meuse--for I am fond of +rivers and woods (_flumina amo silvasque inglorius_)--we embarked on a +_treckschuyt_ and arrived here after a passage of four hours. The scenery +on the banks of the Meuse all the way from Liége to Maastricht is highly +diversified and extremely romantic; but here at Maastricht this ceases and +the dull uniformity of the Dutch landscape begins. When on the ramparts of +the city to the North and West an immense plain as far as the eye can reach +presents itself to view; a few trees and sandhills form the only relief to +the picture. The town itself is neat, clean and dull, like all Dutch towns. +The fortifications are strong and well worth inspection. The most +remarkable thing in the neighbourhood of Maastricht is the Montagne de St +Pierre, which from having been much excavated for the purpose of procuring +stone, forms a labyrinth of a most intricate nature. I advise every +traveller to visit it, and if he has a classical imagination he may fancy +himself in the labyrinth of Crete. + + +AIX-LA-CHAPELLE, 29th June. + +We started in the morning of the 28th from Maastricht in the diligence for +Aix-la-Chapelle and arrived here at twelve o'clock, putting up at Van +Gülpen's Hotel, _Zum Pfälzischen Hofe_ (à la Cour palatine), which I +recommend as an excellent inn and the hosts as very good people. The price +of our journey from Liége to Maastricht in the water-diligence was 2-1/2 +franks, and from Maastricht to Aix-la-Chapelle by land was 7 franks the +person. The road from Maastricht to this place is not very good, but the +country at a short distance from Maastricht becomes picturesque, much +diversified by hill and dale and well wooded. As the Meuse forms the +boundary between the Belgic and Prussian territory, we enter the latter +sooner after leaving Maastricht. I find my friend L. a most agreeable +travelling companion; travelling seems to be his passion, as it is mine; +and fortune has so far favoured me in this particular, that my professional +duties and private affairs have led me to visit the four quarters of the +globe. After dinner, on the first day of our arrival here, we went to visit +the _Hôtel de Ville_, before which stands on a pedestal in a bason an +ancient bronze statue of Charlemagne. It has nothing to recommend it but +its antiquity. The _Hôtel de Ville_ is similar to other Gothic buildings +used for the same purpose. In the great hall thereof there is a large +picture representing the ambassadors of all the powers who assisted at the +signing of the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle in 1742; and a full length +portrait of the present King of Prussia, as master of the city, occupies +the place where once stood that of Napoleon, its late lord. We next went to +see the Cathedral and sat down on the throne on which the German Caesars +used to be crowned. We viewed likewise the various costly articles of +plate, the gifts of pious princes. The most remarkable things among them +are several superb dresses of gold and silver embroidery, so thickly laid +on that they are of exceeding weight. These dresses form part of the +wardrobe of the Virgin Mary. Next to be seen is a case or chest of massy +silver, adorned with innumerable precious stones of great value; which case +contains the bones or ashes of Charlemagne. His right arm bone is however +preserved separate in a glass case. The sword of this prince too, and the +Imperial crown is to be seen here. The sacristan next proceeded to show to +us the other relics, but having begun with the exhibition of a rag dipped +in the sweat of Jesus Christ and a nail of the Holy Cross, we began to +think we had seen enough and went away perfectly satisfied. There is no +other monument in honour of Charlemagne, but a plain stone on the floor of +the Church with the simple inscription "Carolo Magno." On going out of the +city thro' one of the gates, and at a short distance from it, we ascended +the mountain or rather hill called the Louisberg on which are built a +Ridotto and Café, as also a Column erected in honour of Napoleon with a +suitable inscription; the inscription is effaced and is about to be +replaced by another in the German language in commemoration of the downfall +of the _Tyrant_, as the Coalition are pleased to call him. This Tyrant is +however extremely regretted by the inhabitants of Aix-la-Chapelle and not +without reason, for he was a great benefactor to them and continually +embellished the city, confirming and increasing its privileges. The +inhabitants are not at all pleased with their new masters; for the +behaviour of the Prussian military has been so insulting and overbearing +towards the burghers and students that it is, I am told, a common +exclamation among the latter, alluding to the Prussians having stiled +themselves their deliverers: _De nostris liberatoribus, Domine, libera +nos_. Indeed, I can evidently discern that they are not particularly +pleased at the result of the battle of Waterloo. + +In the evening I went to the theatre, which has the most inconvenient form +imaginable, being a rectangle. As anti-Gallicanism is the order of the day, +only German dramas are allowed to be performed and this night it was the +tragedy of Faust, or Dr Faustus as we term him in England, not the Faust of +Goethe, which is not meant for nor at all adapted to the stage, but a drama +of that name written by Klingmann.[18] It is a strange wild piece, quite in +the German style and full of horrors and diableries. In this piece the +sublime and terrible border close on the ridiculous; for instance the Devil +and Faust come to drink in a beer-schenk or ale-house. 'Tis true the Devil +is incognito at the time and is called "der Fremde" or "the Stranger"; it +is only towards the conclusion of the piece that he discovers himself to be +Satan.... The actor who played the part of the Stranger had something in +his physiognomy very terrific and awe-inspiring. In another scene, which to +us would appear laughable and absurd, but which pleases a German audience, +three women in masks come on the stage to meet Faust, in a churchyard, and +on unmasking display three skeleton heads. + +Poor Faust had stipulated to give his soul to the Devil for aiding him in +the attainment of his desires; the Devil on his part agrees to allow him to +commit four deadly sins before he shall call on him to fulfil his contract. +Faust, in the sequel, kills his wife and his father-in-law. Satan then +claims him. Faust pleads in arrest of judgement, that he has only committed +two crimes out of the four for which he had agreed; and that there +consequently remained two others for him to commit before he could be +claimed. The Devil in rejoinder informs him that his wife was with child at +the time he killed her, which constituted the third crime, and that the +very act of making a contract with the Devil for his soul forms the fourth. +Faust, overwhelmed with confusion, has not a word to say; and Satan seizing +him by the hair of his head, carries him off in triumph. This piece is +written in iambics of ten syllables and the versification appeared to me +correct and harmonious, and the sentiments forcible and poetical; this +fully compensated for the bizarrerie of the story itself, which, by the +bye, with all the reproach thrown by the adherents of the classic taste on +those of the romantic, is scarcely more _outré_ than the introduction of +Death ([Greek: _thanatos_]) as a dramatic personage in the _Alcestis_ of +Euripides. + +There is at Aix-la-Chapelle at one of the hotels a Faro Bank; it is open +like the gates of Hell _noctes atque dies_ and gaming goes forward without +intermission; this seems, indeed, to be the only occupation of the +strangers who visit these baths. There is near this hotel a sort of Place +or Quadrangle with arcades under which are shops and stalls. At one of +these shops I met with the most beautiful girl I ever beheld, a Tyrolese by +birth and the daughter of a print-seller. She was from the Italian Tyrol; +Roveredo, I think she said, was her birthplace. She united much grace and +manner with her beauty, on account of which I could not avoid complimenting +her in her native tongue, which she seemed pleased to hear. Her eyes and +eyebrows brought to my recollection the description of those of Alcina: + + Sotto due negri e sottilissimi archi, + Son due neri occhi, anzi, due chiari soli, + Pietosi a riguardare, a mover parchi, + Intorno a cui par che Amor scherzi e volÃ.[19] + + Two black and slender arches rise above + Two clear black eyes, say suns of radiant light; + Which ever softly beam and slowly move; + Round these appears to sport in frolic flight, + Hence scattering all his shafts, the little Love. + + --_Trans_. W.S. ROSE. + +We then proceeded to look at the suburb of this city called Bortscheid, by +far the finest part of the city and at some elevation above it. It commands +an extensive view. We also visited the various bath establishments; the +taste of the water had some resemblance to that of Harrogate, and is good +in bilious, scrofulous and cutaneous complaints. On our return to the hotel +we learned the news of the capitulation of Paris to the Allied powers. It +is said to be purely a military convention by which the French army is to +evacuate Paris and retire behind the Loire. There is no talk and no other +intelligence about Napoleon, except that he had been compelled by the two +Houses of Legislature to abdicate the throne. We are still in the dark as +to the intentions of the Allies. I regret much that my friend and fellow +traveller L. is obliged to return to Bruxelles and cannot accompany me to +Cologne, to which place I am impatient to go and to pay my respects to old +father Rhine, so renowned in history. + + +COLOGNE. + +I left Aix-la-Chapelle on the morning of the 2nd of July and arrived at +Cologne about six o'clock in the evening, putting up at the Inn _Zum +heiligen Geist_ (Holy Ghost), which is situated on the banks of the river. +The price of the journey in the diligence is 18 franks. On the road hither +lies Juliers, a large and strongly fortified town surrounded by a marsh. It +must be very important as a military post. The road after quitting Juliers +runs for the most part thro' a forest, and has been much improved and +enlarged by the French; before they improved it, it was almost impassable +in wet weather. We met on the road several Prussian waggons and +reinforcements on their march to Bruxelles. Two of my fellow travellers in +the diligence were very intelligent young men belonging to respectable +families in Cologne and were returning thither; they likewise complained +much of the overbearing demeanour of the Prussian military towards the +burghers. + +Cologne is a large, but very dull looking city, as dull as Liége; it would +seem as if all towns and cities under ecclesiastical domination were dull +or rendered so by the prohibition of the most innocent amusements. The +fortifications are out of repair; but the Prussian Government intend to +make Cologne a place of great strength. The name of the village on the +opposite of the river is Deutz, and in the time of the French occupation +there was a _tête-de-pont_. The next morning I was obliged to appear before +the police, and afterwards before the _Commandant de la Place_, in order to +have my passport examined and _visé_. At the bureau of the police it was +remarked to me that my passport was not _en règle_, the features of the +bearer not being therein specified. I replied that it was not my fault; +that it was given to me in that shape by the English Consul at Bruxelles +and that it was not my province to give to the Consul any directions as to +its form and tenor. The Commissary of Police then asked me what business I +was about in travelling, and the following conversation took place: "Was +haben Sie für Geschäfte?"--"Keine; ich reise nur um Vergnügen's Willen."--" +Sonderbar!"--"Worin liegt das Sonderbare, dass man reist um ein schönes +Land zu sehen?"[20]--He made no answer to this, but one of his coadjutors +standing by him said in a loud whisper, "Ein Herumreiser," which means an +adventurer or person who travels about for no good,--in a word, a +suspicious character. I then said with the utmost calm and indifference: +"Gentlemen, as soon as you shall have finished all your commentaries on the +subject of my passport, pray be so good as to inform me what I am to do, +whether I may go on to Mayence and Frankfort as is my intention, or return +to Bruxelles." The Commissary, after a slight hesitation, signed the _visa_ +and I then carried it to the bureau of the Commandant, whose secretary +signed it without hesitation, merely asking me if I were a military man. + +In the afternoon I went to visit the Dome or Cathedral. It is a fine +specimen of Gothic architecture, but singular enough the steeple is not yet +finished. In this Cathedral the most remarkable thing is the Chapel of the +Three Kings, wherein is deposited a massy gold chest inlaid with precious +stones of all sorts and of great value, containing the bones of the +identical three Kings (it is said) who came from the East to worship the +infant Jesus at Bethlehem. The Scriptures say it was three wise men or +Magi. The legend however calls them Kings and gives them Gothic names. Let +schoolmen and theologians reconcile this difference: _ce n'est point notre +affaire_. To me it appears that when the German tribes embraced +Christianity and enrolled themselves under the banner of St Peter, it was +thought but fair to allow them to give vent to a little nationality and to +blend their old traditions with the new-fangled doctrine, and no doubt the +Sovereign Pontiffs thought that the people could never be made to believe +too much; the same policy is practised by the Jesuit missionaries in China, +where in order to flatter the national vanity and bend it to their purposes +they represent Jesus Christ as being a great personal friend and +correspondent of Confucius. + +To return to these monarchs, wise men or Magi: their _sculls_ are kept +separate to the rest of the bones and each _scull_ bears a crown of gold. +But if you are fond of miracles, legends, and details of relics, come with +me to the Church of St Ursula in this city, and see the proof positive of +the miraculous legend of the eleven thousand Virgins who suffered martyrdom +in this city, in the time of Attila; the bones of all of whom are carefully +preserved here and adorn the interior walls of the Church in the guise of +arms arranged in an armoury. Eleven thousand sculls, each bearing a golden +or gilt crown, grin horribly on the spectator from the upper part of the +interior walls of the church, where they are placed in a row. What a fine +subject this would make for a ballad in the style of Bürger to suppose that +on a particular night in the year, at the midnight hour when mortals in +slumbers are bound, the bones all descending from the walls where they are +arranged, forming themselves into bodies, clapping on their heads and +dancing a skeleton dance round the Ghost of Attila! The people of Cologne, +in the time of the ecclesiastical Electorate, had the reputation of being +extremely superstitious, and no doubt there were many who implicitly +believe this pious tale; indeed, who could refuse their assent to its +authenticity, on beholding the proof positive in the sculls and bones? + +I recollect that in the History of the Compère Mathiew[21] the Père Jean +rates mightily the natives of Cologne for their bigotry and superstition +and for the bad reception they gave to him and to his philosophy. That +people are happier from a blind belief, as some pretend, appears to me +extremely problematical. For my part, under no circumstances can I think +bliss to consist in ignorance; nor have I felt any particular discomfort in +having learned at a very early age to put under my feet, as Lucretius +expresses it, the _strepitum Acherontis avari_. On the contrary, it has +made me a perfect cosmopolitan, extinguished all absurd national and +religious prejudices, and rendered me at home wherever I travel; and I meet +the Catholic, the Lutheran, the Moslem, the Jew, the Hindou and the Guebre +as a brother. _Quo me cunque ferat tempestas, deferor hospes_.[22] Let me +add one word more to obviate any misrepresentation of my sentiments from +some malignant Pharisee, that tho' I am no friend to King-craft and +Priest-craft, and cannot endure that religion should ever be blended with +politics, yet I am a great admirer of the beautiful and consoling +philosophy or theosophy of Jesus Christ which inculcates the equality of +Mankind, and represents the Creator of the universe, the Author of all +being, as the universal Father of the human race. + +Cologne derives its name from _Colonia_, as it was a Roman Colony planted +here to protect the left bank of the Rhine from the incursions of the +German hordes. It is here that the grand and original manufactory of the +far-famed _Eau de Cologne_ is to be seen. The _Eau de Cologne_ is a +sovereign remedy for all kinds of disorders, and if the _affiches_ of the +proprietor, Jean-Marie Farina, be worthy of credit, he is as formidable a +check to old Pluto as ever Aesculapius was. The sale of this water is +immense. + +On my return to the inn, I met with a Dutch clergyman who was travelling +with his pupils, three very fine boys, the sons of a Dutch lady of rank. He +was to conduct them to the University of Neuwied, on the right bank of the +Rhine, in order to place them there for their education. The young men seem +to have profited much from their studies. Their tutor seemed to be a +well-informed man and of liberal ideas; he preferred speaking German to +French, as he said he had not much facility in expressing himself in the +latter language. He said if I were going his way he would be happy to have +the pleasure of my company, to which I very willingly acceded, and we +agreed to start the next morning early so as to arrive at Bonn to +breakfast, and then to go on to Godesberg, where he proposed to remain a +few days. + +From the windows of our inn we have a fine view of the river, and I have +not omitted doing hommage to old Father Rhine by taking up some of his +water in the hollow of my hand to drink. The Rhine of later years has been +considered the guardian of Germany against the hostile incursions of the +French, and Schiller represents this river as a Swiss vigilant on his post, +yet in spite of his vigilance and fidelity unable to prevent his restless +neighbour from forcing his safeguard. The following are the lines of +Schiller where the river speaks in a distich: + + Treu wie dem Schwfeizer gebührt bewach'ich Germaniens Grenze, + Aber der Gallier hüpft über den duldenden Strom. + + In vain my stream I interpose + To guard Germania's realm from foes; + The nimble Gauls my cares deride + And often leap on t'other side. + + +GODESBERG, 4th July. + +The distance from Cologne to Bonn is 18 miles and Godesberg is three miles +further. We stopped to breakfast at Bonn and after breakfast made a +promenade thro' the city. Bonn is a handsome, clean, well-built and +cheerful looking city and the houses are good and solid. + +The Electoral Palace is a superb building, but is not occupied and is +falling rapidly to decay. From the terrace in the garden belonging to this +Palace, which impends over the Rhine, you have a fine view of this noble +river. This Palace was at one time made use of as a barrack by the French, +and since the secularization of the Ecclesiastical Electorates it has not +been thought worth while to embellish or even repair it. There is a Roman +antiquity in this town called the _Altar of Victory_, erected on the Place +St Remi, but remarkable for nothing but its antiquity; it seems to be a +common Roman altar.[23] The road from Bonn to Godesberg is three miles in +length and thro' a superb avenue of horse-chesnut trees; but before you +arrive at Godesberg, there is on the left side of the road a curious +specimen of Gothic architecture called _Hochkreutz_, very like Waltham +cross in appearance, but much higher and in better preservation; it was +erected by some feudal Baron to expiate a homicide. The castle of Godesberg +is situated on an eminence and commands a fine prospect; it is now a mass +of rums and the walls only remain. It derives its name of Godesberg or +Götzenberg from the circumstance of its having been formerly the site of a +temple of Minerva built in the time of the Romans, and thence called +Götzenberg by the Christians, _Götze_ in German signifying an idol. + +On the plain at the foot of the hill of Godesberg and at the distance of an +eighth of a mile from the river, a shelving cornfield intervening, stand +three large hotels and a ridotto, all striking edifices. To the south of +these is situated a large wood. These hotels are always full of company in +the summer and autumn: they come here to drink the mineral waters, a +species of Seltzer, the spring of which is about a quarter of a mile +distant from the hotels. The hotel at which we put up bears the name of +_Die schöne Aussicht_ (la Belle Vue) and well does it deserve the name; for +it commands a fine view of the reaches of the river, north and south. +Directly on the opposite bank, abruptly rising, is the superb and +magnificent chain of mountains called the _Sieben Gebirge_ or Seven +Mountains. On the summit of these mountains tower the remains of Gothic +castles or keeps, still majestic, tho' in ruins, and frowning on the plains +below; they bring to one's recollection the legends and chronicles of the +Middle Ages. They bear terrible awe-inspiring names such as Drachenfels, +Löwenberg; the highest of them is called Drachenfels or the Rock of Dragons +and on it stood the Burg or Chateau of a Feudal Count or _Raubgraf_, who +was the terror of the surrounding country, and has given rise to a very +interesting romance called _The Knights of the Seven Mountains_. This +feudal tyrant used to commit all sorts of depredations and descend into the +plains below, in order to intercept the convoys of merchandize passing +between Aix-la-Chapelle and Frankfort. It was to check these abuses and +oppressions that was instituted the famous Secret Tribunal _Das heimliche +Gericht_, the various Governments in Germany being then too weak to protect +their subjects or to punish these depredations. This secret tribunal, from +the summary punishments it inflicted, the mysterious obscurity in which it +was enveloped, and the impossibility of escaping from its pursuit, became +the terror of all Germany. They had agents and combinations everywhere, and +exercised such a system of espionage as to give to their proceedings an +appearance of supernatural agency. A simple accusation was sufficient for +them to act upon, provided the accuser solemnly swore to the truth of it +without reserve, and consented to undergo the same punishment as the +accused was subjected to, in case the accusation should be false; till this +solemnity was gone through, no pursuit was instituted against the offender. +There was scarcely ever an instance of a false accusation, for it was well +known that no power could screen the delator from the exemplary punishment +that awaited him; and there were no means of escaping from the omniscience +and omnipotence of the secret tribunal. + +To return to Godesberg, it is a most beautiful spot and much agreeable +society is here to be met with. The families of distinction of the +environing country come here for the purpose of recreation and drinking the +mineral waters. We sit down usually sixty to dinner, and I observe some +very fine women among them. On Sunday there is a ball at the ridotto. The +promenades in the environs are exceedingly romantic, and this place is the +favourite resort of many new married couples who come here to pass the +honeymoon. The scenery of the surrounding country is so picturesque and +beautiful as to require the pencil of an Ariosto or Wieland to do justice +to it: + + Ne se tutto cercato avessi il mondo + Vedria di questo un pin gen til paese.[24] + + And, had he ranged the universal world, + Would not have seen a lovelier in his round. + + --_Trans_. W.S. ROSE. + +To the researches of the naturalist and mineralogist the Seven Mountains +offer inexhaustible resources. The living and accommodation of the three +hotels are very reasonable. For one and a half florins you have an +excellent and plentiful dinner at the table d'hôte, including a bottle of +Moselle wine and Seltzer water at discretion; by paying extra you can have +the Rhine wines of different growths and crops and French wines of all +sorts. + +I am much pleased with the little I have seen of the German women. They +appear to be extremely well educated. I observe many of them in their +morning walks with a book in their hand either of poetry or a novel. +Schiller is the favourite poet among them and Augustus Lafontaine the +favourite novel writer.[25] He is a very agreeable author were he not so +prolix; yet we English have no right to complain of this fault, since there +is no novel in all Germany to compare in point of prolixity with Clarissa, +Sit Charles Grandison, or Tom Jones. The great fault of Augustus Lafontaine +is that of including in one novel the history of two or three generations. +A beautiful and very interesting tale of his, however, is entirely free +from this defect and is founded on a fact. It is called _Dankbarkeit und +Liebe_ (Gratitude and Love). There is more real pathos in this novelette +than in the _Nouvelle Héloïse_ of Rousseau. + + +EHRENBREITSTEIN, 8 July. + +After a _sèjour_ of three days at Godesberg, we left that delightful +residence and proceeded to Neuwied to deposit the boys. We stopped, +however, for an hour or two at Andernach, which is situated in a beautiful +valley on the left bank. We viewed the remains of the palace of the Kings +of Austrasia and the church where the body of the Emperor Valentinian is +preserved embalmed. + +Andernach is remarkable for being the exact spot where Julius Caesar first +crossed the Rhine to make war on the German nations. Directly opposite +Neuwied, which is on the right bank, stands close to the village of +Weissenthurm the monument erected to the French General Hoche. We crossed +over to Neuwied in a boat. Neuwied is a regular, well-built town, but +rather of a sombre melancholy appearance and is only remarkable for its +university. Science could not chuse a more tranquil abode. This University +has been ameliorated lately by its present sovereign the King of Prussia. +It was not the interest of Napoleon to favour any establishment on the +right bank at the expence of those on the left, the former being out of his +territory. At Neuwied I took leave of my agreeable fellow travellers, as +they intended to remain there and I to go on to Ehrenbreitstein. An +opportunity presented itself the same afternoon of which I profited. I met +with an Austrian Captain of Infantry and his lady at the inn where I +stopped who were going to Ehrenbreitstein in their _calèche_, and they were +so kind as to offer me a place in it. I found them both extremely +agreeable; both were from Austria proper. He had left the Austrian service +some time ago and had since entered into the Russian service; from that he +was lately transferred, together with the battalion to which he belonged, +into the service of Prussia and placed on the retired list of the latter +with a very small pension. He did not seem at all satisfied with this +arrangement. He had served in several campaigns against the French in +Germany, Italy and France, and was well conversant in French and Italian +litterature. + +We stopped _en passant_ at a _maison de plaisance_ and superb English +garden belonging to the Duke of Nassau-Weilburg. The house is in the style +of a cottage _orné_, but very roomy and tastefully fitted up; but nothing +can be more diversified and picturesque than the manner in which the garden +is laid out. The ground being much broken favours this; and in one part of +it is a ravine or valley so romantic and savage, that you would fancy +yourself in Tinian or Juan Fernandez. We arrived late in the evening in the +Thal Ehrenbreitstein, which lies at the foot of the gigantic hill fortress +of that name, which frowns over it and seems as if it threatened to fall +and crush it. My friends landed me at the inn _Zum weissen Pferd_ (the +White Horse), where there is most excellent accommodation. Just opposite +Ehrenbreitstein, on the left bank, is Coblentz; a superb flying bridge, +which passes in three minutes, keeps up the communication between the two +towns. + +Early the next morning, I ascended the stupendous rock of Ehrenbreitstein, +which has a great resemblance to the hill forts in India, such as Gooty, +Nundydroog, etc. It is a place of immense natural strength, but the +fortifications were destroyed by the French, who did not chuse to have so +formidable a neighbour so close to their frontier, as the Rhine then was. +The Prussian Government, however, to whom it now belongs, seem too fully +aware of its importance not to reconstruct the fortifications with as +little delay as possible. Ehrenbreitstein completely commands all the +adjacent country and enfilades the embouchure of the Moselle which flows +into the Rhine at Coblentz, where there is an elegant stone bridge across +the Moselle. Troops without intermission continue to pass over the flying +bridge bound to France, from the different German states, viz., Saxons, +Hessians, Prussians, etc., so that one might apply to this scene Anna +Comnena's expression relative to the Crusades, and say that all Germany is +torn up from its foundation and precipitated upon France. I suppose no less +than 70,000 men have passed within these few days. The German papers, +particularly the _Rheinische Mercur_, continue to fulminate against France +and the war yell resounds with as much fury as ever. From the number of +troops that continue to pass it would seem as if the Allies did not mean to +content themselves with the abdication of Napoleon, but will endeavour to +dismember France. The Prussian officers seem to speak very confidently that +Alsace and Lorraine will be severed from France and reunited to the +Germanic body, to which, they say, every country ought to belong where the +German language is spoken, and they are continually citing the words of an +old song: + + + Wo ist das deutsche Vaterland?.... + Wo man die deutsche Zunge spricht, + Da ist das deutsche Vaterland.[26] + +In English: "Where is the country of the Germans? Where the German language +is spoken, there is the country of the Germans!" + +Coblentz is a clean handsome city, but there is nothing very remarkable in +it except a fine and spacious "Place." But in the neighbourhood stands the +_Chartreuse_, situated on an eminence commanding a fine view of the whole +_Thalweg_. This _Chartreuse_ is one English mile distant from the town and +my friend the Austrian Captain had the goodness to conduct me thither. It +is a fine large building, but is falling rapidly to decay, being +appropriated to no purpose whatever. The country is beautiful in the +environs of this place, and has repeatedly called forth the admiration and +delight of all travellers. Near Coblentz is the monument erected to the +French General Marceau, who fell gloriously fighting for the cause of +liberty, respected by friend and foe. + + +July 10th. + +We had a large society this day at the table d'hôte. The conversation +turned on the restoration of the Bourbons, which nobody at table seemed to +desire. Several anecdotes were related of the conduct of the Bourbon +princes and of the emigration, who held their court at Coblentz when they +first emigrated; these anecdotes did not redound much to their honor or +credit, and I remark that they are held in great disgust and abhorrence by +the inhabitants of these towns, on account of their treacherous and +unprincipled conduct. It was from here that "La Cour de Coblentz," as it +was called, intrigued by turns with the Jacobins and the Brissotins and, by +betraying the latter to the former, were in part the cause of the +sanguinary measures adopted by Robespierre.[27] The object of this +atrocious policy was that the French people would, by witnessing so many +executions, become disgusted at the sanguinary tyranny of Robespierre and +recall the Bourbons unconditionally; which, fortunately for France and +thanks to the heroism and bravery of the republican armies, did not take +place; for had the restoration taken place at that time, a dreadful +reaction would have been encouraged and the cruelties of the reign of +Terror surpassed. With the same view, emissaries were dispatched from the +Court of Coblentz to the South of France in order, under the disguise of +patriots, to preach up the most exaggerated corollaries to the theories of +liberty and equality. + +Among other things at Ehrenbreitstein is a superb pleasure barge belonging +to the Dukes of Nassau for water excursions up and down the Rhine. A _coche +d'eau_ starts from here daily to Mayence and another to Cologne. The price +is ten franks the person. The superb _chaussée on_ the left bank of the +Rhine, which extends all the way from Cologne to Mayence, was constructed +by the direction of Napoleon. In the evening I went to the theatre at +Coblentz, where Mozart's opera of Don Giovanni was represented. I +recollected my old acquaintance "La ci darem la mano," which I had often +heard in England. + + +MAYENCE, 12th July. + +I embarked in the afternoon of the 11th in the _coche d'eau_ bound to +Mayence. Except an old "Schiffer," I was the only passenger on board, as +few chuse to go up stream on account of the delay. I, however, being master +of my own time, and wishing to view the lovely scenery on the banks of the +river, preferred this conveyance, and I was highly gratified. After +Boppart, the bed of the river narrows much. High rocks on each bank hem in +the stream and render it more rapid. Nothing can be more sublime and +magnificent than the scenery; at every turn of the river you would suppose +its course blocked up by rocks, perceiving no visible outlet. Remains of +Gothic castles are to be seen on their summits at a short distance from +each other, and where the banks are not abrupt and _escarpés_ there are +_coteaux_ covered with vines down to the water's edge. The tolling of the +bells at the different villages on the banks gives a most aweful solemn +religious sound, and the reverberation is prolonged by the high rocks, +which seem to shut you out from the rest of the world. There are the walls +nearly entire of two castles of the Middle Ages, the one called "Die Katze" +(the cat); the other "Die Maus" (the Mouse); each has its tradition, for +which and for many other interesting particulars I refer you to Klebe's and +Schreiber's description of the banks of the Rhine. + +We arrived early in the evening at St Goar, where we stopped and slept. St +Goar is a fine old Gothic town, romantically situated, and is famous from +having two whirlpools in its neighbourhood. It is completely commanded and +protected by Rheinfels, an ancient hill fortress, but the fortification of +which no longer exist. It requires half an hour's walk to ascend to the +summit of Rheinfels, but the traveller is well repaid for the fatigue of +the ascent by the fine view enjoyed from the top. I remained at Rheinfels +nearly an hour. What a solemn stillness seems to pervade this part of the +river, only interrupted by the occasional splash of the oar, and the +tolling of the steeple bell! Bingen on the right bank is the next place of +interest, and on an island in the centre of the river facing Bingen stand +the ruins of a celebrated tower call'd the "Maüsethurm" (mouse tower), so +named from the circumstance of Bishop Hatto having been devoured therein by +rats according to the tradition. This was represented as a punishment from +Heaven on the said bishop for his tyranny and oppression towards the poor; +but the story was invented by the monks in order to vilify his memory, for +it appears he was obnoxious to them on account of his attempts to enforce a +rigid discipline among them and to check their licentiousness. + +Bieberich, a superb palace belonging to the Dukes of Nassau on the right +bank, next presents itself to view on your left ascending; to your right, +at a short distance from Bieberich, you catch the first view of Mayence on +the left bank, with its towers and steeples rising from the glade. We +reached Mayence at 4 o'clock p.m., and I went to put up at the three Crowns +(_Drei-Kronen_). The first news I learned on arriving at Mayence was that +Napoleon had surrendered himself to the Captain of an English frigate at +Oléron; but though particulars are not given, Louis XVIII is said to be +restored, which I am very sorry to hear. The Allies then have been guilty +of the most scandalous infraction of their most solemn promise, since they +declared that they made war on Napoleon alone and that they never meant to +dictate to the French people the form of government they were to adopt. +Napoleon having surrendered and Louis being restored, the war may be +considered as ended for the present, unless the Allies should attempt to +wrest any provinces from France, and in this case there is no saying what +may happen. This has finally ended the career of Napoleon. + +There is in Mayence a remarkably fine broad spacious street called "die +grosse Bleiche" and in general the buildings are striking and solid, but +too much crowded together as is the case in all ancient fortified cities. +The Cathedral is well worth seeing and contains many things of value and +costly relics. When one views the things of value in the churches here, at +Aix-la-Chapelle and at Cologne, what a contradiction does it give to the +calumnies spread against the French republicans that they plundered the +churches of the towns they occupied! There is an agreeable promenade lined +with trees on the banks of the river called _L'Allée du Rhin._ Mayence is +strongly fortified and has besides a citadel (a pentagon) of great +strength, which is separated from the town by an esplanade. The _Place du +Marché_ is striking and in the _Place Verte_ I saw for the first time in my +life the Austrian uniform, there being an Austrian garrison as well as +troops belonging to the other Germanic states, such as Prussians, +Bavarians, Saxons, Hessians, and troops of the Duchy of Berg. This City +belongs to the Germanic Confederation and is to be always occupied by a +mixed garrison. The Archduke Charles has his head-quarters here at present. +I attended an inspection of a battalion of Berg troops on the _Place +Verte_; they had a very military appearance and went thro' their manoeuvres +with great precision. From the top of the steeple of the Church of Sanct +Stephen you have a fine view of the whole Rheingau. Opposite to Mayence, on +the right bank, communicating by an immensely long bridge of boats, is the +small town and fort of Castel, which forms a sort of _tête-de-pont_ to +Mayence. The works of Castel take in flank and enfilade the embouchure of +the river Mayn which flows into the Rhine. One of the redoubts of Castel is +called the redoubt of Montebello, thus named after Marshal Lannes, Duke of +Montebello. + +The German papers continue their invectives against France. In one of them +I read a patriotic song recommending the youth of Germany to go into France +to revenge themselves, to drink the wine and live at the cost of the +inhabitants, and then is about to recommend their making love to the wives +and daughters of the French, when a sudden flash of patriotism comes across +him, and he says: "No! for that a German warrior makes love to German girls +and German women only!" (_Und küsst nur Deutsche Mädchen._) With regard to +the women here, those that I have hitherto met with, and those I saw at +Ehrenbreitstein, were exceedingly handsome, so that the German warriors, if +love is their object, will do well to remain here, as they may go further +and fare worse, for I understand the women of Lorraine and Champagne are +not very striking for personal beauty. There were some good paintings in +the picture gallery here and this and the fortifications are nearly all +that need call forth the attention of a traveller who makes but a fleeting +visit. + + +FRANKFORT-ON-THE-MAYN, 14th July. + +I arrived here the day before yesterday in the diligence from Mayence, the +price of which is two and a half florins the person, and the distance +twenty-five English miles; there is likewise a water conveyance by the Mayn +for half the money. The road runs thro' the village of Hockheim, which in +England gives the name of _Hock_ to all the wines of Rhenish growth. The +country is undulating in gentle declivities and vales and is highly +cultivated in vines and corn. I put up here at the _Hotel Zum Schwan_ (The +Swan), which is a very large and spacious hotel and has excellent +accommodation. There is a very excellent table d'hôte at one o'clock at +this hotel, for which the price is one and a half florins the person, +including a pint of Moselle wine and a _krug_ or jar of Seltzer water. +About four or five o'clock in the afternoon it is the fashion to come and +drink old Rhine wine _à l'Anglaise_. That sort called _Rudesheimer_ I +recommend as delicious. There is also a very pleasant wine called the +_Ingelheimer_, which is in fact the "red Hock." At one of these afternoon +meetings a gentleman who had just returned from Paris related to us some +anecdotes of what passed at the Conference between the French commissioners +who were sent after the abdication of Napoleon, by the provisional +government, to treat with the Allies; in which it appeared that the British +commissioner, Lord S[tewart],[28] brother to the Secretary of State for +Foreign Affairs, made rather a simple figure by his want of historical +knowledge or recollection. He began, it seems, in rather a bullying manner, +in the presence of the commissioners, to declaim against what he called the +perfidy and mutiny of the French army against their lawful Sovereign; when +the venerable Lafayette, who was one of the commissioners and who is ever +foremost when his country has need of his assistance, remarked to him that +the English revolution in 1688, which the English were accustomed always to +stile glorious, and which he (Lafayette) stiled glorious also, was +effectuated in a similar manner by the British army abandoning King James +and ranging themselves under the standard of the Prince of Orange; that if +it was a crime on the part of the French army to join Napoleon, their +ancient leader who had led them so often to victory, it was a still greater +crime on the part of the English army to go over to the Prince of Orange +who was unknown to them and a foreigner in the bargain; and that therefore +this blame of the French army, coming from the mouth of an Englishman, +surprised him, the more so as the Duke of Marlborough, the boast and pride +of the English, set the example of defection from his Sovereign, who had +been his greatest benefactor. Lord S[tewart], who did not appear to be at +all conscious of this part of our history, was staggered, a smile was +visible on the countenances of all the foreign diplomatists assembled +there, and Lord S[tewart], to hide his confusion, and with an ill-disguised +anger, turned to Lafayette and said that the Allies would not treat until +Napoleon should be delivered to them. "Je m'étonne, my lord, qu'en faisant +une proposition si infâme et si deshonorante, vous vous plaisez de vous +adresser au prisonnier d'Olmütz," was the dignified answer of that virtuous +patriot and ever ardent veteran of liberty.[29] + +The main street in Frankfort called the _Zeil_ is very broad and spacious, +and can boast of a number of splendid houses belonging to individuals, +particularly the house of Schweitzer[30]; and on the Quai, on the banks of +the Mayn, there is a noble range of buildings. The bridge across the Mayn +is very fine and on the other side of the river is the suburb of +Sachsenhansen, which is famous for being the head-quarters of the +priestesses of the Venus vulgivaga who abound in this city. There are in +Frankfort an immense number of Jews, who have a quarter of the city +allotted to them. The gardens that environ the town are very tastefully +laid out, and serve as the favourite promenade of the _beau monde_ of +Frankfort. The Cathedral will always be a place of interest as the temple +wherein in later times the German Caesars were crowned and inaugurated. At +the _Hôtel de Ville_ called the _Römer_, which is an ugly Gothic building, +but interesting from its being in this edifice that the Emperors were +chosen, is to be seen the celebrated Golden Bull which is written on +parchment in the Latin language with a golden seal attached to it. In the +Hall where the Electors used to sit on the election of an Emperor of the +Romans, are to be seen the portraits of several of the Emperors, and a very +striking one in particular of the Emperor Joseph II, in full length, in his +Imperial robes. There is no table d'hôte at the _Swan_ for supper, but this +meal is served up _à la carte_, which is very convenient for those who do +not require copious meals. At the same table with me at supper sat a very +agreeable man with whom I entered into conversation. He was a Hessian and +had served in a Hessian battalion in the English service during the +American war. He was so kind as to procure me admission to the Casino at +the Hotel Rumpf,[31] where there is a literary institution and where they +receive newspapers, pamphlets and reviews in the German, French, English +and Italian languages. In Frankfort there are several houses of individuals +which merit the name of palaces, and there is a great display of opulence +and industry in this city. In the environs there is abundance of _maisons +de plaisance_. For commerce it is the most bustling city (inland) in all +Germany, besides it being the seat of the present German Diet; and from +here, as from a centre, diverge the high roads to all parts of the Empire. + +I have been once at the theatre, which is very near the _Swan_. A German +opera, the scene whereof was in India, was given. The scenery and +decorations were good, appropriate, and the singing very fair. The theatre +itself is dirty and gloomy. The German language appears to me to be better +adapted to music than either the French or English. The number of dactylic +terminations in the language give to it all the variety that the +_sdruccioli_ give to the Italian. As to poetry, no language in the world +suits itself better to all the vagaries and phantasies of the Muse, since +it possesses so much natural rythm and allows, like the Greek, the +combination of compound words and a redundancy of epithets, and it is +besides so flexible that it lends itself to all the ancient as well as the +modern metres with complete success: indeed it is the only modern language +that I know of which does so. + +As for political opinions here, the Germans seem neither to wish nor to +care about the restoration of the Bourbons; but they talk loudly of the +necessity of tearing Alsace and Lorraine from France. In fact, they wish to +put it out of the power of the French ever to invade Germany again; a thing +however little to be hoped for. For the minor and weaker Germanic states +have always hitherto (and will probably again at some future day) invoked +the assistance of France against the greater and stronger. I observe that +the Austrian Government is not at all popular here, and that its bad faith +in financial matters is so notorious and has been so severely felt here, +that a merchant told me, alluding to the bankruptcy of the Austrian +Government on two occasions when there was no absolute necessity for the +measure, that Frankfort had suffered more from the bad faith of the +Austrian Government than from all the war contributions levied by the +French. + + +BRUXELLES, 28th July. + +On arrival at Coblentz we heard that Napoleon had surrendered himself +unconditionally to Capt. Maitland of the _Bellerophon_. He never should +have humiliated himself so far as to surrender himself to the British +ministry. He owed to himself, to his brave fellow soldiers, to the French +nation whose Sovereign he had been, not to take such a step, but rather die +in the field like our Richard III, a glorious death which cast a lustre +around his memory in spite of the darker shades of his character; or if he +could not fall in the field, he should have died like Hannibal, rather than +commit himself into the hands of a government in which generosity is by no +means a distinguishing feature, and which on many occasions has shown a +petty persecuting and vindictive spirit, and thus I have no hesitation in +portraying the characteristics of our Tory party, which, unfortunately for +the cause of liberty, rules with undivided sway over England. He will now +end his days in captivity, for his destination appears to be already fixed, +and St Helena is named as the intended residence; he will, I say, be +exposed to all the taunts and persecutions that petty malice can suggest; +and this with the most uncomfortable reflections: for had he been more +considerate of the spirit of the age, he might have set all the Monarchs, +Ultras and Oligarchs and their ministers at defiance. But he wished to ape +Charlemagne and the Caesars and to establish an universal Empire: a thing +totally impossible in our days and much to be deprecated were it possible. + +Consigned to St Helena, Napoleon will furnish to posterity a proverb like +that of Dionysius at Corinth. This banishment to St Helena will be very +ungenerous and unjust on the part of the English Government, but I suppose +their satellites and adherents will term it an act of clemency, and some +_Church and Kingmen_ would no doubt recommend hewing him in pieces, as +Samuel did to Agag. + +I stopped three days at Aix-la-Chapelle to drink the waters and then came +straight to this place stopping half a day in Liége. I shall start for +Paris in a couple of days, as the communication is now open and the public +conveyances re-established. My passport is _visé_ in the following terms: +"Bon pour aller à Paris en suivant la route des armées alliées." I am quite +impatient to visit that celebrated city. + + +[18] Philipp Klingmann (1762-1824) was better known as an actor than as an + author.--ED. + +[19] Ariosto, _Orlando Furioso_, VII, 12, 1.--ED. + +[20] "What business have you? None, I travel for amusement. Strange! What + is there strange in travelling to see a fine country?" + +[21] _Le Compère Mathieu_, a satirical novel by the Abbé Henri Joseph + Dulaurens, published 1765 and sometimes (though wrongly) attributed to + Voltaire. One of the prominent talkers in the dialogues is Père Jean + de Domfront.--ED. + +[22] Horace, _Epist_., I, i, 15.--ED. + +[23] This altar, inscribed _Deae Victoriae Sacrum (Corpus inscr. lat_. + XIII, 8252), was erected by the Roman fleet on the Rhine at the place + now called _Altsburg_ near Cologne and, after its discovery, taken to + Bonn, where it was set up on the _Remigius-Platz_ (now called + _Roemer-Platz_) on Dec, 3, 1809. It is now in the Provincial + Museum.--ED. + +[24] Ariosto, _Orlando Furioso_, vi, 20, 3.--ED. + +[25] August Lafontaine (1758-1831), born in Brunswick of a family of French + protestants, was the very prolific and now quite forgotten author of + many novels and novelettes.--ED. + +[26] From Ernst Moritz Arndt's (1779-1860) celebrated poem, _Des Deutschen + Vaterland_.--ED. + +[27] There seems to be much truth in this opinion, though the question of + the intrigues of Louis XVIII with Robespierre is still shrouded in + obscurity. Some pages of General Thiébault's memoirs might have + cleared it up, but they have been torn out from the manuscript + (_Mémoires du Général Baron Thiébault_, vol. I, p. 273). Louis XVIII + paid a pension to Robespierre's sister, Charlotte.--ED. + +[28] Sir Charles Stewart, created Lord Stewart In 1814; he was a + half-brother of Lord Castlereagh.--ED. + +[29] The same story is given, with slight differences, by Lafayette himself + (_Mémoires_, vol. V, p. 472-3; Paris and Leipzig, 1838). See also + _Souvenirs historiques et parlementaires du Comte de Pontécoulant_, + vol. III, p. 428 (Paris, 1863). Major Frye's narrative is by far the + oldest and seems the most trustworthy.--ED. + +[30] The house in question was built about 1780 by Nicolas de Pigage for + the rich merchant, Franz von Schweizer; Pigage was the son of the + architect of King Stanislas at Nancy. The Schweizer palace became + later on the _Hôtel de Russie_ and was demolished about 1890, the + Imperial Post Office having been erected in its place. The Schweizer + family is now extinct.--ED. + +[31] A _Casinogesellschaft_, still in existence (1908), was founded at + Frankfort in 1805, with the object of uniting the aristocratic + elements of the city, admittance being freely allowed to distinguished + strangers, in particular to the envoys of the _Bundestag_. The + _Gesellschaft_ or club occupied spacious rooms in the house of the + once famous _tapissier_ and decorator Major Rumpf, grandfather of the + German sculptor of the same name. That building, situated at the + corner of the _Rossmarkt_, was demolished about 1880.--ED. + + + + +CHAPTER III + +From Bruxelles to Paris--Restoration of Louis XVIII--The officers of the +allied armies--The Palais Royal--The Louvre--Protest of the author against +the proposed despoiling of the French Museums--Unjust strictures against +Napoleon's military policy--The _cant_ about revolutionary robberies--The +Grand Opera--Monuments in Paris--The Champs Elysées--Saint-Cloud--The Hôtel +des Invalides--The Luxembourg--General Labédoyère--Priests and +emigrants--Prussian Plunder--Handsome behaviour of the English officers-- +Reminiscences of Eton--Versailles. + + +PARIS, August 3rd. + +Here I am in Paris. I left Bruxelles the 29th July, stopped one night at +Mons and passing thro' Valenciennes, Péronne and St Quentin arrived here on +the third day. The villages and towns on the road had been pretty well +stripped of eatables by the Allied army, as well as by the French, so that +we did not meet with the best fare. In every village the white flag was +displayed by way of propitiating the clemency of the Allies and averting +plunder. + + +August 7th. + +I have put up at the _Hôtel de Cahors_, Rue de Richelieu, where I pay five +francs per diem for a single room; such is the dearness of lodgings at this +moment. It is well furnished, however, with sofas, commodes, mirrors and a +handsome clock and is very spacious withal, there being an alcove for the +bed. This situation is extremely convenient, being close to the Palais +Royal, Rue St Honoré, Théâtre Français, Louvre and the Tuileries on one +side, and to the Grand Opera, the Théâtre Feydeau, the Italian Opera and +the Boulevards on the other. The National Library is not many yards distant +from my hotel, and a few yards from that _en face_ is the Grand Opera house +or _Académie Royale de Musique_. + +This city is filled with officers and travellers of all kinds who have +followed the army. The House of Legislature of the Hundred Days,--as it is +the fashion to style Napoleon's last reign--dissolved themselves on the +demand of a million of francs as a war contribution made by Marshall +Blucher. Louis XVIII has been hustled into Paris, and now occupies the +throne of his ancestors under the protection of a million of foreign +bayonets, and the _bannière des Lis_ has replaced the tricolor on the +castle of the Tuileries. A detachment of the British army occupies +Montmartre, where the British flag is flying, and in the Champs Elysées and +Bois de Boulogne are encamped several brigades of English and Hanoverians. +The Sovereigns of Russia, Austria and Prussia are expected and then it is +said that the fate of France will be decided. The Army of the Loire has at +length made its submission to the King, after stipulating but in vain for +the beloved tricolor. Report says it is to be immediately dissolved and a +new army raised with more legitimate inclinations. Should the King accede +to this, France will be completely disarmed and at the mercy of the Allies, +and the King himself a state prisoner. The entrance into Paris, thro' the +Faubourg St Denis, does not give to the stranger who arrives there for the +first time a great idea of the magnificence of Paris; he should enter by +the Avenue de Neuilly or by the Porte St Antoine, both of which are very +striking and superb. + +Now you must not expect that I shall or can give you a description of all +the fine things that I have seen or am about to see, for they have been so +often described before that it would be a perfect waste of time, and I can +do better in referring you at once to the _Guide des Voyageurs à Paris_; so +that I shall content myself with merely indicating these objects which make +the most impression on me. + +My first visit was, as you will have no doubt guessed, to the Palais Royal: +there I breakfasted, there I dined, and there I passed the whole day +without the least _ennui_. It is a world in itself. It swarms at present +with officers of the Allied army. The variety of uniforms adds to the +splendour and novelty of the scene. The restaurants and cafés are filled +with them. The Palais Royal is certainly the temple of animal +gratification, the paradise of gastronomes. The officers are indulging in +all sorts of luxury, revelling in Champaign and Burgundy, in all the +pleasures of the belly, as well as _in iis quae sub ventre sunt_. 'Twill be +a famous harvest for the restaurateurs and for the Cyprians who parade up +and down the Arcades, sure of a constant succession of suitors. In fact, +whatever be the taste of a man, whether sensual or intellectual or both, he +can gratify himself here without moving out of the precincts of the Palais +Royal. Here are cafés, restaurants, shops of all kinds whose display of +clocks, jewellery, stuffs, silks, merchandize from all parts of the world, +is most brilliant and dazzling; here you find reading-rooms where +newspapers, reviews and pamphlets of all tongues, nations and languages are +to be met with; here are museums of paintings, statues, plans in relief, +cosmoramas; here are libraries, gaming houses, houses of fair reception; +cellars where music, dancing and all kinds of orgies are carried on; +exhibitions of all sorts, learned pigs, dancing dogs, military canary +birds, hermaphrodites, giants, dwarf jugglers from Hindostan, catawbas from +America, serpents from Java, and crocodiles from the Nile. Here, so +Kotzebue has calculated, you may go through all the functions of life in +one day and end it afterwards should you be so inclined. You may eat, +drink, sleep, bathe, go to the _Cabinet d'aisance_, walk, read, make love, +game and, should you be tired of life, you may buy powder and ball or opium +to hasten your journey across Styx; or should you desire a more classic +_exit_, you may die like Seneca opening your veins in a bath. Deep play +goes forward day and night, and I verily believe there are some persons in +Paris who never quit these precincts. The restaurants and cafés are most +brilliantly fitted up. One, _Le Café des Mille Colonnes_, so called from +the reflection of the columns in the mirrors with which the wainscoat is +lined, boasts of a _limonadière_ of great beauty. She is certainly a fine +woman, dresses very well, as indeed most French women do, and has a +remarkably fine turned arm which she takes care to display on all +occasions. I do not, however, perceive much animation in her; she always +appears the same, nor has she made any more impression on me--tho' I am of +a very susceptible nature in this particular--than a fine statue or picture +would do. There she sits on a throne and receives the hommage and +compliments of most of the visitors and the money of all, which seems to +please her most, for she receives the compliments which are paid her with +the utmost _sang-froid_ and indifference, and the money she takes especial +care to count. English troops, conjointly with the National Guard, do duty +at the entrance of the Palais Royal from the Rue St Honoré; and it became +necessary to have a strong guard to keep the peace, as frequent disputes +take place between the young men of the Capital and the Prussian officers, +against whom the French are singularly inveterate. + +The French, when left to themselves, are very peaceable in their pleasures +and the utmost public decorum is observed; their sobriety contributes much +to this; but if there were in London an establishment similar to that of +the Palais Royal, it would become a perfect pandemonium and would require +an army to keep the peace. The French police keep a very sharp look-out on +all political offences, but are more indulgent towards all moral ones, as +long as public decorum is not infringed, and then it is severely punished. +But they have none of that censoriousness or prying spirit in France which +is so common in England to hunt out and criticise the private vices of +their neighbours, which, in my opinion, does not proceed from any real +regard for virtue, but from a fanatical, jealous, envious, and malignant +spirit. Those vice-hunters never have the courage to attack a man of wealth +and power; but a poor artisan or labourer, who buys a piece of meat after +twelve o'clock on Saturday night, or a glass of spirits during church-time +on Sunday, is termed a Sabbath-breaker and imprisoned without mercy. + +In the Palais Royal the three most remarkable temples of dissipation are +Very's for gastronomes, Robert's faro bank for gamesters, and the Café +Montausier for those devoted to the fair sex. The Café Montausier is fitted +up in the guise of a theatre where music, singing and theatrical pieces are +given; you pay nothing for admission, but are expected to call for some +refreshment. It is splendidly illuminated, and is the Café _par +excellence_, frequented by those ladies who have made the opposite choice +to that of Hercules, and who, taking into consideration the shortness and +uncertainty of life, dedicate it entirely to pleasure, reflecting that + + Laggiù nell' Inferno, + Nell' obblio sempiterno, + In sempiterno orrore, + Non si parla d'amore. + +Of course, this saloon is crowded with amateurs, and the Prussians and +English are not the least ardent votaries of the Goddess of Paphos; many a +vanquished victor sinks oppressed with wine and love on the breast of a +Dalilah: this last comparison suggests itself to me from the immense +quantity of hair worn by the Prussians, as if their strength, like that of +Samson's, depended on their _chevelure_. There is a very pretty graceful +girl who attends here and at the different restaurants and cafés with an +assortment of bijouterie and other knick-knacks to sell. She is full of wit +and repartee; but her answer to all those who attempt to squeeze her hand +and make love to her is always: "_Achetez quelque chose._" Her name is +Céline and she has a great flow of conversation on all subjects but that of +love, which she invariably cuts short by "_Achetez quelque chose._" + + + +10th August. + +I have been to see the Museum of sculpture and painting in the Louvre, but +what is to be seen there baffles all description: + + Se tante lingue avessi e tante voci + Quanti occhi il cielo o quante arene il mare + Non basterian a dir le lodi immense. + +The _Apollo Belvedere_, the _Venus de Medici_ and the _Laocoon_ first +claimed my attention, and engaged me for at least an hour and a half before +I could direct my attention to the other masterpieces. I admire indeed the +_Laocoon_, still more the _Venus_, but the _Apollo_ certainly bears away +the palm and I fully participate of all Winkelmann's enthusiasm for that +celebrated statue. The _Venus_ is a very beautiful woman, but the _Apollo_ +is a god. One is lost, and one's imagination is bewildered when one enters +into the halls of sculpture of this unparalleled collection, amidst the +statues of Gods, Demi-Gods, Heroes, Philosophers, Poets, Roman Emperors, +Statesmen and all the illustrious worthies that adorned the Greek and Roman +page. What subjects for contemplation! A chill of awe and veneration +pervaded my whole frame when I first entered into that glorious temple of +the Arts. I felt as I should were I admitted among supernatural beings, or +as if I had "shuffled off this mortal coil" and were suddenly ushered into +the presence of the illustrious tenants of another world; in fact, I felt +as if Olympus and the whole Court of Immortals were open to my view. No! I +cannot describe these things, I can only feel them; I throw down the pen +and call upon expressive silence to muse their praise. + +Of the Picture Gallery too what can I say that can possibly give you an +idea of its variety and extent? Here are the finest works of the Italian, +Flemish, and French schools, and you are as much embarrassed to single out +the favourite object, as the Grand Signor would be, among six or seven +hundred of the most beautiful women in the world, to make his choice. The +only fault I find in this collection is that there were rather too many +Scripture pieces, Crucifixions, Martyrdoms and allegorical pictures, and +too few from historical or mythological subjects. Yet perhaps I am wrong in +classing the Scripture pieces with Martyrdoms, Crucifixions, Grillings of +Saints and Madonnas; there are very many beautiful episodes in the +Scriptures which would furnish admirable subjects for painters. Why then +have they chosen disgusting subjects such as Judith sawing off Holofernes' +head, Siserah's head nailed to the bedpost, John the Baptist's on a +trencher, etc.? But the pictures representing Martyrdoms are too revolting +to the eye and should not be placed in this Museum. + +It is reported that the Allies mean to strip this Museum [of sculpture and +painting]. No! it cannot be, they never surely can be guilty of such an act +of Vandalism and contemptible spite. I am aware that there is a great +clamour amongst a certain description of English for restoring these +statues and pictures to the countries from whence they came, and that it is +the fashion to term the translation of them to Paris a revolutionary +robbery; but let us bring these gentlemen to a calm reasoning on the +subject. + +The statues and paintings in question belonged either to Governments at war +with France, or to individuals inhabiting those countries; now, with +respect to individuals, I will venture to affirm, on the best authority, +that the property of no individual was taken from him without an +equivalent. Those who had statues and pictures of value and wished to sell +them, received their full value from the French Government, but there was +no force used on the occasion; in fact, many who were in want of money were +rejoiced at the opportunity of selling, as they could never have otherwise +disposed of those valuable articles to individuals at the same price that +the French Government gave. I recollect a day or two ago being in +conversation with a Milanese on this subject and others connected with the +occupation of Italy by the French. I happened to mention that the conquest +of Italy by the Republican armies must have been attended with confiscation +of property; he assured me that no such thing as confiscation of property +took place; that so far from being the losers by the French invasion and +the establishment of their system, they had on the contrary been +considerable gainers, for that the country flourished under their +domination in a manner before unknown, and that one of the greatest +advantages attendant on the occupation was the establishment of an equality +of weight and measures, the decimal division of the coin, the introduction +of an admirable code of laws free'd from all barbarisms--legal, political +and theological--and intelligible to all classes, so that there was no +occasion to cite old authors and go back for three or four hundred years to +hunt out authorities and precedents for what men of sense could determine +at once by following the dictates of their own judgment. + +With respect to the statues and pictures belonging to the different +governments of Italy, it must never be forgotten that these governments +made war against the French Revolution either openly or insidiously, and +did their utmost to aid the coalition to crush the infant liberties of +France. Those who did not act openly did so covertly and indirectly; in +short, from their tergiversations and intrigues, they had no claim whatever +on the mercy of the conquerors, who treated them with a great deal of +clemency. The destruction of these governments was loudly called for by the +people themselves, who looked on the French as their deliverers. + +It will be admitted, I believe, that it is and has been the custom on the +continent, in all wars, for all parties to levy war contributions on the +conquered or occupied countries; but Buonoparte thought it more glorious +for the French name to take works of art instead of money; and not a statue +or picture was taken from the vanquished governments except by a solemn +treaty of cession, or given in lieu of contributions at the option of the +owners, and the Princes were very glad to give up their pictures and +statues, which the most of them did not know how to appreciate, in lieu of +money which they were all anxious to keep; and on these articles a fair +value was fixed by competent judges. In this manner did the French become +the possessors of these valuable objects of art, and in this manner was the +noble Museum in Paris filled up, and surely nothing could be more generous +and liberal than the use made of the Museum by the French Government; +foreigners were indeed more favoured than the inhabitants themselves. To +the inhabitants of Paris this Museum is open twice a week; but to +foreigners on producing their passports, it is open every day in the week +all the year round; artists of all nations are allowed, during a certain +number of hours each day, to come to copy the statues and pictures which +suit their taste; and stoves are lighted for their accommodation during +winter, and all this gratis.--Now, before these objects of art were +collected here, they were distributed, some in churches, and some in +Government palaces. To see the first, required a specific introduction to +the owner; to see the second, application to the attendants of the churches +became necessary, and for both these you were required to pay fees to the +servants and church-attendants, who are always impatient to take your fee +and hurry you through the apartments or chapels, scarcely giving you time +to examine anything. To be admitted into the Government palaces was a +matter of favour, and here also fees were required.[32] Here in the Louvre +there is no introduction required; no court to be paid to _major-domos_, no +favour; it is open to all classes, high and low, without exception, and no +money is allowed to be given. + +But there are some people, in their ridiculous fury against the French +Revolution, who would fain persuade us that before that epoch there was a +golden age on the earth, that there were no acts of violence committed, no +frauds practised, no property injured, no individuals ill-used; that every +Prince governed like Numa; that every noble was a Bayard, and every priest +like a primitive apostle. Why I need go no further than the Seven Years' +war to show that in that war, during the height of European civilisation, +and carried on between the most polished nations in Europe, there were much +more acts of violence and rapine carried on than ever were done by the +French republicans. I by no means wish to excuse or even palliate the acts +of ferocity which took place at that epoch of the French Revolution called +the reign of Terror, which were executed by a people wrought up to frenzy +by a recollection of their wrongs; and I know too well that many virtuous +individuals fell victims to their indiscriminating fury; but I do believe +and aver that much more clamour was made at the execution of a handful of +corrupt courtiers, intriguing and profligate women of quality and worthless +priests, than all the rest put together. + +To return to the Seven Years' war (I may be permitted to take this +retrospect, I hope, since it is the fashion, and those who differ with me +in opinions go much farther back than I do), let the French royalists and +emigrants recollect the confiscation of property and barbarity exercised by +Marshall Richelieu in Hanover, where many families were reduced to beggary. +They may not chuse to recollect this; but the Hanoverians do and they have +not forgotten the _Pavillon de Hanovre_, so called by the wits of the time +from its having been built by the Marshall with money arising from the +spoils of Hanover; will they recollect also the harsh treatment inflicted +on the burghers and citizens of a town in Germany, who were shut up in a +room and kept without food or drink for nearly three days because they +would not consent to fix a heavy and unwarrantable contribution on their +fellow citizens; when these unhappy but virtuous men were only allowed to +go out for the necessities of nature attended by sentries, and on the third +day, when fainting with hunger, a little bread and water was given to them, +with an assurance that in future they were not to expect such luxuries. +Have they forgot the devastation committed in Berlin by the Austrians in +the Seven Years' war, when they pillaged, burned or destroyed all the +valuable property of the royal Palaces, the most valuable works of art, +vases, statues of antiquity, the loss of which could never be replaced; +when they lopped off the heads, arms and legs of the statues? Have they +forgot the conduct of the belligerent powers at the siege of Dresden at the +same epoch, when whole families, among whom were helpless old men and women +with children at the breast, were compelled to leave Dresden in the middle +of a most rigorous winter and were driven to take refuge in the fields +where the most of them perished with hunger and cold; and where many +individuals lost their reason and became insane from the treatment they +received? Have they forgotten the merciless barbarities inflicted by the +Russians in the same war on the inhabitants of the Prussian territory? +their ripping up and burning men, women, and children? and the dreadful +retaliation inflicted on them at the battle of Zorndorff, when the +Prussians, exasperated at the idea of those horrors so fresh in their +memory, on being ordered to bury the Russian dead, threw the wounded men +also belonging to that nation into the graves dug for the dead, to be thus +buried alive, and hastily filled them up with earth, as if fearful that +they might relent, did they give themselves time for reflection? These are +not exaggerations; they are given by an author celebrated for his +impartiality and deep research and who was an eye-witness of many of these +proceedings; I mean Archenholz in his admirable history of the Seven Years' +war.[33] + +Then again in the war of American Independence (and here my countrymen must +excuse me if I point out the acts of injustice committed by them, when +acting in obedience to an unprincipled and arbitrary government and in a +cause hostile to freedom), who does not recollect the private property +wantonly destroyed and confiscated by the English? their employing the +Indian tribes, those merciless savages of the forest, to scalp, etc., which +called forth the indignation of a Chatham? and the grossly unjust pillage +and confiscation of property which took place at St Eustatius by the +commanders of a _religious and gracious King_?[34] Again, who does not +recollect the gentle but deep reproof given by the American General +Schuyler to the English General Burgoyne, when the latter was made prisoner +by the Americans under Gates? General Schuyler's valuable house, barns, +etc., had been burned by the express order of Burgoyne. Nevertheless, +Schuyler received him with dignified politeness, magnanimously stifled the +recollection of the injury he had received, and obtained for him a good +quarter, merely remarking, "General, had my house and farms not been +burned, I could have offered you a more comfortable abode." How Burgoyne +must have felt this reproof! yet he was not by nature a harsh man, but he +had the orders of his government to exercise severities; he was educated in +Tory principles, and passive obedience is their motto. + +Can one forget likewise even, in the late war, Nelson's conduct to +Caraccioli at Naples, whom he caused to be hanged on board of an English +ship of war, together with a number of other patriots, in violation of a +solemn capitulation, by which it had been stipulated that they should be +considered as prisoners of war and sent to France? Then again the wanton +destruction of the Capitol and other public buildings at Washington not +devoted to military purposes, which it is not usual to destroy or deface; +and the valuable public library too which was burned? What excuse can be +offered for this? Were the times of Omar returned? It is fair and allowed +by the laws of war to blow up and destroy arsenals, magazines, containing +warlike stores and engines of destruction, but to destroy with Gothic +barbarity buildings of great symmetry and beauty, and a library too--O fie! + +Why I will defy any man to point out a single instance where the French +republican armies or Napoleon ever injured or wantonly destroyed a single +national edifice, a single work of art, a single book belonging to any +other country! On the contrary, they invariably extended their protection +to the Arts and Sciences. Why at Vienna, where there is, I understand, a +most splendid museum, and many most valuable works of art and antiquity, +tho' this city fell twice into their possession, they never destroyed or +took away a single article; but, on the contrary, there, as well as in +Berlin, they invited the inhabitants to form a civic guard for the +protection of their property. As to the Vandalism shewn during the reign of +Terror, and I by no means seek to palliate it, that was of short duration, +it was madness, if you will, but it was disinterested--and other nations +who talk a great deal about their superior morality would do well to look +at home. They would there observe, in their own historic page, that the +atrocities of the French Revolution have not only been equalled but +surpassed perhaps by more dreadful scenes committed at Wexford in 1798, +under the auspices of the Government then ruling Ireland and which the +noble and virtuous ----[35] disdained to serve. + +Excuse this long digression, but I feel it my duty to open the eyes of my +countrymen and prevent them from supporting on all occasions the unjust +acts of their Government, which reflect dishonour on a great and +enlightened nation; which can boast, among its annals, of some of the most +heroic, splendid, and disinterested characters that ever the world +produced. + +All that I need add on the subject of the statues and pictures is, that +putting out of the question the justice or injustice of the restitution, it +will be a great loss to England and to English artists in particular, +should they be removed: many an artist can afford to make a trip to Paris, +who would find it beyond his means to make a journey to Florence or Rome. + +If these objects of art are to be taken away, it should be stipulated so in +the treaty of peace; and then everybody would understand it. This would be +putting it on the fairest footing. You then say to France: "You gained +these things by conquest; you lose them by defeat"; but for God's sake let +us have no more of that _cant_ about revolutionary robberies! + + +PARIS, ---- + +I went for the first time to the Grand Opera, or, as it is here called, the +Académie Royale de Musique, which is in the Rue de Richelieu. _Armida_ was +the piece performed, the music by Glück. The decorations were splendid and +the dancing beyond all praise. The scenes representing the garden of Armida +and the nymphs dancing fully expressed in the mimic art those beautiful +lines of Tasso: + + Cogliam d'amor la rosa! amiamo or, quando + Esser si puote riamato amando![36] + +The effect of the dissolution of the palace and gardens by the waving of +Armida's wand is astonishing; it appears completely to be the work of +inchantment, from the rapidity of execution which follows the _potentissime +parole_. The French recitative however does not please me. The serious +opera is an exotic and does not seem to thrive on the soil of France. The +language does not possess sufficient intonation to give effect to the +recitative. + +On the contrary, the comic operas are excellent; and here the national +music and singing appear to great advantage. It never degenerates to the +grotesque or absurd _buffo_ of the Italians, but is always exquisitely +graceful, simple, touching and natural. + +Among the ballets, I have seen perhaps three of the best, viz., _Achille à +Scyros, Flore et Zéphire_ and _La folle par amour_. In the ballet of Flore +and Zéphire, the dancers who did these two parts appeared more aerian than +earthly. To use a phrase of Burke's, I never beheld so _beautiful a vision. +Nina_, or _la folle par amour_, is a ballet from private life. The title +sufficiently explains its purport; it is exquisitely touching and pathetic. +O what a divine creature is Bigottini! what symmetry of form! what innate +grace, what a captivating expression of countenance; and then the manner in +which she did the mad scenes and her return to reason! Oh! I was moved even +to tears. Never had any performance such an effect upon me. What a +magnificent _tout ensemble_ is the Grand Opera at Paris! Whenever I feel +chagrined or melancholy I shall come here; I feel as if I were in a new +world; the fiction appears reality; my senses are ravished, and I forget +all my cares. + +I have very little pleasure in visiting royal Palaces, unless they have +been the residence of some transcendent, person like Napoleon or Frederick +II of Prussia, as the sight of splendid furniture and royal pomp affords me +no gratification; and I would rather visit Washington's or Lafayette's +farms in company with these distinguished men than dine with all the +monarchs of Europe. After a hasty glance at the furniture of the Tuileries, +what fixed my attention for a considerable time was "La Salle des +Maréchaux," where are the portraits of all the modern French Marshalls. +They are all full length portraits and are striking resemblances; some are +in the Marshall's undress uniform and others in the full court costume +which is very elegant, being the costume of the time of Francis I with the +Spanish hat and plumes. I did not observe Ney's or Soult's portraits among +them. + +In front of the great square of the Tuileries where the troops exercise, +stands the Arch of Triumph erected by Napoleon, commonly called _l'Arc du +Carrousel_. It is a beautiful piece of architecture, but is far too small +to tally with such a vast mass of buildings as the Palace and offices of +the Tuileries. By the side of them it appears almost Lilliputian. It would +have been better to have made it in the style of the triumphal arch of the +Porte St Denis. On this arc of the Carrousel are _bas-reliefs_ both outside +and inside, representing various actions of Napoleon's life. He is always +represented in the Roman costume, with the imperial laurel on his brows, +with kings kneeling, and presenting the keys of conquered cities. On the +outside are statues, large as life, in modern military costume, +representing the different _armes_ which compose the French army.[37] On +the top of this Arc du Carrousel is an antique car of triumph, to which are +harnessed the four bronze horses which were taken from the façade of the +Church of San Marco in Venice. They are of beautiful workmanship and of +great antiquity. What various and mighty revolutions have these horses +witnessed! Cast in Corinth in the time of the glories of the Grecian +commonwealths and removed by conquest to Rome, they witnessed the +successive fall of the Grecian and Roman states; transferred to +Constantinople in the time of Constantine, and from thence removed to +Venice when Constantinople fell into the hands of the French and Venetians; +transferred from thence to Paris in 1798, they have witnessed the +successive falls of the Eastern and Western Empires, of the Republic of +Venice and the Napoleonic dynasty and Empire. Report says they are to be +restored to Venice; and who knows whether they may not be destined one day +to return to their original country, Greece, under perhaps Russian +auspices? + +The Gardens of the Tuileries which lie at the back part of the palace are +very spacious, well laid out in walks and lined with trees. Large basins +inlaid with stone, fountains and statues add to the grandeur of these +gardens; they extend from the Tuileries as far as the Place Louis XV +parallel to the Seine, and are separated by a wall and parapet and a +beautiful cast iron railing from the Quai, and on the other side from the +Rue de Rivoli, one of the new streets, and the best in Paris for +pedestrians. On the side opposite the palace itself is the _Place Louis +XV_, called in the time of the republic _Place de la Révolution_, and where +the unfortunate Louis XVI suffered decapitation. The _Place Louis XV_ is by +far the most magnificent thing of the kind I have ever seen and far exceeds +the handsomest of our squares in London. On one side of it is the _Hótel du +Garde Meuble_, a superb edifice. On the other the Quai, the river; and on +the other side of the river is the _Palais du Corps législatif_, now the +place where the Chamber of Deputies hold their sitting, and which has a +magnificent façade. In front of this place are the Champs Elysées and +avenue of Neuilly and behind the gardens and palace of the Tuileries. + +My next visit was to the _Place Vendôme_, where stands the majestic column +of the Grand Army. To me this column is the most striking thing of its kind +that I have hitherto seen. It is of bronze and of the most beautiful +workmanship, cast from the cannon taken from the Austrians in the war of +1805, and on it are figured in bas-relief the various battles and +achievements, winding round and round from the base to the capital. It is +constructed after the model of the Column of Trajan in Rome. + +The next place I visited was the Chamber of Deputies. It is a fine building +with a Doric façade and columns; it is peculiarly striking from its noble +simplicity. On the façade are bas-reliefs representing actions in +Napoleon's life. The flight of steps leading to the façade is very grand, +and there are colossal figures representing Prudence, Justice, Fortitude +and other legislative virtues. The Chamber itself where the Deputies hold +their sittings is in the form of a Greek theatre; the arch of the +semi-circle forms the gallery appropriated to the audience, and comprehends +in its enclosure the seats of the deputies like the seats in a Greek +theatre; on the chord of the semi-circle where the _proscenium_ should be, +is the tribune and President's seat. The whole is exceedingly elegant. The +Orator whose turn it is to speak leaves his seat, ascends the tribune and +faces the Deputies. The anti-rooms adjoining this Chamber are fitted up +with long tables and fauteuils and are appropriated to the sittings of the +various committees. These antichambers are hung round with pictures +representing the victories of the French armies; but they are covered with +green baize and carefully concealed from the public eye in order to stifle +recollections and prevent comparisons. + + +PARIS, August. + +I mounted on horseback and rode out to St Cloud to breakfast, passing +through the Champs Elysées, the Bois de Boulogne and the little town of +Passy, and returned by the Quai, as far as the bridge of Jéna, which I +passed and went to visit the _Hôtel des Invalides, le Champ de Mars_, the +_Pantheon_ or Church of St Geneviève and the Palace of the Luxembourg. This +was pretty good work for one day; and as you will expect some little +account of my ideas thereon, I shall give you a _précis_ of what most +interested me. + +In the Champs Elysées are quartered several English regiments who are +encamped there, and this adds to the liveliness of the scene; our soldiers +seem to enjoy themselves very much. They are in the midst of places of +recreation of all kinds, such as guinguettes, tennis-courts, dancing salons +and cafés, and besides these (places of Elysium for English soldiers), wine +and brandy shops innumerable; our soldiers seem to agree very well with the +inhabitants. In the Bois de Boulogne are Hanoverian troops as well as +English. At Passy I stopped at the house occupied by my friend, Major C. of +the 33rd Regt.,[38] who was to accompany me to St Cloud. St Cloud is an +exceedingly neat pretty town, well and solidly built, and tolerably large. +There are a great many good restaurants and cafes, as St Cloud with its +Palace, promenades and gardens forms one of the most favourite resorts of +the Parisians on Sundays and _jours de fête_. Diners _de société_ and +_noces et festins_ are often made here; and there is both land and water +conveyance during the whole day. There are two roads by land from Paris: +the one on the Quai the whole way; the other through the Bois de Boulogne +and Champs Elysées. The gardens of St Cloud are laid out something in the +style of a _jardin anglais_, but mixed with the regular old fashioned +garden; it abounds in lofty trees, beautiful sites and well arranged vistas +commanding extensive views of Paris and the country environing. St Cloud +was the favourite residence of Napoleon; and the furniture in the palace +here shows him to be a man of the most refined taste. All is elegant and +classic; there is nothing superfluous; the furniture is modern, but in +strict imitation of the furniture of the ancients and chiefly in bronze. +There are superb vases and candelabras in marble, magnificent clocks of +various kinds, marble busts, and busts in bronze of great men, and bronze +statues large as life holding lamps. The chairs and sofas too are in a +classic taste, as are the beds and baths. We were informed here that +Blucher, who passed one night here, tore with his spur the satin covering +of one of the sofas and that he did it wilfully; but I never can believe +that the old man would be so silly, and I rather think that this story is +an invention of the keeper of the Palace, or that if it was done, it was +done by an accident merely. But the fact is that Blucher has a contempt for +and hates the Parisians and likes to mortify them on all occasions; he +threatens to do a number of things which he never seriously intends, merely +for the sake of teasing them; and it must be owned that they deserve a +little contempt from the want of _caractère_ they showed on the entrance of +the Allies. Be it as it may, Blucher is the _bête noire_ of the Parisians +and they are as much afraid of him as the children are of _Monsieur +Croque-mitaine_. + +We returned from St Cloud by the Quai, crossed the bridge of Jéna, +galloped along the _Champs de Mars_, took a hasty glance at the _Hôtel des +Invalides_, a magnificent edifice and which may be distinguished from all +other buildings by its gilded cupola. It is a superb establishment in every +respect, and is furnished with an excellent library. A great many old +soldiers are to be seen in this library occupied in reading; they are very +polite to all visitors, particularly to ladies. Nothing can better +demonstrate the superior character, intelligence and deportment of the +French soldiers over those of all other countries than the way in which +they employ their time in literary pursuits, their dignified politeness to +visitors and the intelligent answers they give to questions. I am afraid +our British veterans, brave as they are in the field, occupy themselves, +when laid up as invalids, more in destroying their bodies by spirituous +liquors than in improving their minds by reading. The Chapel of this +establishment where were displayed the banners and trophies taken at +different epochs from the enemies of France, and which were much mutilated +by the wars since the Revolution, is now stripped of all the ensigns of +glory. They were all burned by the French themselves previous to the +capitulation of Paris in 1814, in order to prevent their falling into the +hands of the enemy. An old soldier who was my guide related this with tears +in his eyes, but suddenly checking himself said: "_Mais telle est +l'histoire_." + +The only things now in this Chapel that interest the eye of the traveller +are the monuments of Vauban and Turenne. Of the rest nought remains but the +brilliant souvenirs. + + Fuit Ilium, et ingens + Gloria Teucrorum!...[39] + +I had a great deal of difficulty in inducing this old soldier to accept of +three franks; I told him at last that, as he did not want it himself, to +take it and give it to somebody that did. I then visited the rest of the +establishment. There is a whole range of rooms which contains models or +plans in relief of all the fortresses of France; they are admirably and +most minutely executed; not only the fortifications and public buildings, +but the private houses, the gardens, orchards, meadows, mountains, hill and +dale, bridges, trees, every feature of the ground in fine and of the +surrounding country are given in miniature. In fact it gives you the same +idea of the places themselves and of the environing country as if you were +held up in the air over them to inspect them; or as if you viewed them from +a balloon at the distance of 800 yards from the earth. The models of +Strassburg, Lille and three or four others have been taken away by the +Austrians and Prussians, but I have seen those of Calais, Dunkirk, +Villefranche, Toulon, and Brest, and in fact almost every other French +fortress. This is one of the most interesting sights in Paris, and for this +we are certainly indebted to the occupation; for I question much if +travellers were ever permitted to see these models until Paris fell into +the hands of the Allies. Prussian sentries do duty at the doors; how +grating this must be to the old invalids! Among the models I must not omit +to mention a very curious one which represents the battle of Lodi. The town +of Lodi, the bridge and river are admirably executed. The soldiers are +represented by little figures about a quarter of an inch in height and +cobwebs are disposed so as to represent the smoke of the firearms, +Buonaparte and his staff are on horseback on one side of the bridge. There +is also a very fine model of the _Hôtel des Invalides_ itself. + +From hence we went to the garden and palace of the Luxembourg. These +gardens form the midday and afternoon promenade of that part of the city. +In one wing of the Palace is the Chamber of Peers, elegantly fitted up and +in some respect resembling a Greek theatre. The busts of Cicero, Brutus, +Demosthenes, Phocion and other great men of antiquity adorn the niches of +this chamber and on the grand _escalier_ are the statues in natural size of +Kleber, Dessaix, Caffarelli and other French generals. Report says that +these statues will be removed. + +In the picture gallery at the Luxembourg is a choice collection of pictures +of the modern French school such as Guérin, David, etc. The subjects are +extremely well chosen, being taken from the mythology or from ancient and +modern history. I was too glad to find no crucifixions, martyrdoms, nor +eternal Madonnas. I distinguished in particular the _Judgment of Brutus_ +and the _Serment des Horaces et des Curiaces_. Connoisseurs find the +attitudes too stiff and talk to you of the Italian school; but I prefer +these; yet I had better hold my tongue on this subject, for I am told I +know nothing about painting. + +Poor Labédoyère[40] is sentenced to be shot by the Court Martial which +tried him, and the sentence will be carried immediately into execution. His +fate excites universal sympathy, and I have seen many people shed tears +when talking on this subject. He certainly ought to be protected by the +12th Article of the Capitulation. The French are very uneasy; the Allies +have begun to strip the Louvre and there is no talk of what the terms of +peace are to be, or what is the determination of the Allies. This is a +dreadful state of uncertainty for the French people and may lead to a +general insurrection. The Allies continue pouring troops into France and +levying contributions. "_Vae victis_" seems their motto. France is now a +disarmed nation, and no French uniform is to be seen except that of the +National Guard and the "Garde Royale." France is at the mercy of her +enemies and prostrate at their feet; a melancholy prospect for European +liberty! + +The Allies have parades and reviews two or three times a week and the +Sovereigns of Russia, Austria and Prussia constantly attend; Wellington is +their showman. These crowned Heads like mightily playing at soldiers; I +should think His Grace must be heartily tired of them. Massacres and +persecutions of the Protestants have begun to take place in the South of +France, and the priests are at work again threatening with excommunication +and hell the purchasers and inheritors of emigrant estates and church +lands. These priests and emigrants are incorrigible. Frequent quarrels take +place almost every evening in the Palais Royal between the Prussian +officers and the French, particularly some of the officers from the army of +the Loire. I rather suspect these latter are the aggressors. The Prussians +being gorged with plunder come there to eat, drink and amuse themselves and +have as little stomach for fighting as the soldier of Lucullus had after +having enriched himself; but the officers of the army of the Loire are, +poor fellows, in a very different predicament; they have not even been paid +what is due to them, and they, having none of those nice felicities (to use +an expression of Charlotte Smith's)[41] which make life agreeable, are +ready for any combat, to set their life on any cast, "to mend it, or to be +rid of 't." The Prussians indulge in every sort of dissipation, which they +are enabled to do by the plunder which they have accumulated, and of which +they have formed, I understand, a _dépôt_ at St Germain. They send these +articles of plunder to town every day to be sold, and then divide the +profits, which are sure to be spent in the Palais Royal, and other places +of revel and debauchery. + +They sometimes affect a fastidiousness of stomach which is quite laughable, +and not at all peculiar to the Germans, who are in general blessed by +nature with especial good appetites; and they spend so much money that the +English officers who have not had the advantages of plunder that these +Prussians have had must appear by the side of them stingy and niggardly. + +I was witness one day to a whimsical scene, which will serve to give you an +idea of the airs of importance these gentlemen give themselves. I was one +day at Versailles and after having visited the palace and gardens I entered +the Salon of a restaurateur and called for a veal cutlet and _vin +ordinaire_. There was a fat Prussian Major with two or three of his +companions at one of the tables, who had been making copious libations to +Bacchus in Burgundy and Champaign. He heard me call for _vin ordinaire_, +and whether it was to show his own magnificence I know not, but he called +out to the _cafetière_: "Madame, votre vin ordinaire est il buvable? car +j'en veux donner a mon trompette, et s'il n'est pas bon, il n'en boira pas. +Faites venir mon trompette." Now I dare say in his own country this Major +would not have disdained even the "schwarze Bier" of Brandenburgh. + +Scarcely any quarrels, I believe, take place between the English and +French, nor did I hear of any violent fracas but one. In this instance, the +English officers concerned must have been sad, brutal, vulgar fellows. +They, however, after behaving in a most gross insulting manner, were +compelled by some Frenchmen not to eat but to drink their words, and that +out of a vessel not usually employed in drinking. I shall not repeat the +contemptible affair, but it furnished the subject of a caricature. + +The English officers in general behave in a handsome and liberal manner, +and their conduct was spoken of in high terms of encomium by very many of +the French themselves. I regret however exceedingly that any of the British +officers should have imbibed the low prejudices and vulgar hatred against +the French, which certain people preach up in England to cover their own +peculations and interested views. A young friend of mine, with whom I was +one day talking on political subjects, said to me: "I cannot help agreeing +with you in many things, but I am staggered when I think that your ideas +and reasoning are so contrary to the ideas in which I have been brought up; +so that I rather avoid entering at all on political questions." + +I do not wonder at all at this, for I recollect when I was at school at +Eton, the system was to drill into the heads of the boys strong +aristocratic principles and hatred of Democracy and of the French in +particular; we were ordered to write themes against the French Revolution +and verses of triumph over their defeats, with now and then a sly theme on +the great advantage of hereditary nobility; in these verses God Almighty +was to be represented as closely allied to the British Government and a +_sleeping partner_ of the Administration. One of the fellows of Eton +College actually told the late Mr Adam Walker, the celebrated lecturer on +natural and experimental philosophy, who was accustomed to give lectures +annually to the Etonians, that his visits were no longer agreeable and +would be dispensed with in future; as "Philosophy had done a great deal of +harm and had caused the French Revolution." + +With respect to my visit to Versailles, I was much struck with the vast +size and magnificence of the buildings and with the ingenuity displayed in +the arrangement of the grounds and the numerous groups of statues, +grottos, aqueducts, fountains and ruins. Still it pleases me less than St +Cloud, for I prefer the taste of the present day in gardening and the +arrangement of ground, to the ponderous and tawdry taste of the time of +Louis XIV, and I prefer St Cloud to Versailles, just as I should prefer a +Grecian Nymph in the simple costume of Arcadia to a fine court lady rouged +and dressed out with hoops, diamonds, and headdress of the tune of Queen +Anne. Napoleon must have had an exquisite taste. + + +[32] Exceptions to this are, I understand, the Gallery at Florence, and the + Museo Vaticano at Rome, which are both open to all and no fees allowed. + +[33] Johann Wilhelm Archenholz (1743-1812), author of the _Geschichte des + Siebenjährigen Krieges_, 1789.--ED. + +[34] In February, 1781, before the declaration of war was generally known + in the West Indies, Rodney's fleet surrounded the Dutch island of + Eustatius, which had become a sort of entrepôt for supplying America + with British goods; two hundred and fifty ships, together with several + millions worth of merchandise, were seized and sold at a military + auction. The plunder of Eustatius was bitterly commented upon In the + British House of Commons.--Lee Richard Hildreth, _The History of the + United States_, vol. III, p. 335.--ED. + +[35] The name is in blank. Major Frye may have meant Beauchamp Bagenal + Harvey (1762-1798), the squire of Wexford who deserted to the Irish + rebels.--ED. + +[36] Tasso, _Jerusalemme liberata_, canto XVI, ottava 15.--ED. + +[37] For instance, a Cuirassier, a Dragoon, a Grenadier, a Tirailleur, an + Artilleryman. + +[38] Major G. Colclough, senior major of the 33rd Regt.--ED. + +[39] Virgil, _Aen_., II. 325.--ED. + +[40] La Bédoyere (Charles Huchet, Comte de) distinguished himself in + several of the Napoleonic wars, in particular at Ratisbonne and + Borodino. Being a colonel at Grenoble, in March, 1815, he deserted to + Napoleon's cause and was nominated by him general and _pair de + France_. In July, 1815, he was arrested in Paris, tried for high + treason and shot, August 19, in spite of Benj. Constant's efforts to + save him.--ED. + +[41] Charlotte Smith (1749-1806), author of _Emmeline, or the Orphan of the + Castle_ (1788), _Celestina_ (1792), _The Old Manor House_ (1793), + etc.--ED. + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +From Paris to Bruxelles--Visiting the plains of Waterloo--The Duke de Berri +at Lille--Beauvais--Return to Paris--Remarks on the French theatre-- +Talma--Mlle Duchesnois--Mlle Georges-French alexandrine verse--The Abbé +Delille--The Opéra Comique. + +I met with my brother-in-law and his nephew at Paris, and hearing from them +that they had an intention of returning to England by the way of Bruxelles, +with the idea of visiting the plains of Waterloo, I was induced to +accompany them. We started on the 18th August, taking the exact route from +Paris that was taken by Napoleon. Passed the first night at St Quentin; the +second at a small village on the line between Mons and Charleroy in the +Belgian territory. The next morning, after breakfasting at Nivelles, we +proceeded to Quatre Bras and Mont St Jean. At the little cabaret called _à +la belle Alliance_ we met a host of Englishmen who had been to behold the +field of battle; Lacoste, the peasant who was Napoleon's guide on the day +of battle, was about to conduct them across the fields to Hougoumont. We +followed them. The devastation of the place, every tree being pierced with +bullets, and the whole premises being nearly burned to the ground, seemed +to astonish their _weak minds_; one of them was not contented till he had +measured the length and breadth of the garden and orchards. + +Cuirasses, helmets, swords and various other spoils of war found on the +spot, were offered for sale by some boys and eagerly bought up as relics. +My brother-in-law made a purchase of a helmet, sword and cuirass, intending +to hang it up in his hall. For my part I have seen, and can see no reason +whatever to rejoice at this event. I fear it is pregnant with infinite +mischief. + +We arrived at Bruxelles on the afternoon of the 20th August and after +visiting thePark, _Alée verte_ and Palace of Laeken, we proceeded the next +morning on our journey to Lille. + +The Duke of Berri was at Lille and a grand _fête_ was given in the evening +to celebrate the second restoration of the Bourbons. Fireworks were let +off, the city was brilliantly illuminated and boys (hired of course) went +about the streets singing the following refrain + + À bas, à bas Napoléon! + Vivent, vivent les Bourbons! + +A number of beautiful women elegantly attired paraded up and down the +public promenades, which are exceedingly well and tastefully laid out. This +city is built with great regularity, and the streets are broad, neat, and +clean. It is by far the handsomest city I have ever seen either in France +or Belgium. The _Hôtel de Ville_ and the theatre both are on the _Grande +Place_ and are well worth seeing. Lille is renowned for its fortifications; +I much wished to visit the citadel but I was not permitted. At dinner at +the table d'hôte at the _Hôtel du Commerce_, I remarked a French officer +declaiming violently against Napoleon; but I heard afterwards that he was +the son of an Emigrant; the rest of the company did not seem to approve his +discourse and shewed visible impatience at it. + +Lille may be easily recognised at its approach from the immense quantity of +wind-mills that are in the vicinity of this city, some of which are used +for grinding of wheat and others for the expression of oil. A great deal of +flax from whence the oil is made, grows in the country. + +I left Lille on the morning of the 24th inst., with the courier for Amiens. +From Amiens I took the diligence to Beauvais and on arrival there I put up +under the hospitable roof of my friend Major G., of the 18th Light +Dragoons, lately made Lt.-Colonel for his gallantry at Waterloo.[42] I did +not want for amusement here, for the next day a _fête champêtre_ was given +just outside the walls of the town, and I admired the grace and tournure of +the female peasantry and their good dancing. How much more creditable are +these innocent and agreeable _fêtes_ to the fairs and meetings in England, +which are generally signalized in drunkenness! The next afternoon presented +a novel sight to the inhabitants of Beauvais, it being a grand cricket +match played between the officers of the 10th and 18th Dragoons. It was won +by the latter, mainly owing to the superior play of Colonel G. of the 18th, +who never touched a bat since he was at Burney's school. The Officers +afterwards dined _al fresco_ and many toasts accompanied by the huzzas were +given, to the astonishment of the bystanders, who seemed to consider us as +little better than barbarians. One of the officers wishing to pay a +compliment to the inhabitants of Beauvais proposed the health of Louis +XVIII, but they seemed to take it coldly and not at all to be flattered by +the compliment. + +After five days very agreeable residence at Beauvais, I put myself in the +diligence to return to Paris. During the journey an ardent political +altercation arose between a young lady, who appeared to be a warm partisan +of Napoleon, on the one side, and a Garde du Corps on the other. The lady +was seconded by a young gentleman, of whom it was difficult to say, whether +he sustained her argument from a dislike to the present order of things, or +from a wish to ingratiate himself in her favour. The argument of the Garde +du Corps was espoused, but soberly, by one of the passengers who was a +mathematical professor at one of the Lyceums; he was not by any means an +Ultra, but he supported the Bourbons, with moderate, gentlemanly and I +therefore believe sincere attachment. This professor seemed a well informed +sort of man; he told me that he was acquainted with Sir James M., formerly +recorder at Bombay. On our arrival at the _Bureau des Messageries_, the +whole company forgot their disputes and parted good friends; and the young +man who was partisan of the young lady in the political dispute took care +to +inform himself of her abode in Paris. + + * * * * * + +Remarks on the various dramatic performances which I witnessed at Paris, +with opinions on the French theatre in general. + +In my ideas of dramatic works I am neither rigidly classic nor romantic, +and I think both styles may be good if properly managed and the interest +well kept up; in a word I am pleased with all genres _hors le genre +ennuyux_,[43] and tho' a great admirer of Shakespeare and Schiller, I am +equally so of Voltaire, Racine and Corneille; I take equal delight in the +pathos of the sentimental dramas of Kotzebue as in the admirable satire and +_vis comica_ of the unrivalled Molière, so that on my arrival at Paris I +was not violently prejudiced either for or against the French stage, but +rather pre-occupied, to use a gentler term, in its favour; and I have not +been at all disappointed, for I think I can pronounce it with safety the +first, perhaps the only stage in Europe. + +I now mean to speak not of Operas, nor of Operas-comiques, nor of +melodrames, nor of vaudevilles; all these have their respective merits; but +when I speak of the French stage, I confine myself to the regular theatre +of tragedy and comedy, of their classical pieces; in a word, to the +dramatic performances usually given at the _Théâtre Français_. + +The first piece I saw performed was _Manlius_;[44] but I was too far off +from the stage to judge of the acting, and could do little more than catch +the sounds. The parterre and the whole house was full. I was in the fourth +tier of boxes, yet I could distinguish at intervals the finest and most +prominent traits, of Talma's acting, particularly in that scene where he +upbraids his friend with having betrayed him. This he gave with uncommon +energy and effect. The plot of this piece is very similar to that of +_Venice preserved_.[45] + +The next piece I saw represented was the _Avare_ of Molière, which to me +was one of the greatest dramatic treats I had ever witnessed. Every part +was well supported. The next was _Athalie_ of Racine. Here too I was highly +gratified. Mlle Georges performed the part of Athalie and gave me the +perfect ideal of the haughty Queen. Her narration of the dream was given +with the happiest effect, and in her attempt to conceal her uneasiness and +her affected contempt of the dream in these lines: + + Un songe, me devrois--je inquiéter d'un songe? + +she seemed in reality to labour under all the anxiety and fatigue arising +from it. That fine scene between Joad and Joas was well given, and the +little girl who did the part of Joas performed with a good deal of spirit. +The actor who played Joad recited in a most impressive manner the advice to +the young prince terminating in these lines: + + Vous souvenant, mon fils, que caché sous ce lin, + Comme eux vous fûtes pauvre et comme eux orphelin. + +The interrogating scene between Athalie and Joad was given spiritedly, but +the rather abrupt and uncourtierlike reply to the Queen's remark, "Ils sont +deux puissans dieux"--"Lui seul est dieu, Madame, et le vôtre n'est rien"-- +excited a laugh and I fancy never fails to do so, every time the piece is +performed. + +Racine has several passages in his tragedies which perhaps have rather too +much _naiveté_ for the dignity of the cothurnus; for instance in the answer +of Agamemnon to Achille in the tragedy of _Iphigénie_: + + Puisque vous le savez, pourquoi le demander? + +A poet of to-day would be quizzed for a line like the above, but who dare +venture to point out any defect in an author of whom Voltaire has said and +with justice too, that the only criticism to be made of him (Racine) would +be to write under every page: "Admirable, harmonieux, sublime!" + +The costume and the decorations at the _Théâtre français_ are so strictly +classical and appropriate in every respect, that it is to me a source of +high delight to witness the representation of the favourite pieces of +Racine, Corneille, Molière and Voltaire, which I have so often read with so +much pleasure in the closet and no small quantity of which I have by heart. + +The next piece I saw was the _Cinnna_ of Corneille; and here it was that I +beheld Talma for the second time. I was of course highly pleased, tho' I +was rather far off to hear very distinctly; this was, however, no very +great loss, as I was perfectly well acquainted with the tragedy. Talma's +gestures, his pause's, his natural mode of acting gave a great relief to +the long declamation with which this tragedy abounds. When this tragedy was +given it was during the time that poor Labédoyère's trial was going on, and +the allusions to Augustus' clemency were eagerly seized and applauded. It +was hoped that Louis XVIII would imitate Augustus. Vain hope! + +I have seen _Phèdre_; the part of Phèdre by that admirable actress Mlle +Duchesnois, who performs the part so naturally and with so much passion +that we entirely forget the extreme plainness of the person. She acts with +far more feeling and pathos than Mlle Georges. I shall never be able to +forget Mlle Duchesnois in _Phèdre_. She gave me a full idea of the +impassioned Queen, nor were it possible to depict with greater fidelity the +"Vénus toute entière à sa proie attachée," as in that beautiful speech of +Phèdre to Oenone wherein she reveals her passion for Hippolyte and +pourtrays the terrible struggle between duty and female delicacy on the one +hand, and on the other a flame that could not be overcome, convinced as it +were of the complete inutility of further efforts of resistance and +invoking death as her only refuge. I was moved even to tears. I am so great +an admirer of the whole of this speech beginning "Mon mal vient de plus +lorn" etc., and ending "Un reste de chaleur tout prêt à s'exhaler," that I +think in it Racine has not only united the excellencies of Euripides, +Sappho and Theocritus in describing the passion of love, but has far +surpassed them all; that speech is certainly the masterpiece of French +versification and scarcely inferior to it is that beautiful and ingenuous +confession of love by Hippolyte to Aricie. What an admirable _pendant_ to +the love of Phèdre! In Hippolyte you behold the innocence, simplicity and +ingenuousness of a first and pure attachment: in Phèdre the _embrasement_, +the ungovernable delirium of a criminal passion. + +I have seen Mlle Duchesnois again in the _Mérope_ of Voltaire and admire +her more and more. This is an admirable play. The dialogue is so spirited; +the agitation of maternal tenderness, and the occasional bursts of feelings +impossible to be restrained, render this play one of the most interesting +perhaps on the French stage, and Mlle Duchesnois gave with the happiest +effect her part in those two scenes; the first wherein she supposes Egisthe +to be the person who has killed her son; in the other where having +discovered the reality of his person, she is obliged to dissemble the +discovery, but on Egisthe being about to be sacrificed she exclaims +"Barbare, c'est mon fils!" The part of Egisthe was given by a young actor +who made his appearance at this theatre for the first tune, and he executed +his part with complete success (Firmin, I think, was his name). Lafond did +the part of Polyphonte and did it well. At this tragedy many allusions were +caught hold of by the audience according as they were Bourbonically or +Napoleonically inclined; at that part of Polyphonte's speech wherein he +says: + + Le premier qui fut Roi fut un soldat heureux. + Qui sert bien son pays n'a pas besoin d'ayeux. + +Thunders of applause proceeded from those who applied it to Napoleon. At +the line: + + Est il d'autre parti que celui de nos rois? + +a loud shout and clapping proceeded from the Royalists; but I fancy if +hands had been shown these last would have been in a sad minority. I have +often amused myself with comparing the _Mérope_ of Voltaire with that of +Maffei and am puzzled to which to give the preference. Maffei has made +Polyphonte a more odious and perhaps on that account a more theatrical +character, while Voltaire's Polyphonte is more in real life. In the play of +Voltaire he is a rough brutal soldier, void of delicacy of feeling and not +very scrupulous, but not that praeternatural deep designing villain that he +is represented in the piece of Maffei. In fact Maffei's Polyphonte appears +too _outré_; but then on the stage may not a little exaggeration be +allowed, just as statues which are destined to be placed in the open air or +on columns appear with greater effect when larger than the natural size? +Alfleri seems to have given the preference to the Mérope of Voltaire. + +I have seen Talma a second time in the part of Nero in the Britannicus of +Racine; Mlle Georges played the part of Agrippina. Talma was Nero from head +to foot; his very entry on the stage gave an idea of the fiery and +impatient character of the tyrant, and in the scene between him and his +mother Agrippina nothing could be better delineated. The forced calm of +Agrippina, while reproaching her son with his ingratitude, and the +impatience of Nero to get rid of such an importunate monitress, were given +in a style impossible to be surpassed. Talma's dumb show during this scene +was a masterpiece of the mimic art. If Talma gives such effects to his +rôles in a French drama, where he is shackled by rules, how much greater +would he give on the English or German stages in a tragedy of Shakespeare +or Schiller! + +Blank verse is certainly better adapted to tragedy than rhymed +alexandrines, but then the French language does not admit of blank verse, +and to write tragedies in prose, unless they be tragedies in modern life, +would deprive them of all charm; but after all I find the harmonious pomp +and to use a phrase of Pope's "The long majestic march and energy divine" +of the French alexandrine, very pleasing to the ear. I am sure that the +French poets deserve a great deal of credit for producing such masterpieces +of versification from a language, which, however elegant, is the least +poetical in Europe; which allows little or no inversion, scarce any poetic +license, no _enjambement_, compels a fixed caesura; has in horror the +hiatus; and in fine is subject to the most rigorous rules, which can on no +account be infringed; which rejects hyperbole; which is measured by +syllables, the pronunciation of which is not felt in prose; compels the +alternative termination of a masculine or feminine rhyme; and with all this +requires more perhaps than any other language that cacophony be sedulously +avoided. Such are the difficulties a French poet has to struggle with; he +must unite the most harmonious sound with the finest thought. In Italian +very often the natural harmony of the language and the music of the sound +conceal the poverty of the thought; besides Italian poetry has innumerable +licenses which make it easy to figure in the Tuscan Parnassus, and where +anyone who can string together _rime_ or _versi sciolti_ is dignified with +the appellation of a poet; whereas from French poetry, a mediocrity is and +must be of necessity banished. Neither is it sufficient for an author to +have sublime ideas; these must be filed and pruned. Inspiration can make a +poet of a German, an Italian or an Englishman, because he may revel in +unbounded license of metre and language, but in French poetry inspiration +is by no means sufficient; severe study and constant practise are as +indispensable as poetic verve to constitute a French poet. The French poets +are sensible of this and on this account they prefer imitating the +ancients, polishing their rough marble and fitting it to the national +taste, to striking out a new path. + +The Abbé Delille, the best poet of our day that France has produced, has +gone further; he had read and admired the best English poets such as +Milton, Pope, Collins and Goldsmith, and has not disdained to imitate them; +yet he has imitated them with such elegance and judgment that he has left +nothing to regret on the part of those of his countrymen who are not +acquainted with English, and he has rendered their beauties with such a +force that a foreigner Versed in both languages who did not previously know +which was the original, and which the translation, might take up passages +in Pope, Thomson, Collins and Goldsmith and read parallel passages in +Delille and be extremely puzzled to distinguish the original: for none of +the beauties are lost in these imitations. And yet, in preferring to +imitate, it must not be inferred that he was deficient in original +thoughts. + +To return to the theatre, I have seen Mlle Mars in the _rôle_ of Henriette +in the _Femmes Savantes_ of Molière. Oh! how admirable she is! She realizes +completely the conception of a graceful and elegant Frenchwoman of the +first society. She does not act; she is at home as it were in her own +salon, smiling at the silly pretensions of her sister and at the ridiculous +pedantry of Trissotin; her refusing the kiss because she does not +understand Greek was given with the greatest _naiveté_. In a word Mlle Mars +reigns unrivalled as the first comic actress in Europe. + +I have seen too, _Les Plaideurs_ of Racine and _Les fourberies de Scapin_ +of Molière, both exceedingly well given; particularly the scene in the +latter wherein it is announced to Géronte that his son had fallen into the +hands of a Turkish corsair, and his answer "Que diable allait-il faire dans +la galère?" + +I have seen also _Andromaque_, _Iphigénie_ and _Zaïre_. Mlle Volnais did +the part of Andromaque; but the monotonous plaintiveness of her voice, +which never changes, wearies me. In _Iphigénie_ I was more gratified; for +Mlle Georges did the part of Clytemnestre, and her sister, a young girl of +seventeen, made her début in the part of Iphigénie with great effect. The +two sisters supported each other wonderfully well, and Lafond did Agamemnon +very respectably. + +Mlle Georges the younger, having succeeded in _Iphigénie_, appeared in the +part of Zaïre, a bold attempt, and tho' she did it well and with much +grace, yet it was evidently too arduous a task for her. The whole onus of +this affecting piece rests on the _rôle_ of Zaïre. In the part where +_naiveté_ was required she succeeded perfectly and her burst: "Mais +Orosmane m'aime et j'ai tout oublie" was most happy; but she was too faint +and betrayed too little emotion in portraying the struggle between her love +for Orosmane and the unsubdued symptoms of attachment to her father and +brother and to the religion of her ancestors. In short, where much passion +and pathos was required, there she proved unequal to the task; but she has +evidently all the qualities and dispositions towards becoming a good +actress, and with more study and practise I have no doubt that three or +four years hence, she will be fully equal to the difficult task of giving +effect to and portraying to life, the exquisitely touching and highly +interesting _rôle_ of Zaïre. She was not called for to appear on the stage +after the termination of the performance, tho' frequently applauded during +it. The actor who did the part of Orosmane, in that scene wherein he +discovers he has killed Zaïre unjustly, gave a groan which had an unhappy +effect; it was such an awkward one, that it made all the audience laugh; no +people catch ridicule so soon as the French. + +What I principally admire on the French stage is that the actors are always +perfect in their parts and all the characters are well sustained; the +performance never flags for a moment; and I have experienced infinitely +more pleasure in beholding the dramas of Racine and Voltaire than those of +Shakespeare, and for this reason that, on our stage, for one good actor you +have the many who are exceedingly bad and who do not comprehend their +author: you feel consequently a _hiatus valde deflendus_ when the principal +actor or actress are not on the stage. I have been delighted to see Kemble, +and Mrs Siddons and Miss O'Neil, and while they were on the stage I was all +eyes and ears; but the other actors were always so inferior that the +contrast was too obvious and it only served to make more conspicuous the +flagging of interest that pervades the tragedies of Shakespeare, _Macbeth_ +alone perhaps excepted. I speak only of Shakespeare's faults as a +dramaturgus and they are rather the faults of his age than his own; for in +everything else I think him the greatest litterary genius that the world +ever produced, and I place him far above any poet, ancient or modern; yet +in allowing all this, I do not at all wonder that his dramatic pieces do +not in general please foreigners and that they are disgusted with the low +buffoonery, interruption of interest and want of arrangement that ought of +necessity to constitute a drama; for I feel the same objections myself when +reading Shakespeare, and often lose patience; but then when I come to some +sublime passage, I become wrapt up in it alone and totally forget the piece +itself. In order to inspire a foreigner with admiration for Shakespeare, I +would not give him his plays to read entire, but I would present him with a +_recueil_ of the most beautiful passages of that great poet; and I am sure +he would be so delighted with them that he would readily join in the "All +Hail" that the British nation awards him. Thus you may perceive the +distinction I make between the creative genius who designs, and the artist +who fills up the canvas; between the Poet and the Dramaturgus. I am +probably singular in my taste as an Englishman, when I tell you that I +prefer Shakespeare for the closet and Racine or Voltaire or Corneille for +the stage: and with regard to English tragedies, I prefer as an acting +drama Home's _Douglas_[46] to any of Shakespeare's, _Macbeth_ alone +excepted; and for this plain reason that the interest in _Douglas_ never +flags, nor is diverted. + +In giving my mite of admiration to the French stage, I am fully aware of +its faults, of the long declamation and the _fade galanterie_ that +prevailed before Voltaire made the grand reform in that particular: and on +this account I prefer Voltaire as a tragedian to Racine and Corneille. The +_Phédre_ and _Athalie_ of Racine are certainly masterpieces, and little +inferior to them are _Iphigénie, Andromaque_ and _Britannicus_, but in the +others I think he must be pronounced inferior to Voltaire; as a proof of my +argument I need only cite _Zaïre, Alzire, Mahomet, Sémiramis, l'Orphelin de +la Chine, Brutus_. Voltaire has, I think, united in his dramatic writings +the beauties of Corneille, Racine and Crébillon and has avoided their +faults; this however is not, I believe, the opinion of the French in +general, but I follow my own judgment in affairs of taste, and if anything +pleases me I wait not to ascertain whether the "master hath said so." + +It shows a delicate attention on the part of the directors of the _Théâtre +Français_, now that so many foreigners of all nations are here, to cause to +be represented every night the masterpieces of the French classical +dramatic authors, since these are pieces that every foreigner of education +has read and admired; and he would much rather go to see acted a play with +which he was thoroughly acquainted than a new piece of one which he has not +read; for as the recitation is extremely rapid it would not be so easy for +him to seize and follow it without previous reading. + +Of Molière I had already seen the _Avare_, the _Femmes savantes_ and the +_Fourberies de Scapin_. Since these I have seen the _Tartuffe_ and _George +Dandin_ both inimitably performed; how I enjoyed the scene of the _Pauvre +homme!_ in the _Tartuffe_ and the lecture given to George Dandin by M. and +Mme de Sotenville wherein they recount the virtues and merits of their +respective ancestors. Of Molière indeed there is but one opinion throughout +Europe; in the comic line he bears away the palm unrivalled and here I +fully agree with the "general." + +I must not quit the subject of French theatricals without speaking of the +_Opéra comique_ at the _Théâtre Faydeau_. It is to the sort of light pieces +that are given here, that the French music is peculiarly appropriate, and +it is here that you seize and feel the beauty and melody of the national +music; these little _chansons_, _romances_ and _ariettas_ are so pleasing +to the ear that they imprint themselves durably on the memory, which is no +equivocal proof of their merit. I cannot say as much for the tragic singing +in the _Opéra seria_ at the Grand French Opera, which to my ear sounds a +perfect psalmody. There is but one language in the world for tragic +recitative and that is Italian. On the other hand, in the _genre_ of the +_Opéra comique_, the French stage is far superior to the Italian. In the +French comedy everything is graceful and natural; the Italians cannot catch +this happy medium, so that their comedies and comic operas are mostly +_outré_, and degenerate into downright farce and buffoonery. + + +[42] Major James Grant, of the 18th Light Dragoons, was made a Brevet + Lieutenant Colonel on 18th June, 1815.--ED. + +[43] A phrase in prose, often quoted as a verse, from Voltaire's preface to + the _Enfant Prodigue: Tous les genres sont bons, hors le genre + ennuyeux_.--ED. + +[44] A tragedy often acted by Talma, the work of Antoine d'Aubigny de + Lafosse (1653-1708).--ED. + +[45] Thomas Otway's once celebrated tragedy, 1682.--ED. + +[46] _The Tragedy of Douglas_, by John Home (1722-1808).--ED. + + + + +CHAPTER V + +From Paris to Milan through Dijon, Chalon-sur-Saône, Lyons, Geneva and the +Simplon--Auxerre--Dijon--Napoleon at Chalon-sur-Saône--The army of the +Loire--Mâcon--French _grisettes_--Lyons--Monuments and theatricals-- +Geneva--Character and opinions of the Genevois--Voltaire's chateau at +Ferney--The chevalier Zadera--From Geneva to Milan--Crossing the +Simplon--Arona--The theatres in Milan--Rossini--Monuments in Milan--Art +encouraged by the French--Mr Eustace's bigotry--Return to Switzerland-- +Clarens and Vevey--Lausanne--Society in Lausanne--Return to Paris--The +Louvre stripped--Death of Marshal Ney. + +I left Paris on the 17th Sept., in the diligence of Auxerre, The company +was as follows: a young Genevois who had served in the National Guard at +Paris, and had been wounded in a skirmish against the Prussians near that +city; a young Irish Templar; a fat citizen of Dijon and an equally fat +woman going to Dole. We arrived the following day at 11 o'clock at Auxerre, +a town situated on the banks of the Seine. Water conveyance may be had from +Paris to Auxerre, price 12 francs the person: the price in the diligence is +28 francs. We had during our journey much political conversation; the +Bourbons and the English government were the objects of attack, and neither +my friend the barrister nor myself felt the least inclined to take up their +cause. The Genevois had with him Fouché's exposé of the state of the +nation, wherein he complains bitterly of the conduct of the Allies. All +France is now disarmed and no troops are to be seen but those in foreign +uniform. The face of the country between Paris and Auxerre is not +peculiarly striking; but the soil appears fertile and the road excellent. +After breakfast we started from Auxerre and stopped to sup and sleep the +same night at Avallon. At Semur, which we passed on the following day, +there is a one arched bridge of great boldness across the river Armançon. +We arrived in the evening at Dijon. The country between Auxerre and Dijon +is very undulating in gentle hill and dale, but for the want of trees and +inclosures it has a bleak appearance. As you leave Avallon and approach +Dijon, the hills covered with vines indicate your arrival in a wine +country. I put up at the _Chapeau rouge_ at Dijon and remained there one +day, in order to visit the _Chartreuse_ which is at a short distance from +the town and commands an extensive view. It was devastated during the +Revolution. The view from it is fine and extensive and that is all that is +worth notice. The country about it is rich and cultivated, and the +following lines of Ariosto might serve for its description: + + Culte pianure e delicati colli, + Chiare acque, ombrose ripe e prati molli.[47] + + 'Mid cultivated plain, delicious hill, + Moist meadow, shady bank, and crystal rill. + + --_Trans_. W.S. ROSE. + +The city of Dijon is large, handsome and well built. It has an appearance +of industry, comfort and airiness. There are several mustard manufactories +in this town. A dinner was given yesterday by the municipality to the +National Guard, and an immense quantity of mustard was devoured on the +occasion in honor of the staple manufactory of Dijon. From Dijon I put +myself in the diligence to go to Chalon and after stopping two hours at +Beaune, arrived at Chalon at 5 o'clock p.m. The country between Dijon and +Chalon is flat, but cultivated like a garden. It is likewise the wine +country _par excellence_. I do not know a wine more agreeable to palate +than the wine of Beaune. + +At Chalon I put up at the _Hôtel du Parc_. Chalon is beautifully situated +on the banks of the Saône. The Quai is well constructed and forms an +agreeable promenade. There is an Austrian garrison in Chalon. The hostess +of the inn told me that Napoleon stopped at her house on his way from Lyons +to Paris, when he returned from Elba, and she related to me with great +eagerness many anecdotes of that extraordinary man: she said that such was +the _empressement_ on the part of the inhabitants to see him, and embrace +him by way of testifying their affection, that the Emperor was obliged to +say: "Mais vous m'étouffez, mes enfans!" In fact, had the army remained +neutral, the peasantry alone would have carried the Emperor on their +shoulders to Paris. It is quite absurd to say that a faction did this and +that it was effectuated merely by the disaffection of the Army. The Army +did its duty in the noblest manner, for it is the duty of every army to +support the national cause and the voice of the people, and by no means to +become the blind tools of the Prince; for it is absurd, as it is degrading +to humanity, it is impious to consider the Prince as the proprietor of the +country and the master of the people; he is, or ought to be, the principal +magistrate, the principal soldier paid by the people, like any other +magistrate or soldier, and like them liable to be cashiered for misconduct +or breach of faith. This is not a very fashionable doctrine nowadays, and +there is danger of it being forgotten altogether in the rage for what is +falsely termed legitimacy; it becomes therefore the bounden duty of every +friend of freedom to din this unfashionable doctrine into the ears of +Princes and unceasingly to exclaim to them and to their ministers: + + Discite justitiam moniti et non temnere gentes.[48] + +In their conduct on this occasion the French soldiers proved themselves far +more constitutional than those of any other army in Europe; let despots, +priests and weak-headed Tories say what they please to the contrary. + +I embarked the following morning at 12 o'clock in the _coche d'eau_ for +Lyons. There was a very numerous and motley company on board: there were +three bourgeois belonging to Lyons returning thither from Paris; a quiet +good-humoured sort of woman not remarkable either for her beauty nor +vivacity; a young Spaniard, an adherent of King Joseph Napoleon, very +taciturn and wrapped up in his cloak tho' the weather was exceeding hot; he +seemed to do nothing else but smoke _cigarros_ and drink wine, of which he +emptied three or four bottles in a very short time--a young Piedmontese +officer, disbanded from the army of the Loire, who no sooner sat down on +deck than he began to chaunt Filicaja's beautiful sonnet, "_Italia, Italia, +O tu cui feo la sorte_," etc.--a merchant of Lyons who had been some time +in England, and spoke English well--a Lyonnese Major of Infantry, also of +the army of the Loire, who had served in Egypt in the 32nd Demi-brigade; +three Austrian officers of Artillery with their servants. A large barge +which followed and was towed by the _coche d'eau_ was filled with Austrian +soldiers, and on the banks of the river were a number of soldiers of the +Army of the Loire returning to their families and homes. + +The peaceable demeanour and honourable conduct of this army is worthy of +admiration, and can never be sufficiently praised: not a single act of +brigandage has taken place. The Austrian officers expressed to me their +astonishment at this, and said they doubted whether any other army in +Europe, disbanded and under the same circumstances, would behave so well. I +told them the French soldier was a free-man and a citizen and drawn from a +respectable class of people, which was not the case in most other +countries. Yes, these gallant fellows who had been calumniated by furious +Ultras, by the base ministerial prints of England, and the venal satellites +of Toryism, who had been represented as brigands or as infuriated Jacobins +with red caps and poignards, these men, in spite, of the contumely and +insult they met with from servile prefects, and from those who never dared +to face them in the field, are a model of good conduct and they preserve +the utmost subordination, tho' disbanded: they respect scrupulously the +property of the inhabitants and pay for everything. Mr. L., the young Irish +barrister, told me at Dijon that he left his purse by mistake in a shop +there in which were 20 napoleons in gold, when a soldier of the army of the +Loire, who happened to be in the shop, perceived it and came running after +him with it, but refused to accept of anything, tho' much pressed by Mr. +L., who wished to reward him handsomely for his disinterested conduct. Yes, +the French soldier is a fine fellow. I have served against them in Holland +and in Egypt and I will never flinch from rendering justice to their +exemplary conduct and lofty valour. No! it is not the French soldiery who +can be accused of plundering and exaction, but what brought the French name +in disrepute was the conduct of certain _prefects_ and _administrators_ in +Germany who were promoted to these posts for no other reason than because +they were of the old _noblesse_ or returned _Emigrants_, whom Napoleon +favoured in preference to the Republicans whom he feared. These emigrants +repaid his favours with the basest ingratitude; after being guilty of the +grossest and most infamous _concussions_ on the inhabitants of those parts +of Germany where their jurisdiction extended, they had the hypocrisy after +the restoration to declaim against the oppression of the _Usurper's_ +government and its system: but Napoleon richly deserved to meet with this +ingratitude for employing such unprincipled fellows. I believe he was never +aware of the villany they carried on, or they would have met with his +severest displeasure in being removed from office, as was the case with +Wirion at Verdun.[49] + +I do not find that the French soldiers with whom I have conversed are so +much attached to the person of the Emperor as I was led to believe; but +they are attached to their country and liberty; and in serving him, they +conceived they were serving the man _par excellence_ of the People. + +The French army too was beloved by the people, instead of being dreaded by +them as the armies of most other European nations are. In short, whenever I +met with and held conversation with soldiers of this army, I was always +tempted to address them in the words of Elvira to Pizarro when she seeks to +console him for his defeat: + + Yet think another morning shall arise, + Nor fear the future, nor lament the past.[50] + +The French Major was very much inclined to take up a quarrel with an +Austrian officer, on my account, but I dissuaded him. The cause was as +follows. A young Austrian boy, servant to one of the officers of Artillery, +had entered the _coche d'eau_ at Chalon, some minutes before his master, +and began to avail himself of the right of conquest by taking possession of +the totality of one of the cabins and endeavouring to exclude the other +passengers; among other things he was going to thrust my portmanteau out of +its place. I called to him to let it alone, when the French Major stepped +forward and said that if he dared to touch any of the baggage belonging to +the passengers, he would punish him on the spot and his master also, for +that he longed to measure swords with those "Jean F---- d'Autrichiens." +Fearful of a serious quarrel between them and being unwilling that any +dispute should occur on my account, I requested the Major not to meddle +with the business, for that I was sure the Austrian officer would check the +impertinence of his servant when he came on board; and that if he did not, +I was perfectly able and willing to defend my own cause. The Austrian +officers came on board a few minutes after, when I addressed them in +German, and explained to them the behaviour of the boy; they scolded him +severely for his impertinence to us and threatened him with the _Schlag_, +should it occur again. The rest of the journey passed without any incident. +I found that my friend the Major had served in the French army in Egypt in +the division Lanusse in the battle of the 21st March, 1801, (30 Ventose) +and that consequently we were opposed to each other in that battle, as I +was then serving as a Lieutenant in the Queen's Regiment, commanded by that +excellent and amiable officer the Earl of D[alhousie] in General Doyle's +brigade. + +The voyage on the Saône presents some pleasing and picturesque points of +view; the _coteaux_ on the banks of the river are covered with vines. We +arrived at 8 o'clock in the evening to sup and sleep at Mâcon and put up at +the _Hôtel des Sauvages_. We had a most sumptuous repast, fish, flesh, +fowls, game, fruit and wine in profusion, for all which, including our +beds, we had only to pay 2-1/2 francs the person. + +There is a spacious Quai at Mâcon, which always adds to the beauty of a +city, and there are some fine buildings, public and private. I need not +enlarge on the excellence of the Mâcon wine. The country girls we observed +on the banks of the river as we floated along, and the _grisettes_ of the +town who were promenading on the Quai when we arrived, wore a peculiarly +elegant _costume_ and their headdress appeared to me to be something +Asiatic. + +The voyage on the subsequent day was more agreeable than the preceding one. +The country between Mâcon and Lyons is much more beautiful and diversified +than that which we have hitherto seen and resembles much the picturesque +scenery of the West-Indian landscape. One part between Mâcon and Trévoux +resembles exactly the island of Montserrat. + +Within two miles of Trévoux we were hailed by some _grisettes_ belonging to +the inns at that place, in order to invite us to dine at their respective +inns. There was one girl exceedingly beautiful whose name was Sophie, +daughter of the proprietor of the _Hôtel des Sauvages_ at Trévoux. She, by +her grace and coquetry, obtained the most recruits and when we disembarked +from the boat, she led us in triumph to her hotel. From her beauty and +graceful manner, Sophie, in a country where so much hommage is paid to +beauty, must be a most valuable acquisition to the interests of the inn, +and tho' she smiles on all, she takes care not to make herself cheap, and +like Corisca in the _Pastor Fido_ she holds put hopes which she does not at +all intend to gratify. After passing by the superb scenery on the banks of +the river (which increases in interest as you approach Lyons), the _Isle +Barbe_ and _la Tour de la belle Allemande_, we arrived at Lyons at 5 p.m. +and debarked on the _Quai de la Saône_. A _fiacre_ took me up and deposited +me safe at the _Hôtel du Nord_ situated on the _Place St Claire_ and not +many yards distant of the _Quai du Rhône_. + + +LYONS, 26th Sept. + +Lyons is situated on a tongue of land at the junction of the Saône and +Rhône, and there is a fine bridge on the spot where the streams unite, +called _le pont du Confluent_, which joins the extremity of the tongue of +land with the right bank of the Saône. There is besides a large bridge +across the Rhône, higher up, before it joins the Saône, leading in a right +line from the _Hôtel de Ville_; and two other bridges across the Saône. The +_Quai du Rhône_ is by far the finest and most agreeable part of the city. +It is spacious, well paved, aligned with trees, and boast the finest +edifices public and private in the whole city; it is the favourite +promenade of the _beaux_ and _belles_ of Lyons. The sight of the broad and +majestic Rhône itself is a grand object, and on a fine day the prospect is +augmented by the distant view of the fleecy head of Mont Blanc. On this +Quai and within a 100 yards of the bridge on the Rhône are the justly +celebrated _bains du Rhône_, fitted up in a style of elegance even superior +to those called _les Bains Vigier_ on the Seine at Paris. The grand +Hospital is also on the Quai; the facade is beautiful; its architecture is +of the Ionic order and the building itself as well as its interior economy +has frequently elicited the admiration of travellers. Among the Places in +this city the finest is that of Bellecour. + +The scenery is extremely diversified in the environs of Lyons, and in the +city there is great appearance of wealth and splendour. Lyons flourished +greatly during the time of the continental blockade, as it was the central +depôt of the commerce between France and Italy. Napoleon is much respected +and regretted here, and with reason, as he was a great benefactor to this +city. The Lyonnese are too frank, too open in their sentiments and too +grateful not to render justice to his great talents and good qualities, +while they blame and deplore his ambition. In fact an experience of a few +days and some acquaintance I made here has given me a very favourable +impression of the inhabitants of this city. The men are frank in their +manners, polite, well informed, and free from all frivolity. The women are +in general handsome, well shaped, and have much grace and are exceedingly +well educated; they seem totally free from the _Petite-maîtressism_ of the +Parisian women, and both sexes seem to possess a good deal of what the +French term _caractère_. Had the Parisians resembled the Lyonnese, Paris +would never have fallen twice into the hands of the enemy, nor would the +Lyonnese women have welcomed the entry of the invaders into their city with +waving handkerchiefs, etc. These qualities of the inhabitants, the beauty +of the country, and the cheapness of all the comforts and luxuries of life, +would make Lyons one of the most agreeable places of residence to a +foreigner of liberal sentiments and principles. + +Cloth and silk are the staple manufactures of Lyons, particularly the +latter; I accompanied my friend Mr M---- to see his fabrique of silk which +is of considerable extent and importance, and everything appeared to me, as +far as one totally ignorant of the business and its process could judge, +admirably regulated and rapid in its execution. The _tournure_ of the +_grisettes_ of Lyons is very striking and they possess completely the +_grata protervitas_, the _vultus nimium lubricus aspici_ which Horace so +much admires in Glycera. + +I visited both the theatres here, viz.: the _Grand Théâtre_, situated near +the _Hôtel de Ville_, and the smaller one called the _Théâtre des +Célestins_. At the former was some good dancing, and at the latter I was +engaged in a conversation which I cannot forbear citing as it will serve to +show the dislike the people have to the feudal system and the dread they +have of its re-establishment, tho' they can know nothing about it except by +tradition. The piece performed was called _Le petit Poucet_ (Tom Thumb and +the Ogre); but I missed my old acquaintance the Ogre and his seven-league +boots of Mother Goose, and found that in this melodrama he was transformed +into a tyrannical and capricious _Seigneur Féodal_. There was a very pretty +young lady about 16 years of age accompanied by her father in the same box +with me, and I observed to her, "Où est donc l'Ogre? il parait que l'on en +a fait un Seigneur féodal." "Oui, monsieur (she replied), et avec raison, +car ils étaient bien les Ogres de ce temps là ." I entered into a long +conversation with my fair neighbour and found her well informed and well +educated, with great good sense and knowledge of the world far beyond her +years. She told me that she had begun to study English and that her father +was a miniature painter. I took leave of her not without feeling much +affected and my heart not a little "percosso dall' amoroso strale." + +I must not forget to mention that there is a most spacious and magnificent +building on the _Quai du Rhône_ to the North of the bridge, which serves as +a café and ridotto or assembly room for balls, etc. I am afraid to say how +many feet it has in length; but it is the most superb establishment of the +kind I have ever met with. + +Fortunately for the city of Lyons, the famous decree of Robespierre for +its destruction, and the column with the inscription, "Lyon a porté les +armes contre la liberté; Lyon n'est plus," which was to occupy its place, +was never put in execution and tho' this city suffered much from +revolutionary vandalism yet it soon recovered and has flourished ever since +in a manner unheard of at any former period. No people are more sensible +than the Lyonnese of the great benefits produced by the Revolution, and no +people more deprecate a return to the _ancien régime_. + + +Oct. 2nd, GENEVA. + +I started in the diligence for Geneva on the 28th Sept. and found it +exceedingly cold on ascending the mountain called the _Cerdon_; the scenery +is savage and wild, and the road in many parts is on the brink of +precipices. We stopped at Nantua for supper and partook of some excellent +trout. There is a large lake near the town, and 'tis here that the Swiss +landscape begins. Commanding a narrow pass stands the fort of L'Ecluse. The +Austrians lost a great many men in attempting to force it. From this place +you have a noble view of the Alps and Mont-Blanc towering above them. As +this was the first time I beheld these celebrated mountains I was +transported with delight and my mind was filled with a thousand classical +and historical recollections! The scenery, the whole way from Fort l'Ecluse +to Geneva, is most magnificent and uncommonly varied. Mountain and valley, +winter and summer, on the same territory. Descending, the city of Geneva +opens gradually; you behold the lake Leman and the Rhône issuing from it. +We entered the city, which is fortified, and after crossing the double +bridge across the Rhône, we arrived at the _Hôtel de l'Eau de Genève_ at 12 +o'clock. The most striking thing in the city of Geneva to the traveller's +eye as he enters it, is the view of the arcades on each side of the street, +excellent for pedestrians and for protection against sun and rain, but +which give a heavy and gloomy appearance to the city. An immense number of +watch-makers is another distinguishing feature in this city. The first +thing shewn to me by my _valet de place_ was the house where Jean Jacques +Rousseau was born; I then desired him to shew me the spot where that +barbarian Calvin caused to be burnt the unhappy Servetus for not having the +same religious opinions as himself. + +The most agreeable promenades of the city are on the bastions and ramparts, +a place called _La Treille_ and a garden or park of small extent called +_Plain Palais_. In this park stands on a column the bust of J.J. Rousseau. +This park was the scene of a great deal of bloodshed in 1791 on account of +political disputes between the aristocratic and democratic parties, or +rather between the admirers and imitators of the French Revolution and +those who dreaded such innovations. This affair excited so much horror, and +the recollection of it operated so powerfully on the imagination of the +inhabitants, that the place became entirely abandoned as a public +promenade, and avoided as a polluted spot for many years. Very likely +however a sort of lustration has taken place; an oration was pronounced and +the place again declared worthy of contributing to the recreation of the +inhabitants. It is now become the favourite promenade of the citizens of +Geneva, tho' there are still some who cannot get over their old prejudices +and never set their foot in it. There is likewise a pleasant walk as far as +the town of Carrouge in Savoy, which town has been lately ceded by the King +of Sardinia to the republic of Geneva. In Geneva the sentiments of the +inhabitants do not seem to be favourable either to the French Revolution, +or to Napoleon. Their political ideas accord very much with those professed +by the government party in England, and they make a great parade of them +just now, as a means of courting the favour of England and of the Allied +Sovereigns. The government here have shewn a great disposition to second +the views of the Allied Powers in persecuting those Frenchmen who have been +proscribed by the Bourbon government. + +This state lost its independence during the revolutionary wars and was +incorporated with France. As the citizens were suspected of being more +favourable to the English than suited the policy of the French government +of that time, they were viewed with a jealous eye and I believe some +individuals were harshly treated; but what most vexed and displeased them +was the enforcement of the conscription among them, for the Genevois do not +like compulsion; they are besides more pacific than war-like and tho' like +the Dutch they have displayed great valour where their interest is at +stake, yet Mercury is a deity far more in veneration among them than +Bellona. The natural talent of this people is great, and it has been +favoured and developed by the freedom of their institutions; and this +republic has produced too many eminent men for that talent to be called in +question; they seem to have decided talents and dispositions for financial +operations. A Genevois has the aptitude of great application united to a +very discerning, natural genius, and he generally succeeds in everything he +undertakes. Literature is much cultivated here, and the females, who are +in general handsome and graceful, excel not only in the various feminine +accomplishments, such as music, dancing and drawing, but they carry their +researches into the higher branches of litterature and science and acquire +with great facility foreign languages. It is true that you now and then +meet with a little pedantry on the part of the young men and some of the +young women are _tant soit feu précieuses_; and you may guess from their +conversation, which is sometimes forced, that the person who speaks has +been learning his discourse by heart from some book in the morning, with +the intention of sporting it as a natural conversation in the evening. In +short, one does not meet with that _abandon_ in society that is to be met +with in Paris; you must measure your words well to shine in a Genevese +society. This, however, is a very pardonable sort of coxcombry; and tho' it +appear sometimes pedantic, and occasionally laughable, yet it tends to +encourage learning and science, and compels the young men to read in order +to shine and captivate the fair. + +The Genevese women make excellent wives and mothers; and many strangers, +struck with their beauty and talent, as well as with the _agrémens_ of the +country in general, marry at Geneva and settle themselves there for life. +It is observed that the Genevoises are so attached to their country that on +forming a matrimonial connection with foreigners, they always stipulate +that they shall not be removed from it. On the dismemberment of the Empire +of Napoleon, Geneva was _agregé_ to the Helvetic Confederation, as an +independent Canton of which there are now twenty-two. Three, viz. Geneva, +Vaud, and Neufchatel, are French in language and manners. One, the Tessino, +is Italian, and the remaining eighteen are all German. It is a great +advantage to Geneva to belong to the Helvetic Confederacy, as formerly, +when she was an isolated independent state, she was in continual dread of +being swallowed up by one or other of her two powerful neighbours, France +and the King of Sardinia, and only existed by their forbearance and mutual +jealousy. + +I walked out one morning to Ferney in order to visit the chateau of +Voltaire and to do hommage to the memory of that great man, the benefactor +of the human race. It was he who gave the mortal blow to superstition and +to the power of the clergy. It is the fashion for priests, Ultras and +Tories to rail against him, but I judge him by his works and the effect of +his works. His memory is held in reverence by the inhabitants of Ferney as +their father and benefactor. He spent his whole fortune in acts of the most +disinterested charity; he saved entire families from ruin and portioned off +many a young woman who was deprived of the gifts of fortune and enabled +them to form happy matrimonial connections; in short, doing good seems to +have been one of the most ardent passions of his soul. In three memorable +instances he shewed his hatred of cruelty and injustice, and unmasked +triumphantly ecclesiastical imposture and fanaticism. He has been +reproached with vanity, but surely that may be pardoned in a man who +received the hommage of the whole literary world, who was considered as an +oracle, and whose every sentence was recorded; whose talent was so +universal, that he excelled in every branch of litterature that he +undertook. + +Ferney, which was only a miserable village when Voltaire first took up his +residence there, is now a large flourishing and opulent town. + +I found Voltaire's Chateau occupied by a fat heavy Swiss Officer who was on +duty there, Ferney being at this moment occupied by the troops of the Swiss +confederation. He was at breakfast, but on my stating to him that I was +come to see the apartments of Voltaire he directed the housekeeper to shew +them to me. On the left hand side after ascending a flight of steps, before +you come into the Château, is a Chapel built by Voltaire with this simple +inscription: "_Deo erexit Voltaire_." In the apartment usually occupied by +him for the purpose of composition, are preserved his chair, table, +inkstand and bed as sacred relics; and in the Salon are to be seen the +portraits of several public characters, his contemporaries, and which were +constantly appended there in his life time. Among these portraits I +distinguished those of Frederick the Great of Prussia, Catherine II of +Russia, Lekain, Diderot, Alembert, Franklin, Helvetius, Marmontel and +Washington, besides many others. There is nothing remarkable either in the +Château, or in the gardens appertaining to it; but as it stands on an +elevation, it commands a fine view, which is so well described in that ode +which begins: + + Ô maison d'Aristippe, ô jardins d'Epicure! + +I returned to Geneva and dined with my friend M. Picot the banker, who +presented me to his brother's family, which I found a very amiable one, and +I was particularly delighted with his father, a fine venerable old man, who +is a pastor of the Church of Geneva and a great admirer of our poets +Thomson and Milton. + +I have made acquaintance at the _Ecu de Genève_ with a very gallant and +accomplished officer, the Chevalier Zadera, a Pole by birth and a Colonel +in the French army.[51] He had been on the staff of the Prince d'Eckmühl at +Hamburgh and had served previously in St Domingo, in Germany and in Italy. +He had just quitted the French service, having a great repugnance to serve +under the Bourbon dynasty, and he is about to go to Italy on private +business. He seems a very well informed man and well versed in French, +Italian and German litterature. He also understands well to read and write +English and speaks it, but not at all fluently. He acquired his English in +the United States of America, whither he went when he escaped from the +horrors of St Domingo. By the Americans he was received with open arms and +unbounded hospitality as the compatriot of Pulaski who fell gloriously +fighting in their cause, the cause of liberty, at the battle of Savannah. +He was liberally supplied with money by several individuals without the +smallest expectation or chance of repayment at the time, and was forwarded +in this manner from town to town and from state to state throughout the +whole Union; so that the tour he made and the time he passed in that land +of liberty, he reckons as far the most agreeable epoch of his life. One +evening at the _Ecu de Genève_ I found Zadera in altercation on political +subjects with two French Ultras who had been emigrants, a Genevois and a +Bernois, both anti-liberal. This was fearful odds for poor Zadera to be +alone against four _acharnés_. I sat down and espoused his cause and we +maintained our argument gloriously. The dispute began on the occasion of +Zadera condemning the harshness shewn by the government of Geneva towards +the _Conventionnels_ and others who were banished from France on the second +restoration of Louis XVIII by a vote of the _Chambre introuvable_ in +refusing them an asylum in the Republic and compelling them to depart +immediately in a very contumelious manner. I said it was inconsistent and +unworthy of the Genevese who called themselves republicans to persecute or +join in the persecution of the republicans of France in order to please +foreign despots. The others then began to be very violent with me. I +replied, "Messieurs, vous avez beau parler; les Genevois sont de très bons +cambistes et les meilleurs banquiers de l'Europe, mais il ne sont pas bons +républicains." + +Geneva has been so often described by tourists that I shall not attempt any +description except to remark that there are several good Cabinets and +collections of pictures belonging to individuals. There is a magnificent +public library. The manufactures are those of watches and models of the +Alps which are exceedingly ingenious. There are no theatrical amusements +here; and during divine service on Sunday the gates of the city are shut, +and neither ingress nor egress permitted; fortunately their liturgy (the +Calvinistic) is at least one hour shorter than the Anglican. Balls and +concerts take place here very often and the young Genevois of both sexes +are generally proficient in music. They amuse themselves too in summer with +the "tir de l'arc" in common with all the Swiss Cantons. + + +October 3rd. + +I have been in doubt whether I should go to Lausanne, return to Paris or +extend my journey into Italy; but I have at length decided for the latter, +as Zadera, who intends to start immediately for Milan, has offered me a +place in his carriage _à frais communs_. I found him so agreeable a man and +possessing sentiments so analogous to my own that I eagerly embraced the +offer, and we are to cross the Simplon, so that I shall behold a travel +over that magnificent _chausée_ made by Napoleon's orders, which I have so +much desired to see and which everybody tells me is a most stupendous work +and exceeding anything ever made by the Romans. As the Chevalier has served +in Italy and was much _répandu_ in society there, I could not possibly have +a pleasanter companion. He has with him Dante and Alfieri, and I have +Gessner's _Idylls_ and my constant travelling companion Ariosto, so that we +shall have no loss for conversation, for when our native wits are +exhausted, a page or two from any of the above authors will suggest +innumerable ideas, anecdotes, and subjects of discourse. + + +MILAN, 10th Oct. + +We started from Geneva at seven in the morning of the 4th October, and in +half an hour entered the Savoyard territory, of which _douaniers_ with blue +cockades (the cockade of the King of Sardinia) gave us intimation. The road +is on the South side of the lake Leman. In Evian and Thonon, the two first +villages we passed thro', we do not find that _aisance_, comfort and +cleanliness that is perceivable on the other side of the lake, in the +delightful Canton de Vaud. The double yoke of priestcraft and military +despotism presses hard upon the unhappy Savoyard and wrings from him his +hard-earned pittance, while no people are better off than the Vaudois; yet +the Savoyards are to the full as deserving of liberty as the Swiss. The +Savoyard possesses honesty, fidelity and industry in a superior degree, and +these qualities he seldom or ever loses, even when exposed to the +temptations of a great metropolis like Paris, to which they are compelled +to emigrate, as their own country is too poor to furnish the means of +subsistence to all its population. When in Paris and other large cities, +the Savoyards contrive, by the most indefatigable industry and incredible +frugality, to return to their native village after a certain lapse of time, +with a little fortune that is amply sufficient for their comfort. The +poorest Savoyard in Paris never fails to remit something for the support of +his parents. Both Voltaire and Rousseau have rendered justice to the good +qualities of this honest people. It is a thousand pities that this country +(Savoy) is not either incorporated with France, or made to form part of the +Helvetic confederacy. + +On passing by La Meillerie we were reminded of "La nouvelle Héloise" and +the words of St Preux: "Le rocher est escarpé: l'eau est profonde et je +suis au désespoir." On the opposite side of the lake is to be seen the +little white town of Clarens, the supposed residence of the divine Julie. A +little beyond St Gingolph, which lies at the eastern extremity of the lake, +we quit Savoy and enter into the Valais, which now forms, a component part +of the Helvetic confederacy. German is the language spoken in the Valais. +As the high road into Italy passes thro' the whole length of this Canton, +Napoleon caused it to be separated from the Helvetic union and to form a +Republic apart, with the ulterior view and which he afterwards carried into +execution of annexing it to the French Empire. The Valais forms a long and +exceedingly narrow valley, thro' the whole length of which the Rhône flows +and falls into the lake Leman at St Gingolph. The breadth of this valley in +its widest part is not more probably than 1,000 yards, and in most places +considerably narrower, and it is enclosed on each side, or rather walled up +by the immense mountains of the higher Alps which rise here very abruptly +and seem to shut out this valley from the rest of the world. The high road +runs nearly parallel to the course of the Rhône and is sometimes on one +side of the river and sometimes on the other, communicating by bridges; +from the sinuosity of the road and the different points of view presented +by the salient and re-entering angles, of the mountains the scenery is +extremely picturesque, grand and striking, and as sometimes no outlet +presents itself to view, you do not perceive how you are ever to get out of +this valley but by a stratagem similar to that of Sindbad in the Valley of +Diamonds. At St Maurice is a remarkable one-arched bridge built by the +Romans. We stopped at Martigny to pass the night; within one mile of +Martigny and before arriving at it, we perceived the celebrated waterfall +called the _Pissevache_; and the appellation, though coarse, is perfectly +applicable. From Martigny a bridle road branches off which leads across the +Grand St Bernard to Aoste. The next morning we arrived at Sion, called in +the language of the country Sitten, the metropolis of the Valais; it is a +neat-looking and tolerably large town, and which from its position might be +made a most formidable military post, as there is a steep hill close to it +which rises abruptly from the centre of the valley, and commands an +extensive view east and west. Works erected on this height would enfilade +the whole road either way and totally obstruct the approach of an enemy. +There is besides a large castle on the southern _paroi_ of mountains which +hem in this valley, which would expose to a most galling fire and take in +flank completely those who should attempt to force the passage whether +coming from St Maurice or Brieg. We stopped two hours at Sion to mend a +wheel and this gave me time to ascend the mountain on which the castle +stands. There were several masons and workmen employed in the construction +of a church which they are erecting at the request and entire expense of +His Sardinian Majesty. I could not ascertain what were the reasons that +induced the King to build a church in a foreign territory. I did not +observe either on the road or in any of the village thro' which we passed +any striking specimen of Valaisan female beauty; but I often remarked the +prominent bosom that Rousseau describes as frequent among them. We met with +several _crétins_ or idiots, all of whom had _goitres_ in a greater or less +degree. These _souls of God without sin_, as the crétins are called, are +very merry souls; they always appear to be laughing. They seem to have +adopted and united three systems of philosophy: they are Diogenes as to +independence and neglect of decency and cleanliness; Democriti as to their +disposition to laugh perpetually; and Aristippi inasmuch as they seem to be +perfectly contented with their state. They are in general fat and well fed, +for the poorest inhabitants give them something. They have a good deal of +cunning, and many curious anecdotes are related of them which shews that +they are endowed with a sort of sagacity resembling the instinct of +animals. I recollect one myself mentioned by Zimmermann in his Essay on +Solitude, of a crétin who was accustomed to imitate with his voice the +sound of the village clock whenever it struck the hours and quarters; one +day, by some accident, the clock stopped; yet the cretin went through the +chimes of the hours and quarters with the same regularity as the clock +would have done had it been going. + +We arrived at night at the village of Brieg at the foot of the Simplon and +put up at a very comfortable inn. Brieg and Glisse are two small villages +lying within a quarter of a mile distance from each other. The direct road +runs thro' Brieg and is a great advantage to this town; while Glisse lost +this benefit from the opposition shewn by its inhabitants to the annexation +of the Valais to the French Empire. They now deeply regret this refusal as +few travellers chuse to stop at Glisse. + +_Passage of the Simplon_. + + Chi mi darà la voce e le parole + Convenienti a si nobil soggetto?[52] + + Who will vouchsafe me voice that shall ascend + As high as I would raise my noble theme? + + --Trans. W.S. ROSE. + +How shall I describe the Simplon and the impressions that magnificent piece +of work, the _chaussée_ across it, made on my mind? On arrival at the +village of the Simplon, which lies at nearly the greatest elevation off the +road and is more than half-way across, I wrote in my enthusiasm for the +author of this gigantic work, the following lines: + + O viaggiator, se avessi tu veduto + Quel monte, pria che fosse il cammin fatto, + Leveresti le mani, e stupefatto + Diresti, "chi l'avrebbe mai creduto? + Son come quel d'Alcide i tuoi miracoli! + Vincesti, Napoleon', più grandi ostacoli!" + +Imagine a fine road or causeway broad enough for three carriages to go +abreast, cut in the flanks of the mountains, winding along their contours, +sometimes zigzag on the flank of one ravine, and sometimes turning off +nearly at right angles to the flank of another; separated from each other +by precipices of tremendous depth, and communicating by one-arched bridges +of surprising boldness; besides stone bridges at each re-entering angle, to +let pass off the water which flows from the innumerable cascades, which +fall from the summits of the mountains. Ice and snow eternal on the various +_pics_ or _aiguilles_ (as the summits are here called) which tower above +your head, and yet in the midst of these _belles horreurs_ the road is so +well constructed, so smooth, and the slope so gentle that when there are +fogs, which often happen here and prevent you from beholding the +surrounding scenery, you would suppose you were travelling on a plain the +whole time. Balustrades are affixed on the sides of the most abrupt +precipices and buttresses also in order to secure the exterior part of the +_chaussèe_. On the whole length of the _chaussèe_ on the exterior side are +conical stones of four feet in height at ten paces distant from each other, +in order to mark the road in case of its being covered with snow. There are +besides _maisons de refuge_ or cottages, at a distance of one league from +each other, wherein are stationed persons to give assistance and food to +travellers, or passengers who may be detained by the snow storms. There is +always in these cabins a plentiful supply of biscuit, cheese, salt and +smoked meats, wine, brandy and fire-wood. In those parts of the road where +the sides of the ravines are not sloping enough to admit of the road being +cut along them, subterraneous galleries have been pierced through the rock, +some of fifty, some of a hundred and more yards in length, and nearly as +broad as the rest of the road. In a word it appears to me the grandest work +imagined or made by man, and when combined with its extreme utility, far +surpasses what is related of the Seven Wonders of the world. There are +fifty-two bridges throughout the whole of this route, which begins at the +distance of three miles from Geneva, skirts the southern shore of the lake, +runs thro' the whole Valais, traverses the Simplon and issuing from the +gorges of the mountains at Domo d'Ossola terminates at Rho in the Milanese. +From Brieg to the toll-house, the highest part of the road, the distance is +about 18 miles. It made me dreadfully giddy to look down the various +precipices; and what adds to the vertigo one feels is the deafening noise +of the various waterfalls. As the road is cut zigzag, in many parts, you +appear to preserve nearly the same distance from Brieg after three hours' +march, as after half an hour only, since you have that village continually +under your eyes, nor do you lose sight of it till near the toll-house. +Brieg appears when viewed from various points of the road like the +card-houses of children, the Valais like a slip of green baize, and the +Rhône like a very narrow light blue ribband; and when at Brieg before you +ascend you look up at the toll-house, you would suppose it impossible for +any human being to arrive at such a height without the help of a balloon. +It reminded me of the castle of the enchanter in the _Orlando Furioso_, who +keeps Ruggiero confined and who rides on the Hippogriff. + +The village of the Simplon is a mile beyond the toll-house, descending. We +stopped there for two hours to dine. A snow storm had fallen and the +weather was exceedingly cold; the mountain air had sharpened our appetite, +but we could get nothing but fish and eggs as it was a _jour maigre_, and +the Valaisans are rigid observers of the ordinances of the Catholic church. +We however, on assuring the landlord that we were _militaires_, prevailed +on him to let us have some ham and sausages. German is the language here. +The road from the toll-house to Domo d'Ossola (the first town at the foot +of the mountain on the Italian side) is a descent, but the slope is as +gentle as on the rest of the road. Fifteen miles beyond the village of the +Simplon stands the village of Isella, which is the frontier town of the +King of Sardinia, and where there is a rigorous _douane_, and ten miles +further is Domo d'Ossola, where we arrived at seven in the evening. Between +Isella and Domo d'Ossola the scenery becomes more and more romantic, +varying at every step, cataracts falling on all sides, and three more +galleries to pass. Domo d'Ossola appears a large and neat clean town, and +we put up at a very good inn. At Isella begins the Italian language, or +rather Piedmontese. + +The next morning we proceeded on our journey till we reached Fariolo, which +is on the northern extremity of the _Lago Maggiore_. The road from Domo +d'Ossola thro' the villages of Ornavasso and Vagogna is thro' a fertile and +picturesque valley, or rather gorge, of the mountain, narrow at first, but +which gradually widens as you approach to the lake. The river Toso runs +nearly in a parallel direction with the road. The air is much milder than +in Switzerland, and you soon perceive the change of climate from its +temperature, as well as from the appearance of the vines and mulberry trees +and Indian corn called in this country _grano turco_. + +At Fariolo, after breakfast, my friend Zadera took leave of me and embarked +his carriage on the lake in order to proceed to Lugano; and I who was bound +to Milan, having hired a cabriolet, proceeded to Arona, after stopping one +hour to refresh the horses at Belgirate. The whole road from Fariolo to +Arona is on the bank of the _Lago Maggiore_, and nothing can be more neat +than the appearance of all these little towns which are solidly and +handsomely built in the Italian taste. + +Before I arrived at Arona, and at a distance of two miles from it, I +stopped in order to ascend a height at a distance of one-eighth of a mile +from the road to view the celebrated colossal statue in bronze of St +Charles Borromaeus, which may be seen at a great distance. It is seventy +cubits high, situated on a pedestal of twenty feet, to ascend which +requires a ladder. You then enter between his legs, or rather the folds of +his gown, and ascend a sort of staircase till you reach his head. There is +something so striking in the appearance of this black gigantic figure when +viewed from afar, and still more when you are at the foot of it, that you +would suppose yourself living in the time of fairies and enchanters, and it +strongly reminded me of the Arabian Nights, as if the statue were the work +of some Génie or Peri; or as if it were some rebel Genius transformed into +black marble by Solomon the great Prophet. I am not very well acquainted +with the life and adventures of this Saint, but he was of the Borromean +family, who are the most opulent proprietors of the Milanese. Every tract +of land, palace, castle, farm in the environs of Arona seem to belong to +them. If you ask whose estate is that? whose villa is that? whose castle is +that? the answer is, to the Count Borromeo, who seems to be as universal a +proprietor here as _Nong-tong-paw_ at Paris or _Monsieur Kaniferstane_ at +Amsterdam.[53] Arona is a large, straggling but solidly built town, and +presents nothing worth notice. + +We proceeded on our journey the next morning. Shortly after leaving Arona, +the road diverges from the lake and traverses a thick wood until it reaches +the banks of the Tessino; on the other bank of which, communicating by +means of a flying bridge, stands the town of Sesto Calende. The Tessino +divides and forms the boundary between the Sardinian and Austrian +territory, and Sesto Calende is the frontier of His Imperial, Royal and +Apostolic Majesty. After a rigorous search of my portmanteau at the +_Douane_, and exhibiting my passport, I was allowed to proceed on my +journey to Milan. + +At Rho, where I stopped to dine, stands a remarkably ancient tree said to +have been planted in the time of Augustus. The country presents a perfect +plain, highly cultivated, all the way from Sesto to Milan. The _chaussée_ +is broad and admirably well kept up and lined on both sides with poplars. +The roads in Lombardy are certainly the finest in Europe. I entered Milan +by the gate which leads direct to the esplanade between the citadel and the +city, and drove to the _Pension Suisse_, which is in a street close to the +Cathedral and Ducal palace. + + +MILAN, 12 October. + +I am just returned from the _Teatro della Scala_, renowned for its immense +size: it certainly is the most stupendous theatre I ever beheld and even +surpassed the expectation I had formed of it, so much so that I remained +for some minutes lost in astonishment. I was much struck with the +magnificence of the scenery and decorations. An _Opera_ and _Ballo_ are +given every night, and the same are repeated for a month, when they are +replaced by new ones. The boxes are all hired by the year by the different +noble and opulent families, and in the _Parterre_ the price is only thirty +soldi or sous, about fifteen pence English, for which you are fully as well +regaled as at the _Grand Opéra_ at Paris for three and a half francs and +far better than at the Italian theatre in London for half a guinea. The +opera I saw represented is called _L'Italiana in Algieri_, opera buffa, by +Rossini. + +The _Ballo_ was one of the most magnificent spectacles I ever beheld. The +scenery and decorations are of the first class and superior even to those +of the _Grand Opéra_ at Paris. The _Ballo_ was called _Il Cavaliere del +Tempio_. The story is taken from an occurrence that formed an episode in +the history of the Crusades and which has already furnished to Walter Scott +the subject of a very pleasing ballad entitled the _Fire-King_, or _Count +Albert and Fair Rosalie_. Battles of foot and horse with real horses, +Christians and Moslems, dancing, incantations, excellent and very +appropriate music leave nothing to be desired to the ravished spectator. In +the _Ballo_ all is done in pantomime and the acting is perfect. The +Italians seem to inherit from their ancestors the faculty of representing +by dumb show the emotions of the mind as well as the gestures of the body, +and in this they excel all other modern nations. The dancing is not quite +so good as what one sees at the Paris theatre, and besides that sort of +dancing they are very fond in Italy of grotesque dances which appear to me +to be mere _tours de force_. But the decorations are magnificent, and the +cost must be great. + +It was a fine moonlight night on my return from the _Scala_, which gave a +very pleasing effect to the _Duomo_ or Cathedral as I passed by it. The +innumerable aiguilles or spires of the most exquisite and delicate +workmanship, tapering and terminating in points all newly whitened, gave +such an appearance of airiness and lightness to this beautiful building +that it looked more visionary than substantial, and as if a strong puff of +wind would blow it away. The next morning I went to visit the Cathedral in +detail. It stands in the place called _Piazza del Duomo_. On this _piazza_ +stands also the Ducal Palace; the principal cafés and the most splendid +shops are in the same _piazza_, which forms the morning lounge of Milan. +Parallel to one side of the _Duomo_ runs the _Corsia de' Servi_, the widest +and most fashionable street in Milan, the resort of the _beau monde_ in the +evening, and leading directly out to the _Porta Orientale_. The Cathedral +appears to me certainly the most striking Gothic edifice I ever beheld. It +is as large as the Cathedral of Notre Dame at Paris, and the architecture +of the interior is very massive. There is little internal ornament, +however, except the tomb or mausoleum of St Charles Borromeo, round which +is a magnificent railing; there are also the statues of this Saint and of +St Ambrogio. There are several well-executed bas-reliefs on the outside of +the Church, from Scripture subjects, and the view from any of the balconies +of the spires is very extensive. On the North the Alps, covered with snow +and appearing to rise abruptly within a very short horizon, tho' their +distance from Milan is at least sixty or seventy miles; and on all the +other sides a vast and well-cultivated plain as far as the eye can reach, +thickly studded with towns and villages, and the immense city of Milan nine +miles in circumference at your feet. The streets in general in Milan are +well paved; there is a line of trottoir on each side of the street +equi-distant from the line of houses; so that these trottoirs seem to be +made for the carriage wheels to roll on, and not for the foot passengers, +who must keep within the space that lies between the trottoirs and line of +houses. With the exception of the _Piazza del Duomo_ there is scarcely +anything that can be called a _piazza_ in all Milan, unless irregular and +small open places may be dignified with that name; the houses and buildings +are extremely solid in their construction and handsome in their appearance. +A canal runs thro' the city and leads to Pavia; on this canal are stone +bridges of a very solid construction. The shops in Milan are well stored +with merchandize, and make a very brilliant display. The finest street, +without doubt, is the _Corsia de' Servi_. In the part of it that lies +parallel to the Cathedral, it is about as broad as the _Rue St Honoré_ at +Paris; but two hundred yards beyond it, it suddenly widens and is then +broader than Portland Place the whole way to the _Porta Orientale_. On the +left hand of this street, on proceeding from the Cathedral to the _Porta +Orientale_, is a beautiful and extensive garden; an ornamental iron railing +separates it from the street. From the number of fine trees here there is +so much shade therefrom that it forms a very agreeable promenade during the +heat of the day. On the right hand side of the _Corsia de' Servi_, +proceeding from the Cathedral, are the finest buildings (houses of +individuals) in Milan, among which I particularly distinguished a superb +palace built in the best Grecian taste with a colonnaded portico, +surmounted by eight columns. Just outside the _Porta Orientale_ is the +_Corso_, with a fine spacious road with _Allées_ on each side lined with +trees. The _Corso_ forms the evening drive and _promenade à cheval_ of the +_beau monde_. I have seen nowhere, except in Hyde Park, such a brilliant +show of equipages as on the Corso of Milan. I observe that the women +display a great _luxe de parure_ at this promenade. + +The women here appear to me in general handsome, and report says not at all +cruel. They have quite a _fureur_ for dress and ornaments, hi the adapting +of which, however, they have not so much taste as the French women have. +The Milanese women do not understand the _simplicité recherchée_ in their +attire, and are too fond of glaring colours. The Milanese women are accused +of being too fond of wine, and a calculation has been made that two bottles +_per diem_ are drank by each female in Milan; but, supposing this +calculation were true, let not the English be startled, for the wine of +this, country is exceedingly light, lighter indeed than the weakest +Burgundy wine; indeed, I conceive that two bottles of Lombard wine are +scarce equivalent in strength to four wine glasses of Port wine. The +Lombards for this reason never drink water with their wine; and indeed it +is not necessary, for I am afraid that all the wine drank in Milan is +already baptised before it leaves the hands of the vendor, except that +reserved for the priesthood; such, at any rate, was the case before the +French Revolution, and no doubt the wine sellers would oppose the abolition +of so _ancient_ and _sacred_ a custom. The Milanese are a gay people, +hospitable and fond of pleasure: they are more addicted to the pleasures of +the table than the other people of Italy, and dinner parties are in +consequence much more frequent here than in other Italian towns. The women +here are said to be much better educated than in the rest of Italy, for +Napoleon took great pains to promote and encourage female instruction, well +knowing that to be the best means of regenerating a country. + +The dialect spoken in the Milanese has a harsh nasal accent, to my ear +peculiarly disagreeable. Pure Italian or Tuscan is little spoken here, and +that only to foreigners. French, on the contrary, is spoken a good deal; +but the Milanese, male and female, among one another, speak invariably the +_patois_ of the country, which has more analogy to the French than to the +Italian, but without the grace or euphony of either. + +I have visited likewise the _Zecca_, or Mint, where I observed the whole +process of coining. They still continue to coin here Napoleons of gold and +silver, with the date of 1814, and they coin likewise crowns or dollars +with Maria Theresa's head, with the date of the last year of her reign. The +double Napoleon of forty _franchi_ of the Kingdom of Italy is a beautiful +coin; on the run are the words, _Dio protegge l'Italia_. It may not be +unnecessary to remark that in Italy by the word _Napoleone_, as a coin, is +meant the five franc piece with the head of Napoleon, and a twenty franc +gold piece is called _Napoleone d'oro_. + +At the _Zecca_ I was shown some gold, silver and bronze medals, struck in +commemoration of the formation of the Lombardo-Venetian Kingdom, under the +sceptre of Austria. They bear the following inscription, which, if I +recollect aright, is from Horace: + + Redeunt in aurum + Tempora priscum,[54] + +but this golden age is considered by the Italians as a very leaden one; and +it seems to bear as much analogy to the golden age, as the base Austrian +copper coin, daubed over with silver, and made to pass for fifteen and +thirty soldi, has to the real gold and silver _Napoleoni_, which by the way +are said to be fast disappearing; they are sent to Vienna, and Milan will +probably be in time blessed with a similar paper currency to that of +Vienna. + +Napoleon seems to be as much regretted by the Milanese as the Austrian +Government is abhorred; in fact, everybody speaks with horror and disgust +of the _aspro boreal scettro_ and of the _aquila che mangia doppio_, an +allusion taken from the arms of Austria, the double-headed Eagle. + +I have visited the ancient Ducal, now the Royal, Palace; it is a spacious +building, chaste in its external appearance, but its ulterior very +magnificent; its chiefest treasures are the various costly columns and +pilasters of marble and of _jaune antique_ which are to be met with. The +_salle de danse_ is peculiarly elegant, and in one of the apartments is a +fine painting on the plafond representing Jupiter hurling thunderbolts on +the Giants. Jupiter bears the head of Napoleon. Good God! how this man was +spoiled by adulation! + +The staircase of the Palace is superb, and the furniture is of the most +elegant description, being faithfully and classically modelled after the +antique Roman and Grecian. After visiting the Ambrosian library (by the +way, it is quite absurd to visit a library unless you employ whole days to +inspect the various editions), I went to the Hospital, which is a +stupendous building, and makes up 8,000 beds. The arrangement of this +hospital merits the greatest praise. I then peeped into several churches, +and I verily believe my conductor would have made me visit every church in +Milan, if I had not lost all patience, and cried out: _perche sempre +chiese? sempre chiese? andiamo a vedere altra cosa_. He conducted me then +to the citadel, or rather place where the citadel stood, and which now +forms a vast barrack for the Austrian troops. We then went to visit the +_Teatro Olimpico_, which was built by Napoleon. It is built in the style of +the Roman amphitheatres, but much more of an oval form than the Roman +amphitheatres were in general; that is to say, the transverse axis is much +longer in proportion to the conjugate diameter than is the case in the +Roman amphitheatres, and it is by no means so high. In the time of +Napoleon, games were executed in this circus in imitation of the games of +the ancients, for Napoleon had a great hankering to ape the Roman Caesars +in everything. There were, for instance, gymnastic exercises, races on +foot, horse races, chariot races like those of the Romans, combats of wild +beasts, and as water can be introduced into the arena, there were sometimes +exhibited _naumachiae_ or naval fights. These exhibitions were extremely +frequent at Milan during the vice-regency of Prince Eugène Napoleon; during +this Government, indeed, Milan flourished in the highest degree of opulence +and splendour and profited much by being one of the principal depôts of the +inland trade between France and Italy, during the continental blockade, +besides enjoying the advantage of being the seat of Government during the +existence of the _Regno d'Italia_. Even now, tho' groaning under the leaden +sceptre of Austria, it is one of the most lively and splendid cities I ever +beheld; and I made this remark to a Milanese. He answered with a deep sigh: +"Ah! Monsieur, si vous aviez été ici dans le temps du Prince Eugène! Mais +aujourd'hui nous sommes ruinés." + +My next visit was to the _Porta del Sempione_, which is at a short distance +from the amphitheatre, and which, were it finished, would be the finest +thing of the kind in Europe; it was designed, and would have been completed +by Napoleon, had he remained on the throne. Figures representing France, +Italy, Fortitude and Wisdom adorn the façade and there are several +bas-reliefs, among which is one representing Napoleon receiving the keys of +Milan after the battle of Marengo. All is yet unfinished; columns, +pedestals, friezes, capitals and various other architectural ornaments, +besides several unhewn blocks of marble, lie on the ground; and probably +this magnificent design will never be completed for no other reason than +because it was imagined by Napoleon and might recall his glories. Verily, +Legitimacy is childishly spiteful! + +Yesterday morning I went to see an Italian comedy represented at the +_Teatro Re_. The piece was _l'Ajo nell' imbarazzo_--a very droll and +humorous piece--but it was not well acted, from the simple circumstance of +the actors not having their parts by heart, and the illusion of the stage +is destroyed by hearing the prompter's voice full as loud as that of the +actors, who follow his promptings something in the same way that the clerk +follows the clergyman in that prayer of the Anglican liturgy which says "we +have erred and strayed from our ways like lost sheep." An Italian audience +is certainly very indulgent and good-natured, as they never hiss, however +miserable the performance. + +But in speaking of theatrical performances, no person should leave Milan +without going to see the _Teatro Girolamo_, which is one of the +"curiosities" of the place, peculiar to Milan, and more frequented, +perhaps, than any other. This is a puppet theatre, but puppets so well +contrived and so well worked as to make the spectacle well worth the +attention of the traveller. It is the _Nec plus ultra of Marionettism_, in +which Signer Girolamo, the proprietor, has made a revolution, which will +form an epoch in the annals of puppetry; having driven from the stage +entirely the _graziosissima maschera d'Arlecchino_, who used to be the hero +of all the pieces represented by the puppets and substituted himself, or +rather a puppet bearing his name, in the place of Harlequin, as the +principal _farceur_ of the performance. He has contrived to make the puppet +Girolamo a little like himself, but so much caricatured and so monstrously +ugly a likeness that the bare sight of it raises immediate laughter. The +theatre itself is small, being something under the size of our old +Haymarket little theatre, but is very neatly and tastefully fitted up. The +puppets are about half of the natural size of man, and Girolamo, aided by +one or two others, works them and gives them gesture, by means of strings, +which are, however, so well contrived as to be scarcely visible; and +Girolamo himself speaks for all, as, besides being a ventriloquist, he has +a most astonishing faculty of varying his voice, and adapting it to the +_rôle_ of each puppet, so that the illusion is complete. The scenery and +decorations are excellent. Sometimes he gives operas as well as dramas, and +there is always a _ballo_, with transformation of one figure into another, +which forms part of the performance. These transformations are really very +curious and extremely well executed. Almost all the pieces acted on the +theatre are of Girolamo's own composition, and he sometimes chooses a +classical or mythological subject, in which the puppet Girolamo is sure to +be introduced and charged with all the wit of the piece. He speaks +invariably with the accent and _patois_ of the country, and his jokes never +fail to keep the audience in a roar of laughter; his mode of speech and +slang phrases form an absurd contrast to the other figures, who speak in +pure Italian and pompous _versi sciolti_. For instance, the piece I saw +represented was the story of Alcestis and was entitled _La scesa d'Ercole +nell Inferno_, to redeem the wife of Admetus. Hercules, before he commences +this undertaking, wishes to hire a valet for the journey, has an interview +with Girolamo, and engages him. Hercules speaks in blank verse and in a +phrase, full of _sesquipedalia verba_, demands his country and lineage. +Girolamo replies in the Piedmontese dialect and with a strong nasal accent: +"_De mi pais, de Piemong_." Girolamo, however, though he professes to be as +brave as Mars himself has a great repugnance to accompanying his master to +the shades below, or to the "_casa del diavolo_," as he calls it; and while +Hercules fights with Cerberus, he shakes and trembles all over, as he does +likewise when he meets _Madonna Morte_. + +All this is very absurd and ridiculous, but it is impossible not to laugh +and be amused at it. An anecdote is related of the _flesh and blood_ +Girolamo, that he had a very pretty wife, who took it into her head one day +to elope with a French officer; and that to revenge himself he dramatized +the event and produced it on his own theatre under the title of _Colombina +scampata coll'uffiziale_, having filled the piece with severe satire and +sarcastic remarks against women in general and Colombina in particular. + +The atelier of the famous artist in mosaic Rafaelli is well worth +inspecting; and here I had an opportunity of beholding a copy in mosaic and +nearly finished of the celebrated picture of Leonardo da Vinci representing +the _Caena Domini_. What a useful as well as admirable art is the mosaic to +perpetuate the paintings of the greatest masters! I recollected on +beholding this work that Eustace, in his _Tour thro' Italy_,[55] relates +with a pious horror that the French soldiers used the original picture as a +target to practise at with ball cartridge, and that Christ's head was +singled out as the mark. This absurd tale, which had not the least shadow +of truth in it, has, it appears, gained some credit among weak-minded +people; and I therefore beg leave to contradict it in the most formal +manner. It was Buonaparte who, the moment the picture was discovered, +ordered it to be put in mosaic. No! the French were the protectors and +encouragers, and by no means the destroyers of the works of art; and this +ridiculous story of the picture being used as a target was probably +invented by the priesthood, who seemed to have taken great delight in +imposing on poor Eustace's credulity. To me it seems that such a story +could only have been invented by a monk, and believed and repeated by an +old woman or a bigot. The priests and French emigrants have invented and +spread the most shameful and improbable calumnies against the French +republicans and against Napoleon, and that credulous gull John Bull has +been silly enough to give full credence to all these tales, and stand +staring with his eyes and mouth open at the recital, while a vulgar jobbing +ministry (as Cobbet would say) _picked his pockets_. + +Quite of a piece with this is the said Mr Eustace's bigotry, in not chusing +to call Lombardy by its usual appellation "Lombardy," and affectedly +terming it "the plain of the Po." Why so, will be asked? Why because Mr +Eustace hates the ancient Lombards, and holds them very nearly in as much +horror as he does the modern French; because, as he says, they were the +enemies of the Church and made war on and despoiled the Holy See. The fact +is that the Lombard princes were the most enlightened of all the monarchs +of their time; they were the first who began to resist the encroachments of +the clergy and to shake off that abject submission to the Holy See which +was the characteristic of the age. The Lombards were a fine gallant race of +men and not so bigoted as the other nations of Europe. Where has there ever +reigned a better and more enlightened and more just and humane prince than +Theodoric?[56] But Theodoric was an Arian, hence Mr Eustace's aversion, for +he, with the most servile devotion, rejects, condemns and anathematizes +whatever the Church rejects, condemns and anathematizes. For myself I look +on the extinction of the Lombard power by Charlemagne to have been a great +calamity; had it lasted, the reformation and deliverance of Europe from +Papal and ecclesiastical tyranny would have happened probably three hundred +years sooner and the Inquisition never have been planted in Spain. I have +made this digression from a love of justice and from a wish to vindicate +the French Republic and Napoleon from one at least of the many unjust +aspersions cast on them. I feel it also my duty to state on every occasion +that I, belonging to an army sent to Egypt in order to expel them from that +country, have been an eyewitness of the good and beneficial reforms and +improvements that the French made in Egypt during a period of only three +years. They did more for the good of that country in this short period, +than we have done for India in fifty years. + +Being obliged to be in London on the 24th December I took leave of the +agreeable city of Milan with much regret on the 19th of October and engaged +a place in a Swiss _voiture_ going to Lausanne. My fellow travellers were +two Brunswick officers in the service of the Princess of Wales, who were +returning to their native country; and a Hungarian and his son settled in +Domo d'Ossola. Nothing occurred till we arrived at Arona, where we were +detained a whole day, in consequence of some informality in the passport of +the two Germans, viz., that of its not having been _visé_ by the Sardinian +Chargé d'Affaires at Milan. + +During our detention at Arona, I fell in with a young Frenchman who was +going to Milan in company of some Swiss friends. The Swiss were permitted +to proceed, but the other was not, for no other reason than because he was +a Frenchman; so that he took a place in our carriage in order to return to +Switzerland. I found him a very agreeable companion, for tho' much +chagrined and vexed at this harsh and ungenerous treatment on the part of +the Piedmontese authorities, he soon recovered his good humour, and +contributed much to the pleasure of our journey. The Germans came back to +Arona very late at night, and during the rest of the journey gave vent to +their feelings with many an execration such as _verfluchter Spitzbube, +Hundsfott_, on the heads of the inexorable police officers of Arona. The +next day, on passing by Belgirate, we took a boat to visit the Borromean +islands, and afterwards returned to rejoin our carriage at Fariolo. The +first of these islands that we visited was the _Isola Bella_, where there +is a large and splendid villa, belonging to the Borromean family. The rooms +are of excellent and solid structure, and there are some good family +pictures. The furniture is ancient, but costly. The _rez de chaussée_ or +lower part of the house, which is completely _à fleur d'eau_ with the lake, +is tastefully paved, and the walls decorated with a mosaic of shells. One +would imagine it the abode of a sea nymph. I thought of Calypso and +Galatea. There are in these apartments _à fleur d'eau_ two or three +exquisite statues. + + +LAUSANNE, 11th November. + +I have been now nearly three weeks at Lausanne and am much pleased both +with the inhabitants, who are extremely affable and well-informed, and with +the beautiful sites that environ this city, the capital of the Canton de +Vaud. The sentiments of the Vaudois, with the exception of a few absurd +families among the _noblesse_, who from ignorance or prejudice are +sticklers for the old times, are highly liberal; and as they acquired their +freedom and emancipated themselves from the yoke of the Bernois, thro' the +means of the French Revolution, they are grateful to that nation and +receive with hospitality those who are proscribed by the present French +Government; their behaviour thus forming a noble contrast to the servility +of the Genevese. The Government of the Canton de Vaud is wholly democratic +and is composed of a Landamman and grand and petty council, all +_bourgeois_, or of the most intelligent among the agricultural class, who +know the interests of their country right well, and are not likely to +betray them, as the _noblesse_ are but too often induced to do, for the +sake of some foolish ribband, rank, or title. The _noblesse_ are in a +manner self-exiled (so they say) from all participation in the legislative +and executive power; for they have too much _morgue_ to endure to share the +government with those whom they regard as _roturiers_; but the real state +of the case is that the people will not elect them, and the people are +perfectly in the right, for at the glorious epoch when, without bloodshed, +the burghers and plebeians upset the despotism of Bern, the conduct of the +_noblesse_ was very equivocal. La Harpe was the leader of this beneficial +Revolution, for which, however, the public mind was fully prepared and +disposed; and La Harpe was a virtuous, ardent and incorruptible patriot. + +This canton had been for a long period of years in a state of vassalage to +that of Bern; all the posts and offices of Government were filled by +Bernois and the Vaudois were excluded from all share in the government, and +from all public employments of consequence. When the Sun of Revolution, +after gloriously rising in America, had shone in splendour on France, and +had successfully dissipated the mists of tyranny, feudality, priestcraft +and prejudice, it was natural that those states which had languished for so +many years in a humiliating situation should begin to look about them and +enquire into the origin of all the shackles and restraints imposed on them; +and no doubt the Vaudois soon discovered that it was an anomaly in politics +as well as in reason that two states of such different origin, the one +being a Latin and the other a Teutonic people, with language, customs, and +manners so different, should be blended together in a system in which all +the advantages were on the side of Bern, and nought but vassalage on the +part of Vaud. A chief was alone wanting to give the impulse; he was soon +found; the business was settled in forty-eight hours; and by the mediation +of the French Government, Vaud was declared and acknowledged an independent +state and for ever released from the dominion of Bern. The federative +constitution was then abolished throughout the union, and a general +Government, called the Helvetic Republic, substituted in its place; but +this constitution not suiting the genius and habits of the people, nor the +locality of the country, was not of long duration; troubles broke out and +insurrections, which were fomented and encouraged by the adherents of the +old régime. But Napoleon, by a wise and salutary mediation, stepped in +between them, and prevented the effusion of blood, by restoring the old +confederation, modified by a variety of ameliorations. In the act of +mediation, Napoleon contented himself with separating the Valais entirely +from the confederation, and shortly after annexing it to France, on account +of the high road into Italy across the Simplon running thro' that +territory, and which it became of the utmost importance to him to be master +of. The new Helvetic Confederation was inviolably respected and protected +by Napoleon; for never after the act of mediation did any French troops +enter in the Canton de Vaud, or any part of the Union to pass into Italy. +They always moved on the Savoy side of the Lake to enter into the Valais. +This act of mediation saved probably a good deal of bloodshed and in a very +short time gave such general satisfaction, and was in every respect so +useful and beneficial to the Helvetic Union, that in spite of the intrigues +of the Senate of Bern, who have never been able to digest the loss of Vaud, +the Allied Powers in the year 1814 solemnly guaranteed the Helvetic +Confederation as established by the Act of Mediation, merely restoring the +Valais to its independence and aggregating it as an independent Canton to +the general Union. Geneva, on its being severed from the French Empire, and +recovering its independence, solicited the Helvetic Union to be admitted as +a member and component part of that Confederacy; which was agreed to, and +it was and remains aggregated to it also. + +In 1815, on the return of Napoleon from Elba and on the renewal of the war, +the Bern Government made a most barefaced attempt to regain possession of +the Canton de Vaud; to this they were no doubt secretly encouraged by the +Allies, and principally it is said by the British Government, the most +dangerous, artful and determined enemy of all liberty; but this project was +completely foiled, by the penetration, energy and firmness of the +inhabitants of the Canton de Vaud and of its Government in particular. The +central Government of the Union was at that time held at Bern and it was +agreed upon in the Diet that Switzerland should remain perfectly neutral +during the approaching conflict; an army of observation of 80,000 men was +voted and levied to enforce this neutrality, but the command of it was +given to De Watteville, who had been a colonel in the English service, and +was a determined enemy of the French Revolution and of everything connected +with or arising out of it. On the approach of the Austrian army, De +Watteville, instead of defending the frontier and repelling the invasion, +disbanded his army and allowed the Austrians to enter. No doubt he was +encouraged, if not positively ordered to do this, by the Government of +Bern, many members of which are supposed to have received bribes from the +British Government to render the decreed neutrality null and void. At the +same moment that this army was disbanded, the directoral Canton (Bern) +caused to be intimated to the Canton de Valid that it was the wish and +intention of the High Allies to replace Switzerland in the exact state it +was in, previous to the French Revolution; and that, in consequence, two +Commissioners would be sent from Bern to Lausanne, to take charge of the +Bureaux, Archives and _insignia_ of Government, etc., and to act as a +provisional Government under the direction of Bern. The Landamman and the +grand and petty council at Lausanne, on learning this intelligence, +immediately saw thro' the scheme that was planned to deprive them of their +independence; they, therefore, passed a decree, threatening to arrest and +punish as conspirators the Commissioners, should they dare to set their +foot in the Canton, and declaring such of their countrymen who should aid +or abet this scheme, or deliver up a single document to the Commissioners, +traitors and rebels; they likewise called on the whole Canton to arm in +defence of its independence and proclaimed at the same time that should +this plan be attempted to be carried into execution, they would join their +forces to those of Napoleon and thus endanger the position of the Allies. +They took their measures accordingly; the whole Canton Sew to arms; the +Bernois and the Allies were alarmed and consultations held; the Count de +Bubna, the Austrian General, being consulted, thought the attempt so +hazardous and so pregnant with mischief that he had the good sense to +recommend to the Allied Powers and to the Canton of Bern to desist from +their project and not to make or propose any alteration in the Helvetic +Constitution, as guaranteed in 1814. His advice was of great weight and was +adopted, and thus the Vaudois by their firmness preserved their +independence. They met with great support likewise on this trying occasion +from General La Harpe, preceptor to the Emperor of Russia, and a relation +to the gentleman of the same name who was so instrumental in the +emancipation of Vaud. La Harpe, who enjoyed the confidence of his pupil, +exerted himself greatly in procuring his good offices in favour of the +Vaudois his countrymen, and this was no small weight in the scale. + +Lausanne is an irregularly built city, and not very agreeable to +pedestrians, for its continual steep ascents and descents make it extremely +fatiguing, and there is a part of the town to which you ascend by a flight +of stairs; the houses in Lausanne have been humorously enough compared to +musical notes. The country in the environs is beautiful beyond description +and has at all times elicited the admiration of travellers. There is an +agreeable promenade just outside the town, on the left hand side of the +road which leads to Geneva, called _Montbenon_, which is the fashionable +promenade and commands a fine view of the lake. On the left hand side is a +Casino and garden used for the _tir de l'arc_, of which the Vaudois, in +common with the other Helvetic people, are extremely fond. On the right +hand side of the road is a deep ravine planted in the style of an English +garden, with serpentine gravel walks, and on the other side of the ravine +stands the upper part of the city, the Cathedral, _Hôtel de Ville_, and the +_Chateau du Bailli_, which is the seat of Government. From the terrace of +the Cathedral you enjoy a fine view, but a still finer and far more +comprehensive one is from the Signal house, or _Belvédère_ near the forest +of Sauvabelin (_Silva Bellonae_ in Pagan times)[57]. In this wood fairs, +dances and other public festivals are held, and it is the favourite spot +for parties of pleasure to dine _al fresco_; it is a pity, however, that +the edifice called the _Belvédère_ was not conceived in a better taste; it +has an uncouth and barbarous appearance. + +Lausanne is situated about a quarter of a mile (in a right line) from the +lake, and you descend continually in going from the city to the Lake Leman +by a good carriage road, until you arrive on the borders of the lake, where +stands a neat little town called Ouchy, or as it is sometimes termed _le +port de Lausanne_. There is a good quai and pier. The passage across the +lake from Ouchy to the Savoy side requires four hours with oars. + +I have made several pleasant acquaintances here, viz., M. Pidon the +Landamman, a litterato of the first order; Genl La Harpe, the tutor of the +Emperor of Russia; but the most agreeable of all is the Baron de +F[alkenskiold], an old gentleman of whose talents, merits and delightful +disposition I cannot speak too highly. He has the most liberal and +enlightened views and opinions, and is extremely well versed in English, +French and German litterature. He is a Dane by birth and was exiled early +in life from his own country, on account of an accusation of being +implicated in the affair of Struensee; and it is generally supposed that he +was one of Queen Matilda's favoured lovers, which supposition is not +improbable, as in his youth, to judge from his present dignified and +majestic appearance, he must have been an uncommonly handsome man. He has +lived ever since at Lausanne, and tho' near seventy-four years of age and +tormented with the gout, he never loses his cheerfulness, and passes his +time mostly with his books. He gives dinner parties two or three times a +week, which are exceedingly pleasant, and one is sure to meet there a +small, but well informed society of natives and foreigners. Most German +travellers of rank and litterary attainments, who pass thro' Lausanne, +bring letters of introduction and recommendation to the Baron and are sure +to meet with the utmost hospitality and attention. + +The women of the Canton de Vaud are in general very handsome, well shaped +and graceful; litterature, music, dancing and drawing are cultivated by +them with success; and among the men, tho' one does not meet perhaps with +quite as much instruction as at Geneva (I mean that it is not so general), +yet no pedantry whatever prevails as in Geneva. At Lausanne they have +sincere and solid republican principles and they do not pay that servile +court to the English that the Genevese do; nor have they as yet adopted the +phrase "_Dieu me damne_." + + +PARIS, Dec. 5th. + +I returned to Paris by Geneva and crossing the Jura chain of mountains +passed thro' Dole, Auxonne and Dijon. At Geneva, where I stopped three +days, I met, at a musical party given by M. Picot the banker, the +celebrated cantatrice Grassini, who looked as beautiful as ever, and sung +in the most fascinating style several airs, particularly "_Quelle pupille +tenere_" in the opera of the _Orazj e Curiazi_. To my taste her style of +singing is far preferable to that of Catalani; there is much more pathos +and feeling in the singing of Grassini; it is completely and truly the +"_cantar che nell'anima si sente_." Catalani is very powerful, wonderful, +if you will, in execution; but she does not touch my heart as Grassini +does. + +On my return to Paris from Geneva I found that the conditions of peace had +been made public. They are certainly hard, not so much on account of the +cession of territory, which is trifling, as on account of the vast sums of +money that Prance is obliged to pay, and the still more galling condition +of having to pay and feed at her expense an army of occupation of 150,000 +men, of the Allied troops, for a term of three or five years, and to cede +during that period several important fortresses. The inhabitants of Paris +look very gloomy and nobody seems to think that the peace will last half as +long. Prussia and Austria strove hard to wrest Alsace and German Lorraine +from France; hosts of German publicists had accompanied their armies into +France and had written pamphlet upon pamphlet to prove that mountains and +not rivers were the proper boundaries of nations and that wherever the +German language prevails, the country ought to belong to the Germanic body. +Ergo, the Vosges mountains were the natural boundaries of France, and +Alsace and German Lorraine should revert to Germany. Russia and England, +however, opposed this, and insisted that these two provinces should remain +with France; but I have no doubt that the first movements that may occur in +France (and they will perhaps be secretly encouraged) will serve as a +pretext for the Allies to separate these countries definitively from +France. + +The Louvre has been stripped of the principal statues and pictures which +have been sent back to the places from whence they were taken, to the great +mortification of the Parisians, most of whom would have consented to the +cession of Alsace and Lorraine and half of France to boot on condition of +keeping the statues and pictures. The English Bureaux are preparing to +leave Paris and the troops will soon follow; a new French army is +organizing and several Swiss battalions are raised. It is generally +supposed that by the end of December France, with the exception of the +fortresses and districts to be occupied by the Allied Powers, will be freed +from the pressure of foreign troops. + +The Chamber of Peers is occupied with the trial of Marshall Ney, the +Conseil de Guerre, which was ordered to assemble for that purpose having +declared itself incompetent. The friends of Ney advised him to claim the +protection of the 12th Article of the Capitulation of Paris, and Madame +Ney, it is said, applied both to the Duke of Wellington and to the Emperor +of Russia; both ungenerously refused; to the former Nature has not given a +heart with much sensibility, and the latter bears a petty spite against Ney +on account of his title, _Prince de la Moskowa_. It is pretty generally +anticipated that poor Ney will be condemned and executed; for tho' at the +representation of _Cinna_ a few nights ago, at the Théâtre Français, the +allusions to clemency were loudly caught hold of and applauded by the +audience, yet I suspect Louis XVIII is by no means of a relenting nature, +and that he is as little inclined to pardon political trespasses as his +ancestor Louis IX was disposed to pardon those against religion; for, +according to Gibbon, his recommendation to his followers was: _"Si +quelqu'un parle contre la foi chrétienne dans votre présence, donnez lui +l'épée ventre-dedans_." + + +December 18th. + +I met with an emigrant this day at the Palais Royal who was acquainted with +my family in London. It was the Vicomte de B*****ye.[58] He had resided +some time in England and also in Switzerland. He is an amiable man, but a +most incorrigible Ultra. He displayed at once the ideas that prevail among +the Ultras, which must render them eternally at variance with the mass of +the French nation. In speaking of the state of France, he said: "_Je n'ai +jamais cessé et jamais je ne cesserai de regarder comme voleurs tous les +acquéreurs des biens des émigrés. Il faudroit, pour le bonheur de la +France, qu'elle fût placés dans le même état ou elle était avant la +Révolution._" He would not listen to my reasons against the possibility of +effecting such a plan, even were the plan just and reasonable in itself. I +told him that for the emigrants to expect to get back their property was +just as absurd as for the descendants of those Saxon families in England, +whose ancestors were dispossessed of their estates by William the +Conqueror, to think of regaining them, and to call upon the Duke of +Northumberland, for instance, as a descendant of a Norman invader, to give +up his property as unjustly acquired by his progenitors. We did not hold +long converse after this; his ideas and mine diverged too much from each +other. + +The English are very much out of favour with the emigrants, as well on +account of the stripping of the Louvre as on account of not having shot all +the _libéraux_. They had the folly to believe that the Allied troops would +merely make war for the emigrants' interests, and after having put to death +a considerable quantity of those who should be designated as rebels and +Jacobins by them (the emigrants), would replace France in the exact +position she was in 1789, and then depart. + +Poor Marshall Ney's fate is decided. He was sentenced to death, and the +sentence was carried into execution not on the _Place de Grenelle_ as was +given out, but in the gardens of Luxemburgh at a very early hour. He met +his fate with great firmness and composure. I leave Paris to-morrow for +London. + + +[47] Ariosto, _Orlando Furioso_, VI, 20, 7. + +[48] Virgil, _Aen_., VI, 620 (temnere _divos_).--ED. + +[49] Louis Wirion (1764-1810), an officer of _gendarmerie_, + commander-general of the _place_ de Verdun since 1804, was accused in + 1808 of having extorted money from certain English prisoners quartered + in Verdun (Estwick, Morshead, Garland, etc.). Wirion shot himself + before the end of the long proceedings, which do not seem to have + established his guilt, but had reduced him to misery and despair.--ED. + +[50] Richard Brinsley Sheridan's (1751-1816) _Pizarro_, produced at Drury + Lane in 1799.--ED. + +[51] Three brothers Zadera, all born in Warsaw, served in the Imperial + army.--ED. + +[52] Ariosto, _Orlando Furioso_ III, 2, i.--ED. + +[53] These words mean, or are supposed to mean, in French and in Dutch: "I + don't understand" (_je n'entends pas_).--ED. + +[54] Horace, _Carm._, IV, 2,39.--ED. + +[55]John Chetwode Eustace (1762-1815), author of _A Tour through Italy_ + (2 vol., London, 1813), the eighth edition of which appeared in + 1841.--ED. + +[56] Theodoric was a Goth, not a Lombard.--ED. + +[57] Of course, _Silva Beleni_.--ED. + +[58] Perhaps Clement François Philippe de Laâge Bellefaye, mentioned in the + _Souvenirs_ of Baron de Frénilly, p. 94. His large estates had been + confiscated in the Revolution.--ED. + + + + + + + + +AFTER +WATERLOO + + + + + + +PART II + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +MARCH-JUNE,1816 + +Ball at Cambray, attended by the Duke of Wellington--An Adventure between +Saint Quentin and Compiègne--Paris revisited--Colonel Wardle and Mrs +Wallis--Society in Paris--The Sourds-Muets--The Cemetery of Père La +Chaise--Apathy of the French people--The priests--Marriage of the Duke de +Berri. + + +March, 1816. + +This time I varied my route to Paris, by passing thro' St Omer, Douay and +Cambray. At Cambray I was present at a ball given by the municipality. The +Duke of Wellington was there. He had in his hand an extraordinary sort of +hat which had something of a shape of a folding cocked hat, with divers red +crosses and figures on it, so that it resembled a conjurer's cap. I +understand it is a hat given to his Grace by magnanimous Alexander; St +Nicholas perhaps commissioned the Emperor to present it to Wellington, for +his Grace is entitled to the eternal gratitude of the different Saints, as +well as of the different sovereigns, for having maintained them +respectively in their celestial and terrestrial dominions; and it is to be +hoped, after his death, that the latter will celebrate for him a brilliant +apotheosis, and the former be as complaisant to him and make room for him +in the Empyreum as Virgil requests the Scorpion to do for Augustus: + + ...Ipse tibi jam brachia contrahit ardens + Scorpios, et coeli jusiâ plus parts reliquit.[59] + +I met with an adventure in my journey from St Quentin to Compiègne, which, +had it happened a hundred years ago in France, would have alarmed me much +for my personal safety. It was as follows. I had taken my place at St +Quentin to go to Paris; but all the diligences being filled, the _bureau_ +expedited a _calèche_ to convey me as far as Compiègne, there to meet the +Paris diligence at nine the next morning. It was a very dark cold night, +and snowed very hard. + +Between eleven and twelve o'clock at night, half way between St Quentin and +Compiègne, the axle tree of the carriage broke; we were at least two miles +from any village one way and three the other; but a lone house was close to +the spot where the accident happened. We had, therefore, the choice of +going forward or backward, the postillion and myself helping the carriage +on with our hands, or to take refuge at the lone house till dawn of day. I +preferred the latter; we knocked several times at the door of the lone +house, but the owner refused to admit us, saying that he was sure we were +_gens de mauvaise vie_, and that he would shoot us if we did not go away. +The postillion and I then determined on retrograding two miles, the +distance of the nearest village, and remaining there till morning. We +arrived there with no small difficulty and labour, for it snowed very fast +and heavily, and it required a good deal of bodily exertion to push on the +carriage. Arrived at the village, we knocked at the door of a small +cottage, the owner of which sold some brandy. He received me very civilly, +gave me some eggs and bacon for supper, and a very fair bed. + +The next morning, after having the axle tree repaired, we proceeded on our +journey to Compiègne. I suffered much from the cold during this adventure, +and did not sleep well, having fallen into a train of thought which +prevented me from so doing; and I could not help bringing to my +recollection the adventure of Raymond in the forest near Strassburg, in the +romance of _The Monk_. Nothing worthy of note occurred during the rest of +the journey; but this adventure obliged me to remain one day at Compiègne +to wait for the next diligence. + + +PARIS, April 8th, 1816. + +I delivered my letters to the Wardle family and am very much pleased with +them. I meet a very agreeable society at their house. Col Wardle is quite a +republican and very rigid in his principles.[60] His daughter is a young +lady of first rate talents and has already distinguished herself by some +poetical compositions. I met at their house Mrs Wallis, the sister of Sir +R. Wilson.[61] She is an enthusiastic Napoleonist, and wears at times a +tricolored scarf and a gold chain with a medal of Napoleon's head attached +to it; this head she sometimes, to amuse herself, compels the old emigrants +she meets with in society to kiss. The trial of her brother is now going on +for aiding and abetting the escape of Lavalette. I sincerely hope he will +escape any severity of punishment, but I more fear the effects of Tory +vengeance against him in England, in the shape of depriving him of his +commission, than I do the sentence of any French court. Yet tho' I wish him +well, I cannot help feeling the remains of a little grudge against him for +his calumny against Napoleon in accusing him of poisoning the sick of his +own army before the walls of St Jean d'Acre. I have always vindicated the +character of Napoleon from this most unjust and unfounded aspersion, +because having been in Egypt with Abercrombie's army and having had daily +intercourse with Belliard's division of the French army, after the +capitulation of Cairo, and during our joint march on the left bank of the +Nile to Rosetta, I knew that there was not a syllable of truth in the +story. Mrs Wallis, however, tells me that her brother has expressed deep +regret that he ever gave credence and currency to such a report; and that +he acknowledges that he was himself deceived. But he did Napoleon an +irreparable injury, and his work on the Egyptian campaign contributed in a +very great degree to excite the hatred of the English people against +Napoleon, as well as to flatter the passions and prejudices of the Tories. + +In the affair however of Lavalette Wilson has nobly retrieved his character +and obliterated all recollection of his former error. It is amazing the +popularity he and his two gallant associates have acquired in France by +this generous and chevaleresque enterprise. + +I meet at Col Wardle's a very pleasant French society: conversation, music +and singing fill up the evening. + + +April 15th. + +I have been presented to a very agreeable lady, Madame Esther Fournier, who +holds a _conversazione_ at her house in the Rue St Honoré every Wednesday +evening. Here there is either a concert, a ball or private theatricals; +while in a separate room play goes forward and _crebs_, a game of dice +similar to hazard, is the fashionable game. Refreshments are handed round +and at twelve o'clock the company break up. Mme Fournier is a lady of very +distinguished talent and always acts a principal rôle herself in the +dramatic performances given at her private theatricals. + +I have become acquainted too with a very pleasant family, M. and Mme +Vanderberg, who are the proprietors of a large house and magnificent garden +in the Faubourg du Roule. M. Vanderberg is a man of very large fortune.[62] +He has three daughters, handsome and highly accomplished, and one son; one +of them was married to General R----, but is since divorced; the second is +married to a young colonel of Hussars, and the third is still unmarried; +but being very young, handsome, accomplished and rich, there will be no +lack of suitors whenever she is disposed to accept the connubial chain. I +have dined several times with this family. There is an excellent table. The +choicest old wines are handed about during dinner, and afterwards we +adjourn to another room to take coffee and liqueurs. + +If there is no evening party, the company retire, some for the theatre, +some for other houses, where they have to pass the evening; if the family +remain at home you have the option of retiring or remaining with them, and +the evening is filled up with music or _petits jeux_. I meet with several +agreeable and distinguished people at this house, among whom are M. Anglas, +Mme Duthon from the Canton de Vaud, a lady of great vivacity and talent, +and General Guilleminot and his lady. Col. Paulet, who married M. +Vanderberg's second daughter, was on the staff of General Guilleminot at +the battle of Waterloo and suffered much from a fever and ague that he +caught on the night bivouacs. + +I have attended a séance of the Institution of the _Sourds-Muets_ founded +by the famous Abbé de l'Epée, and continued with equal success by his +successor the Abbé S[icard],[63] who delivered the lecture and exhibited +the talent and proficiency of his pupils. The eldest pupil, Massieu, +himself deaf and dumb, is an extraordinary genius and he may be said in +some measure to direct all the others. Massieu, who has a very interesting +and even handsome countenance, and manners extremely prepossessing, +conducts the examination of the pupils by means of signs, and writing on a +slate or paper; and it is wonderful to observe the progress made by these +interesting young persons, who have been so harshly treated by Nature. The +definitions they give of substances and qualities are so just and happy; +and in their situation, definition is everything, for they cannot learn by +rote, as other boys often do, who, in the study of philology, acquire only +words and not things or meanings. The deaf and dumb persons, on the +contrary, acquire at once by this method of instruction the philosophy of +grammar; and then it is far from being the dry study that many people +suppose. A German princess who was present exclaimed in a transport of +admiration at some of the specimens of definitions and inferences given by +the pupils; " Oh! I wish that I were born deaf and dumb, were it only to +learn grammar properly!" Sir Sidney Smith was present at this lecture and +seemed inclined to make himself a little too conspicuous. For instance, +before the examination began, he seated himself close by the Abbé S[icard] +and pulling a paper out of his pocket said that he had found it on the +ground on his way hither; and that it was part of a leaf from an edition of +Cicero which contained a sentence so applicable to the character and +talents of his friend the Abbé, that he requested permission to read it +aloud and translate it into French for the benefit of those who did not +understand Latin. He then read the sentence. The Abbé, not to be out-done +in compliments, then rose and made a most flaming speech in eulogium of his +friend "the heroic defender of St John d'Acre" and pointed him out to the +audience as the first person who had foiled the arms of the "Usurper." + +Now this word "Usurper" applied to Napoleon did not at all please the +audience, and it shewed a great deal of servility on the part of the Abbé +to insult fallen greatness, and in the person too of a man who had rendered +such vast services to science. In fact this episode was received coldly, +and somewhat impatiently by the audience; and many thought it was a thing +_got up_ between the Admiral and the Abbé to flatter each other's vanity; +indeed my friend Mrs Wallis, next to whom I was placed, and who does not at +all agree with the gallant Admiral in politics, intimated this in a +whisper, loud enough to be heard by all the audience and added: "Such a +humbug is enough to make one sick." Sir Sidney Smith heard all this and +seemed a good deal abashed and disconcerted; he, however, had the good +sense to say nothing, and the examination began. + + +PARIS, May 5th. + +I formed a party with some friends to visit the cemetery of Père la Chaise. +We remarked in particular the places where poor Labédoyère and Marshal Ney +are buried. There is no tombstone on the former, but some shrubs have been +planted, and a black wooden cross fixed to denote the spot where he lies. + +To Marshal Ney there is a stone sepulchre with this inscription: "_Cy-gît +le Maréchal Ney, Prince de la Moskowa_." This cemetery is most beautifully +laid out. The multitude of tombs, the variety of inscriptions in prose and +verse, some of which are very affecting, the yews, the willows, all render +this a delightful spot for contemplation; it commands an extensive view of +Paris and the surrounding country. Foreigners of distinction who die in +Paris are generally buried here; but it would require a volume to describe +to you in detail this interesting cemetery. I think the practice of +strewing flowers over the grave is very touching and classic; it reminded +me of the description of Marcellus's death in Virgil: + + ... Manibus date lilia plenis. + +We however strewed over the tombs of Labédoyère and Ney not lilies, but +violets, for my friend Mrs W[allis], who was of our party, has a great +aversion to the lily. + +We have just heard of Didier's capture and execution at Grenoble.[64] There +are continual reports of insurrections and plots, but it is now well known +that the most of them are _got up_ by the Ultras to entrap the unwary. The +French people seem sunk in apathy and to wish for peace at any rate; +nothing but the most extreme provocation will induce them to take up arms; +but then, if they once do so, woe to the _Chambre Introuvable_, as the +present Chamber of Deputies is called; certainly such a set of venal, +merciless and ignorant bigots and blockheads never were collected in any +assembly. There have occurred several scandalous scenes at Nîmes and other +places. The Protestants are openly insulted and threatened, and the +government is either too weak to prevent it, or, as is supposed, secretly +encourages those excesses. In fact in Paris there are two polices; the one, +that of the Government, the other, and by far the most troublesome, that of +_Monsieur_[65] and the violent Ultra party, or as they are collectively +called the _Pavilion Marsan_.[66] The priests are at work everywhere +trumping up old legends, forging communications from the Holy Ghost, +receiving letters dropped from heaven by Jesus Christ, and all this is done +with the idea of working on fanatical minds, to induce them to commit acts +of outrage and violence on those whom the priests designate as enemies to +the faith, and on weak ones, with the idea of frightening them into +restoring the lands and property which they have purchased or inherited and +which formerly belonged to emigrants or to the Church. + +A lady of my acquaintance (to give you an idea of the arts of these holy +hypocrites) sent for a priest to confess and to receive absolution, not +from any faith in the efficacy of the business, but merely from a desire of +conforming to the ceremonies of the national worship. The priest arrived, +but began by apologizing to her that he was sorry he could not administer +to her the sacrament of absolution; she, surprized, asked the reason; he +answered that it was because her uncle had purchased Church lands, which +she inherited, and that unless she could resolve to restore them to the +church, he could not think of giving her absolution. The lady was at a loss +whether to be indignant at his impudence or to laugh outright at his folly. +She however assumed a becoming gravity and _sang-froid_, and told him that +he was very much mistaken if he thought he had got hold of a simpleton or a +bigot in her; that she had sent for him merely with the idea of conforming +to the national worship, and not with the most remote persuasion of the +necessity or efficacy of his or any other priest's absolution; she added: +"Your conduct has opened my eyes as to the views of all your cloth; I see +you are incurable. I shall never send for any of you again; and be assured +this anecdote shall not be forgotten. You may retire." The priest, abashed +and mortified in finding himself mistaken in his supposed prey, stammered +an excuse and retired. + +I intend to remain at Paris until after the marriage ceremony of the Duke +and Duchess of Berri, and I shall then proceed to Lausanne. It is expected +there will be some disturbance on the occasion of this marriage. + +I have witnessed an execution by the guillotine on the Place de Grève near +the _Hôtel de Ville_. The criminal was guilty of a burglary and murder. It +is the only execution (except political ones) that has taken place at Paris +for the last six months, whereas in England they are strung up by dozens +every fortnight. Independent of there being far less crimes committed in +France than in England, the French code punishes but few offences with +death. + +Why is not the sanguinary English criminal code with death in every +line--why is it not reformed, I say? 'Twould be well if our legislators, +instead of their puerile and frothy declamations against revolutionary +principles and the ambition of Napoleon, would occupy themselves seriously +with this subject. But then the lawyers would all oppose the simplification +of our Code. They find by experience that a complicated one, obstructed by +customs, statutes and acts of Parliament, difficult to be correctly +interpreted, and frequently at variance with each other, is a much more +profitable thing, a much wider and more lucrative field for the exercise of +their profession, than the simplicity of the Code Napoléon; and they would +die of rage and despair at the thought of anybody not a lawyer being able +to interpret the laws himself. Now as our country gentlemen and members of +Parliament are always much inclined to take lawyer's advice, and are +besides fully persuaded and convinced that there are no abuses whatever in +England and that everything is as it should be, there is no hope of any +amelioration in this particular. All reasoning and argument is lost on such +political optimists. + +The punishment of the guillotine certainly appears to be the most humane +mode of terminating the existence of a man that could possibly be invented. +The apparatus is preserved in the _Hôtel de Ville_, and is never exposed to +view or erected on the place of execution, till about an hour before the +execution itself takes place. At the hour appointed the criminal is brought +to the scaffold, fastened to the board, placed at right angles with the +fatal instrument, the head protruding thro' the groove, which embraces the +neck; the executioner pulls a cord, the axe descends and the head of the +criminal falls into a basket. The whole ceremony of the execution does not +take three minutes when the criminal once arrives at the foot of the +guillotine. There is none of that horrible struggling that takes place in +the operation of hanging. + +June 21st, 1816. + +The ceremony of the marriage of the Duke and Duchess of Berri passed off +quietly enough. Several people, it is true, were arrested for seditious +expressions, but no tumult occurred. A great apprehension seemed to prevail +lest something should occur, but the gendarmerie and police were so +vigilant that all projects, had there been any, would have proved abortive. + + +[59] Virgil, _Georg._, I, 35.--ED. + +[60] Colonel Gwyllym Lloyd Wardle was the celebrated exposer of the scandal + in 1808-9, when the mistress of the Duke of York was found to be + trafficking in Commissions. He had retired from active service in + 1802, with the rank of lieutenant-colonel. Financial reasons obliged + him, after 1815, to live on the Continent; he died in Florence, + 1833.--ED. + +[61] Sir Robert Thomas Wilson (1779-1849), author of _The History of the + British Expedition to Egypt_, 1802; a French translation of that work + elicited a protest from Napoleon.--ED. + +[62] Vanderberg had made a fortune as a contractor to the French army; he + is mentioned in Ida Saint Elme's _Mémoires d'une contemporaine_ and + elsewhere.--ED. + +[63] Abbé Sicard (Rooh Ambroise) was director of the Institution of + Sourds-Muets from 1790 to 1797 and from 1800 to 1822.--ED. + +[64] Paul Didier (1758-1816) took part in a Bonapartist conspiracy at Lyons + in 1816, raised an insurrection in the Isère and fled to Piedmont, + whence he was surrendered to the French authorities, condemned to + death and executed at Grenoble.--ED. + +[65] The King's brother, afterwards Charles X.--ED. + +[66] The N.E. pavilion of the Tuileries.--ED. + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +Journey from Paris to Lausanne--Besançon--French refugees in +Lausanne--François Lamarque--General Espinassy--Bordas--Gautier--Michau-- +M. de Laharpe--Mlle Michaud--Levade, a Protestant minister--Chambéry--Aix-- +Details about M. de Boigne's career in India--English Toryism and +intolerance--Valley of Maurienne--Passage across Mont Cenis and arrival at +Suza--Turin. + + +LAUSANNE, July 8th. + +Departing from Paris on the 24th June, 1816, I varied my journey into +Switzerland this time, for instead of travelling thro' Lyons or Dole, I +took the route of Besangon, Pontarlier, Jougne and Orbe. The country +between Dijon and Besançon is a rich and fertile plain. At Besançon the +mountainous country begins; it is a strong fortress, and the last +considerable town of the French frontier. It lies in a very picturesque +situation, being nearly environed by the Doubs, which meanders under its +walls, and by very lofty mountains; on the other side of the Doubs stands +the citadel, its chief strength. The town of Besangon is exceedingly +handsome and well built, and there are several agreeable promenades, two of +which I must particularize, viz., the promenade de Chamarre and the garden +of the Palace of Granvelle. There are besides several Roman antiquities and +the remains of a large amphitheatre. I amused myself very well for a couple +of days at Besançon, and met with some agreeable society at the _Hôtel de +France_ where I lodged. I left Besançon at eight in the morning of the 30th +June, and arrived at Pontarlier at six the same evening. Pontarlier is a +dreary, melancholy looking place, consisting of a very long street and +several offsets of streets, situated in the midst of mountains, eternally +covered with snow. Winter reigns here during nine months of the year. At +Pontarlier the whole garrison were under arms, when I arrived, to pay the +last duties to a most respectable and respected officer, whose death was +occasioned by falling into the river, while at the _necessary_, by the +under board giving way. This officer had served in almost all the campaigns +of Napoleon and had greatly distinguished himself. What a cruel death for a +warrior who had been in fifty battles! That death should have shunned him +in the field of battle, to make him fall in a manner at once inglorious and +ridiculous! yet such is destiny. Pyrrhus fell by a tile flung from a house +by an old woman, and I am acquainted with a gallant captain in the British +Navy who lost his leg by amputation, having broken it (oh horror!) by a +fall from the top of a stage coach. + +I left Pontarlier on the 2d July, and arrived at Lausanne the same evening +at five o'clock. On my return to Lausanne I had the pleasure to form an +acquaintance with several eminent Frenchmen proscribed and banished from +France, on account of having voted the death of Louis XVI, as members of +the National Convention, which tried him, and for having voted, after the +return of Napoleon from Elba, the _Acte additionnel_, which excluded the +Bourbons for ever from the throne of France, Among them are, 1st, Monsieur +Lamarque, who was one of the commissioners sent by the Convention to arrest +Dumouriez, but being seized by him, and delivered over to the Austrians, he +passed some time in captivity and was at length released, by being +exchanged with some others against the Duchess d'Angoulême.[67] He is a +very able man and seems to have far more political talent than any of the +other _Conventionnels_ who are here. On Napoleon's return from Elba he +voted for him, but made strong objections against the formation of a +peerage, which he said was perfectly useless in France, and pregnant with +mischief to boot, as it would only serve as an _appui_ to despotism. He +wrote a pamphlet with some excellent remarks on this, subject. He therein +points out the evils of an hereditary Chamber, and of a priviledged +aristocracy, who have nothing to expect from the people, but all from the +Prince; and in its stead he proposes an additional elective Chamber, +something on the plan of the Senate in America, but he decidedly reprobates +an hereditary peerage. + +The next is General Espinassy, a very good classical scholar and a most +upright and amiable man.[68] In his vote he was solely influenced by strong +but conscienscious republican principles; he resides here with his wife and +two sons; he was considered as one of the best engineer officers in France +and he opposed the nomination of Napoleon to the Imperial dignity in 1804. + +Another, M. Bordas,[69] opposed Napoleon's assumption of the Consulship on +the 18th Brumaire, and was proscribed by him for a short time, but +afterwards amnestied and received into favour. He gave his vote for +Napoleon on the _Champ de Mai_ in 1815, but accompanied this vote by a bold +speech towards Napoleon wherein he found fault with his former despotic +practises, and reminded him of the solemnity of his promise to govern in +future paternally and nationally, as became the sovereign of a free people. +M. Bordas is a very cheerful, lively, companionable man and tho' seventy +years of age, he has an uncommon share of vivacity, with something of the +_ci-devant jeune homme_ about him, and He is pleased to be considered still +as a man _à bonnes fortunes_. + +The next to him is M. Gauthier, who had been a lawyer, and held a +considerable post as a magistrate in the time of the Republic and under the +Empire.[70] He possesses a good deal of talent, close logical reasoning, +and has determined public principle. + +The next, M. Michaud, had been also an advocate, and is possessor of +considerable property in the department of the Doubs;[71] he is a most +rigid unbending republican, something in the style of Verrina in Schiller's +_Fiesco_; he opposed the assumption of the supreme power by Buonaparte on +the 18th Brumaire; he voted against the Consulship for life, as well as +against the assumption of the Imperial dignity. He is a very good classical +scholar. He is a widower and has with him here Mlle Elisa, his only +daughter, who follows her father's fortunes. She is a very amiable and +accomplished young lady; she has a thorough knowledge of music and of +painting in oils, and is classically versed in the Italian language. I soon +became acquainted with the whole of these illustrious exiles, and I find +great delight and instruction from their conversation; and this is a great +relief to me, for the life one leads in a Swiss town is rather monotonous. + + +LAUSANNE. + +I dine very often with my neighbour the Baron de Falkenskioeld, and at his +house I became acquainted with M. de Laharpe, who was preceptor to the +present Emperor of Russia. He is a native of this Canton, and has returned +here to pass the remainder of his life. He is married to a very amiable +Russian lady, and having acquired a pretty good fortune in Russia, he lives +here very happily and comfortably; but notwithstanding this, he is often +tempted to visit Paris, Milan and other great cities, and when there, sighs +to return to his native mountains. + +As the Ultras of France bear a great hatred towards the inhabitants of the +Canton de Vaud, on account of the asylum given and sympathy shown to the +_proscrits_, they have been at the pains of trumping up and printing a +pretended petition from the inhabitants of the department of the Doubs, +praying that the French Government would endeavor to obtain the removal of +these _proscrits_ from the Canton de Vaud, and stating that the said Canton +was the _foyer_ of Jacobinical principles, and the place where Napoleon's +return from Elba was planned and accelerated, and thro' which the +conveyance of intelligence backwards and forwards was conducted. I have no +doubt that in this petition more is meant than meets the ear; that the +Oligarchs of Bern, as well as the Ultras of France, have a share in it, and +that it may be considered not so much as an attempt to compel the Canton to +refuse asylum to these exiles, as to excite the Great Powers to enforce the +abolition of the independence of Vaud, and to replace it under the dominion +and authority of the Canton of Bern. + +Everybody here, however, sees thro' the drift of this petition, and many +persons whose names are put down as having signed it, have written to their +friends at Lausanne, to declare not only that they never signed such a +petition, but their entire ignorance even of the agitation of the question +till they saw the petition itself in print. The French government, however, +has not ventured to act any further upon it, than to make a pompous display +of the royalist zeal and _bon esprit_ that pervades the Department of the +Doubs. + +I see a good deal of Mlle Michaud. I find her conversation extremely +agreeable. She had lent to me an Italian work by Verri entitled _Le notti +Romane al sepolcro di Stipione_. She is a very rigid Catholic, having been +educated by a priest of very strict ideas. Her devotion however does not +render her less cheerful or less amiable. She having expressed a wish to +hear the Protestant church service, I offered to accompany her and we went +together one Sunday to the Cathedral Church at Lausanne. But it +unfortunately happened that on that day a sermon was preached which must +have given a great deal of pain to her filial feelings. Mr Levade, the +minister, took it into his head to give a political sermon, in which, after +a great deal of commonplace abuse of Voltaire, Rousseau and the French +Revolution, and very fulsome adulation towards the English government (a +subject which was brought in by the head and shoulders), of that _island_ +(as he termed it) _surrounded by the Ocean_, he lavished a great deal of +still more fulsome adulation on the Bourbons; and then most wantonly and +unnecessarily began a furious declamation against the _régicides_ as he +termed them, who had taken refuge in the Canton, and intimated pretty +plainly how pleasing it would be to God Almighty that they should be +expelled from it. This intolerant discourse, more worthy of a raving Jesuit +than of a Protestant minister, was deservedly scouted by the inhabitants of +Lausanne; but this did not hinder poor Mlle Michaud from being much +affected at the opprobrious tirade directed against a set of men, among +whom her father bore a conspicuous part, and who acted from patriotic +motives. I must not omit to state that in this discourse M. Levade +interwove some hyperbolical compliments towards the young Prince of Sweden, +who attended the service that morning. He told him that the eyes of all +Europe were fixed upon him, and that Providence had him under his especial +care. + +Now the following is the character of M. Levade.[72] He is a time-serving, +meddling priest, and a most flagrant adulator of the powers that be. He +thinks that by declaiming against the French Revolution, and against +Voltaire and Rousseau, that he will get into favor with the great people +who pass thro' Lausanne, with the French and English Government adherents, +and with the great Tory families of England. No considerable personage ever +passes through Lausanne, but Mr Levade is the first to make him a visit; +and no rich or noble English family arrives with whom he does not +ingratiate himself, and he is not sparing of his adulations. This mode of +procedure has been a very profitable concern to him, as he has received a +vast number of presents, and several valuable legacies, besides securing a +number of pupils among the English families, that come or that have been +here. He is in short a thorough parasite and time server, in every sense of +the word. This adulation of the Bourbon family in his sermon, besides the +meanness of it, was highly misplaced, coming from the mouth of a Protestant +minister, and somebody exclaimed on leaving the Church: "_Que doit-on +penser d'un ministre protestant du Canton de Vaud, qui prodigue des +louanges à une famille qui a été l'ennemie acharnée de l'Elise reformée, et +qui a persécuté les protestants d'une manière si atroce?_" But Mr Levade +(tho' to the honor of the clergymen of the Canton de Vaud he is singular +among _them_), yet he has many persons who perfectly resemble him among the +members of the Church of England, and who are as eager to support despotism +and to crush liberty as any disciple of Loyola or any Janissary of the +Grand Signor. The other Protestant ministers of this Canton were highly +indignant at this sermon; in fact, it was the first time in this city that +the House of God had been profaned by the introduction of political +subjects into a religious discourse. This sermon was the common topic of +conversation for many days after. + + +CHAMBÉRY, 2d August. + +I left Lausanne for Geneva on 28 July. I stopped at Nyon to pay a visit to +Mme Duthon, with whom I became acquainted at Paris. I dined with her and +passed a most agreeable day. Her talents are of the first order, and she is +as great an enthusiast for the German language and litterature as myself, +besides being well versed in Italian. She had a female relation with her. +We took a boat after dinner to navigate the lake, and we visited the +Château and domains of Joseph Napoleon. The next day I proceeded to Geneva. + +I determined on making the journey into Italy this time by Mont-Cenis, and +to make it on foot as far as the foot of Mont-Cenis on the Italian side, +intending to profit of the opportunity of the first conveyance I should +meet with at Suza to proceed to Turin. I accordingly forwarded my +portmanteau to Turin to the care of a banker there, and sallied forth from +Geneva at six o'clock on the morning of 1st August. + +I stopped to dine at Frangy and reached Romilly at seven in the evening. +There is nothing worthy of remark at Romilly. The next morning I stopped at +Aix to breakfast, and visited the bath establishment. The scenery is +picturesque on this route, and the whole road from Aix to Chambéry is +aligned with remarkably fine large trees. At three in the afternoon I +arrived at Chambéry, the capital of Savoy. It is a large handsome city, +situated in a fruitful valley, with a great many gardens and orchards +surrounding it. There is a strong garrison here. Among the many _maisons de +plaisance_ in the environs of this city, the most distinguishable is the +villa of General De Boigne, who has passed the greatest part of his life in +India, in the service of Scindiah, one of the Mahratta chiefs;[73] and it +was by De Boigne's assistance that Scindiah, from being a petty chief, with +not more than three or four hundred horse, became the founder of a powerful +kingdom, comprized chiefly of the provinces of the Ganges and Jumna, torn +from the Mogol Empire, whose Sovereign fell into the hands of Scindiah. +Scindiah caused the Mogol Emperor's eyes to be put out, and kept him as a +state prisoner in Delhi, till the year 1805, when on the Mahrattas engaging +in war with the English, Scindiah was defeated by Lake and lost the greater +part of his conquests. De Boigne had quitted India in 1796, long before +this rupture took place, and at that time Scindiah had a fine regular army +of thirty battalions of 1,000 men, each disciplined, armed and equipped in +the European manner. He had likewise sixty squadrons of regular cavalry and +a formidable train of artillery. At Chambéry I met with two French +_voyageurs de commerce_, who with that positiveness, which is often the +national characteristic, insisted that De Boigne owed his riches and +fortune to his treachery, in having betrayed and sold Tippoo Saib to the +English, when he was in Tippoo's service; and I find this is the current +report all over Savoy. + +Now it is an accusation totally devoid of foundation, as I shall presently +show; and I took this opportunity of vindicating the reputation of De +Boigne, by simply stating that De Boigne could never have betrayd Tippoo, +since he was never in his service; 2dly, that he had, when in the service +of Scindiah, fought against Tippoo, when the Mahrattas coalesced with the +English against that Prince in 1792; and that had it not been for the +assistance given by the Mahrattas to the English (a most impolitic +coalition on the part of the Mahrattas, as it turned out afterwards), +Tippoo would not have been compelled to conclude so humiliating a treaty of +peace; 3dly, that De Boigne had quitted India in 1796, three years before +the second war and death of Tippoo in 1799. I stated, too, that I was +perfectly well acquainted with these particulars of De Boigne's career, +from having served six years in India, and from having been personally +acquainted with a gentleman of the name of Lucius Ferdinand Smith, who was +the ultimate friend of De Boigne and his lieutenant general in the service +of Scindiah; I added that I could not conceive how so unjust and unfounded +an aspersion on De Boigne's character could find currency. + +I hope that what I said will be effectual towards doing away this injurious +report; but very probably it will not, for when the vulgar once imbibe an +opinion, it is difficult to eradicate it from their minds, and they are not +at all obliged to the person who endeavors to undeceive them, so that +General De Boigne's treachery and sale of Tippoo to the English will be +handed down to posterity among the Savoyards, as a fact of which it will be +as little permitted to doubt as of the treachery of Judas. + + +CHAMBÉRY, August 3d. + +At the _table d'hôte_ this day I nearly lost all patience on hearing an +elderly English gentleman extolling the English Ministry to the skies, and +abusing the army of the Loire, calling them rebels and traitors. I stood up +in defence of these gallant men, and stated that the French Army in the +time of the Republic and of the Empire were the most constitutional of all +the European armies, since they were taken from and identified with the +people; and that it was this brotherly feeling for their fellow citizens +that induced them to join the standards of Napoleon, on his return from +Elba; that they only followed the voice of the nation; that all France was +indignant at the tergiversation and breach of faith on the part of the +restored Government, in a variety of instances; and that, had Napoleon and +the army been out of the question, the Bourbons would not have failed to be +upset, from the indignation their measures had excited among the people. He +then said that the Army of the Loire was a most dangerous body of men, and +that that was the reason why the Allies insisted on their being disbanded. +I replied that this was the highest compliment he could pay them, and the +greatest feather in their cap, since it went to prove, that as long as this +Army was in existence, neither the crowned despots, nor the Ultras thought +themselves safe; and that they could not venture to pursue their +anti-national projects, which were all directed towards depriving the +French people of all they had gained by the Revolution and bringing them +back to the _blessings_ of the ancient _régime_. He could say nothing in +reply, but that he feared I had Jacobin principles, to which I made +rejoinder: "If these be Jacobin principles, I glory in them." Some +Sardinian officers, who were present, seemed to enjoy my argument, tho' +they said nothing; and one took me aside, when we quitted the table, and +said he rejoiced to see me take the old man in hand, as he disgusted them +every day by his tirades against the liberal party, and by his fulsome +adulations of the British Government. The old gentleman held forth likewise +in a long speech respecting the finances of England, in praise of the +sinking fund, and when it was suggested to him that England from the +immense national debt must one day become bankrupt: "_Non, Monsieur_," (he +said),"_la Caisse d'Amortissement empêchera cela_." In fine, the _Caisse +d'Amortissement_ was to work miracles. I replied that the principle of the +_Caisse d'Amortissement_ was good, provided a constant and consistent +economy were practised; but that at present and during the whole time from +its establishment, it had been a mockery on the understanding of the +Nation, when we reflected on the profligate expenditure of public money, +occasioned by the ruinous, unjust and liberticide wars, which were entered +into and fomented by the British Government. Indeed, I said it was like the +conduct of a man who possessing an income of 200£ per annum, should set +apart, in a box as a _Caisse d'épargne_, 20£ annually, and at the same time +continue a style of living, the annual expence of which would so far exceed +his income, as to oblige him to borrow 7 or 800£ every year. The old +gentleman was all amort at this comparison, which must be obvious to every +one. Nothing shows in a more glaring light the blind and superstitious +reverence paid to great names; for because this sinking fund was proposed +by Pitt, all his adherents extol it to the skies, without analysing it, and +give him besides the credit of an invention to which he had no right +whatever. + + +ST JEAN DE MAURIENNE. + +I started from Chambéry on the morning of the fourth of August, and stopped +at Montmélian to breakfast. Here begins the valley of Maurienne, and as +this valley, along which the road is cut, is extremely narrow, being hemmed +in on each side by the High Alps, Montmélian, which stands on an eminence +in the centre of the valley (the road running thro' the town), must be a +post of the utmost importance towards the defence of this pass. It was a +fortified place of great consideration in the former wars, and if the +fortifications were repaired and improved, it might be made almost +impregnable, as it would enfilade the road on each side. From the +above-mentioned features of the ground, the valley narrowing more and more +as you proceed, from the high mountains that align it and from its +sinuosities, it follows that at every angle or curve caused by these +sinuosities, you appear as if you were shut out from all the rest of the +world and could proceed no further. The river Isère runs thro' and parallel +with this valley. It rises in the mountains of Savoy and falls into the +Rhône in Dauphiné. I passed the night at Aiguebelle. + +From Aiguebelle to St Jean de Maurienne is twelve leagues, and I found +myself so tired with walking, and my legs from being swelled gave me so +much pain, that I determined to give up the _gloriole_ of making the whole +journey on foot as I intended and to remain here for two days to repose and +then profit by the first conveyance that might pass to conduct me to Turin. + +From Aiguebelle the valley becomes still more narrow, and there is a +continual ascent, tho' it is so gentle as scarcely to be perceptible. Every +spot of ground in this valley, which will admit of cultivation, is put to +profit by the industry of the inhabitants. Here one sees beans, indian +corn, and even wines; for the heat is very great indeed in summer and +autumn, owing to the rays of the sun being concentrated, as it were, into a +focus, in this narrow valley, and were the bed of the Isère to be deepened, +or were it less liable to overflow, from the melting of the snow in spring +and summer, much land, which is now a marsh, might be applied to +agricultural purposes. The inhabitants of this valley regret very much the +separation of Savoy from France, as during the time that Duchy was annexed +to the French Empire, each peasant possessing an ass could earn three +franks per diem in transporting merchandise across Mont-Cenis. St Jean de +Maurienne is a neat little town. I put up at the same inn, and slept in the +same bedroom which was occupied by poor Didier who was put to death at +Grenoble for having raised the standard of liberty. He was surprized here +in bed by the _Carabiniere Reali_ of the Sardinian government, those +satellites of despotism; and according to the barbarous principles laid +down by the crowned heads, delivered over to the French authorities. I +observed a great many _crétins_ in this valley. + + +SUZA, 10th August. + +On the morning of the 8th August two _vetturini_ passed by the inn at St +Jean de Maurienne, and I engaged a place in one of them, as far as Turin. +We arrived at the village of Modena in the evening. The landscape is much +the same as what we have hitherto passed, but the climate is considerably +colder, from the land being more elevated. Hitherto I had suffered much +inconvenience from the heat. The next morning we reached Lans-le-Bourg, the +last town of Savoy lying at the foot of Mount Cenis. + +After breakfast we began the ascent of Mont Cenis, and I made the whole way +from Lans-le-Bourg to the _Hospice_ of Mont Cenis, that is, the whole +ascent, a distance of twenty-five Italian miles, on foot. This _chaussée_ +is another wonderful piece of work of Napoleon; a broad carriage road, wide +enough for three carriages to go abreast, and cut zig-zag with so gentle a +slope as to allow a heavy French diligence to pass, with the utmost ease, +across a mountain where it was formerly thought impossible a wheel could +ever run. This _chaussée_ is passable at all seasons of the year; the +mountain is not so high as that of the Simplon and is less liable to +impediments from the snow; the obstacles from nature are less, and you can +descend in a sledge from the _Hospice_ by gliding down the side of the +cone, and thus descending in nine or ten minutes, whereas the ascent +requires four hours' time. From Lans-le-Bourg to the _Hospice_ on +Mont-Cenis the road is on the flank of an immense mountain and you have no +ravines to cross; the road is cut zig-zag on the flank of the mountain and +forms a considerable number of very acute angles, as it is made with so +gentle a slope that you scarcely feel the difficulty of the ascent. These +repeated zig-zags and acute angles formed by the road, and the very slight +slope given to the ascent, make the different branches appear to be almost +parallel to each other, and it is a very curious and novel sight when a +number of carriages are travelling together on this road to see them with +their horses' heads turned different ways, yet all following the same +course, just like ships on different tacks beating against the wind to +arrive at the same port, a comparison that could not fail immediately to +occur to a sailor. There is scarcely ever any detention on this road from +the fall of snow, as there are a considerable number of persons employed to +_deblay_ it as soon as it falls; but here, as well as on the Simplon, there +are _maisons de refuge_ at a short distance from each other. We stopped for +two hours at the inn at Mont-Cenis, which is about one hundred yards from +the _Hospice_. It was a remarkable fine day, and I enjoyed my walk very +much. The mountain air was keen and bracing and particularly delightful +after being shut up for some many days in the close valley. We had some +excellent trout for dinner. At Mont-Cenis, near the _Hospice_, is a large +lake which is frozen during eight months of the year. Here reigns eternal +winter and the mountains are covered with snows that never melt. From +Mont-Cenis to Suza the descent is very grand and striking, and the scenery +resembles that of the Simplon; there are more obstacles of nature than on +the former part of the road, and here ravines are connected by the means of +bridges, and there are subterraneous galleries to pass thro. Several +_chutes d'eau_ are here observable; one of them I cannot avoid mentioning, +as being very magnificent. It is formed by the Cenischia[74] which divides +Savoy from Piedmont and runs into the Dora at Suza. We were highly +gratified at the sight of the sublime scenery on all sides, and at the +magnificent _chaussée_, and we all (I mean the passengers in the two +coaches and myself) did hommage to the mighty genius who conceived and +caused to be executed such a stupendous work. We arrived at Suza at six +o'clock p.m. + + +TURIN, 18th August. + +Suza is a tolerably large town and has a neat appearance. It is commanded +and defended by the fort of Brunetti, now dismantled, but which is to be +repaired according to the treaty of 1815. It will then be a very important +post and completely barr the pass of Suza. The road from Suza to Rivoli is +thro' a valley widening at every step; at Rivoli you _débouche_ at once +from the gorge of the mountain into a boundless plain. The road is then on +a magnificent _chaussée_ the whole way to Turin, and every vegetable +production announces a change of climate to those coming from Savoy. Here +are fields of wheat, indian corn, mulberry and elm trees and vines hung in +festoons from tree to tree, which give a most picturesque appearance to the +landscape, and, together with the country houses, serve as a relief to the +boundless plain. The _chaussée_ is lined with trees on each side the whole +way from Rivoli to Turin; I observed among carriages of all sorts small +cars, like those used by children, drawn by dogs. These cars contain one +person each. They are frequent in this part of the country, and such a +conveyance is called a _cagnolino_. The Convent of St Michael, situated on +an immense height to the right of the road between Suza and Rivoli, is a +very striking object. The mountain forms a single cone and it appears +impossible to reach the summit except on the back of a Hippogriff: + + E ben appar che d'animal ch'abbia ale + Sia questa stanza nido o tana propria.[75] + + The castle seemed the very neat and lair + Of animal, supplied with plume and quill. + + --Trans. W.S. ROSE. + + +TURIN, 14 August. + +Turin is a large, extremely fine and regular city, with all the streets +built at right angles. The shops are very brilliant; the two _Places_, the +_Piazza del Castello_ and the _Piazza di San Carlo_, are very spacious and +striking, and there are arcades on each side of the quadrangle formed by +them. The _Contrada del Po_ (for in Turin the streets are called +_Contrade_) leads down to the Po, and is one of the best streets in Turin. +Over the Po is a superb bridge built by Napoleon. In the centre of the +_Piazza del Castello_ stands the Royal Palace, and on one side of the +_Piazza_ the Grand Opera house. The streets in Turin are kept clean by +sluices. The favorite promenades are, during the day, under the arcades of +the _Piazza del Castello_ and those of the _Contrada del Po_; and in the +evening round the ramparts of the city, or rather on the site where the +ramparts stood. The French, on blowing up the ramparts, laid out the space +occupied by them in walks aligned by trees. The fortifications of the +citadel were likewise destroyed. + +In the Cathedral Church here the most remarkable thing is the _Chapelle du +Saint Suaire_ (holy winding sheet). It is of a circular form, is inlaid +with black marble and admits scarce any light; so that it has more the +appearance of a Mausoleum than of a Chapel. It reminded me of the _Palace +of Tears_ in the Arabian Nights. + +In the environs of Turin, the most remarkable buildings are a villa +belonging to the King called _La Venezia_, and the _Superga_, a magnificent +church built on an eminence, five miles distant from Turin. In the Royal +Palace, on the _Piazza del Castello_, there is some superb furniture, but +the exterior is simple enough. The country environing Turin forms a plain +with gentle undulations, increasing in elevation towards the Alps, which +are forty miles distant, and is so stocked with villas, gardens and +orchards as to form a very agreeable landscape. From the steeple of the +_Superga_ the view is very fine. + +In the University of Turin is a very good _Cabinet d'Histoire naturelle_, +containing a great variety of beasts, birds and fishes stuffed and +preserved; there is also a Cabinet of Comparative Anatomy, and various +imitations in wax of anatomical dissections. Among the antiquities, of +which there is a most valuable collection, are two very remarkable ones: +the one a beautiful bronze shield, found in the Po, called the shield of +Marius; it represents, in figures in bas-relief, the history of the +Jugurthine war.[76] This shield is of the most exquisite workmanship. The +other is a table of the most beautiful black marble incrusted and inlaid +with figures and hieroglyphics of silver. It is called the _Table of Isis_, +was brought from Egypt and is supposed to be of the most remote antiquity. +It is always kept polished. Among the many valuable pieces of sculpture to +be met with here is a most lovely Cupid in Parian marble. He is represented +sleeping on a lion's skin. It is the most beautiful piece of sculpture I +have ever seen next to the Apollo Belvédère and the Venus dei Medici; it +appears alive, and as if the least noise would awake it.[77] + +Turin used to be in the olden time one of the most brilliant Courts and +cities in Europe, and the most abounding in splendid equipages; now very +few are to be seen. When Piedmont was torn from the domination of the House +of Savoy and annexed to France, Turin, ceasing to be the capital of a +Kingdom, necessarily decayed in splendor, nor did its being made the _Chef +lieu_ of a _Préfecture_ of the French Empire make amends for what it once +was. The Restoration arrived, but has not been able to reanimate it; an air +of dullness pervades the whole city. Obscurantism and anti-liberal ideas +are the order of the day. + +I witnessed a military review at which the King of Sardinia assisted. The +troops made a very brilliant appearance and manoeuvred well. His Majesty +has a very good seat on horseback and a distinguished military air. He is a +man of honor tho' he has rather too high notions of the royal dignity and +authority, and is too much of a bigot in religion; but his word can be +depended on, a great point in a King; there are so many of them that break +theirs and falsify all their promises. He will not hear of a constitution, +and endeavors to abolish or discountenance all that has been effected +during his absence. The priests are caressed and restored to their +privileges, so that the inhabitants of Piedmont are exposed to a double +despotism, a military and a sacerdotal one; the last is ten times more +ruinous and fatal to liberty and improvement than the former. + +I have put up in Turin in the _Pension Suisse_, where for seven franks per +diem I have breakfast, dinner, supper and a princely bed room. The houses +are in general lofty, spacious and on a grand scale. + + +[67] Francois Lamarque, born 1756, a member of the Convention, ambassador + in Sweden, prefect of the Tarn and member of the Cour de Cassation + (1804). He was exiled in 1816.--ED. + +[68] Major Frye (who wrote the name Despinassy) certainly means + Antoine-Joseph Marie Espinassy de Fontanelle's (1787-1829), who was a + member of the Convention, voted the King's death and served in the + Republican army of the Alps. In 1816, he was banished and went to + Lausanne, where he died 1829.--ED. + +[69] Pardoux Bordas (1748-1842) was a member of the Convention. Though he + had not voted the death of Louis XVI, he was banished from France in + 1816 and did not return there before 1828.--ED. + +[70] Antoine Francis Gauthier des Orcières (1752-1838) was elected to the + Etats Généraux in 1789, and, in 1792, to the Convention, where he + voted the death of Louis XVI. Later on, he was member of the Conseil + des Anoiena, juge au tribunal de la Seine and conseiller à la cour + impériale de Paris (1815). Banished in 1816, he returned to France in + 1828. + +[71] Jean Baptists Michaud, a member of the Directoire du département du + Doubs, and a member of the National Convention, voted the death of + Louis XVI and against the proposed appeal to the people.--ED. + +[72] Jean Daniel Paul Etienne Levade (1750-1834), Protestant minister first + in England, then in Amsterdam, finally minister at Lausanne and + professor of theology at the _Académie_ of the same town.--ED. + +[73] Countess de Boigne, in her interesting _Memoirs_ (of which there is an + English translation) abstained from describing her husband's career in + India; this lends additional interest to the information collected by + Major Frye,--ED. + +[74] The manuscript has _Sennar_, a name quite unknown at Suza.--ED. + +[75] Ariosto, _Orlando Furioso_, iv, 13, 5.--ED. + +[76] This shield, now at the _Armoria Reale_, is not antique, but is + ascribed to Benvenuto Cellini.--ED. + +[77] This statue of Cupid is not antique, and has been recently ascribed to + Michelangelo (Knapp, _Michelangelo_, p. 155.)--ED. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +Journey from Turin to Bologna--Asti--Schiller and Alfieri--Italian +_cuisÃne_--The _vetturini_--Marengo--Piacenza--The Trebbia--Parma--The +Empress Maria Louisa--Modena--Bologna--The University--The Marescalchi +Gallery--Character of the Bolognese. + + +August ---- 1816 + +'Twas on a fine morning the 16th August that I took my departure from Turin +with a _vetturino_ bound to Bologna. I agreed to pay him sixty francs for +my place in the coach, supper and bed. When this stipulation for supper and +bed is included in the price fixed for your place with the _vetturino_, you +are said to be _spesato_, and then you have nothing extra to pay for but +your breakfast. There were two other travellers in the _vettura_, both +Frenchmen; the one about forty years of age was a Captain of cavalry _en +retraite_, married to a Hungarian lady and settled at Florence, to which +place he was returning; the other, a young man of very agreeable manners, +settled likewise at Florence, as chief of a manufactory there, returning +from Lyons, his native city, whither he had been to see his relations. I +never in my life met with two characters so diametrically opposite. The +Captain was quite a _bourru_ in his manners, yet he had a sort of dry, +sarcastic, satirical humour that was very diverting to those who escaped +his lash. Whether he really felt the sentiments he professed, or whether he +assumed them for the purpose of chiming in with the times, I cannot say, +but he said he rejoiced at the fall of Napoleon. My other companion, +however, expressed great regret as his downfall, not so much from a regard +for the person of Napoleon, as for the concomitant degradation and conquest +of his country, and he spoke of the affairs of France with a great deal of +feeling and patriotism. + +The Captain seemed to have little or no feeling for anybody but himself; +indeed, he laughed at all sentiment and said he did not believe in virtue +or disinterestedness. When, among other topics of conversation, the loss +the French Army sustained at Waterloo was brought on the _tapis_, he said, +"_Eh bien! qu 'importe? dans une seule nuit à Paris on en fabriquera assez +pour les remplacer!_" A similar sentiment has been attributed to the great +Condé.[78] We had a variety of amusing arguments and disputes on the road; +the Captain railed at merchants, and said that he did not believe that +honor or virtue existed among mercantile people (no compliment, by the bye, +to the young fabricant, who bore it, however, with great good humour, +contenting himself with now and then giving a few slaps at the military for +their rapacity, which mercantile people on the Continent have now and then +felt, before the French Revolution, as well as after). The whole road from +Turin to Alexandria della Paglia is a fine broad _chausée_. The first day's +journey brought us to Asti. A rich plain on each side of the road, the +horizon on our right bounded by the Appennines, on our left by the Alps, +both diverging, formed the landscape. Asti is an ancient, well and solidly +built city, but rather gloomy in its appearance. It is remarkable for being +the birthplace of Vittorio Alfieri, the celebrated tragic poet, who has +excelled all other dramatic poets in the general _dénouement_ of his +pieces, except, perhaps, Voltaire alone. I do not speak of Alfleri so much +as a poet as a _dramaturgus_. I may be mistaken, and it is, perhaps, +presumptuous in me to attempt to judge, but it has always appeared to me +that Voltaire and Alfieri have managed dramatic effect and the intrigue and +catastrophe of their tragedies better than any other authors. Shakespeare, +God as he is in genius, is in this particular very deficient. Schiller, +too, the greatest modern poetic genius perhaps and the Shakespeare of +Germany, has here failed also, and nothing can be more correct than the +estimate of Alfieri made by Forsyth[79] when, after speaking of his +defects, he says: "Yet where lives the tragic poet equal to Alfieri? +Schiller (then living also) may perhaps excel him in those peals of terror +which flash thro' his gloomy and tempestuous scene, but he is far inferior +in the mechanism of his drama." + +To return to my first day's journey from Turin. It was a very long day's +work, and we did not arrive at Asti till very late, after having performed +the last hour, half in the dark, on a road which is by no means in good +repute. The character of the lower class of Piedmontese is not good. They +are ferocious, vindictive and great marauders. They make excellent soldiers +during war and they not unfrequently, on being disbanded after peace, by +way of keeping their hand in practise and of having the image of war before +their eyes, ease the traveller of his coin and sometimes of his life. Our +conversation partook of these reminiscences, and during the latter part of +our journey turned entirely on bandits "force and guile," so that we were +quite rejoiced at seeing the smoke and light of the town of Asti and +hearing the dogs bark, which reminded me of Ariosto's lines: + + Non molto va che dalle vie supreme + De' tetti uscir vede il vapor del fuoco + Sente cani abbajar, muggire armento, + Viene alla villa, e piglia alloggiamenti.[80] + + Nor far the warrior had pursued his best, + Ere, eddying from a roof, he saw the smoke, + Heard noise of dog and kine, a farm espied, + And thitherward in quest of lodging hied. + + --_Trans_. W.S. ROSE. + +We met on alighting at the door of a large spacious inn, two ladies who had +very much the appearance of the two damsels at the inn where Don Quixote +alighted and received his order of knighthood; but, in spite of their +amorous glances and a decided leer of invitation, I had like Sacripante's +steed more need of "_riposo e d'esca che di nuova giostra_." The usual +Italian supper was put before us, and very good it was, viz., _Imprimis: A +minestra_ (soup), generally made of beef or veal with vermicelli or +macaroni in it and its never failing accompaniment in Italy, grated +Parmesan cheese. Then a _lesso_ (bouilli) of beef, veal or mutton, or all +three; next an _umido_ (fricassée) of cocks' combs and livers, a favourite +Italian dish; then a _frittura_ of chickens' livers, fish or vegetables +fried. Then an _umido_ or ragout of veal, fish with sauce; and lastly, an +arrosto (roast) of fowls, veal, game, or all three. The _arrosto_ is +generally very dry and done to cinders almost. Vegetables are served up +With the _umidi_, but plain boiled, leaving it optional to you to use +melted butter or oil with them. A salad is a constant concomitant of the +_arrosto_. A desert or fruit concludes the repast. Wine is drank at +discretion. The wine of Lombardy is light and not ill flavored; it is far +weaker than any wine I know of, but it has an excellent quality, that of +facilitating digestion. A cup of strong coffee is generally made for you in +the morning, for which you pay three or four _soldi_ (sous), and in giving +five or six _soldi_ to the waiter, all your expenses are paid supposing you +are _spesato_, i.e., that the _vetturino_ pays for your supper and bed; if +not, your charges are left to the conscience of the aubergiste, which in +Italy is in general of prodigious width. I therefore advise every traveller +who goes with a _vetturino_ to be a spesato, otherwise he will have to pay +four or five times as much and not be a whit better regaled. The +_vetturini_ generally pay from three to three and a half francs for the +supper and bed of their passengers. As the _vetturini_ invariably make a +halt of an hour and half or two hours at mid-day in some town or village, +this halt enables you to take your _déjeuner à la fourchette_, which you +pay for yourself, unless you stipulate for the payment of that also with +the _vetturino_ by paying something more, say one a half franc per diem for +that. In this part, and indeed in the whole of the north of Italy not a +female servant is to be seen at the inns and men make the beds. It is +otherwise, I understand, in Tuscany. + +The whole appearance of the country from Asti to Alexandria presents an +immense plain extremely fertile, but the crops of corn being off the +ground, the landscape would not be pleasing to the eye, were it not +relieved by the frequency of mulberry trees and the vines hung in festoons +from tree to tree. The villages and farmhouses on this road are extremely +solid and well built. We arrived at Alexandria about twelve o'clock, and +after breakfast I hired a horse to visit the field of battle of Marengo, +which is in the neighbourhood of this city, Marengo itself being a village +five miles distant from Alexandria. Arrived on the plain, I was conducted +to the spot where the first Consul stood at the time that he perceived the +approach of Desaix's division. I figured to myself the first Consul on his +white charger, halting his army, then in some confusion, riding along the +line exposed to a heavy fire from the Austrians, who cannonaded the whole +length of the line; aides-de-camp and orderlies falling around him, himself +calm and collected, "spying 'vantage," and observing that the Austrian +deployment was too extended, and their centre thereby weakened, suddenly +profiting of this circumstance to order Desaix's division to advance and +lead the charge which decided the victory on that memorable day, which, +according to Mascheroni: + + _splende + Nell' abisso de' secoli, qual Sole_. + +The whole field of battle is an extensive plain, with but few trees, and to +use Campbell's lines: + + every turf beneath the feet + Marks out a soldier's sepulchre. + +The Column, erected to commemorate this glorious victory, has been thrown +down by order of the Austrian government--a poor piece of puerile spite, +but worthy of legitimacy. Alexandria is, or rather _was_, for the +fortifications no longer exist, more remarkable for being an important +military post than for the beauty of the city itself. There is, however, a +fine and spacious _Place_, which serves as a parade for the garrison, and +being planted with trees by the French when they held it, forms an +agreeable promenade. The fortifications were blown up by the Austrians +before the place was given over to the Sardinian authorities, a flagrant +breach of faith and contract, since by the treaty of 1814 they were bound +to give up all the fortified places that were restored or ceded to the King +of Sardinia in the same state in which they were found when the French +evacuated them, and the Austrians took possession provisorily. The French +regarding (and with reason) this fortress as the key of Lombardy always +kept the fortifications in good repair and well provided with cannon. But +the Austrian government, knowing itself to be unpopular in Italy and +trembling for the safety of her dominions, being always fearful that the +Piedmontese Government might one day be induced to favour an +insurrectionary or national movement in the north of Italy, determined, +finding that it could not keep the fortress for itself, which it strove +hard to do under divers pretexts, to render it of as little use as they +possibly could do to the King of Sardinia; so they blew up the +fortifications and carried off the cannon, leaving the King without a +single fortified place in the whole of his Italian dominions to defend +himself, in case of attack, against an Austrian invasion. + +On the morning of the 15th August we passed thro' Tortona, now no longer a +fortress of consequence. All this country may be considered as classic +ground, immortalized by the campaigns of Napoleon, when commander in chief +of the army of the French Republic in Italy, a far greater and more +illustrious _rôle_ than when he assumed the Imperial bauble and +condescended to mix with the vulgar herd of Kings. + +We arrived at Voghera to breakfast and at Casteggio at night. The country +is much the same as that which we have already passed thro', being a plain, +with a rich alluvial soil, mulberry trees and a number of solidly built +stone farmhouses. The next morning at eleven o'clock we arrived at Piacenza +on the Po, and were detained a quarter of an hour at the _Douane_ of Her +Majesty the Archduchess, as Maria Louisa, the present Duchess of Parma, is +stiled, we being now arrived in her dominions. We drove to the _Hôtel di +San Marco_, which is close to the _Piazza Grande_, and alighted there. On +the Piazza stands the _Hôtel de Ville_, and in front of it are two +equestrian statues in bronze of the Princes Farnesi; the statues, however, +of the riders appear much too small in proportion with the horses, and they +resemble two little boys mounted on Lincolnshire carthorses. + +I did not visit the churches and palaces in this city from not having time +and, besides, I did not feel myself inclined or _bound_ (as some travellers +think themselves) to visit every church and every town in Italy. I really +believe the _ciceroni_ think that we _Ultramontani_ live in mud hovels in +our own country, and that we have never seen a stone edifice, till our +arrival in Italy, for every town house which is not a shop is termed a +_palazzo_, and they would conduct you to see all of them if you would be +guided by them. I had an opportunity, during the two hours we halted here, +of walking over the greater part of the city, after a hasty breakfast. +Piacenza is a large handsome city; among the females that I saw in the +streets the Spanish costume seems very prevalent, no doubt from being so +long governed by a Spanish family. + +On leaving Piacenza we passed thro' a rich meadow country and met with an +immense quantity of cattle grazing. The road is a fine broad _chaussée_ +considerably elevated above the level of the fields and is lined with +poplars. Where this land is not in pasture, cornfields and mulberry trees, +with vines in festoons, vary the landscape, which is additionally enlivened +by frequent _maisons de plaisance_ and excellently built farmhouses. We +passed thro' Firenzuola, a long well-built village, or rather _bourg_, and +we brought to the night at Borgo San Donino. At this place I found the +first bad inn I have met with in Italy, that is, the house, tho' large, was +so out of repair as to be almost a _masure_; we however met with tolerably +good fare for supper. We fell in with a traveller at Borgo San Donino, who +related to us an account of an extraordinary robbery that had been +committed a few months before near this place, in which the _then_ host was +implicated, or rather was the author and planner of the robbery. It +happened as follows. A Swiss merchant, one of those men who cannot keep +their own counsel, a _bavard_ in short, was travelling from Milan to +Bologna with his cabriolet, horse and a large portmanteau. He put up at +this inn. At supper he entered into conversation with mine host, and asked +if there was any danger of robbers on the road, for that he should be sorry +(he said) to fall into their hands, inasmuch as he had with him in his +portmanteau 24,000 franks in gold and several valuable articles of +jewellery. Mine host assured him that there was not the slightest danger. +The merchant went to bed, directing that he should be awakened at daybreak +in order to proceed on his journey. Mine host, however, took care to have +him called full an hour and half before daybreak, assuring him that light +would soon dawn. The merchant set out, but he had hardly journeyed two +miles when a shot from behind a hedge by the road side brought his horse to +the ground. Four men in masks rushed up, seized him and bound him to a +tree; they then rifled his portmanteau, took out his money and jewels and +wished him good morning. + +Before we arrived at Borgo San Donino we crossed the Trebbia, one of the +many tributary streams of the Po, and which is famous for two celebrated +battles, one in ancient, the other in modern tunes (and probably many +others which I do not recollect); but here it was that Hannibal gained his +second victory over the Romans; and here, in 1799, the Russians under +Souvoroff defeated the French under Macdonald after an obstinate and +sanguinary conflict; but they could not prevent Macdonald from effecting +his junction with Massena, to hinder which was Souvoroff's object. In fact, +in this country, to what reflections doth every spot of ground we pass, +over, give rise! Every field, every river has been the theatre of some +battle or other memorable event either in ancient or modern times. + + _Quis gurges aut quae flumina lugubris + Ignara belli?[81]_ + +We started from Borgo San Donino next morning; about ten miles further on +the right hand side of the road stands an ancient Gothic fortress called +Castel Guelfo. Between this place and Parma there is a very troublesome +river to pass called the Taro, which at times is nearly dry and at other +times, so deep as to render it hazardous for a carriage to pass, and it is +at all times requisite to send on a man to ford and sound it before a +carriage passes. This river fills a variety of separate beds, as it +meanders very much, and it extends to such a breadth in its _débordements_, +as to render it impossible to construct a bridge long enough to be of any +use. + +This, however, being the dry season, we passed it without difficulty. Two +or three other streams on this route, _seguaci del Po_, are crossed in the +same manner. + +The road to Parma, after passing the Taro, lies nearly in a right line and +is bordered with poplars. If I am not mistaken, it was somewhere in this +neighbourhood that the Carthaginians under Hannibal suffered a great loss +in elephants, who died from cold, being incamped during the winter. I am +told there is not a colder country in Europe than Lombardy during the +winter season, which arises no doubt from its vicinity to the Alps. + +Opulence seems to prevail in all the villages in the vicinity of Parma, and +an immense quantity of cattle is seen grazing in the meadows on each side +of the road. The female peasantry wear the Spanish costume and are +remarkably well dressed. + +We arrived at Parma at twelve o'clock and stopped there three hours. + + +PARMA. + +After a hasty breakfast, Mr G-- and myself sallied forth to see what was +possible during the time we stopped in this city, leaving the Captain, who +refused to accompany us, to smoke his pipe. This city is very large and +there is a very fine _Piazza._ The streets are broad, the buildings +handsome and imposing, and there is a general appearance of opulence. We +first proceeded to visit the celebrated amphitheatre, called _l'Amfiteatro +Farnese_ in honour of the former sovereigns of the Duchy. It is a vast +building and unites the conveniences both of the ancient and modern +theatres. It has a roof like a modern theatre, and the seats in the +_parterre_ are arranged like the seats in an ancient Greek theatre. Above +this are what we should call boxes, and above them again what we usually +term a gallery. A vast and deep arena lies between the _parterre_ and the +orchestra and fills up the space between the audience and the _proscenium_. +It is admirably adapted both for spectators and hearers; when a tragedy, +comedy or opera is acted, a scaffolding is erected and seats placed in the +arena. At other times the arena is made use of for equestrian exercises and +chariot races in the style of the ancients, combats with wild beasts, etc., +or it may be filled with water for the representation of naval fights +(_naumachia_); in this case you have a vast oval lake between the +spectators and the stage. It is a great pity that this superb and +interesting building is not kept in good repair; the fact is it is seldom +or ever made use of except on very particular occasions: it is almost +useless in a place like Parma, "so fallen from its high estate," but were +such an amphitheatre in Paris, London, or any great city, it might be used +for all kinds of _spectacles_ and amusements. A small theatre from the +design of Bernino stands close to this amphitheatre, and is built in a +light tasteful manner. If fresh painted and lighted up it would make a very +brilliant appearance. This may be considered as the Court theatre. At a +short distance from the theatres is the Museum of Parma, in which there is +a well chosen gallery of pictures. Among the most striking pictures of the +old school is without doubt that of St Jerôme by Correggio; but I was full +as much, dare I be so heretical as to say more pleased, with the +productions of the modern school of Parma. A distribution of prizes had +lately been made by the Empress Maria Louisa, and there were many +paintings, models of sculpture and architectural designs, that did infinite +credit to the young artists. I remarked one painting in particular which is +worthy of a Fuseli. It represented the battle of the river God Scamander +with Achilles. The subjects of most of the paintings I saw here were taken +from the mythology or from ancient and modern history; and this is perhaps +the reason that they pleased me more than those of the ancient masters. Why +in the name of the [Greek: to kalon] did these painters confine +themselves so much to Madonnas, Crucifixions, and Martyrdoms, when their +own poets, Ariosto and Tasso, present so many subjects infinitely more +pleasing? Then, again, in many of these crucifixions and martyrdoms, the +gross anachronisms, such as introducing monks and soldiers with match-locks +and women in Gothic costume at the crucifixion, totally destroy the +seriousness and interest of the subject by annihilating all illusion and +exciting risibility. + +Parma will ever be renowned in history as the birthplace of Caius Cassius, +the Mend and colleague of Brutus. + +The Empress Maria Louisa lives here in the Ducal Palace, which is a +spacious but ornamental edifice. She lives, 'tis said, without any +ostentation. Out of her own states, her presence in Italy would be attended +with unpleasant consequences to the powers that be, on account of the +attachment borne to Napoleon by all classes of society; and it is on this +account that on her last visit to Bologna she received an intimation from +the papal authorities to quit the Roman territory in twenty-four hours. We +next passed thro' St Hilario and Reggio and brought to the evening at the +village of Rubbiera. At St Hilario is the entrance into the Duke of +Modena's territory, and here we underwent again &n examination of trunks, +as we did both on entering and leaving the territory of Maria Louisa. + +Reggio is a large walled city, but I had only time to visit the Cathedral +and to remark therein a fine picture of the Virgin and the Chapel called +"Capella della Morte." Reggio pretends to the honour of having given birth +to the Divine Ariosto: + + Quel grande che cantò l'armi e gli amorl, + +as Guarini describes him, I believe. The face of the country from Parma to +Reggio is exactly the same as what we have passed thro' already. + +The next day (20 August) we passed thro' Modena, where we stopped to +breakfast and refresh horses. It is a large and handsome city, the Ducal +Palace is striking and in the Cathedral is presented the famous bucket +which gave rise to the poem of Tassoni called _La Secchia rapita._ An air +of opulence and grandeur seems to prevail in Modena. + +At Samoggia we entered the Papal territory and again underwent a search of +trunks. Within three miles of Bologna a number of villas and several +tanneries, which send forth a most intolerable odour, announce the approach +to that celebrated and venerable city. On the left hand side, before +entering the town, is a superb portico with arcades, about one and a half +miles in length, which leads from the city to the church of San Luca. On +the right are the Appennines, towering gradually above you. Bologna lies at +the foot of these mountains on the eastern side and here the plain ends for +those who are bound to Florence, which lies on the western side of the vast +ridge which divides Italy. We arrived at Bologna at half-past seven in the +evening, and here we intend to repose a day or two; I shall then cross the +Appennines for the first time in my life. A reinforcement of mules or oxen +is required for every carriage; from the ascent the whole way you can +travel, I understand, very little quicker _en poste_ than with a +_vetturino_. We are lodged at Bologna in a very comfortable inn called +_Locanda d'Inghilterra_. + + +BOLOGNA, 22d August. + +The great popularity of Bologna, which is a very large and handsomely built +city, lies in the colonnaded porticos and arcades on each side of the +streets throughout the whole city. These arcades are mightily convenient +against sun and rain, and contradict the assertion of Rousseau, who +asserted that England was the only country in the world where the safety of +foot passengers is consulted, whereas here in Bologna not only are +_trottoirs_ broader than those of London in general, but you are +effectually protected against sun and rain, and are not obliged to carry an +umbrella about with you perpetually as in London. This arcade system, is, +however, rather a take off from the beauty of the city, and gives it a +gloomy heavy appearance, which is not diminished by the sight of friars and +mendicants with which this place swarms, and announce to you that you are +in the holy land. At Bologna it is necessary to have a sharp eye on your +baggage, on account of the crowds of ragged _fainéans_ that surround your +carriage while it is unloading. + +The first thing that the _ciceroni_ generally take you to see in Italy are +the churches, and mine would not probably have spared me one, but I was +more anxious to see the University. I however allowed him to lead me into +two of the principal churches, viz., the _Duomo_ or Cathedral, and the +church of San Petronio, both magnificent Gothic temples and worth the +attention of the traveller. On the _Piazza del Gigante_ is a fine bronze +statue of Neptune. The _Piazza_ takes its name from this statue, as at one +time in Italy, after the introduction of Christianity and when the ancient +mythology was totally forgotten, the statues of the Gods were called Giants +or named after Devils and their prototypes believed to be such. + +In the Museum at the University is an admirable collection of fossils, +minerals, and machines in every branch of science. There are some excellent +pictures also; the University of Bologna was, you know, at all times famous +and its celebrity, is not at all diminished, for I believe Bologna boasts +more scientific men, and particularly in the sciences _positives_, than any +other city in Italy. + +In the _Palazzo pubblico_ (_Hôtel de Ville_) is a Christ and a Samson by +Guido Reni; but what pleased me most in the way of painting was the +collection in the gallery of Count Marescalchi. The Count has been at great +pains to form it and has shown great taste and discernment. It is a small +but unique collection. Here is to be seen a head of Christ, the colouring +of which is so brilliant as to illuminate the room in which it is appended, +when the shutters are closed, and in the absence of all other light except +what appears thro' the crevices of the window shutters. This head, however, +does not seem characteristic of Christ; it wants the gravity, the soft +melancholy and unassuming meekness of the _great Reformer_: in short, from +the vivid fire of the eyes and the too great self-complacency of the +countenance, it gave me rather the idea + + Del biondo Dio che in Tessalia si adorá. + +I passed two hours in this cabinet. I next repaired to the centre of the +city with the intention of ascending one at least of the two square towers +or _campanili_ which stand close together, one of which is _strait_, the +other a leaning one. _Garisendi_ is the name of the leaning tower, and it +forms a parallelipipedon of 140 feet in height and about twenty feet in +breath and length. It leans so much as to form an angle of seventy-five +degrees with the ground on which it stands. The other tower, the strait +one, is called _Asinelli_ and is a parallelipipedon of 310 feet in height +and about twenty-five feet in length and breadth. I ascended the leaning +tower, but I found the fatigue so great that I was scarcely repaid by the +fine view of the surrounding country, which presents on one side an immense +plain covered with towns, villages and villas, and on the other the +Appennines towering one above another. When on the top of _Garisendi_, +_Asinelli_ appears to be four times higher than its neighbour, and the bare +aspect of its enormous height deterred me from even making the attempt of +ascending it. When viewed or rather looked down upon from _Garisendi_, +Bologna, from its being of an elliptical form and surrounded by a wall and +from having these two enormous towers in the centre, resembles a boat with +masts. + +From the great celebrity of its University and the eminent men it has +produced, Bologna is considered as the most litterary city of Italy. +Galvani was born in Bologna and studied at this University, and among the +modern prodigies is a young lady who is professor of Greek and who is by +all accounts the most amiable _Bas bleu_ that ever existed.[82] The +Bolognese are a remarkably fine, intelligent and robust race of people, and +are renowned for their republican spirit, and the energy with which they at +all times resisted the encroachments of the Holy See. Bologna was at one +time a Republic, and on their coins is the word Libertas. The Bolognese +never liked the Papal government and were much exasperated at returning +under the domination of the Holy Father. In the time of Napoleon, Bologna +formed part of the _Regno d'ltalia_ and partook of all its advantages. +Napoleon is much regretted by them; and so impatiently did the inhabitants +bear the change, on the dismemberment of the kingdom of Italy, and their +transfer to the pontifical sceptre, that on Murat's entry in their city in +1815 the students and other young men of the town flew to arms and in a few +hours organised three battalions. Had the other cities shown equal energy +and republican spirit, the revolution would have been completed and Italy +free; but the fact is that the Italians in general, tho' discontented, had +no very high opinion of Murat's talents as a political character, and he +besides _committed_ a great fault in not entering Rome on his march and +revolutionising it. Murat, like most men, was ruined by half-measures. The +last tune that Maria Louisa was here the people surrounded the inn where +she resided and hailed her with cries of _Viva I'Imperatrice!_ The Pope's +legate in consequence intimated to her the expediency of her immediate +departure from the city, with a request that she would not repeat her +visit. Bologna is considered by the Ultras, _Obscuranten,_ and _Éteignoirs_ +as the focus and headquarters of Carbonarism. + +In the evening I visited the theatre built by Bibbiena and had the pleasure +of hearing for the first time an Italian tragedy, which, however, are now +rarely represented and scarcely ever well acted. This night's performance +formed an exception and was satisfactory. The piece was _Romeo and +Giulietta_. The actress who did the part of Giulietta performed it with +great effect, particularly in the tomb scene. In this scene she reminded me +forcibly of our own excellent actress, Miss O'Neill. This was the only part +of the play that had any resemblance to the tragedy of Shakespeare. All the +rest was on the French model. I saw a number of beautiful women in the +boxes. The Bolognese women are remarkable for their fine complexions; those +that I saw were much inclined to _embonpoint_. + + +[79] And also to Napoleon, after the battle at Eylau.--ED. + +[80] Joseph Forsyth (1763-1815), author of _Remarks on antiquities, arts + and letters in Italy_, London, 1813.--ED. + +[81] Horace, _Carm._, II, I, 33.--ED. + +[82] The young woman in question was Clotilda Tambroni (1768-1818). She + taught Greek at the University of Bologna and was in correspondence + with the great French scholar Ansse de Villoison.--ED. + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +Journey across the Appennines to Florence--Tuscan idioms and +customs--Monuments and galleries at Florence--The Cascino--Churches-- +Theatres--Popularity of the Grand Duke--Napoleon's downfall not +regretted--Academies in Florence. + + +FLORENCE, 26th August. + +The moment you leave Bologna to go to Florence you enter the gorges of the +Appennines, and after journeying seven miles, begin to ascend the ridge. +The ascent begins at Pianoro. Among these mountains the scenery is wild and +romantic, and tho' not so grandiose and sublime as that of the Alps, is +nevertheless extremely picturesque. One meets occasionally with the ruins +of old castles on some of the heights, and I was strongly reminded, at the +sight of these antique edifices, of the mysteries of Udolpho and the times +of the Condottieri. The silence that reigns here is only interrupted by the +noise of the waterfall and the occasional scream of the eagle. The wild +abrupt transition of landscape would suggest the idea of haunting places +for robbers, yet one seldom or never hears of any, on this road. In Tuscany +there is, I understand, so much industry and morality, that a robbery is a +thing unknown; but in his Holiness's dominions, from the idleness and +poverty that prevails, they are said to be frequent. Why it does not occur +in these mountains, in that part of them, at least, which belongs to the +Papal Government, I am at a loss to conceive. + +Here the chesnut and olive trees salute the Ultramontane traveller for the +first time. The olive tree, tho' a most useful, is not an ornamental one, +as it resembles a willow or osier in its trunk and in the colour of its +leaves. The chesnut tree is a glorious plant for an indolent people, since +it furnishes food without labour, as the Xaca or Jack fruit tree does +to the Cingalese in Ceylon. On one of the heights between Pianoro and +Lojano you have in very clear weather a view of both the Adriatic and +Tyrrhene seas. We brought to the night at Scarica l'Asino and the next +morning early we entered the Tuscan territory at Pietra Mala, where there +is a _Douane_ and consequently an examination of trunks. At one o'clock we +arrived at an inn called _Le Maschere_, about fifteen miles distance from +Florence; it is a large mansion and being situated on an eminence commands +an extensive view. One becomes soon aware of being in the Tuscan territory +from the number of cultivated spots to be seen in this part of the +Appennines: for such is the industry of the inhabitants that they do +wonders on their naturally sterile soil. One sees a number of farms. Every +spot of ground is in cultivation, between _Le Maschere_ and Florence in +particular; these spots of ground, gardens, orchards and villas forming a +striking and pleasing contrast with the wild and dreary scenery of the +Appennines. Another thing that indicates one's arrival among the Tuscans is +their aspiration of the letter _c_ before _a_, _o_ and _u_, which is at +first extremely puzzling to a foreigner accustomed only to the Roman +pronunciation. For instance, instead of _camera_, _cotto_, _curvo_, they +pronounce these words _hamera_, _hotto_, and _hurvo_ with an exceeding +strong aspiration of the _h_. It is the same too with the _ch_ which they +aspirate, _ex gr._ instead of _pochino_, _chiave_, they say _pohino_, +_hiave_. The language however which is spoken is the most classical and +pure Italian and except the above mentioned aspiration it is delightful to +the ear; peculiarly so to those who come from the north of Italy, and have +only hitherto heard the unpleasing nasal twang of the Milanese and the +exceeding uncouth barbarous dialect of Bologna. Another striking +peculiarity is the smart appearance of the Tuscan peasantry. They are a +remarkably handsome race of men; the females unite with their natural +beauty a grace and elegance that one is quite astonished to find among +peasants. They express themselves in the most correct and classical +language and they have a great deal of repartee. As the peasantry of +Tuscany enjoy a greater share of _aisance_ than falls to the lot of those +of any other country, and as the females dress with taste and take great +pains to appear smart on all occasions, they resemble rather the +shepherdesses on the Opera stage or those of the fabled Arcadia than +anything in real life. The females too are remarkably industrious and will +work like horses all the week to gain wherewithal to appear smart on +holidays. Their dress is very becoming, and they wear sometimes jewellery +to a large amount on their persons; a very common ornament among them is a +collar of gold around their necks. Their usual head-dress is either a white +straw hat, or a black round beaver hat, with black ostrich feathers. I +prefer the straw hat; it is more tasteful than the round hat which always +seems to me too masculine for a woman. At the inn at _Le Maschere_ we were +waited on by three smart females. The whole road from _Le Maschere_ to +Florence is very beautiful and diversified. Vineyards, gardens, farm houses +and villas thicken as one approaches and when arrived within three miles of +Florence, which lies in a basin surrounded by mountains, one is quite +bewildered at the sight of the quantity of beautiful villas and _maisons de +plaisance_ in every direction. + +Every thing indicates life, industry and comfort in this charming country. +We stopped at a villa belonging to the Grand Duke called _II Pratolino_, +seven miles distant from Florence. Here is to be seen the famous statue +representing the genius of the Appennines. The Villa is unfurnished and out +of repair and the garden and grounds are neglected: it is a great pity, for +it is a fine building and in a beautiful position. The celebrated Bianca +Capello, a Venetian by birth, and mistress of Francesco II de' Medici, +Grand Duke of Tuscany, used to reside here. + + +FLORENCE, 27th August. + +I am extremely well pleased with my accommodations at the hotel where I am +lodged. Mme Hembert, the proprietor, was once _femme de chambre_ to the +Empress Joséphine; she is an excellent woman and a very attentive hostess, +and I recommend her hotel to all those travellers who visit Florence and do +not care to incur the expence of Schneider's. There is an excellent and +well served _table d'hôte_ at two o'clock, wine at discretion, for which, +and for my bedroom, I pay seven _paoli_ per day. This hotel has the +advantage of being in a very central situation. It is close to the _Piazza +del Gran Duca_, the post-office, the _Palazzo Vecchio_, the Bureaux of +Government, the celebrated Gallery of Sculpture and Painting and to the +Arno. It is only 300 yards from the _Piazza del Duomo_, where the Cathedral +stands, and 600 yards from the principal theatre _Della Pergola_ on the one +side; while on the other side, after crossing the _Ponte Vecchio_, stands +the _Palazzo Pitti_, the residence of the Grand Duke, at a distance of +seven or 800 yards. + +The _Piazza del Gran Duca_ is very striking to the eye of the northern +traveller; the statues of the Gods in white marble in the open air would +make him fancy himself in Athens in the olden time. The following statues +in bronze and white marble are to be seen on this _Piazza_. In bronze are: +a statue of Perseus by Cellini; Judith with the head of Holofernes by +Donatello; David and Goliath; Samson. In white marble are the following +beautiful statues: a group representing Hercules and Cacus; another +representing a Roman carrying off a Sabine woman. The Hercules, who is in +the act of strangling Cacus, rests on one leg. Nearly in the centre of the +_Piazza_, opposite to the post office and in front of the _Palazzo +Vecchio_, is the principal ornament of the _Piazza_, which consists of a +group representing Neptune in his car or conch (or shell) drawn by +sea-horses and accompanied by Tritons. The statue of Neptune is of colossal +size, the whole group is in marble and the conch of Egyptian granite. This +group forms a fountain. There is likewise on this _Piazza_ an immense +equestrian statue in bronze of Cosmo the First by John of Bologna. The +_Palazzo Vecchio_ is a large Gothic building by Arnulpho and has a very +lofty square tower or _campanile_. + +The Gallery of Florence being so close to my abode demanded next my +attention. The building in which this invaluable Museum is preserved forms +three sides of a parallelogram, two long ones and one short one, of which +the side towards the south of the quai of the Arno is the short one. + +On the north is an open space communicating with the _Piazza del Gran +Duca_. The Gallery occupies the whole first floor of this vast building. +The _rez de chaussée_ is occupied, on the west side, by the bureaux of +Government, and on the south and east sides by shopkeepers, in whose shops +is always to be seen a brilliant display of merchandize. As there are +arcades on the three sides of this parallelogram, they form the favorite +meridian promenade of the _belles_ and _beaux_ of Florence, particularly on +Sundays and holidays, after coming out of Church. I ascended the steps from +a door on the east side of the building, to visit the Gallery. + +The quantity and variety of objects of art, of the greatest value, baffle +all description, and it would require months and years to attempt an +analysis of all it contains. I shall therefore content myself with pointing +out those objects which imprinted themselves the most forcibly on my +imagination and recollection. In a chamber on the left hand of one wing of +the Gallery stands the Venus de' Medici, sent back last year from France. +In the same chamber with her are the following statues: the extremely +beautiful _Apollino_; the spotted Faun; the _Rémouleur_ or figure which is +in the act of whetting a sickle. All these were in Paris, and are now +restored to this Gallery. In this chamber two pictures struck me in +particular: the one the Venus of Titian, a most voluptuous figure; the +other a portrait of the mistress of Rafaello, called "_La Fornarina_," from +her being a baker's daughter. + +Returning to the Gallery I was quite bewildered at the immense number of +statues, pictures, sarcophagi, busts, altars, etc. Among the pieces of +sculpture those that most caught my attention were: the _Venus genetrix_ +(which I had seen before at Paris); the _Venus victrix_; the _Venus +Anadyomene_; Hercules and Nessus, a superb groupe; a young Bacchus; and an +exquisitely chiselled group representing Pan teaching Olympus to play the +syrinx, tho' the attitude of the former is rather indecorous from not being +in a very quiescent state; a fine statue of Leda with the swan; a Mercury, +both worthy of great attention. I remarked also in particular a statue of +Marsyas attached to a tree and flayed. It is of a pale reddish marble, and +tho' I perfectly agree with Forsyth, that colored marble is not at all +adapted to statuary, yet in this instance it gives a wonderful effect and +is strikingly suitable, as the slight reddish colour gives a full idea of +the flesh after the skin is torn off. It makes one shudder to look at it. +In one of the halls are the statues of Niobe and her daughters, a beautiful +group. Then there is the celebrated copy of the group of the Laocoon by +Bandinelli, which none but the most perfect and skilful connoisseur could +distinguish from the original. But it is totally impossible for me to +describe the immense variety of paintings, historical, portrait and +landscape; the statues single or in groups; the sarcophagi, altars, +bas-reliefs, inscriptions, bronzes, medals, vases, baths, candelabra, +cameos, Etruscan and Egyptian idols with which this admirable Museum is +filled. In a line on each side of the Gallery near the ceiling is a +succession of portraits in chronological order of the Grand Dukes of +Tuscany, the Germanic Emperors, the Kings of France, of England, of Spain, +of Portugal, of the Popes and of the Ottoman Emperors. Among the +antiquities I particularly noticed a large steel mirror and a Roman Eagle +in bronze of the 24th Legion. + +Having passed full four hours in this Museum, I descended the steps, +crossed the Arno and repaired to the building in which is preserved the +_Cabinet d'Histoire Naturelle_. In this Museum what is most remarkable are +the imitations in wax of the whole anatomy of the human body. It is the +first collection of its kind; indeed it is unique in Europe. These +imitations are kept in glass cases and are so true and so perfectly correct +as to leave nothing to desire to the student in anatomy. These imitations +in wax not only include all the details of anatomy, but also the progress +of generation, gestation, and of almost every malady to which the human +body is liable. They are of a frightful exactitude. There are likewise in +this Museum imitations in wax of various plants and shrubs exotic as well +as indigenous and the collection of stuffed birds, beasts and fishes and +that of insects, mineralogy and conchology scarcely yields to the +collection at the _Jardin des Plantes_ at Paris. Neither here nor at the +Florentine gallery are fees allowed to be taken; on the contrary a strict +prohibition of them is posted up in the French, Italian, German and English +languages. + +On the _Ponte Vecchio_ on each side are jewellers' shops, who sell besides +jewellery, cameos and works in mosaic. The Quais on each side of the Arno +are very broad and spacious and form agreeable promenades in the winter +season. The buildings on the banks of the Arno are magnificent. The streets +of Florence have this peculiarity that they are all paved with large flag +stones, which makes them mightily pleasant for pedestrians, but dangerous +at times for horses who are apt to slip. Most of the houses in Florence +have walls of prodigious thickness; one would suppose each house was meant +to be a fortress in case of necessity. + + +FLORENCE, 29th August. + +On the other side of the Arno, a little beyond the _Cabinet Physique_ and +Museum of Natural History stands the _Palazzo Pitti_, the residence of the +Grand Duke. It is a vast building and has a large and choice collection of +pictures; but its finest ornament in my opinion is the statue of Venus by +Canova, which to me at least appears to equal the Medicean Venus in beauty +and in grace. The magnificent and spacious garden belonging to the Palace +is called the garden of Boboli. These gardens form the grand promenade of +the Florentines on Sundays and holidays. The alleys are well shaded by +trees, which effectually protect the promenaders from the rays of the sun. +There are a great many statues in this garden, but the most striking is a +group which lies nearly in the centre of the garden. It is environed by a +large circular basin or lake lined with stone and planted with orange trees +on the whole circumference. In the centre of the lake is a rock and on this +rock is a colossal statue in white marble of Neptune in his car. The car is +in the shape of a marine conch and serves as a basin and fountain at the +same time. There are several other fountains and _jets d'eau_, among which +is a group representing Adam and Eve and the statue of a man pouring out +water from a vase which he has on his shoulder. + +The _Corso_ or grand evening promenade for carriages and equestrians is on +a place called the Cascino, pronounced by the Florentines _Hascino_. The +Cascino consists of pleasure grounds on the banks of the Arno outside the +town, laid out in roads, alleys and walks for carriages, equestrians and +pedestrians. There is a very brilliant display of carriages every evening. +There are _restaurants_ on the Cascino and supper parties are often formed +here. This place is often the scene of curious adventures. Cicisbeism is +universal at Florence, tho' far from being always criminal, as is generally +supposed by foreigners. I find the Florentine women very graceful and many +very handsome; but in point of beauty the female peasantry far exceed the +_noblesse_ and burghers. All of them however dress with taste. The +handsomest woman in Florence is the wife of an apothecary who lives in the +_Piazza del Duomo_ and she has a host of admirers. + +On the promenade _lungo l'Arno_ near the Cascino is a fountain with a +statue of Pegasus, with an inscription in Italian verse purporting that +Pegasus having stopped there one day to refresh himself at this fountain, +found the place so pleasant that he remained there ever since. This is a +poetic nation _par excellence_. _Affiches_ are announced in sonnets and +other metres; and tho' in other countries the votaries of the Muses are but +too apt to neglect the ordinary and vulgar concerns of life, yet here it by +no means diminishes industry, and the nine Ladies are on the best possible +terms with Mr Mercury. + +I shall not attempt a description of the various _palazzi_ and churches of +Florence, tho' I have visited, thanks to the zeal and importunity of my +_cicerone_, nearly all, except to remark that no one church in Florence, +the Cathedral and Baptistery on the _Piazza del Duomo_ excepted, has its +façade finished, and they will remain probably for ever unfinished, as the +completion of them would cost very large sums of money, and the restored +Government, however anxious to resuscitate the _ancient faith_, are not +inclined to make large disbursements from their own resources for that +purpose. I wish however they would finish the façade of two of these +churches, viz., that of _Santa Maria Novella_ and that of _Santa Croce_. +_Santa Maria Novella_ stands in the Piazza of that name which is very +large. It is a beautiful edifice, and can boast in the interior of it +several columns and pilasters of _jaune antique_ and of white marble. But +they have a most barbarous custom in Florence of covering these columns +with red cloth on _jours de Fête_, which spoils the elegant simplicity of +the columns and makes the church itself resemble a _théâtre des +Marionnettes_. But the Italians are dreadfully fond of gaudy colours. In +the church of _Santa Croce_ what most engaged my attention was the monument +erected to Vittorio Alfieri, sculptured by Canova. It is a most beautiful +piece of sculpture. A figure of Italy crowned with turrets seems fully +sensible of the great loss she has sustained in one who was so ardent a +patriot, as well as an excellent tragic poet. This monument was erected at +the expence of the Countess of Albany (Queen of England, had _legitimacy_ +always prevailed, or been as much in fashion as it now is) as a mark of +esteem and affection towards one who was so tenderly attached to her, and +of whom in his writings Alfieri speaks with the endearing and affectionate +appellation of _mia Donna_. The beautiful sonnet to her, which accompanies +the dedication of his tragedy of _Mirra_, well deserves the monument; there +is so much feeling in it that I cannot retrain from transcribing it: + + Vergognando talor, che ancor si taccia, + Donna, per me l'almo tuo nome in fronte + Di queste omai glà troppe a te ben conte + Tragedie, ond'io di folle avrommi taccia; + + Or vo' qual d'esse meno a te dispiaccia + Di te fregiar; benchè di tutte il fonte + Tu sola fosti, e'l viver mio non conte + Se non dal Di, ch'al viver tuo si allaccia. + + Della figlia di Ciniro infelice + L'orrendo a un tempo ed innocente amore + Sempre da' tuoi begli occhi il planto elice; + + Prova emmi questo, ch'al mio dubbio core + Tacitamente imperiosa dice, + Ch'io di Mirra consacri a te il dolore. + +In this sanctuary (church of the _Santa Croce_) are likewise the tombs and +monuments of other great men which Italy has produced. There is the +monument erected to Galileo which represents the earth turning round the +sun with the emphatic words: _Eppur si muove._ Here too repose the ashes of +Machiavelli and Michel Angelo. This church is in fact the Westminster Abbey +of Florence. + +To go from the _Piazza del gran Duca_ to the _Piazza del Duomo_, where +stands the Cathedral, you have only to pass thro' a long narrow street or +rather alley (for it is impervious to carriages) with shops on each side +and always filled with people going to or returning from the Duomo. This +Cathedral is of immense size. The architecture is singular from its being a +mixture of the Gothic and Greek. It appears the most ponderous load that +ever was laid on the shoulders of poor mother earth. There is nothing light +in its structure to relieve the massiveness of the building, and in this +respect it forms a striking contrast to the Cathedral of Milan which +appears the work of Sylphs. The outside of this Duomo of Florence is +decorated and incrusted with black and white marble, which increases the +massiveness of its appearance. The steeple or Campanile stands by itself, +altogether separate from the Cathedral, and this is the case with most of +the Churches in Italy that are not of pure Gothic architecture. This +_Campanile_ is curiously inlaid and incrusted on its outside with red, +white and black marble. The Baptistery is another building on the same +_Piazza_. It is in the same stile of building as the Duomo, but incloses +much less space, and was formerly a separate church, called the church of +St John the Baptist. The immense bronze doors or rather gates, both of the +Duomo and Battisterio, attracted my peculiar notice. On them are figured +bas-reliefs of exquisite and admirable workmanship, representing Scripture +histories. It was the symmetry and perfection of these gates that induced +Michel Angelo to call them in a fit of enthusiasm _The Gates of Paradise_. +At the door of the Battisterio are the columns in red granite, which once +adorned the gates of the city at Pisa, and were carried off by the +Florentines in one of their wars. Chains are fastened round these columns, +as a memorial of the conquest. The cupolas both of the Duomo and +Battisterio are octangular. There is a stone seat on the _Piazza del Duomo_ +where they pretend that Dante used occasionally to sit; hence it is called +to this day _Il Sasso di Dante_. + +You will now no doubt expect me to give some account of the theatres. At +the _Pergola_, which is a large and splendid theatre, I have seen two +operas; the one, _L'Italiana in Algieri_, which I saw before at Milan last +year; the other, the _Barbieri di Seviglia_ by Rossini, which afforded to +my ears the most delightful musical feast they ever enjoyed. The cavatina +_Una voce poco fa_ gave me inconceivable delight. The _Ballo_ was of a very +splendid description and from a subject taken from the Oriental history +entitled _Macbet Sultan of Delhi_. How the Mogul Sultan came to have the +name of Macbet I know not. On the _plafond_ of the _Pergola_ is an +allegorical painting representing the restored Kings of Europe replaced on +their thrones by Valor and Justice. The decorations at this theatre are not +quite so splendid as those of the _Scala_ at Milan, but living horses and +military evolutions seem to be annexed to every historical _Ballo_. Horses +indeed appear to be an indispensable ingredient in the _Balli_ in the large +cities of Italy. + +In the _Teatro Cocomera_, comedies are performed, and very generally those +of the inexhaustible Goldoni. I saw the _Bugiardo_ very fairly performed at +this theatre. The story is nearly the same as that of our piece, _The +Liar_, which is I believe imitated from _Le Menteur_ of Corneille. The +actor who did the Liar was a very good one. The actresses screamed too much +and were rather coarse. Another night at the theatre I saw a piece call'd +_II furioso_, a _comédie larmoyante_ which was interesting and well given; +but the voice of the prompter was occasionally too loud. Tragedies are very +seldom played; the language of Alfieri could never, I will not say be given +with effect, but even conceived by the modern actors. It would be like a +tragedy of Sophocles performed by boys at school. There is another reason +too why these tragedies are not given; they abound too much in republican +and patriotic sentiments to be grateful to the ears of the Princes who +reign in Italy, all of whom being of foreign extraction and unshackled by +constitutions, come under the denomination of those beings called by Greeks +[Greek: Turannoi], I use this word in its Greek sense. Of the Tuscan +Government it is but justice to say that from the days of Leopold to the +present day it was and is a mild, just and paternal government, more so +perhaps than any in Europe; and the only one that can any way reconcile one +altogether to those lines of Pope: + + For forms of Government let fools contest; + Whate'er is best administer'd is best.[83] + +In the time of Leopold the factious nobility were kept in check, and the +industrious classes, mercantile and agricultural, encouraged. The peasantry +were, and are, the most affluent in Europe; and this is no small incitement +to the industry that prevails. On the elevation of Leopold to the throne of +the Caesars, the present Grand Duke succeeded in Tuscany; and he followed +the same system that Leopold did, and was equally beloved by his subjects. +Tuscany was the only country in Italy that did not desire a change at the +period of the French conquest, and the only state wherein the French were +not hailed as deliverers. The Tuscans exhibited a very honorable spirit on +the occasion of Buonaparte's visit to the Grand Duke in 1797. They went +together to the Theatre della Pergola, and on their entering into the Grand +Ducal box, the Grand Duke was hailed with cries of _Viva il Nostro +Sovrano_: now this proof of attachment at a period when Buonaparte was +all-mighty in Italy, when the Grand Duke was but an inferior personage, at +a time too when it was doubtful whether or not he would be dethroned, and +in the very presence of the mighty conqueror, reflects great honor and +credit on the Tuscan character. Buonaparte was much struck at this proof of +disinterested attachment on the part of the Florentines towards their +Sovereign, and told the Grand Duke very ingenuously that he had received +orders to revolutionize the country, from the French Directory; but that as +he perceived the people were so happy, and the Prince so beloved, he could +not and would not attempt to make any change. + +The applause given to the Grand Duke at this critical period is so much the +more creditable to the Florentines as they in general receive their Prince, +on his presenting himself at the theatre, with no other ceremonial than +rising once and bowing. There is no fulsome _God save the King_ repeated +even to nausea, as at the English theatres. In fact none of the Italians +pay that servile adulation to their Sovereigns that the French and English +do. + +The changes projected in Italy at the treaty of Lunéville by Napoleon then +first Consul, and his further views on Italy, induced him at length to +eject an Austrian Prince from the sovereignty of a country which he +intended to annex to the French Empire. The Grand Duke was indemnified with +a principality in Germany, where he remained until the downfall of Napoleon +in 1814; subsequent arrangements again restored him to the sway of the land +he loved so well, and he returned to Florence as if he had only been absent +on a tour, finding scarcely any change in the laws and customs and habits +of the country; for tho' Tuscany was first erected into a Kingdom by the +title of Etruria, and afterwards annexed to the French Empire, the +institutions and laws laid down by Leopold and followed strictly by his +successor were preserved; very little innovation took place, and the few +innovations that were effected were decided ameliorations; for the Emperor +Napoleon had too much tact not to preserve and protect the good he found, +tho' he abolished all old abuses. The improvements introduced by the French +have been preserved and confirmed by the Grand Duke on his return, for he +is a man of too much good sense, and has too much love of justice, to think +of abolishing the good that has been done, merely because it was done by +the French. Tuscany has now a respectable military force of 8,000 men well +armed, clothed and equipped in the French manner. + +Tuscany is the only part of Italy where the downfall of Napoleon was not +regretted; the inhabitants of Leghorn indeed rejoiced at it, for the +commerce of Tuscany being chiefly maritime, Leghorn suffered a good deal +from the continental system. Leghorn in fact decayed in the same proportion +that Milan and other inland cities rose into opulence. + +The character of the Tuscan people is so amiable and pacific that crime is +very rare indeed. Murder is almost unknown and the punishment of death is +banished from the penal code. Where the government is good, the people are +or soon become good. I know of no country in the world more agreeable for a +foreigner to settle in than Tuscany. + +I omitted to remark that in the street called _Borgo d'Ognissanti_ is a +large house or _palazzo_ which belonged to Americo Vespucci. His bust is to +be seen in the Florentine Gallery. It is curious to remark the different +appellations given to the word _street_ in the different cities of Italy. +In Milan a street is called _vico_ and in Turin, _contrada_; in Florence +_strada_ and in Rome, I understand, _via_. + + +FLORENCE, 1st Sept. + +I shall start in a day or two for Rome, being very impatient to behold the +Eternal City, a plan which I have had in view from my earliest days and +which I have not been able hitherto to effect; for like the Abbé Delille I +had sworn to visit the sacred spot where so many illustrious men had spoke +and acted, and to do hommage in person to their Manes. I was always a great +admirer of the "_Popolo Re_." + +In Florence there are a great many literary societies such as the +_Infuocati, Immobili_, and the far renowned _La Crusca_. + +Frequent _Academies_, for so a sitting of a litterary society in Italy is +termed, are held in Florence. There are likewise two Casinos, one for the +nobility and the other for the merchants and burghers; the wives and +daughters of the members attend occasionally; and cards, music and dancing +are the amusements. Florence abounds in artists in alabaster whose +workmanship is beautiful. They make models in alabaster of the most +celebrated pieces of sculpture and architecture, on any scale you chuse: +they fabricate busts too and vases in alabaster. The vases made in +imitation of the ancient Greek vases are magnificent, and some of them are +of immense size. Foreigners generally chuse to have their busts taken; for +almost all foreigners who arrive here are or pretend to be smitten with an +ardent love for the fine arts, and every one wishes to take with him models +of the fine things he has seen in Italy, on his return to his native +country. Here are English travellers who at home would scarcely be able to +distinguish the finest piece of ancient sculpture--the Mercury, for +instance, in the Florentine Gallery, from a Mercury in a citizen's garden +at Highgate--who here affect to be in extacies at the sight of the Venus, +Apollino, &c., and they are fond of retailing on all occasions the terms of +art and connoisseurship they have learned by rote, in the use of which they +make sometimes ridiculous mistakes. For instance I heard an Englishman one +day holding forth on the merits of the Vierge _quisouse_, as he called it. +I could not for some time divine what he meant by the word _quisouse_, but +after some explanation I found that he meant the celebrated painting of the +_Vierge qui coud_, or _Vierge couseuse_, as it is sometimes called, which +latter word he had transformed into _quisouse_. This affectation, however, +of passion for the _belle arti_, tho' sometimes open to ridicule, is very +useful. It generates taste, encourages artists, and is surely a more +innocent as well as more rational mode of spending money and passing time +than in encouraging pugilism or in racing, coach driving and cock fighting. + + +[83] Pope, _Essay on Man_, ep. III, 303-4.--ED. + + + + +CHAPTER X + +Journey from Florence to Rome--Sienna--Radicofani--Bolsena--Montefiascone +wine--Viterbo--Baccano--The Roman Campagna--The papal _douane_--Monuments +and Museums in Rome--Intolerance of the Catholic Christians--The Tiber and +the bridges--Character of the Romans--The _Palassi_ and _Ville_--Canova's +atelier--Theatricals--An execution in Rome. + + +September----, 1816. + +I made an agreement with a _vetturino_ to take me to Rome for three _louis +d'or_ and to be _spesato_. In the carriage were two other passengers, viz., +a Neapolitan lady, the wife of a Colonel in the Neapolitan service, and a +young Roman, the son of the _Barigello_ or _Capo degli Sbirri_ at Rome. We +issued from the _Porta Romana_ at 6 o'clock a.m. the 3d September. + +The road winds thro' a valley, and has a gentle ascent nearly the whole way +to Poggibonsi, where we brought to the first night. The soil hereabouts is +far from fertile, but every inch of it is put to profit. The olive tree is +very frequent and several farms and villages are to be met with. The next +day we arrived at 12 o'clock at Sienna. The approach to Sienna is announced +by a quantity of olive trees. The situation of this city being on an +elevation, makes it cold and bleak. We remained here three hours, so that I +had time to visit some of the places worthy of remark in this venerable +city, which is handsome and very solidly built, but has rather a sombre +appearance. The _Piazza Grande_ lies in a bottom to which you descend from +the environing streets. It is in the shape of a mussel shell and of very +large size. The Cathedral is Gothic and is a very majestic and venerable +building. Inside it is of black and yellow marble. The pavement of this +church contains Scripture histories in mosaic. A library is annexed to the +church. The librarian pointed out to me 80 folio volumes of church music +with illuminated plates; likewise an ancient piece of sculpture much +mutilated, viz., a group of the three Graces. In one of the chapels of this +Cathedral are eight columns of _verd-antique_. I observed a monument of the +Piccolomini family who belong to this city; one of which family figured a +good deal in the Thirty Years' War in Germany. I saw several women in the +Cathedral and at the windows of the houses. The greater part of them were +handsome. The Italian language is spoken here in its greatest purity; it is +the pure Tuscan dialect without the Tuscan aspiration. The Siennese +language is in fact the identical _lingua Toscana in bocca Romana_. + +We arrived the same evening at Buon Convento, an old dismal dirty-looking +town formerly fortified; but the country in the environs is pleasing +enough. The inn here is very bad. On the road between Sienna and this place +I observed a number of mulberry trees. + +The next morning, the 5th Sept., we arrived at Radicofani or rather at an +inn or post house facing Radicofani. This is a very ancient city, and from +its being on an eminence it has an imposing appearance. Above it towers an +immense conical shaped mountain, evidently a volcano in former times. In +fact, the whole country hereabouts is volcanic, which is plainly seen from +the immense masses of calcined stones, the exhalations of sulphur and the +dreary wild appearance of the country, where scarce a tree is to be seen. I +never in my life saw so many calcined rocks and stones of great magnitude +heaped together as at Radicofani. It gave the idea as if it were the +identical field of battle between Jupiter and the Titans, and as if the +masses of rock that everywhere meet the eye had been hurled at the Empyreum +by the Titans and had fallen back on the spot from whence they were torn +up. It is indeed very probable that this volcano which vomited forth rocks +and stones in a very remote age, gave rise to the Fable of the war between +Jupiter and the Giants; just as the volcanos in Sicily and Stromboli gave +rise to the story of the Cyclops with one eye (the crater) in their +forehead. But the mountain of Radicofani must have been a volcano anterior +even to Aetna; it presents the image of an ancient world destroyed by fire. + +At Ponte Centino the next morning we took our leave of + + _La patria bella + Di vaghe Donne e di dolce favella;_ + +in plain prose, we left the Tuscan territory, and re-entered the dominions +of His Holiness. After being detained half an hour at the _Douane_, we +proceeded to Acquapendente to breakfast. The country between Radicofani and +Acquapendente is dreary, thinly populated, little cultivated, and volcanic +steams of sulphur assail the nostrils. Before we arrived at Acquapendente +we had a troublesome river to cross, which at times is nearly dry, and at +other times the water comes down in torrents from the surrounding mountains +and precipices, so as to render its passage extremely dangerous. It is +always necessary previous to the passage of a carriage, to send on a man to +ford and sound it, from its meandering and forming different beds crossed +seven times, twice less than Styx _novies interfusa_, and it is a very slow +operation from the number of rocks and quicksands; so that, should the +torrent come down while you are in the act of crossing, you and your whole +equipage would be swept away by the stream and drowned or dashed to pieces. +Travellers going to and returning from Rome are frequently detained for a +day or two at Ponte Centino or Acquapendente during the rainy season; for +immediately after heavy rains, there is always a great risk and it is +better to halt for several hours to allow the waters to pass off. The +extent of ground that this river covers by its meandering and forming so +many beds nearly parallel to each other renders it impossible to construct +a bridge long enough; and it would be always liable to be swept away by the +torrent. Nobody ever thinks of crossing the river in the dark. There having +no rain fallen for several days we passed it without difficulty. + +Within a mile of Acquapendente the landscape varies and the approach to +this town is exceedingly picturesque. Acquapendente is situated on a lofty +eminence from which several magnificent cascades descend into the ravine +below and which give the name to the town. There are a great number of +trees about this town and they afford a great relief to the eye of the +traveller after so many hours' journey thro' volcanic wastes. The town of +Acquapendente is very ancient; it is very large, but ill-paved and dirty; +the best buildings in it are, however, modern. The inhabitants appear lazy +and dirty. On entering into conversation with some soldiers belonging to +the Papal army, who were stationed at this place, I found that most of them +had served under Napoleon. They spoke of him with tears of affection in +their eyes, and I pleased them much by reciprocating their opinions of that +great man. To speak well of Napoleon is the surest passport to civility and +good treatment on the part of the soldiers and _douaniers_. + +In the evening we arrived at Bolsena, the ancient Volsinium, a city of the +Volscians. It is an ancient looking town, not very clean, and inhabited by +indolent people. It is situated on the banks of a large lake, on which +there are three small islands. It is very aguish and unhealthy, and the +inhabitants appear sickly, with marvellous sallow complexions. The inn +where we put up was a pretty good one, and as this lake abounds in fish, we +had some excellent trout and pike for supper; among other dishes there was +one that was very gratifying to me, an old East and West Indian; and that +was the _Peveroni_ or large red and green peppers or capsicums fried in +oil. Some excellent Orvieto wine crowned our repast, and helped to restore +us from our fatigues. + +On leaving Bolsena the next morning, the 7th, and within a very short +distance from that town we entered a thick and venerable forest, thro' +which the road runs for several miles. Fine old trees of immense height +covered with foliage and thickly studded together give to this forest an +aweful and romantic appearance. It is quite a _lucus opaca ingens_. This +forest has been held sacred since the earliest times and is even now held +in such superstitious veneration by the people that they do not allow it to +be cut. The Dryads and Hamadryads have no doubt long ago taken their +flight, but the wood, from its length and opaqueness, inspired me with some +apprehension lest it might be the abode of some modern votaries of Mercury, +people having confused ideas of _meum_ and _tuum_, and the _appropriative +faculty_ too strongly developed in their organization, and I expected every +moment to hear a shot and the terrible cry of _ferma_; but we met with no +accident nor did we fall in with a living soul. On issuing from this forest +we perceived on an eminence before us, at a short distance, the town of +Montefiascone. We stopped there as almost all travellers do to taste the +famous Montefiascone wine or _Est_ wine, as it is frequently called. This +wine is fine flavored, _pétillant_ and wonderfully exhilarating. It is +renowned for having occasioned the death of a German prelate in the +sixteenth century, who was travelling in Italy and who was remarkably fond +of good wine. The story is as follows. He was accustomed to send on his +servant to the different towns thro' which he was to pass with directions, +to taste and report on the quality of the different wines to be found +there, and if they were good to mark the word _Est_ on the casks from which +he tasted them. The servant, on arrival at Montefiascone, was highly +pleased with the flavour of the wine, of which there were three casks at +the inn where they put up. He accordingly wrote the word _Est_ on each of +the casks. The Bishop arrived soon after and took such a liking to this +wine that he died in a few days of a fever brought on by continual +intoxication. He was buried in one of the churches at Montefiascone and the +monks of the Convent there, themselves _bons-vivans_, determined to give +him a suitable epitaph. They accordingly caused to be engraved on his tomb +the following Latin inscription commemorative of the event: _Est, Est, Est, +propter nimium Est, Dominus Episcopus mortuus_ EST. From the above +circumstance this wine is called _Vino d'Est_, and it affords no small +revenue to the proprietor of the _cabaret_ on the road side who sells it. + +We arrived at Viterbo to breakfast and at Ronciglione in the evening. +Viterbo is a large and handsome city and contains several striking +buildings. It is paved with lava and contains a great variety of fountains. +There is some appearance of commerce and industry in this town and there +are several _maisons de plaisance_ in the neighbourhood. From Viterbo, +thro' Monterosi, to Ronciglione the road lies over a mountain of steep +ascent; here and there are patches of forest. There is not a house to be +seen on this route and from there being a good deal of wood, and no +appearance of cultivation, one fancies oneself rather in the wilds of a new +country like America, than in so old a one as Italy. + +Ronciglione is an old rubbishing town half in ruins and contains no one +thing remarkable. + +The next morning at four o'clock we started from Ronciglione and reached +Baccano to breakfast. + +Baccano contains only two buildings; but they are both very large and +roomy; the one is the inn, and the other serves as a barrack for the +Military. There is always a strong military detachment here for the +security of the road against robbers, who occasionally infest this +neighbourhood. The inn is of immense size. Travellers, who arrive here +late, would do well to halt here the whole night, as not only the road is +dangerous on account of robbers, but because if they arrive at Rome after +five o'clock p.m., they cannot release their baggage and carriage from the +Custom house till next day. Every carriage public or private that arrives +in Rome is bound, unless a special permission to the contrary be obtained +from the Government, to drive direct to the Custom house (_Dogana_). In the +like manner, on travelling from Rome to Florence, people generally prefer +to start from Rome at twelve o'clock and bring to the night at Baccano, so +as to avoid the bad inn at Ronciglione and sleep in preference at Viterbo. +I here speak only of those who travel by short stages as the _vetturini_ +do. + +Ariosto has given a celebrity to this wretched place Baccano in his poem of +the _Orlando Furioso_, in the story of Giocondo in the 28th Canto, as being +the identical place where Fausto, the brother of Giocondo, remained to +await the return of his brother from Rome, to which place he had gone back, +when half way between Baccano and Rome, to fetch the _monile_ which he had +left behind him, and found his wife not _alone_ and _dying with grief_ as +he apprehended, but _sotto la coltre_ with a servant of the family. + +The country between Baccano and Rome is as unpleasing and even worse than +that between the former place and Ronciglione. It is hilly, but not a tree, +nor a house, nor a sign of cultivation to be seen except the two or three +wretched hovels at La Storta. There is nothing at all that announces the +approach to a capital city; and in addition to the dismal landscape there +is a sight still more dismal that salutes the eye of the traveller at +intervals of two or three miles and which does not tend to inspire pleasing +ideas; and this is the sight of arms and legs of malefactors and murderers +suspended on large poles on the road side; for it is the custom here to cut +off the arms and legs of murderers after decapitation, and to suspend them +_in terrorem_ on poles, erected on the very spot where they committed the +murder. The sight of these limbs dangling in the wind is not a very +comfortable one towards the close of the evening. + +We left the _Sepolero di Nerone_, an ancient tomb so called, on the right +of our road and half a mile beyond it crossed the Tiber at the _Ponte Molle +(Pons Milvius)_, where there is a gate, bridge and military post. From this +post to the _Porta del Popolo_, the entrance into the city for those coming +from the North, the distance is one mile; there is a white wall on each +side of the road the whole way, and some farm houses and villas. Near the +_Ponte Molle_ is the field of battle where Maxentius was defeated by +Constantine. + +We entered the _Porta del Popolo_, crossed the _Piazza_ of the same name, +where three streets present themselves to view. In the centre is the street +called the _Corso_, running in a direct line from the _Porta_ across the +_Piazza_. We drove along the _Corso_ till we arrived at a _Piazza_ on our +right hand, which _Piazza_ is called _della Colonna_ from the Column of +Antoninus, which stands on it. We then crossed the _Piazza_ which is very +large and soon reached the _Dogana_ or Custom house, formerly the temple of +Antoninus Pius, where vile modern walls are built to fill up the intervals +between eleven columns of Grecian marble. Here our baggage underwent a +rigorous research; this rigour is not so much directed against the +fraudulent introduction of contraband or duty-bearing merchandise, as +against _books_, which undergo a severe scrutiny. Against Voltaire and +Rousseau implacable war is waged, and their works are immediately +confiscated. Other authors too are sometimes examined, to see whether they +contain anything against Mother Church. As the people employed in +inspecting books are not much versed in any litterature or language but +their own, except perhaps a little French, it is not easy for them to find +out the contents of books in other languages. I had Schiller's works with +me, a volume of which one of the _douaniers_ took up and looked at; on +seeing the Gothic letter he seemed as much astonished as if he had got hold +of a book of _Cabbala_ or _Magic_. He detained the whole work, but it was +sent to me the next day, on my declaring that there was nothing damnable or +heretical in it; for there was no person belonging to the department who +could read German. When the _douaniers_ proceeded to the examination of the +books belonging to one of my fellow travellers, the Neapolitan lady, she +expressed great repugnance to the procedure; the _douaniers_ however +insisted and, behold! there were several _livres galants_ with plates +somewhat _lubriques_, the discovery of which excited blushes on her part +and considerable laughter on the part of the byestanders. These books, +however, not being contraband, were immediately returned to her, as was an +edition of Baffo, belonging to my other fellow traveller, returned to him. +Now this Baffo was a Venetian poet and his works are the most profligate +that ever were penned or imagined by mortal man. Martial and Petronius +Arbiter must hide their diminished heads before Baffo. The owner of this +book chose to read out loud, quite unsolicited, several _choice_ sonnets of +this poet for our edification during the journey; and this branch of +litterature seemed to be the only one with which he was acquainted. + +When the examination was over I took leave of my fellow travellers, and +repaired to the _German Hôtel_ in the _Via de' Condotti_, where I engaged +an apartment, and sat down to dinner at an excellent _table d'hôte_ at five +o'clock. There was a profusion of everything, particularly of fish and +game. Mullets and wild boar are constant dishes at a Roman table. The +mullets at Rome are small but delicious, and this was a fish highly prized +by the ancient Romans. Game of all kinds is very cheap here, from the +abundance of it that is to be met with in wild uninhabited wastes of Latium +and in the Pontine marshes. Every peasant is a sportsman and goes +constantly armed with fire-arms, not only to kill game, but to defend +himself against robbers, who infest the environs of Rome, and who sometimes +carry their audacity so far as to push their _reconnaissances_ close to the +very walls of the city. At the _German Hôtel_ the price of the dinner at +_table d'hôte_, including wine at discretion, is six _paoli_, about three +franks. I pay for an excellent room about three _paoli_ per diem and my +breakfast at a neighbouring _Caffé_ costs me one _paolo_. A _paolo_ is +worth about five pence English. There are ten _paoli_ to a _scudo Romano_ +and ten _bafocchi_ to a _paolo_, The _bafocco_ is a copper coin. + + +ROME, 12th Sept. + +A great number of Germans dine at the _table d'hôte_ of Franz's hotel. +Among them I distinguished one day a very intelligent Bavarian Jew. I +proposed to him a walk to the Coliseum the following morning, as +independent of the benefit I derived from his conversation I was curious to +see whether it was true or not that the Jews always avoided walking under +the Arch of Titus, which was erected in commemoration of the capture of +Jerusalem by the Romans under Titus, in the reign of Vespasian. On stepping +out of the _Hôtel Allemand_, the first thing that met my eye was the +identical beggar described by Kotzebue in his travels in Italy, and he +gives the very same answer now as then to those who give him nothing, viz., +_Pazienza_. + +We crossed the _Piazza di Spagna_, ascended the superb flight of steps of +the _Trinità de' Monti_, where there is a French church called the Church +of St Louis: near it is the _Villa Medici_, which is the seat of the French +Academy of the fine arts at Rome. We then filed along the _Strada Felice_ +till we arrived at the church of _Santa Maria maggiore_, a superb edifice, +the third church in Rome in celebrity, and the second in magnificence. An +immense Egyptian Obelisk stands before it. We then, turning a little to the +right, made the best of our way to the Coliseum where we remained nearly +two hours. I had figured to myself the grandest ideas of this stupendous +building, but the aspect of it far exceeded the sketch even of my +imagination. In Egypt I have seen the Pyramids, but even these vast masses +did not make such an impression on me as the Coliseum has done. I am so +unequal to the task of description that I shall not attempt it; I will give +you however its dimensions which my friend the Jew measured. It is an +ellipse of which the transverse axis is 580 feet in length and its +conjugate diameter 480; but it is not so much the length and breadth as the +solidity of this building that strikes the traveller with astonishment. The +arcaded passage or gallery (on the _rez de chaussée_ between the interior +and the exterior wall), which has a vaulted roof over which the seats are +built, is broad enough to admit three carriages abreast: and the walls on +each side of this gallery are at least twenty feet thick. What a +magnificent spectacle it must have been in the time of the ancient Romans, +when it was ornamented, gilded, and full of spectators, of which it could +contain, it is said, 86,000! The Coliseum has been despoiled by various +Popes and Cardinals to furnish stone and marble to build their palaces; +otherwise, so solid is the building, Time alone would never suffice to +destroy it. At present strict orders are given and sentries are posted to +prevent all further dilapidations, and buttresses have been made to prop up +those parts which had given way. What a pity it is that the Arena has not +been left empty, instead of being fitted up with tawdry niches and images +representing the different stations of the Crucifixion! In the centre is an +immense Cross, which whoever kisses is entitled to one hundred days +indulgence. To what reflections the sight of this vast edifice leads! What +combats of gladiators and wild beasts! What blood has been spilled! Was it +not here that the tyrannical and cowardly Domitian ordered Ulpius Glabrio, +of consular dignity, to descend into the arena and fight with a lion? The +Christian writers mention that many of their sect suffered martyrdom here +by being compelled to fight with wild beasts; but even this was not half so +bad as the conduct of the Christians, when they obtained possession of +political power and dominion, in burning alive poor Jews, Moors and +heretics some centuries afterwards. Indeed the cruelty of the Pagans was +much exaggerated by the above writers and were it even true to its full +extent, their severity was far more excusable than that of the Christians +in later times, for the efforts of the Christian sect in the times of +Paganism were unceasingly directed towards the destruction of the whole +fabric of polytheism, on which was based the entire, social and political +order of the Empire; and they thus brought on themselves perhaps merited +persecution, by their own intolerance; whereas, when they got the upper +hand, they showed no mercy to those of a different religion, and Orthodoxy +has wallowed successively in the blood of Arians, Jews, Moors and +Protestants. + +How many a poor Jew or Moor in Spain and Portugal has been burned alive for +no other reason than + + _Pour n'avoir point quitté la foi de leurs ancêtres._ + +No, no; no sect or religion was ever so persecuting as the Catholic +Christians! The Polytheists of all times, both ancient and modern, were +tolerant to all religions and so far from striving to make proselytes, +often adopted the ceremonies of other worships in addition to their own; +witness the Egyptians, Greeks and Romans of old, and the Hindoos and +Chinese of the present day. The Jews, ferocious and prejudiced as they +were, never persecuted other nations on the ground of religion, and if they +held these nations in abhorrence as idolaters, and considered themselves +alone as the holy people, the people of God (Yahoudi), they never dreamed +of making converts. The Mussulmans tho' they hold it as a sacred precept of +their religion to endeavour to make converts to Islam, do not use violent +means and only compel those of a different faith to pay a higher tribute. +At any rate, they never have or do put people to death merely for the +difference of religious opinions. Such were the reflections I made on +walking about the Arena of this colossal edifice so worthy of the _popolo +Re_. + +On leaving the Coliseum the first thing that meets the eye is the Arch of +Constantine, under which the Roman triumphal and ovationary processions +moved towards the Capitol. The Arch of Constantine stands just outside the +Coliseum. It is of immense size and extremely well preserved. The ground on +which it stands being much filled up and only half of the Arch appearing, +the rest remaining buried in the earth, it was judged adviseable to +excavate all around it in order to come to the pedestal; so that now there +is a walled enclosure all around it and into this enclosure it is a descent +of at least eighteen feet from the ground outside. Several statues of +captive Kings and bas-reliefs representing the victories of Constantine +adorn the facade of this triumphal arch. The inscriptions are perfect, and +the letters were formerly filled up with bronze; but these have been taken +out at the repeated sackings that poor Rome has undergone from friend and +foe. At a short distance from the Arch of Constantine is the Arch of Titus, +under which we moved along on our road towards the Capitol and my friend +the Jew was too much of a cosmopolite to feel the smallest repugnance at +walking under the Arch. Our conversation then turned on the absurd hatred +and prejudice that existed between Christians and Jews; he was very liberal +on this subject and in speaking of Jesus Christ he said: "Jesus Christ was +a Jew and a real philosopher and was therefore persecuted, for his +philosophy interfered too much with, and tended to shake the political +fabric of the Jewish constitution and to subvert our old customs and +usages: for this reason he was put to death. I seek not to defend or +palliate the injustice of the act or the barbarity with which he was +treated; but our nation did surely no more than any other nation ancient or +modern has done or would still do against reformers and innovators." + +The Arch of Titus is completely defaced outside, but in the interior of the +Arch, on each side, is a bas relief: the one representing Vespasian's +triumph over the Jews, and the Emperor himself in a car drawn by six +horses; the other represents the soldiers and followers of the triumph, +bearing the spoils of the conquered nation, and among them the famous +candlesticks that adorned the temple of Jerusalem are very conspicuous. +These figures are in tolerable preservation, only that the Emperor has lost +his head and one of the soldiers has absconded. + +On issuing from the Arch of Titus we found ourselves in the Forum, now the +_Campo Vaccino_: so that cattle now low where statesmen and orators +harangued, and lazy priests in procession tread on the sacred dust of +heroes. + + Où des prêtres heureux foulent d'un pied tranquille + Les tombeaux des Catons et les cendres d'Emile. + +So sings Voltaire, I believe, or if they are not his lines, they are the +Abbé Delille's.[84] + +The imagination is quite bewildered here from the variety of ancient +monuments that meet the eye in every direction. What vast souvenirs crowd +all at once on the mind! Look all around! the _Via Sacra_, the Arch of +Severus, and the Capitol in front; on one side of you, the temple of Peace, +that of Faustina and that of the Sun and Moon: on the other the remaining +three columns of the temple of Jupiter Stator; the three also of the temple +of Jupiter Tonans; the eight columns of the temple of Concord; and the +solitary column of Phocas. At a short distance the temple of Castor and +Pollux and that of Romulus and Remus, which is a round building of great +antiquity, whose rusticity forms a striking contrast with the elegance of +the colonnaded temples, and which was evidently built before the conquest +of Greece by the Romans and the consequent introduction of the fine arts +and of the Grecian orders of architecture. + +You may wish to know my sensations on traversing this sacred ground. The +_Via Sacra_ recalled to me Horace meeting the _bavard_ who addresses him: +_Quid agis, dulcissime rerum_?[85] I then thought of the Sabine rape; of +Brutus' speech over the body of Lucretia; then I almost fancied I could see +the spot where stood the butcher's shop, from whence Virginius snatched the +knife to immolate his daughter at the shrine of Honor; next the shade of +Regulus flitted before my imagination, refusing to be exchanged; then I +figured to myself Cicero thundering against Catiline; or the same with +delicate irony ridiculing the ultra-rigor of the Stoics, so as to force +even the gravity of Cato to relax into a smile; then the grand, the heroic +act of Marcus Brutus in immolating the great Caesar at the altar of +liberty. All these recollections and ideas crowded on my imagination +without regard to order or chronology, and I remained for some time in a +state of the most profound reverie, from which I was only roused by my +friend the Jew reminding me that we had a quantity of other things to see. + +The first object that engaged my attention on being roused from my reverie, +was the Arch of Severus at the foot of the Capitol which towers above it. +Excavations have been made around this Arch (for otherwise only half of it +could be seen) and a stone wall built around the excavated ground in the +same manner as at the Arch of Constantine. Round several of the columns of +the temples I have above enumerated, excavations have been also made; +otherwise the lower half of them would remain buried in the earth and give +to the monuments the appearance of a city which had been half swallowed up +by an earthquake. By dint of digging round the column of Phocas, the +ancient paved road which led to the Capitol has been discovered and is now +open to view. This ancient road is at least thirty feet below the surface +of the present road and the ground about it. This shows how the ground must +have been filled up by the destruction of buildings at the different +sackings of Rome and the consequent accumulation of rubbish. The French +when they were here began these excavations and the Duchess of Devonshire +continues them.[86] It is useful in every way; it employs a number of poor +people and may be the means of discovering some valuable remains of +antiquity and objects of art. At any rate it is highly gratifying to have +discovered the identical road to the Capitol on which so many Consuls, +Dictators and Emperors moved in triumph, and so many captive Kings wept in +chains. + +We then ascended the steps that lead to the modern Capitol and mounted on +the _Campanile_ of the same, from whence there is a superb panoramic view +of Rome. On descending from the _Campanile_, we visited the Tarpeian rock, +which is now of inconsiderable height, the ground about it and heaps of +rubbish having filled up the abyss below. We then entered the court yard of +the Capitol. The Capitol and building annexed to it form three sides of a +rectangle, the centre or _corps de logis_ lying North and South, and the +wings East and West, the whole inclosing a court yard open on the South +side of the rectangle, from whence you descend into the street on the plain +below, by a most magnificent escalier or flight of steps. Of the Capitol, +the _corps de logis_ or central building to which the _Campanile_ belongs, +is reserved for the occupation and habitation of the _Senator Romano_, a +civil magistrate, corresponding something to the mayor in France or +_Oberbürgermeister_ in the German towns, and who is chosen from among the +nobility and nominated by the Pope. The wings contain the _Museum +Capitolinum_ of painting and sculpture. There is a great deal to call forth +the admiration of the traveller in the court yard of the Capitol. The most +prominent object is the famous bronze equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius, +which cannot fail to rivet the attention of the least enthusiastic +spectator. I observed at each angle of the façade of the Capitol a colossal +statue of a captive King in a Phrygian dress; but still more striking than +these are the colossal statues of Castor and Pollux leading horses, which +stand a little in front of the equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius, and +nearer the _escalier_, the one on the right the other on the left. Two +lions in basalt on each side of the _escalier_ are very striking objects, +and the _escalier_ itself is the most superb thing of the kind perhaps in +the world. This _escalier_ and the Marcus Aurelius, unique also in its +kind, are both the workmanship of Michael Angelo.[87] We descended this +_escalier_ and then fronted it to take a view of the Capitol from the +bottom; but the statue of Marcus Aurelius is so prominent and so grand that +it absorbed all my attention. + +After dinner I walked a little in the gardens on the Pincian hill, and then +visited some friends belonging to the French Academy of Painting and +Sculpture, who were so good as to shew me their productions, and also a +copy of the superb folio edition of Denon's work on Egypt which to me, who +had been in that country, was highly gratifying. Oh! what a pity that the +French could not keep that country! What a paradise they would have made of +it! As it is (and to their credit be it said) they did more good for the +country during three years only, than we have done for our possessions in +India for fifty years. + + +ROME, 15th Septr. + +The next morning, after an early breakfast, I repaired to the Pantheon, now +called _Santa Maria della Rotonda_, and appropriated to the Catholic +worship. It is easily recognizable by its rotundity and by the simple +grandeur of its façade and portico. The bronze has been taken out of the +letters of the inscription. This beautiful specimen of ancient architecture +is situated in a small _piazza_ or square called _Piazza della Rotonda_, +where a market of poultry, game, and vegetables is held. There are only now +three or four steps on the _escalier_ to ascend, in order to enter into the +portico; but as it is known that according to the descriptions of the +Pantheon in ancient times there was an immense flight of steps to ascend, +it is an additional proof how much the ground on which modern Rome stands +has been filled up, and consequently it is evident that the greater part of +this flight of steps remains still buried in the earth. + +If I was so struck with the appearance of this interesting edifice outside, +how much more so should I have been on seeing the inside, were not the +niches, where formerly stood the statues of the Gods, filled with tawdry +dolls representing the Virgin Mary and _he_ and _she_ saints. The columns +and pilasters in the interior of this temple are beautiful, all of _jaune +antique_ and one entire stone each. How much better would it have been to +replace the statues of the _Dii Majorum Gentium_ which occupied the niches, +by statues in marble of the Apostles, instead of the dolls dressed in +tawdry colors, and the frippery gilding of the altars on which they stand, +which disfigure this noble building. The Pantheon was built by Agrippa as +the inscription shews. In the interior are sixteen columns of _jaune +antique_. The bronze that formerly ornamented this temple was made use of +to fabricate the baldachin of St Peter's. Of late years it has been the +fashion to erect monuments affixed to the walls of the interior of the +Pantheon to the memory of the great men and heroes of poetry, painting, +sculpture and music who were natives of Italy, or for foreigners, +celebrated for their excellence in those arts, who have died in Rome. Here +are for instance, tablets to the memory of Metastasio, Rafael Mengs, +Sacchini, Poussin, Winckelmann; the Phidias of modern days, the illustrious +Canova, has recommended the placing in the Pantheon of the busts in marble +of all the great men who have flourished in Italy, as the most appropriate +ornament to this temple. He himself with a princely liberality has made a +present to it of the busts of Dante, Petrarca, Ariosto, Tasso, Guarini, +Alfieri, Michel Angelo, Rafaello, Metastasio and various other worthies. +These busts are all the production either of Canova himself, or made by his +pupils under his direction; they are not the least remarkable ornament of +the place. In the centre of the _Piazza della Rotonda_ stands an obelisk +brought from Egypt, which belonged to a temple sacred to Isis in that +country. + +I next repaired to the _Piazza di Navona_, a large and spacious square, +where there is a superb fountain representing a vast rock with four +colossal figures, one of which reclines at the foot of the rock, at each +angle of the pedestal that supports it, and it is surmounted by an Obelisk +which was brought from Egypt and was found in the gardens of Sallust. The +four colossal figures represent the four river Gods of the four great +rivers in Europe, Asia, Africa and America, viz., the Danube, the Ganges, +the Nile, and the Plata. The statue of the Nile has his head half-concealed +by a cloak, emblematical of the source of that river not being discovered. +In the _Piazza_ are frequently held fairs, shews of wild beasts, theatrical +exhibitions and sometimes combats of wild beasts. + +I crossed the Tiber on my way to St Peter's at the _Ponte di Sant' Angelo_; +directly on the other side of the river stands the castle of that name, an +immense edifice formerly the _Moles Adriana_ or Mausoleum of the Emperor +Adrian. It is of a circular form and is a remarkably striking object. From +here there is a spacious street as broad as Portland place, which leads to +the magnificent _Piazza_, where stands the Metropolitan Church of the +Christian world, the pride of Christendom, the triumph of modern +architecture, flanked on each side by a semi-circular colonnaded portico, +which constitutes one of its greatest beauties and distinguishes it from +all the other temples in the world. On the Piazza, considerably in front of +this wonderful edifice and nearly in the centre, stands an immense Egyptian +Obelisk, and at a short distance on each side of the Obelisk two +magnificent fountains which spout water to a great height and which +contribute greatly to the ornament of the _Piazza_. + +Now you must not expect me to give you a description of this glorious +temple. I never in my life possessed descriptive powers, even for objects +of no great importance: how then could I attempt to delineate the +innumerable beauties of this edifice? Yet, vast as it is, the proportions +of the façade are so correct, that they, together with the semi-circular +colonnaded portico, serve to diminish its apparent size and to render its +mass less imposing, but perhaps more beautiful. On this account it appears +at first sight of less size than the Church of St Paul's in London. The +beauty of the architecture, viz., of the façade and of the colonnaded +portico would require days to examine and admire. What shall I say then of +the wonders of the interior, crowded and charged as it is with the finest +pieces of sculpture, columns of the most beautiful _verd antique_ and of +_jaune antique_; the masterpieces of painting copied in mosaic; the +precious, stones and marbles of all sorts that adorn the variety of +magnificent chapels and altars; the immense baldachin with its twisted +columns of bronze (the spoils of the Pantheon and of the temple of +Jerusalem); the profusion of gilding and ornament of all sorts and where in +spite of this profusion there seems _rien de trop_. At first entrance the +eye is so dazzled with the magnificent _tout ensemble_ as to be incapable +for a long time of examining any thing in detail. Each chapel abounds in +the choicest marbles and precious stones: in a word it would seem as if the +whole wealth of the Earth were concentrated here. Without impiety or +exaggeration, I felt on entering this majestic temple for the first time +just as I conceive a resuscitated mortal would feel on being ushered into +the scene of the glories of Heaven. The masterpieces of painting are here +perpetuated in mosaic, and so correctly and beautifully done, that unless +you approach exceedingly close indeed, it is impossible to distinguish them +from paintings. What an useful as well as ornamental art is the mosaic! +There are a great variety of confessionals where penitents and pilgrims may +confess, each in his own tongue, for there is a confessional for the use of +almost every native tongue and language in the Catholic world. The cupola! +What an astonishing sight when you look up at it from below! How can I +better describe it than by relating the anecdote of Michel Angelo its +constructor, who when some one made a remark on the impossibility of making +a finer Cupola than that of the Pantheon, burst out into the following +exclamation: "Do you think so? Then I will throw it in the air," and he +fulfilled his word; for the cupola of St Peter's is exactly of the size of +that of the Pantheon, tho' at such an elevation as to give it only the +appearance of one fourth of its real size, or even less. The sublimity of +the design can only be equalled by the boldness and success of its +execution. Till it was done, it was thought by every artist impossible to +be done. What an extraordinary genius was this Michel Angelo! Ariosto has +hot at all exaggerated in his praise when he speaks of him in punning on +his name: + + _Michel_ più che mortal, _Angel_ divino.[88] + + Michael, less man than Angel and divine. + + --Trans, W.S. ROSE. + +Among the various splendid marble monuments with which this temple abounds +is one erected to the memory of Pope Rezzonico, constructed by Canova and +reckoned one of his masterpieces. The Pope is represented in his +canonicals. Behind and above him is a colossal statue of Religion with a +cross in one hand and rays in form of spikes issuing from her head. I do +not like these spikes. On the dexter side of this monument, is a beautiful +male youthful figure representing a funereal genius with an inverted torch. +The signal delicacy, beauty and symmetry of this statue forms a striking +contrast with the figure of an immense lion sleeping on the sinister side; +and this lion is an irrefragable proof that Canova excels in the +delineation of the terrible as well as the beautiful, for it is admirably +executed. + +At another monument is a superb female figure of colossal size representing +Truth. It was formerly naked, but they have contrived to execute in +coloured marble a vestment to cover her loins and veil her secret beauties. +The reason of which is, that this beautiful statue made such an impression +once upon a traveller (some say he was an Englishman, others a Spaniard) +that it inspired him with a sort of Pygmalionic passion which he attempted +to gratify one night; he was discovered in the attempt, and since that +time, to prevent further scandal or attempts of the sort and to conceal +from profane eyes the charms of the too alluring Goddess, this colored +marble vestment was imagined and executed. This story is borrowed from +Lucian.[89] + +There is also here a fine statue of Pope Gregory XIII and a magnificent +bas-relief, the subject of which is the reform of the calendar by that +Pope. Here too is a monument to Christina Queen of Sweden, and a bas-relief +representing her abjuration of the Lutheran Faith. + +But why should I attempt to detail all these monuments, while it would +require folios for the purpose; let me rather introduce you to the hero and +tutelary saint of this sanctuary. St Peter, a superb bronze statue +something above the usual size of men, is seated on a curule chair in the +nave of the church on the right hand side as you approach the baldachin. He +holds in his hands the keys of Heaven. He receives the adoration of all the +faithful who enter into this temple, and this adoration is performed by +kissing his foot which, from the repeated kissings, is become of a bright +polish and is visibly wearing away. The statue was formerly a statue of +Jupiter Capitolinus, but on the grand revolution among the inhabitants of +Olympus and the downfall of Jupiter, it was broken to pieces, melted down +and fabricated into an image of St Peter, so that this statue has lost +little of its former sovereignty and still rules Heaven and Earth if not +with regal, with at least vice-regal power, tho' under a different name. + +In the Sistine Chapel is the celebrated painting al fresco of the day of +Judgment by Michel Angelo, an aweful subject and nobly and awefully +executed. + +In the porch under the façade of St Peter's are two marble statues on +horseback, one at each end of the porch: they represent Constantine the +Great and Charlemagne, the two great benefactors of the holy Catholic +Church; the one, in fact, its founder, the other its preserver. + +As the Palace of the Vatican stands close to the Church of St Peter's and +communicates with it by an _escalier_, I ascended the _escalier_ in order +to behold and examine the famous Museum of the Vatican, the first in the +world, and unique for the vast treasures of the fine arts that it contains; +treasures which the united wealth of all Europe and India to boot could not +purchase at their just price. Here in fact it may be said are preserved the +riches and plunder of the whole world, which was stripped of all its +valuables by those illustrious brigands the ancient Romans. And mark in +this point the good fortune of Rome; instead of losing them again as other +nations have lost their trophies, Superstition came to her aid and caused +them to be respected and preserved, 'till an enlightened age arose which +guided by Philosophy, Humanity and Science will for ever preserve them +secure against all attacks of barbarians in a sanctuary so worthy of them. + + +_Museum Vaticanum_[90] + +A superb flight of steps leads into a hall of immense length filled on each +side with statues, busts, sarcophagi, altars, urns, vases and candelabra, +all monuments of antiquity and of the most exquisite workmanship. The walls +on each side of this hall are inlaid with tablets bearing inscriptions in +Greek, Latin and Etruscan. One is quite bewildered amongst such a profusion +of Gods, Semi-Gods, Heroes. I must single out a few of the most remarkable +for their workmanship. Here is a group representing the sacrifice of +Mithras. On ascending a few steps at the other end of this hall, in a small +octangular room, are the statue of Meleager; the famous Torso; the tomb of +Scipio with bas-reliefs. On leaving the chamber you come into an octangular +gallery, issuing from which are four circular chambers; each chamber +contains a masterpiece of art. In one is the Apollo Belvedere, in another +the Laocoon (both safely arrived from Paris); in the third Antinous; in the +fourth the Perseus of Canova, with Medusa's head and his famous group of +the two pugilists. Descriptions of the three first would be superfluous-- +for of them + + Mills altri han detto e con via miglior plettro, + +and even with respect to the Perseus of Canova, I shall content myself with +remarking that the sculptor had evidently the Apollo Belvedere in his +ideal, and if he has not quite equalled that celebrated statue, it is +because it is impossible; but he certainly has given the nearest possible +approximation to its excellence. + +In another hall and just at its entrance are the statues of Menander and +Posidippus in a sitting posture, one on either side. In this hall are +innumerable fine statues, but the further end of it, fronting you as you +enter, is a statue which at once engages and rivets your undivided +attention; it at once induces you to approach and to take no notice of the +statues on the right and left of the hall. And how should it be otherwise, +since it is the identical statue of the father of the Gods and men, the +famous Jupiter Capitolinus which adorned the Capitol in ancient Rome. He is +sitting on a throne with a sceptre in one hand and the thunderbolts in the +other, at his feet an eagle. It is a glorious statue and in every respect +characteristic; such grandeur, such majesty in the countenance! It is +impossible not to feel awe and reverence on beholding it. It was on +contemplating this venerable statue that an Englishman who was at Rome some +sixty years ago, stood wrapt for a time in silent veneration; then suddenly +breaking silence he made a profound obeisance before the statue and +exclaimed: "Recollect, O father of the Gods and men, that I have paid my +hommage to you in your adversity and do not forget me, should you ever +raise your head above water again!" + +In the hall of the Muses are the statues of the tuneful Nine which were +found underground among the ruins of Hadrian's villa at Tivoli. + +In the centre of a circular chamber of vast dimensions, is an enormous +circular basin of porphyry, of forty-one feet in diameter. A superb mosaic +adorns the floor of the centre of this chamber, and is inclosed. +Appropriate ornaments to this immense chamber are the colossal statues of +the _Dii majorum Gentium_. Here are Juno, Minerva, Cybele, Jupiter, +Serapis, Mars, Ceres, and others. + +In another hall are two enormous Egyptian Gods in yellow granite; two +superb sarcophagi in red marble and two immense Sphinxes in granite. In +another chamber is an antique car drawn by two horses: the near one is +modern, the off one ancient. The wheels of this car are modern; both car +and horses are of exquisite workmanship. Several fine statues adorn this +chamber, among which the most remarkable are a Phocion, a Paris, an +Antinous, and a Triton carrying off a Nereid. + +I must not omit to mention that in one of the halls is the famous group of +the Nile, represented by an enormous colossal River God, surrounded by +fourteen children playing with young crocodiles. Opposite to this group is +another equally celebrated, viz., the colossal statue of the Tiber, with +the she-wolf giving suck to Romulus and Remus by his side. The mosaic +pavements in this Museum surpass in richness any in the world. In one of +the halls, among the works of modern times, are two beautiful marble tables +richly inlaid with all sorts of stones of value, with bas-reliefs on them; +the one representing the visit of the Emperor Joseph II, and the other that +of Gustavus III of Sweden to Rome, and their reception by the Pope. + +One of the halls of sculpture is appropriated to the figures of animals of +all kinds, from the lion and eagle down to the rat and crawfish in marbles +of all colors, and of all sizes; the best executed among them appeared to +me a group representing a greyhound bitch giving suck to her young. As for +the valuable cameos, coins, medals, and smaller remnants of antiquity in +this Museum, they are innumerable. + +With regard to the paintings that belong to this Museum, there is only a +small, collection but it is unique. Here is the Transfiguration and some +other masterpieces of Rafaello. + +In the _Stanze di Rafaello_ (so they are called) are several large fresco +paintings, viz., one representing the battle of Maxentius and Constantine; +another, the school of Athens and Socrates sitting among the other +philosophers; a third representing a fire; besides others. + +In one of these _stanze_ is a work in tapestry representing Jesus Christ +bursting forth from the sepulchre, but he has a visage far too rubicund and +wanting in dignity; he looks like a person flushed with wine issuing from a +tavern; in the countenance there is depicted (so it appears to me) a +vulgar, not a dignified triumph. + +The Palace of the Vatican is of immense size and is said to cover as much +ground as the city of Turin; and I am inclined to think that there is not a +great deal of exaggeration in this statement, for the vista along the +corridors and galleries appears to be endless. The Library of the Vatican +is of course very extensive and of immense value; but the books, as well as +the manuscripts, are kept in presses which are locked, and it is rather +awkward to be continually applying to the _custode_ to take out and put +back a book. + +The Museum of the Vatican is open twice a week to the public, viz. +Thursdays and Sundays; but foreigners, on shewing their passports, may +obtain admission at any time. + + +ROME, 17th Sept. + +My next visit was to the Capitol in order to inspect the _Museum +Capitolinum_. This time I ascended the magnificent _escalier_ of Michel +Angelo, having the equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius in front. On +arriving at the courtyard, I entered the building on my left (which is on +the right of the façade). Under the colonnaded portico of this wing are the +statues of Caesar and Augustus; here too is the naval column of the consul +Duilius, in commemoration of the first naval victory gained over the +Carthaginians; also a colossal statue of the Rhine called Marforio. In one +of the halls two large statues of the Egyptian Goddess Isis and various +other Egyptian divinities. In this Museum among other things is an altar +representing Claudia drawing to the land the Ship of Cybele; a magnificent +sarcophagus with a bas relief on its side representing the progress of +life; Amalthea giving suck to Jupiter; the God Anubis found among the ruins +of Adrian's palace at Tivoli. On ascending the staircase, I observed on the +right hand fixed in the wall a tablet with a plan of ancient Rome carved on +it. In one of the halls above stairs the most remarkable statue is that of +the dying gladiator (brought back from Paris); this is certainly a noble +piece of sculpture; the bodily pain and mental anguish are singularly well +expressed in the countenance; a superb bronze statue of Hercules; a Centaur +in black marble; a Faun in _rosso antico_; a group of Cupid and Psyche; a +Venus in Parian marble rather larger than the common size. One of the halls +in this museum contains the busts of all the philosophers; another those of +all the Roman emperors; there is also a colossal statue of Pyrrhus; a +superb Agrippina and the celebrated mosaic of the four pigeons. In +enumerating the above I have only to observe that they only constitute a +thousandth part of what is to be seen here. After passing three hours in +this wing of the building, I went over across the courtyard to the other +wing. Under the portico of this wing the following are the most remarkable +among the statues: a Roman _triumphans_, two Phrygian kings in black +marble. In one of the rooms above stairs is a very remarkable piece of +antiquity, viz., the bronze wolf giving suck to Romulus and Remus, which +was found in the temple of Romulus and which was struck by lightning during +the consulate of Julius: the marks made by the lightning are quite +distinct. There is in this wing a small but excellent collection of +paintings, and a great variety of statues, busts, sarcophagi, candelabra, +and antiquities of all sorts. + +The front part, or _corps de logis_ of the Capitol is called _Il Palazzo +del Senato conservatore_, and is the residence of the _Senator Romano_ who +is chosen by the Pope. By the bye, I understand this dignity is generally +given to a foreigner, the Pontiffs being, rather jealous of the Roman +nobility. + +This wing of the Capitol employed me two hours; but I must visit this +Museum as well as that of the Vatican often again; for it would require +months and years to examine them duly. + + +ROME, 18th Sept. + +On this side of the river which is called _Transtevere_, I had an +opportunity of observing the inhabitants, who are called _Transteverini_, +the most of whom pretend to be the descendants of the ancient Romans, +unmixed with any foreign blood. They certainly have very much of that +physiognomy that is attributed to the ancient Romans, for they are a tall, +very robust race of men having something of a ferocious dignity in their +countenance which, however, is full of expression, and the aquiline nose is +a prominent feature among them. They are exceedingly jealous of their +women, whom they keep within doors as much as they can, and if a stranger +on passing by their doors should chance to observe their wives or daughters +who may be standing there and should stop to admire them (for many of them +have an air of antique beauty and majesty of countenance which is +remarkably striking), they will instantly order the females to retire, with +an air of asperity. + +Whether they really be the pure descendants of the ancient Romans is +difficult to say: but it is by no means improbable, since even to this day +they intermarry solely with one another, and refuse to give their daughters +in marriage to foreigners or to those of mixed blood. + +Instances have been known of these families, who are for the most part very +poor, refusing the most advantageous offers of marriage made to their +daughters by rich foreign merchants and artists, on the ground merely that +the suitors were not _Romani_ but _Barbari._ + +As for the _bourgeoisie_ of Rome in general, they _have been_ for some +centuries back and _are_ a very mixed race, composed of all the nations of +Europe. Most of the foreign artists who come here to study the fine arts, +viz., Belgians, Dutch, German, French, English, Swedes, Danes, Poles and +Russians, as well as those from other parts of Italy, struck with the +beauty of the women, and pleased with the tranquility and agreeable society +that prevails in this metropolis, and the total freedom from all _gêne_ and +etiquette, marry Roman women and fix here for life: so that among this +class you meet with more foreign names than Roman; and it is this sort of +colonisation which keeps up the population of Rome, which would otherwise +greatly decrease as well from the celibacy of the number that become +priests, as from the malaria that prevails in and about the city in July +and August. + + +ROME, 19th Sept. + +I have been employed for the last two days in visiting some of the +churches, _palazzi_ and villas of modern Rome; but the number is so +prodigious and there are such a variety of things to be seen in each that I +shall only make mention of a few; indeed there are many that I have not +seen and probably shall not have time to see. As sacred things should +precede profane, let us begin with the churches. + +The first that claims the attention of the traveller after St Peter's, is +the church of St John Lateran which is the oldest church in Christendom, +and was the metropolitan of Rome and of the Christian world before the +building of St Peter's. It lies very nearly in a right line with the +_Piazza di Spagna_, and on a prolonged line, forming an obtuse angle with +the church of Santa Maria Maggiore, which, as I first visited, I shall +first describe and afterwards resume what I have to remark on the subject +of St John Lateran. + +Santa Maria Maggiore is the third church in importance, but the second in +magnificence in Rome. Before its façade stands a single column of granite +of the Corinthian order. The façade of this church is beautiful but it +would be far better without the _campanile_, which I think always +disfigures a church of Grecian architecture; besides it is not in the +centre of the building. The church is richly adorned with mosaics and its +several chapels are admirable from the execution of their architecture and +sculpture and the value of the different rich marbles and precious stones +with which the monuments therein are made and incrusted. Among these +Chapels are those of Sixtus V, Paul V. The grand altar is of porphyry. But +the most striking beauty of this church and which eclipses all its other +ornaments, are the forty columns of beautiful Grecian marble on each side +of the nave. The ceiling, too, is superb and richly gilt; the gilding must +have cost an immense sum and was done, it is said, with the first gold that +was brought from America. Nothing can be more rich than this plafond. The +above forty columns belonged formerly to the temple of Juno Lucina. It is +singular that the ceremony of the _accouchement_ of the Virgin and the +birth of Christ should be performed here. On the 24th December this +pantomime is regularly acted, and crowds of all sorts of people attend, +particularly women. At the moment that the Virgin is supposed to be +delivered a salve of artillery announces the good tidings. This is +singular, I say, when one recollects the peculiar attributes of Juno Lucina +and the assistance she was supposed to give to persons in the same +situation. + +You cannot expect me to detail to you all the riches in precious stones and +gifts of pious princes that adorn the several chapels of this and other +churches; but they appear to contain every stone and jewel mentioned in the +Arabian Nights as being to be found in the cave where Aladdin was left by +the magician; and it must be allowed that the Popes have been remarkably +adroit inchanters in conjuring to Rome all the riches of the Earth. + +The church of St John Lateran is larger and more striking as to its +exterior and as to its architecture than that of Santa Maria Maggiore, but +it is not so charged with ornament and there is scarce any gilding. There +is a simple elegance about it that I think far more pleasing than the +magnificence of Santa Maria. + +St John Lateran contains several beautiful pieces of sculpture in white +marble, rather larger than the usual size of man, of the twelve Apostles, +six on one side of the nave and six on the other; and above them are +bas-reliefs, also in marble, representing the various scenes from the +history of the Old and New Testament. These twelve statues are admirably +well executed and they give to this temple an air of simple grandeur. In +this church are very few paintings on mosaics, but little gilding and no +superfluous ornaments. Sculpture is, in my opinion, far more appropriate to +a place of worship than paintings or dazzling ornaments. Another very +striking beauty of this noble and venerable temple are the columns it +contains some of which are in granite and others of the most beautiful +_verd-antique_. There are besides two superb Corinthian columns of bronze +which adorn one of the altars. Among the chapels of this Cathedral is one +belonging to the Corsini family, which is probably the richest in Europe, +and contains more precious stones and marbles than any other. Yet as this +and the other chapels are in recesses and separated from the aisles of the +church by large bronze gates, you cannot see their contents till you enter +the said chapels; and thus your attention is not diverted by them from the +contemplation of the simple grandeur of the columns and statues which adorn +the body of the temple. + +The bronze columns above mentioned were taken from the temple of Jupiter +Capitolinus. On one side in front of the church of St John Lateran stands +an immense Egyptian Obelisk 115 feet in height, brought from Egypt to Rome +in the time of Constantine. + +I think the placing of these Obelisks in front of the façade of the most +remarkable edifices is an excellent arrangement, as they are never-failing +landmarks to distinguish from afar off the edifices to which they belong. +This Obelisk was found in the _Circus Maximus_, from which it was removed +and placed on this spot by Sixtus V. A large Orphan establishment is close +to this church; and close to it also the _Battisterio_ of Constantine, +which rests on forty-eight columns of porphyry, said to be the finest in +Europe. Another church in the vicinity contains _La Scala Santa_ or holy +staircase of marble which, according to the tradition, adorned Pontius +Pilate's palace at Jerusalem, and on which identical staircase Jesus Christ +ascended to be interrogated by Pilate. The tradition further says that it +was transported to Rome by Angels. This staircase has twenty-eight steps, +and no one is allowed to mount it except on his knees. Nobody ever descends +it, but there are two other _escaliers_ parallel to it, one on the right +hand, the other on the left, by which you descend in the usual manner. Not +being aware of this ceremony, I, on entering the edifice, began to ascend +the _escalier_ which was nearest to me, which proved to be the _Scala +Santa_, for no sooner had I begun to ascend it as I would any other flight +of steps than two or three voices screamed out: "_Signore! O signore! a +ginocchia; o'è la scala santa_!" I asked what was meant and was then told +the whole story, and that it was necessary to mount this staircase on one's +knees or not at all. This I did not think worth the trouble, being quite +contented with beholding it. The marble of this staircase is much worn by +the number of devout people who ascend it in this manner, and this +ceremony, aided by a _quantum suff_ of faith is no doubt of great efficacy. + +The fourth church in estimation, and I believe the next ancient in Rome to +St John Lateran, is the church of _San Paolo fuor della mura_, so called +from its being situated outside the gates of the city. It is of immense +size, but out of repair and neglected. The most striking object of its +architectural contents are the 120 columns of Parian marble which support +its nave. + +_St Pietro in Vincoli_ is chiefly remarkable for its being built near the +dungeon where, according to the tradition, St Peter was confined and from +whence he was released by Angels; its chief ornament is the colossal statue +of Moses. Somewhere close to this place are shewn the ruins of the +Mamertine prison where Jugurtha was incarcerated and died. + +There are in Rome about three hundred other churches, all of which can +boast of very interesting and valuable contents. One in particular called +the Portuguese Church is uncommonly beautiful tho' small; another, that of +St Ignazio, or the Jesuits' church, is vast and imposing, and very fine +singing is occasionally to be heard there. + + +ROME, 21st Sept. + +The Palace occupied by the Pope is that of the Quirinal, standing on the +Quirinal Hill, which is commonly called _Monte Cavallo_ from the statues of +the two _Hippodamoi_ or tamers of horses, thought to be meant for Castor +and Pollux which stand on this hill; this group is surmounted by an +Egyptian obelisk. These statues are said to be the work of Phidias; but +there is a terrible disproportion between the men and the horses they are +leading; they give you the idea of Brobdignagians leading Shetland ponies. +The Quirinal palace is every way magnificent and worthy of the Sovereign +Pontiff; there are large grounds annexed to it; it stands nearly in the +centre of Rome and from this palace are dated the Papal edicts. The Pope +resides here during the whole year, with the exception of three or four +months in the hot season, when he repairs to Castel Gandolfo near la +Riccia. + +Of the fountains the grandest and most striking is that of Trevi, which +lies at the foot of Quirinal Hill. Here is a magnificent group in marble of +Neptune, in his car in the shape of a mussel-shell drawn by Sea-horses and +surrounded by Nymphs and Tritons. An immense basin of white marble, as +large as a moderate sized pond, receives the water which gushes from the +nostrils of the Sea-horses and from the mouths of the Tritons. There is a +very good and just remark made on the subject of this group by Stolberg, +viz. the attention of Neptune seems too much directed towards one of his +horses, a piece of minutiae more worthy of a charioteer endeavouring to +turn a difficult corner, than of the God who at a word could control the +winds and tranquillize the Ocean. + +The fountain Termina, so called from its vicinity to the Thermes of +Diocletian, is the next remarkable fountain. Here is a colossal statue of +Moses striking the rock and causing the water to gush forth. The grandeur +and majesty of this statue would be more striking but for the incongruity +of the arcades on each side of the rock, and the two lions in black basalt +who spout water. Moses and the rock would have been sufficient. Simplicity +is, in my opinion, the soul of architecture, and where is there in all +history a subject more peculiarly adapted to a fountain than this part of +the history of Moses? + +The Fountain Paolina is a fountain that springs from under a beautiful +arcade, but there are no statues nor bas-reliefs. It is a plain neat +fountain and the water is esteemed the best in Rome. This fountain is +situated on the Janicule Hill, from which you have perhaps the best view of +Rome; as it re-unites more than any other position, at one _coup d'oeil_, +both the modern and débris of the ancient city, without the view of the one +interfering with or being intercepted by the other. From here you can +distinguish rums of triumphal arches, broken columns, aqueducts, etc., as +far as the eye can reach. It demonstrates what an immense extent of ground +ancient Rome must have covered. Near the fountain is the church where St +Peter is said to have suffered martyrdom with his head downwards. + +The Column of Trajan is near the fountain Trevi, and it stands in an +inclosure, the pavement of which is seven feet lower than the _piazza_ on +which it stands. The inclosure is walled round. Had not this excavation +been made, one third of the column (lower part) would not be seen. The +_Piazza_, on which this column stands is called _Il foro Trajano_. The +column represents Trajan's triumphs over the Daci, Quadi and Marcomanni, +and is the model from whence Napoleon's column of the Grand Army in the +_Place Vendôme_ at Paris is taken. A statue of St Peter stands on this +column. + +The Column of Antoninus stands on the _Piazza Colonna_; on it are +sculptured the victories gained by that Emperor. Round this column it has +not been necessary to make excavations. On this column stands the statue of +St Paul. + +Amongst the immense variety of edifices and ruins of edifices which most +interest the antiquarian are the Thermes of Diocletian. Here are four +different semi-circular halls, two of which were destined for philosophers, +one for poets and one for orators; baths; a building for tennis or rackets; +three open courts, one for the exercise of the discus, one for athletes and +one for hurling the javelin. Of this vast building part is now a +manufactory, and the hall of the wrestlers is a Carthusian church. + +I have now, I believe, visited most, if not all that is to be seen in Rome. +I have visited the Pyramid of Cestius, the tomb of Metella, I have +consulted, the nymph Egeria, smelled at the _Cloaca Maxima_; in fine, I +have given in to all the _singeries_ of _pedantry_ and _virtù_ with as much +ardour as Martinus Scriblerus himself would have done. But it yet remains +for me to speak of the most interesting exhibition that modern Rome can +boast, and of the most interesting person in it and in all Italy, and that +is the atelier of Canova and Canova himself, the greatest sculptor, +perhaps, either of ancient or modern times, except the mighty unknown who +conceived and executed the Apollo of the Vatican. + +In the atelier of Canova the most remarkable statues I observed are: a +group of Hector and Ajax of colossal size, not quite finished; a Centaur, +also colossal; a Hebe; two Ballerine or dancing girls, one of which +rivetted my attention most particularly. She is reclining against a tree +with her cheek _appuyéd_ on one hand; one of her feet is uplifted and laid +along the other leg as if she were reposing from a dance. The extreme +beauty of the leg and foot, the pulpiness of the arms, the expressive +sweetness of the face, and the resemblance of the marble to wax in point of +mellowness, gives to this beautiful statue the appearance of a living +female _brunette_. It was a long time before I could withdraw my eyes from +that lovely statue. + +The next object that engaged my attention was a group representing a Nymph +reclining on a couch _semi-supine_, and a Cupid at her feet. The luxurious +contour of the form of this Nymph is beyond expression and reminded me of +the description of Olympia: + + Le parti che solea coprir la stola + Fur di tanta eccellenza, ch'anteporse + A quante n'avea il mondo potean forse.[91] + + Parts which are wont to be concealed by gown + Are such, as haply should be placed before + Whate'er this ample world contains in store. + + --Trans. W.S. ROSE + +This group is destined for the Prince Regent of England. Another beautiful +group represents the three Graces; this is intended for the Duke of +Bedford. Were it given to me to chuse for myself among all the statues in +the atelier of Canova, I should chuse these three, viz., the Ballerina, the +Nymph reclining, and this group of the Graces. + +Canova certainly is inimitable in depicting feminine beauty, grace and +delicacy. Among the other statues in this atelier the most prominent are: a +statue of the Princess Leopoldina Esterhazy in the attitude of drawing on a +tablet with this inscription: + + _Anch'io voglio tentar l'arte del bello._ + +This lady is, it seems, a great proficient in painting. + +Here too are the moulds of the different statues made by Canova, the +statues themselves having been finished long ago and disposed of; viz., of +the Empress Maria Louisa of France; of the mother of Napoleon (_Madame +Mère_ as she is always called) in the costume and attitude of Agrippina; of +a colossal statue of Napoleon (the statue itself is, I believe, in the +possession of Wellington.[92]) Here too is the bust of Canova by Canova +himself, besides a great variety of bas-reliefs and busts of individuals, +models of monuments, etc. + +And now, my friend, I have given you a _précis_ not of all that I have +seen, but of what has most interested me and made on my mind impressions +that can never be effaced. I trust entirely to my memory, for I made no +notes on the spot. Many of the things I have seen too much in a hurry to +form accurate ideas and judgment thereon; most of what we see here is shewn +to us like the figures in a _lanterna magica_, for in the various _palazzi_ +and villas the servants who exhibit them hurry you from room to room, +impatient to receive your fee and to get rid of you. I am about to depart +for Naples. On my return to Rome I shall not think of revisiting the +greater number of the _palazzi_, villas and churches; but there are some +things I shall very frequently revisit and these are the two Museums of the +Vatican and of the Capitol, St Peter's, the Coliseum and antiquities in its +neighbourhood, the Pantheon, and last but not least the atelier of the +incomparable Canova. + +You may perhaps be unwilling to let me depart from Rome without some +information as to theatricals. With regard to these, Rome must hang down +her head, for the pettiest town in all the rest of Italy or France is +better provided with this sort of amusement than Rome. There is a theatre +called _Teatro della Valle_, where there is a very indifferent set of +actors, and this is the only theatre which is open throughout the year. +Comedies only and farces are given. The theatres Aliberti and Argentino are +open during the Carnaval only. Operas are given at the Argentino, and +masquerades at the Aliberti. But in fact the lovers of Operas and of the +Drama must not come to Rome for gratification. It is not considered +conformable to the dignity and sanctity of an ecclesiastical government to +patronize them; and it is not the custom or etiquette for the Pope, +Cardinals or higher Clergy ever to visit them. The consequence is that no +performer of any consideration or talent is engaged to sing at Rome, except +one or two by chance at the time of the Carnaval. In amends for this you +have a good deal of music at the houses of individuals who hold +_conversazioni_ or assemblies; in which society would flag very much but +for the music, which prevents many a yawn, and which is useful and +indispensable in Italy to make the evening pass, as cards are in England. + +I intend to stop several days here on my return from Naples, for which +place I shall start the day after to-morrow having engaged a place in a +_vettura_ for two and half _louis d'or_ and to be _spesato_. I am not to be +deterred from my journey by the many stories of robberies and +assassinations which are said to occur so frequently on that road. + +By the bye, talking of robberies and murders, a man was executed the day +before yesterday on the _Piazza del Popolo_ for a triple murder. I saw the +guillotine, which is now the usual mode of punishment, fixed on the centre +of the _Piazza_ and the criminal escorted there by a body of troops; but I +did not stop to witness the decapitation, having no taste for that sort of +_pleasuring_. This man richly deserved his punishment. + + +[84] These lines are from Voltaire's _Henriade_, a poem which no Frenchman + reads nowadays, but that Major Frye could quote from memory. The + correct reading of the first verse is: _Des prêtres fortunés_, etc. + (_Henriade_, canto iv. ed. Kehl, vol. x, p. 97.)--ED. + +[85] Horace, _Sat_., 1, 9, 4.--ED. + +[86] Lady Elizabeth Hervey, second wife of William, fifth Duke of + Devonshire (1809); died March, 1824.--ED. + +[87] A singular slip of the pen; Frye must have known that the equestrian + statue is a Roman work--ED. + +[88] Ariosto, Orlando Furioso, xxxiii, 2, 4.--ED. + +[89] See Lucian, _Imag._, iv; _Amores_, xv, xvi.--ED. + +[90] Major Frye's description is incorrect in many particulars, on which it + seemed unnecessary to draw attention.--ED. + +[91] Ariosto, _Orlando Furioso_, XI, 67, 6. + +[92] That colossal marble statue was given to the Duke of Wellington by + Louis XVIII, and is still to be seen in London, at Apsley House.--ED. + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +From Rome to Naples--Albano--Velletri--The Marshes--Terracina--Mola di +Gaeta--Capua--The streets of Naples--Monuments and Museums--Visit to +Pompeii and ascent to Vesuvius--Dangerous ventures--Puzzuoli and +Baiae--Theatres at Naples--Pulcinello--Return to Rome--Tivoli. + +I started from Rome on the 26th September; in the same _vettura_ I found an +intelligent young Frenchman of the name of R---- D----, a magistrate in +Corsica, who was travelling in Italy for his amusement. There were besides +a Roman lawyer and not a very bright one by the bye; and a fat woman who +was going to Naples to visit her lover, a Captain in the Austrian service, +a large body of Austrian troops being still at Naples. We issued from Rome +by the _Porta Latina_ and reached Albano (the ancient Alba) sixteen miles +distant at twelve o'clock. We reposed there two hours which gave me an +opportunity of visiting the _Villa Doria_ where there are magnificent +gardens. These gardens form the promenade of the families who come to +Albano to pass the heat of the summer and to avoid the effect of the +exhalations of the marshy country about Rome. + +As Albano is situated on an eminence, you have a fine view of the whole +plain of Latium and Rome in perspective. The country of Latium however is +flat, dreary and monotonous; it affords pasture to an immense quantity of +black cattle, such as buffaloes, etc. + +Just outside of Albano, on the route to Naples, is a curious ancient +monument called _Il sepolcro degli Orazj e Curiazj._ It is built of brick, +is extremely solid, of singular appearance, from its being a square +monument, flanked at each angle by a tower in the shape of a cone. It is of +an uncouth rustic appearance and must certainly have been built before + + _Grecia capia ferum victorem cepit et artes + Intulit agresti Latio....._[93] + +and I see no reason against its being the sepulchre of the Horatii and +Curiatii, particularly as it stands so near Alba where the battle was +fought; but be this as it may there is nothing like faith in matters of +antiquity; the sceptic can have little pleasure. + +The country on leaving Albano becomes diversified, woody and picturesque. +Near Gensano is the beautiful lake of Nemi, and it is the spot feigned by +the poets as the scene of the amours of Mars and Rhea Silvia. Near Gensano +also is the country residence of the Sovereign Pontiffs called Castel +Gandolfo. La Riccia, the next place we passed thro', is the ancient Aricia, +mentioned in Horace's journey to Brundusium. We arrived in the evening at +Velletri. + +Velletri is a large town or rather city situated on a mountain, to which +you ascend by a winding road skirting a beautiful forest. From the terrace +of one of the _Palazzi_ here, you have a superb view of all the plain below +as far as the rock of Circe, comprehending the Pontine marshes. There are +several very fine buildings at Velletri, and it is remarkable as being the +birthplace of Augustus Caesar. There is a spacious _Piazza_ too on which +stands a bronze statue of Pope Urban VIII. Velletri is twenty-eight miles +from Rome. + +The next morning, the 27th, we started early so as to arrive by six o'clock +in the evening at Terracina. At Cisterna is a post-house and at Torre tre +Ponti is a convent, a beautiful building, but now delapidated and +neglected. Near it is a wretched inn, where however you are always sure to +find plenty of game to eat. Here begin the Pontine marshes and the famous +Appian road which runs in a right line for twenty-five miles across the +marshes. It was repaired and perfectly reconstructed by Pius VI, and from +him it bears its present appellation of _Linea Pia_. This convent and +church were also constructed by Pius VI with a view to facilitate the +draining and cultivating of the marshes by affording shelter to the +workmen. The _Linea Pia_ is a very fine _chaussée_ considerably raised +above the level of the marsh, well paved, lined with trees and a canal sunk +on one side to carry off the waters. The Pontine marshes extend all the way +from Torre tre Ponti to Terracina. On the left hand side, on travelling +from Rome to Naples, you have two miles or thereabouts of plain bounded by +lofty mountains; on the right a vast marshy plain bounded by the sea at a +distance of seven or eight miles. Nothing can be more monotonous than this +strait road twenty-five miles in length, and the same landscape the whole +way. The air is extremely damp, aguish and unhealthy. Those who travel late +in the evening or early in the morning are recommended not to let down the +glasses of the carriage, in order to avoid inhaling the pestilential miasma +from the marshes, which even the canal has not been able to drain +sufficiently. + +No one can find amusement in this desolate region but the sportsman; and he +may live in continual enjoyment, and slay wild ducks and snipes in +abundance; a number of buffaloes are to be seen grazing on the marshes. +They are not to be met with to the North of Rome. They resemble entirely +the buffaloes of Egypt and India, being black, and they are very terrific +looking animals to the northern traveller, who beholds them here for the +first time. + +These marshes supply Rome abundantly with waterfowl and other game of all +kinds. Every _vetturino_ who is returning to Rome, on passing by, buys a +quantity, for a mere trifle, from the peasantry, who employ themselves much +_à la chasse_, and he is certain to sell them again at Rome for three or +four times the price he paid, and even then it appears marvellous cheap to +an Englishman, accustomed as he is to pay a high price for game in his own +country. + +We arrived a little before six at Terracina, which is on the banks of the +Mediterranean and may be distinguished at a great distance by its white +buildings. The chain of mountains on the left of our road hither form a +sort of arch to the chord of the _linea Pia_ and terminates one end of the +arch by meeting the _linea Pia_ at Terracina, which forms what the sailors +call a bluff point. Terracina stands on the situation of the ancient Anxur +and the description of it by Horace in his Brundusian journey; + + Impositum saxis late candentibus Anxur[94] + +is perfectly applicable even now. It is a handsome looking city and is the +last town in the Pope's territory: part of it is situated on the mountain +and part on the plain at its foot close to the sea. + +The fine white buildings on the heights, the temple of Jupiter Anxurus (of +which the façade and many columns remain entire) towering above them, the +orange trees and the sea, afford a view doubly pleasing and grateful to the +traveller after the dreary landscape of the Pontine Marshes. There is but +one inn at Terracina but that is a very large one; there is, however, but +very indifferent fare and bad attendance. The innkeeper is a sad +over-reaching rascal, who fleeces in the most unmerciful manner the +traveller who is not _spesato_. He is obliged to furnish those who are +_spesati_ with supper and lodging at the _vetturino's_ price; but he always +grumbles at it, gives the worst supper he can and bestows it as if he were +giving alms. As the road between Terracina and Fondi (the first Neapolitan +town) is said to be at times infested by robbers, few travellers care to +start till broad daylight. We did so accordingly the following morning. On +arriving at a place called the _Epitafio_, from there being an ancient tomb +there, we took leave of the last Roman post. At one mile and half beyond +the _Epitafio_ is the first Neapolitan post at a place called _Torre de' +Confini_, where we were detained half an hour to have our passports +examined and our portmanteaus searched. Three miles beyond this post is the +miserable and dirty town of Fondi, wherein our baggage again underwent a +strict search. On leaving Terracina the road strikes inland and has +mountains covered with wood to the right and to the left, nor do we behold +the sea again till just before we arrive at Mola di Gaeta, which is an +exceeding long straggling town on its banks; several fishing vessels lie +here and it is here that part of the Bay of Naples begins to open. The +country from Terracina to Fondi is uncultivated and very mountainous; +between Fondi and Mola di Gaeta it is pretty well cultivated; Itri, thro' +which we passed, is a long, dirty, wretched looking village. + +The next day at twelve o'clock we arrived and stopped to dine at St Agatha, +a miserable village, with a very bad tho' spacious inn the half of which is +unroofed. We arrived at Capua the same evening having passed the rivers +Garigliano and Volturno, and leaving the Falernian Hills on our left during +part of the road. The landscape is very varied on this route, sometimes +mountainous, sometimes thro' a rich plain in full cultivation. + +Capua is a fortified town situated in a flat country and marshy withal. It +is a gloomy, dirty looking city and whatever may have been its splendour +and allurements in ancient times, it at present offers nothing inviting or +remarkable. The lower classes of the people of this town are such thieves +that our _vetturino_ recommended us to remove every thing from the carriage +into our bed rooms, so that we had the trouble of repacking every thing +next morning. Capua is the only place on the whole route where it is +necessary to take the trunks from the carriage. From Capua to Naples is +twenty miles; a little beyond Capua are the remains of a large Amphitheatre +and this is all that exists to attest the splendour of ancient Capua. The +road between Capua and Naples presents on each side one of the richest and +most fruitful countries I ever beheld. It is a perfect garden the whole +way. The _chaussée_ is lined with fruit trees. Halfway is the town or +_borgo_ of Aversa which is large, well-built, opulent and populous. We +entered Naples at one o'clock, drove thro' the _strada di Toledo_ and from +thence to the _largo di Medina_ where we put up at the inn called the +_Aquila nera_. A cordon of Austrian troops lines the whole high road from +Fondi to the gates of Naples; and there are double sentries at a distance +of one mile from each other the whole way. + + +NAPLES, Octr. 5th. + +In Naples the squares or _Piazze_ are called _Larghi_; they are exceedingly +irregular as to shape; a trapezium would be the most appropriate +denomination for them. The _Largo di Medina_ is situated close to the Mole +and light house and is not far from the _Largo del Palazzo_ where the Royal +Palace stands, nor from the _Strada di Toledo_, which is the most bustling +part of the town. On the Mole and sometimes in the _Largo di Medini_ +Pulcinello holds forth all day long, quacks scream out the efficacy of +their nostrums and _improvisatori_ recite battles of Paladins. Here and in +the _Strada di Toledo_ the noise made by the vendors of vegetables, fruit, +lemonade, iced water and water-melons, who on holding out their wares to +view, scream out "_O che bella cosa_!"--the noise and bustle of the cooks' +shops in the open air and the cries of "_Lavora_!" made by the drivers of +_calessini_ (sort of carriage) makes such a deafening _tintamarre_ that you +can scarcely hear the voice of your companion who walks by your side. In +the _Largo del Palazzo_ there is always a large assembly of officers and +others, besides a tolerable quantity of _ruffiani_, who fasten upon +strangers in order to recommend to them their female acquaintances. A +little further is the Quai of St Lucia, where the fish market is held, and +here the cries increase. The quantity of fish of all sorts caught in the +bay and exposed for sale in the market is immense and so much more than can +be sold, that the rest is generally given away to the _Lazzaroni_. Here are +delicious mullets, oysters, whitings, soles, prawns, etc. There is on the +Quai of St Lucia a _restaurant_ where naught but fish is served, but that +is so well dressed and in such variety that amateurs frequently come to +dine here on _maigre_ days; for two _carlini_[95] you may eat fish of all +sorts and bread at discretion. The wine is paid for extra. On the Quai of +St Lucia is a fountain of mineral water which possesses the most admirable +qualities for opening the _primae viae_ and purifying the blood. It is an +excellent drink for bilious people or for those afflicted with abdominal +obstructions and diseases of the liver. It has a slight sulfurous mixed +with a ferruginous taste, and is impregnated with a good deal of fixed air, +which makes it a pleasant beverage. It should be taken every morning +fasting. The presidency over this fountain is generally monopolized by a +piscatory nymph who expects a _grano_ for the trouble of filling you a +glass or two. In reaching it to you she never fails to exclaim _"Buono per +le natiche,"_ and it certainly has a very rapid effect; I look upon it as +more efficacious than the Cheltenham waters and it is certainly much more +agreeable in taste. At the end of the Quai of St Lucia is the _Castello +dell 'Uovo,_ a Gothic fortress, before the inner gate of which hangs an +immense stuffed crocodile. This crocodile is said to have been found alive +in the _fossé_ of the castle, but how he came there has never been +explained; there is an old woman's story that he came every day to the +dungeon where prisoners were confined, and took out one for his dinner. The +_Castello dell 'Uovo_ stands on the extremity of a tongue of land which +runs into the sea. After passing the _Castello dell 'Uovo_ I came to the +_Chiaia_ or Quai properly so called, which is the most agreeable part of +Naples and the favorite promenade of the _beau-monde._ The finest buildings +and _Palazzi_ line the _Chiaia_ on the land side and above them all tower +the Castle of St Elmo and the _Chartreuse_ with several villas intervening. +The garden of the _Chiaia_ contains gravel walks, grass plots, alleys of +trees, fountains, plantations of orange, myrtle and laurel trees which give +a delightful fragrance to the air; and besides several other statues, it +boasts of one of the finest groups in Europe, called the _Toro Farnese._ It +is a magnificent piece of sculpture and represents three men endeavouring +to hold a ferocious bull. It is a pity, however, that so valuable a piece +of sculpture should be exposed to the vicissitudes of the season in the +open air. The marble has evidently suffered much by it. Why is such a +valuable piece of sculpture not preserved in the Museum? + +On the _Chiaia_ are _restaurants_ and _cafés_. 'Tis here also that the +nobility display their carriages and horses, it being the fashionable drive +in the afternoon: and certainly, except in London, I have never seen such a +brilliant display of carriages as at Naples. + +The principal street at Naples is the _Strada di Toledo_. It resembles the +_Rue St Honoré_ and can boast of as much wealth in its shops. The houses +are good, solid and extremely lofty, and the streets are paved with lava. +There are two excellent _restaurants_ at Naples, one in the _Largo del +Palazzo_, nearly opposite the Royal Palace, called the _Villa di Napoli_; +the other not far from it in the _Strada di Toledo_, called _La Corona di +Ferro_. Naples is renowned for the excellency of its ices. You have them in +the shape of all kinds of fruit and wonderfully cheap. Many of the ice +houses and _caffès_ remain open day and night; as do some of the gaming +tables, which are much frequented by the upper classes. The theatre of St +Carlo, which was consumed last year by fire, is rising rapidly from its +ashes and will soon be finished. In the mean time Operas are performed at +the _Teatro Fondi_, a moderate sized theatre. I here saw performed the +opera of _Don Giovanni_ of Mozart, with the _ballo_ of _La pazza per +amore_. Mme Colbran, a Spanish lady, is the _Prima Donna_ and an excellent +singer. + +In all the private societies at Naples a great deal of gaming goes on, and +at some houses those visitors, who do not play, are coolly received. The +following may be considered as a very fair specimen of the life of a young +man of rank and fashion at Naples. He rises about two p.m., takes his +chocolate, saunters about in the _Strada di Toledo_ or in the _Largo del +Palazzo_ for an hour or two, then takes a _promenade à cheval_ on the +_Chiaia_; dines between six and seven; goes to the Opera where he remains +till eleven or half-past eleven; he then saunters about in the different +Cafés for an hour or two; and then repairs to the gaming table at the +_Ridotto_, which he does not quit till broad daylight. The ladies find a +great resource in going to church, which serves to pass away the time that +is not spent in bed, or at the Opera, or at the _promenade en voiture_. The +ladies seldom take exercise on foot at Naples. There being very little +taste for litterature in this vast metropolis, the most pleasant society is +among the foreign families who inhabit Naples or at the houses of the +_Corps diplomatique_. There is, however, a good _cabinet littéraire_ and +library in the _Strada di San Giacomo_, where various French and Italian +newspapers may be read. The Austrians occupy the greater part of the +military posts at Naples; at the Royal Palace however the Sicilian guards +do duty; they are clothed in scarlet and _à anglaise_. + + +NAPLES, 8th Octr. + +One day I went to visit the Museum or _Studii_, as it is called, which is +situated at the extremity of the _Strada di Toledo_ on the land side. Here +is a superb collection of sculpture and painting; and this building +contains likewise the national library, and a choice and unique collection +of Etruscan vases. A large hall contains these vases, which were found at +Pompeii[96]; they are much admired for their beauty and simplicity; each +vase has a mythological or historical painting on it. In this Museum I was +shewn the rolls of papyrus found in Pompeii and Herculaneum and the method +of unrolling them. The work to unroll which they are now employed at this +Museum is a Greek treatise on philosophy by Epicurus. It is a most delicate +operation to unroll these leaves, and with the utmost possible care it is +impossible to avoid effacing many of the letters, and even sentences, in +the act of unrolling. It must require also considerable learning and skill +in the Greek language, combined with a good deal of practise, to supply the +deficiency of the words effaced. When these manuscripts are put in print, +the letters that remain on the papyrus are put in black type, and the words +guessed at are supplied in red; so that you see at one glance what letters +have been preserved, and what are supplied to replace those effaced by the +operation of unrolling; and in this manner are all the papyrus manuscripts' +printed. + + +_Visit to Pompeii and Ascent of Vesuvius_. + +_11th Oct_. + +We returned, Mr R---- D---- and I, from our visit to Vesuvius, half dead +with fatigue from having had little or no rest the whole night, about three +o'clock to Naples. + +We left Naples in a _calèche_ yesterday after breakfast and drove to +Portici. Portici, Resina, and Torre del Greco are beautiful little towns on +the sea-shore of the bay of Naples or rather they may be termed a +continuation of the city, as they are close together in succession, and the +interval filled up with villas. The distance from the gates of Naples to +Portici is three miles. The road runs through the court yard of the Royal +Palace at Portici which has a large archway at its entrance and sortie. We +proceeded to Resina and alighted in order to descend under ground to +Herculaneum, Resina being built on the spot where Herculaneum stood. There +are always guides on this road on the look out for travellers; one +addressed us, and conducted us to a house where we alighted and entered. +Our guide then prepared a flambeau, and having unlocked and lifted up a +trap door invited us to descend. A winding _rampe_ under ground leads to +Herculaneum. We discovered a large theatre with its proscenium, seats, +corridors, vomitories, etc., and we were enabled, having two lighted +torches with us, to read the inscriptions. Some statues that were found +here have been removed to the Museum at Portici. This is the only part of +Herculaneum that has been excavated; for if any further excavations were +attempted, the whole town of Resina, which is built over it, would fall in. +Herculaneum no doubt contains many things of value, but it would be rather +too desperate a stake to expose the town of Resina to certain ruin, for the +sake of what _might_ be found. At Pompeii the case is very different, there +being nothing built over its site. + +After having satisfied our curiosity here, we regained the light of heaven +in Resina, and proceeded to Pompeii, which is seven miles further, the +total distance from Naples to Pompeii being ten miles. The part of Pompeii +already discovered looks like a town with the houses unroofed situated in a +deep gravel or sand pit, the depth of which is considerably greater than +the height of the buildings standing in it. You descend into it from the +brink, which is on a level with the rest of the country; Pompeii is +consequently exposed to the open air, and you have neither to go under +ground, nor to use _flambeaux_ as at Herculaneum, but simply to descend as +into a pit. There is always a guard stationed at Pompeii to protect the +place from delapidation and thefts of antiquarians. From its resembling, as +I have already said, a town in the centre of a deep gravel pit, you come +upon it abruptly and on looking down you are surprized to see a city newly +brought to day. The streets and houses here remain entire, the roofs of the +houses excepted, which fell in by the effect of the excavation; so that you +here behold a Roman city nearly in the exact state it was hi when it was +buried under the ashes of Vesuvius, during its first eruption in the year +79 of the Christian era. It does not appear to me that the catastrophe of +Pompeii could have been occasioned by an earthquake, for if so the streets +and houses would not be found upright and entire: it appears rather to have +been caused by the showers of ashes and _écroulement_ of the mountain, +which covered it up and buried it for ever from the sight of day. The first +place our guide took us to see was a superb Amphitheatre about half as +large as the Coliseum: the arena and seats are perfect, and all the +interior is perfectly cleared out: so are the dens where the wild beasts +were kept; so that you look down into this amphitheatre as into a vast +basin standing on its brink, which is on a level with the rest of the +ground around it, and by means of the seats and passages you may descend +into the _arena_. This Amphitheatre is at a short distance from the rest of +the town. What is at present discovered of this city consists of a long +street with several off-sets of streets issuing from it: a temple, two +theatres, a praetorium, a large barrack, and a peculiarly large house or +villa belonging probably to some eminent person, but no doubt when the +excavation shall be recommenced many more streets will be discovered, as +from the circumstance of there being an amphitheatre, two other theatres +and a number of sepulchral monuments outside the gates, it must have been a +city of great consequence. Most of the houses seem to have had two stories; +the roofs fell in of course by the act of excavation, but the columns +remain entire. I observe that the general style of building in Pompeii in +most of the houses is as follows: that in each building there is a court +yard in the centre, something like the court yard of a convent, which is +sometimes paved in mosaic, and generally surrounded by columns; in the +middle of this court is a fountain or basin: the court has no roof and the +wings of the house form a quadrangle environing it. The windows and doors +of the rooms are made in the interior sides of the quadrangle looking into +the court yard; on the exterior there appears to be only a small latticed +window near the top of the room to admit light. I have seen in Egypt and in +India similarly built houses, and it is the general style of building in +Andalusia and Barbary. In the rooms are niches in the walls for lamps, +precisely in the style of the Moorish buildings in India. + +In many of the chambers of the houses at Pompeii are paintings _al fresco_ +and arabesques on the walls which on being washed with water appear +perfectly fresh. The subjects of these paintings are generally from the +mythology. In some of the rooms are paintings _al fresco_ of fish, flesh, +fowl and fruit; in others Venus and the Graces at their toilette, from +which we may infer that the former were dining rooms and the latter +boudoirs. A large villa (so I deem it as it stands without the gates) has a +number of rooms, two stories entire and three court yards with fountains, +many beautiful fresco paintings on the walls of the chambers. Annexed to +this villa is a garden arranged in terraces and a fish pond. A covered +gallery supported by pillars on one of the sides of the garden served +probably as a promenade in wet weather. In the cellars of this villa are a +number of _amphorae_ with narrow necks. Had the ancients used corks instead +of oil to stop their _amphorae_, wine eighteen hundred years old might have +been found here. It is not the custom even of the modern Italians to use +corks for the wine they keep for their own use: a spoonful of oil is poured +on the top of the wine in the flask and when they mean to drink it they +extract the oil by means of a lump of cotton fastened to a stick or long +pin which enters the neck of the flask and absorbs and extracts the oil. + +Among the buildings discovered in Pompeii is a large Temple of Isis; here +you behold the altar and the pillar to which the beasts of sacrifice were +fastened. In this temple at the time of the first excavation were found all +the instruments of sacrifice and other things appertaining to the worship +of that Goddess. These and other valuables such as statues, coins, utensils +of all sorts were removed to Portici, where they are now to be seen in the +Museum of that place. The _Praetorium_ at Pompeii is the next remarkable +thing; it is a vast enclosure: a great number of columns are standing +upright here and the most of them entire; the steps forming the ascent to +the elevated seat where the Praetor usually sat, remain entire. There is a +large building and court yard near one of the gates of the city supposed to +have been a barrack for soldiers; three skeletons were found here with +their legs in a machine similar to our stocks. The scribbling and +caricatures on the walls of this barrack are perfectly visible and legible. +When one wanders thro' the streets of this singularly interesting city, one +is tempted to think that the inhabitants have just walked out. What a +dreadful lingering death must have befallen these inhabitants who could not +escape from Pompeii at the time of the eruption of Vesuvius which covered +it with ashes. The air could only be exhausted by degrees, so that a +prolonged suffocation or a death by hunger must have been their lot. + +Four skeletons were found upright in the streets, having in their hands +boxes containing jewellery and things of value, as if in the act of +endeavouring to make their escape: these must soon have perished, but the +skeleton of a woman found in one of the rooms of the houses close to a bath +shews that her death must have been one of prolonged suffering. + +What a fine subject Pompeii would furnish for the pen of a Byron! As I have +before remarked, all the valuables and utensils of all sorts found here +have been removed to Portici; it is a great pity that everything could not +be left in Pompeii in the exact situation in which it was found on its +first discovery at the excavation. What a light it would have thrown (which +no description can give) on the melancholy catastrophe as well as on the +private life and manners of the ancients! But if they had been left here, +they would, even tho' a guard of soldiers were stationed here to protect +them, have been by degrees all stolen. + +There were some magnificent tombs just outside the gates which must have +been no small ornament to the city. + +We returned to Resina to dinner at six o'clock. + +We had made an arrangement with one of the guides of Vesuvius called +Salvatore that he should be ready for us at Resina at seven o'clock with a +mule and driver for each of us to ascend the mountain, and we found him +very punctual at the door of the inn at that hour. The terms of the journey +were as follows. One _scudo_ for Salvatore and one _scudo_ for each mule +and driver for which they were to forward us to the mountain, remain the +whole night and reconduct us to Resina the following morning. The object in +ascending at night and remaining until morning is to combine the night view +of the eruption with the visit (if possible) to the crater, which cannot +with safety be undertaken by night, and to enjoy likewise the noble view at +sunrise of the whole bay and city of Naples and the adjacent islands. We +started therefore at a quarter past seven and arrived at half past nine at +a small house and chapel, called the hermitage of Vesuvius, which is +generally considered as half-way up the mountain. In this house dwells an +old ecclesiastic who receives travellers and furnishes them with a couch +and frugal repast. We dismounted here and our worthy host provided us with +some mortadella and an omelette; and we did not fail to do justice to his +excellent _lacrima Christi_, of which he has always a large provision. We +then betook ourselves to rest, leaving orders to be awakened at two o'clock +in order to proceed further up the mountain. There was a pretty decent +eruption of the mountain, which vomited fire, stones and ashes at an +interval of twenty-five minutes, so that we enjoyed this spectacle during +our ascent. A violent noise, like thunder, accompanies each eruption, which +increases the awefulness and grandeur of the sight. At two o'clock our +guide and muleteers being very punctual, we bade adieu to the hermit, +promising him to come to breakfast with him the next morning; we then +mounted our mules and after an hour's march arrived at the spot where the +ashes and cinders, combined with the steepness of the mountain, prevent the +possibility of going any further except on foot. We dismounted therefore at +this place, and sent back our mules to the hermitage to wait for us there. +We now began to climb among the ashes, and tho' the ascent to the position +of the ancient crater is not more than probably eighty yards in height, we +were at least one hour before we reached it, from its excessive steepness +and from gliding back two feet out of three at every step we made. We at +length reached the old crater and sat ourselves down to repose till +day-break. Tho' it was exceeding cold, the exhalation from the veins of +fire and hot ashes kept us as warm as we could wish: for here every step is +literally + + _per ignes + Suppositos cineri doloso_.[97] + +We remained on this spot till broad daylight and witnessed several +eruptions at an interval of twenty or twenty-five minutes. I remarked that +the mountain toward the summit forms two cones, one of which vomited fire +and smoke, and the other calcined stones and ashes, accompanied by a +rumbling noise like thunder. The stones came clattering down the flanks of +the mountain and some of them rolled very near us; had we been within the +radius formed by the erupted stones we probably should have been killed. + +At daylight Mr R---- D---- proposed to ascend the two cones in spite of the +remonstrances of our guide Salvatore, who told us that no person had yet +been there and that we must expect to be crushed to death by the stones, +should an eruption take place, and that it was almost as much madness to +attempt it, as it would be to walk before a battery of cannon in the act of +being fired. Tho' I did not admit all the force of this comparison, yet I +began to think there was a little too much risk in the attempt; my French +friend however was deaf to all remonstrance and said to me, "_As-tu peur_?" +I replied: "No! that I was at all times very indifferent as to life or +death, but that I did not like pain, and was not at all desirous to have an +arm or leg broken, the former accident having happened to a German a few +days before; nevertheless, I added, if you persist in going, I will +accompany you." We accordingly started to ascend the cone, which vomited +fire and smoke, taking care to place ourselves on the windward side in +ascending, and after much fatigue we arrived in about fifteen minutes close +to the apex of the cone, after groping amidst the ashes and stumbling on a +vein of red hot cinders. My shoes were sadly burnt, my stockings singed and +my feet scorched; my friend was less fortunate, for he tumbled down with +his hands on a vein of red hot cinders and burned them terribly. My great +and principal apprehension in making this ascent was of stumbling upon +holes slightly encrusted with ashes and that the whole might give way and +precipitate me into some _gouffre._ On arrival at the summit of the cone we +had just time to look down and perceive that there was a hole or _gouffre,_ +but whether it were very deep or not we could not ascertain, for a blast of +fire and smoke issuing from it at this moment nearly suffocated us; we +immediately lost no time in gliding down the ashes on the side of the cone +on our breech, and reached its base in a few seconds, where we waited till +an eruption took place from the other cone, in order to profit of the +interval to ascend it also. It required four minutes' walk to reach the +base of the other cone and about twelve to ascend to its apex; on arrival +at the brink, where we remained about two minutes, we had just sufficient +time to observe that there was no deep hole or bottomless _gouffre_ as we +expected, but that it formed a crater with a sort of slant and not +exceeding thirty feet in depth to the bottom, which looked exactly like a +lime-kiln, being of a dirty white appearance, and in continual agitation, +as it were of limestones boiling; so that a person descending to the bottom +of this crater would probably be scorched to death or suffocated in a few +minutes, but would infallibly be ejected and thrown into the air at the +first eruption. I mean by this that he would not disappear or fall into a +bottomless pit (as I should have supposed before I viewed the crater), but +that his friends would be sure of finding his body either yet living or +dead, outside the brink of the crater, within the radius made by the +erupted stones and ashes. + +Our guide now begged us for God's sake to descend, as an eruption might be +expected every minute. We accordingly glided down the exterior surface of +the cone among the ashes, on our breech, for it is impossible to descend in +any other way and in a few seconds we reached its base. Finding ourselves +on a little level ground we began to run or rather wade thro' the ashes in +order to get out of reach of the eruption, but we had not gone thirty yards +when one took place. The stones clattered down with a frightful noise and +we received a shower of ashes on our heads, the dust of which got into our +eyes and nearly blinded us. On reaching the brink of the old crater we +stopped half an hour to enjoy the fine view of Parthenope in all her glory +at sunrise. We then descended rapidly, sometimes plunging down the ashes on +our feet and sometimes gliding on our breech till we arrived at the place +where we had descended from our mules, and this distance, which required +one hour to ascend, cost us in its descent not more than seven minutes. + +We then walked to the hermitage in about an hour and a quarter, and arrived +there with no other accident than having our shoes and stockings totally +spoiled, our feet a little singed, the hands of Mr. R.D. severely burned +and both begrimed with ashes like blacksmiths. The ecclesiastic gave us a +breakfast of coffee and eggs and a glass of Maraschino, and we gave him two +_scudi_ each. Before we departed he presented to us his Album, which he +usually does to all travellers, inviting them to write something. I took up +the pen and feeling a little inspiration wrote the following lines: + + Anch'io salito son sul gran Vesuvio, + Mentre cadsa di cineri un diluvio; + Questo cammin mi piace d'aver fatto, + Ma plù mi piace il ritornare intatto. + +which pleased the old man very much to see a foreigner write Italian verse. +I pleased him still more by letting him know that I was an enthusiastic +admirer and humble cultivator of the Tuscan Muse, and that having read and +studied most of their poets, particularly _il divino Ariosto_, I now and +then caught a _scintilletta_ from his verse. We now took a cordial farewell +of our worthy old host, mounted our mules and descended the mountain. On +arrival at Portici we dismissed our guide Salvatore with a _scudo pour +boire_, besides the stipulated price. Salvatore asked me to give him a +written certificate of his services, which he generally sollicits from all +those whom he conducts to the Volcano. I asked him for his certificate +book, and begged to know whether he would have it in prose or verse. He +laughed and said: _Vostra Excellenza è padrone_. I took out my pencil and +wrote the following quatrain: + + Dal monte ignivomo tornati siam stanchissimi, + E del buon Salvator siam tutti contentissimi; + Felice il pellogrin che a Salvator si fida, + Che di lui non si può trovare un miglior guida. + +I never saw any body so delighted as Salvatore appeared when I read to him +what I had written in his book. + +I have another observation to make before I take leave of this celebrated +mountain, which is, that the liquid lava which it ejects is far more +dangerous and destructive than the eruption of stones and ashes; the lava +flows from the flanks of the mountain in a liquid stream. Sometimes there +will be an eruption and no lava flowing: at other tunes the lava flows from +the flanks of the mountain, without any eruption from the crater; at other +times, and then it is most alarming, the eruption takes place accompanied +by the flowing of the lava. All this demonstrates that the volcano is the +effect of the efforts of the subterraneous fire to get some vent and escape +from its confinement. This time I did not observe any lava flowing, except +a slight vein of it on the spot where Mr R.D. fell down and burned his +hands; but it is easy to observe on the side of the mountain the course and +route taken at different times by the lava, which has become hardened and +is very plainly to be distinguished, as it resembles a _river_ (if I may +use the word) of slate meandering between the green sward of the mountain +and descending toward the sea. You can plainly distinguish the course and +direction of the lava which destroyed part of Torre del Greco and swept it +into the sea. + +At Portici, having washed ourselves at the inn from head to foot in order +to get rid of our blacksmith's appearance, and having purchased a new pair +of shoes and stockings each, we visited the Royal Palace and Museum with a +view principally of examining the objects of art and valuables discovered +in Pompeii. The Royal Palace is called _la Favorita_, its architecture is +beautiful; the garden or rather lawn which is ornamented by statues and +enriched by orange groves extends to the sea. The first thing that presents +itself to the view of the visitor at the Museum of Portici are the two +equestrian statues of Marcus Balbus proconsul and procurator and of his +son, which statues were found in Herculaneum. I forgot to mention that +there is an inscription with that name on the side of the proscenium of the +theatre easily legible by the light of _flambeaux_. + +To return to the Museum at Portici, we were then shewn into a room +containing curious _morceaux_ of antiquity discovered at Pompeii: a tripod +in bronze and various other articles of the same metal; tables, various +lamps in bronze, resembling exactly those used in Hindostan, wooden pens, +dice, grains of corn quite black and scorched, a skeleton of a woman with +the ashes incrusted round it (the form of her breast is seen on the crust +of ashes; golden armlets were found on her which were shewn to us), steel +mirrors, combs, utensils for culinary purposes, such as _casseroles_, +frying pans, spoons, forks, pestles and mortars, instruments of sacrifice, +weights and measures, coins, a _carcan_ or _stock_, &c. + +In the upper rooms are to be seen the paintings and _fresques_ found in the +same place. The paintings are poor things, and in their landscapes the +Romans seem to have had little more idea of perspective than the Chinese; +but the _fresques_ are beautiful: the female figures belonging thereto are +delineated with the utmost grace and delicacy. They consist of subjects +chiefly from the mythology. I noticed the following in particular, viz., +Chiron teaching the young Achilles to draw the bow; the discovery of +Orestes; Theseus and the Minotaur (he has just slain the Minotaur and a boy +is in the act of kissing his hand as if to thank him for his deliverance; +the Minotaur is here represented as a monster with the body of a man and +the head of a bull); a Centaur carrying off a nymph; a car drawn by a +parrot and driven by a cricket: a woman offering to another little Loves +for sale (she is pulling out the little Cupids from a basket and holding +them by their wings as if they were fowls); a beautiful female figure +seated on a monster something like the Chimaera of the ancients and holding +a cup before the monster's mouth (emblematical of Hope nourishing a +Chimaera). The arabesques taken from Pompeii and preserved here are very +beautiful. Here also are two statues found in Pompeii: the one representing +a drunken Faun, the other a sitting Mercury. We met two Polish ladies here, +who were amusing themselves in copying the _fresques_. We returned to +Naples at five o'clock, and dined at the _Villa di Napoli_. In the evening +we went to the _Teatro de' Fiorentini_. The piece performed was Pamela or +_La virtû premiata,_ which I understand is quite a stock piece in Italy. It +is written by Goldoni. It was very badly performed; the actors were not +perfect in their parts, and the prompter's voice was as loud as usual. The +costume was appropriate enough, which is far from being always the case at +this theatre. + + +NAPLES, 13 Octr. + +We started on the 12th at six o'clock in the morning (Mr R----- D. and +myself) in a _calèche_ in order to visit Puzzuoli, Baii and all the +classical ground in that direction. We of course passed through the grotto +of Pausilippo. This grotto is thirty feet high and about five hundred feet +long. In fact, it is a vast rock undermined and a high road running thro' +it, the breadth of which is sufficient for three carriages to go abreast. +From its great length it is of course exceeding dark; in order therefore to +obviate this inconvenience lamps constantly lighted are suspended from the +roof and on the sides of the grotto, and holes pierced towards the top to +admit a little daylight. The road pierced thro' this rock and called the +grotto of Pausilippo abridges the journey to Puzzuoli very considerably, as +otherwise you would be obliged to go round by Cape Margelina, which would +increase the distance ten miles. On issuing from the grotto on the other +side, you arrive in a few minutes on the seashore, on the bay formed +between Cape Margelina and Puzzuoli. We stopped at the lake Agnano which is +strongly impregnated with sulfur. On the banks of this lake are the +_Thermae_ or vapour baths, and here is also the famous _Grotto del Cane_, +the pestilential vapour arising from which rises about three inches from +the ground and has the appearance of a spider's web. An unfortunate dog +performs the miracle of the resurrection to all those who visit this +natural curiosity; and we also were curious to see its effect. The guardian +of the Thermes seized the poor animal and held his nose close to the place +from whence the vapour exhales. The dog was seized with strong convulsions +and in two minutes he was perfectly senseless and to all appearance dead; +but on being placed in the open air, he soon recovers. The poor beast shews +evident repugnance to the experiment, and I wonder he does not endeavor to +make his escape, for he has sometimes to perform this feat four or five +times a day. I should suppose that he will not be very long lived, for the +repeated doses of this mephitic vapour must surely accelerate his +dissolution. The heat of the _Thermae_ and steam of the sulphur is almost +insupportable; but it has a most beneficial effect on maladies of the +nerves and cutaneous complaints. + +We then proceeded on our journey to Puzzuoli, the ancient Puteoli, where +are the remains of the famous mole (or bridge as others call it) of +Caligula, intended to embrace or unite the two extremes of the bay of Baiae +formed on one side by Puzzuoli and on the other by cape Misenus. We +alighted to take a _déjeuner à la fourchette_ at Puzzuoli, and then went to +visit the temple of Jupiter Serapis, which is a vast edifice and tho' in +ruins very imposing. On wandering thro' the enceinte of this famous temple, +I thought of Apollonius of Tyana and his sudden appearance to his friend +Damis at the porch of this very temple, when he escaped from the fangs of +Domitian and when it was believed that, by means of magic art, he had been +able at once to transport himself from the Praetorium at Rome to Puteoli. +As I said before, the bay included by cape Misenus and Puzzuoli is what is +called Baiae. The land is low and marshy from Puzzuoli to a little beyond +the lake Avernus; but from Monte Nuovo it begins to rise and form high +cliffs nearly all way to Cape Misenus. It was on these high cliffs that the +opulent Romans built their villas and they must have been as much crowded +together as the villas at Ramsgate and Broadstairs. We embarked in a boat +at Puzzuoli to cross over to Baiae (i.e., the place where the villas +begin), but we stopped on our way thither at a landing place nearly in the +centre of the bay in order to visit the lake Avernus and the Cave of the +Cumaean Sybil, described by Virgil, as the entrance into the realm of +Pluto. The lake Avernus, in spite of its being invested by the poets with +all that is terrible in the mythology as a river of Hell, looks very like +any other lake, and tho' it is impregnated with sulphur, and emits a most +unpleasant smell, birds do not drop down dead on flying over it as +formerly. The ground about it is marshy and unwholesome. The silence and +melancholy appearance of this lake and its environing groves of wood are +not calculated to inspire exhilarating ideas. Full of classic souvenirs we +went to descend into the Cave of the Sybil, and as we descended I could not +refrain from repeating aloud Virgil's lines: + + _Di quibus imperium est animarum umbrasque silentes_,[98] etc. + +This descent really is fitted to give one an idea of the descent to the +shades below, and what added to the illusion was that when we arrived at +the bottom of the descent and just at the entrance of the cave where the +Sybil held her oracles, we discovered four fierce looking fellows with +lighted torches in their hands standing at the entrance. My friend cried +out _Voilà les Furies_, and these proved to be our boatmen who, while we +were contemplating the _bolge d'Averno_, had run on before to provide +torches to shew us the interior of the grotto of the Sybil. As this grotto +is nearly knee-deep filled with water we got on the backs of the boatmen to +enter it. It is about twenty-five feet long, fifteen broad and the height +about thirteen feet. As we were neither devoured by Cerberus nor hustled by +old Charon into his boat, we returned from the _Shades below_ to the light +of heaven, triumphant like Ulysses or Aeneas, considering ourselves now +among the _Pauci quos aequus amavit Jupiter_.[99] + +Acheron, the dreadful Acheron, is not far from Avernus and is likewise a +lake, tho' call'd a river in the mythology. It is also sulfuric and the +ground about it is woody, low, marshy and consequently aguish. + +We next ascended the cliffs of Baiae and we were shown the remains of the +villas of Cicero, Caesar, Sylla and other great names. We then went to the +baths of Nero (so called). Here it is the fashion to descend under ground +in order to feel the effect of the sulfuric heat, which is intense, and my +friend who descended soon returned dripping with perspiration and calling +out: _Qui n'a pas vu cela n'a rien vu!_ but I did not chuse to descend, as +I could feel no pleasure in being half stifled and the _grotto del Cane_ +had already given me a full idea of the force of the vapour of the +_Thermes_. + +We then descended from the cliffs of Baiae on the other side, and visited +the remains of three celebrated temples of antiquity situated on the beach +nearly and very close to each other, viz., the temples of Diana, of Venus +and of Mercury; all striking objects and majestic, tho' in a state of +dilapidation. Each of these temples has cupolas. We then ascended the slope +of ground leading towards cape Misensus, to visit the _Cento Camarelle_ and +_Piscina mirabile_, both vast edifices under ground, serving as cellars or +appendages to a Palace that stood on this spot. We then visited the lake +called the _Mare Morto_ or Styx; and then went round to the other side of +it, to visit those beautiful _coteaux_ planted in vines and their summits +crowned with groves which have obtained the name of the Elysian fields. +This Styx and these Elysian fields look like any other lake and _coteaux_ +and are entirely indebted to the lyre of Maro for their celebrity. + +From thence we went to the extremity of cape Misenus and embarked in our +boat (which we had sent on there to wait for us) to return to Puzzuoli by +crossing the bay at once. In this bay and near cape Misenus a Roman fleet +was usually stationed and Pliny's uncle, I believe, commanded one there at +the time of the first eruption of Vesuvius which cost him his life. + +There is a singular phenomenon in this bay of a mountain that in one of the +later eruptions and earthquakes was formed in twenty-four hours near the +seashore and was named _Monte Nuovo._ + +The small salt water lake called _Lacus Lucrinus_ is also on this bay. It +appears to me to be an artificial lake, made probably by the opulent Romans +who resided at Baiae to hold their mullets and other sea fish which they +wished to fatten. + +Near Puzzuoli likewise is the famous _Solfaterra,_ the bed of an ancient +volcano. It is well worth examining. It has been long since extinguished, +but you meet with vast beds of sulphur and calcined stones, and the smell +is at times almost insupportable. We returned to Naples by half-past seven +o'clock, not a little tired but highly gratified by our excursion. + + +NAPLES, 14th Oct. + +At the _Teatro Nuovo_ I have seen another Italian tragedy performed. The +piece was _Tito Manlio Torquato_, taken from the well known anecdote in the +Roman history. The scenery, decorations and _costume_ were good and +appropriate, not so the acting; for the actors as usual were imperfect in +their parts. I fully agree with Alfieri that Italy must be united and enjoy +a free popular government before one can expect to see tragedies well +performed. It is very diverting to see the puppet shows at Naples and to +hear the witticisms and various artifices of the showman of Pulcinello to +secure payment in advance from his audience, who would otherwise go away +without paying as soon as the performance was over. + +This performance is much attended by the _lazzaroni_ and _fainéans_ of the +lower orders of Naples and the puppet showman is obliged to have recourse +to various stratagems and ingenious sallies to induce a handsome +contribution to be made. Sometimes he will say with a very grave face (the +curtain being drawn up and no Pulcinello appearing) that he is very sorry +there can be no performance this day; for that poor Signor Pulcinello is +sick and has no money to pay the Doctor: but that if a _quête_ be made for +him, he will get himself cured and make his appearance as usual. All the +while that one of the showmen goes about collecting the _grani_, the other +holds a dialogue with Pulcinello (still invisible). Pulcinello groans and +is very miserable. At length the collection is made. Pulcinello takes +medicine, says he is well again, makes his appearance and begins. At +another time the audience is informed that there can be no performance as +Pulcinello is arrested for debt and put in prison, where he must remain +unless a subscription of money be made for him to pay his debts and take +him out of gaol. Then follows an absurd dialogue between Pulcinello +(supposed to answer from the prison) and the showman. The showman scolds +him for being a spendthrift and leading a profligate life, calls him a +_briccone_, a _birbante_, and Pulcinello only groans out in reply, _Povero +me, Povero Pulcinello, che disgrazia! sventurato di me! di non aver +denari!_ These strokes of wit never fail to bring in many a _grano_. + +At another time the curtain is drawn up and discovers a gibbet and +Pulcinello standing on a ladder affixed to it with a rope round his neck. +The showman with the utmost gravity and assumed melancholy informs the +audience that a most serious calamity is about to happen to Naples: that +Signor Pulcinello is condemned to be hanged for a robbery, and that unless +he can procure _molti denari_ to bribe the officers of justice to let him +escape, he will inevitably be hanged and the people will never more behold +their unhappy friend Pulcinello. The showman now implores the commiseration +of the audience, and now reproaches Pulcinello with his profligacy and +nefarious pranks which have brought him to an untimely end. Pulcinello +sobs, cries, promises to reform and to attend mass regularly in future. +What Neapolitan heart can resist such an appeal? The _grani_ are collected. +Pulcinello gives money to the puppet representing the executioner; down +goes the gibbet, and Pulcinello is himself again. + +I shall return in a day or two to Rome, having seen nearly all that Naples +affords. I have now full liberty to die when I chuse according to the +proverb: _Veder Napoli e poà morire_. + +Naples certainly is, taking it all in all, the most interesting city in +Europe, for it unites every thing that is conducive to the _agrémens_ of +life. A beautiful city, a noble bay, a vast commerce, provisions of the +best sort, abundant and cheap, a pleasant society, a delicious climate, +music, Operas, _Balli,_ Libraries, Museums of Painting and Sculpture; in +its neighbourhood two subterraneous cities, a volcano in full play, and +every spot of ground conveying the most interesting _souvenirs_ and +immortalized in prose and verse. Add thereto the vapour baths of sulphur +for stringing anew the nerves of those debilitated by a too ardent pursuit +of pleasure, and the Fountain of St Lucia for those suffering from a +redundancy of bile. Now tell me of any other residence which can equal +this? Adieu. + + +ROME, 22nd Octr. + +Nothing material occurred on my return from Naples to Rome; but on the 2d +day after my arrival I made an excursion to Tivoli, which is about eighteen +miles distant from Rome. I passed the night at the only inn at Tivoli. The +next morning I walked to the _Villa d'Este_ in this neighbourhood, which is +a vast edifice with extensive grounds. Here on a terrace in front of the +villa are models in marble of all the principal edifices and monuments, +ancient and modern, of Rome, very ingeniously executed. From the _Villa +d'Este_ is a noble view of the whole plain of Latium and of the "Eternal +City." + +From hence I walked about two miles further to visit the greatest antiquity +and curiosity of the place, which is the Villa or rather the ruins of the +celebrated Villa built by Adrian, which must have been of immense size from +the vast space of ground it occupies. It was intended to unite everything +that the magnificent ideas of a Prince could devise who wished to combine +every sort of recreation, sensual as well as intellectual, within the +precincts of his Palace; columns, friezes, capitals, entablatures and +various other spoils of rich architecture cover the ground in profusion: +many of the walls and archways are entire and almost an entire cupola +remains standing. Besides the buildings above ground, here are cellars +under ground intended as quarters for the guards and capable of holding +three thousand men, as well as stabling for horses. In the inclosure of and +forming part of this Villa, which covers a circumference of seven miles, +were a gymnasium, baths, temples, a school of philosophers, tanks, a +theatre, &c. The greatest part of these buildings are choaked up and +covered with earth, since it is by excavation alone that what does appear +was brought to light. It was by excavation that a man discovered a large +hall wherein he found the nine beautiful statues of the Muses, which now +adorn the Museum of the Vatican; and no doubt if the Roman government would +recommence the excavations many more valuables might be found. Hadrian's +villa has already furnished many a statue, column and pilaster to the +Museums, churches and Palaces of Rome. + +I was much more gratified in beholding the remains of this Villa than in +visiting Tivoli and I remained here several hours. At four o'clock in the +afternoon I started on my return to Rome; it was imprudent not to have +started sooner, as it is always dangerous to be outside the walls of Rome +after dark, in consequence of the brigands who infest the environs and +sometimes come close to the walls of the city. + +I reached my hotel in Rome at nine o'clock, one hour and half after dark, +but had the good fortune to meet nobody. The Roman peasantry generally go +armed and those who feed cattle in the fields of the Campagna or have any +labour to perform there never sleep there on account of the _mal'aria._ + + +[93] Horace, _Epist.,_ II, 1, 156.--ED. + +[94] Horace, Sat., i, 5, 26.--ED. + +[95] A _carlino_ is of the value of half a franc or five pence English. The + accounts in Naples are kept in _ducati_, _carlini_ and _grani_. Ten + _carlini_ make a ducat and ten _grani_ (a copper coin) make a carlino. + A grano is a _sou_ French in value. The _ducato_ is an imaginary coin. + The _soudo Napoletano_, a handsome silver coin of the size of an _écu + de six francs_, is equal to twelve carlini. + +[96] Not one of these vases was found at Pompeii.--ED. + +[97] Horace, _Carm_., II, 1, 7.--ED. + +[98] Virgil, _Aen_., VI, 264.--ED. + +[99] Virgil, _Aen_., VI, 129.--ED. + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +NOVEMBER-DECEMBER, 1816 + +From Rome to Florence--Sismondi the historian--Reminiscences of +India--Lucca--Princess Elisa Baciocchi--Pisa--The Campo Santo--Leghorn-- +Hebrews in Leghorn--Lord Dillon--The story of a lost glove--From Florence +to Lausanne by Milan, Turin and across Mont Cenis--Lombardy in winter--The +Hospice of Mont Cenis. + + +FLORENCE, Novr. 20th. + +I bade adieu to Rome on the 28th October and returned here by the same road +I went, viz., by Radicofani and Sienna. I arrived here after a journey of +six days, having been detained one day at Aquapendente on account of the +swelling of the waters. The day after my arrival here I despatched a letter +to Pescia to Mr Sismondi de' Sismondi, the celebrated author of the history +of the Italian Republics, to inform him of my intended visit to him, and I +forwarded to him at the same time two letters of introduction, one from +Colonel Wardle and the other from Mr Piton, banker at Geneva, who mentioned +me in his letter to Sismondi as having _des idées parfaitement analogues +aux siennes_. I received a most friendly answer inviting me to come to +Pescia and to pass a few days with him at his villa. Pescia is thirty miles +distant from Florence and the same from Leghorn. I was delighted with the +opportunity of seeing a man whom I esteemed so much as an author and as a +citizen, and of visiting at the same time the different cities of Tuscany, +particularly Lucca and Pisa. I accordingly hired a cabriolet and on the +morning of the 6th Novr drove to Prato, a good-sized handsome town, solidly +built, ten miles distant from Florence. The country on each side of the +road appears highly cultivated, and the road is lined with villas and farm +houses with gardens nearly the whole way. Changing horses at Prato, I +proceeded ten miles further to Pistoia, a large elegant and well-built town +on the banks of the Ombrone. + +The streets in Pistoia are broad and well paved and the _Palazzo pubblico_ +is a striking building; so is the _Seminario_ or College. Here I changed +horses again and proceeded to Pescia, where I alighted at the villa of M. +Sismondi. The distance between Pistoia and Pescia is about ten or eleven +miles. + +Pescia is a beautiful little town, very clean and solidly built, lying in a +valley surrounded nearly on all sides by mountains. Its situation is +extremely romantic and picturesque, and there are several handsome villas +on the slopes and summits of these mountains. On market days Pescia is +crowded with the country people who flock hither from all parts, and one is +astonished to see such a number of beautiful and well dressed country +girls. Industry and comfort are prevalent here, as is the case indeed all +over Tuscany; I mean agricultural industry, for commerce is just now at a +stand. + +I passed three most delightful days and which will live for ever in my +recollection, with Mr Sismondi, in whom I found an inexhaustible fund of +talent and information, combined with such an unassuming simplicity of +character and manner that he appeared to me by far the most agreeable +litterary man that I ever met with. His mother, who is a lady of great +talent and perfectly conversant in English litterature, resides with him. +His sister also is settled at Pescia, being married to a Tuscan gentleman +of the name of Forti. The sister has a full share of the talents and +amiable qualities of her mother and brother. With a family of such +resources as this, you may suppose our conversation did not flag for a +moment, nor do I recollect in the course of my whole life having passed +such a pleasant time; and I only wished that the three days could be +prolonged to three years. Politics, the occurrences of the day, living +characters, classical reminiscences, French, English, Italian and German +litterature, afforded us an inexhaustible variety of topics for +conversation: and the profound local knowledge that Mr Sismondi possesses +of Italy, of its history and antiquities, renders his communications of the +utmost value to the traveller. Our supper was prolonged to a late hour and +I question if the suppers and conversations of Scipio and Atticus, those +_nodes caenaeque Deum_[100] were more piquant or afforded more variety than +ours. Shakespeare, Schiller, Voltaire, Ariosto, Dante, Filangieri, Michel +Angelo, Washington, Napoleon, all furnished anecdotes and reflexions in +abundance. + +The last evening that I passed here, two families of Pescia came in. One of +the gentlemen was a great reader of voyages and travels, and India suddenly +became the subject of discourse. As I had passed six years in that country, +during which time I had visited the three Presidencies of Calcutta, Madras, +and Bombay, having ascended the Ganges as far as Benares, having visited +the Mysore country and Nizam's territory, having sojourned three weeks +among the splendid and magnificent ruins of Bijanagur or Bisnagar, having +travelled thro' the whole of the Deccan from Pondicherry to cape Comorin, +besides having traversed on horseback the whole circumference of Ceylon and +across the whole island from East to West by the Wanny, I was enabled to +furnish them with many an anecdote from the Eastern world, which to them +was a great treat, and I dare say at times my narration appeared almost as +marvellous as a story in the Arabian Nights, particularly when I related +the various religious ceremonies, the grim Idol of Juggernaut, the swinging +to _recover cast_, the exposure of old people to the holy death in the +Ganges by stopping up their nose, mouth and ears with mud, and placing them +on the water's edge at low tide in order that they should be swept off at +the high water; the holy city of Benares; the magnificent remains of +Bisnagar; the splendid Pagodas of Ramisseram; the policy of the Bramins; +the appalling voluntary penances of the _Joguis_ or _Fakirs_ as the +Europeans call them; the bed of spikes; the arm held up in the air for +fifteen years; the tiger hunt; the method of catching the elephant in +Ceylon; the pearl fishery; Sepoy establishment; in short I must have +appeared to them a Ulysses or a Sindbad, and I dare say that they thought I +added from time to time a little embellishment from my imagination, tho' I +can safely and solemnly aver that I did not extenuate nor exaggerate any +thing, but simply related what I had myself seen and witnessed. + +Mr Sismondi is under a sort of banishment from his native country Geneva in +consequence of the side of the question he took in his writings on the +return of the Emperor Napoleon from Elba. It was indeed natural for the +restored government (the Bourbons) to desire the removal from France of a +man of talent who had exposed their past and might scrutinize their future +conduct and wilful faults; but why the Government of Geneva should espouse +their quarrel and visit one of their most estimable citizens with +banishment for opinions not at all connected with nor influential upon +Geneva, appears to me not only absurd and anomalous, but unjust in the +highest degree. But such is the state of degradation to which Europe is +reduced by the triumph of the old _régime_; and the Swiss Governments are +compelled to become the instruments of the vengeance of the coalition. But +I shall dwell no more on this subject at present. Let us hope that in a +short time a more liberal spirit will arise, and the Genevese will be eager +to recall in triumph the illustrious citizen of whom they have so much +reason to be proud. + +We spent our mornings, Mr Sismondi and I, in promenades towards the most +striking points of the country immediately environing Pescia, and as I had +at this time some idea of coming to settle in Tuscany, he was so kind as to +conduct me to look at several villas that were to let; and I inspected +three very beautiful ones well furnished and each capable of holding a +large family, that were to be let for 18, 20, and 24 _louis d'or_ per +annum. + +Wine and every article of life is of prodigious cheapness here, and the +inhabitants are so respectable, and there is such an absence of all crime, +that Pescia must be a very desirable and economical residence for any +foreign family possessing a sufficient knowledge of Italian to mix with the +society of the natives. There are several ancient and noble families in the +neighbourhood, highly respectable in point of moral character and manners, +but rather in _décadence_ in point of fortune. + +It was with the greatest regret that I bade adieu to the amiable Sismondi, +his mother and sister; but I hope for a time only, as I have some idea of +removing my domicile from Lausanne to this part of the world. + +I started at 10 o'clock a.m. on the 11th of November and after two hours' +journey in a cabriolet arrived at Lucca, a distance of ten miles, and put +up at the _Hôtel del Pelicano._ The road runs thro' a highly cultivated +country. + +Lucca is a large fortified city, situated hi a beautifully luxuriant plain +or basin surrounded on all sides by hills and mountains of various slopes, +contours and heights, and abounding in villas, vineyards, mulberry and +olive plantations. Every spot of ground is in cultivation and the industry +of the inhabitants of Lucca is proverbial. Indeed the whole territory of +this little _ci-devant_ Republic is a perfect paradise. + +The city itself, from the massiveness and solidity of the edifices, has +more of a solemn than a lively appearance; but there is a delightful walk +on the ramparts which are lined with trees. The streets are well paved. The +extreme antiquity of the city and style of its edifices make it appear less +_riani_ than the other cities in Tuscany. The Cathedral is Gothic and there +are in it the statues of the four Evangelists. This and the _Palazzo +Pubblico_ are the most conspicuous edifices. Tho' the Republic is +annihilated, the word _Libertas_ still remains on an escutcheon on the +gates of the city. Lucca, tho' no longer a Republic and enclavée in +Tuscany, is for the present an independent state and belongs to an Infanta +of Spain (formerly Princess of Parma) who takes the title of Duchess of +Lucca. It is generally supposed however that on the demise of Maria Louisa, +ex-Empress of the French and now Duchess of Parma, this family, viz., the +Duchess of Lucca and her son will resume their ancient possessions in the +Parmesan, and that Lucca will then be incorporated with Tuscany. + +Before the fall of Napoleon the Princess Elisa Baciocchi his sister was +sovereign of Lucca, and she it was who has embellished the outside of the +city with some beautiful promenades. She devoted her whole time, talents +and resources to the good of her subjects and is highly esteemed and much +regretted by them. The present Duchess of Lucca has no other character but +that which seems common to the Royal families of France, Spain and Naples; +viz., of being very weak and priest-ridden. Lucca furnishes excellent +female servants who are remarkable for their industry and probity. Their +only solace is their lover or _amoroso_, as they term him; and when they +enter into the service of any family, they always stipulate for one day in +the week on which they must have liberty to visit their _amoroso_, or the +_amoroso_ must be allowed to come to the house to visit them. This is an +ancient custom among them and has no pernicious consequences, nor does it +interfere with their other good qualities. At the back of Lucca is an +immense mountain which stands between it and Pisa, and intercepts the +reciprocal view of the two cities which are only ten miles distant from +each other. This mountain and its peculiarity is the very one mentioned by +Dante in his _Inferno_ in the _episode_ of Ugolino: + + _Cacciando il lupo e i lupicini_ AL MONTE, + PER CHE i Pisan veder Lucca NON ponno.[101] + +I started from Lucca in a cabriolet and in two hours arrived at Pisa, +putting up at the _Tre Donzelle_ on the Quai of the Arno. Between Lucca and +Pisa are the _Bagni di Lucca_, a favorite resort for the purpose of bathing +and drinking the mineral waters. + +Pisa is one of the most beautiful cities I have seen in Italy. The extreme +elegance and comfort of the houses, the spacious Quai on the Arno which +furnishes a most agreeable promenade, the splendid style of architecture of +the _Palazzi_ and public buildings, the cleanliness of the streets, the +salubrity of the climate, the mildness of the winter, the profusion and +cheapness of all the necessaries of life, and above all the amenity and +simplicity of the inhabitants, combine to make Pisa an agreeable and +favorite residence. Yet the population having much decreased there appears +an air of melancholy stillness about the city and grass may be seen in some +of the streets. This decay in population causes lodgings to be very cheap. + +The most striking object in Pisa is the leaning tower _(Torre cadente)_ and +after that the Cathedral, Baptistery, and _Campo Santo_ which are all close +to the tower and to each other. Imagine two fine Gothic Churches in a +square or place like Lincoln's Inn Fields; a large oblong building nearly +at right angles with the churches and inclosing a green grass plot in its +quadrangle and a leaning tower of cylindrical form facing the churches: and +then you will have a complete idea of this part of Pisa. + +I must not omit to mention that there is a breed of camels here belonging +to the Grand Duke; I believe it is the only part of Europe except Turkey +where the breed of camels is attempted to be propagated. + + +LEGHORN, 17 Novr. + +I left Pisa for Leghorn on the morning of the 15th November, and after a +drive of two hours in a cabriolet I arrived at the latter place and put up +at the _Aquila Nera._ The distance between Pisa and Leghorn is only 10 or +11 miles and a plain with few trees, either planted in corn or in +pasturage, forms the landscape between the two cities. + +Leghorn (Livorno), being a modern city, does not offer anything remarkably +interesting to the classical traveller either from its locality or its +history. Founded under the auspices of the Medici it has risen rapidly to +grandeur and opulence, and has eclipsed Genoa in commerce. It is a +remarkably handsome city, the streets being all broad and at right angles; +the _Piazze_ are large and the _Piazza Grande_ in particular is +magnificent. There is a fine broad street leading from the _Piazza Grande_ +to the Port. The Port and Mole are striking objects and considerable +commercial bustle prevails there. + +Among the few things worthy of particular notice is the Jewish Synagogue, +decorated with costly lamps and inscriptions in gold in the Hebrew and +Spanish languages, many of which allude to the hospitality and protection +afforded to the Hebrew nation by the Sovereigns of Tuscany. There are a +great number of Hebrew families here: they all speak Spanish, being the +descendants of those unfortunate Jews who were expelled from Spain at the +time of the expulsion of the Moors in the reign of Don Felipe III surnamed +_el Discreto_, who was determined not to suffer either a Jew, Mahometan or +heretic in all his dominions. This barbarous decree was the ruin and +destruction of a number of industrious families, thousands of whom died of +despair at being exiled from their native land. In return for this what has +Spain gained? The Inquisition--despotism in its worst form--poverty--rags +--lice--an overbearing insolent and sanguinary priesthood of whom the +monarch is either the puppet or the slave; a degraded nobility; a half +savage, grossly ignorant, lazy and brutal people. A proper judgment on the +Spanish nation for its cruelty and fanaticism! My guide at Leghorn +conducted me to see the burying ground belonging to the English factory, +which is interesting enough from the variety of tombs, monuments and +inscriptions. Here all Protestants, to whatever nation they belong, are +buried. I noticed Smollett's tomb. It is on the whole an interesting spot, +tho' not quite so much so as the cemetery of Père La Chaise at Paris. + +I returned to Florence from Leghorn _tout d'une traite_ in the diligence. +We stopped at Fornacetti (half way) to dine. There is a good _table d'Hôte +(ordinario)_ there. + + +FLORENCE, 22nd Novr. + +I have become acquainted with Lord Dillon[102] and his family, who are +residing here and from whom I have received much civility. I met at his +house the Marchese Giuliani, one of the adherents of King Joachim, a very +amiable and clever man who speaks English fluently. Lord Dillon is a man of +much reading and information and his conversation is at all times a great +treat. His lady too is very amiable and accomplished. I went one day with a +friend of mine to a _pique-nique_ party at the Cascino, where a laughable +adventure occurred perfectly in the stile of the _novelle_ of Boccacio. As +it is not the custom in Florence that husbands and wives should go together +to places of public amusement, the lady is generally accompanied by her +_cavalier servente:_ but it by no means follows that the _cavalier +servente_ is the favored lover: one is often adopted as a cover to another +who enjoys the peculiar favors of the lady. A gentleman who arrived at the +hall where the supper table was laid out, somewhat earlier than the rest of +the company and before the chamber was lighted, observed a gentleman and +lady ascend the staircase, turn aside by a corridor and enter a chamber +together. It was dark and he could not distinguish their persons. He waited +fifteen or twenty minutes and observed them leave the chamber together, +pass along the corridor and disappear. He had the curiosity to go into the +chamber they had just left and found on the bed a lady's glove. He took up +the glove and put it in his pocket, determined that this incident should +afford him some amusement at supper and the company also by putting some +fair one to the blush. Accordingly, when the supper was nearly over, he +held up the glove and asked with a loud voice if any lady had lost a glove; +when his own wife who was sitting at the same table at some distance from +him called out with the utmost _sangfroid: E il mio! dammelo: l'ho lasciato +cadere._ You may conceive what a laugh there was against him, for he had +related the circumstances of his finding it to several of the company +before they sat down to supper. This reminded me of an anecdote mentioned +by Brantôme as having occurred at Milan in his time, a glove being in this +case also the cause of the _désagrément_. A married lady had been much +courted by a Spanish Cavalier of the name of Leon: one day, thinking he had +made sure of her, he followed her into her bedroom, but met with a severe +and decided repulse and was compelled to leave her _re infectà _. In his +confusion he left one of his gloves on the bed which remained there +unperceived by the lady. The husband of the lady arrived shortly afterwards +and as he was aware of the attentions of the Spaniard to his wife and had +noticed his going into the house, he went directly to his wife's chamber, +where the first thing that captivated his attention was a man's military +glove on the bed. He, however, said nothing, but from that moment abstained +from all conjugal duty. The lady finding herself thus neglected by a +husband who had been formerly tender and attentive, was at a loss to know +the reason, and determined to come to an _éclaircissement_ with him in as +delicate a manner as she could. She therefore took a slip of paper, wrote +the following lines thereon and placed it on his table: + + _Vigna era, vigna son; + Era podada, or più non son; + E non sò per qual cagion + Non mi poda il mio patron._[103] + +The husband, on reading these lines, wrote the following in answer: + + _Vigna eri, vigna sei; + Eri podada, e più non sei; + Per la gran fa del Leon + Non ti poda il tuo patron._ + +The lady on reading these lines perceived at once the cause of her +husband's estrangement and succeeded in explaining the matter +satisfactorily to him, which was facilitated by the ingenuous declaration +of Leon himself that he had tried to succeed but had been repulsed. The +husband and wife being perfectly reconciled lived happily and no doubt the +vine was cultivated as usual. + +I left Florence the 27th November, and arrived at Turin 5th December. In an +evil hour I engaged myself to accompany an old Swiss Baroness with whom I +became acquainted at the Hotel of Mine Hembert to accompany her to Turin. +She had with her her son, a fine boy of thirteen years of age but very much +spoiled. We engaged a _vetturino_ to conduct us to Turin, stopping one day +at Milan. The Baroness did not speak Italian and generally sent for me to +interpret for her when any disputes occurred between her and the people at +the inns, and these disputes were tolerably frequent, as she always gave +the servants wherever she stopped a good deal of trouble and on departing +generally forgot to give them the _buona grazia._ I sometimes paid them for +her myself in order to avoid noise and tumult; at other times we departed +under vollies of abuse and imprecations such as _brutta vecchia, maladetta +carogna,_ and so forth. The Baroness had strong aristocratic prejudices and +was a bitter enemy of the French Revolution to which she attributed +collectively all the _désagrémens_ she had experienced during life and all +the inconveniences she met with during our present journey. The negligence +and impertinence of the servants in Italy were invariably attributed by her +to the revolutionary principle and she told me that the servants in her +native canton Bern were the best in the world, but that even in them the +French Revolution had made a great deal of difference and that they were +not so submissive as they used to be. As she sent for me to be her dragoman +in all her disputes on the road, you may conceive how glad I was to arrive +at Turin to be rid of her. She put me in mind of Gabrina in the _Orlando +Furioso._ We stopped one day at Milan but we were very near being detained +two or three days at Fiacenza owing to an informality in the Baroness's +passport, which had not been visé by the Austrian Legation at Florence. In +vain she pleaded that she was told at the inn at Florence that such _visa_ +was not necessary; the police officer at the Austrian _Douane_, at a short +distance beyond Piacenza, was inexorable and refused to _viser_ her +passport to allow her to proceed. She was in a sad dilemma and it was +thought we should be obliged to remain at Piacenza. I however recommended +her to be guided by me and not to talk with or scold anybody, and that I +would ensure her arrival at Milan without difficulty, for I had observed +that her scolding the officer at the _Douane_ only served to make him more +obstinate. I recommended her therefore that when we should arrive within +sixty or seventy paces of the gate at Milan, she should get out of the +carriage with her son and walk thro' the gate on foot with the utmost +unconcern as if she belonged to the town and was returning from a +promenade; and that while they stopped us who were in the carriage to +examine our passports, she should walk direct to the inn where we were to +lodge, then write to the Consul of her nation to explain the business. She +followed my advice and passed unobserved and unmolested into Milan. On the +preceding evening at Castel-puster-lengo at supper I asked whether she +thought the rigour of the Austrian government was also the offspring of the +French Revolution. The Baroness had brought up her son in all these +feelings and particularly in a determined hatred of the Canton de Vaud; for +in the evening when we arrived at the inn and were sitting round the fire, +he would shake the burning faggots about and say: _Voilà la ville de +Lausanne en cendres!_ If he grows up with these ideas and acts upon them, +he stands a good chance of being shot in a duel by some Vaudois. It is a +pity to see a child so spoiled, for he was a very fine boy, tho' very +violent in his temper which probably he inherited from his mother. Somebody +at the _pension Surpe_ at Milan who knew her told me that the Baroness was +of an aristocratic family and had married a rich _bourgeois_ of Bern whom +she treated rather too much _de haut en bas;_ in short that it was a +marriage quite _à la George Dandin_, till the poor man took it into his +head to die one day. At Turin we parted company, she for Genoa and I for +Lausanne. + + +_From Turin to Lausanne_. + +I felt the cold very sensibly in the journey from Florence to Milan and +Turin. There is not a colder country in Europe than Lombardy in the winter. +The vicinity of the Alps contributes much to this; and the houses being +exceedingly large and having no stoves it is quite impossible that the +fireplaces can give heat sufficient to warm the rooms. I started from Turin +on the morning of the 9th December in the French diligence bound to Lyon, +but taking my place only as far as Chambéry. In the diligence were a +Piedmontese Colonel who had served under Napoleon, and a young Scotchman, a +relation of Lord Minto. The latter was fond of excursions in ice and snow +and on our arrival at Suza he proposed to me to start from there two or +three hours before the diligence and to ascend Mont Cenis on foot as far as +the _Hospice_ and I was mad enough to accede to the proposal, for it +certainly was little less than madness in a person of my chilly habits and +susceptibility of cold and who had passed several years within the tropics +to scale the Alps on foot in the middle of December and to walk 24 miles in +snow and ice at one o'clock in the morning, which was the hour at which we +started. I was well clad in flannel and I went thro' the journey valiantly +and in high spirits and without suffering much from the cold till within +five miles of the Hospice, when a heavy snow storm came on; it then began +to look a little ugly and but for Napoleon's grand _chaussès_ we were lost. +We struggled on three miles further in the snow before we fell in with a +_maison de refuge_. We knocked there and nobody answered. We then +determined _coûte que coûte_ to push on to the _Hospice_ which we knew +could not be more than two miles distant; indeed it was much more advisable +so to do than to run the risk of being frozen by remaining two or three +hours in the cold air till the diligence should come up. In standing still +I began to feel the cold bitterly; so in spite of the snow storm, we pushed +on and arrived at the inn at Mont-Cenis at five in the morning. We rubbed +our hands and faces well with snow and took care not to approach the fire +for several minutes, fortifying ourselves in the interim with a glass of +brandy. We then had some coffee made and laid ourselves down to sleep by +the side of an enormous fire until the diligence arrived, which made its +appearance at eight o'clock. The passengers stopped to breakfast and the +Scotchman proposed to me to make the descent of Lans-le-Bourg also on foot; +but I was quite satisfied with the prowess I had already exhibited and +declined the challenge. He however set off alone and thus performed the +entire passage of Mont Cenis on foot. As for the rest of us we were carried +down on a _traineau_; that is to say the diligence was unloaded and its +wheels taken off; the baggage and wheels were put on one _traineau_ and the +diligence with the passengers in it on another, and in this manner we +descended to Lans-le-Bourg. Nothing remarkable occurred on this journey and +we arrived at Chambéry in good case. I hired a _calèche_ to go to Geneva, +remained there three days and arrived at Lausanne on the 18th December. + + +[100] Horace, _Sat_., II, 6, 65.--ED. + +[101] Dante, _Inferno_, I, 33,29.--ED. + +[102] Henry Augustus, thirteenth Viscount Dillon (1777-1832), married + (1807) to Henrietta Browne (died 1862).--ED. + +[103] Quoted from memory, with mistakes. The text has been corrected as it + stands in Brantôme, _Les Dames galantes_, ed. Chasles, vol. I, p. + 351.--ED. + + + + + + + + +AFTER +WATERLOO + + + + + + +PART III. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +MARCH-SEPTEMBER, 1817 + +Journey from Lausanne to Clermont-Ferrand--A wretched conveyance--The +first dish of frogs--Society in Clermont-Ferrand--General de +Vergeunes--Cleansing the town--Return to Lausanne--A zealous +priest--Journey to Bern and back to Lausanne--Avenches--Lake Morat--Lake +Neufchatel--The Diet in Bern--Character of the Bernois--A beautiful +Milanese lady. + +I started from Lausanne on the 4th March 1817, and arrived on the same day +at 4 o'clock at Geneva. On my arrival at Geneva, my banker informed me that +I had been denounced to the police, for some political opinions I had +spoken at the _Hôtel de l'Ecu de Genéve_, previous to my journey into +Italy, and that I had been traced as far as Turin. I went directly on +hearing this to the police, and desired to know who my accusers were, and +that the accusation against me might be investigated immediately. Both +these propositions were however declined, and I was told it was an _affaire +passeé_, and of no sort of consequence; so that from that day to this I +have never been able to ascertain who my friends were. + +I left Lausanne with the intention of paying a visit to my friend Col. +Wardle and his family at Clermont-Ferrand, in the Department of the Puy de +Dôme, in Auvergne, where they are residing. I staid three days at Geneva, +and then set off at 7 in the evening on the 8th March with the Courier for +Lyons. + +I never regretted any thing so much, and was near paying severely for my +rashness in putting myself into such a wretched conveyance, at such a +season of the year; but I had made the agreement with the Courier without +inspecting his carriage, and was obliged to adhere to the bargain. It was a +vehicle entirely open before; it was a bitter cold, rainy, snowy night; and +I had the rain and snow in my face the whole way, and on crossing the +Cerdon I was seized with a violent ague fit, and suffered so much from it +that on arrival at a village beyond Nantua where we stopped for supper, I +determined to proceed no further, but to rest there that night; and I asked +the innkeeper if he could furnish me with a bed for the night. He however +made so many objections and seemed so unwilling that I should remain, that +I was obliged to make up my mind to proceed. I allayed the _frissonnement_ +by a large glass of brandy and water, made fiery hot. At eight o'clock next +morning I arrived at Lyons, more dead than alive. A warm bath, however, +remaining in bed the whole day, buried in blankets, abstaining from all +food, a few grains of calomel at night and copious libations of rice gruel +the next day restored me completely to health; and after a _séjour_ of four +days at Lyons, I was enabled to proceed on my journey to Clermont on the +14th March. We arrived at Roanne in the evening and I stopped there the +whole night. + +Between Lyons and Roanne is the mountain of Tarare where the road is cut +right athwart the mountain and is consequently terribly steep; indeed it is +the steepest ascent for a carriage I ever beheld. All the passengers were +obliged to _bundle out_ and ascend on foot; and even then it is a most +arduous _montée_ for such a cumbrous machine as a French diligence. + +The country between Lyons and Roanne appears diversified; but this is not +the season for enjoying the beauties of nature. Roanne consists of one +immensely long street, but it is broad, and contains excellently built +houses and shops. There is a theatre also and baths. It is situated on the +Loire which I now salute for the first time. + +The following morning at nine o'clock a _patache_ (a sort of two wheeled +carriage) was in waiting to convey me the remainder of my journey; and I +arrived at night at a large village or town called Thiers. Halfway between +Roanne and Thiers, on stopping at a small village to dine, I observed a +dish of frogs at the kitchen fire at the inn; and as it was the first time +I had observed them as an article of food in France, I was desirous to +taste them. They were dressed in a _fricassée_ of white sauce, and I found +them excellent. The legs only are used. They would be delicious as a curry. +The next morning we continued our journey; and crossing the river Allier at +twelve o'clock, arrived at Clermont-Ferrand at 2 p.m., and dined with Col. +Wardle. Clermont and Ferrand are two towns within a mile and half distant +from each other and this Clermont is generally called Clermont-Ferrand to +distinguish it from other towns of the same name. + + +CLERMONT, March 26th. + +I have taken lodgings for a month, and board with a French family for 90 +franks per month. On the road hither the immense mountain called the Puy de +Dôme is discernible at a great distance; it is said to have been a volcano. + +Clermont is a very ancient city and has an air of dullness; but the _Place_ +and promenades round the town are excellent. It is the capital of this +department (Puy de Dôme). There is a terrible custom here of emptying the +_aguas mayores y menores_ (as the Spaniards term those secretions) into the +small streets that lie at the back of the houses. The consequence is that +they are clogged up with filth and there is always a most abominable +stench. One must be careful how one walks thro' these streets at night, +from the liability of being saluted by a golden shower. The lower classes +of the Auvergnats have the reputation of being dirty, slovenly and idle. + +Here is a church built by the English in the time of Edward III, when the +Black Prince commanded in this country; and it was in a chapel in this +city, the remains of which still exist, that Peter the Hermit preached the +first crusade. These are almost the only things worthy of remark in the +town itself, except that there is a good deal of commerce carried on, +manufactures of crockery, cloth and silk stockings. But in the natural +curiosities of the environs of Clermont there is a great deal to interest +the botanist and mineralogist and above all there is a remarkable +petrifying well, very near the town, where by leaving pieces of wood, +shell-fish and other articles exposed to the dropping of the water, they +become petrified in a short time. This water has the same effect on dead +animals and rapidly converts them into stone. I have myself seen a small +basket filled with plovers' eggs become in eight days a perfect +petrifaction. + + +CLERMONT, April 2d. + +I am arrived here at rather a dull season: the Carnaval is just over and +all the young ladies are taking to their _Livres d'Heures_ to atone for any +levity or indiscretion they may have been guilty of during the hey day of +the Carnaval. The Wardle family have a very pleasant acquaintance here, +chiefly among the _libéraux_, or moderate royalists, but there are some +most inveterate _Ultras_ in this city, who keep aloof from any person of +liberal principles, as they would of a person infected with the plague. The +noblesse of Auvergne have the reputation of being in general ignorant and +despotic. There is but little _agrément_ or instruction to be derived from +their society, for they have not the ideas of the age. In general the +nobles of Auvergne, tho' great sticklers for feudality and for their +privileges, and tho' they disliked the Revolution, had the good sense not +to emigrate. + +There is a Swiss regiment of two battalions quartered here. It bears the +name of its Colonel, De Salis. As there are a number of officers of the old +army here, on half pay, about three hundred in number, it is said, frequent +disputes occur between them and the Swiss officers. The Swiss are looked +upon by the people at large as the satellites of despotism and not without +reason. It is, I think, degrading for any country to have foreign troops in +pay in time of peace. Several attempts have been made in the Chamber of +Deputies to obtain their removal or _licencÃement_, but without success. As +it is supposed that the song of the _Ranz des Vaches_ affects the +sensibility of the Swiss very much, and makes them long to return to their +native mountains, a wag has recommended to all the young ladies in France +who are musicians to play and sing the _Ranz des Vaches_ with all their +might, in order to induce the Swiss to betake themselves to their native +country. + +There has been a great deal of denunciation going forward here; but the +General de V----[104] who commands the troops in Clermont, determined to +put a stop to it. He had the good sense to see that such a system, if +encouraged, would be destructive of all society, prejudicial to the +Government, and vexatious to himself; as he would be thereby kept +continually in hot water. Accordingly, on a delator presenting himself and +accusing another of not being well affected to the present order of things, +and of having spoken disrespectfully of the King, M. de V---- said to him: +"I have no doubt, Sir, that your denunciation proceeds from pure motives, +and I give you full credit for your zeal and attachment to the royal cause; +but I cannot take any steps against the person whom you accuse, unless you +are willing to give me leave to publish your name and consent to be +confronted with him, so that I may examine fairly the state of the case, +and render justice to both parties." The accuser declined acceding to this +proposition. The General desired him to withdraw, and shortly after +intimated publicly that he would listen to no denunciation, unless the +denouncer gave up his name and consented to be confronted with the accused. +The consequence of this intimation was that all denunciations ceased. The +late Prefect however was not so prudent, and chose rather to encourage +delation; but mark the consequence! He arrested several persons wrongfully, +was obliged to release them afterwards, was in continual hot water and it +ended by the Government being obliged to displace him. To avoid the merited +vengeance of many individuals whom he had ill-treated, he was obliged, on +giving up his prefecture, to make a precipitate retreat from Clermont. The +delators attempted the same system with the new Prefect and Col. Wardle, +having invited some of the Swiss officers to a ball, to which were likewise +invited people of all opinions, an information was lodged against him, +purporting that he wanted to corrupt the Swiss officers from their +allegiance. The Prefect sent the letter to Col. Wardle and said that it had +not made the slightest impression on his mind, and that he treated it as a +malicious report. The new Prefect adopted the same system as the General +and tranquillity is since perfectly restored. + +Things have been taking a better turn since the dissolution of the _Chambre +introuvable_. Decazes, the present minister, is an able man, and if he is +not _contrarié_ by the _Libéraux_, he will keep the fanatical _Ultras_ in +good order. The Bishop of Clermont is a liberal man also, and as it seems +the wish of the present public functionaries here to conciliate, it is to +be hoped that their example will not be lost on the _bons vieux +gentilshommes_ of Auvergne. + +I find an inexhaustible fund of entertainment from the conversation of M. +C----. He has so many interesting anecdotes to relate respecting the French +Revolution. With regard to his present occupations, which are directed +towards rural economy, he tells me that he has succeeded in a plan of +cleansing the town from its Augean filth, and making it very profitable to +himself; and that he calculates to obtain a revenue thereby of twenty +thousand franks annually. He has, in short, undertaken to be the grand +_scavenger_ of the town, and the Government, in addition to a salary of +2,500 francs per annum, which they give him for his trouble, give to him +the exclusive privilege of removing all the dung he can collect in the +precincts of the city, and of converting it to his own advantage. He began +by fitting up a large enclosure, walled on each side, and in which he +deposits all the filth he can collect in the stables, yards and streets of +Clermont. He sends his carts round the town every morning to get them +loaded. All their contents are brought to this repository, and shot out +there. Straw is then placed over this dung, and then earth or soil +collected from gullies and ravines, and this arranged _stratum super +stratum_, till it forms an immense compact cake of rich compost; and when +it has filled one of the yards and has completed a thickness of five feet, +he sells it to the farmers, who send their carts to carry it off. He has +divided this enclosure or repository into three or four compartments. The +compost therefore is prepared, and ready to be carried off in one yard, +while the others are filling. In this he has rendered a great benefit to +the public, for the Auvergnats are incurable in their custom of emptying +their _pots de chambre_ out of the windows; so that the streets every +morning are in a terrible state: but thanks to the industry of C---- his +cars go round to collect the precious material, and all is cleared away by +twelve o'clock. He collects bones too, and offal to add to the compost. He +conducted me to see his premises; but the odour was too strong.... + +I returned to Lausanne by the same route, leaving Clermont on the 6th +April, staying four days at Lyons and as many at Geneva. Young Wardle +accompanied me. We met with no other adventure on the road than having a +young Catholic priest, fresh from the seminary, for our travelling +companion, from Thiers to Roanne. This young man wished to convert Wardle +and myself to Catholicism. + +Among many arguments that he made use of was that most silly one, which has +been so often sported by the Catholic theologians, viz.: that it is much +safer to be a Catholic than a Protestant, inasmuch as the Catholics do not +allow that any person can be saved out of the pale of their church, whereas +the Protestants do allow that a Catholic may be saved. I answered him that +this very argument made more against Catholicism than any other, and that +this intolerant spirit would ever prevent me (even had such an idea entered +into my head) of embracing such a religion. I then told him that, once for +all, I did not wish to enter into any theological disputes; that I had +fully made up my mind on these subjects; and that I would rather take the +opinion of a Voltaire or a Franklin on these matters than all the opinions +of all the theologians and churchmen that ever sat in council from the +Council of Nicsea to the present day. This silenced him effectually. Such +is the absurd line of conduct pursued by the Catholic priests of the +present day in France. Instead of reforming the discipline and dogmas of +their church and adapting it to the enlightened ideas of the present age, +they are sedulously employd in preaching intolerant doctrines, and reviving +absurd legends, and pretended miracles, which have been long ago consigned +to contempt and oblivion by all rational Catholics; and by this they hope +to re-establish the ecclesiastical power in its former glory and +preponderance. Vain hope! By the American and French Revolutions a great +light is gone up to the _Gentiles_. Catholicism is on its last legs, and +they might as soon attempt to replace our old friend and school +acquaintance Jupiter on the throne of heaven, as to re-establish the Papal +power in its pristine splendour; to borrow the language of the _Pilgrim's +Progress_, the Giant _Pope_ will be soon as dead as the Giant _Pagan_. + +On arrival at Lyons we put up at the _Hôtel du Parc_, where I found cheaper +and better entertainment than at the _Hôtel du Nord_. + +My friend young Wardle has fallen in love with a very beautiful _cafetière_ +at Lyons', and spends a great part of his time in the _café_, at which this +nymph administers, and looks at her, _sighs, looks and sighs again_. It is +not probable however that he will succeed in his suit, for she has been +courted by very many others and no one has succeeded. She remains constant +to her _good man_, and the breath of calumny has never ventured to assail +her. I met one day at Lyons with my old friend W----s of Strassburg, who +was a Lieutenant in the 25th Regiment in the French service and served in +the battle of Waterloo.[105] He is now here and being on _demi-solde_, +employs himself in a mercantile house here as principal commis. He dined +with us and we passed a most pleasant day together. + +I arrived on the 20th April at Lausanne. + + * * * * * + +After remaining some weeks, at Lausanne on my return from Clermont, I +determind on making a pedestrian trip as far as Bern and Neufchatel +previous to returning into Italy, which it is my intention to do in +September. I sent on my portmanteau accordingly to Payerne near Avenches, +intending to pay a visit and pass three days with my friend, the Revd. Mr. +J[omini],[106] the rector of the parish there, from whom I had received a +pressing invitation. I was acquainted at Lausanne with his daughter, Mme +C----, and was much pleased in her society. She had great talent of +conversation, and I never in my life met with a lady possessed of so much +historical knowledge. I started on the 27th June from Lausanne, passed the +first night at Mondon and the next afternoon arrived at Avenches, the +_Aventicum_ of the ancient Romans. Payerne is only a mile distant from +Avenches, and I was received with the utmost cordiality by the worthy +pastor and his daughter. The scenery on the road to Avenches is very like +the scenery in all the rest of the Canton de Vaud, viz., alternate mountain +and valley, lofty trees, and every spot capable of cultivation bearing some +kind of produce; corn just ready for the sickle and fruit such as cherries +and strawberries in full bloom. Avenches has an air of great antiquity and +looks very gloomy withal, which forms a striking contrast to the neat, well +built towns and villages of this Canton on the banks of the lake Leman +where everything appears so stirring and cheerful. Avenches, on the +contrary, is very dull, and there is little society. + +At Mr. J[omini] there were, besides his daughter, his son and his son's +wife. All the _ministres_ (for such is the word in use to designate +Protestant clergymen and you would give great offence were you to call them +_prêtres_) have a fixed salary of 100£ sterling per annum, with a house and +ground attached to the cure; so that by farming a little they can maintain +then? families creditably. M. Jomini lost his wife some time ago, and still +remains a widower. + +I left Payerne on the fifth of July and walked to the _campagne_ of M. de +T[reytorre]us,[107] situated on the banks of the lake Morat. It is a very +pretty country house, spacious and roomy, and I was received with the +utmost cordiality by M. de T[reytorrens] and his amiable family. He is a +very opulent proprietor in this part of the country, and has spent part of +his life in England. He is a dignified looking man, a little too much +perhaps of the old school and no friend to the innovations and changes +arising from the French Revolution. Having lived much among the Tory +nobility of England, he has imbibed their ideas and views of things. His +son is now employed in one of the public offices in London. His wife and +three daughters, one of whom is married to a _ministre_, dwell with him. +With this family I passed three days in the most agreeable manner. I find +the style and manner of living of the _noblesse_ (or country gentlemen, as +we should style them) of Switzerland very comfortable, in every sense of +the word. I wish my friends the French would take more to a country life, +it would essentially benefit the nation. The way of living in M. de +T[reytorre]us family is as follows. A breakfast of coffee and bread and +butter is served up to each person separately in their own room, or in the +_Salle à manger_, Before dinner every one follows his own avocation or +amusement. At one, the family assemble to dinner which generally consist of +soup, _bouilli, entrées_ of fish, flesh and fowl, _entremets_ of +vegetables, a _rôti_ of butcher's meat, fowl or game, pastry and desert. +The wine of the country is drunk at dinner as a table wine, and _old_ wines +of the country or wines of foreign growth are handed round to each guest +during the desert. After dinner coffee and liqueurs are served. After an +hour's conversation or repose, promenades are proposed which occupy the +time till dusk. Music, cards or reading plays fill up the rest of the +evening, till supper is announced at nine o'clock, which is generally as +substantial as the dinner. + +On taking leave of Mr. de T[reytorre]ns' family I walked to the banks of +the lake Neufchâtel, having a stout fellow with me to carry my _sac-de +nuit_. On arrival at the lake I crossed over in a boat to Neufchâtel, which +lies on the other side. I remained there the whole of the day. It is a very +pretty neat little city, in a romantic position. Its government is a +complete anomaly. Neufchâtel forms a component part of the Helvetic +confederacy, and yet the inhabitants are vassals of the King of Prussia, +and the aristocracy are proud of this badge of servitude. The King of +Prussia however does not at all interfere with its internal government, and +his supremacy is in no other respects useful to him than in giving him a +slight revenue. French is the language spoken in the canton. There is a +marked distinction of rank all over Switzerland, except in Geneva, Vaud and +the small democratic cantons such as Zug and Schwytz, where it is merely +nominal. In short, tranquillity is the order of the day. Each rank respects +the privileges of the other and the peasant, however rich, is not at all +disposed to vary from his usual mode of life or to ape the noble; and +hence, tho' sumptuary laws are no longer in force, they continue so +virtually and the peasantry in all the German cantons adhere strictly to +the national costume. + + +BERN, 14 July. + +I put myself in the diligence that plies between Neufchatel and Bern at +nine p.m., on the 12 July, and the following morning put up at the _Crown +Inn_ in the city of Bern, in the _Pays Allemand_, whereas the French +cantons are termed the _Pays Romand_. Bern is a remarkably elegant city as +much so as any in Italy, and much cleaner withal. The streets are broad, +and in most of them are _trottoirs_ under arcades. There are a great number +of book-sellers here, and the best editions of the German authors are to be +procured very cheap. Bern is situated on an eminence forming almost an +island as it were in the middle of the river Aar; steep ravines are on all +sides of it; and there is a bridge over the Aar to keep up the +communication; and as the borders of the island, on which the city stands, +are very steep, a zig-zag road, winding along the ravines, brings you to +the city gates. These gates are very superb. On each side of the gates are +two enormous white stone bears, the emblems of the tutelary genius of this +city. The houses are very lofty and solidly built. The promenades in the +environs of Bern are the finest I have seen anywhere, and the grounds +allotted to this purpose are very tastefully laid out. These promenades are +paved with gravel and cut thro' the forests, that lie on the _coteaux_ and +ravines on the other side of the Aar. There are several neat villas in the +neighbourhood of these promenades, and there are _cafés_ and _restaurants_ +for those who chuse to refresh themselves. Such is the beauty of these +walks, that one feels inclined to pass the whole day among them. They are +laid out in such variety, and are so multiplied, that you often lose your +way; you are sure however to be brought up by a _point de vue_ at one or +other of the angles of the zig-zag; and this serves as a guide _pour vous +orienter_, as the French say. Another favorite promenade is a garden, in +the town itself, that environs the whole city from which and from the +superb terrace of the Cathedral you have a magnificent view of the glaciers +that tower above the Grindelwald and Lauterbrunn. The immense forests that +are in the neighbourhood of Bern form a striking contrast with the +cornfields in the vallies and on the _coteaw._ There are but few vineyards +in the neighbourhood of Bern. + + +BERN, 16 July. + +The Diet is held this year in Bern and it is now sitting. I have met with +the two Deputies of the Canton de Vaud, MM. P----- and M-----. I am glad to +hear from them that the animosity existing between the two cantons of Bern +and Vaud is beginning to subside. M. P------ has made a most able and +conciliating speech at the Diet. Still there is a good deal of jealousy +rankling in the breast of the Bern _noblesse_ and the _avulsumimperium_ is +a very sore subject with them. I recollect once at Lausanne meeting with a +young man of one of the principal families of Bern, who had been hi the +English service. The conversation happened to turn on the emancipation of +the Canton de Vaud from the domination of Bern, when the young man became +perfectly furious and insisted that the Vaudois had no right whatever to +their liberty, for that the Canton of Bern had purchased the province of +Vaud from the Dukes of Savoy. _"En un mot" (said he), "ils sont nos +esclaves, nos ilotes et ils sont aussi clairement notre propriété que les +nègres de la Jamaïque le sont de leurs maîtres"_ + +A very harsh measure has lately been passed in the Diet, evidently +suggested by the aristocracy of Bern, which tended to fine and punish those +Swiss officers who remained in Prance to serve under Napoleon after his +return from Elba, and who did not obey the order of the Diet which recalled +them. A very able objection has been made to this measure in a _brochure,_ +wherein it is stated that many of these officers had no means of living +out of France and that, on a former occasion, when a number of Swiss +officers were serving the English Government and were employed in America +in the war against the United States in 1812 and 1818, the Diet, then under +Napoleon's influence, issued a decree recalling them and commanding them to +quit the English service forthwith. This they refused to do and continued +to serve. No notice whatever was taken of this act of disobedience, when +they returned to their native country on being disbanded in 1814, and they +were very favourably received. Why then, says the author of this pamphlet, +is a similar act of disobedience to pass unnoticed in one instance and to +be so severely punished in another? Or do you wish to prove that your +vengeance is directed only against those who remained in France, to fight +for its liberties, when invaded by a foreign foe, while those who remained +in America to fight against the liberties and existence of the American +Republic you have received with applause and congratulation? Is such +conduct worthy of Republicans? O, fie! + +Such an argument is in my opinion convincing for all the world except for +an English Tory, a French _Ultra_ or a Bern Oligarch. + +The Arsenal here is well worth seeing; here is a superb collection of +ancient armour, much of which were the spoils of the Austrian and +Burgundian chivalry, who fell in their attempts to crush Helvetic liberty. + +By way of shewing how fond the Bernois are of old institutions and customs, +they have been at the trouble to catch three or four bears and keep them in +a walled pit in the city, where they are well fed and taken care of. The +popular superstition is that the bears entertained in this manner +contribute to the safety of the commonwealth; and this establishment +continued ever in full force, until the dissolution of the old Confederacy +took place and the establishment in its place of the Helvetic Republic +under the influence of the French directorial government. The custom, then, +appearing absurd and useless, was abolished, and the bears were sold. But +since the peace of 1814 other bears have been caught and are nourishd, as +the former ones were, at the expence of the state. + +Bern derives its name from _Büren_, the German word for _Bears_ (plural +number). Only the French spell _Berne_, with an _e_ at the end of it. + +There are no theatrical amusements going forward here. Cards and now and +then a little music form the evening recreations. + +In the inn at Bern I became acquainted with a most delightful Milanese lady +and her son. Her name is L------; she is the widow of an opulent banker at +Milan and has a large family of children. She was about thirty-eight years +of age and is still a remarkably handsome woman. Time has made very little +impression on her and she unites very pleasing manners with a great taste +for litterature. She is greatly proficient in the English language and +litterature, which she understands thoroughly, tho' she speaks it with +difficulty. She is an enthusiastic admirer of Shakespeare, Milton and +Byron. She had been to Zurich for her son, who was employed in a commercial +house there, in order to take him back with her into Italy. She spoke +French as well as Italian, and her son had a very good knowledge of German. +She offered me a seat in her carriage, on the understanding that I was +going to Lausanne, where she intended to stop a day or two. An offer of the +kind made by so elegant and fascinating a woman you may be assured I did +not scruple to accept, and I was in hopes of improving on this acquaintance +and renewing it at Milan. Indeed, did not business oblige me to remain some +weeks at Lausanne, I should certainly offer my services to escort her all +the way to Milan. She had letters of introduction for Lausanne, and during +her stay there I acted as her _cicerone_, to point out the most interesting +objects and points of view, which the place affords. + + +[104] Louis Charles Joseph Gravier, vicomte de Vergennes d'Alonné, was the + son of the Comte de Vergennes, who was minister under the reign of + Louisi XVI. Born at Constantinople in 1766, he took service at the + early age of thirteen, was promoted captain in 1782 and colonel in + 1788. Having emigrated in 1791, he served in Condé's army, then took + service in England from 1795 to 1797. On the 3rd March, 1815, he + re-entered the army as "maréchal de camp," and, on the 2nd November of + that same year, was promoted general commander of the department of + Puy de Dôme. He retired on the 8th March, 1817, and seems to have been + much regretted at Clermont. Died 1821.--ED. + +[105] Jean François Wlnkens, born at Aix-la-Chapelle In 1790, is mentioned + in the records of the French War Office as having served in the 25th + Regiment at Waterloo. His family may have belonged to Strassburg.--ED. + +[106] Pierre Jacques Jomini, Protestant minister at Avenches from 1808 to + 1819.--ED. + +[107] The Treytorrens family, of old nobility and fame, now extinct, + possessed a large estate at Guévaux, on the borders of the lake of + Morat.--ED. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV + +SEPTEMBER 1817-APRIL 1818 + +Journey from Lausanne to Milan, Florence, Rome and Naples--Residence at +Naples--The theatre of San Carlo--Rossini's operas--Gaming in Naples--The +_Lazzaroni_--Public writers--Carbonarism--Return to Rome--Christmas eve at +Santa Maria Maggiore--Mme Dionigi--Theatricals--Society in Rome--The papal +government--Lucien Bonaparte, prince of Canino--Louis Napoleon, ex-King of +Holland--Pope Pius VII--Thorwaldsen--Granet--The Holy Week in Rome--The +Duchess of Devonshire--From Rome to Florence by the Perugia road. + +I started from Lausanne with a party of two ladies in a Milanese _vettura_ +on the morning of the 20th September. We arrived at Milan on the 25th late +in the evening. On passing the Simplon we met with three or four men who +had the appearance of soldiers, and asked for alms something in the style +of the old Spanish soldier who accosted Gil Blas on his first journey. Our +ladies were a little alarmed. On travelling over the plains of Lombardy, +one of these ladies, who had never before been out of her country +(Switzerland) and was consequently accustomed to see the horizon bounded at +a very short distance by immense mountains on all sides, was much alarmed, +on arrival at the plain, at seeing no bounds to the horizon; she was +apprehensive of _falling down_ and _rolling over_. Her remark reminded me +of one of the objections made to the project of Columbus's voyage in +discovery of a western passage to India; it was said that in consequence of +the rotundity of the earth they would roll down and never be able to get up +again. The sensation experienced by my fellow traveller, however, may be +well accounted for and explained by any one who from a plain surface +situated on a great height looks down without a railing or balcony. + +These ladies were quite delighted with the splendour and bustle of Milan +and particularly when I took them to the _Scala_ theatre, where a very +splendid _Ballo_ was given, intitled _Sammi Ré d'Egitto_. The scenery and +decorations were magnificent, being taken from Denon's drawings of Egyptian +views, and the costume was exceedingly appropriate. My fellow travellers +were much struck at the appearance of the horses on the stage and the +grotesque dancing. The last scene was the most magnificent. It represented +the great Pyramids, on the angles of which stood a line of soldiers from +the _base_ to the _apex_ holding lighted torches. The _coup d'oeil_ was +enchanting. I took the ladies to see my old friend Girolamo and in fine was +their _cicerone_ every where. We remained only four days at Milan and then +proceeded to Florence, where we arrived on the 7th October. We employed six +days for our journey and one day we halted at Bologna. After remaining four +days at Florence and taking the Radicofani road we arrived at Rome the 18th +October. + +At Rome I met my friend P.G. and his wife who were travelling towards +Naples and I likewise made two very pleasant acquaintances, the one a +Portuguese, the other a Milanese. The Milanese is a cousin of the +Neapolitan minister Di M------; and the Portuguese (M. de N------) had been +employed by his Government in a diplomatic capacity at Vienna. At Rome I +engaged appartments from the 20th of December for three months and then +started for Naples, with the intention of passing two months there, and +returning to Rome, to be in time to witness the fete at Christmas Eve. At +Velletri I met with a Jamaica family, Mr and Mrs O------, with their +daughter and daughter-in-law; and we were strongly advised to take an +escort as far as _Torre tre ponti_, being obliged to start very early from +Velletri in order to reach Terracina before night-fall. Nothing however +occurred and we arrived at Terracina without accident. The rascally +innkeeper there made Mr O------ pay forty franks for each miserable room +that he occupied, and fifteen franks a head for his supper; he was very +insolent with all. I was rejoiced to find that in one instance he failed in +his hopes of extortion. As he is obliged by law to furnish supper and beds +at a fixed price to those who travel with _vetturini_ and are _spesati_, +he, whenever a _vetturino_ arrives locks up all his decent chambers and +says that they are engaged, in order to keep them for those travellers who +may arrive in their own carriages and whom he can fleece _ad libitum_. A +friend of mine and his lady, who were travelling in their own carriage, +had, in order to avoid this extortion, engaged with a _vetturino_ to +conduct them from Naples to Rome with _his horses_, but their own carriage, +and, had stipulated to be _spesati_. Mine host of Terracina, seeing a smart +carriage drive up, ordered one of his best rooms to be got ready, ushered +them in himself and returnd in half an hour to ask what they would have for +supper; when to his great astonishment and mortification, they referred him +for the arrangement of the supper to the _vetturino_, saying that they were +_spesati_. He then began to curse and swear, said that they should not have +that room, and wanted to turn them out of it forcibly; but my friend Major +G---- took up one of his pistols, which were lying on the table, and told +the innkeeper that if he did not cease to molest them and instantly quit +the room, he would blow out his brains. This threat had the desired effect, +and he withdrew. It appears that this fellow has in the end outwitted +himself, for most people now, who travel on this road in their own +carriage, chuse to travel with a _vetturino_ and his horses and are +_spesati_, solely in order to avoid the extortion practised upon them. + +We arrived at Naples on the 29th October without accident. A _buona grazia_ +of a _scudo_ at the frontier obviated the delay which would otherwise have +occurred in examining our baggage by the _douaniers_. I put up at No 1 +_Largo St Anna di Palazzo_, near the _Strada di Toledo_, at the house of +one Berlier, who had been a domestic of poor Murat's. The Austrian troops +being now withdrawn, the military cordon of sentinels from the frontier to +Naples is kept up by the Neapolitan troops; but what a contrast between the +vigilance of the Austrian sentinels, and the negligence of the Neapolitans! +The last time I travelled on this road, I never failed, after dusk, to hear +the shout of _Wer da?_ of the Austrian sentries, long before I came up to +them, and I always found them alert. Now that the cordon was Neapolitan, I +always found the sentries either asleep, or playing at cards with their +companion (the sentries being double), both having left their arms at the +place where they were posted. At night I have no doubt they all fall +asleep, so that three or four active _banditti_ might come and cut the +throats of the whole chain of sentries in detail. + + +30th October, 1818. + +I have begun my course of water drinking at the fountain of Sta Lucia. +Since I was here the last time, the theatre of St Carlo has been finished +and I went to visit it the second night after my arrival. It is a noble +theatre and of immense size, larger it is said than the _Scala_ at Milan, +tho' it does not appear so. The profusion of ornament and gilding serves to +diminish the appearance of its magnitude. It is probably now the most +magnificent theatre in Europe. The performance was _Il Babiere di Siviglia_ +by Rossini, and afterwards a superb _Ballo_ taken closely from Coleman's +_Blue-Beard_ and arranged as a _Ballo_ by Vestris. The only difference lies +in the costume and the scenery; for here the _Barbe Bleue,_ instead of +being a Turkish Pacha, as in Coleman's piece, is a Chinese Mandarin, and +the decorations are all Chinese. A great deal of Scotch music is introduced +in this _Ballo,_ and seems to give great satisfaction. At the little +theatre of San Carlino I witnessed the representation of Rossini's +_Cenerentola,_ a most delightful piece. The young actress who did the part +of Cenerentola acted it to perfection and sung so sweetly and correctly, +that it would seem as if the _rôle_ were composed on purpose for her. The +part of Don Magnifico was extremely well played, and those of the sisters +very fairly and appropriately. The three actresses who did the part of +Cenerentola and her sisters, were all handsome, but she who did Cenerentola +surpassed them all; she was a perfect beauty and a grace. I think the music +of this opera would please the public taste in England. Rossini seems to +have banished every other musical composer from the stage. + +I have seen, at the Theatre of San Carlo, the _Don Giovanni_ of Mozart; but +certainly, after being accustomed to the extreme vivacity of Rossini's +style, the music, even of the divine Mozart, appears to go off heavily. +There is too much of what the French call _musique de fanfares_ in the +opera of _Don Giovanni_ and I believe most of the Italians are of my way of +thinking. + +We have just heard of the death of the poor Princess Charlotte. I am no +great admirer of Kings and Queens; and yet I must own, I could not help +feeling regret for the death of this princess. I had formed a very high +opinion of her, from many traits in her character; and I fancied and hoped +that she was destined to redeem England from the degradation and bad odour +into which she had been plunged by the borough-mongers and bureaucrats, +engendered by the Pitt system. She had liberal ideas and an independent +spirit. I really almost caught myself shedding tears at this event, and had +she been buried here, I should have gone to scatter flowers upon her tomb: + + His saltem accumulem donis, et fungar inani + Munere.[108] + +Has no royalist or ministerial poet been found to do hommage to her +_manes_? Had she lived to be Queen of England she would have found a +thousand venal pens to give her every virtue under heaven. + +There is a professor of natural philosophy now at Naples, of the name of +Amici, from Modena, who has invented a microscope of immense power. The +circulation of the blood in the thigh of a frog (the coldest animal in +nature), when viewed thro' this microscope, appears to take place with the +rapidity of a Swiss torrent. + +Since I have been here, I have once more ascended Vesuvius; there was no +eruption at all this time, but I witnessed the sight of a stream of red-hot +liquid lava flowing slowly down the flank of the mountain. It was about two +and a half feet broad. + +In my letters from Naples, the last time I was there, I gave you some idea +of the state of society. Among the upper classes gaming is reduced to a +science and is almost exclusively the order of the day. There is little or +no taste for litterature among any part of the native society. The upper +classes are sensualists; the middling ignorant and superstitious. With +regard to the _Lazzaroni_, I do not think that they at all deserve the ill +name that has been given to them. They always seem good humoured and +willing to work, when employment is given to them; and they do not appear +at all disposed to disturb the public peace, which, from their being so +numerous and formidable a body, they could easily do. The Neapolitan +dialect has a far greater affinity to the Spanish than to the Tuscan, and +there are likewise, a great many Greek words in it. When one takes into +consideration the extreme ignorance that prevails among the Neapolitans in +general, one is astonished that such a prodigy of genius as Filangieri +could have sprung up among them. What talent, application, deep research +and judgment were united in that illustrious man! And yet there are many +Neapolitans of rank who have never heard of him. Would you believe that on +my asking one of the principal booksellers in Naples for Filangieri's work +on legislation (an immortal work which has called forth the admiration and +eulogy of the greatest geniuses of the age, of which Benjamin Franklin and +Sir Wm Jones spoke in the most unqualified terms of approbation; a work +which has been translated into all the languages of Europe), I was told by +the bookseller that he had never heard either of the author or of his work. + +A very curious thing at Naples is the number of public writers; who compose +letters and memorials in booths, fitted up in the streets. As the great +majority of the people are so ignorant as to be unable to read or write, it +follows that when they receive letters, they must find somebody to read +them for them and to write the answers required. They accordingly, on the +receipt of a letter, bring it to one of these public scribes, ask him to +read it for them and to write an answer, for which trouble he receives a +fixed pay. These writers are thus let into the secrets of family affairs of +more than half of the city; and as some-of them are in the pay of the +Government for communicating intelligence, you may guess how formidable +they may become to liberty and how dangerous an engine in the hands of a +despotic Government. + +It appears that the theatre of San Carlo is principally kept up by gaming; +that is to say, the managers and proprietors would not undertake the +direction of it without the Gaming Bank being annexed to it; for otherwise +they would lose money, the expence of the Opera on account of the +magnificent decorations of the Ballets being very great, which the receipts +of the theatre are insufficient to meet; but the profits of the Casino +cover all and amply reimburse the proprietors. + +With regard to political opinions here there is a great stagnation. It +costs the Neapolitans too much trouble to think and reflect. M-----, the +principal minister, is however no favourite; neither is N-----, who has +quitted the Austrian service, and is nominated Captain-General of the +Neapolitan army.[109] + +There is a great talk about the increase of Carbonarism. You will probably +ask me what Carbonarism means. I am not initiated in the secret of the +Carbonari; but as far as I can understand, this sect or secret society has +its mysteries like modern Free-masonry or like the Orphics of old, and +several progressive degrees of initiation are required. Its secret object +is said to be the emancipation of Italy from a foreign despotism and the +forming of a government purely national. This is the reason why this sect +is regarded with as much jealousy by the different governments of Italy as +the early Christians used to be by the Pagan Emperors. Great proofs of +courage, constancy and self denial are required from the initiated; and +very many fail, or do not rise beyond the lower degrees of initiation, for +it is very difficult for an Italian to withstand sensuality. But the +leaders of this sect are perfectly in the right to require such proofs, for +no man is fit to be trusted with any political design whatever, who has not +obtained the greatest mastery over his passions. The word _Carbonari_, I +need not tell you, means _Coalmen_; the Italian history presents many +examples of secret societies taking their appellation from some mechanical +profession. + +I have now been nearly two months in Naples, and the _zampogne_ or +bag-pipes, which play about the streets at night, announce the speedy +approach of Christmas, so that I shall soon take my departure for Rome. + + * * * * * + +I left Naples on the 18th of December and arrived at Rome on the 22d. I am +settled in my old lodgings, No. 29 _Piazza di Spagna_. Nothing worth +mentioning occurred during the journey. + +The fete, of the birth of Christ held at Santa Maria Maggiore on the +evening of the 24th December is of the most splendid description, and +attended by an immense crowd of women. Guns are fired on the moment that +the birth of the Saviour is announced, and this event occurs precisely at +midnight. The Romans seem to rejoice as much at the anniversary of this +event, as if it happened for the first time, and as if immediate temporal +advantage were to be derived from it. + +I have mixed a good deal in society in Rome since my return from Naples. +Among other acquaintance I must particularly distinguish Mme Dionigi, a +very celebrated lady, possessing universality of talent.[110] She is well +known all over Italy, for the extent of her litterary attainments, but more +particularly for her proficiency in the fine arts, above all in painting, +of which she is an adept. She also possesses the most amiable qualities of +the heart, and is universally beloved and respected for the worth of her +private character, and for her generous disposition. She has all the +vivacity of intellect belonging to youth, tho' now nearly eighty-six years +of age,[111] and of a very delicate physical constitution; in short she +affords, and I often tell her so, the most striking proof of the +immortality of the soul. There is a _conversazione_ at her house twice a +week, where you meet with foreign as well as Italian _litterati_, and +persons of distinction of all nations, tongues and languages. Her eldest +daughter, Mme D'Orfei, is an excellent _improvisatrice_, and has frequently +given us very favourable specimens of the inspiration which breathes itself +in her soul. I have likewise witnessed the talent of two very extraordinary +_improvisatori_, the one a young girl of eighteen years of age, by name +Rosa Taddei. She is the daughter of the proprietor of the _Teatro della +Valle_ at Rome, and sometimes performs herself in dramatic pieces; yet, +strange to say, tho' she is an admirable _improvisatrice_ and possesses a +thorough classic and historical knowledge, she is but an indifferent +actress. + +It is a great shame that her father obliges her to act on the stage in very +inferior parts, when she ought only to exhibit on the tripod. I assisted at +an _Accademia_ given by her one evening at the _Teatro della Valle_, when +she improvised on the following subjects, which were proposed by various +members of the audience: 1st, _La morte d'Egeo_; 2dy, _La Madre Ebrea_; +3rd, _Coriolano alle mura di Roma_; 4th, _Ugolino_; 5th, _Saffo e Faone_; +6th, in the Carnaval with the following _intercalario: "Maschera ti +conosco, tieni la benda al cor_!" which _intercalario_ compels a rhyme in +_osco_, a most difficult one. The _Madre Ebrea_ and _Coriolano_ were given +in _ottava rima_ with a _rima obbligata_ for each stanza. The _Morte +d'Egeo_ was given in _terza rima_. Her versification appeared to be +excellent, nor could I detect the absence or superabundance, of a single +syllable. She requires the aid of music, chuses the melody; the audience +propose the subject, and _rima obbligata_, and the _intercalario_, where it +is required. In her gestures, particularly before she begins to recite, she +reminded me of the description given of the priestess of. Delphi. She walks +along the stage for four or five minutes in silent meditation on the +subject proposed, then suddenly stops, calls to the musicians to play a +certain symphony and then begins as if inspired. Among the different rhimes +in _osco_, a gentleman who sat next to me proposed to her _Cimosco_. I +asked him what _Cimosco_ he meant; he replied a Tuscan poet of that name. +For my part, I had never heard of any other of that name than the King +_Cimosco_ in the _Orlando Furioso_, who makes use of fire-arms; and Rosa +Taddei was, it appears, of my opinion, since this was the _Cimosco_ she +chose to characterise; and she made thereby a very neat and happy +comparison between the gun of Cimosco and the arrow of Cupid. This talent +of the _improvisatori_ is certainly wonderful, and one for which there is +no accounting. It appears peculiar to the Italian nation alone among the +moderns, but probably was in vogue among the ancient Greeks also. It is +certain that Rosa Taddei gives as fine thoughts as are to be met with in +most poets, and I am very much tempted to incline to Forsyth's opinion that +Homer himself was neither more nor less than an _improvisatore_, the Greek +language affording nearly as many poetic licences as the Italian, and the +faculty of heaping epithet on epithet being common in both languages. + +The other genius in this wonderful art is Signer Sgricci. He is so far +superior to Rosa Taddei in being five or six years older, in being a very +good Latinist and hi _improvising_ whole tragedies on any subject, chosen +by the audience. When the subject is chosen, he develops his plan, fixes +his _dramatis personae_ and then strikes off in _versi sciolti_. He at +times introduces a chorus with lyric poetry. I was present one evening at +an _Accademia_ given by him in the Palazzo Chigi. The subject chosen was +_Sophonisba_ and it was wonderful the manner in which he varied his plot +from that of every other dramatic author on the same subject. He _acted_ +the drama, as well as composed it, and pourtrayed the different characters +with the happiest effect. The ardent passion and impetuosity of Massinissa, +the studied calm philosophy and stoicism of Scipio, the romantic yet +dignified attachment of Sophonisba, and the plain soldierlike honorable +behaviour of Syphax were given in a very superior style. I recollect +particularly a line he puts in the mouth of Scipio, when he is endeavouring +to persuade Massinissa to resist the allurements and blandishments of love: + + Chè cor di donne è laberinto, in quale + Facil si perde l'intelletto umano. + +This drama he divided into three acts, and on its termination he improvised +a poem in _terza rima_ on the subject of the contest of Ajax and Ulysses +for the armour of Achilles. + +Wonderful, however, as this act of improvising may appear, it is not +perhaps so much so as the mathematical faculty of a youth of eight years of +age, Yorkshireman by birth, who has lately exhibited his talent for +arithmetical calculation _improvised_ in England and who in a few seconds, +from mental calculation, could give the cube root of a number containing +fifteen or sixteen figures. + +Is not all this a confirmation of Doctor Gall's theory on craniology? viz., +that our faculties depend on the organisation of the scull. I think I have +seen this frequently exemplified at Eton. I have known a boy who could not +compose a verse, make a considerable figure in arithmetic and geometry; and +another, who could write Latin verse with almost Ovidian elegance, and yet +could not work the simplest question in vulgar fractions. Indeed, I think +there seems little doubt that we are born with dispositions and +propensities, which may be developed and encouraged, or damped and checked +altogether by education. + +I have become acquainted with several families at Rome, so that I am at no +loss where to spend my evenings. Music is the never failing resource for +those with whom the spirit of conversation fails. The society at Rome is +perfectly free from etiquette or _gêne_. When once presented to a family +you may enter their house every evening without invitation, make your bow +to the master and mistress of the house, enter into conversation or not as +you please. You may absent yourself for weeks together from these +_conversazioni_, and nobody will on your re-appearance enquire where you +have been or what you have been doing. In short, in the intercourse with +Roman society, you meet with great affability, sometimes a little _ennui_, +but no _commérage_. The _avvocati_ may be said to form almost exclusively +the middling class in Rome, and they educate their families very +respectably. This class was much caressed by the French Government during +the time that Rome was annexed to the French Empire, and most of the +employés of the Government at that time were taken from this class. I have +met with several sensible well-informed people, who have been accurate +observers of the times, and had derived profit in point of instruction from +the scenes they had witnessed. + +The Papal Government began, as most of the restored governments did, by +displacing many of these gentlemen, for no other fault than because they +had served under the Ex-government, and replaced them by ecclesiastics, as +in the olden time. But the Papal Government very soon discovered that the +whole political machine would be very soon at a stand, by such an +_épuration_; and the most of them have been since reinstated. Consalvi, the +Secretary of State, is a very sensible man; he has hard battles to fight +with the _Ultras_ of Rome in order to maintain in force the useful +regulations introduced by the French Government, particularly the +organisation of a vigilant police, and the putting a stop to the murders +and robberies, which used formerly to be committed with impunity. The +French checked the system of granting asylum to these vagabonds altogether. +But on the restoration of the Papal Government a strong interest was made +to allow asylums, as formerly, to criminals. Many of these gentry began to +think that the good old times were come again, wherein they could commit +with impunity the most atrocious crimes; and no less than eighty persons +were in prison at one time for murder. This opened the eyes of the +Government, and Consalvi insisted on the execution of these men and carried +his point of establishing a vigilant police. The Army too has been put on a +better footing. The Papal troops are now clothed and disciplined in the +French manner, and make a most respectable appearance. The infantry is +clothed in white; the cavalry in green. The cockade is white and yellow. No +greater proof can be given of the merit and utility of the French +institutions in Italy, than the circumstance of all the restored +Governments being obliged by their interests (tho' contrary to their wishes +and prejudices), to adopt and enforce them. There is still required, +however, a severer law for the punishment of post office defalcations. +Simple dismissal is by no means adequate, when it is considered how much +mischief may ensue from such offences. A very serious offence of this +nature and which has made a great sensation, has lately occurred. As all +foreign letters must be franked, and as the postage to England is very +high, one of the clerks at the Post office had been in the habit of +receiving money for the franking of letters, appropriated it to his own +use, and never forwarded the letters. This created great inconvenience; a +number of families having never received answers to their letters and being +without the expected remittances, began to be uneasy and to complain. An +enquiry was instituted, and it was discovered that the clerk above +mentioned had been carrying on this game to a great extent. He used to tear +the letters and throw the fragments into a closet. Several scraps of +letters were thus discovered and, on being examined, he made an ample +confession of his practises. He was merely discharged, and no other +punishment was indicted on him. I am no advocate for the punishment of +death for any other crime but wilful murder; but surely this fellow was +worse than a robber, and deserved a greater severity of punishment. + + +ROME, 10th February, 1818. + +The Carnaval has long since begun, and this is the heaven of the Roman +ladies. On my remarking to a lady that I was soon tired of it and after a +day or two found it very childish, she replied: "_Bisogna esser donna e +donna Italiana per ben godere de' piaceri del Carnevale_." + +When I speak of the Carnaval, I speak of the last ten days of it which +precede Lent. The following is the detail of the day's amusement during the +season. + +After dinner, which is always early, the masks sally out and repair to the +_Corso_. The windows and balconies of the houses are filled with +spectators, in and out of masks. A scaffolding containing an immense number +of seats is constructed in the shape of a rectangle, beginning at the +_Piazza del Popolo_, running parallel to the _Corso_ on each side, and +terminating near the _Piazza di Venezia_; close to which is the goal of the +horse race that takes place in this enclosure. Carriages, with persons in +them, generally masked, parade up and down this space in two currents, the +one ascending, the other descending the _Corso_. They are saluted as they +pass with showers of white comfits from the spectators on the seats of the +scaffolding, or from the balconies and windows on each side of the street. +These comfits break into a white powder and bespatter the clothes of the +person on whom they fall as if hair-powder had been thrown on them. This +seems to be the grand joke of this part of the Carnival. After the +carriages have paraded about an hour, a signal is given by the firing of a +gun that the horse race is about to begin. The carriages, on the gun being +fired, must immediately evacuate the _Corso_ in order to leave it clear for +the race; some move off and _rendezvous_ on the _Piazza del Popolo_ just +behind the scaffolding, from the foot of which the horses start; others +file off by the _Via Ripetta_ and take their stand on the _Piazza Colonna_. +The horse-race is performed by horses without riders, generally five or six +at a time. They are each held with a bridle or halter by a man who stands +by them, in order to prevent their starting before the signal is given; and +this requires no small degree of force and dexterity, as the horses are +exceedingly impatient to set off. The manes of the horses are dressed in +ribbands of different colours to distinguish them. Pieces of tin, small +bells and other noisy materials are fastened to their manes and tails, in +order by frightening the poor animals, to make them run the faster, and +with this view also squibs and crackers are discharged at them as they pass +along. A second gun is the signal for starting; the keepers loose their +hold, and off go the horses. The horse that arrives the first at the goal +wins the grand prize; and there are smaller ones for the two next. This +race is repeated four or five times till dusk, and then the company +separate and return home to dress. They then repair to the balls at the +different casinos, and at the conclusion of the ball, supper parties are +formed either at _restaurants_ or at each other's houses. During the time +occupied in the balls and promenades, as every body goes masked either in +character or in _domino_, there is a fine opportunity for pairing off, and +it is no doubt turned to account. This is a pretty accurate account of a +Roman Carnaval. A great deal of wit and repartee takes place among the +masks and they are in general extremely well supported, and indeed they +ought to be, for there is a great sameness of character assumed at every +masquerade, and very little novelty is struck out, except perhaps by some +foreigner, who chuses to introduce a national character of his own, which +is probably but little, or not at all, understood by the natives, and very +often not at all well supported by the foreigner himself. An American +gentleman once made his appearance as an Indian warrior with his +war-hatchet and calumet; he danced the war dance, which excited great +astonishment. He then presented his calumet to a mask, who not knowing what +the ceremony meant, declined it, when the Mohawk flourished his hatchet and +gave such a dreadful shriek as to set the whole company in alarm.[112] On +the whole this character was so little understood that it was looked upon +as a _mauvaise plaisanterie_. + +The usual characters are Pulcinelli, Arlecchini, Spanish Grandees, Turks, +fortune tellers, flower girls and Devils; sometimes too they go in the +costume of the Gods and Goddesses of the ancient mythology. I observe that +the English ladies here prefer to appear without masks in the costume of +the Swiss and Italian peasantry. + +There is a very large English society at Rome, and at some of the parties +here, you could suppose yourself in Grosvenor Square. + +The late political changes have brought together in Rome many persons of +the most opposite parties and sentiments, who have fallen from the height +of political power and influence into a private station, but who enjoy +themselves here unmolested, and even protected by the Government, and are +much courted by foreigners. I have seen at the same masquerade, in the +_Teatro Aliberti_, in boxes close to each other, the Queen of Spam (mother +of Ferdinand VII), and the Princess Borghese, Napoleon's sister. In a box +at a short distance from them were Lucian Buonaparte, his wife and +daughters. Besides these, the following ex-Sovereigns and persons of +distinction, fallen from their high estate, reside in Rome, viz., King +Charles IV of Spain; the ex-King of Holland, Louis Buonaparte; the +abdicated King of Sardinia, Victor Emanuel; Don Manuel Godoy, the Prince of +Peace; Cardinal Fesch, and Madame Letitia, the mother of Napoleon. + +I had an opportunity of being presented to Lucian, who bears the title of +Prince of Canino, before I left Rome for Naples, as on leaving the Pays de +Vaud I was charged by a Swiss gentleman to deliver a letter to him, the +purport of which was to state that he had rendered services to Joseph +Napoleon, when he was resident in that Canton, in consequence of which he +had been persecuted and deprived of his employment at Lausanne, which was +that of Captain of the Gendarmerie; and in the letter he sollicited +pecuniary assistance from the Prince of Canino. I rode out one morning to +the Villa of Ruffinella where the Prince resides and was very politely +received; it appeared however that the Prince was totally unacquainted with +the person who wrote the letter, nor was he at all aware of the +circumstances therein mentioned. I told him that I was but little +acquainted with the writer of the letter, but that he, on hearing of my +intention of going to Rome, asked me to deliver it personally. The Prince +told me he would write himself to the applicant on the subject. Here the +negotiation ended; but on my taking leave the Prince said he should be +happy to see me whenever I chose to call. The Prince has the character of +being an excellent father and husband, and seems entirely and almost +exclusively devoted to his family. He has a remarkably fine collection of +pictures and statues in his house at Rome. + +I had an opportunity likewise of seeing the ex-King of Holland, Louis +Napoleon, who seems to be a most excellent and amiable man, and in fact +everybody agrees in speaking of him with eulogy. + +With regard to the present Pontiff Pius VII, from the excellence of his +private character and virtues, and from his unassuming manners and goodness +of heart, there is but one opinion respecting him. Even those who do not +like the ecclesiastical Government, and behold in it the degradation of +Italy, render justice to the good qualities of Pius VII. He always +displayed the greatest moderation and humanity in prosperity, and in +adversity he was firm and dignified. In his morals and habits he is quite a +primitive Christian, and if he does not possess that great political talent +which has distinguished some of his predecessors, he has been particularly +fortunate and discriminating in the choice of his minister, in whom are +united ability, firmness, suavity of manner and unimpeachable character. I +think I have thus given a faithful delineation of Cardinal Consalvi. + + +ROME, March 12th. + +I have made a very valuable acquaintance in M. K[ölle][113] the envoy of +the King of Würtemberg, to the Holy See. He is an enthusiastic admirer of +his countryman the poet Schiller, and thro' his means of procuring German +books, I am enabled to prosecute my studies in that noble language. An +Italian lady there having heard much of Schiller and Bürger, and not being +acquainted with the German language, requested me to make an Italian +translation of some of the pieces of those poets; chusing the _Leonora_ of +Bürger as one, and leaving to myself the choice of one from Schiller, I +represented the extreme difficulty of the task, but as she had read a +sonnet of mine on Lord Guildford's project of establishing an University in +the Italian language, she would not hear of any excuse. To work then I set, +and completed the translation of _Leonora_, together with one of Schiller's +_Feast of Eleusis_. These and my sonnet were the cause of my being +recommended for admission as a member of the Academy _degli Arcadi_ in Rome +and I received the pastoral name of _Galeso Itaoense_. + +The Carnaval is now over and the ladies are all at their _Livres d'Heures_, +posting masses and prayers to the credit side, to counterbalance the sins +and frailties committed during the carnaval in the account which they keep +in the Ledger of Heaven. Dancing and masquerading are now over and +_Requiems_ and the _Miserere_ the order of the day at the _conversazioni_. + +At Mr K[ölle]'s house I have become acquainted with Thorwaldsen, the famous +Danish sculptor, who is by many considered as the successful rival of +Canova; but their respective styles are so different, that a comparison can +scarce be made between them. Canova excels in the soft and graceful, in the +figures of youthful females and young men; Thorwaldsen in the grave, stern +and terrible. In a word, did I wish to have made a Hebe, a Venus, an +Antinoüs, an Apollo, I should charge Canova with their execution. Did I +wish for an Ajax, an Hercules, a Neptune, a Jupiter, I should give the +preference to Thorwaldsen. + +In their private characters they much resemble each other, being both +honorable, generous, unassuming, and enthusiastic lovers of their +profession and of the fine arts hi general. + +I have been to see a remarkably fine picture, by a modern French artist, of +the name of Granet. It may be considered as the _chef d'oeuvre_ of the +perspective or dioramic art. This picture represents the ulterior of the +convent of the Capuchins, near the Barberini Palace. The picture is by no +means a very large one; but the optical deception is astonishing. You fancy +you are standing at the entrance of a long hall and ready to enter it; on +looking at it, thro' a piece of paper rolled hi form of a speaking +trumpet--which by hiding from the sight the frame of the picture, prevents +the illusion from being dissipated--you suppose you could walk into the +hall; and each figure of a monk therein appears a real human creature, seen +from a long distance, so skilfully has the artist disposed his light and +shade. This picture has excited the admiration of connoisseurs, as well as +others, and it is universally proclaimed a masterpiece. M. Granet's house +is filled every day with persons coming to see this picture, and many +repeat their visits several tunes in the week. He has received several +orders for copies of this picture, and I fancy he begins to be tired of +eternally copying the same thing; for he told me that he wished that the +gentlemen who employed him would vary their subjects, and either chuse some +other themselves, or let him chuse for them. But no! such is the effect of +vogue and fashion, and such the despotic influence they exercise even over +the polite arts, that everybody must have a copy of Granet's picture of the +interior of the Convent of Capuchins _coûte que coûte_; so that poor Granet +seems bound to this Convent for life; except in the intervals of his +labours, he should hit off another subject, with equal felicity, and this +alone may perhaps serve to diminish the universal desire of possessing a +copy of the Convent. The original picture is destined for the King of +France.[114] + +I remarked, in the collection of the works of this artist, a small picture +representing Galileo in prison, and a monk descending the steps of the +dungeon bringing him his scanty meal. A lamp hangs suspended from the roof, +in the centre of the dungeon, and the artist has made a very happy hit in +throwing the whole glare of the lamp on the countenance of Galileo, who is +seated reading a book, while the gaoler monk is left completely in the +shade. On seeing this I exclaimed: _Veramente, Signor Granet, e buonissimo +quel vostro concetto!_ + + +Easter Tuesday. + +I have at length seen all the fine sights that Rome affords during the Holy +Week, and have witnessed most of the religious ceremonies, viz., the +illuminated cross hi St Peter's on Good Friday; the high mass celebrated by +the Pope in person on Easter Sunday; the Papal benediction from a window of +the church above the façade on the same day; the illumination of the façade +of St Peter's on Easter Monday, and the _Girandola_ or grand firework at +the Castle of St Angelo on the same evening. The ceremony of the Pope +washing the feet of twelve poor men I did not see, for I could not get into +the Sistine Chapel, where the ceremony was performed: and at the mass +performed by the Pope in the Sistine Chapel I did contrive to enter, but +was so oppressed by the crowd and heat, that I almost fainted away, and was +very glad to get out of the Chapel again, before the ceremony commenced. +Why in the name of commonsense do they perform these ceremonies in the +Sistine Chapel which is small, instead of doing them in the church of St +Peter's, which would contain so many people and produce a much grander +effect? + +A great many people are deprived of seeing the ceremonies in the Sistine +Chapel from the difficulty of getting in. The Pope's Swiss Guard attend on +that day in their ancient _costume_, with helmets, cuirasses and halberds; +these guard the entrance of the staircase leading to the Chapel, and they +have no small trouble and difficulty in maintaining order, as there is +always a great scuffle to get in, and they are particularly importuned by +German visitors, who thinking to be favored by them, in speaking to them in +their own language, vociferate; _Ich bin Ihr Landsmann!_ and hope by this +to obtain a preference. + +On Friday evening a large Cross is erected before the grand altar; every +part of this Cross is filled with lamps, and at seven in the evening the +whole is illuminated. It has a most brilliant appearance and gives the +happiest _chiaro-oscuro_ effect to the statues, columns and pilasters which +abound in this vast temple. There is no other light on this occasion than +that reflected from the Cross. On Easter Sunday, when the Pope celebrates +high mass in the church of St Peter's, the Papal noble Guard, composed of +young men from the principal families in Rome, form a hedge on each side of +the nave of the church, from the entrance of the facade to the grand altar. +The street or interval formed between this double line may be about thirty +feet broad, and behind this guard or in any other part of the church, the +spectators may stand; but as these guards wear very large feathers in their +hats, they intercept very much the sight of those who stand behind them. +The uniform of the Papal Noble Guard is very splendid, being a scarlet +coat, covered with gold lace, white feathers, white breeches and long +military boots. The approach of the Pope is announced by the thunder of +cannon, and he is brought into the Church dressed in full pontificals, with +the triple Crown on his head, on a chair borne by men, _palanquin_ fashion; +he is conducted thro' the lane formed by the Papal Guard, and as he passes +he makes the sign of the cross several times with his finger, repeating the +words: _Urbi et Orbi_. He is then set down, with his face fronting the +baldachin, when he immediately takes off the tiara, and begins the +ceremony. That ended, he leaves the church in the same state, and then +ascends the staircase, in order to prepare to give the benediction, which +is usually given from a window above the facade of the church. The Pope is +there seated on a chair with the triple Crown on his head. Troops of +cavalry and infantry are drawn up in a semi-circle before the façade of the +church, and the whole vast _arena_ of the _Piazza di San Pietro_ is covered +with spectators. On a sudden his Holiness rises, extends his hands towards +heaven, then spreads them open, and seems as if he scattered something he +held in them on the crowd below; a silly young Frenchman who was standing +next to me said: _Le voilà ! Le voilà qui arrache la bénédiction au ciel, et +qui la répand sur tout le monde!_ I could not refrain from laughing at this +sally, tho' I was much impressed with the solemnity of the scene, which I +think one of the grandest and most sublime I ever beheld. This ceremony +concluded, salves of ordnance were fired. The Pope retires amidst clouds of +smoke, and seems to vanish from the Earth. The troops then fire a _feu de +joie_ and move off, playing a march in quick time, and the company +disperse. + +It is the étiquette on these occasions that no person be admitted either +into the church of St Peter or into the Sistine Chapel except in full +toilette. The ladies dress generally in black with caps and feathers; the +gentlemen either in black full dress or in military uniform. From the +variety of foreigners of all nations that are here, most of whom are +military men, or intitled to wear military uniforms, much is added to the +splendour of the spectacle. + +On the evening of Easter Monday, I was present at the illumination of the +facade of St Peter's. Rows of lamps are suspended the whole length of the +columns and pilasters and all over the cupola, so that, when illuminated, +the style of the architecture is perceptible. The illumination takes place +almost at once. How it is managed I cannot say; but a splendid illuminated +temple seems at once to drop from the clouds, like the work of an +enchanter; I say _drop from the clouds_, because the illumination begins +from the cross and cupola and is communicated with the rapidity of +lightning to every other part of the edifice. About ten o'clock the same +evening the most magnificent firework perhaps in the world begins to play +from the castle of St Angelo. All kinds of shapes are assumed by these +fireworks: here are castles, pagodas, dragons, griffins, etc. These last +about an hour and then conclude, and with them conclude all the ceremonies +used in commemoration of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ. + +Among the sights of Rome I must not omit that of a famous robber of the +name of Barbone, who was the terror of the whole surrounding country from +the depredations he committed. Having capitulated, and surrendered himself +to the Papal Government, he is now confined in the Castle of St Angelo as a +state prisoner. His wife, or a woman calling herself so, is confined there +with him, and she is said to be a woman of uncommon beauty. It is quite the +rage among the English here to go to see these _illustrious_ captives, and +Madame Barbone, superbly dressed, receives the hommage of the visitors. The +Duchess of D[evonshire] is said to have visited her, and made her a present +of a pearl necklace. I hope this is not true. Surely the Duchess, who is a +woman of talent and an encourager of the fine arts, might have found some +other object worthier of her munificence. What claims the mistress, or even +the wife, of a public robber can have on the generosity of travellers, I am +at a loss to conceive; but such is the _bizarrerie_ and _inconsequence_ of +the English, and no doubt, be this story of her Grace of D[evonshire] +having given a present true or not, it will occasion many other presents +being made to the captive Princess by a host of silly lord-aping English +men and women. Barbone has, it is said, made an excellent capitulation. He +has stipulated to be released from prison after a year and a day's +confinement, and no doubt he will then resume his old trade of brigandage. +In the meantime he has disbanded his troops, as he calls them; but will his +troops obey him, now that he is a captive? will they not rather chuse +another leader? + +In the time of the French occupation, nothing of this kind took place; but +the present Government is weak and timid. I have not been myself to see +either Barbone or his wife, but I have heard quite enough about them; they +form one of the principal sights in Rome, and I am quite _unfashionable_ in +not having gone to visit them; for according to the opinion of my English +acquaintance, he who has not seen Barbone and his wife has seen nothing. + + * * * * * + +I started from Rome on the second of April with a _vetturino_, and on +arrival at Baccano, we struck off into a road on the right hand, and +arrived at Cività Castellana at a late hour. Cività Castellana merits no +further attention, except that it is supposed to stand on the site of the +ancient city of Veii. The following day at ten o'clock we reached the small +town of Narni. Here are the remains of a beautiful bridge, constructed over +the ravine, thro' which flows the river Nera, and which was built in the +time of Augustus. It affords a very favorable specimen of the Roman bridge +architecture. There is a small chapel here, and it contains, engraved on a +stone, a description of a miracle wrought here about four years ago by the +Virgin Mary, who saved the life of a postillion. He went into the river to +water his horses, when he was carried off by the torrent and would have +been drowned, had not the Virgin, on her aid being invoked, dashed into the +river and haled him out by the hair of his head. Of this story, to use a +phrase of old Josephus,[115] every one may believe as much as he thinks +proper; but certain it is that the postillion made oath (which oath is +registered) that his life was saved by the Virgin Mary in this manner, and +he has put up a votive tablet at her shrine, which remains to this day, +commemorative of the event. There is also a Roman aqueduct in the +neighbourhood, eleven Italian miles in length. + +We arrived at Terni at three o'clock and immediately hired a _calèche_ (the +other travellers and myself) to visit the famous cascade of the Velino, +about three miles distant from the town of Terni. The road thither is very +rugged, and is a continual ascent on the flank of a ravine. For a long time +before you arrive on the brink of the cascade, you hear the roaring of the +waters; and it certainly is the most magnificent and awe-inspiring sight of +the kind I ever beheld. It is far more stupendous than any cascade in +Switzerland. That of Tivoli compared to it is as an infant six months old +to a Goliath. The Velino forms three successive falls, and the last is +tremendous, since it falls from a height of 1,068 feet into the abyss +below. The foam and the froth it occasions is terrific; and the spray +ascends so high that in standing at the distance of fifty yards from the +fall you become as wet as if you had been standing in a shower of rain. The +first fall it forms is of 800 feet; the second little less; the third I +have stated already. No painting can possibly give a faithful delineation +of this, and very possibly no poetic description can give an adequate idea +thereof. We passed the whole night at Terni and the next morning we stopped +to dine at Spoleto. The same evening we arrived at Foligno. Spoleto is a +neat town and well paved. Several ruins of ancient buildings are in its +vicinity. Before you arrive there, on the left of the road, is an immensely +high two-arched bridge. There is an aqueduct likewise just outside the +town. We did not omit to read the inscription on the gate of the town, in +commemoration of the repulse of Hannibal, who failed in his attempt to make +himself master of this city, after having beat the Romans near the lake +Trasymene. The gate is called in consequence _Porta Fugae_, and this gate +constitutes the principal glory of Spoleto. We were shown the rums of a +Palace built by Theodoric. On leaving the town, just outside the gate, we +were shewn a bridge which had laid underground for many centuries and had +been lately discovered. A bridge was known to have been built here in the +time of Augustus, and it is very probably the identical one; we could only +see the top and part of the parapet. + +Foligno is a large, well built city, neatly paved, populous and commercial, +renowned for manufactories of paper, wax, and confectionary. + +The whole road between Spoleto and Foligno is thro' a beautiful valley in +high cultivation. There is a good deal of rich pasture ground, and it is +watered by the river called in ancient tunes Clitumnus. Here are to be seen +a fine breed of white cattle for which this part of the country has been +long renowned, which cattle were used, in preference, for sacrifices +(_Albi, Clitumne, greges_).[116] A similar breed is to be found in India +and Egypt. + +The streets in Foligno are broad. I remarked the _Palazzo Pubblico_ and +Cathedral as very fine buildings. Our next day's journey brought us to +Perugia, after passing by Assisi, the birth place of the famous St Francis, +founder of the order of Franciscans. It is situated on an eminence: +convents and churches abound therein. + +Perugia is a large and opulent city, standing like a fortress on a +mountain, and towering over the plain below. It is of steep ascent from the +plain, and there are various terraces along the ramparts, commanding +several fine points of view of the rich and fertile plains all round. These +terraces are planted with trees and form the promenades appertaining to the +city. The architecture of the various churches and Palaces is very +superior. The streets are broad and every building has an air of +magnificence. The Cathedral, dedicated to St Laurence, is well worth +visiting; it stands on the _Piazza del Duomo_, where there is a fine +fountain ornamented with statues. In the church of St Peter's there are +some fine columns of marble and some pictures of Perugino and Raffaello. + + +[108] Virgil, _Aen_., VI, 886.--ED. + +[109] Of the two persons here mentioned, by their initials only, the first, + Luigi de' Medici, was chosen as Chancellor of the Exchequer by King + Ferdinando in June, 1815. The second was Nugent, an Austrian + _marescallo_, who became _capitano generale_ of the Neapolitan army, + August, 1816, and _capo del supremo comando_, February, 1817.--ED. + +[110] This most distinguished lady, Marianna Candidi, was born in Rome in + 1756; her mother, Magdalena Scilla, was the daughter of a well known + antiquary of Messina, Agostino Scilla. Marianna learned Latin, drawing + and music; she achieved a reputation as landscape painter, and was + elected a member of the Academies of St Luke in Rome, of Bologna, Pisa + and Philadelphia. She married the lawyer Domenico Dionigi, and gave him + seven children, one of whom, Henrietta, became Madame Orfei, and was + much esteemed as "improvisatrice." Madame Dionigi herself published + several works, among which a _Storia de' tempi presenti_, written in + view of the education of her children. Her _salon_ in Rome was + frequented by many men of distinction, such as Visconti, d'Agincourt, + Erskine, etc. She died on the 10th June, 1826, at the age of seventy. + --ED. + +[111] She was no more than sixty-two at that time.--ED. + +[112] To present the calumet is an offer of peace and amity among the + aborigines of North America and to refuse it is regarded as the + greatest insult. + +[113] Frye gives only the initial of the name, which I have completed from + the _Almanach de Gotha_, 1818.--ED. + +[114] The Interior of the Convent of the Capucini was first painted by + Granet in the year 1811. None of the numerous replicas are in the + Louvre, but there is one in London (Buckingham Palace) and one at + Chatsworth.--ED. + +[115] The author may have meant "old Herodotus."--ED. + +[116] Virgil, _Georg._, II, 146.--ED. + + + + +CHAPTER XV + +APRIL-JULY, 1818 + +Journey from Florence to Pisa and from thence by the Appennines to +Genoa--Massa-Carrara--Genoa--Monuments and works of art--The +Genoese--Return to Florence--Journey from Florence through Bologna and +Ferrara to Venice--Monument to Ariosto in Ferrara--A description of +Venice--Padua--Vicenza--Verona--Cremona--Return to Milan--The Scala +theatre--Verona again--From Verona to Innspruck. + +It is the custom for most travellers going to Genoa to embark on board of a +_felucca_ at Spezia, which lies on the sea coast, not far from Sarzana: but +I preferred to go by land, and I cannot conceive why anyone should expose +himself to the risks, inconveniences and delays of a sea passage, when it +is so easy to go by land thro' the Appennines. I started accordingly the +following morning, mounted on a mule, and attended by a muleteer with +another mule to convey my portmanteau. I found this journey neither +dangerous nor difficult, but on the contrary agreeable and romantic. The +road is only a bridle road. I paid forty-eight franks for my two mules and +driver, and started at seven in the morning from Sarzana. The wild +appearance of the Appennines, the aweful solitudes and the highly +picturesque points of view that present themselves at the various +sinuosities of the mountains and valleys; the view of the sea from the +heights that tower above the towns of Oneglia and Sestri Levante, rendered +this journey one of the most interesting I have ever made. I stopped to +dine at Borghetto and brought to the night at Sestri Levante, breakfasted +the next morning at Rapallo, and arrived the same evening at four o'clock +in Genoa. Borghetto is a little insignificant town situate in a narrow +valley surrounded on all sides by the lofty crags of the Appennines. Sestri +Levante is a long and very straggling town, part of it being situated on +the sea shore, and the other part on the gorge of the mountain descending +towards the sea beach; so that the former part of the town lies nearly at +right angles with the latter, with a considerable space intervening. The +road for the last four miles between Borghetto and Sestri Levante is a +continual descent. The inn was very comfortable and good at Sestri Levante. +The beginning of the road between Sestri and Rapallo is on the beach till +near Rapallo, when it strikes again into the mountains and is of +considerable ascent. Rapallo is a very neat pretty place, situate on an +eminence commanding a fine view of the sea. The greater part of the road +between Rapallo and Genoa is on the sea-coast, but cut along the mountains +which here form a bluff with the sea. Villas, gardens and vineyards line +the whole of this route and nothing can be more beautiful. The neatness of +the villas and the abundance of the population form a striking contrast to +the wild solitudes between Sarzana and Sesto, where (except at Borghetto) +there is not a house to be seen and scarce a human creature to be met, and +where the eagle seems to reign alone the uncontrolled lord of the creation. + + +GENOA, 23rd April. + +The view of Genoa from the sea is indisputably the best; for on entering by +land from the eastern side, the ramparts are so lofty as to intercept the +fine view the city would otherwise afford. From the sea side it rises in +the shape of an amphitheatre; a view therefore taken from the sea gives the +best idea of its grandeur and of the magnificence of its buildings, for +everybody on beholding this grand spectacle must allow that this city well +deserves its epithet of _Superba_. + +I observe in my daily walks on the _Esplanade_ a number of beautiful women. +The Genoese women are remarkable for their beauty and fine complexions. +They dress generally in white, and their style of dress is Spanish; they +wear the _mezzara_ or veil, in the management of which they display much +grace and not a little coquetry. Instead of the fan exercise recommended to +women by the _Spectator_, the art of handling the _mezzara_ might be +reduced to a manual and taught to the ladies by word of command. + +I put up at the house of a Spanish lady on the _Piazza St Siro_, and here +for four _livres_ a day I am sumptuously boarded and lodged. There are +three principal streets in Genoa, viz., _Strada Nuova_, _Balbi_, and +_Nuovissima_. Yet these three streets may be properly said to form but one, +inasmuch as they lie very nearly in a right line. These streets are broad +and aligned with the finest buildings in Genoa. This street or streets are +the only ones that can be properly called so, according to the idea we +usually attach to the word. The others deserve rather the names of lanes +and alleys, tho' exceedingly well paved and aligned with excellent houses +and shops. In fact the streets _Nuova_, _Nuovissima_ and _Balbi_ are the +only ones thro' which carriages can pass. The others are far too narrow to +admit of the passage of carriages. The houses on each side of them are of +immense height, being of six or seven stories, which form such a shade as +effectually to protect those who walk thro' these alleys from the rays of +the sun. The houses diminish in height in proportion as they are built on +the slant of the mountain from the bottom to the top, those at the bottom +being the loftiest. Carriages are scarcely of any use in the city of Genoa, +except to drive from one end of the town to another thro' the streets +_Nuova_, _Balbi_ and _Nuovissima_; and accordingly a carriage with four +wheels, or even with two, is a rare conveyance in Genoa. The general mode +of conveyance is on a sedan chair, carried by porters, or on the backs of +mules or asses. Genoa is distinguished by the beauty of the Palaces of its +patricians, which are more numerous and more magnificent than those of any +other city, probably, in the world. + +The Ducal Palace or Palace of Government, where the Doge used to reside, +claimed my first attention; yet, tho' much larger, it is far less splendid +than many of the Palaces of individual patricians. In fact, the Ducal +Palace is built in the Gothic taste and resembles a Gothic fortress, having +round towers at each angle. The Hall, where the Grand Council used to sit, +is superb, and is adorned with columns of _jaune antique_. On the _plafond_ +is a painting representing the discovery of America by Columbus; for the +Genoese duly appreciate, and never can forget their illustrious countryman. +The lines of Tasso, "_Un uom della Liguria avrà ardimento_," etc., and the +following stanza, _Tu spiegherai Colombo a urn nuovo polo_, etc. are in the +mouth of everyone.[117] The Hall of the Petty Council is neat, but it is +the recollection of the history of this once famous Republic that renders +the examination of this Palace so interesting. But now Genoa's glory is +gone; she has been basely betrayed into the hands of a Government she most +detested. The King of Sardinia is nowhere; and he is not a little proud of +being the possessor of such a noble sea port, which enables him to rank as +a maritime power. + +The Genoese are laborious and make excellent sailors; but now there is +nothing to animate them; and they will never exert themselves in the +service of a domination which is so little congenial to them. They sigh for +their ancient Government, of whose glories they had so often heard and +whose brilliant exploits have been handed down to the present day not +merely by historical writers and poets, but by _improvisatori_ from mouth +to mouth. The Genoese nobles, those merchant Kings, whose riches exceeded +at one time those of the most powerful monarchs of Europe, who were the +pawn-brokers to those Sovereigns, are now in a state of decay. Commerce can +only flourish on the soil of liberty, and takes wing at the sight of +military and sacerdotal chains; and tho' the present Sovereign affects to +caress the Genoese _noblesse_, they return his civilities with sullen +indifference, and half concealed contempt and aversion. The commerce of +Genoa is transferred to Leghorn, which increases in prosperity as the +former decays. + +The climate of Genoa is said to be exceedingly mild during the winter, +being protected on the north by the Appennines, which tower above it to an +immense height. Beautiful villas and grounds tastefully laid out in +plantations of orange trees, pomegranates, etc., abound in the environs of +this city, and everything announces the extreme industry of the +inhabitants, for the soil is proverbially barren. This shews what they have +done and what they could still do were they free; but now they have nothing +to animate their exertions. The public promenades are on the bastions and +curtains of the fortifications, on the _Esplanade_ and in the streets +_Balbi_, _Nuova_ and _Nuovissima_. There is also another very delightful +promenade, tho' not much used by the ladies, viz., on the Mola or Pier +enveloping the harbour. + +One of the most remarkable constructions in Genoa is the bridge of +Carignano, which is built over an immense ravine and unites the hills +Fengano and Carignano. It is so high that houses of six stories stand under +its arches in the valley below. No water except in times of flood runs +under this bridge and it much resembles, tho' somewhat larger, the bridge +at Edinburgh which unites the old and new towns. The principal churches +are: first, the Cathedral, which is not far from the Ducal Palace; it is +richly ornamented and incrusted with black marble; the church of the +Annunziata and that of St Sire. They are all in the Gothic style of +architecture and loaded with that variety of ornament and diversity of +beautiful marbles which distinguish the churches of Italy from those of any +other country. Near the bridge of Carignano is a church of the same name, +wherein are four marble colossal statues. + +On the west of the city and running two miles along the sea-beach is the +_faubourg_ of St Pietro d'Arena, which presents a front of well built +houses the whole way; these houses are principally used as magazines and +store houses. + + +FLORENCE, 5 May. + +I left Genoa on the 30th April, returned on mule-back from Genoa to +Sarzana, stopping the first night at Sestri. The second evening when near +Sarzana, it being very dark, I somehow or other got out of the road and my +mule fell with me into a very deep ditch; but I was only slightly bruised +by the fall; my clothes however were covered with dirt and wet. The road +from Genoa to Sarzana might with very little expense be made fit for +carriages by widening it. At present it is only a bridle road, and on some +parts of it, on the sides of ravines, it is I think a little ticklish to +trust entirely to the discretion of one's _monture_; at least I thought so +and dismounted twice to pass such places on foot. A winding stream is to be +forded in two or three places, but it is not deep except after rains; and +then I think it must be sometimes dangerous to pass, till the waters run +off. Those, who are fond of mountain scenery will, like myself, be highly +gratified in making this journey; for it is thro' the loftiest, wildest and +most romantic part of the Appennines. From Sarzana I hired a cabriolet to +return to Pisa and from thence I took the diligence to Florence. + + +FERRARA. + +On the 9th of May I set out from Florence on my journey hither. Two days' +journey brought me to Bologna where I stopped one day; and the following +day I reached this place (Ferrara), six miles distant from Bologna. The +country between these two cities is a perfect plain and very fertile. At +Malalbergo (half-way) We crossed the Reno in a boat. I put up at the _Tre +Mori_ in Ferrara. Having remained two and half days here I have had time to +inspect and examine almost everything of consequence that the city affords. +The city itself has an imposing, venerable appearance and can boast of some +fine buildings; yet with all this there is an air of melancholy about it. +It is not peopled in proportion to its size and grass is seen growing in +several of the streets. I believe the unhealthiness of the environing +country is the cause of the decrease of population, for Ferrara lies on a +marshy plain, very liable to inundation In the centre of the city stands +the ancient Palace of the Dukes of Ferrara, a vast Gothic edifice, square, +and flanked with round towers, and a large court-yard in the centre. It was +in this court-yard that Hugo and Parisina were decapitated. From the top of +this palace a noble view of the plain of the Po represents itself, and you +see the meanderings of that King of Rivers, as the Italian poets term it. +As the Po runs thro' a perfectly flat country, and is encreased and swollen +by the torrents from the Alps and Appennines that fall into the smaller +rivers, which unite their tributary streams with the Po and accompany him +as his _seguaci_ to the Adriatic, this country is liable to the most +dreadful inundations: flocks and herds, farm-houses and sometimes whole +villages are swept away. Dykes, dams and canals innumerable are in +consequence constructed throughout this part of the country, to preserve it +as much as possible from such calamities. Ariosto's description of an +over-flowing of this river is very striking, and I here transcribe it: + + Con quel furor che il Re de' fiumi altero, + Quando rompe tal volta argine e sponda, + E che ne' campi Ocnei si apre il sentiero, + E i grassi solchi e le biade feconde, + E con le sue capanne il gregge intero, + E co' cani i pastor porta neil' onde, etc.[118] + + Even with that rage wherewith the stream that reigns, + The king of rivers--when he breaks his mound. + And makes himself a way through Mantuan plains-- + The greasy furrows and glad harvests, round, + And, with the sheepcotes, nock, and dogs and swains + Bears off, in his o'erwhelming waters drowned. + + --Trans. W.S. ROSE. + +The next place I went to see was the Lyceum or University, where there is a +very fair cabinet of natural history in all its branches. The Library is +very remarkable, and possesses a great number of valuable manuscripts. But +my principal object in visiting this Museum was to see the monument erected +in honour of Ariosto, which has been transferred here from the Benedictine +church. The inkstand and chair of this illustrious bard are carefully +preserved and exhibited. They exactly resemble the print of them that +accompanies the first edition of Hoole's translation of the _Orlando +Furioso_. Among the manuscripts what gratified me most was the manuscript +of the _Gerusalemme liberata_ of Tasso. But few corrections appear in this +manuscript; tho from the extreme polish and harmony of the versification +one would expect a great many. It is written in an extremely legible hand. + +I also inspected the original manuscripts of the _Pastor Fido_ of Guarini +and of the _Suppositi_ of Ariosto. + +I then went to visit the Hospital of St Anna, for the sake of seeing the +dungeon where poor Tasso was confined and treated as mad for several years. +When one beholds this wretched place, where a man can scarce stand upright, +one only wonders how he could survive such treatment; or how he could +escape becoming insane altogether. The old wooden door of this cell will +soon be entirely cut away by amateurs, as almost everyone who visits the +dungeon chops off a piece of wood from the door to keep as a relic. The +door is in consequence pieced and repaired with new wood, and in a short +time will be in the state of Sir John Cutter's worsted stockings which were +darned so often with silk that they became finally all silk. + +Ferrara has a strong citadel which is still garrisoned by Austrian troops; +and they will probably not easily be induced to evacuate it. The Austrian +Eagle seldom looses his hold. + + +VENICE, 18th May. + +On the 16th May at six o'clock in the morning I left Ferrara in a +_cabriolet_ to go to the _Ponte di Lago oscuro_, which is a large village +on the south bank of the Po, three miles distant from Ferrara. A flying +bridge wafted me across the river, which is exceedingly broad and rapid to +the north bank, where a barge was in waiting to receive passengers for +Venice. This barge is well fitted up and supplied with _comestibles_ of all +sorts and couches to recline on. The price is twelve francs for the +passage, and you pay extra for refreshments. The bark got under weigh at +seven o'clock and descended rapidly this majestic river, which however, +from its great breadth, and from the country on each side of it being +perfectly flat, did not offer any interesting points of view. Plains and +cattle grazing thereon were the only objects, for they take care to build +the farms and houses at a considerable distance from the banks, on account +of the inundations. After having descended the Po for a considerable +distance, we entered a canal which unites the Po with the Adige. We then +descended the Adige for a short distance, and entered another canal which +unites the Adige with the Brenta. Here we stopped to change barges, and it +required an hour and half to unload and reload the baggage. We then entered +the Brenta and from thence into the Lagoons, and passing by the islands of +Malamocco and Chiozzo entered Venice by the _Canale grande_ at three +o'clock in the morning. The whole night was so dark as totally to deprive +us of the view of the approach of Venice. The barge anchored near the Post +office and I hired a gondola to convey me to the inn called _Le Regina +d'Ungheria_. + + +VENICE, 26th May. + +I was much struck, as everyone must be who sees it for the first time, at +the singular appearance of Venice. An immense city in the midst of the +Ocean, five miles distant from any land; canals instead of streets; +gondolas in lieu of carriages and horses! Yet it must not be inferred from +this that you are necessarily obliged to use a gondola in order to visit +the various parts of the city; for its structure is as follows. It is built +in compartments on piles on various mud banks, always covered indeed by +water, but very shallow and separated from each other (the mud banks I +mean) by deep water. On each of these compartments are built rows of +houses, each row giving front to a canal. The space between the backs of +the rows of houses forms a narrow street or alley paved with flag stones, +very like Cranborn Alley for instance; and these compartments are united to +each other (at the crossings as we should say) by means of stone bridges; +so that there is a series of alleys connected by a series of bridges which +form the _tout ensemble_ of this city; and you may thus go on foot thro' +every part of it. To go on horseback would be dangerous and almost +impracticable, for each bridge has a flight of steps for ascent and +descent. All this forms such a perfect labyrinth from the multiplicity and +similarity of the alleys and bridges, that it is impossible for any +stranger to find his way without a guide. I lost my way regularly every +time that I went from my inn to the _Piazza di San Marco_, which forms the +general rendezvous of the promenaders and is the fashionable lounge of +Venice; and every time I was obliged to hire a boy to reconduct me to my +inn. On this account, in order to avoid this perplexity and the expence of +hiring a gondola every time I wished to go to the _Piazza di San Marco_ I +removed to another inn, close to it, called _L'Osteria della Luna_, which +stands on the banks of the _Canale grande_ and is not twenty yards from the +_Piazza_. + +I then hired a gondola for four days successively and visited every canal +and every part of the city. Almost every family of respectability keeps a +gondola, which is anchored at the steps of the front door of the house. +After the _Piazza di San Marco_, of which I shall speak presently, the +finest buildings and Palaces of the nobility are on the banks of the +_Canale grande_, which, from its winding in the shape of an S, has all the +appearance of a river. The _Rialto_ is the only bridge which connects the +opposite banks of the _Canale grande_; but there are four hundred smaller +bridges in Venice to connect the other canals. + +The _Rialto_, the resort of the money changers and Jews, is a very singular +and picturesque construction, being of one arch, a very bold one. On each +side of this bridge is a range of jewellers' shops. A narrow Quai runs +along the banks of the _Canale grande_. + +I have visited several of the _Palazzi_, particularly those of the families +Morosini, Cornaro, Pisani, Grimani, which are very rich in marbles of +_vert_ and _jaune antique_; but they are now nearly stripped of all their +furniture, uninhabited by their owners, or let to individuals, mostly +shopkeepers; for since the extinction of the Venetian Republic almost all +the nobility have retired to their estates on the _terra firma_, or to +their villas on the banks of the Brenta; so that Venice is now inhabited +chiefly by merchants, shopkeepers, chiefly jewellers and silk mercers, +seafaring people, the constituted authorities, and the garrison of the +place. + +Tho' Venice has fallen very much into decay, since the subversion of the +Republic, as might naturally be expected, and still more so since it has +been under the Austrian domination, yet it is still a place of great +wealth, particularly in jewellery, silks and all articles of dress and +luxury. In the _Merceria_ you may see as much wealth displayed as in +Cheapside or in the Rue St Honoré. + +I have had the pleasure of witnessing a superb regatta or water _féte_, +given in honour of the visit of the Archduke Rainier to this city, in his +quality of Viceroy of the Lombardo-Venetian kingdom. There were about one +hundred and fifty barges, each fitted up by some department of trade and +commerce, with allegorical devices and statues richly ornamented, +emblematical of the trade or professions to which the barge belonged. Each +barge bore an appropriate ensign, and the dresses of the crew were all +tasteful, and thoroughly analogous to the profession they represented. +These barges are richly gilded, and from the variety of the costumes and +streamers, I thought it one of the most beautiful sights I ever beheld. +Here were the bankers' barge, the jewellers', the mercers', the tailors', +the shoe-makers', and, to crown all, the printers' barge, which showered +down from the masthead sonnets in honor of the _féte_, printed on board of +the barge itself. Every trade or profession, in short, had a barge and +appropriate flag and costumes. A quantity of private barges and gondolas +followed this procession. The Archduke and his staff occupied the +Government barge, which is very magnificent and made in imitation of the +Bucentaur. Musicians were on board of many of the barges, and the houses on +both banks of the _Canale Grande_ were filled with beautiful women and +other spectators waving their handkerchiefs. Guns were fired on the +embarkation of the Viceroy from the _Piazzetta di San Marco_, and on his +return. The _Piazza_ itself was splendidly illuminated, and the _cafés_ +which abound there, and which constitute one half of the whole quadrangle, +were superbly and tastefully decorated. + +The _Piazza di San Marco_ is certainly the most beautiful thing of the kind +in the world. It is a good deal in the style of the _Palais Royal_ at +Paris, and tho' not so large, is far more striking, from the very tasteful +and even sumptuous manner in which the _cafés_ are fitted up, both +internally and externally; they have spacious rooms with mirrors on all +sides, some in the shape of Turkish tents, others in that of Egyptian +temples. The _Piazza_, forming an oblong rectangle, is arcaded on the two +long sides, and of the two short ones, one presents a superb modern palace +built by Napoleon, and richly adorned with the statues of all the heathen +Gods on the top, which Palace was usually occupied by Eugene Napoléon; the +other presents the church of St Marco and the old palace of Government, +where in the time of the Republic the Doge used to reside. The church of St +Mark is unique as a temple in Europe, for it is neither Grecian nor Gothic, +but in a style completely Oriental, from the singularity of its structure, +its many gilded cupolas and the variety of its exterior ornaments. At +_first sight_ it appears a more striking object than either St Peter's in +Rome or St Paul's in London. On the top of the façade, which is singularly +picturesque, stand the four bronze horses which have been brought back from +Paris to their old residence. + +I ascended the top of the façade in order to examine them. They are +beautifully formed, in very good cast and have not at all been damaged by +the journey. The _Piazza_ is paved with broad flagged stones. The Doge's +palace is a vast building, very picturesque withal, and seems a _mélange_ +of Gothic and Moorish architecture. At right angles to it and facing the +_Piazzetta_, which issues from the _Piazza_ and forms a quai to the _Canale +Grande_, stands the famous state prison and _Ponte de 'Sospiri_. On the +_Piazzetta_ and fronting the landing place stand two columns of white +marble, on one of which stands the winged Lion of St Marco and on the other +a crocodile, emblematical of the foreign commerce and possessions of the +Republic. The space between these two columns was allotted for the +execution of State criminals. Not far from the church of St Marco, and near +to that angle of the _Piazza_ which connects it with the _Piazzetta_, +stands the famous _Campanile_ or Steeple of San Marco. It is a square +building 800 feet in height, from the top of which one has the best view of +Venice and its adjacent isles, the distant Alps and the _marina dove il Po +discende_. A Quai, if Quai it may be called, which has a row of houses on +each side, one row of which is on the water's edge, leads from the +_Piazzetta_ to some gardens, which terminate on a point of land. This Quai +is very broad and well paved, and is the only thing that can be called a +street in all Venice. The _Piazza di San Marco_, therefore, this Quai and +the garden before mentioned form the only promenades in Venice. This garden +moreover has trees, and these are the only trees that are to be met with in +this city. In this garden are two _Cafés_. + +The variety of costume is another very agreeable spectacle at Venice. Here +you meet with Albanians, Greeks, Turks, Moors, Sclavonians and Armenians, +all in their respective national costumes. The first Armenian I met with +here was sitting on a stone bench on the _Piazza di San Marco_, and this +brought forcibly to my recollection the Armenian in Schiller's +_Ghost-seer_. + +These _Cafés_ and _Casinos_ on the _Piazza_ are open day and night. Ices +and coffee superiorly made and other refreshments of all kinds at very low +prices are to be had. Some of these _casinos_ are devoted to gaming. The +first families in Venice repair to the _Piazza_ in the evening after the +Opera, female as well as male. They promenade up and down the _Piazza_ or +sit down and converse in the _Cafés_ and _Casinos_ till a late hour. Few go +to bed in Venice in the summer time before six In the morning, so that +sleep seems for ever banished from the _Piazza_. Music and singing goes +forward in these _casinos_, and the ear is often charmed with the sound of +those delightful Venetian airs, whose simple melody ravishes the soul. The +Venetian dialect is very pleasing, and scarcely yields in harmony to the +Tuscan. It contains a great many Sclavonic words. It is the only dialect of +Italy that is at all pleasing to my ear, for I do not at all relish the +nasal twang and truncated terminations of the Piedmontese and Lombard +dialects, nor the semi-barbarous jargon of the Genoese and the Neapolitan +and, least of all, the execrable cacophony of the Bolognese. + +I visited of course the Arsenal and the Doge's Palace. The apartments in +the latter are very spacious and ornamented in the Gothic taste of +grandeur. The chamber of the Council is peculiarly magnificent. There is a +good deal of tapestry and some fine paintings and statues: among the former +I particularly noticed an allegorical picture, representing the triumph of +Venice over the league of Cambray. Venice is represented by the winged +Lion, and the powers of the Coalition are pourtrayed by various other +beasts. Among the latter is a beautiful group in marble representing +Ganymede and the Eagle. The terror depicted in the countenance of the +beautiful boy, and the passion that seems to agitate the Eagle, are +surprizingly well pourtrayed. + +The principal theatre at Venice, the _Teatro Fenice_, is not open; but I +have visited the other theatres, and among other things witnessed the +representation of a new opera, call'd _Il Lupo d'Ostende_. The piece itself +was rather interesting; but the music was feeble and did not seem to give +general satisfaction. The singing is in general very good at Venice, but in +scenery, dresses and decorations the theatres here are far inferior to +those of Milan and Naples. + +I find the air of Venice very hot and unpleasant, arising from the +exhalation from the canals; and it appears to me as if I were on board of +an enormous ship. I begin to pant for _terra firma_ and green fields. + +I have visited in a gondola some of the islands, viz., Malamocco and St +Lazare, where there is a convent of Armenian monks. + +Why are the gondolas hung with black? it gives to them such a dismal +funereal appearance. They always resemble the bodies of hearses placed on +boats. I am not fond of gaudy colours in general, yet I do think a gondola +should have a somewhat livelier color than black. + + +PADUA, 8th June. + +Padua is not above ten miles distant from Fusina. As I started from Venice +at six in the morning I had a fine receding view of the Ocean Queen, with +her steeples and turrets rising from the sea. Venice has no fortifications +and needs them not. Her insular position protects her from land attacks, +and the shoals prevent the approach of ships of war. Floating batteries +therefore and gunboats are her best defence. The road from Fusina to Padua +is on the banks of the Brenta the whole way, and is lined with trees. There +are a great number of villas on the banks of the Brenta, well built in the +best style of architecture, the most of them after the designs of Palladio, +the Prince of modern architects. + +Padua is an exceedingly large city: but its arcades and the narrowness of +the streets give it a gloomy appearance. There are however some beautiful +promenades in the suburbs. There are also the remains of an ancient Arena. +Padua is famous for its Seminario or University, which is a superb edifice. +The Church of St Anthony of Padua is of vast size, having six cupolas. +There are four organs in this church. In the chapel of the Saint himself +are a great many ornaments, among which are a crucifix in bronze and +fresques representing the different actions and miracles of this patron +Saint of the Padovani. Probably as this city was founded by the Trojan +Antenor they have transformed his name into that of a Christian Saint and +called him St Anthony, just as Virgil has been transformed into a magician +at Naples. There is a fine view from the steeple of this immense edifice. +There is another magnificent church also in this city, that of St Justine, +built after the designs of Palladio, the principal ornament of which is a +painting of the martyrdom of the Saint by Paul Veronese. But one of the +greatest curiosities in this ancient city is the immense Saloon in the +_Palazzo della Giustizia_. It is, I presume, the loftiest and largest hall +in the world that is supported by nothing but its walls, it being three +hundred feet long, one hundred feet broad and one hundred feet high. In +the Saloon is the tomb of Livy, the Historian, who was a native of Padua. +The inhabitants of Padua dress much in black, seem a quiet, staid sort of +people, and are very industrious. I put up at the _Stella d'Oro_, a good +inn. + + +VICENZA, 10th June. + +I arrived at this beautiful _bijou_ of a town on the morning of the 9th +June at eight o'clock. I call it a _bijou_ from its exceeding neatness, and +the extreme beauty of the architecture of its edifices, which are almost +all after the designs of Palladio, of white stone and in the Greek taste. +Palladio was a native of Vicenza. The _Piazza_ and _Palazzo Pubblico_ +perfectly correspond with the beauty of the rest of the city, and the +promenades about it are tastefully laid out. But the two most striking +objects in point of edifices in Vicenza and both constructed by Palladio +are the covered portico and the _Teatro Olimpico_. The covered portico is +two miles in length and leads to the chapel of the _Madonna del Monte_, +situated on an eminence, at that distance from the city. A magnificent +triumphal arch stands before it, and there is an extensive view of the +surrounding country. The _Teatro Olimpico_ is a small, but beautiful +theatre, built strictly after the model of the ancient Greek theatres. It +is peculiarly precious as being the only one of the kind in Europe. How +admirably adapted both for seeing and hearing are such theatres! It has, +for scenery, the model of a Palacé, curiously carved in wood, which +represents a Royal Palace, for the ancients never shifted their scenes, and +this may account for their adhering so strictly to the unities. Statues and +bas-reliefs adorn this beautiful little theatre. Many years ago, on +particular occasions, it was the custom to act plays here, either +translated from the Greek, or taken strictly from the Greek model. This +theatre is esteemed Palladio's _chef d'oeuvre_. + +The _Campo di Marie_ is a vast _Place_ outside the town. The Place and its +gate are well worth inspecting, so is the famous villa with the Rotonda, +belonging to the Marchese di Capra, the original after which the villa +belonging to the Duke of Devonshire at Chiswick is built. The environs of +this interesting city are very beautiful and present an exceeding rich +soil, highly cultivated in corn, mulberry trees and vines hanging from them +in festoons. + + +VERONA, 12th June. + +I started yesterday morning from Vicenza and arrived here in about three +hours, the distance being nearly the same as between Vicenza and Padua. We +crossed the Adige which divides the city into two unequal parts and drove +to the _Due Torri_, a large and comfortable inn with excellent rooms and +accommodations. Verona is a very handsome city, for here also Palladio was +the designer or builder of many edifices. It has a very cheerful and gay +appearance, tho' not quite so much so as Vicenza. The reason of this +difference is that in Verona the greater part of the buildings are in the +Gothic style, which always appears heavy and melancholy, whereas in Vicenza +all is Grecian. The Amphitheatre of course claimed my first notice. It +yields only to the Coliseum in size and grandeur and is in much better +preservation, the whole of the ellipse and its walls being entire, whereas +in the Coliseum part of the walls have been pulled down. Indeed the +Amphitheatre of Verona may be said to be almost perfectly entire. _Tempus +edax rerum_ has been its only enemy; whereas avarice and religious +fanaticism have contributed, much more than time, to the dilapidation of +the Coliseum. The Amphitheatre of Verona can contain 24,000 persons. In it +is constructed a temporary theatre of wood, where they perform plays and +farces in the open air. Verona is much embellished by several _Palazzi_ +built by Palladio, which form a curious contrast with the other buildings +and churches which are in the Gothic style. Verona can boast among its +antiquities of three triumphal arches, the first, _Porta de' Bursari_, +erected in the year 252 in the reign of the Emperor Gallienus; the second, +called _Porta del Foro_; and the third, built by Vitruvius himself, in +honour of the family Gavia. + +The churches here are richly ornamented and the _Palazzo del Consiglio_ has +many fine marble and bronze statues. In this city also are the tombs and +monuments of the Scala family, who were at one time Sovereigns of Verona. +They are in the Gothic style and of curious execution. The Cathedral has an +immense _campanile_ (steeple), from which is a fine view of the surrounding +country, and the progressive risings of the Alps, the lower parts of which +lie close upon Verona. Beautiful villas and farmhouses abound in the +neighbourhood of this city. The favourite promenades are the _Corso_ and +the _Bra_. On the _Bra_ I saw a very brilliant display of carriages, and +some very pretty women in them. The theatre is by Palladio, is exquisitely +beautiful, and very tastefully fitted up. I assisted at the representation +of _La Gazza Ladra_, one of Rossini's best operas. + +I should think Verona would be a very delightful séjour; everything is very +cheap; a fine country highly cultivated; a remarkably healthy climate; a +society which unites much urbanity and a love of amusement with a taste for +the fine arts and for the graver sciences, and a general appearance of +opulence and comfort. The shops in Verona appear very splendid, and the +_Bra_, when lighted up in the evening, is a very lively and animating +scene. + + +MANTUA, 15 June. + +I could not go to Milan without stepping a little out of my road to visit +this ancient and redoubtable fortress, so celebrated in the early campaigns +of Buonaparte, besides the other claims it has on the traveller's attention +as the birth place of Virgil. This place is of immense strength, as a +military post; being situated on a small isthmus of land, separating two +lakes, and communicating with the rest of the country by an exceeding +narrow causeway. This position, added to the strength of the +fortifications, render the fortress impregnable, if well garrisoned and +provisioned. The city is, however, unhealthy from the lake and marshy land +about it, and there is but a scanty population. Grass grows in the streets +and it is the dullest and indeed the only dull town in all Italy. +Everything in this city announces decay and melancholy, and I met with +several men looking full as halfstarved and deplorable as Shakespeare's +Apothecary in Romeo and Juliet. Yet the city is by no means an ugly one. +The buildings are imposing, the streets broad and well paved, and there is +a fine circular promenade in the centre of which is a Monument erected in +honor of Virgil by the French general Miollis, who had a great veneration +for all poets. The _Palazzo pubblico_ and the Cathedral are the most +striking buildings. The latter contains the tombs and monuments of the +Gonzaga family, the whilom Sovereigns of Mantua. There are also several +monuments in honor of some French officers, who were killed in the +campaigns of Italy under Buonaparte and erected to their memory by his +direction. + +Outside the town, at a short distance from the causeway and _tête de pont_, +is the celebrated palace called the T, from its being in the form of that +letter, which was the usual residence of the Dukes of Mantua. It is a noble +edifice and its gardens are well laid out. These gardens have this +peculiarity, that at the entrance of each of the grand avenues is a figure +of a man on horseback caparizoned in armour, like the Knights of old. This +is all I have to say about Mantua. The Mincio beset with "osiers dank" +flows into the lake. + + +CREMONA, 16th June. + +From Mantua I directed my course to this city, which is large and +fortified, situated on the Po which forms many little islands in the +environs. This city is of great antiquity, and has a number of Gothic +buildings. You do not find here the specimens and imitations of Grecian +architecture as at Vicenza and Verona. The _campanile_ of the Cathedral is +of immense height, but one is repaid for the fatigue of ascending by the +extensive view from its summit. There are 498 steps. I put up at the +_Colombina_, a very good inn. The Cremonese seem to be an industrious +people. There is a great deal of pasture land in the environs of this city +and much cheese is made here and in the Lodesan. Several ricefields are +also to be met with between this place and Lodi. + + +MILAN, 25 June. + +I have been on a visit to the ancient and venerable city of Pavia, which is +about eighteen miles distant from Milan, thro' a rich highly cultivated +plain. The road lies in a right line the whole way. About three miles +distant from Pavia on the Milan side stands the celebrated _Certosa_, which +we stopped to visit. The church of the _Certosa_ contains the greatest +quantity of riches in marbles, and precious stones, of any building in the +world, probably. The architecture is Gothic, and the workmanship of the +exterior exquisite; but the ulterior is most dazzling; and at the sight of +the rich marbles and innumerable precious stones of all kinds with which it +abounds, I was reminded of Aladdin and began to fancy myself in the cavern +of the Wonderful Lamp. This church was built by Galeazzo Visconti, whose +coffin is here, and his statue also, in white marble. There are several +bas-reliefs of exquisite workmanship. There are no fewer than seventeen +altars here and of the most beautiful structure you can conceive, being +inlaid in mosaic with jasper, onyx and lapis-lazuli. Besides these precious +marbles of every colour and quantity under heaven, here are abundance of +rubies, emeralds, amethysts, aquamarines and topazes, incrusted in the +different chapels and altars. Here again is a proof of the falsehood and +injustice of the aspersions cast on the French army, as being the +plunderers of churches; for if they were so, how comes it that the +_Certosa_ the richest of all, was spared? Mr Eustace[119] in his admiration +of Church splendour, should at least have given the French no small degree +of credit for their abstinence from so rich a prize. A canal runs parallel +to the road the whole way from Milan to Pavia, where it joins the Tessino. +The banks of the Canal and each side of the road are lined with poplars. +Pavia is one of the most ancient cities in Italy and has something very +antique and solemn in its appearance. It is quite Gothic and was the +capital city of the Lombard Kings. The streets are broad and the _Piazza_ +is large. I could not find any traces of the ancient palace of the Lombard +Kings, which I should like much to have done; for then I should have +endeavoured to make out the chamber into which Jocondo peeped and +discovered what cured him of his melancholy, and where the impatient Queen +received the petulant answer from her beloved Nano, conveyed by one of her +waiting maids who told her: + + E per non stare in perdita d'un soldo, + A voi nega venire fl manigoldo.[120] + + Nor, lest he lose a doit, his paltry stake, + Will that discourteous churl his game forsake + + --_Trans._ W.S. ROSE. + + +MILAN, 28th June. + +I have been to the _Scala_ theatre, to see the _Ballet of the Vestal_, one +of the most interesting Ballets I ever beheld. Oh! what a mighty magician +is the ballet master Vigano, and as for the prima ballerina, Pallerini, +what praises can equal her merit? then, the delightful soul soothing music, +so harmonious, so pathetic, and the decorations so truly tasteful and +classical! I can never forget the impression this fascinating Ballet made +on me. It is called _La Vestale_. It opens with a view of the Circus in +ancient Rome, and various gymnastic exercises, combats of gladiators, of +athletes, and ends with a chariot race with real horses. The Roman Consuls +are present in all their pomp, surrounded by Lictors with axes and fasces. +The Vestal virgins assist at this spectacle, and from one of them the +victor in the games receives a garland, as the recompense of his prowess. +The victor is the son of one of the Consuls and the hero of the piece; the +heroine is the Vestal Virgin who crowns him with the garland. The young +victor becomes desperately enamored of the Vestale, and she appears also to +feel an incipient flame. After the games are over, the victor returns to +his father's house, and meeting there one of his friends, discloses to him +his love for the Vestale and his idea of entering by stealth into the +temple of Vesta, where his beloved was appointed to watch the sacred fire. +His friend endeavors, but in vain, to dissuade him from so rash an attempt, +which can only end in the destruction, both of his beloved and himself. All +the remonstrances, however, of the friend are vain; and the hero fixed in +his resolve watches for the opportunity, when it is the turn of his beloved +to officiate in the temple of Vesta, and enters therein. The Vestale is +terrified and supplicates him to retire: in vain; and after a long but +ineffectual struggle she sinks into his arms at the foot of the altar. +Suddenly the sacred flame becomes extinguished; a noise is heard; the +Vestals enter; the unfortunate fair is roused from her stupor by the noise +of footsteps and has just time to oblige her lover to retire, which he +reluctantly does, but not unperceived by the Vestals. The Matron of the +Vestals reproaches her with the crime she has committed and orders her to +be placed in a dungeon. She is brought out to be examined by the High +Priest, found guilty and condemned by him to the usual punishment of the +Vestals for a breach of their vow, viz., the being buried alive outside the +gates of Rome. The moment the sentence is pronounced a black veil is thrown +over her. The scene then changes to the place of execution; the funeral +procession takes place; the vault is dug and a man stands by with a pitcher +of water and loaf of bread, to deliver to her when she should descend. The +Consuls are present, attended by the Lictors and Aediles. All the other +vestals are present, of whom the culprit takes an affectionate leave and is +about to descend into the vault. Suddenly a noise of arms and shouts are +heard. It is her lover who having collected a few followers come rushing +forward with arms in their hands to arrest the execution. He forces his way +into the presence of the Consuls, but the sight of his father inspires him +with awe; he staggers back; at this moment a Lictor at the command of the +other Consul plunges a spear into his breast. The Vestal is hurried to the +brink of the vault, into which she is forced to descend to the +accompaniment of mournful music, while her dying lover vainly endeavours to +crawl towards her. The curtain falls. + +The exquisite acting of La Pallerini drew tears from my eyes: it was indeed +too horrible a subject for a _Ballo_, which in my opinion ought to end +happily. The scenery was the finest of the kind I think I ever witnessed. +The first scene represents the _Circus maximus_; the interior of the temple +of Vesta and the place of execution outside the walls of Rome were most +classically correct and appropriate: the music was beyond all praise and +singularly affecting. This Ballet has excited such an enthusiastic +approbation that Vigano the Ballet master, Pallerini who acts the Vestal +and the young man who performs the hero of the piece were summoned every +evening after the termination of the Ballet, to appear on the stage, and +receive applauses, which seemed to increase at every representation. I have +been to see this ballet six or seven times, and always with increased +delight. I was there on the last night of its representation, when some +amateurs and people connected with the theatre put in practice what +appeared to mean ill-judged _concetto_, however well merited the compliment +it meant to convey. When the Vestal was about to descend into the vault, a +genius with wings rose from it and repeated a few lines beginning _Tu non +morrai_ and telling her that the suffrages of the Insubrian people had +decreed to her immortality, and printed sonnets were showered down on the +stage from all parts of the house. I think it would have been much better +to let the piece finish in the usual way, and then at its termination call +for La Pallerini to advance and receive the garlands and hommage so justly +her due. + +I was in the _loge_ belonging to my friend Mme L-----; there were three or +four _litterati_ with her, and they were all unanimous that it was an +absurd and pedantic _concetto_. + +In a day or two I shall start from Milan for Munich thro' Brescia and +Verona and the Tyrol. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI + +JULY-SEPTEMBER 1818 + +Innspruck--Tyrol and the Tyrolese--From Innspruck to Munich--Monuments and +churches--Theatricals--Journey from Munich to Vienna on a floss--Trouble +with a passport--Complicated system of Austrian money--Description of +Vienna--The Prater--The theatres--Schiller's _Joan of Arc_--A +_Kinderballet_--The young Napoleon at Schoenbrunn--Journey from Vienna to +Prague. + + +INNSPRUCK, 15th July. + +I had engaged with a _vetturino_ to convey me from Verona to Innspruck for +four _louis d'or_ and to be _spesato_. A Roman gentleman and his lady were +my fellow travellers; they were going to pass the summer months at a small +_campagne_ they possess in the Tyrol. We stopped the first night at +Roveredo. The road from Verona to Roveredo is on the banks of the Adige +(called in German the Etsch) in a narrow and deep valley, shut up on both +sides by mountains, almost immediately on leaving Verona. We found the +weather extremely hot in this valley. Roveredo seems to be a very neat +clean little city, and the Adige flows with astonishing rapidity along this +narrow valley. The women of Roveredo have the reputation of being very +beautiful; and I recollect having seen two Roveredo girls at Venice, who +were models of female beauty. They have a happy mixture of German and +Italian blood and manners, but Italian is the language of the country. The +second morning of our journey we arrived and stopped to dinner at the +venerable and celebrated city of Trent. The country we passed thro' is much +the same as that between Verona and Roveredo, the Adige being on our left. +Trent lies also in the valley of the Adige, shut up between the Alps. The +whole valley appears in high cultivation. The streets of Trent are broad; +the Cathedral is a remarkably fine Gothic building. In the church of Sta +Maria Maggiore was held the famous council of Trent. There are a great many +silk mills in Trent. German as well as Italian is spoken; indeed the two +languages are equally familiar to most of the inhabitants. In the evening +we arrived at Sabern after passing thro' Lavis. One description will serve +for these towns and indeed for most of the towns in the Tyrol, viz., that +of being neat, clean and solidly built. The inns are excellent and the +inhabitants very civil. The Adige runs close to the road and parallel to +it, nearly the whole way to Bolsano or Botzen, where Italian ceases to be +spoken and German is the national tongue. Botzen is a large and flourishing +place. + +One general description will serve for the Tyrol, regarding the towns, +adjacent country, customs, inns, inhabitants, dress and manners. + +First the towns are fully as neat, clean and well built as those in +Switzerland; the country too is very similar, tho' not quite on so grand a +scale of sublimity; but you have fully as much variety in mountain and +valley, glacier and cascade. The climate is exactly the same as that of +Switzerland, being very hot in the valleys in summer. The inns are clean +and good, the provisions excellent and well cooked, the wines much better +than those of Switzerland; there is good attendance by females and all at a +far cheaper rate than in Switzerland. The Tyroleans are much more courteous +in their manners than the Swiss; they have not that boorishness and are of +more elegant figure than their Helvetic neighbours. The women of the Tyrol +are in general remarkably beautiful, exceedingly well shaped and of fine +complexions. + +In the towns the bourgeoises dress well, something in the French style, and +it is their custom to salute travellers who pass by kissing their hands to +them. The dress of the female peasantry, however, is unpleasing to the eye +and so uncouth, that it would make the most beautiful women appear homely. +In the first place I will speak of their head dress, of which there are +three different kinds, two of which are as _bizarre_ as can be imagined. +The first sort is a cap of sheepskin, the fleece of which is as white as +snow, and the cap is of conical shape, the base being exceeding large in +proportion to its height, and resembles much the sugar loaves made in +Egypt. The second is a black scull cap, with the three pieces of stiff +black _gaze_, sticking out like the vanes of a windmill; so that when put +on the head, one vane stands upright from the forehead and the other two +from each ear. The third head dress is a broad straw hat, and I wish they +would stick to this coiffure, and discard the two others. Then the waist of +their dress is as long as + + ...du pole antarctique an détroit de Davis.[121] + +Their petticoats are exceedingly short, scarcely reaching the calf of the +legs, which are enveloped in a pair of flaming red stockings. Who the devil +could invent such an ungraceful dress for a female? + +The costume of the men on the contrary is becoming and graceful. It +resembles very much the costume of the Andalusians. The hat is exactly the +same, the crown being small and the rim very broad. + +The Tyroleans are a fine gallant race of men and are excellent marksmen. +They were formerly much attached to the House of Austria; but that +attachment is now entirely changed to dislike, from the ingratitude they +have met with, since they have been replaced under that scepter. + +The only fault I find in the Tyroleans, is that they are rather too devout +and consequently too much under the influence of the clergy. Yet in their +devotion there is not the smallest tinge of hypocrisy and they are esteemed +a highly moral people. + +If you arrive at an inn in the evening, while the family are at prayer, +neither master nor servants will come to wait on you, till prayers are +over; and then you will be served with sufficient alacrity; but the prayers +are rather long. + +I believe the priests extort a good deal of money from these good people. +The road thro' the Tyrol was made by the Romans, in the time of Septimus +Severus. An immense number of Crucifixes on the road attest and command the +devotion of the people. + +How Kotzebue can call Innspruck a dirty town I am at a loss to conceive. He +must have visited it during very rainy weather; for to me it appears one of +the cleanest and most chearful towns I have ever seen. There are several +very fine buildings, for instance the Jesuits' College, and the Franciscan +monastery; Nothing can be more picturesque than the situation of this city +in the valley of the Inn and its romantic windings. The suburbs are very +extensive and can boast several fine houses. The cupola of the Government +House is gilded, which gives it a splendid appearance. In the _Hofkirche_ +or church of the court there are a number of statues, large as life, in +bronze; among which my guide pointed out to me those of Clovis, Godfrey of +Bouillon, Albert the Wise, Charles V, Philip II of Spain, Rudolph of +Hapsburgh, and to my great astonishment the British King Arthur; there were +twenty-eight statues altogether. But on my return to my inn, I found that +my guide had made a great error respecting King Arthur, and that the said +statue represented Prince Arthur, son of Henry VII, King of England, and +not the old Hero of Romance; and my hostess' book further informed me that +these statues were those of the Kings and Princes belonging to families +connected by descent and blood with Maximilian I. In the same _Hofkirche_ +is a fine monument erected to Maximilian and a statue of bronze of this +Emperor is figured kneeling between four bronze figures representing four +Virtues. In the gardens of the Palace of the Archduke Ferdinand in this +city is a fine equestrian statue which rests entirely on the hind feet of +the horse. From Innspruck there is a water passage by the river Inn all the +way to Vienna, as the Inn flows into the Danube at Passau. The banks of the +Inn are so romantic and picturesque that I would willingly prolong my +_séjour_ at Innspruck, but as I mean to take the journey from Mittenwald to +Munich by the river Isar, I must take advantage of the raft which starts +from that place the day after to-morrow. + + +MUNICH, 20th July. + +I left Innspruck in a _chaise de poste_ on the 16th, and arrived the same +evening at five o'clock at Mittenwald. At a short distance before I arrived +at Mittenwald, I entered the Bavarian territory, which announces itself by +a turnpike gate painted white and blue, the colours and _Feldzeichen_ of +Bavaria. In the Austrian territory the barriers are painted black and +yellow, these being the characteristic colors of Austria. + +Mittenwald is a small neat town, offering nothing remarkable but a church +yard or _Ruhe-garten_ (garden of repose) as it is called, where there are a +number of quaint inscriptions on the tombstones. At Mittenwald I had some +trouble about my passport, as it was not _visé_ by a Bavarian authority; +but I explained to the officer that I had never fallen in with any Bavarian +authority since I left Rome, and that, while at Rome, I had no intention of +going thro' Bavaria; that at Milan the Austrian authorities had _visé_ my +passport for Vienna and that I should only pass thro' Munich, without +making a longer stay than one week. He acquiesced in my argument, but +inserted my explanation on the passport. At half a quarter of a mile beyond +Mittenwald I met the raft just about to get under weigh at eleven o'clock +a.m. This raft is about as long as the length of a thirty-six gun frigate, +and formed of spars fastened together; on this is a platform about one and +a half feet high. The Isar begins its course close to Mittenwald, and the +place on which the raft stood, previous to departure, was very shallow; but +water was quickly let in from sluices to float the raft, and off we set +with a cargo of peasants, male and female, and merchandise bound for +Munich. As the river Isar rushes between immense mountains, and forms a +continual descent until the plains of Bavaria open to view, you may +conceive with what rapidity we went. We encountered several falls of water +of two, three, four and sometimes five feet which we had to _shoot_, which +no boat could possibly do without being upset. The lower part of the raft +was frequently under water in making these _shoots_ and we were obliged to +hold on fast to our seats to prevent being jerked off. Nothing can be more +romantic and picturesque than this journey, and there is something aweful +in _shooting_ these falls; these rafts are, however, so solidly constructed +that there is no danger whatever. They can neither sink nor upset. We +arrived and halted the evening at Tölz, a large village or town on the +right bank of the Isar. What gives to Tölz a remarkably singular appearance +is, that on a height at a short distance from the town, and hanging +abruptly over the river, you perceive several figures in wood, larger than +the life, which figures form groups, representing the whole history of the +passion of Jesus Christ. At a short distance, if you are not prepared for +this, you suppose that they are real men, and that a procession or +execution is going forward. On landing I immediately ascended this hill in +order to observe this curiosity, and there I beheld the following groups, +first: Christ in the midst of his disciples preaching; secondly: the +disciples asleep in a cave, and Christ watching and praying; next was Judas +betraying Christ to the soldiery; then the judgment of Christ before +Pilate; then Christ bearing his cross to the place of execution; and lastly +the crucifixion on Mount Calvary. The ground is curiously laid out so as to +represent, as much as possible, the ground in the environs of Jerusalem. +Tölz is a pretty village, but contains nothing more remarkable than the +above groups. + +The next day at twelve o'clock we perceived the spires of Munich, and at +two anchored close to one of the bridges from whence, having hired a +wheelbarrow to trundle my portmanteau, I repaired to the inn called the +Golden Cross--_Zum goldenen Kreutz_. At Tölz the Rhetian Alps recede from +the view; the landscape then presents a sloping plain which is perfectly +level within four miles of Munich. The river widens immediately on issuing +from the gorges of the Tyrol and for the last five miles we were followed +by boys on the banks of the river, begging for wood, with which our raft +was laden, and we threw to them many a faggot. Wood is the great export +from the Tyrol to Bavaria, as the latter is a flat country and has not much +wood, with which on the contrary the Tyrol abounds. A sensible difference +of climate is now felt and the air is keener than in the Tyrol. The price +of a place on the raft from Mittenwald to Munich cost only one florin, and +at Tölz an excellent supper, bed and coffee in the morning cost me only one +florin. + + +MUNICH, 23rd July. + +Munich, the capital of Bavaria, is an ancient Gothic city of venerable +appearance. The houses are very solid in structure, and the streets +sufficiently broad to give to the city a cheerful appearance. There are +some suburbs added to it, built in the modern taste, which embellish it +greatly. A large Place outside the old town, called the _Carolinen-Platz,_ +presents a number of villas disposed in the form of a circus. In these +suburbs the people assemble on holidays and Sundays, to smoke and drink +beer, of which a great quantity is consumed, it being the favorite and +national beverage. From the lively scene of the lower class of the +bourgeoisie, male and female, meeting here in the _Biersschanks_ and +_Tanzsaale_ I was reminded of the lines in Faust: + + Gewiss man findet hier + Die schönsten Mädchen, und das beste Bier, + +which may be thus rendered: + + Here let us halt! 'tis here we're sure to find + Beer of the best and maidens fair and kind! + +There are other very agreeable promenades outside the town, laid out as +_jardins anglais,_ the garden of Ostenwald for instance; and should you +wish to extend your walk further, there is Nymphenburg, a royal Palace and +gardens, just one league distant from the city. + +The _Residenz-schloss_ or Palace of the King is a solid building. The +interior is well worth seeing. There is a superb saloon with a vast number +of valuable miniatures appended to the wainscoating. An enormously heavy +bed, groaning with gold and silver embroidery and pearls and which is said +to weigh a ton, is to be seen here. There is a very good collection of +pictures, chiefly portraits, of the Electoral, now Royal family. There is a +fine chapel too belonging to this palace; a superb staircase of marble, and +some fine old tapestry representing the actions of Otto von Wittelsbach. +There is likewise a curious miniature copy of Trajan's column in gold and +incrusted with precious stones, besides a variety of other things of value. + +There are two theatres in Munich; one called the Hof or Court theatre, +where there is a company of comedians for tragedy and comedy, the expences +of which are defrayed principally by the King. The boxes are generally let +to the nobility and the _parterre_ is open to every body on payment. I +witnessed the representation of Mozart's _Nozze di Figaro._ The King was +present and was greeted with much affection. He has a very benignant +expression of countenance. He is much beloved by his subjects, for he has +governed them paternally. He has given to them a constitution _unasked;_ +for they were so contented with the old Government, that they desired no +change; but he, with his usual good sense, saw the propriety of consulting +and complying with the spirit of the age. A German writer of some eminence +at the time of the French Revolution, when the aristocrats and alarmists of +all countries were crying out against it, and proposing harsh measures to +arrest its progress, said: "Sovereigns of Europe, do you wish to set bounds +to the progress of French principles? Nothing can be more simple; you have +only to govern your people like Maximilian of Bavaria and Frederick of +Saxony, and your subjects will never desire a change." + +At the German (national) theatre which is a fair sized one, I saw a tragedy +performed called _Der Wald bey Herman-stadt_ (the Forest near +Hermanstadt),[122] It was an interesting piece taken from a feudal legend. +The part of Elisene was performed by Mlle Vohs, a very good actress. I +missed very much one thing in Munich, and that is the want of _cafés_ like +those in France and Italy, which have so brilliant an appearance. They make +coffee here at the inns; and there are two or three dull places up one pair +of stairs, where they play at billiards, and make as indifferent coffee as +is made in England. The hour of dining at Munich is in general one o'clock. +A slice of ham or sausage with beer form the _goûter,_ usually taken at +five or six o'clock; and at nine follows a supper as solid as the dinner. +The Germans are not loungers as the French and Italians, who, for the most +part, spend all their spare time in coffee-houses. When I mentioned to a +Bavarian that I could find no _cafés_ in Munich resembling those in France +and Italy, he said with emphasis! _Gott bewahre_ (God forbid)! I could not +help thinking he was in the right; for those splendid _cafés_ are very +seducing to young people and tend to encourage a life of idleness and to +keep them from their studies. The lower _bourgeoisie_ and _Stubenmädchen_ +(_maidservants_) wear a singular head dress. It is made of stuff worked +with silver or gold and resembles two horns sticking out one at each ear. +This head dress must be costly. This class of women wear also on _fête_ +days gold crosses, collars and earrings. + +The Bavarians seem a frank, honest set of people, tho' sometimes a little +rough, in their exterior deportment. The character of Otto of Wittelsbach, +in the tragedy of that name, gives the best idea of the Bavarian character. + +I have made acquaintance here with a Mr F-----, an Austrian gentleman, and +two Polish gentlemen, the one an officer and the other a medical man. They +are brothers and had both served in the French army. We have agreed to +travel to Vienna together on board of the raft which starts every week from +Munich to Vienna. This raft brings to every day between twelve o'clock and +two near some town or village on the banks of the river, in order to allow +the passengers to dine, and anchors every evening at seven o'clock near +some town or village to sup and sleep. You have only to tell the +_Flossmeister_, or Master of the Raft, at what inn you mean to put up, or +if you have no preference, he will recommend you one; and at five the next +morning he goes his rounds to the different inns to collect his passengers, +and at six gets under weigh. + + +VIENNA, 2nd August. + +I left Munich on the 25th July and arrived on the 6th day of our journey, +30th July, at Vienna, The _Floss_, or raft, on board of which we embarked, +is about as long as the main deck of an eighty-four gun ship and about +forty feet in breadth. It is constructed of strong spars lashed together. +On the spars is constructed a large platform and on the platform several +cabins, containing tables and chairs. Mr F----, the Poles and myself hired +a cabin to ourselves. On the raft was a great deal of merchandize going to +Vienna. At Vienna the _Flossmeister_, after landing his passengers and +merchandize, sells his raft and returns on horseback to Munich. A raft is +constructed weekly at Munich from wood felled in the Tyrol and floated on +the Isar down to Munich. We arrived the first evening at Freysingen, but it +was nearly dark when we arrived; it seemed however as far as we could +observe to be a neat village; at any rate, we met with a very comfortable +inn there with good fare and good beds. We met with a very pleasant family +on board the raft, bound to Landshut; M. and Mme S. were extremely +well-informed people and their two daughters very fine girls. + +We arrived the following day at twelve o'clock at Landshut, which is a very +fine town. There is an immense Gothic tower or steeple to the Church of St +Martin, about 450 feet in height. At Deckendorf, where the Isar flows into +the Danube, I saluted for the first time that noble river. We stopped the +night at Pillshofen and arrived the following day at twelve o'clock at +Passau. Passau is a large, well built and handsome city, and is situated on +the confluent of three rivers, the Inn, the Illst and the Danube; for here +the two former flow into the latter, one on each side. Each of these rivers +just before the point of juncture seem to be of different colors; for +example the Danube appears blue, the Inn white, and the Illst black. At +Passau we put up at the Wild Man (_Zum Wilden Mann_), a favorite sign for +inns in these parts. + +The Cathedral and _Residenz-Schloss_ are striking buildings, and the city +has a lively and grand appearance. The women appear to be in general +handsome and well dressed. We brought to the evening at Engelhardtzell, +where the barrier, painted black and yellow, announced our return to the +Austrian territory. We underwent at the Customs house a rigid search for +tobacco: they even took away the tobacco that some passengers had in their +pouches. They were likewise very rigid about our passports. The English +passports do not please them at all, on account of the features of the +bearer not being specified therein, and as I answered their questions in +German, they supposed me to be a native of that country and asked me what +business I had with a British passport. I replied: _Weil ich ein Engländer +bin.--Sie ein Engländer? Sie 'sind gewiss aus Nord Deutschland. Sie +sprechen recht gut Deutsch.--Meine Herren, ich bin ein Engländer: viele +Engländer studieren und sprechen Deutsch, und wenn Sièmit mir eine +langeUnterredung gehalten hätten, so hätten Sie bald ausgefunden durch +meine Sprachfehler, dass ich kein geborner Deutscher bin.--Aber Sie haben +unsere Fragen vollkommen gut beantwortet.--Warum nicht? man hat mir die +nehmlichen Fragen so wiederholten Malen gestellt, dass ich die dazu +gehörigen Antworte auswendig habe, wie em Katechismus_.[123] The officer +laughed, took up a pen, _viséd_ and gave me back my passport. + +The whole of the country on the banks of this noble river the Danube is +picturesque and presents much variety. There cannot be a more delightful +summer tour than a descent down this river. The next town of consequence +that we arrived at was Linz, a large, populous and beautifully built city +and capital of Upper Austria. The circumjacent country is in part +mountainous. The Danube is very broad here, and there is an immensely long +wooden bridge. We put up at the inn _Zum goldenen Kreutz_ (golden cross). +Here it became indispensably necessary to change our money for Austrian +paper, for that sort of it called _Wiener Währung_ (Vienna security), since +neither foreign coin nor another description of Austrian paper, called +_Conventions-Münze_ (conventional currency), are current for ordinary +purposes; and it is necessary to get them changed for the current paper +_Wiener Währung._To explain this matter more fully and clearly: there are +two sorts of paper money in the Austrian Dominions. One is called +_Conventions-Münze_ (conventional currency), which is fully equivalent to +gold and sliver and cannot be refused as such throughout the whole of the +Austrian dominions; the other, called _Wiener Währung_ (Vienna security) is +current and payable in Austria proper only, and bears a loss, out of the +Archduchy. The value of the _Wiener Währung_ fluctuates considerably, but +the usual par of exchange is as 2 to 1: that means, two hundred florins +_Wiener Währung_ are equal to one hundred _Convenzions-Münze_ or gold and +silver money. Even the _Convenzions-Münze_ bears a loss, tho' trifling, out +of the Imperial Dominions. The exchange has been known to have been at 400 +per cent; that is, four hundred florins _Wiener Währung_ were only worth +one hundred florins gold and silver; but just now it may be reckoned a +little beyond par, fluctuating from 200 to 220. In fact, the value of a +florin _Wiener Währung_ may be calculated at a frank in French money. All +this is exceedingly troublesome to travellers, particularly to those who do +not understand the German language; for as they cannot read the +inscription, it would be difficult for them to know the difference between +one sort of paper money and the other and they might be seriously imposed +upon. I advise therefore all travellers, before they arrive at the Austrian +frontier, whether coming from Bavaria, Saxony, or Italy, to buy up the +_Wiener Währung_ notes they may meet with, and which may be purchased at +great profit, probably, beyond the frontier, whereas if they defer +purchasing till they arrive within the Austrian frontier, they can only +procure the _Wiener Währung_ at the common rate of exchange current. + +At Linz we find ourselves again in a wine country. Linz is renowned for the +beauty of its women, and we had a most favorable specimen in our landlord's +daughter, one of the most beautiful girls I ever beheld. We talked to her a +great deal, and a scene ridiculous enough occurred. She has very beautiful +arms which we all seemed to admire; and all at once, by instinct as it +were, the two Poles lifted up one arm and I the other, and our respective +lips were fastened on either arm at the same moment as if by word of +command. We apologized for the liberty we took, saying that her arms were +perfectly irresistible and that we had never seen such fine ones before. +She accepted our excuse with the utmost good nature, and laughed very +heartily. Her father is a man of information and a good classical scholar, +a thing which is by no means uncommon among the inn-keepers of Germany. We +stopped here that night, and the ensuing forenoon. We had an excellent +supper, very good wine, and we drank to the health of the fair Amalia, the +host's daughter. Our host, who was a friend of Mr F----'s, gave us the +best of every thing, and our expences did not amount to more than seven +florins _Wiener Währung_, for supper, bed, breakfast and dinner. We passed +the forenoon in visiting the different parts of the city and we were struck +with the appearance of opulence and industry that prevails. + +Before we arrived at Mölk, which is the next important place, we passed the +town of Ens and beyond that the famous _Strudel_ or Whirlpool which is +dangerous at times for boats. Our raft was completely whirled round. This +whirlpool is caused by rocks rising abruptly out of the water. The popular +tradition is that this whirlpool is the abode of a very malicious and +spiteful _Wassernixe_, Undine or Water Goblin, who delighted in drowning +passengers. The scenery hereabouts is more wild and romantic than what we +have hitherto passed and bears a great resemblance to the landscape on the +Rhine between Mayence and Coblentz. Mölk is an Abbey and a very magnificent +edifice it is, situated on an eminence which forms the angle with the river +and rises quite _à pio_ from the water's edge; it lies quite _en face_ to +those who approach it, descending the stream, so that the river seems to be +terminated by it. It commands a noble prospect. I had only time to inspect +hastily the church. Beyond Mölk is a range of rocks that bear a great +resemblance to a wall, and jut out a great deal towards the river. It is +called the _Devil's wall_ from the tradition of the Devil having +endeavoured to make a wall to dam up the river. Above this wall is the +famous castle and vineyard called _Spitz am Platz_, and further on is the +castle of Dierenstein, situated on a mountain on the left bank of the +Danube. The ascent is very steep; this castle, now in ruins, was the place +where Richard Coeur de Lion was confined. The walls only of the castle and +part of the chapel are all that remain; we did not fail to visit a place of +such celebrity. A convent lies below it. + +We brought to the night at a large village where there is an excellent inn; +and the next day, the Leopoldsberg, bursting forth to view, announced to us +the approach to Vienna. We anchored at Nussdorf, where there is a Custom +house, and from whence the distance to Vienna is about one and half mile +English. After having my trunk examined, I hired a hackney coach and drove +into Vienna. The barriers beyond the suburb are called _Lines_, and between +the Suburbs and the old town is an Esplanade. We entered the Suburbs by the +_Währinger Linie_, and the old town by the _Rothes Thor_ (Red gate); and +from thence I repaired to the inn _Zum weissen Wolf_ (white Wolf) in the +_Altem Fleischmarkt_ (old meat-market). + + +VIENNA, Augt. 4. + +The old town of Vienna is not very large, since you can walk round its +circumference on the ramparts in two hours. It was formerly fortified, but +the French blew up the fortifications, leaving only the rampart; and by so +doing they did a thing of great utility for the Viennese, and gave to the +Austrian government an excellent opportunity of joining the old town to the +magnificent faubourgs, by filling up the esplanade which separates them +with streets and squares, which would prevent the unpleasant effects of +dust in dry, and the mud in wet weather, for this dust and mud renders the +esplanade almost at all times a disagreeable promenade, there being a sharp +wind prevalent almost the whole year at Vienna, which blows about the dust +_en tourbillons_. Here then was an excellent opportunity, afforded by the +blowing up of the fortifications, of paving the whole of the esplanade and +filling it up with streets. But no! the Austrian government seem determined +upon restoring the fortifications, and a considerable number of workmen are +employed. This is very silly, for these fortifications are not of the least +use against a foreign enemy, inasmuch as the enemy can always erect his +batteries among the faubourgs and need only make one parallel, the +protection and cover afforded to him by the faubourgs rendering the other +two superfluous. The faubourgs are by far the finest part of the city, and +the garrison of the old town, in endeavouring to defend it, would destroy +by every shot they should fire the fine buildings on the faubourgs. Of the +folly of making such a defence they were made fully sensible in 1809. One +of the Archdukes threw himself into the old town of Vienna, with an +intention of defending it to the last and refused to surrender. Napoleon +caused batteries to be erected on the _Rennweg_ or _Corso_ covered by the +church of St Charles, the Manege and Palace of the Hungarian noble guard, +all magnificent buildings in the faubourgs. He then summoned the garrison +of the old town again to surrender saying: "Every shot fired against the +besiegers destroys your own most valuable property and finest edifices." +This argument, backed by the entreaties of the citizens, had its effect and +the capitulation was signed. This shows the perfect inutility of fortifying +the old town of Vienna against a foreign enemy. Indeed a capital city +should never be fortified; it generally contains too many things of value, +ever to be exposed to the risk of a bombardment. It would seem, however, +that the object of the Austrian government in reconstructing these works +were to keep its own subjects at Vienna in check. But in this case it would +be much more advisable to construct a fortress on the heights of Kahlenberg +or of Leopoldsberg, both of which command the city and the whole expanse +below. The Turks were encamped on the Kahlenberg at the famous siege of +Vienna. + +Vienna proper, the old town, is a Gothic city, but a very handsome one. The +streets are in general broad and well paved; but the _Places_ or Squares +are small. With the exception of the _Herrengasse_, where the nobility +reside, the rest of Vienna is inhabited by shopkeepers and wholesale +dealers; and the shops are brilliant and well fitted up. The _Kärnthner +Strasse_, a long and tolerably broad street, and the _Kohlmarkt_ present +the greatest display of wealth. Indeed the _Kärnthner Strasse_ may be +considered as the principal street; this street and the _Kohlmarkt_ have a +great resemblance to the finest parts of Holborn. The _Graben_ also present +a fine display of shops and may be termed the Bond Street of Vienna. The +_Sanct Stephans Platz_ where the Cathedral church of Vienna, called _St +Stephans Kirche_, stands, is the largest _Place_ in Vienna. The Cathedral +is a very ancient and curious Gothic edifice, and the steeple is nearly 450 +feet high. I happened to enter the Cathedral one day on the occasion of a +solemn requiem celebrated for the soul of Prince Metternich's father. Had +it been for the son, instead of the father, many an honorable man +persecuted at the instigation of that most machiavelic of all ministers, +might exclaim in making a slight alteration in a well known epitaph: + + Cy-gît M---- ah! qu'il est bien + Pour son repos et pour le mien! + +Among the other striking buildings in the old town is the _Hofburg_ or +Imperial Palace, a very extensive quadrangular building, with a large court +in its centre. A Guard mounts here every day at eleven o'clock. It was in +one of the saloons of this palace that the celebrated Congress of Vienna +was held; a Congress whose labours will be long and severely felt by Europe +and duly appreciated by posterity, who will feel any other sentiment but +that of gratitude for the arrangements entered into there. The _Hofburg_ +was built by Leopold VII in 1200. This building, from its being extremely +irregular and from its having received additions at intervals in the +different styles of architecture, has been aptly enough considered as the +type of the Austrian monarchy, and of its growth from a Markgraviate to an +Empire; in _this_, by the continued acquisition of foreign territories +differing from each other in manners and hi speech; in _that_, by the +continued addition of various specimens of architecture and style of +building in its augmentation. + + +VIENNA, Aug. 8th. + +I am very well content with my abode at the _Weisser Wolf_, tho' it is not +a first-rate hotel. They are very civil people, and I have an excellent and +spacious room for two florins _Wiener Whärung_ per diem. Lodgings are the +only things that are dear in Vienna, every other article is, however, +cheaper than in any other city I have yet been in. All kinds of Hungarian +wine may be had at the most reasonable prices. I generally breakfast at a +neighbouring _Café_ in the _Fleischmarkt_ for the sake of reading the +_Allgemeine Zeitung_ which is taken in there, and which is the only journal +having a shade of liberality which is permitted in the Austrian dominions. +From the hours of twelve to three, dinners _à la carte_ are served at the +_Weisser Wolf_. For two and half florins _W.W._, I get an excellent dinner +with a bottle of Offener wine. The wine of Offen resembles much that of +Bordeaux in its quality and flavor. The tariff however of the dinners and +wines varies daily a few kreutzers, in consequence of the eternal +fluctuation of the _W.W._, so that every morning a fresh tariff is affixed +to the wainscot of the saloon where the dinners are served. Supper, served +likewise _à la carte_, is at its full tide between the hours of eight and +ten o'clock; and as Vienna is renowned for the celebrity of its beefsteaks +and cutlets, called here _Rostbraten_, these and a salad seem to be the +favourite dish for supper. My mornings I have hitherto passed in lounging +about the _Kärnthner Gasse, St Stephen's Platz, Kohlmarkt_, etc. For an +hour before dinner the fashionable promenade is on the rampart in front of +the palace of Duke Albert of Saxe-Teschen; in the evening on the _Prater_, +in a carriage, on horseback, or on foot. The _Prater_ is of immense extent +and offers a great variety of amusements and sights. I generally return +home at night pretty well fatigued from my rambles. + +There is another great inconvenience at Vienna, resulting from the +fluctuation of the current money, and this is that a stranger, dwelling at +an inn, is sure to be disturbed five or six times in the morning, sometimes +as early as five or six o'clock, by Jews who rap at his door to enquire if +he wants to exchange gold and silver against currency or _vice versâ_. I +used to lose all patience at being so disturbed in the morning, and was +obliged in self-defence to put an affiche on the door of my room to this +effect: "_Man kauft und verkauft hier nichts; kein Wechsler darf +hereintreten_." "Here there is no buying and selling; no money changer is +allowed to come in," and I hereby recommend to all strangers not to treat +with these Jews, but on their arrival, or at any time they think fit, to go +to a banking establishment in this city, where every day after eleven +o'clock you can exchange your gold and silver for paper at the just rate of +exchange, as published at the Bourse, paying only a very slight premium, +and on leaving Vienna to go to the same establishment to change your +superfluous _Wiener Währung_ for _Convenzions Münze_ or gold and silver +money. For when the Jews tell you the rate of exchange is so and so, you +conclude probably your bargain with them, and on enquiring at the Bourse +you find that the Jew has made a percentage of six or eight per cent, out +of you. _Louis d'or_ are the best foreign coin to bring into the Austrian +Dominions. Next to them in utility are the Dutch ducats, or _Geharnischte +Männer_ as they are termed, from the figure of the man in armour upon them. +All other corns suffer a loss in proportion. The bankers in Vienna pay the +foreign bill of exchange in _Convenzions Münze_, which you must afterwards +change for _Wiener Währung_, the only current money in Vienna and Austria. +But what makes it additionally troublesome is that here in Vienna there are +particular payments, which must absolutely be paid in gold or silver or +_Convenzions Münze_, and _not Wiener Währung_; for instance the franking of +foreign letters at the post office, where they do not take the _Wiener +Währung_. In vain you may intreat them to take the _Wiener Währung_ at any +rate they please; no! you must go elsewhere and buy from the first person +you can meet with as much gold and silver as is required for the franking +of the letters; so bigotted are they in the Austrian dominions to the +letter of the law! This happened to me: I wanted to frank three letters for +England and I went to the post office with _Wiener Währung_ paper, not +being aware of this regulation, and I was obliged to return to my Hotel, to +lay hold of a Jew, and to buy from him as much gold and silver as was +requisite for the franking of the letters. + +At the _Wechselbank_ or Bank of Exchange I have before mentioned, the crowd +that attends daily is immense; but the business is carried on without hurry +or confusion. You hand in your paper or your gold and silver coin, the +clerk who receives it gives you an order on paper for the amount specified, +which paper you take into another room and therein receive the amount. This +establishment, however, remains open only two hours every day, between +eleven and one I believe; so if you are too late for this interval of time, +you must apply to the brokers, Christian or Israelite. + + +VIENNA, August 11th. + +We left the old town by the _Burg-thor,_ and crossing the Esplanade, +directed our course to the _Rennweg,_ one of the suburbs, in order to view +the majestic edifice of St Charles, which is equal in the beauty of its +architecture to many of the finest churches in Rome. Its façade and cupola +render it one of the most striking buildings belonging to Vienna. We next +visited the _Manège_ and the Palace called the palace of the Hungarian +Noble Guard. They are both beautiful edifices. The faubourgs of Vienna are +built in the modern style and their buildings, both public and private, +excellent in their way and in the best state. The streets of the faubourgs +are broad but not paved. The most celebrated of these faubourgs are _Maria +Hülf_, _Leopold-stadt_, _Landstrasse_, the _Rennweg_, the _Wühringer +Gasse_; and I am persuaded that if the old town were united to the faubourg +by means of streets and squares and the esplanade filled up with buildings, +Vienna would perhaps be the handsomest city in Europe and the fourth in +size, for the best buildings and palaces are in the faubourgs, viz., the +Military College, the Polytechnic School, St Charles' Church, the Porcelain +fabric, the Palaces of Esterhazy, Kaunitz, Stahremberg, Schwarzenberg, +Palfy, and the beautiful Palace and ground of Belvedere in which last is a +noble collection of pictures open to the public. At the Polytechnic school +one of the principal professors is a friend of Mr F------'s, and he +explained to us the nature of the establishment and the course of studies +pursued. The apparatus for every branch of science is on the grandest +scale. After dinner we repaired to the _Prater_, crossing a branch of the +Danube which here forms several islands. The _Prater_ requires and deserves +particular mention. Part of it is something in the style of the _Champs +Elysées_ at Paris, and it is fully equal to it in the variety of amusements +and enjoyments to be met with there; but it is far larger and more +beautiful on account of its landscape and the diversified manner in which +the grounds are laid out. The _Prater_, then, is an immense park, laid out +on an island of considerable extent on the Danube. The nearest faubourg to +it is the _Leopoldstadt_, which is also the most fashionable one, and a +bridge conducts you from that faubourg direct into the _Prater_. The +_Prater_ presents a mixture of garden, meadow, upland and forest; the lofty +trees arranged in avenues or in clumps give a delightful protecting shade. +On the road destined for the carriages there is every afternoon a most +brilliant display of carriages. Another avenue is destined for equestrians, +and two avenues, one on each side of these two, for pedestrians. There are +besides winding footpaths, that conduct you all over this vast extent of +ground, and circular grass plots surrounded by trees where the pedestrian +may repose and eat and drink if he will. Here are _restaurants_ in plenty, +_cafés_, Panoramas, exhibitions of wild beasts, swings, tennis courts, +places for running at the ring, do for burlesque dramatic performances, +_farceurs_, jugglers, De Bach's Equestrian Amphitheatre in the style of +Franconi, _Salles de Danse_, baths, billiard rooms, gaming tables, and even +houses appropriated to gallantry. In fact, the _Prater_ is quite the +Paradise of the bourgeoisie of Vienna, who are fond of the pleasures of the +table and take every opportunity of making dinner and supper parties. The +bourgeois of Vienna are far more sensual than spiritual and not at all +disposed to self-denial. + +Excellent hams and sausages are to be had here; and the Viennese who dines +and sups heartily at his own house never fails, during his evening +promenade, to take a tolerable good portion of ham or sausage, with a +proportion of Offen wine or Maylander Beer, by way of staying his stomach +during the tedious interval between dinner and supper. I need scarce add +that smoking is universal, as indeed it is all over Germany, for I scarcely +ever see a German without a pipe either in his mouth or fastened to his +coat and a bag or pouch of tobacco either in his pocket or attached to his +button hole. In the _Prater_ dances often take place in the open air +between the grisettes of Vienna, who are in general handsome and well made, +and who dress well, and their lovers and admirers. The _Prater_ was first +opened to the public by the Emperor Joseph II. The _Au-garten_ is another +place of recreation and amusement, but on a smaller and much more tranquil +and sober scale, than the _Prater_. None of the lower classes think of +coming here, tho' it is open to every body decently dressed: there is not +that profuse eating and drinking going forward. It is more properly +speaking a promenade, and forms a garden with alleys of trees where music +is often performed and there is a superb saloon where refreshments may be +had. The _Au-garten_ is frequented chiefly by the _Noblesse_ and _Haute +Bourgeoisie_. In the morning likewise it is a fashionable resort to drink +the mineral waters. It adjoins the _Prater_, being on the same island. It +was the favourite lounge of Joseph II, who opened it to the public by +affixing this inscription on one of the gates: + + Allen Menschen gewidmete Erlustigung von ihrem Schätzer + + "Place of recreation open to all Men by their esteemer." + + +VIENNA, Aug. 13th. + +There are a great number of theatres at Vienna. Two are situated in the old +town, viz., the _Hof-theater_ and the _Burg-theater_. The _Hof-theater_ is +only open when the Court are at Vienna, and they are now at Baden, ten +leagues distant. The _Burg-theater_ is open all the year round, and may be +considered as the national theatre. It is much frequented by the +bourgeoisie and inhabitants of the old town, who do not chuse to take the +trouble to go to the _Wieden-theater_, which is situated in the faubourgs, +and which is more of a classical and fashionable theatre than the other, +inasmuch as it is more elegantly and classically built, better fitted up, +and has a far better company of comedians. At the _Burgtheater_ I saw +Kotzebue's _Edelsinn und Armuth_ performed. The Wieden theatre which is, as +I have said, in the faubourgs, is the handsomest theatre perhaps in Europe +for its size. It is not large, but it is fitted up with so much taste and +you see and hear so well; every ornament is so chaste and there is nothing +at all tawdry or superfluous. It is, I really think, a model of what every +theatre ought to be. There is a good deal of bronze about it which gives it +a classical appearance, and the boxes are supported by Caryatides in +bronze. There is a peculiarity in all the theatres at Vienna, which is, +that in the _parterre_ you must sit in the place the number of which is +marked on your ticket. These places are called _Gesperrte Sitze,_ and each +seat resembles an armchair. When not occupied, the seat is folded up and +locked to the back of the chair, until the person who holds the ticket +corresponding to its number comes to take it; so that no other but the +person holding the ticket corresponding to the number can take it, and you +are thus never likely to be shoved out of your place, as you are at most of +the theatres in Europe. There are men stationed at the doors who follow you +into the _parterre_ to unlock and let down a seat for you, and to them you +give your ticket with a slight gratification, which is however quite +optional; your ticket you previously pay for at the door. + + +VIENNA, Augt. 20th. + +I have been to see Schönbrunn, the usual residence of the young Napoleon; +but he is now at Baden with the Imperial family, where his mother, who is +lately arrived from Italy, is also on a visit. The young Napoleon is said +to be a remarkable fine boy, and a great favorite with his grandfather the +Emperor. Many are the anecdotes related of him. I shall mention one. He had +heard so often talk of his father, that shortly after the arrival of his +mother, he wished to see his father also and asked his attendants +repeatedly and not in a very patient tone: _Wo ist denn mein Vater?_[124] +This was told to his grandfather the Emperor; and he gave directions that +the child should be brought to him, the very next time he should put the +question. He then said to him: _Du möchtestwissen wo dein Vater ist? Er ist +in Verhaft. Man hat es mit ihm gut gemeint; weil er aber unruhig war, so +hat man ihn in Verhaft gestellt, und Dich wird man auch verhaften, wenn Du +unruhig bist._[125] + +So much for this anecdote; but I did not hear what was the answer of the +young prince. The young Napoleon is, it appears, a great favorite of the +soldiers, who quite adore him, and he will sometimes go into the kitchen to +get bread and meat to give to the soldiers on Guard at the Palace. A +singular event happened lately to Maria Louisa. During her stay at +Schõnbrunn, her _chatouille,_ with several things of value in it, +_bijouterie,_ etc., was stolen from her. She caused enquiries to be made, +and researches to be set on foot. Nobody has been able to find out who took +it; but it was put back in the precise place from whence it was taken, and +not a single article of the _bijouterie_ or things of value was missing. It +is supposed this theft was made for political purposes, in order to +discover the nature of her epistolary correspondence, if any existed. Had +it been taken by a vulgar thief, it is not probable that the articles of +value would have been restored. Such is the unhappy condition of that +Princess to be always an object of suspicion and espionnage. + + +_Journey to Prague_. + + +I left Vienna on the 28th August in a _Landkutsche_ and arrived at Prague +on the first of September. + +These _Landkutsche_ are on the same plan and footing with the _vetture_ in +Italy, and travel in the same manner, with this difference, however; that +the _Landkutscher_ do not usually, as the _vetturini_ do, undertake to +provide for the supper and bed of their passengers. In a word, you are not +_spesato;_ and in Germany there is not the least necessity for it, for +there is no such thing as extortion on the part of the German innkeepers, +who are by far the most respectable of that profession. Besides, in most +places, everything is _tariffed,_ and where it is not, the landlord never +makes an unreasonable demand, or attempts to make foreigners pay more than +natives; whereas in Italy if you are not _spesato_ there are no bounds to +the rapacity of the innkeepers, witness mine host of Terracina. Both Italy +and Germany present the greatest convenience for travellers, as the +_Landkutsche_ or _vetture_ are continually passing from town to town. There +is however this difference between them, that the Italian _vetturini_ will +abate their price, if their carriage is full excepting one place, and that +they must start, whereas the German _Landkutscher_ never abate their price. + +I paid for my journey from Vienna to Prague thirty-five florins _Wiener +Währung,_ and we made the journey in five days. Our first day's journey +brought us to Höllabrunn, having stoppd to dinner at Stockeran. The road is +excellent and the several towns and villages we past thro' clean and well +built. The landscape was either a plain, or gently undulating and extremely +well cultivated. + +Bohemia resembles Moravia, being an exceedingly rich corn country, +generally open; not many trees about the country near the road side, except +at the _Chateau_ and farm houses. The language is a dialect of the +Sclavonic, mixed with some German; but at the inns there is always one or +two servants who speak German. In Bohemia a traveller not speaking German, +and who has no interpreter with him, would find himself greatly +embarrassed. The Bohemians call themselves in their own language +_Cherschky_, and the Hungarians call themselves _Magyar_. + + +[117] Tasso, _Gerusalemme liberata_, canto XV, ottave 31, 32: + + Un uom della Liguria avrà ardimento + All' incognito corao esporsi in prima... + Tu spiegherai, Colombo, a un nuovo polo + Lontane si le fortunate antenne...--ED. + + +[118] Ariosto, Orlando Furioso, XL, 31, 1.--ED. + +[119] See reference to Eustace p. 131. + +[120] Ariosto, _Orlando Furioso_, XXVIII, 38, 7.--ED. + +[121] Boileau, _Satires_, XI, v. 117. + +[122] The drama, _Der Wold bei Hermannstadt,_ is the work of Johanna + Fraenul von Weissenthurn (1773-1847), a celebrated Viennese actress + and authoress. An opera was written on the same text by W. Westmeyer, + --ED. + +[123] Because I am an Englishman--You are an Englishman? you are certainly + a North-German; you speak very correct German.--Gentlemen, I tell you + I am an Englishman; many English study and speak the German language + and if you had held a long conversation with me, you would soon have + perceived from my faults in speaking, that I am not a German.--But you + have answered our questions so correctly.--Why not, the same questions + have been put to me so often that I have all the necessary answers by + heart like a catechism. + +[124] Where is my father? + +[125] "You wish to know where your father is? He is under arrest; people + were well disposed to him; but he is placed under arrest, because he + was unruly, and if you are unruly you will be placed under arrest + likewise." + + + + +CHAPTER XVII + +SEPTEMBER 1818-MARCH 1819 + +The splendid city of Prague--The German expression, "To give the +basket"--Journey from Prague to Dresden--Journey from Dresden to Berlin--A +description of Berlin--The Prussian Army--Theatricals--Peasants talk about +Napoleon--Prussians and French should be allies--Absurd policy of the +English Tories--Journey from Berlin to Dresden--A description of +Dresden--The battle of Dresden in 1813--Clubs at Dresden--Theatricals-- +German beds--Saxon scholars--The picture gallery--Tobacco an ally of +Legitimacy--Saxon women--Meissen--Unjust policy of Europe towards the King +of Saxony. + + +PRAGUE, 4 Sept. + +Prague is a far more striking and splendid city than Vienna, without its +faubourgs. The streets are broader; and it has a more cheerful and less +confined appearance than the old town of Vienna. The position of Prague too +is very romantic and picturesque, part of it lying on a mountain and part +on a plain; and it stands on the confluent of two rivers, the Mulda and the +Braun. The upper part of the city, called Oberburg, stands on a height +called Ratschin, and on this height stands a most magnificent palace and +other stately buildings. There is a beautiful panoramic view from this part +of Prague. In this part of the city too is the cathedral of St Wenzel or +Wenceslaus, who was its founder. His tomb and that of St John Nepomucene, a +favorite saint of the Bohemians, is in this church. The Cathedral is of +extreme solidity, but little ornamented, having been plundered by the +Swedes in 1648. The canopy over the shrine of St John Nepomucene has a +profusion of votive offerings appended to it. The lower part of Prague is +divided into two parts by the Mulda. The bridge across the Mulda is one of +the finest in Europe. It has twenty-four arches, its length is 1700 feet +and its breadth 35. Among several statues on this bridge is a very +remarkable one of Jesus Christ, made of bronze gilt, which cost a large sum +of money to its founder, a Jew! There is a Latin inscription on it which +explains the paradox. There stood on the same spot a wooden statue of +Christ in the XVI century. One day an opulent Jew, on passing by, made some +scoffing or contemptuous remark on it. He was overheard by some of the +people, accused of blasphemy and condemned to die; but on expressing great +contrition and offering to pay a fine to any amount, he was pardoned, on +the condition of his promising to erect a bronze statue gilt of Jesus +Christ on the same spot, at his own expense, with an inscription explaining +the reason of its construction; which promise he punctually performed. +Prague abounds in Jews. Two-thirds at least of its population are of that +persuasion. In the lower town the most striking edifices are the palace of +the Wallenstein family, descendants of the famous Wallenstein, so +distinguished in the Thirty Years war. Annexed to this Palace is a spacious +garden, which is open to the public as a promenade. It is well laid out. +There is a large aviary. This Palace covers a vast extent of ground. The +Colloredo family, who are descended from Wenceslaus, have a superb Palace +in this city; and there is a stable belonging to it, partly in marble and +of rich architecture, capable of containing thirty-six horses. No traveller +who comes to Prague should omit visiting these two Palaces of Wallenstein +and Colloredo. On the bridge over the Mulda before mentioned, is the statue +in bronze of St John Nepomucene, on the spot from whence he was thrown into +the river by his brother saint, King Wenceslaus, for refusing to divulge +the gallantries of his (Wenceslaus') wife, to whom he was confessor. A +favorite promenade on Sundays is on the _Färber Insel_ or Dyers island, +which is a small island on the Mulda. Here the young men of the town come +to dance with the _grisettes_ and milliner girls of Prague, who are +renowned for their beauty and complaisance. + +The Jewish burying ground is a curiosity for a person who has never visited +the Oriental countries. The tombstones are stowed thick together. Everybody +recollects the anecdote of the ingenious method adopted by Joseph II for +squeezing a large sum of money from the Jews of Prague, by giving out that +he intended to claim this cemetery, in order to build therein a Palace. The +Jews who, like all the Orientals, have the most profound veneration for the +spot where their ancestors are buried, presented a large sum of money to +the Emperor, to induce him to renounce his design. + +The _Stadt-Haus_ (Hotel de Ville) is a fine building; and the _Marktplatz_ +(market square) is very spacious, and contributes much to the beauty of the +town. In the centre of it stands an ancient fountain of a dodecagonal form. +The basin is of red marble, and near it stands a large stone column, with a +statue of the Virgin, bronze gilt, on its summit. A well supplied market, +or rather fair, is carried on here every day in the week. The Theatre is a +fine building and is of immense size. I witnessd the representation of a +burlesque tragedy called _Die Belagerung von Ypsilon_ (the siege of +Ypsilon), but I could not at all comprehend the cream of the jest. Madame +Catalani, who is here, sang at this theatre one night. The theatre was +completely filled and the price of admission to the boxes and _parterre_ a +ducat. The street adjoining to the theatre was crowded by people +endeavoring to catch the sweet sounds. Immense hommage has been paid to +Catalani by the authorities here. + +The balls of the _bourgeoisie_ of Prague are splendid and well attended. +The _bourgeoisie_ is very opulent in this city. There are but few residents +_Noblesse_. The expences at the inns here are rather greater than those at +Vienna, wine being a foreign commodity and beer the national beverage. My +daily expences here for lodging, dinner, supper and breakfast amounted to +four florins _Convenzions Münze_, about nine franks nearly, French money. +The country environing Prague is rich and abounding in corn; there are +likewise hops. The walls of Prague still bear the marks made by Frederic's +shot when he blockaded Prague. + + +PRAGUE, 7th Sept. + +To-morrow I shall start for Dresden, The diligence goes off only once a +week, but I have engaged a car or rather light basket waggon drawn by two +horses (a vehicle very common in Germany) to convey me to Dresden in two +days and half. I am to pay for half of the waggon, and another traveller +will pay for the remaining half. + +Before I leave Prague I must tell you that I have found out the origin of +the German phrases _Jemand den Korb zu geben (to give the basket)_, which +means a refusal of marriage. Thus when a young lady refuses an offer of +marriage on the part of her admirer, the phrase is: _Sie hat ihm den Korb +gegeben_ (_She has given him the basket_). Hitherto I have not met with any +one who could explain to me satisfactorily the origin of so singular a +phrase; but on reading lately a volume of the _Volksmährchen_ (_Popular +tales_) I found not only the derivation of this phrase, but also that of +the name of the city of Prague. Both are connected in the same story, and +both concern the history of Prague. The story is as follows. + +Libussa, Duchess of Bohemia, had three lovers, two of whom were not +remarkably intelligent, but the third possessed a great deal of talent and +was her favorite. She was much importuned by the rival suitors. She +appeared before them one day with a basket filled with plums in her hand; +and said she would give her hand in marriage to whoever of them should +guess the following arithmetical riddle. She said: "One of you shall take +half the plums that are in this basket, and one over: another shall take +half of what remains, and one over: the third shall take half of what still +remains and three over, and then all the plums will have been taken. Now +tell me how many plums there are in the basket." Her favorite was the only +one who could guess the number of plums which was _thirty_. To him +therefore she gave her hand and the plums, and to the other suitors the +empty basket. Hence the phrase. The solution of the question is as follows: + + A takes half of the plums in the basket (30) and one + over . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 + 1 = 16 + B half of what remained (14) and one over . . . . . 7 + 1 = 8 + C half of what remained (6) and three over . . . . . 3 + 3 = 6 + --- + Total 30 + +Now with regard to the origin of the city of Prague. The former residence +was much too small, and Libussa directed her workmen to build a town on the +spot, where they should find at midday a man making the _best use of his +teeth_. They began their research and one day at that hour discovered a +carpenter sawing a block of wood. It struck them that this laborious man +was making a better use of his teeth (viz., teeth of his saw) than the mere +feeder and they judged that this ought to be the place where the town +should be built. They therefore proceeded to trace with a plough the +circumference of the town. On asking the carpenter what he was about to +make with the block he was sawing, he said " A threshold for a door," which +is called _Prah_ or _Praha_ in the Bohemian language and Libussa gave to +the city the name of _Praha_ or _Prag_. + + +BERLIN, 24th Sept. + +Berlin has a splendid and cheerful appearance, with fine broad streets, +superb white buildings and Palaces, for the most part in the Grecian taste; +it has quite the appearance in short of an Italian city. Nearly all the +streets are at right angles; they are kept very clean and the shops make a +brilliant display. I felt so much pain in my legs, from the effect of my +pedestrian journey, that I was obliged to remain in my chamber one entire +day. There is a very good _table d'hôte_ at my bin for twelve _Groschen_. +Wine is paid for extra, and at the rate of from 12 to 18 _Groschen_ the +bottle. The sort usually drunk here is the Medoc. The prices of articles of +prune necessity are dearer in Berlin than either at Dresden or Vienna; +particularly the article of washing, which is dearer than in any country I +have yet visited. + +The next morning I began my rambles, and directed my course to the favorite +and fashionable promenade of the _beau monde_, at all hours of the day, I +mean in the fine street or alley _Unter den Linden_, so called from it +being planted with lime trees. There is a range of elegant buildings on +each side, and at the end, near the _Thier Garten_ (Park), is a superb gate +called the _Brandenburger Thor_ in the shape of a triumphal arch ornamented +with a statue of Peace, with an olive branch in her hand, standing on a car +drawn by four horses abreast, the whole groupe being of bronze and of +exquisite workmanship. The four horses are imitated from the Corinthian +horses at Venice and yield to them in nothing but antiquity. Indeed they +have a much more pleasing and striking effect, in being thus attached to a +car, than standing by themselves, as the Venetian ones do, on the top of +the façade of a church. This _Brandenburger Thor_ is constructed after the +model of the Propylaeum of Athens. + +The Opera House, a building in the Grecian taste erected by Frederic the +Great with the inscription _Apollini et Musis_, and after that the Academy +of the Fine Arts engaged my attention. Both these buildings are remarkable, +and they are near the _Linden_. The old town is much intersected by canals +communicating with the Spree which divides it. I call it the old town, to +distinguish it from the quarter composed of streets of recent construction +between the former _enceinte_ of the town and the Brandenburger Thor. The +Hotel of the Invalides, a ponderous building, bears the following +inscription: _Laesis non victis_. The Bank and the Arsenal next engaged my +attention, as also a Guard House of recent construction in the shape of a +Doric temple. The Royal Palace is an immense building, partly in the Gothic +and partly in the Grecian style. It is very heavy but imposing. The +interior of this Palace is royally fitted up, except the little room +occupied by the great Frederic, which is left in the same state as when he +occupied it; and you know he was not fond of superfluous ornament. In the +green before the Palace stands the statue of the Prince of Anhalt Dessau, +the founder of the Prussian Infantry system, and at a short distance from +this, on the _Lange Brücke,_ stands the colossal equestrian statue in +bronze of the Great Elector. + +The _Königstrasse_ is the principal street and a very fine one it is; next +to it in point of beauty is the _Französische_ _Strasse_. The _Wilhelm +Platz_ is adorned with the statues in marble of Schwerin, Seidlitz, Keith, +Winterfeld, and Ziethen. But I cannot enumerate all the splendid public +establishments and fine things to be seen in this beautiful city. The most +striking church is that of St Hedwig. I call it the most striking from its +resemblance to the Pantheon at Rome. The Cathedral is perhaps a finer +building. 'Tis in this last that the Electoral and Royal remains are +deposited. + +The streets 'here swarm with military, and indeed the profession of arms +seems to have too much sway in the Prussian dominions. The subalterns and +young men of the Prussian Army are said to have republican sentiments, and +they, in common with all the burghers, desire a constitution. It galls them +to see one enjoyed by the Bavarians, whom they affect to look upon as +inferior to them in intelligence, and that it should be refused to them. +Most of the nobility and the greater part of the General and field officers +are however inveterate aristocrats. + +You have heard, I dare say, of the attempt made by some officers among the +nobility to exclude from the service, after the peace, those officers who +were not noble. When it is considered that their best and most zealous +officers sprung from the burghers, and that Prussia, when abandoned by her +King and nobles, was saved from permanent subjection only by the +unparalleled exertions of her burghers and peasantry, one is shocked at +such ingratitude and absurdity. But the officers of the Royal Guard went so +far as to draw up a petition to the King, requesting him to dismiss all the +officers of the corps who were not noble, and Blucher was applied to to +present this petition to the King. Blucher read the paper and ordered all +the officers to assemble on the parade and thus addressed them: "Gentlemen, +I have received your paper and read its contents with the utmost +astonishment. All the remarks that I shall permit myself to make on the +subject of this petition, are, that it makes me ashamed of being myself a +noble." He then tore the petition in pieces and dismissed them. + +I have been once at the theatre. _Lodoiska_ was performed. I saw a number +of fine women in the boxes. Formerly gallantry and pleasure were the order +of the day at Berlin; but now, the Court assuming the exterior of rigid +morality and strictly exercised religious devotion, mystic cant and +dullness is the order of the day. The death of the Queen of Prussia threw a +great damp over the amusements of the Court. At Charlottenburg, which is a +short distance from Berlin, in the grounds there, they point out to you her +favourite spots. She was a most amiable Princess, and united to great +personal beauty so much grace and fascination and so many good qualities +that she was beloved by all, and the breath of calumny never ventured to +assail her. + +The alley _Unter den Linden_ in the evening presents a great assemblage of +Cyprian nymphs, who promenade up and down; they dress well and are +perfectly well behaved. There is a superb establishment of this kind at +Berlin, which all strangers should visit out of curiosity. It is not +indispensably necessary to sacrifice to the Goddess whose worship is +carried on there; but you may limit yourself to admire the temple, call for +refreshments and contemplate the priestesses. + +There is the utmost moral and political freedom at Berlin, and tho' the +Government is despotic in form, freedom of speech is allowed. An army of +200,000 men admirably disciplined and armed, of these a garrison of 15,000 +men in Berlin and as many at Potsdam, are quite sufficient to keep in check +all attempts to put political theories and speculations into practice. +Indeed, it would be very difficult to excite a revolt; the various German +governments are carried on very paternally and the government is scarcely +felt; habits of obedience have taken deep root among the people, and a +German peasant as long as he gets enough to eat and drink, does not +conceive himself unhappy, or thinks of a change. I could not help laughing +the other day, at a little village near Berlin, when I heard some peasants +talking of Napoleon; one of them, who seemed to have some partiality for +him, exclaimed, meaning to blame him for leaving Elba: _Aber warum verliess +er seine Insel? Er hatte doch zu essen und trinken so viel er wolte_ (Why +did he leave Elba? He had surely plenty to eat and drink). This good +peasant could not conceive that a man blessed with these comforts should +like to change his situation or run any risks to do so. + +French as well as German is commonly spoken in Berlin, and I am glad to see +that the prejudice against the French is wearing off. If the French and +Prussians could understand one another, and knew their own interests, or if +the French had a liberal national Government, I mean, one more identified +with the interests of the people than the present one is, what advantage +might not rise therefrom? They are natural allies, and united they might be +able effectually to humble the overbearing insolence and political +coxcombry of the Czar, shake to its centre the systematic despotism and +light-fearing leader of Austria, and keep in check the commercial +greediness, monopolizing spirit and Tory arrogance of England. The German +political writers duly appreciate the illiberal policy of England towards +the continental nations, by which she invariably helps to crush liberty on +the Continent in the hopes of paralysing their energies and industry, in +order to compel them to buy English manufactures, and in fine to make them +dependent on England for every article of consumption. England, ever since +the beginning of the reign of George III to the present day, has been +always ready to lend a hand to crush liberty, to perpetuate abuses and to +rivet the fetters of monarchial, feudal and ecclesiastical tyranny. + +These are facts and cannot be denied. The English people have been taxed to +the last farthing to support a war of privileges against Freedom; and +Europe is in consequence prostrate at the feet of an unprincipled +coalition, thro' England's arms and England's gold; and then an English +minister, and his vile hireling journals, tell you that the continental +nations are not ripe for and do not deserve liberty. Even the Pope and +Grand Turk, both so much dreaded by our pious ancestors, have been +supported, caressed and subsidized, in order to help to put down all +efforts made to obtain rational liberty, which the courtiers always affect +to stigmatize with the name of "Jacobinism," while a number of needy +individual have enriched themselves by the public plunder and byaiding and +abetting the system, all _novi homines_, men who, had there been more to +gain on the other side than by espousing Toryism, would not have been +backward; men who are Jacobins in the real sense of the word, however they +cloak themselves under the specious names of Church and King men; upholders +of Pitt and his system, for which they affect a veneration they are far +from really feeling; men, in fact, whose political scruples of whatever +nature they be, would soon melt away. + + +DRESDEN, 5th October. + +I have been fortunate in getting into very comfortable lodgings, having two +rooms and as much firing as I chuse for eight _Reichsthalers_ per month. +Coffee is made for me at home in the morning, and I generally dine and sup +at a _restaurant_ close by near the bridge. The _Platz_ in the Neustadt is +close to my lodgings, and being very large and well paved and lined with +trees, it affords a very agreeable promenade. Rows of elegant houses line +the sides of this Plata, among which the _Stadthaus_ is particularly +remarkable. The famous _Japan Palace_, as it is called, is also in the +_Neustadt_, and but a short distance from the _Platz_. The gardens of Count +Marcolini afford also a pleasant promenade; but by far the most agreeable +walk, in my opinion, is on the _Zwinger_, a sort of terrace on the left +bank of the Elbe in the old town, adjoining the palace and gardens of Count +Bruhl. From this place you have a noble view of a long reach of the Elbe. +It is besides the favorite promenade of the ladies. On the _Zwinger_ too is +a building containing a fine collection of paintings. Here are _cafés_ +likewise and a _restaurant_. The evening promenades are in the gardens of +the _Linkischer Bad_ (Bath of Link) on the banks of the Elbe, where there +is a summer theatre. This is the favourite resort of the _bourgeoisie_ on +Sundays and _jours de fête; goûters_ and supper parties are formed here and +very good music is heard. The Elbe bridge is of beautiful structure, and +there is a good regulation with respect to those who pass over this bridge; +which is that one side of the bridge is reserved for those going from the +new to the old town, and the other side for those going from the old to the +new town, and if you attempt to go on the wrong side you are stopped by a +sentry, so that there is no jostling nor lounging on this bridge. An arch +of this bridge was blown up by Marshal Davoust in order to arrest the +progress of the Russians, and a great deal of management was necessary to +effectuate it, for the worthy Saxons have a great veneration for this +bridge, and in order to inforce the execution of this resolution on the +part of the Marshal, the personal order of the King and the employment of +Saxon troops were necessary. It has been rebuilt since, and no one would +know that the arch had ever been blown up, but from the extreme whiteness +of the new arch, contrasting with the darker color of the old ones. + +In the old town or Dresden proper, the finest buildings are: the Catholic +church, standing near the bridge, an edifice yielding in beauty but to few +in Italy and to none in other countries. Here you hear excellent music +during the church service; and the King and Royal family, all of whom are +Catholics, attend constantly. The Royal Palace is very near the church and +not far from it is the theatre. Saxony being a Lutheran country, the public +exercise of the Catholic religion was not permitted until Napoleon's time, +when he proposed an arrangement to permit to the King and all other +Catholics the public celebration of their religion, which proposition was +acceded to with universal approbation on the part of the Protestants, and +now the Host is frequently displayed in the streets. There are however but +few Catholics in Dresden among the natives. So great is the respect for +usages and customs in Germany, that the Electors of Saxony, on going over +to Catholicism, never thought even of requesting the indulgence of +exercising their religion publicly, and the granting it has produced no +evil consequence, liberalism and the most unreserved toleration in matters +of religion being the order of the day. + +The Royal Palace is a very fine and extensive building and the interior is +well worth seeing, particularly the superb _Riesen-Saal_ where Augustus II +used to give his magnificent _fêtes_. One of the last and most brilliant +_fêtes_ given here was that given by the King of Saxony to the Emperor +Napoleon just before the Russian campaign, at which the Emperor and Empress +of Austria and most of the Sovereigns of Germany assisted, to do hommage to +the great Conqueror. + +The _Schloss-gasse_ or Castle Street leads from the Palace into the _Markt +Platz_ where the markets and fairs are held. In this place, in the +_Schloss-gasse_ and in another street parallel to it, that leads from the +porcelain Manufactory to the _Grosser Platz_ (_Grande Place_), are the +finest shops and greatest display of wealth. On the _Grosser Platz_ stands +the _Frauen-Kirche_, a superb Protestant church, and which may be +considered as the cathedral church of Dresden. The _Platz_ is large. There +is great cleanliness in all the streets of Dresden, and the houses are well +built and uniform; but there are few other very prominent edifices except +those I have mentioned. On going outside the town by the gate of Pirna +stands, almost immediately on the right, on turning down a road, the +Gardens and Palace of Prince Anthony. Leaving this on your right and +proceeding along the _chaussée_ or high road which is nearly parallel to +the river, at the distance of three-quarters mile from the Gate, stands the +Palace and Gardens called _Der Grosse Garten_ (grand garden), which you +leave on your right, if you continue your route on the _chaussée_ towards +Pirna. I have not yet visited the _Grosse Garten_. There is likewise a fine +promenade on the banks of the Elbe, but quite in an opposite direction to +the Pirna gate, for to arrive at it from this gate, you must traverse the +Pirna street and _Grosser Platz_; and on arrival near the bridge direct +your course to the left, which will lead you out of one of the gates into +an immensely long avenue of elm trees parallel to the river which forms the +promenade. + + +DRESDEN, Oct. 10th. + +I have been to see the Palace and grounds of the _Grosser Garten_. The +garden and park, for it unites both, is of great extent, and beautifully +laid out; but a number of fine trees have been knocked down and mutilated +by cannon shot during the battle of Dresden in 1818, when this garden was +occupied by the Allied troops and exposed to a heavy fire of fifty pieces +of cannon, from a battery erected by Napoleon on the opposite side of the +river, which completely commanded and enfiladed the whole range of the +garden. How the Palace itself escaped being knocked to pieces is wonderful; +but I suppose Napoleon must have given orders to spare it as much as +possible. This Palace is of beautiful structure and in the style of an +Italian villa; statues of the twelve Caesars and bas-reliefs adorn the +exterior. The columns and pilasters are of the Corinthian order. As for the +interior, it is unfurnished, and has been so since the Seven Years' war, +when it was plundered by the enemy, and has never since been inhabited by +the Electoral family. There is a superb rectangular basin of water in this +garden. These gardens are delightfully laid out; why they are not more +frequented I cannot conceive, but I have hitherto met with very few people +there, tho' they are open to all the world. They will form my morning's +promenade, for I prefer solitude to a crowd in a morning walk. But one of +the gardeners here tells me that on Sunday evening there is generally a +good deal of company, who come to listen to the music which is played in a +building fitted up for the purpose at one side of the garden. Wine, coffee, +beer and other refreshments are to be had; but beer is the favorite +beverage. Smoking is universal among the young men; the most ardent +admirers of the fair sex never forget their pipe. During the courtship the +surest sign that the fair one does not intend to _give_ her lover _the +basket_ is when she presents him with a bag to hold his tobacco. Her +consent is implied thereby. + +During the battle of Dresden, the slaughter in this garden was immense, and +the Allies were finally driven out of it. The gardener related to me an +affecting story of a young lady of Dresden, whose lover was killed in this +battle and buried in the _Grosser Garten_. She has taken it so much to +heart that she comes here three or four times in the week to visit this +grave and strew flowers over it. She remains for some time absorbed in +silent meditation and then withdraws. She has a settled melancholy, but it +has not yet affected her understanding. + + +DRESDEN, Oct. 15th. + +I met with my old friend, Sir W.I., who was travelling to Berlin, with the +idea of passing the winter there and of proceeding in the summer to Moscow. +Thro' the interests of my friends, Col. D------ and Baron de F------ I have +been ballotted for and admitted a member of a club or society here called +the _Ressource_. It is held in a large house on the _Markt Platz_, and is +indeed a most agreeable resource to all foreigners; for 'tis in this +society that they are likely to meet and form acquaintance with the +_noblesse_, principal _bourgeoisie_ and _litterati_. It is conducted on the +most liberal scale and not confined to those of birth and fortune. Good +character, polite behaviour and litterary requirements will ensure +admittance to a candidate. This society consists of members and honorary +members; among the honorary members are foreigners and others whose stay in +Dresden is short; but whoever remains for more than one year must cease to +be an honorary member and must be ballotted for in order to become a +permanent member, and should he be blackballed he ceases to belong to the +society altogether. This is a very good regulation. A year is a sufficient +time of proof for the character and conduct of a person, and should he +during this interval prove himself obnoxious to the members of the society, +they can at its expiration exclude him for ever afterwards. + +No enquiry is made as to the character and conduct of a person who is +admitted as an honorary member: it is sufficient that he be recommended by +a permanent member, which is deemed a sufficient guarantee for his +respectability. In this society there are dining rooms, billiard rooms, +card rooms, a large reading room. Here too is a small but well chosen +library and three or four newspapers in every European language; all the +German newspapers and reviews and the principal periodical works in the +German, French, English and Italian languages. The English papers taken in +here are the _Times, Courier_ and _Chronicle_. Of the French, the +_Moniteur, Journal des Débats, Constitutionel, Journal du Commerce, Gazette +de France_ and _Gazette de Lausanne_, and of the Italian the _Gazette di +Milano, di Venezia, di Firenze_ and _di Lugano_. Every German newspaper is, +I believe, to be found here. The Society lay in their stock of wine, which +is of the best quality; good cooks and servants are kept. Dinners go +forward from one to three. You dine _à la carte_ and pay the amount of what +you call for to the waiters. Coffee, liqueurs and all sorts of refreshments +are likewise to be had. Supper, likewise _à la carte_, goes forward between +nine and eleven. The evening before supper may be employed, if you chuse, +in cards, billiards, or reading. Very pleasant and useful acquaintances are +made at the _Ressource_, since if a foreigner renders himself agreeable to +the gentlemen who frequent this society, they generally propose taking him +to their houses and introducing him to their families. After an +introduction, you may go at any hour of the evening you please: but morning +visits are not much in fashion, since the _toilette_ is seldom made till +after dinner, which is always early in Germany. There is no getting dinner +after three o'clock in any part of Dresden. Besides the _Ressource_ there +are several other Clubs here, such as the _Harmonic_ and others. The public +balls are given at the _Hôtel de Pologne_ twice a week, viz., one for the +_Noblesse_ and one for the _Bourgeoisie_. None of the female _Bourgeoisie_ +are admitted to the balls and societies of the _Noblesse_, and only such of +the males as occupy posts or employments at Court or under Government such +as _Königs-rath_, _Hof-rath_, or officers of the Army. It is therefore +usual, when the Sovereign wishes to introduce a person of merit among the +_Bourgeoisie_ into the upper circles, that he gives him the title of _Rath_ +or Counsellor; but this priviledge of being presentable at Court does not +extend to their wives and daughters. All the Military officers, from +whatever class of life they spring, have introduction _de jure_ into the +balls and societies of the _Noblesse_, and are always in uniform. But when +they attend the balls of the _Bourgeoisie_, it is the etiquette for them to +wear plain clothes: at the balls of the _Bourgeoisie_, therefore, not an +uniform is to be seen. I observed by far the prettiest women at the balls +of the _Bourgeoisie_, and very many are to be found there who in education +and accomplishments fully equal those of the _Noblesse_, and this is no +small merit, for the women in Saxony of the higher classes are extremely +well educated; most of them are proficient in music and are versed in +French and Italian litterature. They seem amiable and goodnatured and by no +means _minaudières_, as Lady Mary Wortley Montague has rather unjustly +termed them; for they appear to me to be the most frank, artless creatures +I ever beheld, and to have no sort of _minauderie_ or _coquetterie_ about +them. Beauty is the appanage of the Saxon women, hence the proverb in +rhyme: + + Darauf bin ich gegangen nach Sachsen, + Wo die schönen Mädchen auf den Baümen wachsen. + +In English: + + Behold me landed now on Saxon ground, + Where lovely damsels on the trees are found. + +A taste for litterature is indeed general throughout the whole nation; and +this city is considered as the Athens of Germany. + + +DRESDEN, Nov. 8th. + +I have been at the theatre and witnessed the representation of a tragedy +called _Die Schuld_, written by Adolphus Müllner. It is a most interesting +piece, and the novelty of it has made a striking impression on me. It is +written in the eight-footed trochaic metre, similar to that in which the +Spanish tragedies are written. It hinges on a prophecy made by a Gipsey, in +which the person to whom the prophecy is made, in endeavoring to avert it, +hastens its accomplishment. The piece is full of interest and the +versification harmonious. I have been twice at the Italian opera, where I +saw the _Gazza Ladra_ and _Il Matrimonio secreto_. I came here with the +idea of giving myself up entirely to the study of the German language; but +such is the beauty of the country environing Dresden that, though winter +has commenced I employ the greatest part of the day in long walks. For +instance I have been to Pillnitz, which is on the right bank of the Elbe +about seven miles from Dresden, ascending the river. The road is on the +bank of the river the whole way. The Palace at Pillnitz is vast and well +built. During a part of the year the Royal family reside there. Pillnitz +will remain "damn'd to everlasting fame" as the place where the famous +treaty was signed, the object of which was to put down the French +Revolution, which Mr Pitt and the British ministry knew of and sanctioned, +tho' they pretended ignorance of it and professed to have no desire to +interfere with the affairs of France. + +Every thing pleases me at Dresden except the beds. I wish it were the +fashion to use blankets and _édredons_ for the upper covering instead of +the _lits de plumes_; for they are too heavy and promote rather too intense +a perspiration, and if you become impatient of the heat, and throw them off +you catch an intense cold. You know how partial I am to the Germans, and +can even put up with their eternal smoking, tho' no smoker myself, but to +their beds I shall never be reconciled. A German bed is as follows: a +_paillasse_, over that a mattress, then a featherbed with a sheet fastened +to it, and over that again another featherbed with a sheet fastened to it; +and thus you lie between two featherbeds; but these are not always of +sufficient length, and you are often obliged to coil up your legs or be +exposed to have them frozen by their extending beyond the featherbeds; for +the cold is very great during the winter. + +The more I see of the people here, the more I like them. The national +character of the Germans is integrity, tho' sometimes cloaked under a rough +exterior as in Bavaria and Austria; but here in Saxony it is combined with +a suavity of manners that is very striking, for the Saxons are the Tuscans +of Germany in point of politeness, and they are far more accomplished +because they take more pains in cultivating their minds. + +A savant in Italy is a man who writes a volume about a coin, filled with +hypotheses, when, with all his learning forced into the service, he proves +nothing; and this very man is probably ignorant in the extreme of modern +political history, and that of his own times, and has more pedantry than +taste. Such a man is often however in Italy termed a _Portento_, but in +Dresden and in most of the capitals of Germany where there are so many of +science and deep research, a man must not only be well read in antiquities, +but also well versed in political economy and in analysis before he can +venture to give a work to the public. Latin quotations, unsupported by +reason and philosophical argument will avail him nothing, for the German is +a terrible _Erforscher_ and wishes to know the _what_, the _how_ and the +_when_ of every thing; besides an Italian _savant_ is seldom versed in any +other tongue than his own and the Latin, with perhaps a slight knowledge of +French; whereas in Germany it is not only very common to find a knowledge +of French, English, Italian, Latin and Greek united in the same person, but +very many add Hebrew, Arabic and even Sanscrit to their stock of Philology. +As a specimen for instance of German industry, I have seen, at the club of +the _Ressource_, odes on the Peace in thirty-six different languages, and +all of them written by native Saxons. This shows to what an extent +philology is cultivated in Germany; indeed, it is quite a passion and a +very useful one it is. I know that many people regard it as a loss of time, +and say that you acquire only new words, and no new ideas; but I deny this. +I maintain that every new language learned gives you new ideas, as it puts +you at once more _au fait_ of the manners and customs of the people, which +can only be thoroughly learned by reading popular authors in their original +language: for there are several authors of the merit of whose style it is +impossible to form an adequate idea in a translation, however correct and +excellent it be. Indeed I wonder that the study of the German language is +not more attended to in England, France, and Italy; but to the English, +methinks, it is indispensable. All the customs and manners of Europe are +taken from the German; all modern Europe bears the Teutonic stamp. We are +all the descendants of the Teutonic hordes who subjugated the Roman Empire +and changed the face of Europe; 'tis they who have given and laid down the +grand and distinguishing feature between modern Europe and ancient Europe +and Asia: I mean the respect paid to women. To what nation, I say, is due +the chivalrous respect to women which is the surest sign of civilization, +and which was unknown to the ancient Greeks and Romans, except to the +Germans, who even in their most uncivilized state paid such veneration to +their women as to consult them as oracles on all occasions and to admit +them to their councils? Tacitus particularly mentions this; and speaking of +the Germans of his time, he says, "They have an idea that there is +something divine about a woman."[126] It is this feeling, handed down to us +from our Teutonic ancestors, that contributes mainly to make the European +so superior to all the Asiatic nations, where woman still remains a +degraded being, and 'tis this feeling that gives to us the palm above all +Greek and Roman glory. What are the modern European nations, the English, +French, Italians, Switzers, even Spanish and Portuguese, but the +descendants of these warlike Teutonic tribes who swept away the effeminate +Romans from the face of the earth? and do we not see the Teutonic policy +and usages, defective and degenerated as they sometimes are, the best +safeguard of liberty against the insidious interpretation of the Roman law, +which is founded on the pretended superiority of one nation, the inferred +inferiority of all the rest? + +With regard to theatricals, I have witnessed the representation of a +tragedy, lately published, called _Sappho_, by a young poet of the name of +Grillparzer. This tragedy is strictly on the Greek model. Its versification +in iambics is so beautiful that it is regarded as the triumph of the +_Classics_ over the _Romantics_; and by this piece Grillparzer has proved +the universality of his genius; for he wrote a short time ago a dramatic +piece in the _romantic_ style and in the eight rhymed trochaic metre called +_die Anhfrau_ (the ancestress) where supernatural agency is introduced. +This I have read; it is a piece full of interest; still it was thought too +_outré_ by the _Classiker_. It was supposed that this was the peculiar +style of the author, and that he adopted it from inability to compose in +the classic taste, when behold! by way of proving the contrary, he has +given us a drama simple in its plot, where all the unities are preserved, +and where the subject one would think was too well known to produce much +interest; he has given, I say, to this piece (Sappho), from the extreme +harmony of its versification and the pathos of the sentiments expressed +therein, an effect which I doubt any tragedy of Euripides or Sophocles +surpasses. The character of Sappho and her passion for Phaon; his +indifference to her and attachment to the young Melitta, an attendant and +slave of Sappho's, and Sappho throwing herself into the sea after uniting +Phaon and Melitta, constitute the plot of the drama. But simple as the +plot, and old as the story is, it excites the greatest interest, and never +fails to draw tears from the audience. What can be more artless and +pathetic, for instance, than these lines of the young Melitta when she +regrets her expatriatioa: + + Kein Busen schlägt mlr bier in diesem Lande, + Und meine Freunden wohnen weit von hier. + +In English: + + No bosom beats for me in this strange land, + And far from here my friends and parents dwell. + +I have no doubt that some of these days _Sappho_ will be translated into +the idiom of modern Greece and acted in that country. The actress, who did +the part of Sappho, gave it full effect, and the part of the young Melitta +was fairly performed; but I did not approve of the acting of the performer +who played Phaon. He overstepped the modesty of nature and the intention of +the author; for he was in his gesture and manner grossly rude and insolent +to poor Sappho, whereas, tho' his love to Melitta was paramount, he ought +to have shown no ordinary struggle in stifling his gratitude to his +benefactress Sappho. + +I admire the German word _Gebieterinn_ (mistress). It is majestic and +harmonious, and the only word, in any modern language that I know of, +poetic enough to render aptly the Greek word [Greek: Despoina]. + + +DRESDEN, Decr. 1st. + +I have been to visit the famous Gallery of paintings here; but you must not +expect from me a description. I shall send you a catalogue. It would be +endless to describe the various _chefs-d'oeuvre_ which are contained in +this valuable collection. Dresden has always been considered as the +Florence of Germany and has always been renowned for its Gallery of +paintings; hence the almost innate taste of the Saxons for the _Beaux Arts_ +and the great encouragement given to them at all tunes by this Government. +It is here and at Meissen that the best German is thought to be spoken, +tho' Hanover disputes this prerogative with Dresden. + +I have been to see the antiquities and curiosities of the _Japanischer +Palast_ (Palace of Japan), as it is called. In this Palace is a quantity of +ancient armour and the most superb collection of porcelain I believe in +Europe. The collection of precious stones is also immense; and I never in +my life saw such a profusion of diamonds, emeralds, turquoises, sapphirs, +amethysts and topazes. In this Museum are three statues found in +Herculaneum on its first discovery or excavation, viz., an Athlete, an +Esculapius, and a Venus. Here too, and from this circumstance, the Palace +takes its name, is a collection of Japanese antiquities and ornaments, +lacker work in gold and silver, which is unique in the world. From the +Royal Library, a foreigner, on being recommended, may have at his own house +all such books to read as can be replaced if lost or spoiled; but the +manuscripts and scarce and valuable editions are not permitted to be taken +out of the Library. Any person once admitted on recommendation may go to +read in this Library at stated hours and may consult any book or manuscript +he pleases on applying to the librarian. + +A person fond of music will be in a continual state of enjoyment at +Dresden. Besides the fine music in the Royal Chapel, the band of the King's +Guard is composed of first rate musicians, who attend regularly at Guard +mounting and play for an hour together. There is also a band of music every +evening during the summer months that plays in the gardens of the +_Linkischer Bad_. Then there are various other places of recreation and +amusement, at all of which musicians are in attendance; for a Saxon cannot +enjoy his repast or his pipe without music and good music too to facilitate +his digestion. There is a custom in Dresden that on the occasion of the +death of a person the young choristers of the Cathedral are sent for to +sing hymns, standing in a semi-circle round the door of the house of the +defunct. These choristers are all dressed in black and their style of +singing is melodious, solemn and impressive. + +Smoking is so prevalent here and in all parts of Germany that if you wish +to denote one of the male sex, _smoker_ would be quite a synonymous word. +Such is the passion for this enjoyment that even at the balls the young +men, the moment they have finished the waltz, quit the hands of their +partners and rush into another room in order to smoke; nor would the beauty +of Venus nor the wit of Minerva be powerful enough to restrain the young +German from giving way to his darling practise. Smoking tobacco has I think +this visible effect, that it serves to calm all tumultuous passions, and +what confirms me in this idea is, that most young Germans, in commencing +life as adults, are full of enthusiastic and even exaggerated notions of +liberty and equality. They are romantic to a degree that is difficult to be +conceived, and seem to be restrained by no selfish or worldly ideas. This +you would suppose would tend to render them rather turbulent subjects, +under an autocratical government; but all this _Schwärmerey_ evaporates +literally in smoke: they take to their pipe, and by degrees the fumes of +tobacco cause all these lofty ideas to dissipate: the pipe becomes more and +more necessary to their existence, and consoles them for their wrongs real +or imaginary; and in three or four years they sit down contentedly to their +several occupations, as strait-forward, painstaking, plodding men, quite +satisfied to follow the routine chalked out for them, and either totally +forget all ambitious views, or become too indolent to make any sacrifice to +obtain them, and this _virtue comes from tobacco_!! The German Hippogriff +becomes an Ox, dull and domestic, and treads out the corn placed before +him, content to have his share thereof in peace and quietness. + +The German Governments, which are mild and paternal, are fully aware of +this and allow the utmost liberty of speech; well knowing that, thanks to +that friend and ally of Legitimacy, tobacco, the romantic visionary and +somewhat refractory youth will subside into a tranquil _ganz alltäglicher +Mann_ and become totally averse to any innovation which demands the +sacrifice of repose. + +The pipe which has this sedative effect on political effervescence, has a +still stronger similar effect, it is said, on the passion of love; hence +the German husbands are proverbially sluggish. But the ladies, none of whom +smoke, preserve their romanticity during their whole lives, and would, if +they had their choice, give their hands to foreigners, who are more +attentive to them than their own countrymen. + +The young ladies here are, 'tis said, extremely romantic in their ideas of +love and capable of the strongest attachment. They think that any thing +should be pardoned to sincere passion. It has been related to me that some +time ago a young man, who was devotedly attached to a girl, on the father +refusing his consent to the marriage, stabbed the girl and then himself. An +immense number of young ladies attended their funeral, to throw flowers +over the grave of the two lovers. Assuredly the young man was only a +noviciate in smoking. + +Everybody must, I think, admire the Saxon women. They are in general +handsome and have fine shapes; they are warm hearted and affectionate; and +they are almost universally well educated. Indeed the whole Saxon people +are so amiable that foreigners find themselves so happy here that they are +unwilling to quit the country. Very many form matrimonial attachments. In +short, this people fully merit the epithet a celebrated English traveller +(Sherlock)[127] has bestowed on them when he called them a _herrliches +Volk_. + + +DRESDEN, Jan. 8d, 1819. + +I have made an excursion to Meissen which lies on the same bank of the +river with the old town of Dresden at a distance of twelve miles. As there +is no road on the left bank of the river to Meissen, you must cross the +river twice to arrive at it, viz., once at Neustadt and once at Meissen, +the road being on the right bank. I put up at the _Hirsch_ (Stag), a very +comfortable inn. I went to Meissen with a view of seeing the Russian +contingent pass the Elbe on their return from France, which has been +evacuated in consequence of the arrangement at Aix-la-Chapelle. They +appeared a fine body of men, clothed _à la française_ and seemed in high +spirits. They seem to have imbibed liberal ideas during their residence in +France, for some of the officers who dined at the inn at Meissen spoke very +freely on passing events. + +The return of the Saxon contingent is expected in Dresden in a day or two, +and there will no doubt be a great deal of rejoicing among the military and +their relations to meet their old comrades and friends; and potent +libations of _Doppel Bier_ will no doubt be made. Meissen is said to be +famous for the beauty of its women and the few that I saw in the streets +did not contradict this reputation. + + +DRESDEN, Jany. 5th, 1819. + +We have had several balls here. Waltzing is the only sort of dance in +fashion at Dresden, excepting now and then a Polonaise. + +I have witnessed an interesting spectacle in the _Grosser Garten_. The pond +or basin is completely frozen over, and a Russian Prince, Gallitzin, who is +here, has fitted up a sort of _Montagnes Russes_ as they are called. Blocks +of ice are placed on an inclined plane to the top of which you mount by +means of a staircase; and then, seating yourself in a sort of sledge, you +slide down the inclined plane with immense velocity. The Prince often +persuades a lady to sit on this sleigh on his lap and descend together; and +this no doubt serves to _break the ice_ of many an amorous intrigue. This +construction of the Prince Gallitzin has contributed to fill the _Grosser +Garten_ with the _beau monde_, every day from twelve to two o'clock; so +that you see we are in no want of amusements at Dresden. + +The King frequently attends the theatre; he is a tall, fine looking man, +and is usually dressed in the uniform of his Foot-Guards, which is scarlet +faced with yellow. The poor King has taken much to heart the injustice with +which he has been treated by the coalition, and no doubt will not easily +forget the ill-bred and insolent letter of Castlereagh to the Congress, +wherein he said that the King of Saxony deserved to lose his dominions for +adhering to Napoleon. But how the King of Saxony could act otherwise I am +at a loss to find: so little could he possibly deserve this treatment for +adhering to Napoleon, that had his advice been taken in the year 1805, the +French would never have been able to extend their conquests so far, nor to +dictate laws to Germany. But Lord Castlereagh seems to have either never +known or wilfully forgotten the anterior political conduct of Saxony. Had +he been more versed in German affairs, or had studied with more accuracy +the events passing before his eyes, it would have been a check upon his +arrogance; but here was a genuine disciple of the Pitt school (that school +of ignorance and insolence), who sets himself up as the moral regenerator +of nations and as a distributor of provinces, while he is grossly ignorant +of the political system of the country on whose destinies he pretends to +decide so peremptorily. Had Castlereagh paid attention to what was going +forward in Germany in 1805, he would have seen too that of all powers +Prussia was the very _last_ who with any _shadow of justice_ could pretend +to an indemnification at the expense of Saxony. In the year 1805, the King, +then Elector of Saxony, strongly advised the Prussian Cabinet to forget its +ancient rivalry and jealousy of Austria and to coalesce with the latter +power, in resisting the encroachments of Napoleon, in order to prevent the +latter from attempting the overthrow of the whole fabric of the +constitution of the Holy Roman Empire, with the intricacy and fragility of +which no prince in Germany was better acquainted than the Elector of +Saxony. Prussia however was still reluctant to engage in the contest and +gave no support whatever to Austria. Napoleon defeats the Austrians at +Austerlitz and dictates peace. Six months after the Prussian Cabinet, +excited by a patriotic but rash and ill-calculating party, has recourse to +arms, not from any generous policy, but because she sees herself outwitted +by Napoleon, who refuses to cede to her Hanover in perpetuity. Prussia +begins the war and calls on Saxony, who always moved in her orbit, to join +her. To the Elector of Saxony this war (in 1806) appeared then ill-timed +and too late; but with that good faith, nevertheless, which invariably +characterized him, he remained faithful to his engagement and furnished his +quota of troops to Prussia. The Saxon troops fought nobly at the battle of +Jena. This battle annihilates all the power of Prussia, and lays Saxony +entirely at the mercy of the Conqueror; but Napoleon not only treats Saxony +with moderation, but with rare generosity; he does not take from her a +single village, but aggrandizes her and gives to her the Duchy of Warsaw +and to her Sovereign the title of King. Saxony becomes in consequence a +member of the confederation of the Rhine and is bound to support the +Protector in all his wars offensive and defensive. The Russian war in 1812 +begins: every German state, Austria and Prussia in the number, furnishes +its contingent of troops. The campaign is unsuccessful, the climate of +Russia having annihilated the French Army, and Napoleon returns to Paris. +Saxony is now exposed to invasion and harassed by the incursions of the +Cossacks. The King of Saxony is perplexed in what manner to act, so as to +ensure to his subjects that protection which was ever uppermost in his +thoughts; feeling however with his usual sagacity that every thing would +ultimately depend on the dispositions of Austria, he repairs himself to +Prague, in order to have an interview with one of the Austrian ministers, +and to sound that Cabinet. Austria however still vacillates and declines +stating what her intentions are. Napoleon returns from Paris, defeats the +Prussians and Russians at Bautzen and re-occupies all Saxony. He then +writes to the King of Saxony to desire him to return immediately to his +dominions and to fulfil his engagements. What was the King to do? Austria +still refusing to declare herself, was he to sacrifice his crown and +dominions uselessly to the vengeance of Napoleon, to please the Emperor of +Russia and King of Prussia, who for aught he knew might patch up a peace +the next day? and this was the more probable from their having been beaten +at Bautzen, which circumstance also might with equal probability induce +Austria to coalesce with, instead of against France. All the other members +of the Confederation of the Rhine remained staunch to Napoleon and poured +their contingents into Saxony; was he to be the only unfaithful ally and +towards a Monarch who had always treated him with the strongest marks of +attachment and regard? and when neither Russia nor Prussia were likely to +give him the least assistance? He therefore returned to Dresden; and +Napoleon took up his grand position the whole length of the Elbe, from the +mountains of Bohemia to Hamburgh, thus covering the whole of Saxony with +his army. Austria however at last comes forward to join the coalition. +Fortune changes; the Saxon troops, tired of beholding their country the +perpetual theatre of war and trusting to the generosity of the Allies, go +over to them in the middle of a battle, and decide, thereby, the fate of +the day at Leipzig. The King of Saxony is made a prisoner, and then he is +punished for what he could not help. Why was he to be punished more than +any other member of the Confederation of the Rhine? One would think that +the seasonable defection of his troops at Leipzig should have induced the +Allies to treat him with moderation. The other States of the Confederation +did not abandon Napoleon until after he was completely beaten at Leipzig; +and Austria refused to accede to the coalition until a _carte blanche_ was +given her to help herself in Italy. + +Let every impartial man therefore review the whole of this proceeding and +then say whether the King of Saxony, so proverbial for his probity, so +adored by his subjects, deserved to be insulted by such an unfeeling letter +as that of Castlereagh. No! the King of Saxony better deserves to reign +than any King of them all. Would they had even a small share of his +virtues! Another proof and a still stronger one of the great integrity and +honor of this excellent Prince, is, that when Napoleon offered to mediatize +in his favor the various ducal Houses in Saxony, such as Weimar, Gotha, +Cobourg, etc., and to annex these countries to his dominions, he declined +the offer. Would Prussia, Austria, or Hanover have been so scrupulous? + +The young ladies here, tho' well versed and delighting in various branches +of litterature, cannot overcome that strong national propensity to tales +and romances wherein the _terrific and supernatural_ abounds; in all their +romances accordingly this taste prevails strongly; nay, even in some of the +romances, where the scene is laid in later times, there is some such +anachronism as the story of a spectre. + +I recollect reading a novel, the scene of which is laid in Italy about the +time of the battle of Marengo, wherein a ghost is introduced who +contributes mainly to the unravelling of the piece. A young lady here of +considerable talent and of general information confessed to me, when I +asked her, what subjects pleased her most in the way of reading, that +nothing gave her so much delight as "_Geistergeschichten_." Lewis' romance +of "_The Monk_" is a great favorite in Germany.[128] By the bye, his +poetical tale of _Alonzo and Imogen_ is evidently taken from a similar +subject in the _Volks-mährchen_. + +The weather has set in very cold and the Elbe is nearly frozen over. It is +impossible to go out of the house without a _Pelz_ or cloak lined with fur; +for otherwise, on leaving a room heated by a stove, the effect of the cold +is almost instantaneous and brings on an ague fit. This I attribute to the +excessive heat kept up in the rooms and houses by the stoves. As smoking is +so prevalent here, this contributes much also to keeping the body in a +praeternatural heat and rendering it still more obnoxious to cold on +removal from a room to the open air. It has been remarked by a medical +author, in the Russian campaign in 1812, that the soldiers of the southern +nations and provinces, viz., Provençaux, Gascons, Italians, Spaniards, and +Portuguese, endured the cold much better and suffered less from it than the +Germans and Hollanders. The reason is sufficiently obvious: the former live +in the open air even in the middle of winter and seldom make use of a fire +to warm themselves; whereas the Germans and Dutch live in an atmosphere of +stove-heat and smoke and seldom like to stir abroad in the open air during +winter, unless necessity obliges them. Hence they become half-baked, as it +were; their nerves are unstrung, their flesh flabby and they become so +chilly, as to suffer from the smallest exposure to the atmosphere. In the +houses in Germany, on account of the stoves, the cold is never felt, +whereas it is very severely in Italy and Spain where many of the houses +have no fireplaces. On this account I prefer Germany as a winter residence, +for I think there is no sensation so disagreeable as to feel cold in the +house. In the open air I do not care a fig for it, for my cloak lined with +bearskin protects me amply. The climate here in winter is a dry cold, which +is much more salubrious and agreeable to me than the changeable, humid +climate of Great Britain, where, though the cold is not so great, it is +much more severely felt. + + +[126] Tacitus, _Germania_, C, VIII.--ED. + +[127] Martin Sherlock (d. 1797), author of _Lettres d'un voyageur anglais_, + which were published in Paris 1779 and, the year after, in London. + +[128] Matthew Gregory Lewis, 1775-1818, published _Ambrosio or the Monk_ in + 1795.--ED. + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII + +MARCH-APRIL 1819 + +Journey from Dresden to Leipzig--The University of Leipzig--Liberal +spirit--The English disliked in Saxony--The English Government hostile to +liberty--Journey to Frankfort--From Frankfort to Metz and Paris--A.F. +Lemaître--_Bon voyage_ to the Allies--Return to England. + +I left Dresden on the 2nd March, 1819. A _Landkutsche_ conveyed me as far +as Leipzig in a day and half, stopping the first night at Oschaly, where +there is a good inn. At Leipzig I put up at the _Hôtel de Bavière_ and +remained five days. Leipzig is a fine old Gothic city. It is, as everybody +knows, famous for its University and its Fair, which is held twice a year, +in spring and in autumn, and which is the greatest mart for books perhaps +in the world. The University of Leipzig and indeed all the Universities of +Germany are in bad repute among the _Obscuranten_ and _éteignoirs_ of the +day, on account of the liberal ideas professed by the teachers and +scholars. In the University of Leipzig every thing may be learned by those +who chuse to apply, but those who prefer remaining idle may do so, as there +is less compulsion than at the English Universities. There is however such +a national enthusiasm for learning, in all parts of Germany, that the most +careless and ill-disposed youth would never be about to support the +ridicule of his fellow students were he backward in obtaining prizes, but +after all I have heard of the dissipation, lawlessness, and want of +discipline at Leipzig, I can safely affirm that all these stories are +grossly exaggerated: and I fancy there is little other dissipation going +forward than amours with _Stubenmädchen_. I do not hear of any drunkenness, +gaming or horse racing; nor do the professors themselves, who ought to be +the best judges of what is going on, complain of the insubordination of +their pupils. But what I principally admire in this, and indeed in other +German Universities, is that there are no distinctions of rank, such as +gold tassels, etc., no servile attention paid to sprigs of nobility, as in +the Universities in England, where the Heads of Colleges and Fellows are +singularly condescending to the son of a Peer, a Minister, or a Bishop. +Perfect equality prevails in Leipzig and the son of the proudest +_Reichsgraf_ is allowed no more priviledges than the son of a barber; nor +do the professors make the least difference between them. In fact, in spite +of the vulgar belief in England respecting the _hauteur_ of the German +_noblesse_ and the vassalage of the other classes, I must say, from +experience, that the German nobility show far less _hauteur_ and have in +general more really liberal ideas than most part of our English +aristocracy, and a German burgher or shop-keeper would disdain to cringe +before a nobleman as many shopkeepers, aye, and even gentry, are sometimes +known to do in England. Another circumstance too proves on how much more +liberal a footing Leipzig and other German Universities are than our +English ones, which is, that in England none but those who profess the +religion of the Church of England, or conform to its ritual, are admitted; +but here all sects are tolerated and admitted, and all live in perfect +harmony with each other. The students are at liberty to chuse their place +of worship and the sermons that are preached in the Catholic as well as the +Protestant churches are such as sensible men of whatever opinion might +listen to with profit, and without being shocked by absurdities or +intolerant ideas. + +Mysteries, theologic sophistry and politics are carefully avoided, and a +pure morality, a simple theosophy, comprehensible to the meanest +understanding, pervades these simple discourses. The consequence of this +toleration and liberal spirit is that an union between the Lutheran and +Calvinistic churches has been effected. + +I met a number of mercantile people at the _table d'hôte_ at Leipzig in the +_Hôtel de Bavière_, and I entered a good deal into conversation with them; +but when they discovered I was an Englishman, I could see a sudden coldness +and restraint in their demeanour, for we are very unpopular in Germany, +owing to the conduct of our Cabinet, and they have a great distrust of us. +The Saxons complain terribly of our Government for sanctioning the +dismemberment of their country and of the insolent letter of Castlereagh. +It is singular enough that Saxony is the only country where English goods +are allowed to be imported free of duty; but our great and good ally the +King of Prussia (as these goods must pass thro' his territory) has imposed +a tolerably heavy transit duty. I am glad of it; this is as it should be. I +rejoice at any obstacles that are put to British commerce; I rejoice when I +hear of our merchants suffering and I quite delight to hear of a +bankruptcy. They, the English merchants, contributed with their gold to +uphold the corrupt system of Pitt and to carry on unjust, unreasonable and +liberticide wars. Yes! it is perfectly fit and proper that the despotic +governments they have contributed to restore should make them feel their +gratitude. If the French since their Revolution have not always fought for +liberty, they have done so invariably for science; and wherever they +carried their victorious arms, abuses were abolished, ameliorations of all +kinds followed, and the arts of life were improved. Our Government since +the accession of George III has never raised its arm except in favor of old +abuses, to uphold despotism and unfair privileges, or to establish +commercial monopoly. Our victories so far from being of beneficial effect +to the countries wherein we gained them, have been their curse. We can +interfere and be prodigal of money and blood to crush any attempt of the +continental nations towards obtaining their liberty; but when it is +necessary to intercede in favour of oppressed patriots, then we are told +that we have no right to interfere with the domestic policy of other +nations. We can send ships to protect and carry off in safety a worthless +Royal family, as at Naples in 1799, but we can view with heartless +indifference, and even complacency, the murders committed in Spain by the +infamous Ferdinand and his severities against those to whom he owes his +crown, all of whom had the strongest daim to our protection as having +fought with us in the same cause and contributed to our success. + +The _Platz_ at Leipzig is large and here it is that the fair is held. The +theatre is an elegant building and lies just outside one of the gates of +the city. Innumerable shops of booksellers are here and it is astonishing +at how cheap a rate printing in all languages is carried forward. + +There are some pleasant promenades in the environs of Leipzig; but this is +not a time of the year to judge of the beauty of the country. I went, +however, to view the house occupied by Napoleon on the eve of the battle of +Leipzig. A monument is to be erected to the memory of Poniatowsky in the +spot where he perished. + +I started from Leipzig on 7th March at eleven o'clock. I was five days en +route from Leipzig to Frankfort, tho' the distance does not exceed +forty-five German miles. I travelled in the diligence, but had I known that +the arrangements were so uncomfortable, I should have preferred going in a +_Landkutsche_, which would have made the journey in seven days and afforded +me an opportunity of stopping every night to repose; whereas in the +diligence, tho' they go _en poste_, they travel exceedingly slow and it is +impossible to persuade the postillion to accelerate his usual pace. He is +far more careful of his horses than of his passengers. This I however +excuse; but it is of the frequent stoppages and bad arrangement of them +that I complain. Instead of stopping at some town for one whole night or +two whole nights out of the five, they stop almost at every town for three, +four and five hours; so that these short stoppages do not give you time +enough to go to bed and they are besides generally made in the day time or +early in the morning and evening. We passed thro' the following cities and +places of eminence, viz., Lutzen; the spot where Gustavus Adolphus was +killed is close to the road on the left hand with a plain stone and the +initials G.A. inscribed on it. Weimar is a very neat city and where I +should like much to have staid; but I had only time to view the outside of +the Palace and the _Stadthaus_. Erfurt and Gotha are both fine looking +cities. In Gotha I had only time to see the outside of the _Residenz +Schloss_ or Ducal Palace, which is agreeably situated on an eminence, and +to remark in the _Neumarkt Kirche_ the portrait of Duke Bernard of Saxe +Weimar and the monuments of the princes of that family. At Erfurt there is +the tomb of a Count Gleichen who was made prisoner in the Holy Land, in the +time of the Crusades, and was released by a Mahometan Princess on condition +of his espousing her. The Count was already married in Germany and there he +had left his wife; but such was his gratitude to the fair Musulmane, that +he married her with the full consent of his German wife and they all three +lived happily together. Fulda, where we stopped four hours, appears a fine +city, and is situated on an eminence commanding a noble view of a very +fertile and extensive plain. The Episcopal Palace and the churches are +magnificent, and the general appearance of the town is striking. The +Bishopric of Fulda was formerly an independent ecclesiastical state, but +was secularised at the treaty of Lunéville and now forms part of the +territory of Hesse-Cassel. + +The _Feld-zeichen_ of Hesse-Cassel is green and red. After passing thro' +Hanau, where we halted three hours, which gave me an opportunity of viewing +the field of battle there, we proceeded to Frankfort and arrived there at +twelve o'clock the 12th of March. I put up at the _Swan_ inn. In summer +time the country about Fulda and in general between Fulda and Frankfort +must be very pleasing from the variety of the features of the ground. We +lived very well and very cheap on the road. The price of the diligence from +Leipzig to Frankfort was eleven _Reichsthaler_. + +After remaining three days to repose at Frankfort I took my place to +Mayence and from thence to Metz and Paris. In the diligence from Mayence +and indeed all the way to Paris I found a very amusing society. There were +two physicians and M. L[emaître], a most entertaining man and of +inexhaustible colloquial talent; for, except when he slept, he never ceased +to talk. His conversation was however always interesting and entertaining, +for he had figured in the early part of the French Revolution and was well +known in the political and litterary world as the editor of a famous +journal called _Le Bonhomme Richard_.[129] + +Metz is a large, well built and strongly fortified city. Verdun, thro' +which we passed, became quite an English colony during the war from the +number of _detenus_ of that nation who were compelled to reside there. At +Epernay we drank a few bottles of Champagne and a toast was given by one of +the company, which met with general applause. It was _Bon voyage_ to the +Allies who have now finally evacuated France to the great joy of the whole +nation, except of the towns where they were cantoned, where they +contributed much towards enriching the shopkeepers and inhabitants. + +I remained in Paris six days and then proceeded to England. + + +[129] _Le bonhomme Richard aux bonnes gens_ was not a "famous journal," as + only two numbers appeared in 1790 (M. Tourneux, _Bibliographie de + l'histoire de Paris pendant la Révolution_, vol. 11, p. 585, n. 10, + 511). The publisher, Antoine-François Lemaître, whom Major Erye + mentions in this passage, was the author of some other revolutionary + pamphlets, e.g., _Lettres bougrement patriotiques_, etc.--ED. + + + + + + +INDEX + +Acheron, Lake. +Adam, Major-General commands Light Brigade of General + Sir H. Clinton's division. +Aix-la-Chapelle: + Hotel-de-Ville; + Cathedral; + relics of Charlemagne; + Napoleon's benefactions; + overbearing demeanour of Prussian soldiers; + Faro bank; + interesting Tyrolese girl; + baths. +Albanot Villa Doria, + ancient monument. +Albany, Countess of, + her claim to be the legitimate Queen of England; + Alfieri's attachment to. +Alexandria: Austrian Government destroys fortifications of +Alfieri: compared with Shakespeare, Schiller, and Voltaire, + monument erected to, by Canova; + his sonnet to Countess of Albany. +Alsace-Lorraine: severance of, from France anticipated by Prussian + officers. +Andernach: ruins of palace of Kings of Austrasia, + church containing embalmed body of Emperor Valentinian; + crossing of Rhine by Julius Caesar at. +Angoulême, Duchesse d': temperament and religious fanaticism of. +Antwerp: English families fly from Brussels to. +Archenholz: historian of the Seven Years' War. +Army of the Loire: exemplary conduct of, when disbanded. +Arona: colossal statue of St Charles Borromeus at. +Austria: fluctuations in the value of the paper currency of + Napoleon's policy as regarded. +Avernus, Lake. + +Baciocchi, Princess Elise: sister of Napoleon and Sovereign of Lucca. +Baffo, Venetian poet. +Baiae: baths of Nero, + ruins of temples; + the Styx; + Elysian Fields. +Belgium: + dislike to severance from France; + feeling towards Holland; + attachment to Napoleon; + preparations for the Campaign; + all inhabitants requisitioned for the repair of fortifications. +Berlin: occupation of, after Jena, + excellent conduct of French troops of occupation; + excesses committed by troops of Rhenish Confederation; + insolent conduct of troops raised by Prince of Isenburg; + art treasures of, respected by French Republican Armies; + Unter den Linden; + Brandenburger Thor; + public buildings; + streets; + statues of great men in the Wilhelm Platz; + Churches; + the officers of the Army; + anecdote of Blucher. +Bern: attempts in 1815 to regain possession of the Canton de Vaud. +Bigottini: fine performance at the Grand Opera, Paris. +Bingen: Mausethurm, + Bishop Hatto. +Blacas, Vicomte de: at Court of Louis XVIII at Ghent. +Blucher: popularity of, in London, + encourages the excesses of his soldiery; + nicknames of; + narrowly escapes capture at Ligny; + saves English at Hougoumont; + anecdote related of. +Bohemia: dialect of. +Bologna: arcades, + remarkable picture in gallery of Count Marescalchi; + leaning tower; + lady-professor of Greek; + Carbonari; + theatre; + women; + barbarous dialect. +Bonn: + Electoral palace; + Roman antiquity; + legends of the Sieben Gebirge; + Das Heimliche Gericht. +Bordas, M, politics of. +Borgo San Donino, remarkable highway robbery at. +Borromean Islands, splendid villa in Isola Bella. +Bourbons, the: want of patriotism of the Duc de Berri, + their injudicious conduct; + Louis XVIII and Monsieur at Ghent; + amusing nickname of Louis XVIII; + dislike of the French people to; + their atrocious policy; + send emissaries to South of France from Coblentz; + unpopularity of; + fulsome adulation of; + cause removal of Sismondi from Geneva; + character of royal families of France, Spain, and Naples. +Brussels: description of, + historical associations; + Place du Sablon, celebrated fountain; + theatres; + humanity of inhabitants of, to the wounded after Waterloo. + +Caffarelli, Statue of, in Palais du Luxembourg. +Canova, works of, in St Peter's, + master-pieces in his atelier in Rome; + character of his genius. +Capellen, Baron de, + proclamation of, to the inhabitants of Brussels. +Capua, + thievishness of lower classes of. +Carbonari, degrees and initiation, + object; + meaning of name. +Castlereagh, Lord: insolent letter of, respecting King of Saxony. +Catalani: singing of. +Ceylon: Frye's travels in. +Chalon: affection felt for Napoleon in, + Austrian officers in. +Charleroy: defeat of Prussian army at. +Chateaubriand: at the Court of Louis XVIII at Ghent. +Chatham, Earl of: indignation of, at employment of Indians in the War + of Independence. +Clermont: Peter the Hermit preaches First Crusade in, + petrifying well; + Swiss regiment; + anonymous denunciations; + method of cleansing town. +Coblentz: monument to Marceau, + Bourbon intrigues with Jacobins and Brissotins. +Code Napoléon: simplicity and advantages of, as compared with + English criminal law. +Cologne: Cathedral, + the three kings; + the eleven thousand virgins; + etymology of the name; + Jean-Marie Farina. +Cremona: Gothic buildings, + Campanile of Cathedral. +Consalvi, Cardinal: character and abilities of. +Campagna: limbs of quartered malefactors hung up on roadsides, + armed peasants; + the malaria. + +David: pictures by, in Palais du Luxembourg. +De l'Epée, Abbé: founder of the Institution of the _Sourds-Muets_. +Dessaix: Statue of, in Palais du Luxembourg. +De Watteville: disbands his army. +Delille, Abbé, his poetry. +De Boigne, General: his great services to Scindiah, + unjustly accused of treachery towards Tippoo Sahb. +Didier: handed over by the Sardinian Government to the French, + his execution at Grenoble. +Dijon: the town, + manufactories of. +Dionigi, Mme: literary and artistic attainments of. +D'Orfei, Mme. +Dresden: The Japanischer Palast, + music in; + Prince Galhitzin; + the King; + bridge over the Elbe; + Marshal Davoust; + Grosser Garten; + Ressource Club; + etiquette; + title of "Rath"; + theatres; + beds; + scholars. +Duchesnois, Mlle: fine acting of. + +Egypt: striking testimony to the good done by the French in. +Ehrenbreitstein: flying bridge, + great natural strength; + beauty of women of. +Ellis, Col. Sir H.: perishes at Waterloo. +Emigrés, the: + incorrigibility of; + ingratitude to Napoleon; + their foolish expectations; + efforts to cause restoration of lands formerly theirs. +Ens: + whirlpool; + the Waternixie. +Erfurt: legend of Count Gleichen. +Espinassy, General: republican principles of. +Eton: principles instilled into boys at. +Eustace, Mr: examples of his credulity and bigotry. + +Ferrara: + Hugo and Parisina; + the Po; + relics of Ariosto; + MSS of Ariosto, Tasso, Guarini; + Hospital of St Anna. +Firmin: acting of. +Fleurus: Prussian army defeated at. +Florence: + the Duomo; + Battisterio; + il Sasso di Dante; + theatres; + public buildings; + statues; + Gallery; + Venus; + de Medici; + paintings and sculpture; + portraits of sovereigns; + Roman antiquities; + remarkable imitations in wax of human anatomy; + Ponte Vecchio; + street paving; + thickness of walls of houses; + Palazzo Pitti; + Canova's Venus; + Boboli Gardens; + Cascino; + beauty of the women; + Pegasus; + Italian fondness for gaudy colours; + Canova's monument to Alfieri; + Church of Santa Croce; + the Florentine Westminster Abbey; + academies; + La Crusca; + English travellers; + Lord Dillon; + story illustrating Florentine life. +Fouché: complains of the conduct of the Allies. +Frankfort: + Venus Vulgivaga; + Jews; + cathedral; + inauguration of Roman Caesars in the Römer; + the Golden Bull; + portraits of the Emperors; + theatre; + adaptation of German language to music; + political opinion in; + dislike to Austria. +French Revolution: worst excesses of, surpassed. + +Galileo: monument erected to, in church of Santa Croce. +Gauthier, M.: exiled to Lausanne. +Geneva: scenery, + Fort de l'Écluse; + arcades; + J.J. Rousseau; + Calvin; + Servetus; + sentiments of Genevese towards Napoleon and the Revolution; + literary aptitude of Genevese; + attachment to their country; + the women; + French refugees refused an asylum in; + admitted into Helvetic Confederation. +Genoa: the women of, + peculiarities of the streets; + ducal palace; + Columbus; + bridge of Carignano; + churches. +Georges, Mlle: fine acting of, + her rendering of "Agrippina"; + plays the part of "Clytemnestra," supported by her sister as "Iphigénie". +Ghent: Court of Louis XVIII at. +Girolamo, Signor: anecdote of. +Godesberg: interesting ruins near. +Granet: remarkable pictures by. +Grassini: singing of. +Grillparzer, author of the tragedy "Sappho". +Grotto of Pausilippo. +Grotto del Cane. +Guérin: pictures by, in Palais du Luxembourg. +Guillotine, the. + +Helvetic Confederation: guaranteed by the Allied Powers in 1814, + Geneva admitted into. +Herculaneum. +Hockheim; Rhenish wines. +Holland: feeling towards the House of Orange, + regret at loss of Cape of Good Hope and Ceylon. +Hougoumont: Bulow and Blucher march to the assistance of the English at + devastation of. +Hulin, General: cashiers a Prussian officer in the French service. + +India: Frye's travels in. +Innspruck: the Hofkirche, + statues of kings and princes connected with Maximilian I. + +Kléber: statue of, in Palais du Luxembourg. +Klingmann, Philipp: plot of his tragedy "Faust". + +Labédoyère: execution of. +Lacoste: acts as Napoleon's guide at Waterloo. +Lafayette: rebukes British Commissioner at the Conference. +Lafond: acting of. +Lafontaine, Augustus: comparison of works of, with the "Nouvelle Heloise" + of Rousseau. +La Harpe, General: influences Emperor of Russia in favour of the Vaudois. +Lamarque: sent by the Convention to arrest Dumouriez, + delivered over to the Austrians; + votes for Napoleon. +Landshut: Church of St Martin at. +Language: influence of, upon the poetry and plays of Italy, France, + England and Germany. +Lausanne: steep ascents, + beauty of environs; + Republican principles of; + intolerant discourse of minister. +Leipzig: Saxon troops go over to the Mies during the battle of, + the University; + unpopularity of the English in. +Leghorn: Hebrew families in, + Don Felipe III; + Smollett's tomb. +Liége: situation of, + coal-pits near; + commerce with Holland; + fortifications; + destroyed by Joseph II. +Linz: beauty of the women, + curious incident; + learned innkeepers. +Lodi: interesting model in the Hôtel des Invalides of battle of. +Louvre: works of art in, + stripping of, by the Allies. +Lucca: female servants, + the amoroso; + Dante's mountain. +Lyons: buildings, + scenery; + feelings towards Napoleon; + character of inhabitants; + manufactures. + +Maastricht: situation, + Montagne de St Pierre. +Machiavelli: entombed in church of Santa Croce. +Mâcon: quai, + wine; + grisettes. +Maffei: his "Polyphonte" compared with that of Voltaire. +Maitland, Captain: Napolean surrenders to. +Mantua: situation, + Cathedral; + monuments of the Gonzagas; + the T palace and gardens. +Marengo: the Battle of, + Commemoration column thrown down. +Maria Louisa: ordered to quit papal territory, + enthusiastic reception of, at Bologna; + victim of a strange theft. +Mars, Mlle: graceful acting of. +Massieu: pupil of the Abbé Sicard. +Mayence: Cathedral, + Citadel. +Michel Angelo: anecdote of. +Milan: _Teatro della Scala_, + the _Duomo_; + the women of; + dialect; + the _Zecca_; + palace; + Ambrosian Library; + hospital; + _Teatro Olimpico_; + Porta del Sempione; + Italian comedy and audiences; + Teatro Girolamo; + Milanese twang; + ballet; + acting of La Pallerini. +Mittenwald: great raft, + interesting journey. +Mölk: tradition of the Devil's Wall, + ruins of Castle of Dierenstein; + Richard Coeur de Lion. +Mont Cenis: description of the Chaussée. +Mont St. Jean: dreadful sight on plateau of. +Montefiascone: story of the _Vino d'Est_. +Morice, Colonel: death at Waterloo. +Munich: the King, + national theatre; + social life in; + female head-dress. +Murat: Italian opinion of. + +Namur: situation of, + Citadel demolished by Joseph II; + complaints against. +Prussian soldiery. +Napoleon: takes tribute of works of art from vanquished Governments, + calumniated by the _émigrés_; + unjust aspersions on; + narrow escape from capture; + confident of success before Waterloo; + constructs Chaussée of Mont Cenis. +Naples: + life of a man of fashion in; + Etruscan vases and papyri in museum; + theatres; + _Pulcinello_; + social advantages; + lazzaroni; + dialect; + effect of general ignorance. +Nelson, Lord: conduct towards Caraccioli, +Neuwied: University of. +Ney, Marshall: Wellington and Emperor of Russia refuse to interfere + in favour of + +Padua: + University; + Church of St Anthony; + Palazzo della Giustizia; + tomb of Livy. +Paris: Louis XVIII in, + Kotzebue on the _Palais Royal_; + Café Montausier; + the Louvre; + statues and paintings collected by the French Government; + productions at the Grand Opera; + Column of the _Place Vendôme_; + Gardens of the Tuileries; + Chamber of Deputies; + the _Invalides_; + models of the fortresses of France; + Picture Gallery of the Palais du Luxembourg; + frequency of quarrels between French and Prussian officers in the; + _Palais Royal_; + behaviour of English officers in; + masterpieces performed in the _Théâtre français_; + Ney shot in the Gardens of the Luxembourg. +Parma: "L'Amfiteatro Farnese", + paintings; + birthplace of Cassius. +Passau: junction of the Danube, Inn and Illst. +Perugia. +Pescia, + advantages of living in. +Picton, Lieut-Genl Sir T.: perishes at Waterloo. +Piedmont: character of the lower classes of. +Pillnitz: + the palace; + Treaty of. +Pisa. +Pitt: credited with the invention of the sinking fund. +Pius VII: character and virtues of. +Pompeii: + amphitheatre; + houses; + Temple of Isis; + Praetorium; + antiquities removed to Museum of Portici. +Pontine Marshes. +Prague: situation, + bridge over the Mulda; + remarkable statue; + Jews; + palaces of the Wallensteins and Colloredos; + St John Nepomucene; + Joseph II's ingenious method of extorting money from the Jews; + Catalani; + story of the Duchess Libussa. + +Rafaelli: mosaic work of. +Rho: ancient tree. +Rome: censorship of books at the Dogana, + Coliseum; + Arch of Constantine; + _Via Sacra_--excavations; + Tarpeian Rock; + Capitol; + St Peter's; + anecdote of Michel Angelo; + statue of St Peter; + masterpieces of sculpture in Capitoline Museum; + Transteverini; + effect of the settling of foreign artists in; + Santa Maria Maggiore; + Church of St John Lateran; + Egyptian obelisk; + La Scala Santa; + Quirinal; + fountains; + Column of Trajan; + baths of Diocletian; + theatres; + masterpieces of art in the Vatican Museum; + statue of Jupiter Capitolinus; + stanze di Rafaello; + Appian Road; + social life in; + the _Avvocati_; + Papal Government; + post office defalcations; + the Carnival; + races in the Corso; + masquerades; + Sovereigns and persons of distinction living in Rome in 1818; + Easter in; + Swiss Guard; + Noble Guard; + papal benediction; + illumination of St Peter's; + fireworks from Castle of St Angelo; + the brigand Barbone; + his wife. + +Savoy: character of inhabitants of. +Schönbrunn: anecdote of Napoleon's son. +Schuyler, General: his reproof of General Burgoyne. +Scindiah: career of. +Sgricci, Signor: his genius for improvisation. +Sicard, Abbeé; director of the Institution of the _Sourds-Muets_, +eulogises Sir Sidney Smith. +Sienna: cathedral, + Piccolomini monument; + dialect. +Simplon: road over the, + Chaussée; + _maisons de refuge_. +Sismondi, + the historian banished from Geneva. +Smith, Lucius F.: friend of De Boigne. +Smith, Sir Sidney: his eulogy of the Abbé Sicard. +Spoleto: ruins of ancient buildings. +St Cloud: favourite residence of Napoleon. +St Eustatius: pillaged by Admiral Rodney. +St Germain: depôt for articles plundered by Prussian officers. +St Helena: injustice of Napoleon's banishment to. +Stewart, Lord: conduct of, at Conference of French Commissioners + with the Allies. + +Taddei, Rosa: her talent for improvisation. +Talma, his ailing at the Théâtre Français. +Thorwaldsen: character of his genius. +Tivoli: the Villa d'Este, + Adrian's Villa. +Tölz: remarkable groups of figures in wood, representing + history of Christ. +Tournay, + citadel of. +Trévoux: scenery on the road between Mâcon and, + hotel-keeper's beautiful daughter. +Turin: Chapelle du Saint Suaire, + remarkable works of art in; + the King of Sardinia. +Tuscany: contrast with papal dominions, + pronunciation; + peasantry; + fondness of Tuscan women for dress; + feeling towards Napoleon in; + character of the people; + house of Americo Vespucci. +Tyrol, the: general description of, + dress of the peasant women. + +Valais: crétins of. +Vaud, Canton de: character of inhabitants of, + gratitude to France; + democratic spirit; + La Harpe; + defends its independence; + hatred of French Royalists to. +Velino: remarkable cascade. +Venice: Canale Grande, + Rialto; + palaces of great families; + the Merceria; + water-fête; + Piazza di San Marco; + Church of St Mark; + Campanile; + variety of costumes in; + dialect; + social life in; + Doge's palace; + theatres; + gondolas. +Verbruggen, H.: work of, in church of St Gudule, Brussels. +Verona: amphitheatre, + Palladio; + Scala family; + social advantages in. +Versailles: magnificence of. +"Vertraute Briefe" the. +Vesuvius: eruptions, + lava. +Vicenza. +Vienna: Art treasures of, respected by French Republican armies, + great raft; + streets; + Cathedral; + Hofburg; + Congress of; + Wechselbank; + Belvedere Palace; + Prater; + theatres. +Visconte, Galeazzo: builds church of the Certosa. +Volnais, Mlle: Acting of. +Voltaire: his play, "Mérope", + his benefactions to Ferney; + relics of; + portraits of contemporaries in his château. + +Walker, Adam: his lectures to Etonians stopped. +Wardle, Col.: republican principles of, + anonymous denunciation of. +Waterloo: French officer's remarks on. +Wellington: his confidence in the result of the campaign, + gallantry of; + checks frequency of corporal punishment in the army. +Wilson, Maj.-Genl: accompanies Frye on a tour through the theatre of War. +Wilson, Sir R.: his charges against Napoleon. +Wirion: removed from office by Napoleon. + +York, Duke of, + opposes frequent corporal punishment in the Army. + +Zedera, Chevalier: political dispute with Genevese, + his journey with Frye to Italy; + his parting with Frye. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of After Waterloo: Reminiscences of +European Travel 1815-1819, by Major W. E Frye + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 10939 *** diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..07aff99 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #10939 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/10939) diff --git a/old/10939-8.txt b/old/10939-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..f8823c9 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/10939-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,14904 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of After Waterloo: Reminiscences of European +Travel 1815-1819, by Major W. E Frye + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: After Waterloo: Reminiscences of European Travel 1815-1819 + +Author: Major W. E Frye + +Release Date: February 4, 2004 [EBook #10939] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK AFTER WATERLOO *** + + + + +Produced by Robert Connal and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team from images generously made available by gallica +(Bibliotheque nationale de France) at http://gallica.bnf.fr. + + + + + +AFTER WATERLOO + +Reminiscences of European Travel 1815-1819 + +By + +MAJOR W.E. FRYE + +EDITED WITH A PREFACE AND NOTES + +By SALOMON REINACH + +Member of the Institute of France + + + + +LONDON +1908 + + + + +To + + V.A.M. + S.R. + + + + +PREFACE + +The knowledge of Major Frye's manuscript and the privilege of publishing it +for the first time I owe to the kindness of two French ladies, the Misses +G----. Their father, a well known artist and critic, used to spend the +summer months at Saint Germain-en-Laye together with his wife, who was an +English woman by birth. They had been for a long time intimately acquainted +with Major Frye, who lived and ended his life in that quiet town. The +Major's hostess, Mme. de W----, after his death in 1858, brought the +manuscript to Mrs. G---- and gave it to her in memory of her friend. It was +duly preserved in the G---- family, but remained unnoticed. The Misses +G---- rediscovered it in 1907, when it had been lying in a cupboard for +upwards of half a century. On their showing it to me I thought it was +interesting for many reasons, and worthy of introduction to the public. I +hope the reader will share my opinion, which is also that of several +English scholars and men of letters, to whom I communicated extracts from +the manuscript. + +The reminiscences are in the form of letters addressed to a correspondent +who, however, is never named and of whose health, family and private +circumstances not the slightest mention is to be found. So I am inclined to +believe that he never existed, and that Major Frye chose to imitate +President de Brosses and others who thus recorded their travelling +experiences in epistolary form. + +The manuscript--which will eventually be deposited in a public library--is +entirely in Major Frye's large and legible hand; at some later time it was +evidently revised by himself, but many names which I have endeavoured to +complete were left in blank or only indicated by initials. There are three +folio volumes, bound in paper boards. In this edition it has been thought +advisable to leave out a certain number of pages devoted to theatricals, of +which Major Frye was a great votary, and also some lengthy descriptions of +landscapes, museums and churches, the interest of which to modern readers +does not correspond to the space occupied by them. For the information +contained in the footnotes I am indebted to many correspondents, English, +French, Swiss, Belgian and Italian, to whom I here express my hearty +thanks. I am under special obligation to Sir Charles Dilke, Mr Oscar +Browning, Professor Novati, Professor Corrado Ricci, Commandant +Espérandieu, Professor Cumont, Professor Stilling and Mr Höchberg. + +Major Frye's tombstone is in the cemetery of Saint Germain, and reads thus: +"To the memory of Major William Edward Frye, who departed this life the 9th +day of October, 1858." On the same stone has been added in French: +"Perceval Edmond Litchfield, décédé le 15 Avril, 1888." About P.E. +Litchfield I know nothing; he must have been the Major's intimate friend +during the last period of his life. + + * * * * * + +W.E. Frye was born Oct. 29, 1784, and received his education at Eton +(1797-9) in the time of the French Revolution. "The system was," he says, +"to drill into the heads of the boys strong aristocratic principles and +hatred of democracy and of the French in particular." The effect produced +on the youth was the reverse of that intended. From 1799 to 1822 he +belonged to the British army: here is an abstract of his services: + + Ensign, 2nd Foot, 5th August, 1799. + Lieutenant, 2nd Foot, 7th March, 1800. + Half-pay, 4th Foot, 14th April, 1808. + Lieutenant, 24th Foot, 8th December, 1804. + Captain, 56th Foot, 18th April, 1805. + 3rd Ceylon Regt., 15th Feb., 1810. + Half-pay, 3rd Foot, 7th March, 1816. + 4th Foot, 24th Feb., 1820. + Brevet-Major, 12th August, 1819. + Sold out, 15th August, 1822. + +In 1799, Frye took a part in the British Expedition to Holland. In 1801 he +was in Egypt with Lord Abercrombie's army and received the medal for war +service. His career in India lasted six years and gave him occasion to +visit the three presidencies and Ceylon. In 1814 he returned on furlough to +Europe and was in Brussels during the Waterloo campaign. The subsequent +years--1815 to 1819--he employed visiting Western Europe, as appears from +his reminiscences. I have read letters of his which prove that he lived in +Paris from 1830 to 1832. Later, about 1848, he took an apartment in Saint +Germain, and died there in 1858. + +Major Frye was a very distinguished linguist; besides knowing Greek and +Latin, he understood almost all European languages, and was capable of +writing correctly in French, Italian and German. The Misses G---- have +shown me a rare book published by him at Paris in 1844 under the following +title: + +"Trois chants de l'Edda. Vaftrudnismal, Thrymsquidal, Skirnisfor, traduits +en vers français, accompagnés de notes explicatives des mythes et +allégories, et suivis d'autres poèmes par W.E. Frye, ancien major +d'infanterie au service d'Angleterre, membre de l'Académie des Arcadiens de +Rome. Se vend à Paris, pour l'auteur, chez Heideloff & Cie, Libraires, 18 +Rue des Filles St. Thomas. 1844" (In 8vo, xii, 115 pp.) + +At the end of that volume are translations by Major Frye of several +Northern poems--in German, Italian and English verse--from the Danish and +the Swedish; then come two sonnets in French verse, the one in honour of +Lafayette, the other about the Duke of Orléans, whose premature death he +compares with that of the Northern hero of the Edda, Balder. A part of +Frye's translation of the Edda, before appearing in book form, had been +published in _l'Echo de la Littérature et des Beaux Arts_, a periodical +edited by the Major's friend, M. de Belenet. + +Frye loved poetry, though his ideas on the subject were rather those of the +eighteenth century than our own. It is interesting to find an English +officer reading Voltaire, Gessner, Ariosto, and quoting them from memory +(which explains that some of his quotations had to be corrected). The +sentimental vein of Rousseau's generation still flows and vibrates in him, +as when he says that he has never been able to read the letters of Wolmar +to St Preux in Rousseau's _Nouvelle Héloïse_ without shedding tears. German +minor poetry, now quite forgotten, attracted him almost as much as the +great pages of Schiller, Bürger, and Goethe. The Misses G. possess a +manuscript translation in three volumes, in the Major's own hand, of +Wieland's _Agathodemon_ done into English. This he evidently intended to +publish, as he had written the title-page which is worded as follows: + +"Agathodemon, a philosophical romance translated from the German of Wieland +by W.E. Frye, member of the Academy degli Arcadi in Rome, and of the Royal +Society of Northern Antiquarians of Copenhagen, ex-major of infantry in His +British Majesty's service." + +Frye describes with accuracy, and shows much appreciation of fine scenery +and architecture. His judgements in painting and sculpture are sincere, +though often betraying the autodidact and amateur. He loved music, +especially Rossini's operas which were then beginning their long career of +triumph. Theatricals of all sorts, especially ballets, had a great +attraction for him and elicited his enthusiastic comments. In comparing +tragedies and comedies which he had seen performed in different countries, +he gave repeated proofs of his knowledge and critical insight. We can take +him as a good example of that intelligent class of English travellers whose +intercourse with the Continental _litterati_ has so well contributed to +establish the good reputation of British culture and refined appreciation +of the arts. + +The chief interest of Frye's reminiscences lies, however, in quite another +direction. He was a friend of liberty, a friend of France, an admirer of +Napoleon, and a hater of the Tory régime which brought about Napoleon's +downfall. "France's attempts at European domination, in the Napoleonic era, +are graciously described as but so many efforts towards spreading the light +of civilization over Europe." These words, written about a quite recent +work and à propos of the "Entente cordiale," apply perfectly to Frye's +reminiscences. Travelling immediately before and after the Emperor's +collapse, he found that everywhere, excepting in Tuscany, the French +domination was regretted, because the ideals of liberty and equality had +shone and vanished with the tricolour flag. He admires the French people, +though not the _Ultras_ and bigots, and has fine words of praise for the +French army: "Yes, the French soldier is a fine fellow. I have served +against them in Holland and in Egypt, and I will never flinch from +rendering justice to their exemplary conduct and lofty valour." He takes +trouble to refute the exaggerated reports which were then circulated all +over Europe about the cruelties and vandalism practised by the French: "If +the French since the Revolution have not always fought for liberty, they +have done so invariably for science; and wherever they carried their +victorious arms abuses were abolished, ameliorations of all kinds followed +and the arts of life were improved. Our government, since the accession of +George III, has never raised its arm except in favour of old abuses, to +uphold despotism and unfair privileges or to establish commercial +monopoly." + +Sometimes, indeed, speaking of his own country and its government, Major +Frye uses very hard words, which might seem unpatriotic if we did not know, +from many other memoirs and letters, to what a terrible strain orthodox +Toryism, coupled with bigotry and hypocrisy, had put the patience of +liberal Englishmen at that period. He called the British government "the +most dangerous, artful, and determined enemy of all liberty,"--"England," +he says, "has been always ready to lend a hand to crush liberty, to +perpetuate abuses and to rivet the fetters of monarchical, feudal and +ecclesiastical tyranny." And later on he inveighs against the English +merchants, who "contributed with their gold to uphold the corrupt system of +Pitt and to carry on unjust, unreasonable and liberticide wars." + +Whatever may be the final judgement of history on the Tory principles in +politics in the days of the Congress of Vienna, Major Frye's love of +liberty and intellectual progress entitle him to the sympathy of those who +share his generous feelings and do not consider that personal freedom and +individual rights are articles for home use only. Since Frye wrote, the +whole of Europe, excepting perhaps Russia, has reaped the benefits of the +French Revolution, and reduced, if not suppressed, what the Major called +"kingcraft and priestcraft." He did not attempt to divine the future, but +the history of Europe in the nineteenth century has been largely in +accordance with his desires and hopes. It is not a small merit for a +writer, in the midst of one of the most rabid reactions that the world has +known, to have clung with such tenacity to ideals, the complete victory of +which may now be contemplated in the near future. + +S.R. + + + + + + +CONTENTS + + + +PART I. + + +CHAPTER I + +MAY-JUNE, 1815 + +Passage from Ceylon to England--Napoleon's return--Ostend--Bruges +--Ghent--The King of France at Mass--Alost--Bruxelles--The Duke of +Wellington very confident--Feelings of the Belgians--Good conduct of +British troops--Monuments in Bruxelles--Theatricals--Genappe and +Namur--Complaints against the Prussian troops--Mons--Major-General +Adam--Tournay--A French deserter--General Clinton's division--Cavalry +review--The Duke de Berri--Back to Bruxelles--Unjust opinions about +Napoleon and the French--Battle at Ligny--The day of Waterloo in +Bruxelles--Visit to the battlefield--Terrible condition of the +wounded--Kindness of the Bruxellois. + + +CHAPTER II + +From Bruxelles to Liége--A priest's declamation against the French +Revolution--Maastricht--Aix-la-Chapelle--Imperial relics--Napoleon +regretted--Klingmann's "Faust"--A Tyrolese beauty--Cologne--Difficulties +about a passport--The Cathedral--King-craft and priest-craft--The +Rhine--Bonn and Godesberg--Goethe's "Götz von Berlichingen"--The Seven +Mountains--German women--Andernach--Ehrenbreitstein--German hatred against +France--Coblentz--Intrigues of the Bourbon princes in Coblentz--Mayence-- +Bieberich--Conduct of the Allies towards Napoleon--Frankfort on the +Mayn--An anecdote about Lord Stewart and Lafayette--German poetry--The +question of Alsace and Lorraine--Return to Bruxelles--Napoleon's surrender. + + +CHAPTER III + +From Bruxelles to Paris--Restoration of Louis XVIII--The officers of the +allied armies--The Palais Royal--The Louvre--Protest of the author against +the proposed despoiling of the French Museums--Unjust strictures against +Napoleon's military policy--The _cant_ about revolutionary robberies--The +Grand Opera--Monuments in Paris--The Champs Elysées--Saint-Cloud--The +Hôtel des Invalides--The Luxembourg--General Labédoyère--Priests and +emigrants--Prussian Plunder--Handsome behaviour of the English +officers--Reminiscences of Eton--Versailles. + + +CHAPTER IV + +From Paris to Bruxelles--Visiting the plains of Waterloo--The Duke de Berri +at Lille--Beauvais--Return to Paris--Remarks on the French theatre +--Talma--Mlle Duchesnois--Mlle Georges--French alexandrine verse--The Abbé +Delille--The Opéra Comique. + + +CHAPTER V + +From Paris to Milan through Dijon, Chalon-sur-Saone, Lyons, Geneva and the +Simplon--Auxerre--Dijon--Napoleon at Chalon-sur-Saone--The army of the +Loire--Mâcon--French _grisettes_--Lyons--Monuments and theatricals-- +Geneva--Character and opinions of the Genevois--Voltaire's chateau at +Ferney--The chevalier Zadera--From Geneva to Milan--Crossing the +Simplon--Arona--The theatres in Milan--Rossini--Monuments in Milan--Art +encouraged by the French--Mr Eustace's bigotry--Return to Switzerland +--Clarens and Vevey--Lausanne--Society in Lausanne--Return to Paris--The +Louvre stripped--Death of Marshal Ney. + + + +PART II + + +CHAPTER VI + +MARCH-JUNE, 1816 + +Ball at Cambray, attended by the Duke of Wellington--An Adventure between +Saint Quentin and Compiègne--Paris revisited--Colonel Wardle and Mrs +Wallis--Society in Paris--The Sourds-Muets--The Cemetery of Père La +Chaise--Apathy of the French people--The priests--Marriage of the Duke de +Berri. + + +CHAPTER VII + +Journey from Paris to Lausanne--Besançon--French refugees in Lausanne +--Francois Lamarque--General Espinassy--Bordas--Gautier--Michau--M. de +Laharpe--Mlle Michaud--Levade, a Protestant minister--Chambéry--Aix +--Details about M. de Boigne's career in India--English Toryism and +intolerance--Valley of Maurienne--Passage across Mont Cenis and arrival at +Suza--Turin. + + +CHAPTER VIII + +Journey from Turin to Bologna--Asti--Schiller and Alfieri--Italian +_cuisine_--The _vetturini_--Marengo--Piacenza--The Trebbia--Parma--The +Empress Maria Louisa--Modena--Bologna--The University--The Marescalchi +Gallery--Character of the Bolognese. + + +CHAPTER IX + +Journey across the Appennines to Florence--Tuscan idioms and +customs--Monuments and galleries at Florence--The Cascino--Churches-- +Theatres--Popularity of the Grand Duke--Napoleon's downfall not +regretted--Academies in Florence. + + +CHAPTER X + +Journey from Florence to Rome--Sienna--Radicofani--Bolsena--Montefiascone +wine--Viterbo--Baccano--The Roman Campagna--The papal _douans_--Monuments +and Museums in Rome--Intolerance of the Catholic Christians--The Tiber and +the bridges--Character of the Romans--The _Palazzi_ and _Ville_--Canova's +atelier--Theatricals--An execution in Rome. + + +CHAPTER XI + +From Rome to Naples--Albano--Velletri--The Marshes--Terracina--Mola di +Gaeta--Capua--The streets of Naples--Monuments and Museums--Visit to +Pompeii and ascent to Vesuvius--Dangerous ventures--Puzzuoli and +Baiae--Theatres at Naples--Pulcinello--Return to Rome--Tivoli. + + +CHAPTER XII + +NOVEMBER-DECEMBER, 1816 + +From Rome to Florence--Sismondi the historian--Reminiscences of +India--Lucca--Princess Elisa Baciqochi--Pisa--The Campo Santo--Leghorn-- +Hebrews in Leghorn--Lord Dillon--The story of a lost glove--From Florence +to Lausanne by Milan, Turin and across Mont Cenis--Lombardy in winter--The +Hospice of Mont Cenis. + + + +PART III + + +CHAPTER XIII + +MARCH-SEPTEMBER, 1817 + +Journey from Lausanne to Clermont-Ferrand--A wretched conveyance--The +first dish of frogs--Society in Clermont-Ferrand--General de Vergennes-- +Cleansing the town--Return to Lausanne--A zealous priest--Journey to Bern +and back to Lausanne--Avenches--Lake Morat--Lake Neufchatel--The Diet in +Bern--Character of the Bernois--A beautiful Milanese lady. + + +CHAPTER XIV + +SEPTEMBER, 1817-APRIL, 1818 + +Journey from Lausanne to Milan, Florence, Rome and Naples--Residence at +Naples--The theatre of San Carlo--Rossini's operas--Gaming in Naples--The +_Lazzaroni_--Public writers--Carbonarism--Return to Rome--Christmas eve at +Santa Maria Maggiore--Mme Dionigi--Theatricals--Society in Rome--The papal +government--Lucien Bonaparte, prince of Canino--Louis Napoleon, ex-King of +Holland--Pope Pius VII--Thorwaldsen--Granet--The Holy Week in Rome--The +Duchess of Devonshire--From Rome to Florence by the Perugia road. + + +CHAPTER XV + +APRIL-JULY, 1818 + +Journey from Florence to Pisa and from thence by the Appennines to +Genoa--Massa--Carrara--Genoa--Monuments and works of art--The +Genoese--Return to Florence--Journey from Florence through Bologna and +Ferrara to Venice--Monument to Ariosto in Ferrara--A description of +Venice--Padua--Vicenza--Verona--Cremona--Return to Milan--The Scala +theatre--Verona again--From Verona to Innspruck. + + +CHAPTER XVI + +JULY-SEPTEMBER, 1818 + +Innspruck--Tyrol and the Tyrolese--From Innspruck to Munich--Monuments and +churches--Theatricals--Journey from Munich to Vienna on a floss--Trouble +with a passport--Complicated system of Austrian money--Description of +Vienna--The Prater--The theatres--Schiller's _Joan of Arc_--A +_Kinderballet_--The young Napoleon at Schoenbrunn--Journey from Vienna to +Prague. + + +CHAPTER XVII + +SEPTEMBER, 1818-MARCH, 1819 + +The splendid city of Prague--The German expression, "To give the basket"-- +Journey from Prague to Dresden--Journey from Dresden to Berlin--A +description of Berlin--The Prussian Army--Theatricals--Peasants talk about +Napoleon--Prussians and French should be allies--Absurd policy of the +English Tories--Journey from Berlin to Dresden--A description of +Dresden--The battle of Dresden in 1813--Clubs at Dresden--Theatricals-- +German beds--Saxon scholars--The picture gallery--Tobacco an ally of +Legitimacy--Saxon women--Meissen--Unjust policy of Europe towards the King +of Saxony. + + +CHAPTER XVIII + +MARCH-APRIL, 1819 + +Journey from Dresden to Leipzig--The University of Leipzig--Liberal +spirit--The English disliked in Saxony--The English Government hostile to +liberty--Journey to Frankfort--From Frankfort to Metz and Paris--A.F. +Lemaître--_Bon voyage_ to the Allies--Return to England. + + * * * * * + + + + + + + + +CHAPTER I + +MAY-JUNE, 1815 + +Passage from Ceylon to England--Napoleon's return--Ostend--Bruges--Ghent-- +The King of France at Mass--Alost--Bruxelles--The Duke of Wellington very +confident--Feelings of the Belgians--Good conduct of British +troops--Monuments in Bruxelles--Theatricals--Genappe and Namur--Complaints +against the Prussian troops--Mons--Major-General Adam--Tournay--A French +deserter--General Clinton's division--Cavalry review--The Duke de +Berri--Back to Bruxelles--Unjust opinions about Napoleon and the +French--Battle at Ligny--The day of Waterloo in Bruxelles--Visit to the +battlefield--Terrible condition of the wounded--Kindness of the Bruxellois. + + +BRUXELLES, May 1, 1815. + +I proceed to the fulfilment of my promise, to give you from time to time +the details of my tour, and my reflections on the circumstances that occur +at this momentous crisis. + +To me, who have spent the greatest part of my life out of Europe, the whole +scene is so new that I am quite bewildered with it; and you will, I am +afraid, as I write on the impulse of the moment, find my ideas at times +rather incoherently put together. What changes have taken place in Europe +within the last two years! and how great were those which occurred during +the interval of my passage from Ceylon last year, which island I quitted +about the time that we received in that part of the world intelligence of +the battle of Leipsic! Having had a long passage from distant Taprobane, it +was only on my arrival at the Cape of Good Hope, that I learned, to my +utter astonishment, the news of the capitulation of Paris to the allied +powers, and of the overthrow of the power and dynasty of Napoleon. I +recollect that at the Cape there was great rejoicing and jubilee on this +occasion; but I confess, as to myself, I did not see any reason for giving +vent to this extravagant joy; and I must have had even at that time somehow +or other a presentiment of what would soon happen, as in communicating this +intelligence to a friend in India I made use of these words: "get a court +dress made, my good friend, and a big wig, ruffled shirt, and hair-powder, +and stick an old-fashioned sword by your side, for, depend on it, old +fashions will come into play again; the most arbitrary and aristocratic +notions will be revived and terrible machinations will be framed against +the liberties of Europe." + +Of course at the Cape we only heard one side of the question; and I began +to be almost convinced that it was as necessary for humanity, as for the +repose of Europe, that the giant should be put down; and I was consoled +when it was effected, ostensibly, at least, by the voice of the people. + +I had scarcely been three months in England, when the return of Napoleon +from Elba, and the extraordinary dislocation of the Bourbons from the +throne of France, summoned Europe again to arms; the crusade is preached at +Vienna, and behold! his Grace of Wellington appointed the Godfrey of the +holy league. I had reason, about six weeks before the news of this event +reached London, from some conversation I had with an intelligent friend, +who had just returned from a tour on the Continent, to suppose that the +slightest combination against the Bourbons would prove successful, from +their injudicious conduct and from the temper of the people; but I never +could have supposed that the return of the man of Elba would be hailed with +such unparalleled and unanimous acclamation. As I had long ago wished for +an opportunity of visiting the continent of Europe, which had never before +occurred to me, I eagerly embraced the offer made to me by my friend +Major-General Wilson, formerly Lieut.-Governor of Ceylon,[1] to accompany +him on a military tour through the country about to be the theatre of war. +Though I had never before visited the Continent (except with the British +army in the invasion of Holland in 1799, when I began my military career), +yet I was not wholly unprepared for travelling, having united to a +classical, as well as military education, a tolerable knowledge of history, +and a partial acquirement of the principal modern European languages, which +I had begun to learn when very young and which I kept up during my leisure +hours in India, which, like those of Don Quixote, were many. I preferred +this study infinitely to that of the Asiatic languages, for which I never +felt any taste, as I dislike bombast, hyperbole and exaggeration; and +though an ardent admirer of the Muses, I never could find pleasure in what +Voltaire terms "le bon style oriental, ou l'on fait danser les montagnes et +les collines," and I prefer the amatory effusions of Ovid to those of the +great King Solomon himself. + +The war will no doubt commence in Belgium, and of course the Emperor +Napoleon will be the assailant, for it cannot be supposed that after the +act of ban passed against him by the Amphictyons of Vienna he will remain +tranquil, and not strike the first blow, which may render him master of +Belgium and its resources. + +We embarked at Ramsgate on the first of May for Ostend on board of a small +vessel bound thither. Our fellow passengers were two officers of dragoons, +several commissaries with their servants, horses, etc. After a passage of +twenty-four hours, we entered the harbour of Ostend at one o'clock the +following day. Ostend, once so flourishing and opulent, has long since +fallen into decay; its usual dullness is however just now interrupted by +the bustle of troops landing to join the allied army. Cavalry, infantry, +artillery, horses, guns, stores, etc., are landed every minute. The quays +are the only parts of this city which can boast of handsome buildings; the +fortifications seem to be much out of repair; in fact, the aggrandizement +of Antwerp occasioned necessarily the deterioration of Ostend. + +The General and myself went to put up at the _Tête d'Or_, the only inn +where we could procure beds; and we embarked early next morning at the +embouchure of the canal on board of a _treckschuyt_ which conveyed us in +three hours to Bruges. + +The landscape between Ostend and Bruges is extremely monotonous, it being a +uniformly flat country; yet it is pleasing to the eye at this season of the +year from the verdure of the plains, which are all appropriated to +pasturage, and from the appearance of the different villages and towns, of +which the eye can embrace a considerable number. There is a good road on +the banks of the canal, and the troops, on their line of march, enlivened +much the scene. Bruges, formerly the grand mart and emporium of the +commerce of the East, not only for the Low Countries, but for all the North +of Europe, seems, if we may judge from the state of the buildings and the +stillness that prevails, to be also in a state of decline. We however had +only time to visit the _Hotel de Ville_ and to remark the immense height of +the steeple on the _Grande Place_. We observed a number of pretty women in +the streets and in the shops employed in lace making. Bruges has been at +all times renowned for the beauty of the female sex, and this brought to my +recollection a passage in Schiller's tragedy of the _Maid of Orleans_, +wherein the Duke of Burgundy says that the greatest boast of Bruges is the +beauty of its women. + +Another _treckschuyt_ was to start at twelve o'clock for Ghent; but we +preferred going by land and General Wilson hired a carriage for that +purpose. The distance is about thirty miles. The road from Bruges to Ghent +or Gand is perfectly straight, lined with trees and paved like a street. +The country is quite flat, and though there is nothing to bound the +horizon, the trees on each side of the road intercept the view. + +We arrived at Ghent about six in the afternoon of the 4th and had some +difficulty in finding room, as the different hotels were filled with +officers of the allied army; but at length, after many ineffectual +applications at several, we obtained admission at the _Hotel de Flandre_, +where we took possession of a double-bedded room, the only one unoccupied. + +Gand seems to be a very neat, clean and handsome city, with an air of +magnificence about it. The _Grande Place_ is very striking, and the +promenades are aligned with trees. We inspected the exterior of several +public buildings and visited the interior of several churches. In the +cathedral we had the honour of seeing at High Mass his most Christian +Majesty, Monsieur and the Comte de Blacas, Vicomte de Chateaubriand and +others, composing the Court of _notre Père de Gand_, as Louis XVIII is +humorously termed by the French, from his having fixed his head-quarters +here. A great many French officers who have followed his fortunes are also +here, but they seem principally to belong to the Gardes du Corps. A number +of military attended the service in the cathedral in order to witness the +devotions of the Bourbon family. Monsieur has all the appearance of a worn +out debauchee, and to see him with a missal in his hand and the strange +contrite face he assumes, is truly ridiculous. These princes, instigated no +doubt by the priests, make a great parade of their sanctity, for which +however those who are acquainted with their character will not give them +much credit. But religious cant is the order of the day _intra et extra +Iliacos muros_, abroad as well as in England. The King of France takes the +lead, having in view no doubt the advice of Buckingham to Richard III: + + A pray'r book in your hand, my Lord, were well, + For on that ground I'll make an holy descant. + +and M. de Chateaubriand will no doubt trumpet forth the devotion and +Christian humility of his master. Those, however, who are at all acquainted +with this prince's habits, and are not interested in palliating or +concealing them, insinuate that his devotions at the table are more sincere +than at the altar and that, like the Giant Margutte in the Morgante +Maggiore of Pulci, he places more faith and reliance on a cappone lesso +ossia arrosto than on the consecrated but less substantial wafer.[2] + +After contemplating this edifying spectacle, we returned to our inn, and +the next morning after breakfast we set out on our journey to Bruxelles. +The road is exactly similar to that between Bruges and Gand, but the +country appears to be richer and more diversified, and many country houses +were observable on the road side. We passed thus several neat villages. At +one o'clock we stopped at Alost to refresh our horses and dine. At the +table d'hôte were a number of French officers belonging to the Gardes du +Corps. On entering into conversation with one of them, I found that he as +well as several others of them had served under Napoleon, and had even been +patronised and promoted by him; but I suppose that being the sons of the +ancient _noblesse_ they thought that gratitude to a _parvenu_ like him was +rather too plebeian a virtue. Some of them, however, with whom I conversed +after dinner seemed to regret the step they had taken. "If we are +successful," said they, "it can only be by means of the Allied Armies, and +who knows what conditions they may impose on France? If we should be +unsuccessful, we are exiled probably for life from our country." During +dinner, two pretty looking girls with musical instruments entered the hall, +and regaled our ears with singing some romances, among which were _Dunois +le Troubadour_ and _La Sentinelle_. They sang with much taste and feeling. +I surmise this is not the only profession they exercise, if I might judge +from the _doux yeux_ they occasionally directed to some of the officers. +These girls did not at least seem by their demeanour as if likely to incur +the anathema of Rinaldo in the _Orlando Furioso_: + + meritamente muoro Una crudele, + +but rather more disposed to + + dar vita all'amator fidele.[3] + +Alost is a neat, clean town or large village, and the same description will +serve for all the towns and villages in Brabant and Flanders, as they are +built on the same plan. We arrived at Bruxelles late in the evening and put +up at the _Hotel d'Angleterre_. + +This morning, the General and myself went to pay our respects to the _Gran +Capitano_ of the _Holy League_, and we left our cards. He is, I hear, very +confident of the result of the campaign, and no doubt he has for him the +prayers of all the pious in England against those atheistical fellows the +French; and these prayers will surely elicit a "host of angels" to come +down to aid in the destruction of the Pandemonium of Paris where Satan's +lieutenant sits enthroned. The reflecting people here are astonished that +Napoleon does not begin the attack. The inhabitants of Belgium are in +general, from all that I can hear or see, not at all pleased with the +present order of things, and they much lament the being severed from +France. The two people, the Belgians and Hollanders, do not seem to +amalgamate; and the former, though they render ample justice to the +moderation, good sense, and beneficent intentions of the present monarch, +who is personally respected by every one, yet do not disguise their wish to +be reunited to France and do not hesitate to avow their attachment to the +Emperor Napoleon. This union does not please the Hollanders either, on +other grounds. They complain that their interests have been sacrificed +entirely to those of the house of Orange, and they say that from the +readiness they displayed in shaking off the yoke of France, and the great +weight they thereby threw into the scale, they were entitled to the +restitution of all their colonies in Asia, Africa, and America. The +colonies of the Cape of Good Hope and Ceylon are what they most regret; for +these colonies in particular furnished ample employment and the means of +provision for the cadets of patrician families. If you tell them they have +acquired the Belgic provinces as an indemnification, they answer: "So much +the worse for us, for now the patronage of the colonial offices must be +divided between us and the Belgians." + +The preparations for the grand conflict about to take place are carried on +with unabating activity; the conscription is rigorously enforced and every +youth capable of bearing arms is enrolled. Almost all the officers of the +Belgian army and a great proportion of the soldiery have served with the +French and have been participators of their laurels; one cannot therefore +suppose that they are actuated by any very devouring zeal against their +former commander; nor have I found amongst the shop-keepers or respectable +people with whom I have conversed, and who have been falsely represented as +having suffered much from the tyranny of Napoleon, any who dislike either +his person or government, and certainly none either high or low express the +cannibal wish that I heard some English country gentlemen and London +merchants utter for the destruction of Paris and of the French people, nor +would it be easy to find here men of the _humane_ and _generous_ sentiments +professed by some of our aldermen and contractors when they welcomed with +ferocious acclamations of joy and were ready to embrace the Baschkir or +Cossack who told them that he had slaughtered so many French with his own +hand; nor would the ladies here be so eager to kiss old Blucher as was the +case in London. + +This city is filled with British and Hanoverian troops. Their conduct is +exemplary, nor is any complaint made against them. The Highland regiments +are however the favourites of the Bruxellois, and the inhabitants give them +the preference as lodgers. They are extremely well behaved (they say, when +speaking of the Highlanders) and they cheerfully assist the different +families on whom they are quartered in their household labour. This +reflects a good deal of credit on the gallant sons of Caledonia. Their +superior morality to those of the same class either in England or in +Ireland must strike every observer, and must, in spite of all that the +_Obscuranten_ or _Chevaliers de l'Eteignoir_ and others who wish to check +the progress of the human mind may urge to the contrary, be mainly +attributed to the general prevalence of education _a la portée de tout le +monde_. Wherever the people are enlightened there is less crime; ignorance +was never yet the safeguard of virtue. As for myself I honour and esteem +the Scottish nation and I must say that I have found more liberal ideas and +more sound philosophy among individuals of that nation than among those of +any other, and it is a tribute I owe to them loudly to proclaim my +sentiments; for though personal gratitude may seem to influence me a little +on this subject, yet I should never think of putting forth my opinion in +public, were it not founded on an impartial observation of the character of +this enterprising and persevering people. A woman who had some Highlanders +quartered in her house told me in speaking of them: "Monsieur, ce sont de +si bonnes gens; ils sont doux comme des agneaux." "Ils n'en seront pas +moins des lions an jour du combat," was my reply. + +I have amused myself with visiting most of the remarkable objects here, but +you must not expect from me a detail of what you will find in every +description book. You wish to have my ideas on the subjects that most +strike me individually, and those you shall have; but it would be very +absurd and presumptuous in me to attempt to give a _catalogue raisonné_ of +buildings and pictures and statues, or to set up as a connoisseur when I +know nothing either of sculpture, of architecture or painting; nor am I +desirous of imitating the young Englishman, who, in writing to his father +from Italy, described so much in detail, and so scientifically, every +production, or staple, peculiar to the cities which he happened to visit, +that he wrote like a cheese-monger from Parma, like a silk mercer from +Leghorn, like an olive and oil merchant from Lucca, like a picture dealer +from Florence, and like an antiquarian from Rome. + + +BRUXELLES, May 10. + +The _Hôtel d'Angleterre_ where we are lodged is within four minutes walk +from the finest part of the city, where the Parc and Royal Palace is +situated. The Parc is not large, but is tastefully laid out in the Dutch +style, and is the fashionable promenade for the _beau monde_ of Bruxelles. +The women, without being strikingly handsome, have much grace; their air, +manner and dress are perfectly _à la francaise_. A good café and restaurant +is in the centre of one of the sides, and the buildings on the quadrangle +environing the Parc, which form the palace and other tenements are superb. +The next place I went to see was the _Hôtel de Ville_ and its tower of +immense height. It is a fine Gothic building, but that which should be the +central entrance is not directly in the centre of the edifice, so that one +wing of it appears considerably larger than the other, which gives it an +awkward and irregular appearance. On the Place or Square as we should call +it, where the _Hôtel de Ville_ stands, is held the fruit and vegetable +market, and a finer one or more plentifully supplied I never beheld. This +_Place_ is interesting to the historian as being the spot where Counts +Egmont and Hoorn suffered decapitation in the reign of Philip II of Spain, +by order of the Duke of Alva, who witnessed the execution from a window of +one of the houses. The conduct of these noblemen at the place of execution +was so dignified that even the ferocious duke could not avoid wiping his +eyes, hardened as his heart was by religious and political fanaticism; and +though he held them in abhorrence as rebels and traitors a tear did fall +for them down his iron cheek. How fortunate for the liberties of Holland +that William the Taciturn did not also fall into the claws of that Moloch +Philip! I next visited the museum and picture gallery, where I witnessed +the annual exposition of the modern school of painting. The specimens I saw +pleased me much, particularly because the subjects were well chosen from +history and the mythology, which to me is far more agreeable than the +subjects of the paintings of the old Flemish school; but I am told often +that I know nothing about painting, so I shall make no further remarks but +content myself with sending you a catalogue, with the pictures marked +therein which made most impression on me. With respect to the churches of +Brussels those of Ste. Gudule and of the Capuchins are the finest and most +remarkable. In the former is the Temptation of Adam by the Serpent, richly +carved in wood in figures as large as life grouped round the pulpit.[4] + +The _Place du Sablon_ is very striking from the space it occupies, and on +it is a fountain erected by Lord Bruce.[5] The fountains which are to be +met with in various parts of the city are highly ornamental, and among them +I must not omit to mention a singularly grotesque one which is held in +great veneration by the lower orders of the Bruxellois and is by them +regarded as a sort of Palladium to the city. It is the figure of a little +boy who is at _peace_, according to the late Lord Melville's[6] +pronunciation of the words, and who spouts out his water incessantly, +reckless of decorum and putting modesty to the blush. What would our +vice-hunters say to this? He is a Sabbath breaker in the bargain and +continues his occupation on Sundays as well as other days and _in fine_ he +rejoices in the name of _Mannekenpis_. + +The ramparts, or rather site of the ramparts (for the fortifications of +Bruxelles no longer exist), form an agreeable promenade; but the favourite +resort of all the world at Bruxelles in the afternoon is the _Attee verte_. +Here all classes meet; here the rich display their equipages and horses; +and the lower orders assemble at the innumerable _guinguettes_ which are to +be met with here, in order to play at bowls, dominoes, smoke and drink +beer, of which there is an excellent sort called _Bitterman._ The avenues +on each side of the carriage road are occupied by pedestrians, and on one +side of the road is the canal, covered at all times with barges and boats +decked with flags and streamers. At the cabarets are benches and tables in +the open air under the trees; and here are to be seen the artisan, the +bargeman and the peasant taking their afternoon _délassement_, and groups +of men, women and children drinking beer and smoking. These groups reminded +me much of those one sees so often in the old Flemish pictures, with this +difference, that the old costume of the people is almost entirely left off. +Female minstrels with guitars stroll about singing French romances and +collecting contributions from this cheerful, laughter-loving people. The +dark walk, as it is called, near the park is a favourite walk of the upper +classes in the evening. There his Grace of Wellington is sometimes to be +seen with a fair lady under his arm. He generally dresses in plain clothes, +to the astonishment of all the foreign officers. He is said to be as +successful in the fields of Idalia as in those of Bellona, and the ladies +whom he honours with his attentions suffer not a little in their +reputations in the opinion of the _compères_ and _commères_ of Bruxelles. + +I have only been twice to the theatre since I have been here. The _Salle de +Spectacle_ is indifferent, but they have an excellent company of comedians. +The representations are in French. I saw the _Festin de Pierre_ of +Corneille exceedingly well performed. The actors who did the parts of Don +Juan and Sganarelle were excellent, and the scene with M. Dimanche, wherein +he demands payment of his bill, was admirably given. I have also seen the +_Plaideurs_ of Racine, a very favourite piece of mine; every actor played +his part most correctly, and the scene between the Comtesse de Pimbeche and +Chicaneau and L'Intimé wherein the latter, disguised as a _Bailli_, offers +himself to be kicked by the former, was given in very superior style. The +scene of the trial of the dog, with the orations of Petit Jean as +_demandeur_ and L'Intimé as _défenseur_, were played with good effect. I +never recollect having witnessed a theatrical piece which afforded me +greater amusement. + + +NAMUR, May 12. + +We left Brussels yesterday afternoon, and having obtained passports to +visit the military posts we went to Genappe, a small village half-way +between Bruxelles and Namur, where we brought to for the night at a small +but comfortable inn called _Le Roi d'Espagne_. Two battalions of the +regiment Nassau-Usingen are quartered in Genappe. We arrived at Namur this +morning at nine o'clock and put up at the _Hôtel d'Arenberg_. On the road +we stopped at a peasant's house to drink coffee; and we were entertained by +our hostess with complaints against the Prussians, who commit, as she said, +all sorts of exactions on the peasantry on whom they are quartered. Not +content with exacting three meals a day, when they were only entitled to +two, and for which they are bound to give their rations, they sell these, +and appropriate the money to their own use; then the demand for brandy and +_schnapps_ is increasing. But what can be expected from an army whose +leader encourages them in all their excesses? Blucher by all accounts is a +vandal and is actuated by a most vindictive spirit. The Prussians reproach +the Belgians with being in the French interest; how can they expect it to +be otherwise? They have prospered under French domination, and certainly +the conduct of the Prussians is not calculated to inspire them with any +love towards themselves nor veneration for the Sovereign who has such +all-devouring allies. I asked this woman why she did not complain to the +officers. She answered! "Hélas, Monsieur, c'est inutile; on donne toujours +la même réponse: '_Nichts verstehn_,'" for it appears when these complaints +are made the Prussian officers pretend not to understand French. + +Namur is now the head-quarters of Marshal Blucher, who is in the enjoyment +of divers _noms de guerre_, such as "Marshall Vorwärts," "Der alte Teufel." +On the high road, about two miles and a half before we reached Namur, we +met with a party of Prussian lancers, who were returning from a foraging +excursion. They were singing some warlike song or hymn, which was +singularly impressive. It brought to my recollection the description of the +Rhenish bands in the _Lay of the Last Minstrel_: + + Who as they move, in rugged verse + Songs of Teutonic feuds rehearse. + +The Prussian cavalry seem to be composed of fine-looking young men, and I +admire the genuine military simplicity of their dress, to which might be +most aptly applied the words of Xenophon when describing the costume of the +younger Cyrus: [Greek: _En tae Persikae stolae ouden ti hubrsmenae_][7] in +substituting merely the word [Greek: _Prussikae_] for [Greek: _Persikae_]. +One sees in it none of those absurd ornaments and meretricious foppery +which give to our cavalry officers the appearance of Astley's men.[8] + +The situation of Namur is exceedingly picturesque, particularly when viewed +from the heights which tower above the town, whereon stood the citadel +which was demolished by order of Joseph II, as were the fortifications of +all the frontier fortresses. The present Belgian Government however mean to +reconstruct them, and Namur in particular, the citadel of which, from the +natural strength of its position, is too important a post to be neglected. +The town itself is situated on the confluent of the Sambre and Meuse and +lies in a valley completely commanded and protected by the citadel. The +churches are splendid, and there is an appearance of opulence in the shops. +The inhabitants, from its being a frontier town, are of course much alarmed +at the approaching contest, for they will probably suffer from both +parties. We heard at the inn and in the shops which we visited the same +complaints against the Prussians. The country in the environs of this place +is exceedingly diversified, and it presents the first mountain scenery we +have yet met with. The banks of the Meuse hereabouts present either an +abrupt precipice or coteaux covered with vines gently sloping to the +water's edge. Namur is distant thirty-four miles from Brussels, and there +is water conveyance on the Meuse from here to Liége and Maastricht. + + +MONS, May 14. + +We started yesterday morning at four o'clock from Namur. The whole road +between Namur and Mons presents a fine, rich open country abounding in +wheat, but not many trees. We stopped to breakfast at Fleurus, at an inn +where there were some Prussian officers. One of them, a lieutenant in the +2nd West Prussian Regiment, had the kindness to conduct us to see the field +of battle where the French under Jourdan defeated the Austrians in 1794. It +is at a very short distance from the town; he explained the position of the +two armies in a manner perfectly clear and satisfactory to us. The Prussian +officers all seem very eager for the commencement of hostilities, and their +only fear is now that all these mighty preparations will end in nothing; +viz., either that the French people, alarmed at the magnitude of the +preparations against them, will compel the Emperor Napoleon to abdicate, or +that the Allies will grow cool and, under the influence of Austria, bring +about a negotiation which may end in a recognition of the Imperial title +and dynasty. They would compound for a defeat at first, provided the war +were likely to be prolonged. In the meantime, reinforcements continue to +arrive daily for their army. We hear but little news of the intentions or +movements of the other Allies; it being forbidden to enter into political +discussions, it is difficult to ascertain the true state of affairs. + +We continued our journey through Charleroy and Binch to this place. At a +small village between Binch and Mons we were stopped by a sentinel at a +Prussian outpost and our passports demanded. Neither the sentinel, however, +nor the sergeant, nor any of the soldiers present, could read or understand +French, in which language the passport was drawn up; but the sergeant told +me that the officers were in a house about a quarter of a mile distant and +that he would conduct me thither, but that he himself could not presume to +let us pass, from not knowing the tenor of our passport. I went accordingly +with the sergeant to this house, There I found the officer commanding the +piquet and several others sitting at table, carousing with beer and tobacco +and nearly invisible from the clouds of smoke which pervaded the room. I +explained to the officer who we were and requested him to put on the +passport his _visa_ in the German language, so that the non-commissioned +officers at the various posts through which we might pass would be able to +understand it and let us pass without hindrance. This he did accordingly +and we proceeded on our journey. + +We arrived here in the evening and put up at the _Hôtel Royal_. We found at +Charleroy, Binch and here, a number of people employed in repairing and +reconstructing the fortifications. Men, women and boys are all put in +requisition to accelerate this object, as it is the intention of the +Belgian Government to put all the frontier fortresses in the most complete +state of defence. On ascending one of the steeples this morning we had a +fine view of the surrounding country and of the height of Genappe, which +are close to Mons and memorable for the brilliant victory gained by +Dumouriez over the Austrians in 1792. The landscape presents an undulating +campaign country, gentle slopes and alternate plains covered with corn, as +far as the eye can reach, and interspersed with villages and farmhouses. In +Mons is a very large splendid shop or warehouse of millinery, perfumery, +jewellery, etc. It is called _La Toilette de Vénus_, and is served by a +very pretty girl, who, I have no doubt from her simpering look and eloquent +eyes, would have no objection to be a sedulous priestess at the altar of +the Goddess of Amathus. A battalion of Hollanders--a very fine body of +men--marched into this place yesterday evening; the rest of the garrison is +composed of Belgians, chiefly conscripts. + + +LEUZE, May 15. + +Yesterday morning we left Mons and proceeded to Ath to breakfast. A +multitude of people were employed there also at the fortifications. The +garrison of Ath is composed of Hanoverians. Ath reminded me of the wars of +King William III and my Uncle Toby's sieges.[9] There was so little +remarkable to be seen at Ath that we proceeded to this place shortly after +breakfast and arrived at one o'clock, it being only ten miles distance +between Ath and Leuze. We took up our quarters with Major-General Adam, who +commands the Light Brigade of General Sir H. Clinton's division. This +brigade is quartered here and in the adjacent farmhouses. General Adam, +though he has attained his rank at a very early age, is far more fitted for +it than many of our older generals, some of whom (I speak from experience) +have few ideas beyond the fixing of a button or lappel, or polishing a +belt, and who place the whole _Ars recondita_ of military discipline in +pipe-clay, heel-ball and the goose step. Fortunately for this army, the +Duke of Wellington has too much good sense to be a martinet and the good +old times are gone by, thank God, when a soldier used to be sentenced to +two or three hundred lashes for having a dirty belt or being without a +_queue_. To the Duke of York also is humanity much indebted for his +endeavours to check the frequency of corporal punishment. The Duke of York, +with all his zeal for the service, never loses sight of the comfort of the +soldier and is indefatigable in his exertions to ameliorate his conditions. +We had a pleasant dinner party at General Adam's, and at night I went to +sleep at the house occupied by Captain C., one of the aides-de-camp of the +General,[10] an active, intelligent officer who had formerly served in the +marines, which service he had quitted in order to enter the regular army. + + +May 16. + +Yesterday morning we paid a visit to Tournay, which is distant from Leuze +about ten miles, and we breakfasted at the _Signe d'Or_. We then proceeded +to pay our respects to the Commandant General V.[11] The garrison consists +of Belgians. General V. had been some time in England as a prisoner of war. +He was made prisoner, I think he said, at Batavia. He received us very +politely, and not only gave us permission to visit the works of the +citadel, but sent a sergeant to accompany us. The new citadel is building +on the site of the old one, and, like it, is to be a regular pentagon. The +fortifications of the city itself are not to be reconstructed; these of the +citadel, which will be very strong, rendering them superfluous. The +sergeant was a native of Würtemberg and had served in the army of his own +country and in that of France in most of the campaigns under Napoleon. He +was a fine old veteran, and very intelligent, for he explained to us the +nature of the works with great perspicuity. With true Suabian dignity he +refused a five franc piece which I offered him as a slight remuneration for +the trouble he had taken, and as he seemed, I thought, rather offended at +the offer, I felt myself bound to apologize. From the number of workmen +employed in repairing the citadel, it will not be long before it is placed +in a respectable state of defence. Tournay is a large handsome city and the +spacious quais on the banks of the Scheld which runs through it add much to +the neatness of its appearance. It is only ten miles distant from Lille, +but all communication from France is stopped. We learned that some of the +Hanoverians had been deserting. In return we met with a young French hussar +who had come over to the Allies. He seemed to be an impudent sort of +fellow, and said, with the utmost _sang-froid_, that the reason he deserted +was that he had not been made an officer as he was promised, and he hoped +that Louis XVIII would be more sensible of his merits than the Emperor +Napoleon. We returned to Leuze to dinner in the afternoon. This morning we +went to assist at a review of General Clinton's division, on a plain called +_Le Paturage_, about seven miles distant from Leuze. The Light Brigade and +the Hanoverian Brigades form this division. The manoeuvres were performed +with tolerable precision, but they were chiefly confined to advancing in +line, retiring by alternate companies covered by light infantry and change +of position on one of the flanks by _échelon_. The British troops were +perfect; the Hanoverians not so, they being for the most part new levies. +In one of the _échelon_ movements, when the line was to be formed on the +left company of the left battalion, a Hanoverian battalion, instead of +preserving its parallelism, was making a terrible diversion to its right, +when a thundering voice from the commander of the brigade to the commandant +of the battalion: "_Mein Gott, Herr Major, wo gehn Sie hin?_" roused him +from his reverie; when he must have perceived, had he wheeled up into line, +the fearful interval he had left between his own and the next battalion on +the left. + +After the review had finished we repaired to the château of the Prince de +Ligne, then occupied by Lieut.-General Sir H. Clinton, to partake of a +breakfast given by him and his lady. On the breaking up of the breakfast +party, General Wilson and myself remained at the château to dine with +General Adam _al fresco_ in the garden under the trees. The palace and +garden of the Prince de Ligne are both very magnificent. The latter is of +great extent, but too regular, too much in the Dutch taste to please me. +Little or no furniture is in the palace; but there are some family pictures +and a theatre fitted up in one of the halls for the purpose of private +theatricals. In the garden is a monument erected by the late Prince de +Ligne to one of his sons, Charles by name, who was killed in the Russian +service at the siege of Ismail. The present prince is a minor and resides +at Bruxelles. + + +GRAMMONT, May 18. + +We left Leuze yesterday afternoon and arrived here at seven in the evening +in order to be present at the cavalry review the next morning. We partook +of an elegant supper given to us by our friend, Major Grant of the 18th +Hussars, and we were much entertained and enlivened by the effusions of his +brilliant genius and inexhaustible wit. The whole cavalry of the British +army passed in review this morning before the Duke of Wellington, who was +there with all his staff and received the salutes of all the corps like +Godfrey, _con volto placido e composto_. It was a very brilliant spectacle. +The Duke de Berri was present. I think I never beheld so ignoble and +disagreeable a countenance as this prince possesses. I thought to myself +that he had much better have stayed away from this review; for he must be +insensible to all patriotism who could take pleasure in contemplating a +foreign force about to enter and ravage his own country. We learn that the +Duchess d'Angoulême is to have a review of the _fidèles_ very shortly. She +is certainly much more warlike than the males of that family; this +disposition is increased by her religious fanaticism. This renders her, of +course, a most dangerous person to meddle with politics; but great +allowances must be made for her feelings, which must naturally be +embittered by the recollection of so much suffering during the Revolution +and of the barbarous and inhuman treatment experienced by her father and +mother. + +I observed a peculiarity in this part of the country, viz., that there are +villages lying close to each other in some of which French is spoken, in +others Flemish; and that, with some few exceptions, the inhabitants of +neighbouring villages are reciprocally unintelligible. General Wilson does +not intend to return to Bruxelles. I shall accompany him as far as Gand and +then return to Bruxelles to await the issue of the contest. + + +BRUXELLES, June 11. + +I took leave of General Wilson at Gand on the 22nd of last month and +immediately returned here, where I have been ever since. I have shifted my +quarters to a less expensive hotel and am now lodged at the _Hôtel de la +Paix_. We get an excellent dinner at the table d'hôte for one and a half +francs, wine not included; this is paid for extra, and is generally at the +price of three francs per bottle. This hotel is very neatly fitted up and +is very near the _Hôtel de Ville_. At the table d'hôte I frequently meet +Prussian officers who on coming in to visit Bruxelles put up here. We have +just learned the proceedings of the _Champ de Mai_ at Paris, by which it +appears that Napoleon is solemnly recognized and confirmed as Emperor of +the French. This intelligence sent a young Prussian officer, who sat next +to me, in a transport of joy, for this makes the war certain. The Prussians +seem determined to revenge themselves for the humiliation they suffered +from the French during the time they occupied their country, and I +sincerely pity by anticipation the fate of the French peasants upon whom +these gentlemen may chance to be quartered. Terrible will be the first +shock of battle, and it may be daily expected, and dreadful will be the +consequences to the poor inhabitants of the seat of war. Cannot this war be +avoided? I am not politician enough to foresee the consequences of allowing +Napoleon to keep quiet and undisturbed possession of the throne of France; +but the consequences of a defeat on the part of the Allies will be the loss +of Belgium and the probable annihilation of the British army; certainly the +dissolution of the coalition, for the minor German powers, and very likely +Austria also, would be induced to make a separate peace. We can clearly see +that Napoleon has not now the power he formerly possessed and that the +Republican party, into whose hands he has thrown himself, seem disposed not +only to remain at peace, but to shackle him in every possible manner. It is +evident, too, that his last success was owing to the dislike of the people +to the Bourbons from their injudicious and treacherous conduct; and the +threats and impossible language held by the priests and emigrants towards +the holders of property paved the way for the success of his enterprise and +enabled him to achieve a triumph unparalleled in history. + +On the contrary, by forcing him to go to war, should he gain the first +victory, Belgium will be re-united to France, all the resources of that +country brought into the scale against the Allies; Napoleon will be more +popular than ever, the Republican party will be put to silence, the +enthusiasm of the army will rise beyond all restraint, and, in a word, +Napoleon will be himself again. The other Allies can do little without the +assistance of England, and our finances are by no means in a state to bear +such intolerable drains. + +As to the Prussians, on minute enquiry I do not find that they were so +ill-treated by the French as is generally believed, and that, except the +burden of having troops quartered on them (no small annoyance, I allow), +they had not much reason to complain. The quartering of the troops on them +and the payment of the war contributions was the necessary consequence of +the occupation of their country by an enemy; but I have just been reading a +German work, written by a native of Berlin, shortly after the entry of the +French troops in that city after the battle of Jena in 1806. This work is +entitled _Vertraute Briefe aus Berlin_, and in it the author distinctly +declares that the discipline observed by the French troops during the +occupation of Berlin was highly strict and praiseworthy, and that the few +excesses that took place were committed by the troops of the Rhenish +Confederation; and he adds that the inhabitants preferred having a French +soldier quartered on them to a Westphalian, Bavarian or Würtembergher. +Further, the troops that behaved with the greatest oppression and insolence +towards the burghers were those belonging to a corps composed of native +Prussians, raised for the service of Napoleon by the Prince of +Isenburg.[12] In his recruiting address the prince invites the Prussian +youth to enter into the service of the invincible Napoleon, and tells him +that to the soldier of Napoleon everything is permitted. The regiment was +soon fitted up and the soldiers began to put in practice in good earnest +the theory of the _affiche_. They committed excesses of all sorts; and one +officer in particular behaved so brutally and infamously to a poor tailor +on whom he was quartered, and to whom, before he entered the French +service, he was under the greatest obligations, that General Hulin, the +commandant of the place at Berlin during the French occupation, was obliged +to cashier him publicly on the parade and to cause his epaulettes to be +torn from his coat in order to mark the disgust and indignation that he and +all the French officers felt at the base ingratitude of this man. + +This work, "Vertraute Briefe" (confidential letters), contains much curious +matter and very interesting anecdotes respecting the corruption, venality +and depravation that prevailed in the Prussian Court and army previous to +the war in 1806. Let this suffice to show that the Prussians have not so +much reason to complain against the French as they pretend to have; +besides, the conduct of the Prussian Government itself was so vacillating +and contradictory that they had themselves only to blame for what they +suffered. They should have supported Austria in 1805. But the fact is that +the vanity and the _amour propre_ of the Prussian military were so hurt at +the humiliation they experienced at and after the battle of Jena that it +was this that has embittered them so much against the French. + +Let it not, however, be supposed for a moment that I seek to excuse or +palliate the conduct of Napoleon towards Prussia. I have always thought it +not only unjust but impolitic. Impolitic, because Prussia was, and ought +always to be, the obvious and natural ally of France, and Napoleon, instead +of endeavouring to crush that power, should have aggrandized her and made +her the paramount power in Germany. It was in fact his obvious policy to +cede Hanover in perpetuity to Prussia, and have rendered thereby the breach +between the Houses of Brandenburgh and Hanover irreparable and +irreconcilable. This would have thrown Prussia necessarily into the arms +of France, in whose system she must then have moved, and all British +influence on the Continent would have been effectually put an end to. +Another prime fault of Napoleon was that he did not crush and dismember +Austria in 1809 as he had it in his power to do; and by so doing he would +have merited and obtained the thanks and good will of all Germany for +having overturned so despotic and light-fearing a Government. But he has +paid dearly for these errors. Instead of destroying a despotic power +(Austria), he chose rather to crush an enlightened and liberal nation, for +such I esteem the Prussian nation, and I always separate the Prussian +people from their Government. The latter fell, and fell unpitied, after one +battle; but it has been almost miraculously restored by the unparalleled +exertions and energies of the burghers and people. May this be a lesson to +the Government! and may the King of Prussia not prove ungrateful! + +Troops continue to arrive here daily, and now that the ceremony of the +_Champ de Mai_ is over, we may expect that Napoleon will repair to his army +and commence operations. + + +June 17. + +Napoleon arrived at Maubeuge on the 18th and the grand conflict has begun. +The Prussians were attacked on the 14th and 15th at Ligny and driven from +their position.[13] They are said to have suffered immense loss and to be +retreating with the utmost confusion. Our turn comes next. The thunder of +the cannon was heard here distinctly the most part of yesterday and some +part of our army must have been engaged. Our troops have all marched out of +Bruxelles in the direction of the frontier. In the affair with the +Prussians we learn that the Duke of Brunswick was killed and that Blucher +narrowly escaped being made prisoner. + + +June 18. + +The grand conflict has begun with us. It is now four o'clock p.m. The issue +is not known. The roar of the cannon continues unabated. All is bustle, +confusion and uncertainty in this city. Cars with wounded are coming in +continually. The general opinion is that our army will be compelled to +retreat to Antwerp, and it is even expected that the French will be in +Bruxelles to-night. All the towns-people are on the ramparts listening to +the sound of the cannon. This city has been in the greatest alarm and +agitation since the 16th, when a violent cannonade was heard during the +afternoon. From what I have been able to collect, the French attacked the +Prussians on the 14th, and a desperate conflict took place on that day, and +the whole of the 15th,[14] when the whole of the Prussian army at Ligny, +Fleurus and Charleroy was totally defeated and driven from its position; a +dislocation of our troops took place early in the morning of the 16th, and +our advanced guard, consisting of the Highland Brigade and two Battalions +of Nassau-Usingen, fell in with the advanced guard of the French Army +commanded by Marshal Ney near Quatre-Bras, and made such a gallant defence +against his corps d'armée as to keep it in check the whole day and enable +itself to fall back in good order to its present position with the rest of +the army, about ten miles in front of Bruxelles. Indeed, I am informed that +nothing could exceed the admirable conduct of the corps above mentioned. +Yesterday we heard no cannonade, but this afternoon it has been unceasing +and still continues. All the caricatures and satires against Napoleon have +disappeared from the windows and stalls. The shops are all shut, the +English families flying to Antwerp; and the proclamation of the Baron de +Capellen[15] to the inhabitants, wherein he exhorts them to be tranquil and +assures them that the Bureaux of Government have not yet quitted Bruxelles, +only serves to increase the confusion and consternation. The inhabitants in +general wish well to the arms of Napoleon, but they know that the retreat +of the English Army must necessarily take place through their town; that +our troops will perhaps endeavour to make a stand, and that the +consequences will be terrible to the inhabitants, from the houses being +liable to be burned or pillaged by friend or foe. All the baggage of our +Army and all the military Bureaux have received orders to repair and are +now on their march to Antwerp, and the road thither is so covered and +blocked up by waggons that the retreat of our Army will be much impeded +thereby. Probably my next letter may be dated from a French prison. + + +BRUXELLES, June 21. + +Judge, my friend, of my astonishment and that of almost everybody in this +city, at the news which was circulated here early on the morning of the +19th, and has been daily confirmed, viz., that the French Army had been +completely defeated and was in full flight, leaving behind it 220 pieces of +cannon and all its baggage, waggons and _munitions de guerre_. I have not +been able to collect all the particulars, but you will no doubt hear enough +of it, for I am sure it will be _said_ or _sung_ by all the partisans of +the British ministry and all the Tories of the United Kingdom for months +and years to come; for further details, therefore, I shall refer you to the +Gazette. The following, however, you may consider as a tolerably fair +précis of what took place. The attack began on the 18th about ten +o'clock[16] and raged furiously along the whole line, but principally at +Hougoumont, a large _Métairie_ on the right of our position, which was +occupied by our troops, and from which all the efforts of the enemy could +not dislodge them. The slaughter was terrible in this quarter. From twelve +o'clock till evening several desperate charges of cavalry and infantry were +made on the rest of our line. Both sides fought with the utmost courage and +obstinacy, and were prodigal of life in the extreme. But it is generally +supposed that our army must have succumbed towards the evening had it not +been for the arrival of Bulow's division of Prussians, followed closely by +Blucher and the rest of the army, which had rallied with uncommon celerity. +These moved on the right flank of the French, and decided the fortune of +the day by a charge which was seconded by a general charge from the whole +of the English line on the centre and left of the French. Seeing themselves +thus turned, a panic, it is said, spread among the young Guard of the +French army, and a cry of "_Sauve qui peut! nous sommes trahis!_" spread +like wildfire. The flight became universal; the old Guard alone remained, +refused quarter and perished like Leonidas and his Spartans. The Prussian +cavalry being fresh pursued the enemy all night, _l'épée dans les reins_, +and it may be conceived from their previous disposition that they would not +be very merciful to the vanquished. Indeed, on the 15th, it is said that +the French were not very merciful to them. It was like the combat of +Achilles and Hector. + + No thought but rage and never ceasing strife + Till death extinguish rage and thought and life. + +France will now call out to Napoleon as Augustus did to Varus, "Give me +back my legions!" The loss on both sides was very great, but it must have +been prodigious on the side of the French. The whole Allied Army is in full +pursuit. Several friends and acquaintances of mine perished in this battle, +viz., Lieut.-General Sir T. Picton, Colonel Sir H. Ellis and Colonel +Morice. + + +June 22. + +This morning I went to visit the field of battle, which is a little beyond +the village of Waterloo, on the plateau of Mont St Jean; but on arrival +there the sight was too horrible to behold. I felt sick in the stomach and +was obliged to return. The multitude of carcases, the heaps of wounded men +with mangled limbs unable to move, and perishing from not having their +wounds dressed or from hunger, as the Allies were, of course, obliged to +take their surgeons and waggons with them, formed a spectacle I shall never +forget. The wounded, both of the Allies and the French, remain in an +equally deplorable state. + +At Hougoumont, where there is an orchard, every tree is pierced with +bullets. The barns are all burned down, and in the court-yard it is said +they have been obliged to burn upwards of a thousand carcases, an awful +holocaust to the War-Demon. + +As nothing is more distressing than the sight of human misery when we are +unable to silence it, I returned as speedily as possible to Bruxelles with +Cowper's lines in my head: + + War is a game, which, were their subjects wise, + Kings should not play at. + +I hope this battle will, at any rate, lead to a speedy peace. + + +June 28. + +We have no other news from the Allied Army, except that they are moving +forward with all possible celerity in the direction of Paris. You may form +a guess of the slaughter and of the misery that the wounded must have +suffered, and the many that must have perished from hunger and thirst, when +I tell you that all the carriages in Bruxelles, even elegant private +equipages, landaulets, barouches and berlines, have been put in requisition +to remove the wounded men from the field of battle to the hospitals, and +that they are yet far from being all brought in. The medical practitioners +of the city have been put in requisition, and are ordered to make +domiciliary visits at every house (for each habitation has three or four +soldiers in it) in order to dress the wounds of the patients. The +Bruxellois, the women in particular, have testified the utmost humanity +towards the poor sufferers. It was suggested by some humane person that +they who went to see the field of battle from motives of curiosity would do +well to take with them bread, wine and other refreshments to distribute +among the wounded, and most people did so. For my part I shall not go a +second time. Napoleon, it is said, narrowly escaped being taken. His +carriage fell into the hands of the Allies, and was escorted in triumph +into Bruxelles by a detachment of dragoons. So confident was Napoleon of +success that printed proclamations were found in the carriage dated from +"Our Imperial Palace at Laecken," announcing his victory and the liberation +of Belgium from the insatiable coalition, and wherein he calls on the +Belgians to re-unite with their old companions in arms in order to reap the +fruits of their victory. This was certainly rather premature, and reminds +me of an anecdote of a Spanish officer at the siege of Gibraltar, related +by Drinkwater in his narrative of that siege.[17] When the British garrison +made a sortie, they carried the advanced Spanish lines and destroyed all +their preparations; the Spanish officer on guard at the outermost post was +killed, but on the table of his guard room was found his guard report +filled up and signed, stating that "nothing extraordinary had happened +since guard-mounting." + +Mr L. of Northumberland, having proposed to me to make a tour with him to +Aix-la-Chapelle and the banks of the Rhine, I shall start with him in a day +or two. + + +[1] Sir Wiltshire Wilson (1762-1842), Commander of the Royal Artillery in + Ceylon, 1810-1815.--Ed. + +[2] Pulci, _Morgante_, canto XVIII, ottava 114-115. The Giant Morgante + meets the villain Margutte and asks him if he be a Christian or a + Saracen. Margutte answers that he cares not, but only believes in + boiled or in roasted capon: + + Rispose allor Margutte: A dirtel tosto + Io non credo pio al nero ch'all' azzurro. + Ma nel cappone, o lesso, o vuogll arrosto.... + +[3] Ariosto, _Orlando Furioso_, iv, 63, f.--ED. + +[4] A work of H, Verbruggen of Antwerp (1677).--ED. + +[5] Lord Bruce, Earl of Ailesbury, caused this fountain to be erected in + 1751, as a token of gratitude to the town of Bruxelles where he had + lived in exile.--E.D. + +[6] Henry Dundas, Viscount Melville (1741-1811), elevated to the peerage in + 1802.--ED. + +[7] Xenophon, _Education of Cyrus_, II, 4, 4.--ED. + +[8] Astley's Amphitheatre, near Westminster Bridge.--ED. + +[9] Uncle Toby, in Laurence Sterne's _Tristram Shandy_.--ED. + +[10] Lieutenant R.P. Campbell, aide-de-camp to Major-General Adam.--ED. + +[11] In May, 1815, the officer commanding-in-chief at Tournai was + General-Major A.C. Van Diermen.--ED. + +[12] Karl Friedrich Ludwig Moritz, Fürst zu Ysenburg-Bierstein (1766-1820), + took service with Austria (1784), with Prussia (1804), and later with + Napoleon (1806), who commissioned him as brigadier-general. The + shameless conduct of this officer is exposed by B. Poten, _Allgemeine + Deutsche Biographie_, vol. XLIV, p. 611.--ED. + +[13] The battle at Ligny was fought on June 16.--ED. + +[14] The facts and dates here given are of course inaccurate; but this + proves that Major Frye wrote his text in the very midst of the crisis, + and that his manuscript has not been tampered with.--ED. + +[15] Baron van Capellen, a Dutch statesman, was governor-general of the + Belgian provinces, residing at Bruxelles. He was afterwards + governor-general of Dutch India. Born in 1778, he died in 1848. His + memoirs have been published in French by Baron Sirtema de Grovestins + (1852), and contain an interesting passage on that momentous day, + 18th June, 1815.--ED. + +[16] Not before half past eleven.--ED. + +[17] John Drinkwater, also called Bethune (1762-1844), published a + well-known _History of the Siege of Gibraltar, 1779-1783_.--ED. + + + + +CHAPTER II + +From Bruxelles to Liége--A priest's declamation against the French +Revolution--Maastricht--Aix-la-Chapelle--Imperial relics--Napoleon +regretted--Klingmann's "Faust"--A Tyrolese beauty--Cologne--Difficulties +about a passport--The Cathedral--King-craft and priest-craft--The +Rhine--Bonn and Godesberg--Goethe's "Götz von Berlichingen"--The Seven +Mountains--German women--Andernach--Ehrenbreitstein--German hatred against +France--Coblentz--Intrigues of the Bourbon princes in Coblentz--Mayence-- +Bieberich--Conduct of the Allies towards Napoleon--Frankfort on the +Mayn--An anecdote about Lord Stewart and Lafayette--German poetry--The +question of Alsace and Lorraine--Return to Bruxelles--Napoleon's surrender. + + +LIÉGE, June 26. + +Mr L. and myself started together in the diligence from Bruxelles at seven +o'clock in the evening of the 24th inst. and arrived here yesterday morning +at twelve o'clock. I experienced considerable difficulty in procuring a +passport to quit Bruxelles, my name having been included in that of General +Wilson, which he carried back with him to England. Our Ambassador was +absent, and I was bandied about from bureau to bureau without success; so +that I began at last to think that I should be necessitated to remain at +Bruxelles all my life, when fortunately it occurred to Mr L. that he was +intimately acquainted with the English Consul, and he kindly undertook to +procure me one and succeeded. On arrival here we put up at the _Pommelette +d'Or_. The price of a place in the diligence from Bruxelles to Liége is +fifteen franks. We passed thro' Louvain, but too late to see anything. The +country about Liége is extremely striking and picturesque; the river Meuse +flows thro' the city, and the banks of the river outside the town are very +_riants_ and agreeable. Liége is a large, well-built city, but rather +gloomy as to its appearance, and lies in a hollow completely surrounded by +lofty hills. The remains of its ancient citadel stand on a height which +completely commands the city; on another height stands a monastery, a +magnificent building. There are a great many coal-pits in the vicinity of +Liége, and a great commerce of coals is carried on between this city and +Holland by the _treckschuyte_ on the Meuse. We visited the ancient +Episcopal palace and the Churches. The Palace is completely dismantled. +This city suffered much during the revolt of the Belgian provinces against +the Emperor Joseph II, and having distinguished itself by the obstinacy of +its defence, it was treated with great rigour by the Austrian Government. +The fortifications were blown up, and nothing now remains on the site of +the old citadel but a large barrack. I remained two whole hours on this +height to contemplate the beauties of the expanse below. The banks of the +river, which meanders much in these parts, and the numerous _maisons de +campagne_ with the public promenades and allées lined with trees, +exhilarate the scene of the environs, for the city itself is dull enough. +Several pretty villas are situated also on the heights, and were I to dwell +here I should choose one of them and seldom descend into the valley and +city below, + + Where narrow cares and strife and envy dwell. + +Liége, however sombre in its appearance, is a place of much opulence and +commerce. A Belgian garrison does duty here. At the inn, after dinner, I +fell into conversation with a Belgian priest, and as I was dressed in black +he fancied I was one of the cloth, and he asked me if I were a Belgian, for +that I spoke French with a Belgian accent; "Apparemment Monsieur est +ecclésiastique?--Monsieur, je suis né Anglais et protestant." He then began +to talk about and declaim against the French Revolution, for that is the +doctrine now constantly dinned into the ears of all those who take orders; +and he concluded by saying that things would never go on well in Europe +until they restored to God the things they had taken from Him. I told him +that I differed from him very much, for that the sale of the Church domains +and of the lands and funds belonging to the suppressed ecclesiastical +establishments had contributed much to the improvement of agriculture and +to the comfort of the peasantry, whose situation was thereby much +ameliorated; and that they were now in a state of affluence compared with +what they were before the French Revolution. I added: "Enfin, Monsieur, +Dieu n'a pas besoin des choses terrestres." On my saying this he did not +chuse to continue the conversation, but calling for a bottle of wine drank +it all himself with the zest of a Tartuffe. I believe that he was surprised +to find that an Englishman should not coincide with his sentiments, for I +observe all the adherents of the ancient régime of feudality and +superstition have an idea that we are anxious for the re-establishment of +all those abuses as they themselves are, and it must be confessed that the +conduct of our Government has been such as to authorize them fully in +forming such conjectures, and that we shall be their staunch auxiliaries in +endeavouring to arrest and retrograde the progress of the human mind. In +fact, I soon perceived that my friend was not overloaded with wit and that +he was one of those priests so well described by Metastasio: + + Il di cui sapere + Sta nel nostro ignorar.... + + +MAASTRICHT, 27th June. + +This morning, after a promenade on the banks of the Meuse--for I am fond of +rivers and woods (_flumina amo silvasque inglorius_)--we embarked on a +_treckschuyt_ and arrived here after a passage of four hours. The scenery +on the banks of the Meuse all the way from Liége to Maastricht is highly +diversified and extremely romantic; but here at Maastricht this ceases and +the dull uniformity of the Dutch landscape begins. When on the ramparts of +the city to the North and West an immense plain as far as the eye can reach +presents itself to view; a few trees and sandhills form the only relief to +the picture. The town itself is neat, clean and dull, like all Dutch towns. +The fortifications are strong and well worth inspection. The most +remarkable thing in the neighbourhood of Maastricht is the Montagne de St +Pierre, which from having been much excavated for the purpose of procuring +stone, forms a labyrinth of a most intricate nature. I advise every +traveller to visit it, and if he has a classical imagination he may fancy +himself in the labyrinth of Crete. + + +AIX-LA-CHAPELLE, 29th June. + +We started in the morning of the 28th from Maastricht in the diligence for +Aix-la-Chapelle and arrived here at twelve o'clock, putting up at Van +Gülpen's Hotel, _Zum Pfälzischen Hofe_ (à la Cour palatine), which I +recommend as an excellent inn and the hosts as very good people. The price +of our journey from Liége to Maastricht in the water-diligence was 2-1/2 +franks, and from Maastricht to Aix-la-Chapelle by land was 7 franks the +person. The road from Maastricht to this place is not very good, but the +country at a short distance from Maastricht becomes picturesque, much +diversified by hill and dale and well wooded. As the Meuse forms the +boundary between the Belgic and Prussian territory, we enter the latter +sooner after leaving Maastricht. I find my friend L. a most agreeable +travelling companion; travelling seems to be his passion, as it is mine; +and fortune has so far favoured me in this particular, that my professional +duties and private affairs have led me to visit the four quarters of the +globe. After dinner, on the first day of our arrival here, we went to visit +the _Hôtel de Ville_, before which stands on a pedestal in a bason an +ancient bronze statue of Charlemagne. It has nothing to recommend it but +its antiquity. The _Hôtel de Ville_ is similar to other Gothic buildings +used for the same purpose. In the great hall thereof there is a large +picture representing the ambassadors of all the powers who assisted at the +signing of the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle in 1742; and a full length +portrait of the present King of Prussia, as master of the city, occupies +the place where once stood that of Napoleon, its late lord. We next went to +see the Cathedral and sat down on the throne on which the German Caesars +used to be crowned. We viewed likewise the various costly articles of +plate, the gifts of pious princes. The most remarkable things among them +are several superb dresses of gold and silver embroidery, so thickly laid +on that they are of exceeding weight. These dresses form part of the +wardrobe of the Virgin Mary. Next to be seen is a case or chest of massy +silver, adorned with innumerable precious stones of great value; which case +contains the bones or ashes of Charlemagne. His right arm bone is however +preserved separate in a glass case. The sword of this prince too, and the +Imperial crown is to be seen here. The sacristan next proceeded to show to +us the other relics, but having begun with the exhibition of a rag dipped +in the sweat of Jesus Christ and a nail of the Holy Cross, we began to +think we had seen enough and went away perfectly satisfied. There is no +other monument in honour of Charlemagne, but a plain stone on the floor of +the Church with the simple inscription "Carolo Magno." On going out of the +city thro' one of the gates, and at a short distance from it, we ascended +the mountain or rather hill called the Louisberg on which are built a +Ridotto and Café, as also a Column erected in honour of Napoleon with a +suitable inscription; the inscription is effaced and is about to be +replaced by another in the German language in commemoration of the downfall +of the _Tyrant_, as the Coalition are pleased to call him. This Tyrant is +however extremely regretted by the inhabitants of Aix-la-Chapelle and not +without reason, for he was a great benefactor to them and continually +embellished the city, confirming and increasing its privileges. The +inhabitants are not at all pleased with their new masters; for the +behaviour of the Prussian military has been so insulting and overbearing +towards the burghers and students that it is, I am told, a common +exclamation among the latter, alluding to the Prussians having stiled +themselves their deliverers: _De nostris liberatoribus, Domine, libera +nos_. Indeed, I can evidently discern that they are not particularly +pleased at the result of the battle of Waterloo. + +In the evening I went to the theatre, which has the most inconvenient form +imaginable, being a rectangle. As anti-Gallicanism is the order of the day, +only German dramas are allowed to be performed and this night it was the +tragedy of Faust, or Dr Faustus as we term him in England, not the Faust of +Goethe, which is not meant for nor at all adapted to the stage, but a drama +of that name written by Klingmann.[18] It is a strange wild piece, quite in +the German style and full of horrors and diableries. In this piece the +sublime and terrible border close on the ridiculous; for instance the Devil +and Faust come to drink in a beer-schenk or ale-house. 'Tis true the Devil +is incognito at the time and is called "der Fremde" or "the Stranger"; it +is only towards the conclusion of the piece that he discovers himself to be +Satan.... The actor who played the part of the Stranger had something in +his physiognomy very terrific and awe-inspiring. In another scene, which to +us would appear laughable and absurd, but which pleases a German audience, +three women in masks come on the stage to meet Faust, in a churchyard, and +on unmasking display three skeleton heads. + +Poor Faust had stipulated to give his soul to the Devil for aiding him in +the attainment of his desires; the Devil on his part agrees to allow him to +commit four deadly sins before he shall call on him to fulfil his contract. +Faust, in the sequel, kills his wife and his father-in-law. Satan then +claims him. Faust pleads in arrest of judgement, that he has only committed +two crimes out of the four for which he had agreed; and that there +consequently remained two others for him to commit before he could be +claimed. The Devil in rejoinder informs him that his wife was with child at +the time he killed her, which constituted the third crime, and that the +very act of making a contract with the Devil for his soul forms the fourth. +Faust, overwhelmed with confusion, has not a word to say; and Satan seizing +him by the hair of his head, carries him off in triumph. This piece is +written in iambics of ten syllables and the versification appeared to me +correct and harmonious, and the sentiments forcible and poetical; this +fully compensated for the bizarrerie of the story itself, which, by the +bye, with all the reproach thrown by the adherents of the classic taste on +those of the romantic, is scarcely more _outré_ than the introduction of +Death ([Greek: _thanatos_]) as a dramatic personage in the _Alcestis_ of +Euripides. + +There is at Aix-la-Chapelle at one of the hotels a Faro Bank; it is open +like the gates of Hell _noctes atque dies_ and gaming goes forward without +intermission; this seems, indeed, to be the only occupation of the +strangers who visit these baths. There is near this hotel a sort of Place +or Quadrangle with arcades under which are shops and stalls. At one of +these shops I met with the most beautiful girl I ever beheld, a Tyrolese by +birth and the daughter of a print-seller. She was from the Italian Tyrol; +Roveredo, I think she said, was her birthplace. She united much grace and +manner with her beauty, on account of which I could not avoid complimenting +her in her native tongue, which she seemed pleased to hear. Her eyes and +eyebrows brought to my recollection the description of those of Alcina: + + Sotto due negri e sottilissimi archi, + Son due neri occhi, anzi, due chiari soli, + Pietosi a riguardare, a mover parchi, + Intorno a cui par che Amor scherzi e volí.[19] + + Two black and slender arches rise above + Two clear black eyes, say suns of radiant light; + Which ever softly beam and slowly move; + Round these appears to sport in frolic flight, + Hence scattering all his shafts, the little Love. + + --_Trans_. W.S. ROSE. + +We then proceeded to look at the suburb of this city called Bortscheid, by +far the finest part of the city and at some elevation above it. It commands +an extensive view. We also visited the various bath establishments; the +taste of the water had some resemblance to that of Harrogate, and is good +in bilious, scrofulous and cutaneous complaints. On our return to the hotel +we learned the news of the capitulation of Paris to the Allied powers. It +is said to be purely a military convention by which the French army is to +evacuate Paris and retire behind the Loire. There is no talk and no other +intelligence about Napoleon, except that he had been compelled by the two +Houses of Legislature to abdicate the throne. We are still in the dark as +to the intentions of the Allies. I regret much that my friend and fellow +traveller L. is obliged to return to Bruxelles and cannot accompany me to +Cologne, to which place I am impatient to go and to pay my respects to old +father Rhine, so renowned in history. + + +COLOGNE. + +I left Aix-la-Chapelle on the morning of the 2nd of July and arrived at +Cologne about six o'clock in the evening, putting up at the Inn _Zum +heiligen Geist_ (Holy Ghost), which is situated on the banks of the river. +The price of the journey in the diligence is 18 franks. On the road hither +lies Juliers, a large and strongly fortified town surrounded by a marsh. It +must be very important as a military post. The road after quitting Juliers +runs for the most part thro' a forest, and has been much improved and +enlarged by the French; before they improved it, it was almost impassable +in wet weather. We met on the road several Prussian waggons and +reinforcements on their march to Bruxelles. Two of my fellow travellers in +the diligence were very intelligent young men belonging to respectable +families in Cologne and were returning thither; they likewise complained +much of the overbearing demeanour of the Prussian military towards the +burghers. + +Cologne is a large, but very dull looking city, as dull as Liége; it would +seem as if all towns and cities under ecclesiastical domination were dull +or rendered so by the prohibition of the most innocent amusements. The +fortifications are out of repair; but the Prussian Government intend to +make Cologne a place of great strength. The name of the village on the +opposite of the river is Deutz, and in the time of the French occupation +there was a _tête-de-pont_. The next morning I was obliged to appear before +the police, and afterwards before the _Commandant de la Place_, in order to +have my passport examined and _visé_. At the bureau of the police it was +remarked to me that my passport was not _en règle_, the features of the +bearer not being therein specified. I replied that it was not my fault; +that it was given to me in that shape by the English Consul at Bruxelles +and that it was not my province to give to the Consul any directions as to +its form and tenor. The Commissary of Police then asked me what business I +was about in travelling, and the following conversation took place: "Was +haben Sie für Geschäfte?"--"Keine; ich reise nur um Vergnügen's Willen."--" +Sonderbar!"--"Worin liegt das Sonderbare, dass man reist um ein schönes +Land zu sehen?"[20]--He made no answer to this, but one of his coadjutors +standing by him said in a loud whisper, "Ein Herumreiser," which means an +adventurer or person who travels about for no good,--in a word, a +suspicious character. I then said with the utmost calm and indifference: +"Gentlemen, as soon as you shall have finished all your commentaries on the +subject of my passport, pray be so good as to inform me what I am to do, +whether I may go on to Mayence and Frankfort as is my intention, or return +to Bruxelles." The Commissary, after a slight hesitation, signed the _visa_ +and I then carried it to the bureau of the Commandant, whose secretary +signed it without hesitation, merely asking me if I were a military man. + +In the afternoon I went to visit the Dome or Cathedral. It is a fine +specimen of Gothic architecture, but singular enough the steeple is not yet +finished. In this Cathedral the most remarkable thing is the Chapel of the +Three Kings, wherein is deposited a massy gold chest inlaid with precious +stones of all sorts and of great value, containing the bones of the +identical three Kings (it is said) who came from the East to worship the +infant Jesus at Bethlehem. The Scriptures say it was three wise men or +Magi. The legend however calls them Kings and gives them Gothic names. Let +schoolmen and theologians reconcile this difference: _ce n'est point notre +affaire_. To me it appears that when the German tribes embraced +Christianity and enrolled themselves under the banner of St Peter, it was +thought but fair to allow them to give vent to a little nationality and to +blend their old traditions with the new-fangled doctrine, and no doubt the +Sovereign Pontiffs thought that the people could never be made to believe +too much; the same policy is practised by the Jesuit missionaries in China, +where in order to flatter the national vanity and bend it to their purposes +they represent Jesus Christ as being a great personal friend and +correspondent of Confucius. + +To return to these monarchs, wise men or Magi: their _sculls_ are kept +separate to the rest of the bones and each _scull_ bears a crown of gold. +But if you are fond of miracles, legends, and details of relics, come with +me to the Church of St Ursula in this city, and see the proof positive of +the miraculous legend of the eleven thousand Virgins who suffered martyrdom +in this city, in the time of Attila; the bones of all of whom are carefully +preserved here and adorn the interior walls of the Church in the guise of +arms arranged in an armoury. Eleven thousand sculls, each bearing a golden +or gilt crown, grin horribly on the spectator from the upper part of the +interior walls of the church, where they are placed in a row. What a fine +subject this would make for a ballad in the style of Bürger to suppose that +on a particular night in the year, at the midnight hour when mortals in +slumbers are bound, the bones all descending from the walls where they are +arranged, forming themselves into bodies, clapping on their heads and +dancing a skeleton dance round the Ghost of Attila! The people of Cologne, +in the time of the ecclesiastical Electorate, had the reputation of being +extremely superstitious, and no doubt there were many who implicitly +believe this pious tale; indeed, who could refuse their assent to its +authenticity, on beholding the proof positive in the sculls and bones? + +I recollect that in the History of the Compère Mathiew[21] the Père Jean +rates mightily the natives of Cologne for their bigotry and superstition +and for the bad reception they gave to him and to his philosophy. That +people are happier from a blind belief, as some pretend, appears to me +extremely problematical. For my part, under no circumstances can I think +bliss to consist in ignorance; nor have I felt any particular discomfort in +having learned at a very early age to put under my feet, as Lucretius +expresses it, the _strepitum Acherontis avari_. On the contrary, it has +made me a perfect cosmopolitan, extinguished all absurd national and +religious prejudices, and rendered me at home wherever I travel; and I meet +the Catholic, the Lutheran, the Moslem, the Jew, the Hindou and the Guebre +as a brother. _Quo me cunque ferat tempestas, deferor hospes_.[22] Let me +add one word more to obviate any misrepresentation of my sentiments from +some malignant Pharisee, that tho' I am no friend to King-craft and +Priest-craft, and cannot endure that religion should ever be blended with +politics, yet I am a great admirer of the beautiful and consoling +philosophy or theosophy of Jesus Christ which inculcates the equality of +Mankind, and represents the Creator of the universe, the Author of all +being, as the universal Father of the human race. + +Cologne derives its name from _Colonia_, as it was a Roman Colony planted +here to protect the left bank of the Rhine from the incursions of the +German hordes. It is here that the grand and original manufactory of the +far-famed _Eau de Cologne_ is to be seen. The _Eau de Cologne_ is a +sovereign remedy for all kinds of disorders, and if the _affiches_ of the +proprietor, Jean-Marie Farina, be worthy of credit, he is as formidable a +check to old Pluto as ever Aesculapius was. The sale of this water is +immense. + +On my return to the inn, I met with a Dutch clergyman who was travelling +with his pupils, three very fine boys, the sons of a Dutch lady of rank. He +was to conduct them to the University of Neuwied, on the right bank of the +Rhine, in order to place them there for their education. The young men seem +to have profited much from their studies. Their tutor seemed to be a +well-informed man and of liberal ideas; he preferred speaking German to +French, as he said he had not much facility in expressing himself in the +latter language. He said if I were going his way he would be happy to have +the pleasure of my company, to which I very willingly acceded, and we +agreed to start the next morning early so as to arrive at Bonn to +breakfast, and then to go on to Godesberg, where he proposed to remain a +few days. + +From the windows of our inn we have a fine view of the river, and I have +not omitted doing hommage to old Father Rhine by taking up some of his +water in the hollow of my hand to drink. The Rhine of later years has been +considered the guardian of Germany against the hostile incursions of the +French, and Schiller represents this river as a Swiss vigilant on his post, +yet in spite of his vigilance and fidelity unable to prevent his restless +neighbour from forcing his safeguard. The following are the lines of +Schiller where the river speaks in a distich: + + Treu wie dem Schwfeizer gebührt bewach'ich Germaniens Grenze, + Aber der Gallier hüpft über den duldenden Strom. + + In vain my stream I interpose + To guard Germania's realm from foes; + The nimble Gauls my cares deride + And often leap on t'other side. + + +GODESBERG, 4th July. + +The distance from Cologne to Bonn is 18 miles and Godesberg is three miles +further. We stopped to breakfast at Bonn and after breakfast made a +promenade thro' the city. Bonn is a handsome, clean, well-built and +cheerful looking city and the houses are good and solid. + +The Electoral Palace is a superb building, but is not occupied and is +falling rapidly to decay. From the terrace in the garden belonging to this +Palace, which impends over the Rhine, you have a fine view of this noble +river. This Palace was at one time made use of as a barrack by the French, +and since the secularization of the Ecclesiastical Electorates it has not +been thought worth while to embellish or even repair it. There is a Roman +antiquity in this town called the _Altar of Victory_, erected on the Place +St Remi, but remarkable for nothing but its antiquity; it seems to be a +common Roman altar.[23] The road from Bonn to Godesberg is three miles in +length and thro' a superb avenue of horse-chesnut trees; but before you +arrive at Godesberg, there is on the left side of the road a curious +specimen of Gothic architecture called _Hochkreutz_, very like Waltham +cross in appearance, but much higher and in better preservation; it was +erected by some feudal Baron to expiate a homicide. The castle of Godesberg +is situated on an eminence and commands a fine prospect; it is now a mass +of rums and the walls only remain. It derives its name of Godesberg or +Götzenberg from the circumstance of its having been formerly the site of a +temple of Minerva built in the time of the Romans, and thence called +Götzenberg by the Christians, _Götze_ in German signifying an idol. + +On the plain at the foot of the hill of Godesberg and at the distance of an +eighth of a mile from the river, a shelving cornfield intervening, stand +three large hotels and a ridotto, all striking edifices. To the south of +these is situated a large wood. These hotels are always full of company in +the summer and autumn: they come here to drink the mineral waters, a +species of Seltzer, the spring of which is about a quarter of a mile +distant from the hotels. The hotel at which we put up bears the name of +_Die schöne Aussicht_ (la Belle Vue) and well does it deserve the name; for +it commands a fine view of the reaches of the river, north and south. +Directly on the opposite bank, abruptly rising, is the superb and +magnificent chain of mountains called the _Sieben Gebirge_ or Seven +Mountains. On the summit of these mountains tower the remains of Gothic +castles or keeps, still majestic, tho' in ruins, and frowning on the plains +below; they bring to one's recollection the legends and chronicles of the +Middle Ages. They bear terrible awe-inspiring names such as Drachenfels, +Löwenberg; the highest of them is called Drachenfels or the Rock of Dragons +and on it stood the Burg or Chateau of a Feudal Count or _Raubgraf_, who +was the terror of the surrounding country, and has given rise to a very +interesting romance called _The Knights of the Seven Mountains_. This +feudal tyrant used to commit all sorts of depredations and descend into the +plains below, in order to intercept the convoys of merchandize passing +between Aix-la-Chapelle and Frankfort. It was to check these abuses and +oppressions that was instituted the famous Secret Tribunal _Das heimliche +Gericht_, the various Governments in Germany being then too weak to protect +their subjects or to punish these depredations. This secret tribunal, from +the summary punishments it inflicted, the mysterious obscurity in which it +was enveloped, and the impossibility of escaping from its pursuit, became +the terror of all Germany. They had agents and combinations everywhere, and +exercised such a system of espionage as to give to their proceedings an +appearance of supernatural agency. A simple accusation was sufficient for +them to act upon, provided the accuser solemnly swore to the truth of it +without reserve, and consented to undergo the same punishment as the +accused was subjected to, in case the accusation should be false; till this +solemnity was gone through, no pursuit was instituted against the offender. +There was scarcely ever an instance of a false accusation, for it was well +known that no power could screen the delator from the exemplary punishment +that awaited him; and there were no means of escaping from the omniscience +and omnipotence of the secret tribunal. + +To return to Godesberg, it is a most beautiful spot and much agreeable +society is here to be met with. The families of distinction of the +environing country come here for the purpose of recreation and drinking the +mineral waters. We sit down usually sixty to dinner, and I observe some +very fine women among them. On Sunday there is a ball at the ridotto. The +promenades in the environs are exceedingly romantic, and this place is the +favourite resort of many new married couples who come here to pass the +honeymoon. The scenery of the surrounding country is so picturesque and +beautiful as to require the pencil of an Ariosto or Wieland to do justice +to it: + + Ne se tutto cercato avessi il mondo + Vedria di questo un pin gen til paese.[24] + + And, had he ranged the universal world, + Would not have seen a lovelier in his round. + + --_Trans_. W.S. ROSE. + +To the researches of the naturalist and mineralogist the Seven Mountains +offer inexhaustible resources. The living and accommodation of the three +hotels are very reasonable. For one and a half florins you have an +excellent and plentiful dinner at the table d'hôte, including a bottle of +Moselle wine and Seltzer water at discretion; by paying extra you can have +the Rhine wines of different growths and crops and French wines of all +sorts. + +I am much pleased with the little I have seen of the German women. They +appear to be extremely well educated. I observe many of them in their +morning walks with a book in their hand either of poetry or a novel. +Schiller is the favourite poet among them and Augustus Lafontaine the +favourite novel writer.[25] He is a very agreeable author were he not so +prolix; yet we English have no right to complain of this fault, since there +is no novel in all Germany to compare in point of prolixity with Clarissa, +Sit Charles Grandison, or Tom Jones. The great fault of Augustus Lafontaine +is that of including in one novel the history of two or three generations. +A beautiful and very interesting tale of his, however, is entirely free +from this defect and is founded on a fact. It is called _Dankbarkeit und +Liebe_ (Gratitude and Love). There is more real pathos in this novelette +than in the _Nouvelle Héloïse_ of Rousseau. + + +EHRENBREITSTEIN, 8 July. + +After a _sèjour_ of three days at Godesberg, we left that delightful +residence and proceeded to Neuwied to deposit the boys. We stopped, +however, for an hour or two at Andernach, which is situated in a beautiful +valley on the left bank. We viewed the remains of the palace of the Kings +of Austrasia and the church where the body of the Emperor Valentinian is +preserved embalmed. + +Andernach is remarkable for being the exact spot where Julius Caesar first +crossed the Rhine to make war on the German nations. Directly opposite +Neuwied, which is on the right bank, stands close to the village of +Weissenthurm the monument erected to the French General Hoche. We crossed +over to Neuwied in a boat. Neuwied is a regular, well-built town, but +rather of a sombre melancholy appearance and is only remarkable for its +university. Science could not chuse a more tranquil abode. This University +has been ameliorated lately by its present sovereign the King of Prussia. +It was not the interest of Napoleon to favour any establishment on the +right bank at the expence of those on the left, the former being out of his +territory. At Neuwied I took leave of my agreeable fellow travellers, as +they intended to remain there and I to go on to Ehrenbreitstein. An +opportunity presented itself the same afternoon of which I profited. I met +with an Austrian Captain of Infantry and his lady at the inn where I +stopped who were going to Ehrenbreitstein in their _calèche_, and they were +so kind as to offer me a place in it. I found them both extremely +agreeable; both were from Austria proper. He had left the Austrian service +some time ago and had since entered into the Russian service; from that he +was lately transferred, together with the battalion to which he belonged, +into the service of Prussia and placed on the retired list of the latter +with a very small pension. He did not seem at all satisfied with this +arrangement. He had served in several campaigns against the French in +Germany, Italy and France, and was well conversant in French and Italian +litterature. + +We stopped _en passant_ at a _maison de plaisance_ and superb English +garden belonging to the Duke of Nassau-Weilburg. The house is in the style +of a cottage _orné_, but very roomy and tastefully fitted up; but nothing +can be more diversified and picturesque than the manner in which the garden +is laid out. The ground being much broken favours this; and in one part of +it is a ravine or valley so romantic and savage, that you would fancy +yourself in Tinian or Juan Fernandez. We arrived late in the evening in the +Thal Ehrenbreitstein, which lies at the foot of the gigantic hill fortress +of that name, which frowns over it and seems as if it threatened to fall +and crush it. My friends landed me at the inn _Zum weissen Pferd_ (the +White Horse), where there is most excellent accommodation. Just opposite +Ehrenbreitstein, on the left bank, is Coblentz; a superb flying bridge, +which passes in three minutes, keeps up the communication between the two +towns. + +Early the next morning, I ascended the stupendous rock of Ehrenbreitstein, +which has a great resemblance to the hill forts in India, such as Gooty, +Nundydroog, etc. It is a place of immense natural strength, but the +fortifications were destroyed by the French, who did not chuse to have so +formidable a neighbour so close to their frontier, as the Rhine then was. +The Prussian Government, however, to whom it now belongs, seem too fully +aware of its importance not to reconstruct the fortifications with as +little delay as possible. Ehrenbreitstein completely commands all the +adjacent country and enfilades the embouchure of the Moselle which flows +into the Rhine at Coblentz, where there is an elegant stone bridge across +the Moselle. Troops without intermission continue to pass over the flying +bridge bound to France, from the different German states, viz., Saxons, +Hessians, Prussians, etc., so that one might apply to this scene Anna +Comnena's expression relative to the Crusades, and say that all Germany is +torn up from its foundation and precipitated upon France. I suppose no less +than 70,000 men have passed within these few days. The German papers, +particularly the _Rheinische Mercur_, continue to fulminate against France +and the war yell resounds with as much fury as ever. From the number of +troops that continue to pass it would seem as if the Allies did not mean to +content themselves with the abdication of Napoleon, but will endeavour to +dismember France. The Prussian officers seem to speak very confidently that +Alsace and Lorraine will be severed from France and reunited to the +Germanic body, to which, they say, every country ought to belong where the +German language is spoken, and they are continually citing the words of an +old song: + + + Wo ist das deutsche Vaterland?.... + Wo man die deutsche Zunge spricht, + Da ist das deutsche Vaterland.[26] + +In English: "Where is the country of the Germans? Where the German language +is spoken, there is the country of the Germans!" + +Coblentz is a clean handsome city, but there is nothing very remarkable in +it except a fine and spacious "Place." But in the neighbourhood stands the +_Chartreuse_, situated on an eminence commanding a fine view of the whole +_Thalweg_. This _Chartreuse_ is one English mile distant from the town and +my friend the Austrian Captain had the goodness to conduct me thither. It +is a fine large building, but is falling rapidly to decay, being +appropriated to no purpose whatever. The country is beautiful in the +environs of this place, and has repeatedly called forth the admiration and +delight of all travellers. Near Coblentz is the monument erected to the +French General Marceau, who fell gloriously fighting for the cause of +liberty, respected by friend and foe. + + +July 10th. + +We had a large society this day at the table d'hôte. The conversation +turned on the restoration of the Bourbons, which nobody at table seemed to +desire. Several anecdotes were related of the conduct of the Bourbon +princes and of the emigration, who held their court at Coblentz when they +first emigrated; these anecdotes did not redound much to their honor or +credit, and I remark that they are held in great disgust and abhorrence by +the inhabitants of these towns, on account of their treacherous and +unprincipled conduct. It was from here that "La Cour de Coblentz," as it +was called, intrigued by turns with the Jacobins and the Brissotins and, by +betraying the latter to the former, were in part the cause of the +sanguinary measures adopted by Robespierre.[27] The object of this +atrocious policy was that the French people would, by witnessing so many +executions, become disgusted at the sanguinary tyranny of Robespierre and +recall the Bourbons unconditionally; which, fortunately for France and +thanks to the heroism and bravery of the republican armies, did not take +place; for had the restoration taken place at that time, a dreadful +reaction would have been encouraged and the cruelties of the reign of +Terror surpassed. With the same view, emissaries were dispatched from the +Court of Coblentz to the South of France in order, under the disguise of +patriots, to preach up the most exaggerated corollaries to the theories of +liberty and equality. + +Among other things at Ehrenbreitstein is a superb pleasure barge belonging +to the Dukes of Nassau for water excursions up and down the Rhine. A _coche +d'eau_ starts from here daily to Mayence and another to Cologne. The price +is ten franks the person. The superb _chaussée on_ the left bank of the +Rhine, which extends all the way from Cologne to Mayence, was constructed +by the direction of Napoleon. In the evening I went to the theatre at +Coblentz, where Mozart's opera of Don Giovanni was represented. I +recollected my old acquaintance "La ci darem la mano," which I had often +heard in England. + + +MAYENCE, 12th July. + +I embarked in the afternoon of the 11th in the _coche d'eau_ bound to +Mayence. Except an old "Schiffer," I was the only passenger on board, as +few chuse to go up stream on account of the delay. I, however, being master +of my own time, and wishing to view the lovely scenery on the banks of the +river, preferred this conveyance, and I was highly gratified. After +Boppart, the bed of the river narrows much. High rocks on each bank hem in +the stream and render it more rapid. Nothing can be more sublime and +magnificent than the scenery; at every turn of the river you would suppose +its course blocked up by rocks, perceiving no visible outlet. Remains of +Gothic castles are to be seen on their summits at a short distance from +each other, and where the banks are not abrupt and _escarpés_ there are +_coteaux_ covered with vines down to the water's edge. The tolling of the +bells at the different villages on the banks gives a most aweful solemn +religious sound, and the reverberation is prolonged by the high rocks, +which seem to shut you out from the rest of the world. There are the walls +nearly entire of two castles of the Middle Ages, the one called "Die Katze" +(the cat); the other "Die Maus" (the Mouse); each has its tradition, for +which and for many other interesting particulars I refer you to Klebe's and +Schreiber's description of the banks of the Rhine. + +We arrived early in the evening at St Goar, where we stopped and slept. St +Goar is a fine old Gothic town, romantically situated, and is famous from +having two whirlpools in its neighbourhood. It is completely commanded and +protected by Rheinfels, an ancient hill fortress, but the fortification of +which no longer exist. It requires half an hour's walk to ascend to the +summit of Rheinfels, but the traveller is well repaid for the fatigue of +the ascent by the fine view enjoyed from the top. I remained at Rheinfels +nearly an hour. What a solemn stillness seems to pervade this part of the +river, only interrupted by the occasional splash of the oar, and the +tolling of the steeple bell! Bingen on the right bank is the next place of +interest, and on an island in the centre of the river facing Bingen stand +the ruins of a celebrated tower call'd the "Maüsethurm" (mouse tower), so +named from the circumstance of Bishop Hatto having been devoured therein by +rats according to the tradition. This was represented as a punishment from +Heaven on the said bishop for his tyranny and oppression towards the poor; +but the story was invented by the monks in order to vilify his memory, for +it appears he was obnoxious to them on account of his attempts to enforce a +rigid discipline among them and to check their licentiousness. + +Bieberich, a superb palace belonging to the Dukes of Nassau on the right +bank, next presents itself to view on your left ascending; to your right, +at a short distance from Bieberich, you catch the first view of Mayence on +the left bank, with its towers and steeples rising from the glade. We +reached Mayence at 4 o'clock p.m., and I went to put up at the three Crowns +(_Drei-Kronen_). The first news I learned on arriving at Mayence was that +Napoleon had surrendered himself to the Captain of an English frigate at +Oléron; but though particulars are not given, Louis XVIII is said to be +restored, which I am very sorry to hear. The Allies then have been guilty +of the most scandalous infraction of their most solemn promise, since they +declared that they made war on Napoleon alone and that they never meant to +dictate to the French people the form of government they were to adopt. +Napoleon having surrendered and Louis being restored, the war may be +considered as ended for the present, unless the Allies should attempt to +wrest any provinces from France, and in this case there is no saying what +may happen. This has finally ended the career of Napoleon. + +There is in Mayence a remarkably fine broad spacious street called "die +grosse Bleiche" and in general the buildings are striking and solid, but +too much crowded together as is the case in all ancient fortified cities. +The Cathedral is well worth seeing and contains many things of value and +costly relics. When one views the things of value in the churches here, at +Aix-la-Chapelle and at Cologne, what a contradiction does it give to the +calumnies spread against the French republicans that they plundered the +churches of the towns they occupied! There is an agreeable promenade lined +with trees on the banks of the river called _L'Allée du Rhin._ Mayence is +strongly fortified and has besides a citadel (a pentagon) of great +strength, which is separated from the town by an esplanade. The _Place du +Marché_ is striking and in the _Place Verte_ I saw for the first time in my +life the Austrian uniform, there being an Austrian garrison as well as +troops belonging to the other Germanic states, such as Prussians, +Bavarians, Saxons, Hessians, and troops of the Duchy of Berg. This City +belongs to the Germanic Confederation and is to be always occupied by a +mixed garrison. The Archduke Charles has his head-quarters here at present. +I attended an inspection of a battalion of Berg troops on the _Place +Verte_; they had a very military appearance and went thro' their manoeuvres +with great precision. From the top of the steeple of the Church of Sanct +Stephen you have a fine view of the whole Rheingau. Opposite to Mayence, on +the right bank, communicating by an immensely long bridge of boats, is the +small town and fort of Castel, which forms a sort of _tête-de-pont_ to +Mayence. The works of Castel take in flank and enfilade the embouchure of +the river Mayn which flows into the Rhine. One of the redoubts of Castel is +called the redoubt of Montebello, thus named after Marshal Lannes, Duke of +Montebello. + +The German papers continue their invectives against France. In one of them +I read a patriotic song recommending the youth of Germany to go into France +to revenge themselves, to drink the wine and live at the cost of the +inhabitants, and then is about to recommend their making love to the wives +and daughters of the French, when a sudden flash of patriotism comes across +him, and he says: "No! for that a German warrior makes love to German girls +and German women only!" (_Und küsst nur Deutsche Mädchen._) With regard to +the women here, those that I have hitherto met with, and those I saw at +Ehrenbreitstein, were exceedingly handsome, so that the German warriors, if +love is their object, will do well to remain here, as they may go further +and fare worse, for I understand the women of Lorraine and Champagne are +not very striking for personal beauty. There were some good paintings in +the picture gallery here and this and the fortifications are nearly all +that need call forth the attention of a traveller who makes but a fleeting +visit. + + +FRANKFORT-ON-THE-MAYN, 14th July. + +I arrived here the day before yesterday in the diligence from Mayence, the +price of which is two and a half florins the person, and the distance +twenty-five English miles; there is likewise a water conveyance by the Mayn +for half the money. The road runs thro' the village of Hockheim, which in +England gives the name of _Hock_ to all the wines of Rhenish growth. The +country is undulating in gentle declivities and vales and is highly +cultivated in vines and corn. I put up here at the _Hotel Zum Schwan_ (The +Swan), which is a very large and spacious hotel and has excellent +accommodation. There is a very excellent table d'hôte at one o'clock at +this hotel, for which the price is one and a half florins the person, +including a pint of Moselle wine and a _krug_ or jar of Seltzer water. +About four or five o'clock in the afternoon it is the fashion to come and +drink old Rhine wine _à l'Anglaise_. That sort called _Rudesheimer_ I +recommend as delicious. There is also a very pleasant wine called the +_Ingelheimer_, which is in fact the "red Hock." At one of these afternoon +meetings a gentleman who had just returned from Paris related to us some +anecdotes of what passed at the Conference between the French commissioners +who were sent after the abdication of Napoleon, by the provisional +government, to treat with the Allies; in which it appeared that the British +commissioner, Lord S[tewart],[28] brother to the Secretary of State for +Foreign Affairs, made rather a simple figure by his want of historical +knowledge or recollection. He began, it seems, in rather a bullying manner, +in the presence of the commissioners, to declaim against what he called the +perfidy and mutiny of the French army against their lawful Sovereign; when +the venerable Lafayette, who was one of the commissioners and who is ever +foremost when his country has need of his assistance, remarked to him that +the English revolution in 1688, which the English were accustomed always to +stile glorious, and which he (Lafayette) stiled glorious also, was +effectuated in a similar manner by the British army abandoning King James +and ranging themselves under the standard of the Prince of Orange; that if +it was a crime on the part of the French army to join Napoleon, their +ancient leader who had led them so often to victory, it was a still greater +crime on the part of the English army to go over to the Prince of Orange +who was unknown to them and a foreigner in the bargain; and that therefore +this blame of the French army, coming from the mouth of an Englishman, +surprised him, the more so as the Duke of Marlborough, the boast and pride +of the English, set the example of defection from his Sovereign, who had +been his greatest benefactor. Lord S[tewart], who did not appear to be at +all conscious of this part of our history, was staggered, a smile was +visible on the countenances of all the foreign diplomatists assembled +there, and Lord S[tewart], to hide his confusion, and with an ill-disguised +anger, turned to Lafayette and said that the Allies would not treat until +Napoleon should be delivered to them. "Je m'étonne, my lord, qu'en faisant +une proposition si infâme et si deshonorante, vous vous plaisez de vous +adresser au prisonnier d'Olmütz," was the dignified answer of that virtuous +patriot and ever ardent veteran of liberty.[29] + +The main street in Frankfort called the _Zeil_ is very broad and spacious, +and can boast of a number of splendid houses belonging to individuals, +particularly the house of Schweitzer[30]; and on the Quai, on the banks of +the Mayn, there is a noble range of buildings. The bridge across the Mayn +is very fine and on the other side of the river is the suburb of +Sachsenhansen, which is famous for being the head-quarters of the +priestesses of the Venus vulgivaga who abound in this city. There are in +Frankfort an immense number of Jews, who have a quarter of the city +allotted to them. The gardens that environ the town are very tastefully +laid out, and serve as the favourite promenade of the _beau monde_ of +Frankfort. The Cathedral will always be a place of interest as the temple +wherein in later times the German Caesars were crowned and inaugurated. At +the _Hôtel de Ville_ called the _Römer_, which is an ugly Gothic building, +but interesting from its being in this edifice that the Emperors were +chosen, is to be seen the celebrated Golden Bull which is written on +parchment in the Latin language with a golden seal attached to it. In the +Hall where the Electors used to sit on the election of an Emperor of the +Romans, are to be seen the portraits of several of the Emperors, and a very +striking one in particular of the Emperor Joseph II, in full length, in his +Imperial robes. There is no table d'hôte at the _Swan_ for supper, but this +meal is served up _à la carte_, which is very convenient for those who do +not require copious meals. At the same table with me at supper sat a very +agreeable man with whom I entered into conversation. He was a Hessian and +had served in a Hessian battalion in the English service during the +American war. He was so kind as to procure me admission to the Casino at +the Hotel Rumpf,[31] where there is a literary institution and where they +receive newspapers, pamphlets and reviews in the German, French, English +and Italian languages. In Frankfort there are several houses of individuals +which merit the name of palaces, and there is a great display of opulence +and industry in this city. In the environs there is abundance of _maisons +de plaisance_. For commerce it is the most bustling city (inland) in all +Germany, besides it being the seat of the present German Diet; and from +here, as from a centre, diverge the high roads to all parts of the Empire. + +I have been once at the theatre, which is very near the _Swan_. A German +opera, the scene whereof was in India, was given. The scenery and +decorations were good, appropriate, and the singing very fair. The theatre +itself is dirty and gloomy. The German language appears to me to be better +adapted to music than either the French or English. The number of dactylic +terminations in the language give to it all the variety that the +_sdruccioli_ give to the Italian. As to poetry, no language in the world +suits itself better to all the vagaries and phantasies of the Muse, since +it possesses so much natural rythm and allows, like the Greek, the +combination of compound words and a redundancy of epithets, and it is +besides so flexible that it lends itself to all the ancient as well as the +modern metres with complete success: indeed it is the only modern language +that I know of which does so. + +As for political opinions here, the Germans seem neither to wish nor to +care about the restoration of the Bourbons; but they talk loudly of the +necessity of tearing Alsace and Lorraine from France. In fact, they wish to +put it out of the power of the French ever to invade Germany again; a thing +however little to be hoped for. For the minor and weaker Germanic states +have always hitherto (and will probably again at some future day) invoked +the assistance of France against the greater and stronger. I observe that +the Austrian Government is not at all popular here, and that its bad faith +in financial matters is so notorious and has been so severely felt here, +that a merchant told me, alluding to the bankruptcy of the Austrian +Government on two occasions when there was no absolute necessity for the +measure, that Frankfort had suffered more from the bad faith of the +Austrian Government than from all the war contributions levied by the +French. + + +BRUXELLES, 28th July. + +On arrival at Coblentz we heard that Napoleon had surrendered himself +unconditionally to Capt. Maitland of the _Bellerophon_. He never should +have humiliated himself so far as to surrender himself to the British +ministry. He owed to himself, to his brave fellow soldiers, to the French +nation whose Sovereign he had been, not to take such a step, but rather die +in the field like our Richard III, a glorious death which cast a lustre +around his memory in spite of the darker shades of his character; or if he +could not fall in the field, he should have died like Hannibal, rather than +commit himself into the hands of a government in which generosity is by no +means a distinguishing feature, and which on many occasions has shown a +petty persecuting and vindictive spirit, and thus I have no hesitation in +portraying the characteristics of our Tory party, which, unfortunately for +the cause of liberty, rules with undivided sway over England. He will now +end his days in captivity, for his destination appears to be already fixed, +and St Helena is named as the intended residence; he will, I say, be +exposed to all the taunts and persecutions that petty malice can suggest; +and this with the most uncomfortable reflections: for had he been more +considerate of the spirit of the age, he might have set all the Monarchs, +Ultras and Oligarchs and their ministers at defiance. But he wished to ape +Charlemagne and the Caesars and to establish an universal Empire: a thing +totally impossible in our days and much to be deprecated were it possible. + +Consigned to St Helena, Napoleon will furnish to posterity a proverb like +that of Dionysius at Corinth. This banishment to St Helena will be very +ungenerous and unjust on the part of the English Government, but I suppose +their satellites and adherents will term it an act of clemency, and some +_Church and Kingmen_ would no doubt recommend hewing him in pieces, as +Samuel did to Agag. + +I stopped three days at Aix-la-Chapelle to drink the waters and then came +straight to this place stopping half a day in Liége. I shall start for +Paris in a couple of days, as the communication is now open and the public +conveyances re-established. My passport is _visé_ in the following terms: +"Bon pour aller à Paris en suivant la route des armées alliées." I am quite +impatient to visit that celebrated city. + + +[18] Philipp Klingmann (1762-1824) was better known as an actor than as an + author.--ED. + +[19] Ariosto, _Orlando Furioso_, VII, 12, 1.--ED. + +[20] "What business have you? None, I travel for amusement. Strange! What + is there strange in travelling to see a fine country?" + +[21] _Le Compère Mathieu_, a satirical novel by the Abbé Henri Joseph + Dulaurens, published 1765 and sometimes (though wrongly) attributed to + Voltaire. One of the prominent talkers in the dialogues is Père Jean + de Domfront.--ED. + +[22] Horace, _Epist_., I, i, 15.--ED. + +[23] This altar, inscribed _Deae Victoriae Sacrum (Corpus inscr. lat_. + XIII, 8252), was erected by the Roman fleet on the Rhine at the place + now called _Altsburg_ near Cologne and, after its discovery, taken to + Bonn, where it was set up on the _Remigius-Platz_ (now called + _Roemer-Platz_) on Dec, 3, 1809. It is now in the Provincial + Museum.--ED. + +[24] Ariosto, _Orlando Furioso_, vi, 20, 3.--ED. + +[25] August Lafontaine (1758-1831), born in Brunswick of a family of French + protestants, was the very prolific and now quite forgotten author of + many novels and novelettes.--ED. + +[26] From Ernst Moritz Arndt's (1779-1860) celebrated poem, _Des Deutschen + Vaterland_.--ED. + +[27] There seems to be much truth in this opinion, though the question of + the intrigues of Louis XVIII with Robespierre is still shrouded in + obscurity. Some pages of General Thiébault's memoirs might have + cleared it up, but they have been torn out from the manuscript + (_Mémoires du Général Baron Thiébault_, vol. I, p. 273). Louis XVIII + paid a pension to Robespierre's sister, Charlotte.--ED. + +[28] Sir Charles Stewart, created Lord Stewart In 1814; he was a + half-brother of Lord Castlereagh.--ED. + +[29] The same story is given, with slight differences, by Lafayette himself + (_Mémoires_, vol. V, p. 472-3; Paris and Leipzig, 1838). See also + _Souvenirs historiques et parlementaires du Comte de Pontécoulant_, + vol. III, p. 428 (Paris, 1863). Major Frye's narrative is by far the + oldest and seems the most trustworthy.--ED. + +[30] The house in question was built about 1780 by Nicolas de Pigage for + the rich merchant, Franz von Schweizer; Pigage was the son of the + architect of King Stanislas at Nancy. The Schweizer palace became + later on the _Hôtel de Russie_ and was demolished about 1890, the + Imperial Post Office having been erected in its place. The Schweizer + family is now extinct.--ED. + +[31] A _Casinogesellschaft_, still in existence (1908), was founded at + Frankfort in 1805, with the object of uniting the aristocratic + elements of the city, admittance being freely allowed to distinguished + strangers, in particular to the envoys of the _Bundestag_. The + _Gesellschaft_ or club occupied spacious rooms in the house of the + once famous _tapissier_ and decorator Major Rumpf, grandfather of the + German sculptor of the same name. That building, situated at the + corner of the _Rossmarkt_, was demolished about 1880.--ED. + + + + +CHAPTER III + +From Bruxelles to Paris--Restoration of Louis XVIII--The officers of the +allied armies--The Palais Royal--The Louvre--Protest of the author against +the proposed despoiling of the French Museums--Unjust strictures against +Napoleon's military policy--The _cant_ about revolutionary robberies--The +Grand Opera--Monuments in Paris--The Champs Elysées--Saint-Cloud--The Hôtel +des Invalides--The Luxembourg--General Labédoyère--Priests and +emigrants--Prussian Plunder--Handsome behaviour of the English officers-- +Reminiscences of Eton--Versailles. + + +PARIS, August 3rd. + +Here I am in Paris. I left Bruxelles the 29th July, stopped one night at +Mons and passing thro' Valenciennes, Péronne and St Quentin arrived here on +the third day. The villages and towns on the road had been pretty well +stripped of eatables by the Allied army, as well as by the French, so that +we did not meet with the best fare. In every village the white flag was +displayed by way of propitiating the clemency of the Allies and averting +plunder. + + +August 7th. + +I have put up at the _Hôtel de Cahors_, Rue de Richelieu, where I pay five +francs per diem for a single room; such is the dearness of lodgings at this +moment. It is well furnished, however, with sofas, commodes, mirrors and a +handsome clock and is very spacious withal, there being an alcove for the +bed. This situation is extremely convenient, being close to the Palais +Royal, Rue St Honoré, Théâtre Français, Louvre and the Tuileries on one +side, and to the Grand Opera, the Théâtre Feydeau, the Italian Opera and +the Boulevards on the other. The National Library is not many yards distant +from my hotel, and a few yards from that _en face_ is the Grand Opera house +or _Académie Royale de Musique_. + +This city is filled with officers and travellers of all kinds who have +followed the army. The House of Legislature of the Hundred Days,--as it is +the fashion to style Napoleon's last reign--dissolved themselves on the +demand of a million of francs as a war contribution made by Marshall +Blucher. Louis XVIII has been hustled into Paris, and now occupies the +throne of his ancestors under the protection of a million of foreign +bayonets, and the _bannière des Lis_ has replaced the tricolor on the +castle of the Tuileries. A detachment of the British army occupies +Montmartre, where the British flag is flying, and in the Champs Elysées and +Bois de Boulogne are encamped several brigades of English and Hanoverians. +The Sovereigns of Russia, Austria and Prussia are expected and then it is +said that the fate of France will be decided. The Army of the Loire has at +length made its submission to the King, after stipulating but in vain for +the beloved tricolor. Report says it is to be immediately dissolved and a +new army raised with more legitimate inclinations. Should the King accede +to this, France will be completely disarmed and at the mercy of the Allies, +and the King himself a state prisoner. The entrance into Paris, thro' the +Faubourg St Denis, does not give to the stranger who arrives there for the +first time a great idea of the magnificence of Paris; he should enter by +the Avenue de Neuilly or by the Porte St Antoine, both of which are very +striking and superb. + +Now you must not expect that I shall or can give you a description of all +the fine things that I have seen or am about to see, for they have been so +often described before that it would be a perfect waste of time, and I can +do better in referring you at once to the _Guide des Voyageurs à Paris_; so +that I shall content myself with merely indicating these objects which make +the most impression on me. + +My first visit was, as you will have no doubt guessed, to the Palais Royal: +there I breakfasted, there I dined, and there I passed the whole day +without the least _ennui_. It is a world in itself. It swarms at present +with officers of the Allied army. The variety of uniforms adds to the +splendour and novelty of the scene. The restaurants and cafés are filled +with them. The Palais Royal is certainly the temple of animal +gratification, the paradise of gastronomes. The officers are indulging in +all sorts of luxury, revelling in Champaign and Burgundy, in all the +pleasures of the belly, as well as _in iis quae sub ventre sunt_. 'Twill be +a famous harvest for the restaurateurs and for the Cyprians who parade up +and down the Arcades, sure of a constant succession of suitors. In fact, +whatever be the taste of a man, whether sensual or intellectual or both, he +can gratify himself here without moving out of the precincts of the Palais +Royal. Here are cafés, restaurants, shops of all kinds whose display of +clocks, jewellery, stuffs, silks, merchandize from all parts of the world, +is most brilliant and dazzling; here you find reading-rooms where +newspapers, reviews and pamphlets of all tongues, nations and languages are +to be met with; here are museums of paintings, statues, plans in relief, +cosmoramas; here are libraries, gaming houses, houses of fair reception; +cellars where music, dancing and all kinds of orgies are carried on; +exhibitions of all sorts, learned pigs, dancing dogs, military canary +birds, hermaphrodites, giants, dwarf jugglers from Hindostan, catawbas from +America, serpents from Java, and crocodiles from the Nile. Here, so +Kotzebue has calculated, you may go through all the functions of life in +one day and end it afterwards should you be so inclined. You may eat, +drink, sleep, bathe, go to the _Cabinet d'aisance_, walk, read, make love, +game and, should you be tired of life, you may buy powder and ball or opium +to hasten your journey across Styx; or should you desire a more classic +_exit_, you may die like Seneca opening your veins in a bath. Deep play +goes forward day and night, and I verily believe there are some persons in +Paris who never quit these precincts. The restaurants and cafés are most +brilliantly fitted up. One, _Le Café des Mille Colonnes_, so called from +the reflection of the columns in the mirrors with which the wainscoat is +lined, boasts of a _limonadière_ of great beauty. She is certainly a fine +woman, dresses very well, as indeed most French women do, and has a +remarkably fine turned arm which she takes care to display on all +occasions. I do not, however, perceive much animation in her; she always +appears the same, nor has she made any more impression on me--tho' I am of +a very susceptible nature in this particular--than a fine statue or picture +would do. There she sits on a throne and receives the hommage and +compliments of most of the visitors and the money of all, which seems to +please her most, for she receives the compliments which are paid her with +the utmost _sang-froid_ and indifference, and the money she takes especial +care to count. English troops, conjointly with the National Guard, do duty +at the entrance of the Palais Royal from the Rue St Honoré; and it became +necessary to have a strong guard to keep the peace, as frequent disputes +take place between the young men of the Capital and the Prussian officers, +against whom the French are singularly inveterate. + +The French, when left to themselves, are very peaceable in their pleasures +and the utmost public decorum is observed; their sobriety contributes much +to this; but if there were in London an establishment similar to that of +the Palais Royal, it would become a perfect pandemonium and would require +an army to keep the peace. The French police keep a very sharp look-out on +all political offences, but are more indulgent towards all moral ones, as +long as public decorum is not infringed, and then it is severely punished. +But they have none of that censoriousness or prying spirit in France which +is so common in England to hunt out and criticise the private vices of +their neighbours, which, in my opinion, does not proceed from any real +regard for virtue, but from a fanatical, jealous, envious, and malignant +spirit. Those vice-hunters never have the courage to attack a man of wealth +and power; but a poor artisan or labourer, who buys a piece of meat after +twelve o'clock on Saturday night, or a glass of spirits during church-time +on Sunday, is termed a Sabbath-breaker and imprisoned without mercy. + +In the Palais Royal the three most remarkable temples of dissipation are +Very's for gastronomes, Robert's faro bank for gamesters, and the Café +Montausier for those devoted to the fair sex. The Café Montausier is fitted +up in the guise of a theatre where music, singing and theatrical pieces are +given; you pay nothing for admission, but are expected to call for some +refreshment. It is splendidly illuminated, and is the Café _par +excellence_, frequented by those ladies who have made the opposite choice +to that of Hercules, and who, taking into consideration the shortness and +uncertainty of life, dedicate it entirely to pleasure, reflecting that + + Laggiù nell' Inferno, + Nell' obblio sempiterno, + In sempiterno orrore, + Non si parla d'amore. + +Of course, this saloon is crowded with amateurs, and the Prussians and +English are not the least ardent votaries of the Goddess of Paphos; many a +vanquished victor sinks oppressed with wine and love on the breast of a +Dalilah: this last comparison suggests itself to me from the immense +quantity of hair worn by the Prussians, as if their strength, like that of +Samson's, depended on their _chevelure_. There is a very pretty graceful +girl who attends here and at the different restaurants and cafés with an +assortment of bijouterie and other knick-knacks to sell. She is full of wit +and repartee; but her answer to all those who attempt to squeeze her hand +and make love to her is always: "_Achetez quelque chose._" Her name is +Céline and she has a great flow of conversation on all subjects but that of +love, which she invariably cuts short by "_Achetez quelque chose._" + + + +10th August. + +I have been to see the Museum of sculpture and painting in the Louvre, but +what is to be seen there baffles all description: + + Se tante lingue avessi e tante voci + Quanti occhi il cielo o quante arene il mare + Non basterian a dir le lodi immense. + +The _Apollo Belvedere_, the _Venus de Medici_ and the _Laocoon_ first +claimed my attention, and engaged me for at least an hour and a half before +I could direct my attention to the other masterpieces. I admire indeed the +_Laocoon_, still more the _Venus_, but the _Apollo_ certainly bears away +the palm and I fully participate of all Winkelmann's enthusiasm for that +celebrated statue. The _Venus_ is a very beautiful woman, but the _Apollo_ +is a god. One is lost, and one's imagination is bewildered when one enters +into the halls of sculpture of this unparalleled collection, amidst the +statues of Gods, Demi-Gods, Heroes, Philosophers, Poets, Roman Emperors, +Statesmen and all the illustrious worthies that adorned the Greek and Roman +page. What subjects for contemplation! A chill of awe and veneration +pervaded my whole frame when I first entered into that glorious temple of +the Arts. I felt as I should were I admitted among supernatural beings, or +as if I had "shuffled off this mortal coil" and were suddenly ushered into +the presence of the illustrious tenants of another world; in fact, I felt +as if Olympus and the whole Court of Immortals were open to my view. No! I +cannot describe these things, I can only feel them; I throw down the pen +and call upon expressive silence to muse their praise. + +Of the Picture Gallery too what can I say that can possibly give you an +idea of its variety and extent? Here are the finest works of the Italian, +Flemish, and French schools, and you are as much embarrassed to single out +the favourite object, as the Grand Signor would be, among six or seven +hundred of the most beautiful women in the world, to make his choice. The +only fault I find in this collection is that there were rather too many +Scripture pieces, Crucifixions, Martyrdoms and allegorical pictures, and +too few from historical or mythological subjects. Yet perhaps I am wrong in +classing the Scripture pieces with Martyrdoms, Crucifixions, Grillings of +Saints and Madonnas; there are very many beautiful episodes in the +Scriptures which would furnish admirable subjects for painters. Why then +have they chosen disgusting subjects such as Judith sawing off Holofernes' +head, Siserah's head nailed to the bedpost, John the Baptist's on a +trencher, etc.? But the pictures representing Martyrdoms are too revolting +to the eye and should not be placed in this Museum. + +It is reported that the Allies mean to strip this Museum [of sculpture and +painting]. No! it cannot be, they never surely can be guilty of such an act +of Vandalism and contemptible spite. I am aware that there is a great +clamour amongst a certain description of English for restoring these +statues and pictures to the countries from whence they came, and that it is +the fashion to term the translation of them to Paris a revolutionary +robbery; but let us bring these gentlemen to a calm reasoning on the +subject. + +The statues and paintings in question belonged either to Governments at war +with France, or to individuals inhabiting those countries; now, with +respect to individuals, I will venture to affirm, on the best authority, +that the property of no individual was taken from him without an +equivalent. Those who had statues and pictures of value and wished to sell +them, received their full value from the French Government, but there was +no force used on the occasion; in fact, many who were in want of money were +rejoiced at the opportunity of selling, as they could never have otherwise +disposed of those valuable articles to individuals at the same price that +the French Government gave. I recollect a day or two ago being in +conversation with a Milanese on this subject and others connected with the +occupation of Italy by the French. I happened to mention that the conquest +of Italy by the Republican armies must have been attended with confiscation +of property; he assured me that no such thing as confiscation of property +took place; that so far from being the losers by the French invasion and +the establishment of their system, they had on the contrary been +considerable gainers, for that the country flourished under their +domination in a manner before unknown, and that one of the greatest +advantages attendant on the occupation was the establishment of an equality +of weight and measures, the decimal division of the coin, the introduction +of an admirable code of laws free'd from all barbarisms--legal, political +and theological--and intelligible to all classes, so that there was no +occasion to cite old authors and go back for three or four hundred years to +hunt out authorities and precedents for what men of sense could determine +at once by following the dictates of their own judgment. + +With respect to the statues and pictures belonging to the different +governments of Italy, it must never be forgotten that these governments +made war against the French Revolution either openly or insidiously, and +did their utmost to aid the coalition to crush the infant liberties of +France. Those who did not act openly did so covertly and indirectly; in +short, from their tergiversations and intrigues, they had no claim whatever +on the mercy of the conquerors, who treated them with a great deal of +clemency. The destruction of these governments was loudly called for by the +people themselves, who looked on the French as their deliverers. + +It will be admitted, I believe, that it is and has been the custom on the +continent, in all wars, for all parties to levy war contributions on the +conquered or occupied countries; but Buonoparte thought it more glorious +for the French name to take works of art instead of money; and not a statue +or picture was taken from the vanquished governments except by a solemn +treaty of cession, or given in lieu of contributions at the option of the +owners, and the Princes were very glad to give up their pictures and +statues, which the most of them did not know how to appreciate, in lieu of +money which they were all anxious to keep; and on these articles a fair +value was fixed by competent judges. In this manner did the French become +the possessors of these valuable objects of art, and in this manner was the +noble Museum in Paris filled up, and surely nothing could be more generous +and liberal than the use made of the Museum by the French Government; +foreigners were indeed more favoured than the inhabitants themselves. To +the inhabitants of Paris this Museum is open twice a week; but to +foreigners on producing their passports, it is open every day in the week +all the year round; artists of all nations are allowed, during a certain +number of hours each day, to come to copy the statues and pictures which +suit their taste; and stoves are lighted for their accommodation during +winter, and all this gratis.--Now, before these objects of art were +collected here, they were distributed, some in churches, and some in +Government palaces. To see the first, required a specific introduction to +the owner; to see the second, application to the attendants of the churches +became necessary, and for both these you were required to pay fees to the +servants and church-attendants, who are always impatient to take your fee +and hurry you through the apartments or chapels, scarcely giving you time +to examine anything. To be admitted into the Government palaces was a +matter of favour, and here also fees were required.[32] Here in the Louvre +there is no introduction required; no court to be paid to _major-domos_, no +favour; it is open to all classes, high and low, without exception, and no +money is allowed to be given. + +But there are some people, in their ridiculous fury against the French +Revolution, who would fain persuade us that before that epoch there was a +golden age on the earth, that there were no acts of violence committed, no +frauds practised, no property injured, no individuals ill-used; that every +Prince governed like Numa; that every noble was a Bayard, and every priest +like a primitive apostle. Why I need go no further than the Seven Years' +war to show that in that war, during the height of European civilisation, +and carried on between the most polished nations in Europe, there were much +more acts of violence and rapine carried on than ever were done by the +French republicans. I by no means wish to excuse or even palliate the acts +of ferocity which took place at that epoch of the French Revolution called +the reign of Terror, which were executed by a people wrought up to frenzy +by a recollection of their wrongs; and I know too well that many virtuous +individuals fell victims to their indiscriminating fury; but I do believe +and aver that much more clamour was made at the execution of a handful of +corrupt courtiers, intriguing and profligate women of quality and worthless +priests, than all the rest put together. + +To return to the Seven Years' war (I may be permitted to take this +retrospect, I hope, since it is the fashion, and those who differ with me +in opinions go much farther back than I do), let the French royalists and +emigrants recollect the confiscation of property and barbarity exercised by +Marshall Richelieu in Hanover, where many families were reduced to beggary. +They may not chuse to recollect this; but the Hanoverians do and they have +not forgotten the _Pavillon de Hanovre_, so called by the wits of the time +from its having been built by the Marshall with money arising from the +spoils of Hanover; will they recollect also the harsh treatment inflicted +on the burghers and citizens of a town in Germany, who were shut up in a +room and kept without food or drink for nearly three days because they +would not consent to fix a heavy and unwarrantable contribution on their +fellow citizens; when these unhappy but virtuous men were only allowed to +go out for the necessities of nature attended by sentries, and on the third +day, when fainting with hunger, a little bread and water was given to them, +with an assurance that in future they were not to expect such luxuries. +Have they forgot the devastation committed in Berlin by the Austrians in +the Seven Years' war, when they pillaged, burned or destroyed all the +valuable property of the royal Palaces, the most valuable works of art, +vases, statues of antiquity, the loss of which could never be replaced; +when they lopped off the heads, arms and legs of the statues? Have they +forgot the conduct of the belligerent powers at the siege of Dresden at the +same epoch, when whole families, among whom were helpless old men and women +with children at the breast, were compelled to leave Dresden in the middle +of a most rigorous winter and were driven to take refuge in the fields +where the most of them perished with hunger and cold; and where many +individuals lost their reason and became insane from the treatment they +received? Have they forgotten the merciless barbarities inflicted by the +Russians in the same war on the inhabitants of the Prussian territory? +their ripping up and burning men, women, and children? and the dreadful +retaliation inflicted on them at the battle of Zorndorff, when the +Prussians, exasperated at the idea of those horrors so fresh in their +memory, on being ordered to bury the Russian dead, threw the wounded men +also belonging to that nation into the graves dug for the dead, to be thus +buried alive, and hastily filled them up with earth, as if fearful that +they might relent, did they give themselves time for reflection? These are +not exaggerations; they are given by an author celebrated for his +impartiality and deep research and who was an eye-witness of many of these +proceedings; I mean Archenholz in his admirable history of the Seven Years' +war.[33] + +Then again in the war of American Independence (and here my countrymen must +excuse me if I point out the acts of injustice committed by them, when +acting in obedience to an unprincipled and arbitrary government and in a +cause hostile to freedom), who does not recollect the private property +wantonly destroyed and confiscated by the English? their employing the +Indian tribes, those merciless savages of the forest, to scalp, etc., which +called forth the indignation of a Chatham? and the grossly unjust pillage +and confiscation of property which took place at St Eustatius by the +commanders of a _religious and gracious King_?[34] Again, who does not +recollect the gentle but deep reproof given by the American General +Schuyler to the English General Burgoyne, when the latter was made prisoner +by the Americans under Gates? General Schuyler's valuable house, barns, +etc., had been burned by the express order of Burgoyne. Nevertheless, +Schuyler received him with dignified politeness, magnanimously stifled the +recollection of the injury he had received, and obtained for him a good +quarter, merely remarking, "General, had my house and farms not been +burned, I could have offered you a more comfortable abode." How Burgoyne +must have felt this reproof! yet he was not by nature a harsh man, but he +had the orders of his government to exercise severities; he was educated in +Tory principles, and passive obedience is their motto. + +Can one forget likewise even, in the late war, Nelson's conduct to +Caraccioli at Naples, whom he caused to be hanged on board of an English +ship of war, together with a number of other patriots, in violation of a +solemn capitulation, by which it had been stipulated that they should be +considered as prisoners of war and sent to France? Then again the wanton +destruction of the Capitol and other public buildings at Washington not +devoted to military purposes, which it is not usual to destroy or deface; +and the valuable public library too which was burned? What excuse can be +offered for this? Were the times of Omar returned? It is fair and allowed +by the laws of war to blow up and destroy arsenals, magazines, containing +warlike stores and engines of destruction, but to destroy with Gothic +barbarity buildings of great symmetry and beauty, and a library too--O fie! + +Why I will defy any man to point out a single instance where the French +republican armies or Napoleon ever injured or wantonly destroyed a single +national edifice, a single work of art, a single book belonging to any +other country! On the contrary, they invariably extended their protection +to the Arts and Sciences. Why at Vienna, where there is, I understand, a +most splendid museum, and many most valuable works of art and antiquity, +tho' this city fell twice into their possession, they never destroyed or +took away a single article; but, on the contrary, there, as well as in +Berlin, they invited the inhabitants to form a civic guard for the +protection of their property. As to the Vandalism shewn during the reign of +Terror, and I by no means seek to palliate it, that was of short duration, +it was madness, if you will, but it was disinterested--and other nations +who talk a great deal about their superior morality would do well to look +at home. They would there observe, in their own historic page, that the +atrocities of the French Revolution have not only been equalled but +surpassed perhaps by more dreadful scenes committed at Wexford in 1798, +under the auspices of the Government then ruling Ireland and which the +noble and virtuous ----[35] disdained to serve. + +Excuse this long digression, but I feel it my duty to open the eyes of my +countrymen and prevent them from supporting on all occasions the unjust +acts of their Government, which reflect dishonour on a great and +enlightened nation; which can boast, among its annals, of some of the most +heroic, splendid, and disinterested characters that ever the world +produced. + +All that I need add on the subject of the statues and pictures is, that +putting out of the question the justice or injustice of the restitution, it +will be a great loss to England and to English artists in particular, +should they be removed: many an artist can afford to make a trip to Paris, +who would find it beyond his means to make a journey to Florence or Rome. + +If these objects of art are to be taken away, it should be stipulated so in +the treaty of peace; and then everybody would understand it. This would be +putting it on the fairest footing. You then say to France: "You gained +these things by conquest; you lose them by defeat"; but for God's sake let +us have no more of that _cant_ about revolutionary robberies! + + +PARIS, ---- + +I went for the first time to the Grand Opera, or, as it is here called, the +Académie Royale de Musique, which is in the Rue de Richelieu. _Armida_ was +the piece performed, the music by Glück. The decorations were splendid and +the dancing beyond all praise. The scenes representing the garden of Armida +and the nymphs dancing fully expressed in the mimic art those beautiful +lines of Tasso: + + Cogliam d'amor la rosa! amiamo or, quando + Esser si puote riamato amando![36] + +The effect of the dissolution of the palace and gardens by the waving of +Armida's wand is astonishing; it appears completely to be the work of +inchantment, from the rapidity of execution which follows the _potentissime +parole_. The French recitative however does not please me. The serious +opera is an exotic and does not seem to thrive on the soil of France. The +language does not possess sufficient intonation to give effect to the +recitative. + +On the contrary, the comic operas are excellent; and here the national +music and singing appear to great advantage. It never degenerates to the +grotesque or absurd _buffo_ of the Italians, but is always exquisitely +graceful, simple, touching and natural. + +Among the ballets, I have seen perhaps three of the best, viz., _Achille à +Scyros, Flore et Zéphire_ and _La folle par amour_. In the ballet of Flore +and Zéphire, the dancers who did these two parts appeared more aerian than +earthly. To use a phrase of Burke's, I never beheld so _beautiful a vision. +Nina_, or _la folle par amour_, is a ballet from private life. The title +sufficiently explains its purport; it is exquisitely touching and pathetic. +O what a divine creature is Bigottini! what symmetry of form! what innate +grace, what a captivating expression of countenance; and then the manner in +which she did the mad scenes and her return to reason! Oh! I was moved even +to tears. Never had any performance such an effect upon me. What a +magnificent _tout ensemble_ is the Grand Opera at Paris! Whenever I feel +chagrined or melancholy I shall come here; I feel as if I were in a new +world; the fiction appears reality; my senses are ravished, and I forget +all my cares. + +I have very little pleasure in visiting royal Palaces, unless they have +been the residence of some transcendent, person like Napoleon or Frederick +II of Prussia, as the sight of splendid furniture and royal pomp affords me +no gratification; and I would rather visit Washington's or Lafayette's +farms in company with these distinguished men than dine with all the +monarchs of Europe. After a hasty glance at the furniture of the Tuileries, +what fixed my attention for a considerable time was "La Salle des +Maréchaux," where are the portraits of all the modern French Marshalls. +They are all full length portraits and are striking resemblances; some are +in the Marshall's undress uniform and others in the full court costume +which is very elegant, being the costume of the time of Francis I with the +Spanish hat and plumes. I did not observe Ney's or Soult's portraits among +them. + +In front of the great square of the Tuileries where the troops exercise, +stands the Arch of Triumph erected by Napoleon, commonly called _l'Arc du +Carrousel_. It is a beautiful piece of architecture, but is far too small +to tally with such a vast mass of buildings as the Palace and offices of +the Tuileries. By the side of them it appears almost Lilliputian. It would +have been better to have made it in the style of the triumphal arch of the +Porte St Denis. On this arc of the Carrousel are _bas-reliefs_ both outside +and inside, representing various actions of Napoleon's life. He is always +represented in the Roman costume, with the imperial laurel on his brows, +with kings kneeling, and presenting the keys of conquered cities. On the +outside are statues, large as life, in modern military costume, +representing the different _armes_ which compose the French army.[37] On +the top of this Arc du Carrousel is an antique car of triumph, to which are +harnessed the four bronze horses which were taken from the façade of the +Church of San Marco in Venice. They are of beautiful workmanship and of +great antiquity. What various and mighty revolutions have these horses +witnessed! Cast in Corinth in the time of the glories of the Grecian +commonwealths and removed by conquest to Rome, they witnessed the +successive fall of the Grecian and Roman states; transferred to +Constantinople in the time of Constantine, and from thence removed to +Venice when Constantinople fell into the hands of the French and Venetians; +transferred from thence to Paris in 1798, they have witnessed the +successive falls of the Eastern and Western Empires, of the Republic of +Venice and the Napoleonic dynasty and Empire. Report says they are to be +restored to Venice; and who knows whether they may not be destined one day +to return to their original country, Greece, under perhaps Russian +auspices? + +The Gardens of the Tuileries which lie at the back part of the palace are +very spacious, well laid out in walks and lined with trees. Large basins +inlaid with stone, fountains and statues add to the grandeur of these +gardens; they extend from the Tuileries as far as the Place Louis XV +parallel to the Seine, and are separated by a wall and parapet and a +beautiful cast iron railing from the Quai, and on the other side from the +Rue de Rivoli, one of the new streets, and the best in Paris for +pedestrians. On the side opposite the palace itself is the _Place Louis +XV_, called in the time of the republic _Place de la Révolution_, and where +the unfortunate Louis XVI suffered decapitation. The _Place Louis XV_ is by +far the most magnificent thing of the kind I have ever seen and far exceeds +the handsomest of our squares in London. On one side of it is the _Hótel du +Garde Meuble_, a superb edifice. On the other the Quai, the river; and on +the other side of the river is the _Palais du Corps législatif_, now the +place where the Chamber of Deputies hold their sitting, and which has a +magnificent façade. In front of this place are the Champs Elysées and +avenue of Neuilly and behind the gardens and palace of the Tuileries. + +My next visit was to the _Place Vendôme_, where stands the majestic column +of the Grand Army. To me this column is the most striking thing of its kind +that I have hitherto seen. It is of bronze and of the most beautiful +workmanship, cast from the cannon taken from the Austrians in the war of +1805, and on it are figured in bas-relief the various battles and +achievements, winding round and round from the base to the capital. It is +constructed after the model of the Column of Trajan in Rome. + +The next place I visited was the Chamber of Deputies. It is a fine building +with a Doric façade and columns; it is peculiarly striking from its noble +simplicity. On the façade are bas-reliefs representing actions in +Napoleon's life. The flight of steps leading to the façade is very grand, +and there are colossal figures representing Prudence, Justice, Fortitude +and other legislative virtues. The Chamber itself where the Deputies hold +their sittings is in the form of a Greek theatre; the arch of the +semi-circle forms the gallery appropriated to the audience, and comprehends +in its enclosure the seats of the deputies like the seats in a Greek +theatre; on the chord of the semi-circle where the _proscenium_ should be, +is the tribune and President's seat. The whole is exceedingly elegant. The +Orator whose turn it is to speak leaves his seat, ascends the tribune and +faces the Deputies. The anti-rooms adjoining this Chamber are fitted up +with long tables and fauteuils and are appropriated to the sittings of the +various committees. These antichambers are hung round with pictures +representing the victories of the French armies; but they are covered with +green baize and carefully concealed from the public eye in order to stifle +recollections and prevent comparisons. + + +PARIS, August. + +I mounted on horseback and rode out to St Cloud to breakfast, passing +through the Champs Elysées, the Bois de Boulogne and the little town of +Passy, and returned by the Quai, as far as the bridge of Jéna, which I +passed and went to visit the _Hôtel des Invalides, le Champ de Mars_, the +_Pantheon_ or Church of St Geneviève and the Palace of the Luxembourg. This +was pretty good work for one day; and as you will expect some little +account of my ideas thereon, I shall give you a _précis_ of what most +interested me. + +In the Champs Elysées are quartered several English regiments who are +encamped there, and this adds to the liveliness of the scene; our soldiers +seem to enjoy themselves very much. They are in the midst of places of +recreation of all kinds, such as guinguettes, tennis-courts, dancing salons +and cafés, and besides these (places of Elysium for English soldiers), wine +and brandy shops innumerable; our soldiers seem to agree very well with the +inhabitants. In the Bois de Boulogne are Hanoverian troops as well as +English. At Passy I stopped at the house occupied by my friend, Major C. of +the 33rd Regt.,[38] who was to accompany me to St Cloud. St Cloud is an +exceedingly neat pretty town, well and solidly built, and tolerably large. +There are a great many good restaurants and cafes, as St Cloud with its +Palace, promenades and gardens forms one of the most favourite resorts of +the Parisians on Sundays and _jours de fête_. Diners _de société_ and +_noces et festins_ are often made here; and there is both land and water +conveyance during the whole day. There are two roads by land from Paris: +the one on the Quai the whole way; the other through the Bois de Boulogne +and Champs Elysées. The gardens of St Cloud are laid out something in the +style of a _jardin anglais_, but mixed with the regular old fashioned +garden; it abounds in lofty trees, beautiful sites and well arranged vistas +commanding extensive views of Paris and the country environing. St Cloud +was the favourite residence of Napoleon; and the furniture in the palace +here shows him to be a man of the most refined taste. All is elegant and +classic; there is nothing superfluous; the furniture is modern, but in +strict imitation of the furniture of the ancients and chiefly in bronze. +There are superb vases and candelabras in marble, magnificent clocks of +various kinds, marble busts, and busts in bronze of great men, and bronze +statues large as life holding lamps. The chairs and sofas too are in a +classic taste, as are the beds and baths. We were informed here that +Blucher, who passed one night here, tore with his spur the satin covering +of one of the sofas and that he did it wilfully; but I never can believe +that the old man would be so silly, and I rather think that this story is +an invention of the keeper of the Palace, or that if it was done, it was +done by an accident merely. But the fact is that Blucher has a contempt for +and hates the Parisians and likes to mortify them on all occasions; he +threatens to do a number of things which he never seriously intends, merely +for the sake of teasing them; and it must be owned that they deserve a +little contempt from the want of _caractère_ they showed on the entrance of +the Allies. Be it as it may, Blucher is the _bête noire_ of the Parisians +and they are as much afraid of him as the children are of _Monsieur +Croque-mitaine_. + +We returned from St Cloud by the Quai, crossed the bridge of Jéna, +galloped along the _Champs de Mars_, took a hasty glance at the _Hôtel des +Invalides_, a magnificent edifice and which may be distinguished from all +other buildings by its gilded cupola. It is a superb establishment in every +respect, and is furnished with an excellent library. A great many old +soldiers are to be seen in this library occupied in reading; they are very +polite to all visitors, particularly to ladies. Nothing can better +demonstrate the superior character, intelligence and deportment of the +French soldiers over those of all other countries than the way in which +they employ their time in literary pursuits, their dignified politeness to +visitors and the intelligent answers they give to questions. I am afraid +our British veterans, brave as they are in the field, occupy themselves, +when laid up as invalids, more in destroying their bodies by spirituous +liquors than in improving their minds by reading. The Chapel of this +establishment where were displayed the banners and trophies taken at +different epochs from the enemies of France, and which were much mutilated +by the wars since the Revolution, is now stripped of all the ensigns of +glory. They were all burned by the French themselves previous to the +capitulation of Paris in 1814, in order to prevent their falling into the +hands of the enemy. An old soldier who was my guide related this with tears +in his eyes, but suddenly checking himself said: "_Mais telle est +l'histoire_." + +The only things now in this Chapel that interest the eye of the traveller +are the monuments of Vauban and Turenne. Of the rest nought remains but the +brilliant souvenirs. + + Fuit Ilium, et ingens + Gloria Teucrorum!...[39] + +I had a great deal of difficulty in inducing this old soldier to accept of +three franks; I told him at last that, as he did not want it himself, to +take it and give it to somebody that did. I then visited the rest of the +establishment. There is a whole range of rooms which contains models or +plans in relief of all the fortresses of France; they are admirably and +most minutely executed; not only the fortifications and public buildings, +but the private houses, the gardens, orchards, meadows, mountains, hill and +dale, bridges, trees, every feature of the ground in fine and of the +surrounding country are given in miniature. In fact it gives you the same +idea of the places themselves and of the environing country as if you were +held up in the air over them to inspect them; or as if you viewed them from +a balloon at the distance of 800 yards from the earth. The models of +Strassburg, Lille and three or four others have been taken away by the +Austrians and Prussians, but I have seen those of Calais, Dunkirk, +Villefranche, Toulon, and Brest, and in fact almost every other French +fortress. This is one of the most interesting sights in Paris, and for this +we are certainly indebted to the occupation; for I question much if +travellers were ever permitted to see these models until Paris fell into +the hands of the Allies. Prussian sentries do duty at the doors; how +grating this must be to the old invalids! Among the models I must not omit +to mention a very curious one which represents the battle of Lodi. The town +of Lodi, the bridge and river are admirably executed. The soldiers are +represented by little figures about a quarter of an inch in height and +cobwebs are disposed so as to represent the smoke of the firearms, +Buonaparte and his staff are on horseback on one side of the bridge. There +is also a very fine model of the _Hôtel des Invalides_ itself. + +From hence we went to the garden and palace of the Luxembourg. These +gardens form the midday and afternoon promenade of that part of the city. +In one wing of the Palace is the Chamber of Peers, elegantly fitted up and +in some respect resembling a Greek theatre. The busts of Cicero, Brutus, +Demosthenes, Phocion and other great men of antiquity adorn the niches of +this chamber and on the grand _escalier_ are the statues in natural size of +Kleber, Dessaix, Caffarelli and other French generals. Report says that +these statues will be removed. + +In the picture gallery at the Luxembourg is a choice collection of pictures +of the modern French school such as Guérin, David, etc. The subjects are +extremely well chosen, being taken from the mythology or from ancient and +modern history. I was too glad to find no crucifixions, martyrdoms, nor +eternal Madonnas. I distinguished in particular the _Judgment of Brutus_ +and the _Serment des Horaces et des Curiaces_. Connoisseurs find the +attitudes too stiff and talk to you of the Italian school; but I prefer +these; yet I had better hold my tongue on this subject, for I am told I +know nothing about painting. + +Poor Labédoyère[40] is sentenced to be shot by the Court Martial which +tried him, and the sentence will be carried immediately into execution. His +fate excites universal sympathy, and I have seen many people shed tears +when talking on this subject. He certainly ought to be protected by the +12th Article of the Capitulation. The French are very uneasy; the Allies +have begun to strip the Louvre and there is no talk of what the terms of +peace are to be, or what is the determination of the Allies. This is a +dreadful state of uncertainty for the French people and may lead to a +general insurrection. The Allies continue pouring troops into France and +levying contributions. "_Vae victis_" seems their motto. France is now a +disarmed nation, and no French uniform is to be seen except that of the +National Guard and the "Garde Royale." France is at the mercy of her +enemies and prostrate at their feet; a melancholy prospect for European +liberty! + +The Allies have parades and reviews two or three times a week and the +Sovereigns of Russia, Austria and Prussia constantly attend; Wellington is +their showman. These crowned Heads like mightily playing at soldiers; I +should think His Grace must be heartily tired of them. Massacres and +persecutions of the Protestants have begun to take place in the South of +France, and the priests are at work again threatening with excommunication +and hell the purchasers and inheritors of emigrant estates and church +lands. These priests and emigrants are incorrigible. Frequent quarrels take +place almost every evening in the Palais Royal between the Prussian +officers and the French, particularly some of the officers from the army of +the Loire. I rather suspect these latter are the aggressors. The Prussians +being gorged with plunder come there to eat, drink and amuse themselves and +have as little stomach for fighting as the soldier of Lucullus had after +having enriched himself; but the officers of the army of the Loire are, +poor fellows, in a very different predicament; they have not even been paid +what is due to them, and they, having none of those nice felicities (to use +an expression of Charlotte Smith's)[41] which make life agreeable, are +ready for any combat, to set their life on any cast, "to mend it, or to be +rid of 't." The Prussians indulge in every sort of dissipation, which they +are enabled to do by the plunder which they have accumulated, and of which +they have formed, I understand, a _dépôt_ at St Germain. They send these +articles of plunder to town every day to be sold, and then divide the +profits, which are sure to be spent in the Palais Royal, and other places +of revel and debauchery. + +They sometimes affect a fastidiousness of stomach which is quite laughable, +and not at all peculiar to the Germans, who are in general blessed by +nature with especial good appetites; and they spend so much money that the +English officers who have not had the advantages of plunder that these +Prussians have had must appear by the side of them stingy and niggardly. + +I was witness one day to a whimsical scene, which will serve to give you an +idea of the airs of importance these gentlemen give themselves. I was one +day at Versailles and after having visited the palace and gardens I entered +the Salon of a restaurateur and called for a veal cutlet and _vin +ordinaire_. There was a fat Prussian Major with two or three of his +companions at one of the tables, who had been making copious libations to +Bacchus in Burgundy and Champaign. He heard me call for _vin ordinaire_, +and whether it was to show his own magnificence I know not, but he called +out to the _cafetière_: "Madame, votre vin ordinaire est il buvable? car +j'en veux donner a mon trompette, et s'il n'est pas bon, il n'en boira pas. +Faites venir mon trompette." Now I dare say in his own country this Major +would not have disdained even the "schwarze Bier" of Brandenburgh. + +Scarcely any quarrels, I believe, take place between the English and +French, nor did I hear of any violent fracas but one. In this instance, the +English officers concerned must have been sad, brutal, vulgar fellows. +They, however, after behaving in a most gross insulting manner, were +compelled by some Frenchmen not to eat but to drink their words, and that +out of a vessel not usually employed in drinking. I shall not repeat the +contemptible affair, but it furnished the subject of a caricature. + +The English officers in general behave in a handsome and liberal manner, +and their conduct was spoken of in high terms of encomium by very many of +the French themselves. I regret however exceedingly that any of the British +officers should have imbibed the low prejudices and vulgar hatred against +the French, which certain people preach up in England to cover their own +peculations and interested views. A young friend of mine, with whom I was +one day talking on political subjects, said to me: "I cannot help agreeing +with you in many things, but I am staggered when I think that your ideas +and reasoning are so contrary to the ideas in which I have been brought up; +so that I rather avoid entering at all on political questions." + +I do not wonder at all at this, for I recollect when I was at school at +Eton, the system was to drill into the heads of the boys strong +aristocratic principles and hatred of Democracy and of the French in +particular; we were ordered to write themes against the French Revolution +and verses of triumph over their defeats, with now and then a sly theme on +the great advantage of hereditary nobility; in these verses God Almighty +was to be represented as closely allied to the British Government and a +_sleeping partner_ of the Administration. One of the fellows of Eton +College actually told the late Mr Adam Walker, the celebrated lecturer on +natural and experimental philosophy, who was accustomed to give lectures +annually to the Etonians, that his visits were no longer agreeable and +would be dispensed with in future; as "Philosophy had done a great deal of +harm and had caused the French Revolution." + +With respect to my visit to Versailles, I was much struck with the vast +size and magnificence of the buildings and with the ingenuity displayed in +the arrangement of the grounds and the numerous groups of statues, +grottos, aqueducts, fountains and ruins. Still it pleases me less than St +Cloud, for I prefer the taste of the present day in gardening and the +arrangement of ground, to the ponderous and tawdry taste of the time of +Louis XIV, and I prefer St Cloud to Versailles, just as I should prefer a +Grecian Nymph in the simple costume of Arcadia to a fine court lady rouged +and dressed out with hoops, diamonds, and headdress of the tune of Queen +Anne. Napoleon must have had an exquisite taste. + + +[32] Exceptions to this are, I understand, the Gallery at Florence, and the + Museo Vaticano at Rome, which are both open to all and no fees allowed. + +[33] Johann Wilhelm Archenholz (1743-1812), author of the _Geschichte des + Siebenjährigen Krieges_, 1789.--ED. + +[34] In February, 1781, before the declaration of war was generally known + in the West Indies, Rodney's fleet surrounded the Dutch island of + Eustatius, which had become a sort of entrepôt for supplying America + with British goods; two hundred and fifty ships, together with several + millions worth of merchandise, were seized and sold at a military + auction. The plunder of Eustatius was bitterly commented upon In the + British House of Commons.--Lee Richard Hildreth, _The History of the + United States_, vol. III, p. 335.--ED. + +[35] The name is in blank. Major Frye may have meant Beauchamp Bagenal + Harvey (1762-1798), the squire of Wexford who deserted to the Irish + rebels.--ED. + +[36] Tasso, _Jerusalemme liberata_, canto XVI, ottava 15.--ED. + +[37] For instance, a Cuirassier, a Dragoon, a Grenadier, a Tirailleur, an + Artilleryman. + +[38] Major G. Colclough, senior major of the 33rd Regt.--ED. + +[39] Virgil, _Aen_., II. 325.--ED. + +[40] La Bédoyere (Charles Huchet, Comte de) distinguished himself in + several of the Napoleonic wars, in particular at Ratisbonne and + Borodino. Being a colonel at Grenoble, in March, 1815, he deserted to + Napoleon's cause and was nominated by him general and _pair de + France_. In July, 1815, he was arrested in Paris, tried for high + treason and shot, August 19, in spite of Benj. Constant's efforts to + save him.--ED. + +[41] Charlotte Smith (1749-1806), author of _Emmeline, or the Orphan of the + Castle_ (1788), _Celestina_ (1792), _The Old Manor House_ (1793), + etc.--ED. + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +From Paris to Bruxelles--Visiting the plains of Waterloo--The Duke de Berri +at Lille--Beauvais--Return to Paris--Remarks on the French theatre-- +Talma--Mlle Duchesnois--Mlle Georges-French alexandrine verse--The Abbé +Delille--The Opéra Comique. + +I met with my brother-in-law and his nephew at Paris, and hearing from them +that they had an intention of returning to England by the way of Bruxelles, +with the idea of visiting the plains of Waterloo, I was induced to +accompany them. We started on the 18th August, taking the exact route from +Paris that was taken by Napoleon. Passed the first night at St Quentin; the +second at a small village on the line between Mons and Charleroy in the +Belgian territory. The next morning, after breakfasting at Nivelles, we +proceeded to Quatre Bras and Mont St Jean. At the little cabaret called _à +la belle Alliance_ we met a host of Englishmen who had been to behold the +field of battle; Lacoste, the peasant who was Napoleon's guide on the day +of battle, was about to conduct them across the fields to Hougoumont. We +followed them. The devastation of the place, every tree being pierced with +bullets, and the whole premises being nearly burned to the ground, seemed +to astonish their _weak minds_; one of them was not contented till he had +measured the length and breadth of the garden and orchards. + +Cuirasses, helmets, swords and various other spoils of war found on the +spot, were offered for sale by some boys and eagerly bought up as relics. +My brother-in-law made a purchase of a helmet, sword and cuirass, intending +to hang it up in his hall. For my part I have seen, and can see no reason +whatever to rejoice at this event. I fear it is pregnant with infinite +mischief. + +We arrived at Bruxelles on the afternoon of the 20th August and after +visiting thePark, _Alée verte_ and Palace of Laeken, we proceeded the next +morning on our journey to Lille. + +The Duke of Berri was at Lille and a grand _fête_ was given in the evening +to celebrate the second restoration of the Bourbons. Fireworks were let +off, the city was brilliantly illuminated and boys (hired of course) went +about the streets singing the following refrain + + À bas, à bas Napoléon! + Vivent, vivent les Bourbons! + +A number of beautiful women elegantly attired paraded up and down the +public promenades, which are exceedingly well and tastefully laid out. This +city is built with great regularity, and the streets are broad, neat, and +clean. It is by far the handsomest city I have ever seen either in France +or Belgium. The _Hôtel de Ville_ and the theatre both are on the _Grande +Place_ and are well worth seeing. Lille is renowned for its fortifications; +I much wished to visit the citadel but I was not permitted. At dinner at +the table d'hôte at the _Hôtel du Commerce_, I remarked a French officer +declaiming violently against Napoleon; but I heard afterwards that he was +the son of an Emigrant; the rest of the company did not seem to approve his +discourse and shewed visible impatience at it. + +Lille may be easily recognised at its approach from the immense quantity of +wind-mills that are in the vicinity of this city, some of which are used +for grinding of wheat and others for the expression of oil. A great deal of +flax from whence the oil is made, grows in the country. + +I left Lille on the morning of the 24th inst., with the courier for Amiens. +From Amiens I took the diligence to Beauvais and on arrival there I put up +under the hospitable roof of my friend Major G., of the 18th Light +Dragoons, lately made Lt.-Colonel for his gallantry at Waterloo.[42] I did +not want for amusement here, for the next day a _fête champêtre_ was given +just outside the walls of the town, and I admired the grace and tournure of +the female peasantry and their good dancing. How much more creditable are +these innocent and agreeable _fêtes_ to the fairs and meetings in England, +which are generally signalized in drunkenness! The next afternoon presented +a novel sight to the inhabitants of Beauvais, it being a grand cricket +match played between the officers of the 10th and 18th Dragoons. It was won +by the latter, mainly owing to the superior play of Colonel G. of the 18th, +who never touched a bat since he was at Burney's school. The Officers +afterwards dined _al fresco_ and many toasts accompanied by the huzzas were +given, to the astonishment of the bystanders, who seemed to consider us as +little better than barbarians. One of the officers wishing to pay a +compliment to the inhabitants of Beauvais proposed the health of Louis +XVIII, but they seemed to take it coldly and not at all to be flattered by +the compliment. + +After five days very agreeable residence at Beauvais, I put myself in the +diligence to return to Paris. During the journey an ardent political +altercation arose between a young lady, who appeared to be a warm partisan +of Napoleon, on the one side, and a Garde du Corps on the other. The lady +was seconded by a young gentleman, of whom it was difficult to say, whether +he sustained her argument from a dislike to the present order of things, or +from a wish to ingratiate himself in her favour. The argument of the Garde +du Corps was espoused, but soberly, by one of the passengers who was a +mathematical professor at one of the Lyceums; he was not by any means an +Ultra, but he supported the Bourbons, with moderate, gentlemanly and I +therefore believe sincere attachment. This professor seemed a well informed +sort of man; he told me that he was acquainted with Sir James M., formerly +recorder at Bombay. On our arrival at the _Bureau des Messageries_, the +whole company forgot their disputes and parted good friends; and the young +man who was partisan of the young lady in the political dispute took care +to +inform himself of her abode in Paris. + + * * * * * + +Remarks on the various dramatic performances which I witnessed at Paris, +with opinions on the French theatre in general. + +In my ideas of dramatic works I am neither rigidly classic nor romantic, +and I think both styles may be good if properly managed and the interest +well kept up; in a word I am pleased with all genres _hors le genre +ennuyux_,[43] and tho' a great admirer of Shakespeare and Schiller, I am +equally so of Voltaire, Racine and Corneille; I take equal delight in the +pathos of the sentimental dramas of Kotzebue as in the admirable satire and +_vis comica_ of the unrivalled Molière, so that on my arrival at Paris I +was not violently prejudiced either for or against the French stage, but +rather pre-occupied, to use a gentler term, in its favour; and I have not +been at all disappointed, for I think I can pronounce it with safety the +first, perhaps the only stage in Europe. + +I now mean to speak not of Operas, nor of Operas-comiques, nor of +melodrames, nor of vaudevilles; all these have their respective merits; but +when I speak of the French stage, I confine myself to the regular theatre +of tragedy and comedy, of their classical pieces; in a word, to the +dramatic performances usually given at the _Théâtre Français_. + +The first piece I saw performed was _Manlius_;[44] but I was too far off +from the stage to judge of the acting, and could do little more than catch +the sounds. The parterre and the whole house was full. I was in the fourth +tier of boxes, yet I could distinguish at intervals the finest and most +prominent traits, of Talma's acting, particularly in that scene where he +upbraids his friend with having betrayed him. This he gave with uncommon +energy and effect. The plot of this piece is very similar to that of +_Venice preserved_.[45] + +The next piece I saw represented was the _Avare_ of Molière, which to me +was one of the greatest dramatic treats I had ever witnessed. Every part +was well supported. The next was _Athalie_ of Racine. Here too I was highly +gratified. Mlle Georges performed the part of Athalie and gave me the +perfect ideal of the haughty Queen. Her narration of the dream was given +with the happiest effect, and in her attempt to conceal her uneasiness and +her affected contempt of the dream in these lines: + + Un songe, me devrois--je inquiéter d'un songe? + +she seemed in reality to labour under all the anxiety and fatigue arising +from it. That fine scene between Joad and Joas was well given, and the +little girl who did the part of Joas performed with a good deal of spirit. +The actor who played Joad recited in a most impressive manner the advice to +the young prince terminating in these lines: + + Vous souvenant, mon fils, que caché sous ce lin, + Comme eux vous fûtes pauvre et comme eux orphelin. + +The interrogating scene between Athalie and Joad was given spiritedly, but +the rather abrupt and uncourtierlike reply to the Queen's remark, "Ils sont +deux puissans dieux"--"Lui seul est dieu, Madame, et le vôtre n'est rien"-- +excited a laugh and I fancy never fails to do so, every time the piece is +performed. + +Racine has several passages in his tragedies which perhaps have rather too +much _naiveté_ for the dignity of the cothurnus; for instance in the answer +of Agamemnon to Achille in the tragedy of _Iphigénie_: + + Puisque vous le savez, pourquoi le demander? + +A poet of to-day would be quizzed for a line like the above, but who dare +venture to point out any defect in an author of whom Voltaire has said and +with justice too, that the only criticism to be made of him (Racine) would +be to write under every page: "Admirable, harmonieux, sublime!" + +The costume and the decorations at the _Théâtre français_ are so strictly +classical and appropriate in every respect, that it is to me a source of +high delight to witness the representation of the favourite pieces of +Racine, Corneille, Molière and Voltaire, which I have so often read with so +much pleasure in the closet and no small quantity of which I have by heart. + +The next piece I saw was the _Cinnna_ of Corneille; and here it was that I +beheld Talma for the second time. I was of course highly pleased, tho' I +was rather far off to hear very distinctly; this was, however, no very +great loss, as I was perfectly well acquainted with the tragedy. Talma's +gestures, his pause's, his natural mode of acting gave a great relief to +the long declamation with which this tragedy abounds. When this tragedy was +given it was during the time that poor Labédoyère's trial was going on, and +the allusions to Augustus' clemency were eagerly seized and applauded. It +was hoped that Louis XVIII would imitate Augustus. Vain hope! + +I have seen _Phèdre_; the part of Phèdre by that admirable actress Mlle +Duchesnois, who performs the part so naturally and with so much passion +that we entirely forget the extreme plainness of the person. She acts with +far more feeling and pathos than Mlle Georges. I shall never be able to +forget Mlle Duchesnois in _Phèdre_. She gave me a full idea of the +impassioned Queen, nor were it possible to depict with greater fidelity the +"Vénus toute entière à sa proie attachée," as in that beautiful speech of +Phèdre to Oenone wherein she reveals her passion for Hippolyte and +pourtrays the terrible struggle between duty and female delicacy on the one +hand, and on the other a flame that could not be overcome, convinced as it +were of the complete inutility of further efforts of resistance and +invoking death as her only refuge. I was moved even to tears. I am so great +an admirer of the whole of this speech beginning "Mon mal vient de plus +lorn" etc., and ending "Un reste de chaleur tout prêt à s'exhaler," that I +think in it Racine has not only united the excellencies of Euripides, +Sappho and Theocritus in describing the passion of love, but has far +surpassed them all; that speech is certainly the masterpiece of French +versification and scarcely inferior to it is that beautiful and ingenuous +confession of love by Hippolyte to Aricie. What an admirable _pendant_ to +the love of Phèdre! In Hippolyte you behold the innocence, simplicity and +ingenuousness of a first and pure attachment: in Phèdre the _embrasement_, +the ungovernable delirium of a criminal passion. + +I have seen Mlle Duchesnois again in the _Mérope_ of Voltaire and admire +her more and more. This is an admirable play. The dialogue is so spirited; +the agitation of maternal tenderness, and the occasional bursts of feelings +impossible to be restrained, render this play one of the most interesting +perhaps on the French stage, and Mlle Duchesnois gave with the happiest +effect her part in those two scenes; the first wherein she supposes Egisthe +to be the person who has killed her son; in the other where having +discovered the reality of his person, she is obliged to dissemble the +discovery, but on Egisthe being about to be sacrificed she exclaims +"Barbare, c'est mon fils!" The part of Egisthe was given by a young actor +who made his appearance at this theatre for the first tune, and he executed +his part with complete success (Firmin, I think, was his name). Lafond did +the part of Polyphonte and did it well. At this tragedy many allusions were +caught hold of by the audience according as they were Bourbonically or +Napoleonically inclined; at that part of Polyphonte's speech wherein he +says: + + Le premier qui fut Roi fut un soldat heureux. + Qui sert bien son pays n'a pas besoin d'ayeux. + +Thunders of applause proceeded from those who applied it to Napoleon. At +the line: + + Est il d'autre parti que celui de nos rois? + +a loud shout and clapping proceeded from the Royalists; but I fancy if +hands had been shown these last would have been in a sad minority. I have +often amused myself with comparing the _Mérope_ of Voltaire with that of +Maffei and am puzzled to which to give the preference. Maffei has made +Polyphonte a more odious and perhaps on that account a more theatrical +character, while Voltaire's Polyphonte is more in real life. In the play of +Voltaire he is a rough brutal soldier, void of delicacy of feeling and not +very scrupulous, but not that praeternatural deep designing villain that he +is represented in the piece of Maffei. In fact Maffei's Polyphonte appears +too _outré_; but then on the stage may not a little exaggeration be +allowed, just as statues which are destined to be placed in the open air or +on columns appear with greater effect when larger than the natural size? +Alfleri seems to have given the preference to the Mérope of Voltaire. + +I have seen Talma a second time in the part of Nero in the Britannicus of +Racine; Mlle Georges played the part of Agrippina. Talma was Nero from head +to foot; his very entry on the stage gave an idea of the fiery and +impatient character of the tyrant, and in the scene between him and his +mother Agrippina nothing could be better delineated. The forced calm of +Agrippina, while reproaching her son with his ingratitude, and the +impatience of Nero to get rid of such an importunate monitress, were given +in a style impossible to be surpassed. Talma's dumb show during this scene +was a masterpiece of the mimic art. If Talma gives such effects to his +rôles in a French drama, where he is shackled by rules, how much greater +would he give on the English or German stages in a tragedy of Shakespeare +or Schiller! + +Blank verse is certainly better adapted to tragedy than rhymed +alexandrines, but then the French language does not admit of blank verse, +and to write tragedies in prose, unless they be tragedies in modern life, +would deprive them of all charm; but after all I find the harmonious pomp +and to use a phrase of Pope's "The long majestic march and energy divine" +of the French alexandrine, very pleasing to the ear. I am sure that the +French poets deserve a great deal of credit for producing such masterpieces +of versification from a language, which, however elegant, is the least +poetical in Europe; which allows little or no inversion, scarce any poetic +license, no _enjambement_, compels a fixed caesura; has in horror the +hiatus; and in fine is subject to the most rigorous rules, which can on no +account be infringed; which rejects hyperbole; which is measured by +syllables, the pronunciation of which is not felt in prose; compels the +alternative termination of a masculine or feminine rhyme; and with all this +requires more perhaps than any other language that cacophony be sedulously +avoided. Such are the difficulties a French poet has to struggle with; he +must unite the most harmonious sound with the finest thought. In Italian +very often the natural harmony of the language and the music of the sound +conceal the poverty of the thought; besides Italian poetry has innumerable +licenses which make it easy to figure in the Tuscan Parnassus, and where +anyone who can string together _rime_ or _versi sciolti_ is dignified with +the appellation of a poet; whereas from French poetry, a mediocrity is and +must be of necessity banished. Neither is it sufficient for an author to +have sublime ideas; these must be filed and pruned. Inspiration can make a +poet of a German, an Italian or an Englishman, because he may revel in +unbounded license of metre and language, but in French poetry inspiration +is by no means sufficient; severe study and constant practise are as +indispensable as poetic verve to constitute a French poet. The French poets +are sensible of this and on this account they prefer imitating the +ancients, polishing their rough marble and fitting it to the national +taste, to striking out a new path. + +The Abbé Delille, the best poet of our day that France has produced, has +gone further; he had read and admired the best English poets such as +Milton, Pope, Collins and Goldsmith, and has not disdained to imitate them; +yet he has imitated them with such elegance and judgment that he has left +nothing to regret on the part of those of his countrymen who are not +acquainted with English, and he has rendered their beauties with such a +force that a foreigner Versed in both languages who did not previously know +which was the original, and which the translation, might take up passages +in Pope, Thomson, Collins and Goldsmith and read parallel passages in +Delille and be extremely puzzled to distinguish the original: for none of +the beauties are lost in these imitations. And yet, in preferring to +imitate, it must not be inferred that he was deficient in original +thoughts. + +To return to the theatre, I have seen Mlle Mars in the _rôle_ of Henriette +in the _Femmes Savantes_ of Molière. Oh! how admirable she is! She realizes +completely the conception of a graceful and elegant Frenchwoman of the +first society. She does not act; she is at home as it were in her own +salon, smiling at the silly pretensions of her sister and at the ridiculous +pedantry of Trissotin; her refusing the kiss because she does not +understand Greek was given with the greatest _naiveté_. In a word Mlle Mars +reigns unrivalled as the first comic actress in Europe. + +I have seen too, _Les Plaideurs_ of Racine and _Les fourberies de Scapin_ +of Molière, both exceedingly well given; particularly the scene in the +latter wherein it is announced to Géronte that his son had fallen into the +hands of a Turkish corsair, and his answer "Que diable allait-il faire dans +la galère?" + +I have seen also _Andromaque_, _Iphigénie_ and _Zaïre_. Mlle Volnais did +the part of Andromaque; but the monotonous plaintiveness of her voice, +which never changes, wearies me. In _Iphigénie_ I was more gratified; for +Mlle Georges did the part of Clytemnestre, and her sister, a young girl of +seventeen, made her début in the part of Iphigénie with great effect. The +two sisters supported each other wonderfully well, and Lafond did Agamemnon +very respectably. + +Mlle Georges the younger, having succeeded in _Iphigénie_, appeared in the +part of Zaïre, a bold attempt, and tho' she did it well and with much +grace, yet it was evidently too arduous a task for her. The whole onus of +this affecting piece rests on the _rôle_ of Zaïre. In the part where +_naiveté_ was required she succeeded perfectly and her burst: "Mais +Orosmane m'aime et j'ai tout oublie" was most happy; but she was too faint +and betrayed too little emotion in portraying the struggle between her love +for Orosmane and the unsubdued symptoms of attachment to her father and +brother and to the religion of her ancestors. In short, where much passion +and pathos was required, there she proved unequal to the task; but she has +evidently all the qualities and dispositions towards becoming a good +actress, and with more study and practise I have no doubt that three or +four years hence, she will be fully equal to the difficult task of giving +effect to and portraying to life, the exquisitely touching and highly +interesting _rôle_ of Zaïre. She was not called for to appear on the stage +after the termination of the performance, tho' frequently applauded during +it. The actor who did the part of Orosmane, in that scene wherein he +discovers he has killed Zaïre unjustly, gave a groan which had an unhappy +effect; it was such an awkward one, that it made all the audience laugh; no +people catch ridicule so soon as the French. + +What I principally admire on the French stage is that the actors are always +perfect in their parts and all the characters are well sustained; the +performance never flags for a moment; and I have experienced infinitely +more pleasure in beholding the dramas of Racine and Voltaire than those of +Shakespeare, and for this reason that, on our stage, for one good actor you +have the many who are exceedingly bad and who do not comprehend their +author: you feel consequently a _hiatus valde deflendus_ when the principal +actor or actress are not on the stage. I have been delighted to see Kemble, +and Mrs Siddons and Miss O'Neil, and while they were on the stage I was all +eyes and ears; but the other actors were always so inferior that the +contrast was too obvious and it only served to make more conspicuous the +flagging of interest that pervades the tragedies of Shakespeare, _Macbeth_ +alone perhaps excepted. I speak only of Shakespeare's faults as a +dramaturgus and they are rather the faults of his age than his own; for in +everything else I think him the greatest litterary genius that the world +ever produced, and I place him far above any poet, ancient or modern; yet +in allowing all this, I do not at all wonder that his dramatic pieces do +not in general please foreigners and that they are disgusted with the low +buffoonery, interruption of interest and want of arrangement that ought of +necessity to constitute a drama; for I feel the same objections myself when +reading Shakespeare, and often lose patience; but then when I come to some +sublime passage, I become wrapt up in it alone and totally forget the piece +itself. In order to inspire a foreigner with admiration for Shakespeare, I +would not give him his plays to read entire, but I would present him with a +_recueil_ of the most beautiful passages of that great poet; and I am sure +he would be so delighted with them that he would readily join in the "All +Hail" that the British nation awards him. Thus you may perceive the +distinction I make between the creative genius who designs, and the artist +who fills up the canvas; between the Poet and the Dramaturgus. I am +probably singular in my taste as an Englishman, when I tell you that I +prefer Shakespeare for the closet and Racine or Voltaire or Corneille for +the stage: and with regard to English tragedies, I prefer as an acting +drama Home's _Douglas_[46] to any of Shakespeare's, _Macbeth_ alone +excepted; and for this plain reason that the interest in _Douglas_ never +flags, nor is diverted. + +In giving my mite of admiration to the French stage, I am fully aware of +its faults, of the long declamation and the _fade galanterie_ that +prevailed before Voltaire made the grand reform in that particular: and on +this account I prefer Voltaire as a tragedian to Racine and Corneille. The +_Phédre_ and _Athalie_ of Racine are certainly masterpieces, and little +inferior to them are _Iphigénie, Andromaque_ and _Britannicus_, but in the +others I think he must be pronounced inferior to Voltaire; as a proof of my +argument I need only cite _Zaïre, Alzire, Mahomet, Sémiramis, l'Orphelin de +la Chine, Brutus_. Voltaire has, I think, united in his dramatic writings +the beauties of Corneille, Racine and Crébillon and has avoided their +faults; this however is not, I believe, the opinion of the French in +general, but I follow my own judgment in affairs of taste, and if anything +pleases me I wait not to ascertain whether the "master hath said so." + +It shows a delicate attention on the part of the directors of the _Théâtre +Français_, now that so many foreigners of all nations are here, to cause to +be represented every night the masterpieces of the French classical +dramatic authors, since these are pieces that every foreigner of education +has read and admired; and he would much rather go to see acted a play with +which he was thoroughly acquainted than a new piece of one which he has not +read; for as the recitation is extremely rapid it would not be so easy for +him to seize and follow it without previous reading. + +Of Molière I had already seen the _Avare_, the _Femmes savantes_ and the +_Fourberies de Scapin_. Since these I have seen the _Tartuffe_ and _George +Dandin_ both inimitably performed; how I enjoyed the scene of the _Pauvre +homme!_ in the _Tartuffe_ and the lecture given to George Dandin by M. and +Mme de Sotenville wherein they recount the virtues and merits of their +respective ancestors. Of Molière indeed there is but one opinion throughout +Europe; in the comic line he bears away the palm unrivalled and here I +fully agree with the "general." + +I must not quit the subject of French theatricals without speaking of the +_Opéra comique_ at the _Théâtre Faydeau_. It is to the sort of light pieces +that are given here, that the French music is peculiarly appropriate, and +it is here that you seize and feel the beauty and melody of the national +music; these little _chansons_, _romances_ and _ariettas_ are so pleasing +to the ear that they imprint themselves durably on the memory, which is no +equivocal proof of their merit. I cannot say as much for the tragic singing +in the _Opéra seria_ at the Grand French Opera, which to my ear sounds a +perfect psalmody. There is but one language in the world for tragic +recitative and that is Italian. On the other hand, in the _genre_ of the +_Opéra comique_, the French stage is far superior to the Italian. In the +French comedy everything is graceful and natural; the Italians cannot catch +this happy medium, so that their comedies and comic operas are mostly +_outré_, and degenerate into downright farce and buffoonery. + + +[42] Major James Grant, of the 18th Light Dragoons, was made a Brevet + Lieutenant Colonel on 18th June, 1815.--ED. + +[43] A phrase in prose, often quoted as a verse, from Voltaire's preface to + the _Enfant Prodigue: Tous les genres sont bons, hors le genre + ennuyeux_.--ED. + +[44] A tragedy often acted by Talma, the work of Antoine d'Aubigny de + Lafosse (1653-1708).--ED. + +[45] Thomas Otway's once celebrated tragedy, 1682.--ED. + +[46] _The Tragedy of Douglas_, by John Home (1722-1808).--ED. + + + + +CHAPTER V + +From Paris to Milan through Dijon, Chalon-sur-Saône, Lyons, Geneva and the +Simplon--Auxerre--Dijon--Napoleon at Chalon-sur-Saône--The army of the +Loire--Mâcon--French _grisettes_--Lyons--Monuments and theatricals-- +Geneva--Character and opinions of the Genevois--Voltaire's chateau at +Ferney--The chevalier Zadera--From Geneva to Milan--Crossing the +Simplon--Arona--The theatres in Milan--Rossini--Monuments in Milan--Art +encouraged by the French--Mr Eustace's bigotry--Return to Switzerland-- +Clarens and Vevey--Lausanne--Society in Lausanne--Return to Paris--The +Louvre stripped--Death of Marshal Ney. + +I left Paris on the 17th Sept., in the diligence of Auxerre, The company +was as follows: a young Genevois who had served in the National Guard at +Paris, and had been wounded in a skirmish against the Prussians near that +city; a young Irish Templar; a fat citizen of Dijon and an equally fat +woman going to Dole. We arrived the following day at 11 o'clock at Auxerre, +a town situated on the banks of the Seine. Water conveyance may be had from +Paris to Auxerre, price 12 francs the person: the price in the diligence is +28 francs. We had during our journey much political conversation; the +Bourbons and the English government were the objects of attack, and neither +my friend the barrister nor myself felt the least inclined to take up their +cause. The Genevois had with him Fouché's exposé of the state of the +nation, wherein he complains bitterly of the conduct of the Allies. All +France is now disarmed and no troops are to be seen but those in foreign +uniform. The face of the country between Paris and Auxerre is not +peculiarly striking; but the soil appears fertile and the road excellent. +After breakfast we started from Auxerre and stopped to sup and sleep the +same night at Avallon. At Semur, which we passed on the following day, +there is a one arched bridge of great boldness across the river Armançon. +We arrived in the evening at Dijon. The country between Auxerre and Dijon +is very undulating in gentle hill and dale, but for the want of trees and +inclosures it has a bleak appearance. As you leave Avallon and approach +Dijon, the hills covered with vines indicate your arrival in a wine +country. I put up at the _Chapeau rouge_ at Dijon and remained there one +day, in order to visit the _Chartreuse_ which is at a short distance from +the town and commands an extensive view. It was devastated during the +Revolution. The view from it is fine and extensive and that is all that is +worth notice. The country about it is rich and cultivated, and the +following lines of Ariosto might serve for its description: + + Culte pianure e delicati colli, + Chiare acque, ombrose ripe e prati molli.[47] + + 'Mid cultivated plain, delicious hill, + Moist meadow, shady bank, and crystal rill. + + --_Trans_. W.S. ROSE. + +The city of Dijon is large, handsome and well built. It has an appearance +of industry, comfort and airiness. There are several mustard manufactories +in this town. A dinner was given yesterday by the municipality to the +National Guard, and an immense quantity of mustard was devoured on the +occasion in honor of the staple manufactory of Dijon. From Dijon I put +myself in the diligence to go to Chalon and after stopping two hours at +Beaune, arrived at Chalon at 5 o'clock p.m. The country between Dijon and +Chalon is flat, but cultivated like a garden. It is likewise the wine +country _par excellence_. I do not know a wine more agreeable to palate +than the wine of Beaune. + +At Chalon I put up at the _Hôtel du Parc_. Chalon is beautifully situated +on the banks of the Saône. The Quai is well constructed and forms an +agreeable promenade. There is an Austrian garrison in Chalon. The hostess +of the inn told me that Napoleon stopped at her house on his way from Lyons +to Paris, when he returned from Elba, and she related to me with great +eagerness many anecdotes of that extraordinary man: she said that such was +the _empressement_ on the part of the inhabitants to see him, and embrace +him by way of testifying their affection, that the Emperor was obliged to +say: "Mais vous m'étouffez, mes enfans!" In fact, had the army remained +neutral, the peasantry alone would have carried the Emperor on their +shoulders to Paris. It is quite absurd to say that a faction did this and +that it was effectuated merely by the disaffection of the Army. The Army +did its duty in the noblest manner, for it is the duty of every army to +support the national cause and the voice of the people, and by no means to +become the blind tools of the Prince; for it is absurd, as it is degrading +to humanity, it is impious to consider the Prince as the proprietor of the +country and the master of the people; he is, or ought to be, the principal +magistrate, the principal soldier paid by the people, like any other +magistrate or soldier, and like them liable to be cashiered for misconduct +or breach of faith. This is not a very fashionable doctrine nowadays, and +there is danger of it being forgotten altogether in the rage for what is +falsely termed legitimacy; it becomes therefore the bounden duty of every +friend of freedom to din this unfashionable doctrine into the ears of +Princes and unceasingly to exclaim to them and to their ministers: + + Discite justitiam moniti et non temnere gentes.[48] + +In their conduct on this occasion the French soldiers proved themselves far +more constitutional than those of any other army in Europe; let despots, +priests and weak-headed Tories say what they please to the contrary. + +I embarked the following morning at 12 o'clock in the _coche d'eau_ for +Lyons. There was a very numerous and motley company on board: there were +three bourgeois belonging to Lyons returning thither from Paris; a quiet +good-humoured sort of woman not remarkable either for her beauty nor +vivacity; a young Spaniard, an adherent of King Joseph Napoleon, very +taciturn and wrapped up in his cloak tho' the weather was exceeding hot; he +seemed to do nothing else but smoke _cigarros_ and drink wine, of which he +emptied three or four bottles in a very short time--a young Piedmontese +officer, disbanded from the army of the Loire, who no sooner sat down on +deck than he began to chaunt Filicaja's beautiful sonnet, "_Italia, Italia, +O tu cui feo la sorte_," etc.--a merchant of Lyons who had been some time +in England, and spoke English well--a Lyonnese Major of Infantry, also of +the army of the Loire, who had served in Egypt in the 32nd Demi-brigade; +three Austrian officers of Artillery with their servants. A large barge +which followed and was towed by the _coche d'eau_ was filled with Austrian +soldiers, and on the banks of the river were a number of soldiers of the +Army of the Loire returning to their families and homes. + +The peaceable demeanour and honourable conduct of this army is worthy of +admiration, and can never be sufficiently praised: not a single act of +brigandage has taken place. The Austrian officers expressed to me their +astonishment at this, and said they doubted whether any other army in +Europe, disbanded and under the same circumstances, would behave so well. I +told them the French soldier was a free-man and a citizen and drawn from a +respectable class of people, which was not the case in most other +countries. Yes, these gallant fellows who had been calumniated by furious +Ultras, by the base ministerial prints of England, and the venal satellites +of Toryism, who had been represented as brigands or as infuriated Jacobins +with red caps and poignards, these men, in spite, of the contumely and +insult they met with from servile prefects, and from those who never dared +to face them in the field, are a model of good conduct and they preserve +the utmost subordination, tho' disbanded: they respect scrupulously the +property of the inhabitants and pay for everything. Mr. L., the young Irish +barrister, told me at Dijon that he left his purse by mistake in a shop +there in which were 20 napoleons in gold, when a soldier of the army of the +Loire, who happened to be in the shop, perceived it and came running after +him with it, but refused to accept of anything, tho' much pressed by Mr. +L., who wished to reward him handsomely for his disinterested conduct. Yes, +the French soldier is a fine fellow. I have served against them in Holland +and in Egypt and I will never flinch from rendering justice to their +exemplary conduct and lofty valour. No! it is not the French soldiery who +can be accused of plundering and exaction, but what brought the French name +in disrepute was the conduct of certain _prefects_ and _administrators_ in +Germany who were promoted to these posts for no other reason than because +they were of the old _noblesse_ or returned _Emigrants_, whom Napoleon +favoured in preference to the Republicans whom he feared. These emigrants +repaid his favours with the basest ingratitude; after being guilty of the +grossest and most infamous _concussions_ on the inhabitants of those parts +of Germany where their jurisdiction extended, they had the hypocrisy after +the restoration to declaim against the oppression of the _Usurper's_ +government and its system: but Napoleon richly deserved to meet with this +ingratitude for employing such unprincipled fellows. I believe he was never +aware of the villany they carried on, or they would have met with his +severest displeasure in being removed from office, as was the case with +Wirion at Verdun.[49] + +I do not find that the French soldiers with whom I have conversed are so +much attached to the person of the Emperor as I was led to believe; but +they are attached to their country and liberty; and in serving him, they +conceived they were serving the man _par excellence_ of the People. + +The French army too was beloved by the people, instead of being dreaded by +them as the armies of most other European nations are. In short, whenever I +met with and held conversation with soldiers of this army, I was always +tempted to address them in the words of Elvira to Pizarro when she seeks to +console him for his defeat: + + Yet think another morning shall arise, + Nor fear the future, nor lament the past.[50] + +The French Major was very much inclined to take up a quarrel with an +Austrian officer, on my account, but I dissuaded him. The cause was as +follows. A young Austrian boy, servant to one of the officers of Artillery, +had entered the _coche d'eau_ at Chalon, some minutes before his master, +and began to avail himself of the right of conquest by taking possession of +the totality of one of the cabins and endeavouring to exclude the other +passengers; among other things he was going to thrust my portmanteau out of +its place. I called to him to let it alone, when the French Major stepped +forward and said that if he dared to touch any of the baggage belonging to +the passengers, he would punish him on the spot and his master also, for +that he longed to measure swords with those "Jean F---- d'Autrichiens." +Fearful of a serious quarrel between them and being unwilling that any +dispute should occur on my account, I requested the Major not to meddle +with the business, for that I was sure the Austrian officer would check the +impertinence of his servant when he came on board; and that if he did not, +I was perfectly able and willing to defend my own cause. The Austrian +officers came on board a few minutes after, when I addressed them in +German, and explained to them the behaviour of the boy; they scolded him +severely for his impertinence to us and threatened him with the _Schlag_, +should it occur again. The rest of the journey passed without any incident. +I found that my friend the Major had served in the French army in Egypt in +the division Lanusse in the battle of the 21st March, 1801, (30 Ventose) +and that consequently we were opposed to each other in that battle, as I +was then serving as a Lieutenant in the Queen's Regiment, commanded by that +excellent and amiable officer the Earl of D[alhousie] in General Doyle's +brigade. + +The voyage on the Saône presents some pleasing and picturesque points of +view; the _coteaux_ on the banks of the river are covered with vines. We +arrived at 8 o'clock in the evening to sup and sleep at Mâcon and put up at +the _Hôtel des Sauvages_. We had a most sumptuous repast, fish, flesh, +fowls, game, fruit and wine in profusion, for all which, including our +beds, we had only to pay 2-1/2 francs the person. + +There is a spacious Quai at Mâcon, which always adds to the beauty of a +city, and there are some fine buildings, public and private. I need not +enlarge on the excellence of the Mâcon wine. The country girls we observed +on the banks of the river as we floated along, and the _grisettes_ of the +town who were promenading on the Quai when we arrived, wore a peculiarly +elegant _costume_ and their headdress appeared to me to be something +Asiatic. + +The voyage on the subsequent day was more agreeable than the preceding one. +The country between Mâcon and Lyons is much more beautiful and diversified +than that which we have hitherto seen and resembles much the picturesque +scenery of the West-Indian landscape. One part between Mâcon and Trévoux +resembles exactly the island of Montserrat. + +Within two miles of Trévoux we were hailed by some _grisettes_ belonging to +the inns at that place, in order to invite us to dine at their respective +inns. There was one girl exceedingly beautiful whose name was Sophie, +daughter of the proprietor of the _Hôtel des Sauvages_ at Trévoux. She, by +her grace and coquetry, obtained the most recruits and when we disembarked +from the boat, she led us in triumph to her hotel. From her beauty and +graceful manner, Sophie, in a country where so much hommage is paid to +beauty, must be a most valuable acquisition to the interests of the inn, +and tho' she smiles on all, she takes care not to make herself cheap, and +like Corisca in the _Pastor Fido_ she holds put hopes which she does not at +all intend to gratify. After passing by the superb scenery on the banks of +the river (which increases in interest as you approach Lyons), the _Isle +Barbe_ and _la Tour de la belle Allemande_, we arrived at Lyons at 5 p.m. +and debarked on the _Quai de la Saône_. A _fiacre_ took me up and deposited +me safe at the _Hôtel du Nord_ situated on the _Place St Claire_ and not +many yards distant of the _Quai du Rhône_. + + +LYONS, 26th Sept. + +Lyons is situated on a tongue of land at the junction of the Saône and +Rhône, and there is a fine bridge on the spot where the streams unite, +called _le pont du Confluent_, which joins the extremity of the tongue of +land with the right bank of the Saône. There is besides a large bridge +across the Rhône, higher up, before it joins the Saône, leading in a right +line from the _Hôtel de Ville_; and two other bridges across the Saône. The +_Quai du Rhône_ is by far the finest and most agreeable part of the city. +It is spacious, well paved, aligned with trees, and boast the finest +edifices public and private in the whole city; it is the favourite +promenade of the _beaux_ and _belles_ of Lyons. The sight of the broad and +majestic Rhône itself is a grand object, and on a fine day the prospect is +augmented by the distant view of the fleecy head of Mont Blanc. On this +Quai and within a 100 yards of the bridge on the Rhône are the justly +celebrated _bains du Rhône_, fitted up in a style of elegance even superior +to those called _les Bains Vigier_ on the Seine at Paris. The grand +Hospital is also on the Quai; the facade is beautiful; its architecture is +of the Ionic order and the building itself as well as its interior economy +has frequently elicited the admiration of travellers. Among the Places in +this city the finest is that of Bellecour. + +The scenery is extremely diversified in the environs of Lyons, and in the +city there is great appearance of wealth and splendour. Lyons flourished +greatly during the time of the continental blockade, as it was the central +depôt of the commerce between France and Italy. Napoleon is much respected +and regretted here, and with reason, as he was a great benefactor to this +city. The Lyonnese are too frank, too open in their sentiments and too +grateful not to render justice to his great talents and good qualities, +while they blame and deplore his ambition. In fact an experience of a few +days and some acquaintance I made here has given me a very favourable +impression of the inhabitants of this city. The men are frank in their +manners, polite, well informed, and free from all frivolity. The women are +in general handsome, well shaped, and have much grace and are exceedingly +well educated; they seem totally free from the _Petite-maîtressism_ of the +Parisian women, and both sexes seem to possess a good deal of what the +French term _caractère_. Had the Parisians resembled the Lyonnese, Paris +would never have fallen twice into the hands of the enemy, nor would the +Lyonnese women have welcomed the entry of the invaders into their city with +waving handkerchiefs, etc. These qualities of the inhabitants, the beauty +of the country, and the cheapness of all the comforts and luxuries of life, +would make Lyons one of the most agreeable places of residence to a +foreigner of liberal sentiments and principles. + +Cloth and silk are the staple manufactures of Lyons, particularly the +latter; I accompanied my friend Mr M---- to see his fabrique of silk which +is of considerable extent and importance, and everything appeared to me, as +far as one totally ignorant of the business and its process could judge, +admirably regulated and rapid in its execution. The _tournure_ of the +_grisettes_ of Lyons is very striking and they possess completely the +_grata protervitas_, the _vultus nimium lubricus aspici_ which Horace so +much admires in Glycera. + +I visited both the theatres here, viz.: the _Grand Théâtre_, situated near +the _Hôtel de Ville_, and the smaller one called the _Théâtre des +Célestins_. At the former was some good dancing, and at the latter I was +engaged in a conversation which I cannot forbear citing as it will serve to +show the dislike the people have to the feudal system and the dread they +have of its re-establishment, tho' they can know nothing about it except by +tradition. The piece performed was called _Le petit Poucet_ (Tom Thumb and +the Ogre); but I missed my old acquaintance the Ogre and his seven-league +boots of Mother Goose, and found that in this melodrama he was transformed +into a tyrannical and capricious _Seigneur Féodal_. There was a very pretty +young lady about 16 years of age accompanied by her father in the same box +with me, and I observed to her, "Où est donc l'Ogre? il parait que l'on en +a fait un Seigneur féodal." "Oui, monsieur (she replied), et avec raison, +car ils étaient bien les Ogres de ce temps là." I entered into a long +conversation with my fair neighbour and found her well informed and well +educated, with great good sense and knowledge of the world far beyond her +years. She told me that she had begun to study English and that her father +was a miniature painter. I took leave of her not without feeling much +affected and my heart not a little "percosso dall' amoroso strale." + +I must not forget to mention that there is a most spacious and magnificent +building on the _Quai du Rhône_ to the North of the bridge, which serves as +a café and ridotto or assembly room for balls, etc. I am afraid to say how +many feet it has in length; but it is the most superb establishment of the +kind I have ever met with. + +Fortunately for the city of Lyons, the famous decree of Robespierre for +its destruction, and the column with the inscription, "Lyon a porté les +armes contre la liberté; Lyon n'est plus," which was to occupy its place, +was never put in execution and tho' this city suffered much from +revolutionary vandalism yet it soon recovered and has flourished ever since +in a manner unheard of at any former period. No people are more sensible +than the Lyonnese of the great benefits produced by the Revolution, and no +people more deprecate a return to the _ancien régime_. + + +Oct. 2nd, GENEVA. + +I started in the diligence for Geneva on the 28th Sept. and found it +exceedingly cold on ascending the mountain called the _Cerdon_; the scenery +is savage and wild, and the road in many parts is on the brink of +precipices. We stopped at Nantua for supper and partook of some excellent +trout. There is a large lake near the town, and 'tis here that the Swiss +landscape begins. Commanding a narrow pass stands the fort of L'Ecluse. The +Austrians lost a great many men in attempting to force it. From this place +you have a noble view of the Alps and Mont-Blanc towering above them. As +this was the first time I beheld these celebrated mountains I was +transported with delight and my mind was filled with a thousand classical +and historical recollections! The scenery, the whole way from Fort l'Ecluse +to Geneva, is most magnificent and uncommonly varied. Mountain and valley, +winter and summer, on the same territory. Descending, the city of Geneva +opens gradually; you behold the lake Leman and the Rhône issuing from it. +We entered the city, which is fortified, and after crossing the double +bridge across the Rhône, we arrived at the _Hôtel de l'Eau de Genève_ at 12 +o'clock. The most striking thing in the city of Geneva to the traveller's +eye as he enters it, is the view of the arcades on each side of the street, +excellent for pedestrians and for protection against sun and rain, but +which give a heavy and gloomy appearance to the city. An immense number of +watch-makers is another distinguishing feature in this city. The first +thing shewn to me by my _valet de place_ was the house where Jean Jacques +Rousseau was born; I then desired him to shew me the spot where that +barbarian Calvin caused to be burnt the unhappy Servetus for not having the +same religious opinions as himself. + +The most agreeable promenades of the city are on the bastions and ramparts, +a place called _La Treille_ and a garden or park of small extent called +_Plain Palais_. In this park stands on a column the bust of J.J. Rousseau. +This park was the scene of a great deal of bloodshed in 1791 on account of +political disputes between the aristocratic and democratic parties, or +rather between the admirers and imitators of the French Revolution and +those who dreaded such innovations. This affair excited so much horror, and +the recollection of it operated so powerfully on the imagination of the +inhabitants, that the place became entirely abandoned as a public +promenade, and avoided as a polluted spot for many years. Very likely +however a sort of lustration has taken place; an oration was pronounced and +the place again declared worthy of contributing to the recreation of the +inhabitants. It is now become the favourite promenade of the citizens of +Geneva, tho' there are still some who cannot get over their old prejudices +and never set their foot in it. There is likewise a pleasant walk as far as +the town of Carrouge in Savoy, which town has been lately ceded by the King +of Sardinia to the republic of Geneva. In Geneva the sentiments of the +inhabitants do not seem to be favourable either to the French Revolution, +or to Napoleon. Their political ideas accord very much with those professed +by the government party in England, and they make a great parade of them +just now, as a means of courting the favour of England and of the Allied +Sovereigns. The government here have shewn a great disposition to second +the views of the Allied Powers in persecuting those Frenchmen who have been +proscribed by the Bourbon government. + +This state lost its independence during the revolutionary wars and was +incorporated with France. As the citizens were suspected of being more +favourable to the English than suited the policy of the French government +of that time, they were viewed with a jealous eye and I believe some +individuals were harshly treated; but what most vexed and displeased them +was the enforcement of the conscription among them, for the Genevois do not +like compulsion; they are besides more pacific than war-like and tho' like +the Dutch they have displayed great valour where their interest is at +stake, yet Mercury is a deity far more in veneration among them than +Bellona. The natural talent of this people is great, and it has been +favoured and developed by the freedom of their institutions; and this +republic has produced too many eminent men for that talent to be called in +question; they seem to have decided talents and dispositions for financial +operations. A Genevois has the aptitude of great application united to a +very discerning, natural genius, and he generally succeeds in everything he +undertakes. Literature is much cultivated here, and the females, who are +in general handsome and graceful, excel not only in the various feminine +accomplishments, such as music, dancing and drawing, but they carry their +researches into the higher branches of litterature and science and acquire +with great facility foreign languages. It is true that you now and then +meet with a little pedantry on the part of the young men and some of the +young women are _tant soit feu précieuses_; and you may guess from their +conversation, which is sometimes forced, that the person who speaks has +been learning his discourse by heart from some book in the morning, with +the intention of sporting it as a natural conversation in the evening. In +short, one does not meet with that _abandon_ in society that is to be met +with in Paris; you must measure your words well to shine in a Genevese +society. This, however, is a very pardonable sort of coxcombry; and tho' it +appear sometimes pedantic, and occasionally laughable, yet it tends to +encourage learning and science, and compels the young men to read in order +to shine and captivate the fair. + +The Genevese women make excellent wives and mothers; and many strangers, +struck with their beauty and talent, as well as with the _agrémens_ of the +country in general, marry at Geneva and settle themselves there for life. +It is observed that the Genevoises are so attached to their country that on +forming a matrimonial connection with foreigners, they always stipulate +that they shall not be removed from it. On the dismemberment of the Empire +of Napoleon, Geneva was _agregé_ to the Helvetic Confederation, as an +independent Canton of which there are now twenty-two. Three, viz. Geneva, +Vaud, and Neufchatel, are French in language and manners. One, the Tessino, +is Italian, and the remaining eighteen are all German. It is a great +advantage to Geneva to belong to the Helvetic Confederacy, as formerly, +when she was an isolated independent state, she was in continual dread of +being swallowed up by one or other of her two powerful neighbours, France +and the King of Sardinia, and only existed by their forbearance and mutual +jealousy. + +I walked out one morning to Ferney in order to visit the chateau of +Voltaire and to do hommage to the memory of that great man, the benefactor +of the human race. It was he who gave the mortal blow to superstition and +to the power of the clergy. It is the fashion for priests, Ultras and +Tories to rail against him, but I judge him by his works and the effect of +his works. His memory is held in reverence by the inhabitants of Ferney as +their father and benefactor. He spent his whole fortune in acts of the most +disinterested charity; he saved entire families from ruin and portioned off +many a young woman who was deprived of the gifts of fortune and enabled +them to form happy matrimonial connections; in short, doing good seems to +have been one of the most ardent passions of his soul. In three memorable +instances he shewed his hatred of cruelty and injustice, and unmasked +triumphantly ecclesiastical imposture and fanaticism. He has been +reproached with vanity, but surely that may be pardoned in a man who +received the hommage of the whole literary world, who was considered as an +oracle, and whose every sentence was recorded; whose talent was so +universal, that he excelled in every branch of litterature that he +undertook. + +Ferney, which was only a miserable village when Voltaire first took up his +residence there, is now a large flourishing and opulent town. + +I found Voltaire's Chateau occupied by a fat heavy Swiss Officer who was on +duty there, Ferney being at this moment occupied by the troops of the Swiss +confederation. He was at breakfast, but on my stating to him that I was +come to see the apartments of Voltaire he directed the housekeeper to shew +them to me. On the left hand side after ascending a flight of steps, before +you come into the Château, is a Chapel built by Voltaire with this simple +inscription: "_Deo erexit Voltaire_." In the apartment usually occupied by +him for the purpose of composition, are preserved his chair, table, +inkstand and bed as sacred relics; and in the Salon are to be seen the +portraits of several public characters, his contemporaries, and which were +constantly appended there in his life time. Among these portraits I +distinguished those of Frederick the Great of Prussia, Catherine II of +Russia, Lekain, Diderot, Alembert, Franklin, Helvetius, Marmontel and +Washington, besides many others. There is nothing remarkable either in the +Château, or in the gardens appertaining to it; but as it stands on an +elevation, it commands a fine view, which is so well described in that ode +which begins: + + Ô maison d'Aristippe, ô jardins d'Epicure! + +I returned to Geneva and dined with my friend M. Picot the banker, who +presented me to his brother's family, which I found a very amiable one, and +I was particularly delighted with his father, a fine venerable old man, who +is a pastor of the Church of Geneva and a great admirer of our poets +Thomson and Milton. + +I have made acquaintance at the _Ecu de Genève_ with a very gallant and +accomplished officer, the Chevalier Zadera, a Pole by birth and a Colonel +in the French army.[51] He had been on the staff of the Prince d'Eckmühl at +Hamburgh and had served previously in St Domingo, in Germany and in Italy. +He had just quitted the French service, having a great repugnance to serve +under the Bourbon dynasty, and he is about to go to Italy on private +business. He seems a very well informed man and well versed in French, +Italian and German litterature. He also understands well to read and write +English and speaks it, but not at all fluently. He acquired his English in +the United States of America, whither he went when he escaped from the +horrors of St Domingo. By the Americans he was received with open arms and +unbounded hospitality as the compatriot of Pulaski who fell gloriously +fighting in their cause, the cause of liberty, at the battle of Savannah. +He was liberally supplied with money by several individuals without the +smallest expectation or chance of repayment at the time, and was forwarded +in this manner from town to town and from state to state throughout the +whole Union; so that the tour he made and the time he passed in that land +of liberty, he reckons as far the most agreeable epoch of his life. One +evening at the _Ecu de Genève_ I found Zadera in altercation on political +subjects with two French Ultras who had been emigrants, a Genevois and a +Bernois, both anti-liberal. This was fearful odds for poor Zadera to be +alone against four _acharnés_. I sat down and espoused his cause and we +maintained our argument gloriously. The dispute began on the occasion of +Zadera condemning the harshness shewn by the government of Geneva towards +the _Conventionnels_ and others who were banished from France on the second +restoration of Louis XVIII by a vote of the _Chambre introuvable_ in +refusing them an asylum in the Republic and compelling them to depart +immediately in a very contumelious manner. I said it was inconsistent and +unworthy of the Genevese who called themselves republicans to persecute or +join in the persecution of the republicans of France in order to please +foreign despots. The others then began to be very violent with me. I +replied, "Messieurs, vous avez beau parler; les Genevois sont de très bons +cambistes et les meilleurs banquiers de l'Europe, mais il ne sont pas bons +républicains." + +Geneva has been so often described by tourists that I shall not attempt any +description except to remark that there are several good Cabinets and +collections of pictures belonging to individuals. There is a magnificent +public library. The manufactures are those of watches and models of the +Alps which are exceedingly ingenious. There are no theatrical amusements +here; and during divine service on Sunday the gates of the city are shut, +and neither ingress nor egress permitted; fortunately their liturgy (the +Calvinistic) is at least one hour shorter than the Anglican. Balls and +concerts take place here very often and the young Genevois of both sexes +are generally proficient in music. They amuse themselves too in summer with +the "tir de l'arc" in common with all the Swiss Cantons. + + +October 3rd. + +I have been in doubt whether I should go to Lausanne, return to Paris or +extend my journey into Italy; but I have at length decided for the latter, +as Zadera, who intends to start immediately for Milan, has offered me a +place in his carriage _à frais communs_. I found him so agreeable a man and +possessing sentiments so analogous to my own that I eagerly embraced the +offer, and we are to cross the Simplon, so that I shall behold a travel +over that magnificent _chausée_ made by Napoleon's orders, which I have so +much desired to see and which everybody tells me is a most stupendous work +and exceeding anything ever made by the Romans. As the Chevalier has served +in Italy and was much _répandu_ in society there, I could not possibly have +a pleasanter companion. He has with him Dante and Alfieri, and I have +Gessner's _Idylls_ and my constant travelling companion Ariosto, so that we +shall have no loss for conversation, for when our native wits are +exhausted, a page or two from any of the above authors will suggest +innumerable ideas, anecdotes, and subjects of discourse. + + +MILAN, 10th Oct. + +We started from Geneva at seven in the morning of the 4th October, and in +half an hour entered the Savoyard territory, of which _douaniers_ with blue +cockades (the cockade of the King of Sardinia) gave us intimation. The road +is on the South side of the lake Leman. In Evian and Thonon, the two first +villages we passed thro', we do not find that _aisance_, comfort and +cleanliness that is perceivable on the other side of the lake, in the +delightful Canton de Vaud. The double yoke of priestcraft and military +despotism presses hard upon the unhappy Savoyard and wrings from him his +hard-earned pittance, while no people are better off than the Vaudois; yet +the Savoyards are to the full as deserving of liberty as the Swiss. The +Savoyard possesses honesty, fidelity and industry in a superior degree, and +these qualities he seldom or ever loses, even when exposed to the +temptations of a great metropolis like Paris, to which they are compelled +to emigrate, as their own country is too poor to furnish the means of +subsistence to all its population. When in Paris and other large cities, +the Savoyards contrive, by the most indefatigable industry and incredible +frugality, to return to their native village after a certain lapse of time, +with a little fortune that is amply sufficient for their comfort. The +poorest Savoyard in Paris never fails to remit something for the support of +his parents. Both Voltaire and Rousseau have rendered justice to the good +qualities of this honest people. It is a thousand pities that this country +(Savoy) is not either incorporated with France, or made to form part of the +Helvetic confederacy. + +On passing by La Meillerie we were reminded of "La nouvelle Héloise" and +the words of St Preux: "Le rocher est escarpé: l'eau est profonde et je +suis au désespoir." On the opposite side of the lake is to be seen the +little white town of Clarens, the supposed residence of the divine Julie. A +little beyond St Gingolph, which lies at the eastern extremity of the lake, +we quit Savoy and enter into the Valais, which now forms, a component part +of the Helvetic confederacy. German is the language spoken in the Valais. +As the high road into Italy passes thro' the whole length of this Canton, +Napoleon caused it to be separated from the Helvetic union and to form a +Republic apart, with the ulterior view and which he afterwards carried into +execution of annexing it to the French Empire. The Valais forms a long and +exceedingly narrow valley, thro' the whole length of which the Rhône flows +and falls into the lake Leman at St Gingolph. The breadth of this valley in +its widest part is not more probably than 1,000 yards, and in most places +considerably narrower, and it is enclosed on each side, or rather walled up +by the immense mountains of the higher Alps which rise here very abruptly +and seem to shut out this valley from the rest of the world. The high road +runs nearly parallel to the course of the Rhône and is sometimes on one +side of the river and sometimes on the other, communicating by bridges; +from the sinuosity of the road and the different points of view presented +by the salient and re-entering angles, of the mountains the scenery is +extremely picturesque, grand and striking, and as sometimes no outlet +presents itself to view, you do not perceive how you are ever to get out of +this valley but by a stratagem similar to that of Sindbad in the Valley of +Diamonds. At St Maurice is a remarkable one-arched bridge built by the +Romans. We stopped at Martigny to pass the night; within one mile of +Martigny and before arriving at it, we perceived the celebrated waterfall +called the _Pissevache_; and the appellation, though coarse, is perfectly +applicable. From Martigny a bridle road branches off which leads across the +Grand St Bernard to Aoste. The next morning we arrived at Sion, called in +the language of the country Sitten, the metropolis of the Valais; it is a +neat-looking and tolerably large town, and which from its position might be +made a most formidable military post, as there is a steep hill close to it +which rises abruptly from the centre of the valley, and commands an +extensive view east and west. Works erected on this height would enfilade +the whole road either way and totally obstruct the approach of an enemy. +There is besides a large castle on the southern _paroi_ of mountains which +hem in this valley, which would expose to a most galling fire and take in +flank completely those who should attempt to force the passage whether +coming from St Maurice or Brieg. We stopped two hours at Sion to mend a +wheel and this gave me time to ascend the mountain on which the castle +stands. There were several masons and workmen employed in the construction +of a church which they are erecting at the request and entire expense of +His Sardinian Majesty. I could not ascertain what were the reasons that +induced the King to build a church in a foreign territory. I did not +observe either on the road or in any of the village thro' which we passed +any striking specimen of Valaisan female beauty; but I often remarked the +prominent bosom that Rousseau describes as frequent among them. We met with +several _crétins_ or idiots, all of whom had _goitres_ in a greater or less +degree. These _souls of God without sin_, as the crétins are called, are +very merry souls; they always appear to be laughing. They seem to have +adopted and united three systems of philosophy: they are Diogenes as to +independence and neglect of decency and cleanliness; Democriti as to their +disposition to laugh perpetually; and Aristippi inasmuch as they seem to be +perfectly contented with their state. They are in general fat and well fed, +for the poorest inhabitants give them something. They have a good deal of +cunning, and many curious anecdotes are related of them which shews that +they are endowed with a sort of sagacity resembling the instinct of +animals. I recollect one myself mentioned by Zimmermann in his Essay on +Solitude, of a crétin who was accustomed to imitate with his voice the +sound of the village clock whenever it struck the hours and quarters; one +day, by some accident, the clock stopped; yet the cretin went through the +chimes of the hours and quarters with the same regularity as the clock +would have done had it been going. + +We arrived at night at the village of Brieg at the foot of the Simplon and +put up at a very comfortable inn. Brieg and Glisse are two small villages +lying within a quarter of a mile distance from each other. The direct road +runs thro' Brieg and is a great advantage to this town; while Glisse lost +this benefit from the opposition shewn by its inhabitants to the annexation +of the Valais to the French Empire. They now deeply regret this refusal as +few travellers chuse to stop at Glisse. + +_Passage of the Simplon_. + + Chi mi darà la voce e le parole + Convenienti a si nobil soggetto?[52] + + Who will vouchsafe me voice that shall ascend + As high as I would raise my noble theme? + + --Trans. W.S. ROSE. + +How shall I describe the Simplon and the impressions that magnificent piece +of work, the _chaussée_ across it, made on my mind? On arrival at the +village of the Simplon, which lies at nearly the greatest elevation off the +road and is more than half-way across, I wrote in my enthusiasm for the +author of this gigantic work, the following lines: + + O viaggiator, se avessi tu veduto + Quel monte, pria che fosse il cammin fatto, + Leveresti le mani, e stupefatto + Diresti, "chi l'avrebbe mai creduto? + Son come quel d'Alcide i tuoi miracoli! + Vincesti, Napoleon', più grandi ostacoli!" + +Imagine a fine road or causeway broad enough for three carriages to go +abreast, cut in the flanks of the mountains, winding along their contours, +sometimes zigzag on the flank of one ravine, and sometimes turning off +nearly at right angles to the flank of another; separated from each other +by precipices of tremendous depth, and communicating by one-arched bridges +of surprising boldness; besides stone bridges at each re-entering angle, to +let pass off the water which flows from the innumerable cascades, which +fall from the summits of the mountains. Ice and snow eternal on the various +_pics_ or _aiguilles_ (as the summits are here called) which tower above +your head, and yet in the midst of these _belles horreurs_ the road is so +well constructed, so smooth, and the slope so gentle that when there are +fogs, which often happen here and prevent you from beholding the +surrounding scenery, you would suppose you were travelling on a plain the +whole time. Balustrades are affixed on the sides of the most abrupt +precipices and buttresses also in order to secure the exterior part of the +_chaussèe_. On the whole length of the _chaussèe_ on the exterior side are +conical stones of four feet in height at ten paces distant from each other, +in order to mark the road in case of its being covered with snow. There are +besides _maisons de refuge_ or cottages, at a distance of one league from +each other, wherein are stationed persons to give assistance and food to +travellers, or passengers who may be detained by the snow storms. There is +always in these cabins a plentiful supply of biscuit, cheese, salt and +smoked meats, wine, brandy and fire-wood. In those parts of the road where +the sides of the ravines are not sloping enough to admit of the road being +cut along them, subterraneous galleries have been pierced through the rock, +some of fifty, some of a hundred and more yards in length, and nearly as +broad as the rest of the road. In a word it appears to me the grandest work +imagined or made by man, and when combined with its extreme utility, far +surpasses what is related of the Seven Wonders of the world. There are +fifty-two bridges throughout the whole of this route, which begins at the +distance of three miles from Geneva, skirts the southern shore of the lake, +runs thro' the whole Valais, traverses the Simplon and issuing from the +gorges of the mountains at Domo d'Ossola terminates at Rho in the Milanese. +From Brieg to the toll-house, the highest part of the road, the distance is +about 18 miles. It made me dreadfully giddy to look down the various +precipices; and what adds to the vertigo one feels is the deafening noise +of the various waterfalls. As the road is cut zigzag, in many parts, you +appear to preserve nearly the same distance from Brieg after three hours' +march, as after half an hour only, since you have that village continually +under your eyes, nor do you lose sight of it till near the toll-house. +Brieg appears when viewed from various points of the road like the +card-houses of children, the Valais like a slip of green baize, and the +Rhône like a very narrow light blue ribband; and when at Brieg before you +ascend you look up at the toll-house, you would suppose it impossible for +any human being to arrive at such a height without the help of a balloon. +It reminded me of the castle of the enchanter in the _Orlando Furioso_, who +keeps Ruggiero confined and who rides on the Hippogriff. + +The village of the Simplon is a mile beyond the toll-house, descending. We +stopped there for two hours to dine. A snow storm had fallen and the +weather was exceedingly cold; the mountain air had sharpened our appetite, +but we could get nothing but fish and eggs as it was a _jour maigre_, and +the Valaisans are rigid observers of the ordinances of the Catholic church. +We however, on assuring the landlord that we were _militaires_, prevailed +on him to let us have some ham and sausages. German is the language here. +The road from the toll-house to Domo d'Ossola (the first town at the foot +of the mountain on the Italian side) is a descent, but the slope is as +gentle as on the rest of the road. Fifteen miles beyond the village of the +Simplon stands the village of Isella, which is the frontier town of the +King of Sardinia, and where there is a rigorous _douane_, and ten miles +further is Domo d'Ossola, where we arrived at seven in the evening. Between +Isella and Domo d'Ossola the scenery becomes more and more romantic, +varying at every step, cataracts falling on all sides, and three more +galleries to pass. Domo d'Ossola appears a large and neat clean town, and +we put up at a very good inn. At Isella begins the Italian language, or +rather Piedmontese. + +The next morning we proceeded on our journey till we reached Fariolo, which +is on the northern extremity of the _Lago Maggiore_. The road from Domo +d'Ossola thro' the villages of Ornavasso and Vagogna is thro' a fertile and +picturesque valley, or rather gorge, of the mountain, narrow at first, but +which gradually widens as you approach to the lake. The river Toso runs +nearly in a parallel direction with the road. The air is much milder than +in Switzerland, and you soon perceive the change of climate from its +temperature, as well as from the appearance of the vines and mulberry trees +and Indian corn called in this country _grano turco_. + +At Fariolo, after breakfast, my friend Zadera took leave of me and embarked +his carriage on the lake in order to proceed to Lugano; and I who was bound +to Milan, having hired a cabriolet, proceeded to Arona, after stopping one +hour to refresh the horses at Belgirate. The whole road from Fariolo to +Arona is on the bank of the _Lago Maggiore_, and nothing can be more neat +than the appearance of all these little towns which are solidly and +handsomely built in the Italian taste. + +Before I arrived at Arona, and at a distance of two miles from it, I +stopped in order to ascend a height at a distance of one-eighth of a mile +from the road to view the celebrated colossal statue in bronze of St +Charles Borromaeus, which may be seen at a great distance. It is seventy +cubits high, situated on a pedestal of twenty feet, to ascend which +requires a ladder. You then enter between his legs, or rather the folds of +his gown, and ascend a sort of staircase till you reach his head. There is +something so striking in the appearance of this black gigantic figure when +viewed from afar, and still more when you are at the foot of it, that you +would suppose yourself living in the time of fairies and enchanters, and it +strongly reminded me of the Arabian Nights, as if the statue were the work +of some Génie or Peri; or as if it were some rebel Genius transformed into +black marble by Solomon the great Prophet. I am not very well acquainted +with the life and adventures of this Saint, but he was of the Borromean +family, who are the most opulent proprietors of the Milanese. Every tract +of land, palace, castle, farm in the environs of Arona seem to belong to +them. If you ask whose estate is that? whose villa is that? whose castle is +that? the answer is, to the Count Borromeo, who seems to be as universal a +proprietor here as _Nong-tong-paw_ at Paris or _Monsieur Kaniferstane_ at +Amsterdam.[53] Arona is a large, straggling but solidly built town, and +presents nothing worth notice. + +We proceeded on our journey the next morning. Shortly after leaving Arona, +the road diverges from the lake and traverses a thick wood until it reaches +the banks of the Tessino; on the other bank of which, communicating by +means of a flying bridge, stands the town of Sesto Calende. The Tessino +divides and forms the boundary between the Sardinian and Austrian +territory, and Sesto Calende is the frontier of His Imperial, Royal and +Apostolic Majesty. After a rigorous search of my portmanteau at the +_Douane_, and exhibiting my passport, I was allowed to proceed on my +journey to Milan. + +At Rho, where I stopped to dine, stands a remarkably ancient tree said to +have been planted in the time of Augustus. The country presents a perfect +plain, highly cultivated, all the way from Sesto to Milan. The _chaussée_ +is broad and admirably well kept up and lined on both sides with poplars. +The roads in Lombardy are certainly the finest in Europe. I entered Milan +by the gate which leads direct to the esplanade between the citadel and the +city, and drove to the _Pension Suisse_, which is in a street close to the +Cathedral and Ducal palace. + + +MILAN, 12 October. + +I am just returned from the _Teatro della Scala_, renowned for its immense +size: it certainly is the most stupendous theatre I ever beheld and even +surpassed the expectation I had formed of it, so much so that I remained +for some minutes lost in astonishment. I was much struck with the +magnificence of the scenery and decorations. An _Opera_ and _Ballo_ are +given every night, and the same are repeated for a month, when they are +replaced by new ones. The boxes are all hired by the year by the different +noble and opulent families, and in the _Parterre_ the price is only thirty +soldi or sous, about fifteen pence English, for which you are fully as well +regaled as at the _Grand Opéra_ at Paris for three and a half francs and +far better than at the Italian theatre in London for half a guinea. The +opera I saw represented is called _L'Italiana in Algieri_, opera buffa, by +Rossini. + +The _Ballo_ was one of the most magnificent spectacles I ever beheld. The +scenery and decorations are of the first class and superior even to those +of the _Grand Opéra_ at Paris. The _Ballo_ was called _Il Cavaliere del +Tempio_. The story is taken from an occurrence that formed an episode in +the history of the Crusades and which has already furnished to Walter Scott +the subject of a very pleasing ballad entitled the _Fire-King_, or _Count +Albert and Fair Rosalie_. Battles of foot and horse with real horses, +Christians and Moslems, dancing, incantations, excellent and very +appropriate music leave nothing to be desired to the ravished spectator. In +the _Ballo_ all is done in pantomime and the acting is perfect. The +Italians seem to inherit from their ancestors the faculty of representing +by dumb show the emotions of the mind as well as the gestures of the body, +and in this they excel all other modern nations. The dancing is not quite +so good as what one sees at the Paris theatre, and besides that sort of +dancing they are very fond in Italy of grotesque dances which appear to me +to be mere _tours de force_. But the decorations are magnificent, and the +cost must be great. + +It was a fine moonlight night on my return from the _Scala_, which gave a +very pleasing effect to the _Duomo_ or Cathedral as I passed by it. The +innumerable aiguilles or spires of the most exquisite and delicate +workmanship, tapering and terminating in points all newly whitened, gave +such an appearance of airiness and lightness to this beautiful building +that it looked more visionary than substantial, and as if a strong puff of +wind would blow it away. The next morning I went to visit the Cathedral in +detail. It stands in the place called _Piazza del Duomo_. On this _piazza_ +stands also the Ducal Palace; the principal cafés and the most splendid +shops are in the same _piazza_, which forms the morning lounge of Milan. +Parallel to one side of the _Duomo_ runs the _Corsia de' Servi_, the widest +and most fashionable street in Milan, the resort of the _beau monde_ in the +evening, and leading directly out to the _Porta Orientale_. The Cathedral +appears to me certainly the most striking Gothic edifice I ever beheld. It +is as large as the Cathedral of Notre Dame at Paris, and the architecture +of the interior is very massive. There is little internal ornament, +however, except the tomb or mausoleum of St Charles Borromeo, round which +is a magnificent railing; there are also the statues of this Saint and of +St Ambrogio. There are several well-executed bas-reliefs on the outside of +the Church, from Scripture subjects, and the view from any of the balconies +of the spires is very extensive. On the North the Alps, covered with snow +and appearing to rise abruptly within a very short horizon, tho' their +distance from Milan is at least sixty or seventy miles; and on all the +other sides a vast and well-cultivated plain as far as the eye can reach, +thickly studded with towns and villages, and the immense city of Milan nine +miles in circumference at your feet. The streets in general in Milan are +well paved; there is a line of trottoir on each side of the street +equi-distant from the line of houses; so that these trottoirs seem to be +made for the carriage wheels to roll on, and not for the foot passengers, +who must keep within the space that lies between the trottoirs and line of +houses. With the exception of the _Piazza del Duomo_ there is scarcely +anything that can be called a _piazza_ in all Milan, unless irregular and +small open places may be dignified with that name; the houses and buildings +are extremely solid in their construction and handsome in their appearance. +A canal runs thro' the city and leads to Pavia; on this canal are stone +bridges of a very solid construction. The shops in Milan are well stored +with merchandize, and make a very brilliant display. The finest street, +without doubt, is the _Corsia de' Servi_. In the part of it that lies +parallel to the Cathedral, it is about as broad as the _Rue St Honoré_ at +Paris; but two hundred yards beyond it, it suddenly widens and is then +broader than Portland Place the whole way to the _Porta Orientale_. On the +left hand of this street, on proceeding from the Cathedral to the _Porta +Orientale_, is a beautiful and extensive garden; an ornamental iron railing +separates it from the street. From the number of fine trees here there is +so much shade therefrom that it forms a very agreeable promenade during the +heat of the day. On the right hand side of the _Corsia de' Servi_, +proceeding from the Cathedral, are the finest buildings (houses of +individuals) in Milan, among which I particularly distinguished a superb +palace built in the best Grecian taste with a colonnaded portico, +surmounted by eight columns. Just outside the _Porta Orientale_ is the +_Corso_, with a fine spacious road with _Allées_ on each side lined with +trees. The _Corso_ forms the evening drive and _promenade à cheval_ of the +_beau monde_. I have seen nowhere, except in Hyde Park, such a brilliant +show of equipages as on the Corso of Milan. I observe that the women +display a great _luxe de parure_ at this promenade. + +The women here appear to me in general handsome, and report says not at all +cruel. They have quite a _fureur_ for dress and ornaments, hi the adapting +of which, however, they have not so much taste as the French women have. +The Milanese women do not understand the _simplicité recherchée_ in their +attire, and are too fond of glaring colours. The Milanese women are accused +of being too fond of wine, and a calculation has been made that two bottles +_per diem_ are drank by each female in Milan; but, supposing this +calculation were true, let not the English be startled, for the wine of +this, country is exceedingly light, lighter indeed than the weakest +Burgundy wine; indeed, I conceive that two bottles of Lombard wine are +scarce equivalent in strength to four wine glasses of Port wine. The +Lombards for this reason never drink water with their wine; and indeed it +is not necessary, for I am afraid that all the wine drank in Milan is +already baptised before it leaves the hands of the vendor, except that +reserved for the priesthood; such, at any rate, was the case before the +French Revolution, and no doubt the wine sellers would oppose the abolition +of so _ancient_ and _sacred_ a custom. The Milanese are a gay people, +hospitable and fond of pleasure: they are more addicted to the pleasures of +the table than the other people of Italy, and dinner parties are in +consequence much more frequent here than in other Italian towns. The women +here are said to be much better educated than in the rest of Italy, for +Napoleon took great pains to promote and encourage female instruction, well +knowing that to be the best means of regenerating a country. + +The dialect spoken in the Milanese has a harsh nasal accent, to my ear +peculiarly disagreeable. Pure Italian or Tuscan is little spoken here, and +that only to foreigners. French, on the contrary, is spoken a good deal; +but the Milanese, male and female, among one another, speak invariably the +_patois_ of the country, which has more analogy to the French than to the +Italian, but without the grace or euphony of either. + +I have visited likewise the _Zecca_, or Mint, where I observed the whole +process of coining. They still continue to coin here Napoleons of gold and +silver, with the date of 1814, and they coin likewise crowns or dollars +with Maria Theresa's head, with the date of the last year of her reign. The +double Napoleon of forty _franchi_ of the Kingdom of Italy is a beautiful +coin; on the run are the words, _Dio protegge l'Italia_. It may not be +unnecessary to remark that in Italy by the word _Napoleone_, as a coin, is +meant the five franc piece with the head of Napoleon, and a twenty franc +gold piece is called _Napoleone d'oro_. + +At the _Zecca_ I was shown some gold, silver and bronze medals, struck in +commemoration of the formation of the Lombardo-Venetian Kingdom, under the +sceptre of Austria. They bear the following inscription, which, if I +recollect aright, is from Horace: + + Redeunt in aurum + Tempora priscum,[54] + +but this golden age is considered by the Italians as a very leaden one; and +it seems to bear as much analogy to the golden age, as the base Austrian +copper coin, daubed over with silver, and made to pass for fifteen and +thirty soldi, has to the real gold and silver _Napoleoni_, which by the way +are said to be fast disappearing; they are sent to Vienna, and Milan will +probably be in time blessed with a similar paper currency to that of +Vienna. + +Napoleon seems to be as much regretted by the Milanese as the Austrian +Government is abhorred; in fact, everybody speaks with horror and disgust +of the _aspro boreal scettro_ and of the _aquila che mangia doppio_, an +allusion taken from the arms of Austria, the double-headed Eagle. + +I have visited the ancient Ducal, now the Royal, Palace; it is a spacious +building, chaste in its external appearance, but its ulterior very +magnificent; its chiefest treasures are the various costly columns and +pilasters of marble and of _jaune antique_ which are to be met with. The +_salle de danse_ is peculiarly elegant, and in one of the apartments is a +fine painting on the plafond representing Jupiter hurling thunderbolts on +the Giants. Jupiter bears the head of Napoleon. Good God! how this man was +spoiled by adulation! + +The staircase of the Palace is superb, and the furniture is of the most +elegant description, being faithfully and classically modelled after the +antique Roman and Grecian. After visiting the Ambrosian library (by the +way, it is quite absurd to visit a library unless you employ whole days to +inspect the various editions), I went to the Hospital, which is a +stupendous building, and makes up 8,000 beds. The arrangement of this +hospital merits the greatest praise. I then peeped into several churches, +and I verily believe my conductor would have made me visit every church in +Milan, if I had not lost all patience, and cried out: _perche sempre +chiese? sempre chiese? andiamo a vedere altra cosa_. He conducted me then +to the citadel, or rather place where the citadel stood, and which now +forms a vast barrack for the Austrian troops. We then went to visit the +_Teatro Olimpico_, which was built by Napoleon. It is built in the style of +the Roman amphitheatres, but much more of an oval form than the Roman +amphitheatres were in general; that is to say, the transverse axis is much +longer in proportion to the conjugate diameter than is the case in the +Roman amphitheatres, and it is by no means so high. In the time of +Napoleon, games were executed in this circus in imitation of the games of +the ancients, for Napoleon had a great hankering to ape the Roman Caesars +in everything. There were, for instance, gymnastic exercises, races on +foot, horse races, chariot races like those of the Romans, combats of wild +beasts, and as water can be introduced into the arena, there were sometimes +exhibited _naumachiae_ or naval fights. These exhibitions were extremely +frequent at Milan during the vice-regency of Prince Eugène Napoleon; during +this Government, indeed, Milan flourished in the highest degree of opulence +and splendour and profited much by being one of the principal depôts of the +inland trade between France and Italy, during the continental blockade, +besides enjoying the advantage of being the seat of Government during the +existence of the _Regno d'Italia_. Even now, tho' groaning under the leaden +sceptre of Austria, it is one of the most lively and splendid cities I ever +beheld; and I made this remark to a Milanese. He answered with a deep sigh: +"Ah! Monsieur, si vous aviez été ici dans le temps du Prince Eugène! Mais +aujourd'hui nous sommes ruinés." + +My next visit was to the _Porta del Sempione_, which is at a short distance +from the amphitheatre, and which, were it finished, would be the finest +thing of the kind in Europe; it was designed, and would have been completed +by Napoleon, had he remained on the throne. Figures representing France, +Italy, Fortitude and Wisdom adorn the façade and there are several +bas-reliefs, among which is one representing Napoleon receiving the keys of +Milan after the battle of Marengo. All is yet unfinished; columns, +pedestals, friezes, capitals and various other architectural ornaments, +besides several unhewn blocks of marble, lie on the ground; and probably +this magnificent design will never be completed for no other reason than +because it was imagined by Napoleon and might recall his glories. Verily, +Legitimacy is childishly spiteful! + +Yesterday morning I went to see an Italian comedy represented at the +_Teatro Re_. The piece was _l'Ajo nell' imbarazzo_--a very droll and +humorous piece--but it was not well acted, from the simple circumstance of +the actors not having their parts by heart, and the illusion of the stage +is destroyed by hearing the prompter's voice full as loud as that of the +actors, who follow his promptings something in the same way that the clerk +follows the clergyman in that prayer of the Anglican liturgy which says "we +have erred and strayed from our ways like lost sheep." An Italian audience +is certainly very indulgent and good-natured, as they never hiss, however +miserable the performance. + +But in speaking of theatrical performances, no person should leave Milan +without going to see the _Teatro Girolamo_, which is one of the +"curiosities" of the place, peculiar to Milan, and more frequented, +perhaps, than any other. This is a puppet theatre, but puppets so well +contrived and so well worked as to make the spectacle well worth the +attention of the traveller. It is the _Nec plus ultra of Marionettism_, in +which Signer Girolamo, the proprietor, has made a revolution, which will +form an epoch in the annals of puppetry; having driven from the stage +entirely the _graziosissima maschera d'Arlecchino_, who used to be the hero +of all the pieces represented by the puppets and substituted himself, or +rather a puppet bearing his name, in the place of Harlequin, as the +principal _farceur_ of the performance. He has contrived to make the puppet +Girolamo a little like himself, but so much caricatured and so monstrously +ugly a likeness that the bare sight of it raises immediate laughter. The +theatre itself is small, being something under the size of our old +Haymarket little theatre, but is very neatly and tastefully fitted up. The +puppets are about half of the natural size of man, and Girolamo, aided by +one or two others, works them and gives them gesture, by means of strings, +which are, however, so well contrived as to be scarcely visible; and +Girolamo himself speaks for all, as, besides being a ventriloquist, he has +a most astonishing faculty of varying his voice, and adapting it to the +_rôle_ of each puppet, so that the illusion is complete. The scenery and +decorations are excellent. Sometimes he gives operas as well as dramas, and +there is always a _ballo_, with transformation of one figure into another, +which forms part of the performance. These transformations are really very +curious and extremely well executed. Almost all the pieces acted on the +theatre are of Girolamo's own composition, and he sometimes chooses a +classical or mythological subject, in which the puppet Girolamo is sure to +be introduced and charged with all the wit of the piece. He speaks +invariably with the accent and _patois_ of the country, and his jokes never +fail to keep the audience in a roar of laughter; his mode of speech and +slang phrases form an absurd contrast to the other figures, who speak in +pure Italian and pompous _versi sciolti_. For instance, the piece I saw +represented was the story of Alcestis and was entitled _La scesa d'Ercole +nell Inferno_, to redeem the wife of Admetus. Hercules, before he commences +this undertaking, wishes to hire a valet for the journey, has an interview +with Girolamo, and engages him. Hercules speaks in blank verse and in a +phrase, full of _sesquipedalia verba_, demands his country and lineage. +Girolamo replies in the Piedmontese dialect and with a strong nasal accent: +"_De mi pais, de Piemong_." Girolamo, however, though he professes to be as +brave as Mars himself has a great repugnance to accompanying his master to +the shades below, or to the "_casa del diavolo_," as he calls it; and while +Hercules fights with Cerberus, he shakes and trembles all over, as he does +likewise when he meets _Madonna Morte_. + +All this is very absurd and ridiculous, but it is impossible not to laugh +and be amused at it. An anecdote is related of the _flesh and blood_ +Girolamo, that he had a very pretty wife, who took it into her head one day +to elope with a French officer; and that to revenge himself he dramatized +the event and produced it on his own theatre under the title of _Colombina +scampata coll'uffiziale_, having filled the piece with severe satire and +sarcastic remarks against women in general and Colombina in particular. + +The atelier of the famous artist in mosaic Rafaelli is well worth +inspecting; and here I had an opportunity of beholding a copy in mosaic and +nearly finished of the celebrated picture of Leonardo da Vinci representing +the _Caena Domini_. What a useful as well as admirable art is the mosaic to +perpetuate the paintings of the greatest masters! I recollected on +beholding this work that Eustace, in his _Tour thro' Italy_,[55] relates +with a pious horror that the French soldiers used the original picture as a +target to practise at with ball cartridge, and that Christ's head was +singled out as the mark. This absurd tale, which had not the least shadow +of truth in it, has, it appears, gained some credit among weak-minded +people; and I therefore beg leave to contradict it in the most formal +manner. It was Buonaparte who, the moment the picture was discovered, +ordered it to be put in mosaic. No! the French were the protectors and +encouragers, and by no means the destroyers of the works of art; and this +ridiculous story of the picture being used as a target was probably +invented by the priesthood, who seemed to have taken great delight in +imposing on poor Eustace's credulity. To me it seems that such a story +could only have been invented by a monk, and believed and repeated by an +old woman or a bigot. The priests and French emigrants have invented and +spread the most shameful and improbable calumnies against the French +republicans and against Napoleon, and that credulous gull John Bull has +been silly enough to give full credence to all these tales, and stand +staring with his eyes and mouth open at the recital, while a vulgar jobbing +ministry (as Cobbet would say) _picked his pockets_. + +Quite of a piece with this is the said Mr Eustace's bigotry, in not chusing +to call Lombardy by its usual appellation "Lombardy," and affectedly +terming it "the plain of the Po." Why so, will be asked? Why because Mr +Eustace hates the ancient Lombards, and holds them very nearly in as much +horror as he does the modern French; because, as he says, they were the +enemies of the Church and made war on and despoiled the Holy See. The fact +is that the Lombard princes were the most enlightened of all the monarchs +of their time; they were the first who began to resist the encroachments of +the clergy and to shake off that abject submission to the Holy See which +was the characteristic of the age. The Lombards were a fine gallant race of +men and not so bigoted as the other nations of Europe. Where has there ever +reigned a better and more enlightened and more just and humane prince than +Theodoric?[56] But Theodoric was an Arian, hence Mr Eustace's aversion, for +he, with the most servile devotion, rejects, condemns and anathematizes +whatever the Church rejects, condemns and anathematizes. For myself I look +on the extinction of the Lombard power by Charlemagne to have been a great +calamity; had it lasted, the reformation and deliverance of Europe from +Papal and ecclesiastical tyranny would have happened probably three hundred +years sooner and the Inquisition never have been planted in Spain. I have +made this digression from a love of justice and from a wish to vindicate +the French Republic and Napoleon from one at least of the many unjust +aspersions cast on them. I feel it also my duty to state on every occasion +that I, belonging to an army sent to Egypt in order to expel them from that +country, have been an eyewitness of the good and beneficial reforms and +improvements that the French made in Egypt during a period of only three +years. They did more for the good of that country in this short period, +than we have done for India in fifty years. + +Being obliged to be in London on the 24th December I took leave of the +agreeable city of Milan with much regret on the 19th of October and engaged +a place in a Swiss _voiture_ going to Lausanne. My fellow travellers were +two Brunswick officers in the service of the Princess of Wales, who were +returning to their native country; and a Hungarian and his son settled in +Domo d'Ossola. Nothing occurred till we arrived at Arona, where we were +detained a whole day, in consequence of some informality in the passport of +the two Germans, viz., that of its not having been _visé_ by the Sardinian +Chargé d'Affaires at Milan. + +During our detention at Arona, I fell in with a young Frenchman who was +going to Milan in company of some Swiss friends. The Swiss were permitted +to proceed, but the other was not, for no other reason than because he was +a Frenchman; so that he took a place in our carriage in order to return to +Switzerland. I found him a very agreeable companion, for tho' much +chagrined and vexed at this harsh and ungenerous treatment on the part of +the Piedmontese authorities, he soon recovered his good humour, and +contributed much to the pleasure of our journey. The Germans came back to +Arona very late at night, and during the rest of the journey gave vent to +their feelings with many an execration such as _verfluchter Spitzbube, +Hundsfott_, on the heads of the inexorable police officers of Arona. The +next day, on passing by Belgirate, we took a boat to visit the Borromean +islands, and afterwards returned to rejoin our carriage at Fariolo. The +first of these islands that we visited was the _Isola Bella_, where there +is a large and splendid villa, belonging to the Borromean family. The rooms +are of excellent and solid structure, and there are some good family +pictures. The furniture is ancient, but costly. The _rez de chaussée_ or +lower part of the house, which is completely _à fleur d'eau_ with the lake, +is tastefully paved, and the walls decorated with a mosaic of shells. One +would imagine it the abode of a sea nymph. I thought of Calypso and +Galatea. There are in these apartments _à fleur d'eau_ two or three +exquisite statues. + + +LAUSANNE, 11th November. + +I have been now nearly three weeks at Lausanne and am much pleased both +with the inhabitants, who are extremely affable and well-informed, and with +the beautiful sites that environ this city, the capital of the Canton de +Vaud. The sentiments of the Vaudois, with the exception of a few absurd +families among the _noblesse_, who from ignorance or prejudice are +sticklers for the old times, are highly liberal; and as they acquired their +freedom and emancipated themselves from the yoke of the Bernois, thro' the +means of the French Revolution, they are grateful to that nation and +receive with hospitality those who are proscribed by the present French +Government; their behaviour thus forming a noble contrast to the servility +of the Genevese. The Government of the Canton de Vaud is wholly democratic +and is composed of a Landamman and grand and petty council, all +_bourgeois_, or of the most intelligent among the agricultural class, who +know the interests of their country right well, and are not likely to +betray them, as the _noblesse_ are but too often induced to do, for the +sake of some foolish ribband, rank, or title. The _noblesse_ are in a +manner self-exiled (so they say) from all participation in the legislative +and executive power; for they have too much _morgue_ to endure to share the +government with those whom they regard as _roturiers_; but the real state +of the case is that the people will not elect them, and the people are +perfectly in the right, for at the glorious epoch when, without bloodshed, +the burghers and plebeians upset the despotism of Bern, the conduct of the +_noblesse_ was very equivocal. La Harpe was the leader of this beneficial +Revolution, for which, however, the public mind was fully prepared and +disposed; and La Harpe was a virtuous, ardent and incorruptible patriot. + +This canton had been for a long period of years in a state of vassalage to +that of Bern; all the posts and offices of Government were filled by +Bernois and the Vaudois were excluded from all share in the government, and +from all public employments of consequence. When the Sun of Revolution, +after gloriously rising in America, had shone in splendour on France, and +had successfully dissipated the mists of tyranny, feudality, priestcraft +and prejudice, it was natural that those states which had languished for so +many years in a humiliating situation should begin to look about them and +enquire into the origin of all the shackles and restraints imposed on them; +and no doubt the Vaudois soon discovered that it was an anomaly in politics +as well as in reason that two states of such different origin, the one +being a Latin and the other a Teutonic people, with language, customs, and +manners so different, should be blended together in a system in which all +the advantages were on the side of Bern, and nought but vassalage on the +part of Vaud. A chief was alone wanting to give the impulse; he was soon +found; the business was settled in forty-eight hours; and by the mediation +of the French Government, Vaud was declared and acknowledged an independent +state and for ever released from the dominion of Bern. The federative +constitution was then abolished throughout the union, and a general +Government, called the Helvetic Republic, substituted in its place; but +this constitution not suiting the genius and habits of the people, nor the +locality of the country, was not of long duration; troubles broke out and +insurrections, which were fomented and encouraged by the adherents of the +old régime. But Napoleon, by a wise and salutary mediation, stepped in +between them, and prevented the effusion of blood, by restoring the old +confederation, modified by a variety of ameliorations. In the act of +mediation, Napoleon contented himself with separating the Valais entirely +from the confederation, and shortly after annexing it to France, on account +of the high road into Italy across the Simplon running thro' that +territory, and which it became of the utmost importance to him to be master +of. The new Helvetic Confederation was inviolably respected and protected +by Napoleon; for never after the act of mediation did any French troops +enter in the Canton de Vaud, or any part of the Union to pass into Italy. +They always moved on the Savoy side of the Lake to enter into the Valais. +This act of mediation saved probably a good deal of bloodshed and in a very +short time gave such general satisfaction, and was in every respect so +useful and beneficial to the Helvetic Union, that in spite of the intrigues +of the Senate of Bern, who have never been able to digest the loss of Vaud, +the Allied Powers in the year 1814 solemnly guaranteed the Helvetic +Confederation as established by the Act of Mediation, merely restoring the +Valais to its independence and aggregating it as an independent Canton to +the general Union. Geneva, on its being severed from the French Empire, and +recovering its independence, solicited the Helvetic Union to be admitted as +a member and component part of that Confederacy; which was agreed to, and +it was and remains aggregated to it also. + +In 1815, on the return of Napoleon from Elba and on the renewal of the war, +the Bern Government made a most barefaced attempt to regain possession of +the Canton de Vaud; to this they were no doubt secretly encouraged by the +Allies, and principally it is said by the British Government, the most +dangerous, artful and determined enemy of all liberty; but this project was +completely foiled, by the penetration, energy and firmness of the +inhabitants of the Canton de Vaud and of its Government in particular. The +central Government of the Union was at that time held at Bern and it was +agreed upon in the Diet that Switzerland should remain perfectly neutral +during the approaching conflict; an army of observation of 80,000 men was +voted and levied to enforce this neutrality, but the command of it was +given to De Watteville, who had been a colonel in the English service, and +was a determined enemy of the French Revolution and of everything connected +with or arising out of it. On the approach of the Austrian army, De +Watteville, instead of defending the frontier and repelling the invasion, +disbanded his army and allowed the Austrians to enter. No doubt he was +encouraged, if not positively ordered to do this, by the Government of +Bern, many members of which are supposed to have received bribes from the +British Government to render the decreed neutrality null and void. At the +same moment that this army was disbanded, the directoral Canton (Bern) +caused to be intimated to the Canton de Valid that it was the wish and +intention of the High Allies to replace Switzerland in the exact state it +was in, previous to the French Revolution; and that, in consequence, two +Commissioners would be sent from Bern to Lausanne, to take charge of the +Bureaux, Archives and _insignia_ of Government, etc., and to act as a +provisional Government under the direction of Bern. The Landamman and the +grand and petty council at Lausanne, on learning this intelligence, +immediately saw thro' the scheme that was planned to deprive them of their +independence; they, therefore, passed a decree, threatening to arrest and +punish as conspirators the Commissioners, should they dare to set their +foot in the Canton, and declaring such of their countrymen who should aid +or abet this scheme, or deliver up a single document to the Commissioners, +traitors and rebels; they likewise called on the whole Canton to arm in +defence of its independence and proclaimed at the same time that should +this plan be attempted to be carried into execution, they would join their +forces to those of Napoleon and thus endanger the position of the Allies. +They took their measures accordingly; the whole Canton Sew to arms; the +Bernois and the Allies were alarmed and consultations held; the Count de +Bubna, the Austrian General, being consulted, thought the attempt so +hazardous and so pregnant with mischief that he had the good sense to +recommend to the Allied Powers and to the Canton of Bern to desist from +their project and not to make or propose any alteration in the Helvetic +Constitution, as guaranteed in 1814. His advice was of great weight and was +adopted, and thus the Vaudois by their firmness preserved their +independence. They met with great support likewise on this trying occasion +from General La Harpe, preceptor to the Emperor of Russia, and a relation +to the gentleman of the same name who was so instrumental in the +emancipation of Vaud. La Harpe, who enjoyed the confidence of his pupil, +exerted himself greatly in procuring his good offices in favour of the +Vaudois his countrymen, and this was no small weight in the scale. + +Lausanne is an irregularly built city, and not very agreeable to +pedestrians, for its continual steep ascents and descents make it extremely +fatiguing, and there is a part of the town to which you ascend by a flight +of stairs; the houses in Lausanne have been humorously enough compared to +musical notes. The country in the environs is beautiful beyond description +and has at all times elicited the admiration of travellers. There is an +agreeable promenade just outside the town, on the left hand side of the +road which leads to Geneva, called _Montbenon_, which is the fashionable +promenade and commands a fine view of the lake. On the left hand side is a +Casino and garden used for the _tir de l'arc_, of which the Vaudois, in +common with the other Helvetic people, are extremely fond. On the right +hand side of the road is a deep ravine planted in the style of an English +garden, with serpentine gravel walks, and on the other side of the ravine +stands the upper part of the city, the Cathedral, _Hôtel de Ville_, and the +_Chateau du Bailli_, which is the seat of Government. From the terrace of +the Cathedral you enjoy a fine view, but a still finer and far more +comprehensive one is from the Signal house, or _Belvédère_ near the forest +of Sauvabelin (_Silva Bellonae_ in Pagan times)[57]. In this wood fairs, +dances and other public festivals are held, and it is the favourite spot +for parties of pleasure to dine _al fresco_; it is a pity, however, that +the edifice called the _Belvédère_ was not conceived in a better taste; it +has an uncouth and barbarous appearance. + +Lausanne is situated about a quarter of a mile (in a right line) from the +lake, and you descend continually in going from the city to the Lake Leman +by a good carriage road, until you arrive on the borders of the lake, where +stands a neat little town called Ouchy, or as it is sometimes termed _le +port de Lausanne_. There is a good quai and pier. The passage across the +lake from Ouchy to the Savoy side requires four hours with oars. + +I have made several pleasant acquaintances here, viz., M. Pidon the +Landamman, a litterato of the first order; Genl La Harpe, the tutor of the +Emperor of Russia; but the most agreeable of all is the Baron de +F[alkenskiold], an old gentleman of whose talents, merits and delightful +disposition I cannot speak too highly. He has the most liberal and +enlightened views and opinions, and is extremely well versed in English, +French and German litterature. He is a Dane by birth and was exiled early +in life from his own country, on account of an accusation of being +implicated in the affair of Struensee; and it is generally supposed that he +was one of Queen Matilda's favoured lovers, which supposition is not +improbable, as in his youth, to judge from his present dignified and +majestic appearance, he must have been an uncommonly handsome man. He has +lived ever since at Lausanne, and tho' near seventy-four years of age and +tormented with the gout, he never loses his cheerfulness, and passes his +time mostly with his books. He gives dinner parties two or three times a +week, which are exceedingly pleasant, and one is sure to meet there a +small, but well informed society of natives and foreigners. Most German +travellers of rank and litterary attainments, who pass thro' Lausanne, +bring letters of introduction and recommendation to the Baron and are sure +to meet with the utmost hospitality and attention. + +The women of the Canton de Vaud are in general very handsome, well shaped +and graceful; litterature, music, dancing and drawing are cultivated by +them with success; and among the men, tho' one does not meet perhaps with +quite as much instruction as at Geneva (I mean that it is not so general), +yet no pedantry whatever prevails as in Geneva. At Lausanne they have +sincere and solid republican principles and they do not pay that servile +court to the English that the Genevese do; nor have they as yet adopted the +phrase "_Dieu me damne_." + + +PARIS, Dec. 5th. + +I returned to Paris by Geneva and crossing the Jura chain of mountains +passed thro' Dole, Auxonne and Dijon. At Geneva, where I stopped three +days, I met, at a musical party given by M. Picot the banker, the +celebrated cantatrice Grassini, who looked as beautiful as ever, and sung +in the most fascinating style several airs, particularly "_Quelle pupille +tenere_" in the opera of the _Orazj e Curiazi_. To my taste her style of +singing is far preferable to that of Catalani; there is much more pathos +and feeling in the singing of Grassini; it is completely and truly the +"_cantar che nell'anima si sente_." Catalani is very powerful, wonderful, +if you will, in execution; but she does not touch my heart as Grassini +does. + +On my return to Paris from Geneva I found that the conditions of peace had +been made public. They are certainly hard, not so much on account of the +cession of territory, which is trifling, as on account of the vast sums of +money that Prance is obliged to pay, and the still more galling condition +of having to pay and feed at her expense an army of occupation of 150,000 +men, of the Allied troops, for a term of three or five years, and to cede +during that period several important fortresses. The inhabitants of Paris +look very gloomy and nobody seems to think that the peace will last half as +long. Prussia and Austria strove hard to wrest Alsace and German Lorraine +from France; hosts of German publicists had accompanied their armies into +France and had written pamphlet upon pamphlet to prove that mountains and +not rivers were the proper boundaries of nations and that wherever the +German language prevails, the country ought to belong to the Germanic body. +Ergo, the Vosges mountains were the natural boundaries of France, and +Alsace and German Lorraine should revert to Germany. Russia and England, +however, opposed this, and insisted that these two provinces should remain +with France; but I have no doubt that the first movements that may occur in +France (and they will perhaps be secretly encouraged) will serve as a +pretext for the Allies to separate these countries definitively from +France. + +The Louvre has been stripped of the principal statues and pictures which +have been sent back to the places from whence they were taken, to the great +mortification of the Parisians, most of whom would have consented to the +cession of Alsace and Lorraine and half of France to boot on condition of +keeping the statues and pictures. The English Bureaux are preparing to +leave Paris and the troops will soon follow; a new French army is +organizing and several Swiss battalions are raised. It is generally +supposed that by the end of December France, with the exception of the +fortresses and districts to be occupied by the Allied Powers, will be freed +from the pressure of foreign troops. + +The Chamber of Peers is occupied with the trial of Marshall Ney, the +Conseil de Guerre, which was ordered to assemble for that purpose having +declared itself incompetent. The friends of Ney advised him to claim the +protection of the 12th Article of the Capitulation of Paris, and Madame +Ney, it is said, applied both to the Duke of Wellington and to the Emperor +of Russia; both ungenerously refused; to the former Nature has not given a +heart with much sensibility, and the latter bears a petty spite against Ney +on account of his title, _Prince de la Moskowa_. It is pretty generally +anticipated that poor Ney will be condemned and executed; for tho' at the +representation of _Cinna_ a few nights ago, at the Théâtre Français, the +allusions to clemency were loudly caught hold of and applauded by the +audience, yet I suspect Louis XVIII is by no means of a relenting nature, +and that he is as little inclined to pardon political trespasses as his +ancestor Louis IX was disposed to pardon those against religion; for, +according to Gibbon, his recommendation to his followers was: _"Si +quelqu'un parle contre la foi chrétienne dans votre présence, donnez lui +l'épée ventre-dedans_." + + +December 18th. + +I met with an emigrant this day at the Palais Royal who was acquainted with +my family in London. It was the Vicomte de B*****ye.[58] He had resided +some time in England and also in Switzerland. He is an amiable man, but a +most incorrigible Ultra. He displayed at once the ideas that prevail among +the Ultras, which must render them eternally at variance with the mass of +the French nation. In speaking of the state of France, he said: "_Je n'ai +jamais cessé et jamais je ne cesserai de regarder comme voleurs tous les +acquéreurs des biens des émigrés. Il faudroit, pour le bonheur de la +France, qu'elle fût placés dans le même état ou elle était avant la +Révolution._" He would not listen to my reasons against the possibility of +effecting such a plan, even were the plan just and reasonable in itself. I +told him that for the emigrants to expect to get back their property was +just as absurd as for the descendants of those Saxon families in England, +whose ancestors were dispossessed of their estates by William the +Conqueror, to think of regaining them, and to call upon the Duke of +Northumberland, for instance, as a descendant of a Norman invader, to give +up his property as unjustly acquired by his progenitors. We did not hold +long converse after this; his ideas and mine diverged too much from each +other. + +The English are very much out of favour with the emigrants, as well on +account of the stripping of the Louvre as on account of not having shot all +the _libéraux_. They had the folly to believe that the Allied troops would +merely make war for the emigrants' interests, and after having put to death +a considerable quantity of those who should be designated as rebels and +Jacobins by them (the emigrants), would replace France in the exact +position she was in 1789, and then depart. + +Poor Marshall Ney's fate is decided. He was sentenced to death, and the +sentence was carried into execution not on the _Place de Grenelle_ as was +given out, but in the gardens of Luxemburgh at a very early hour. He met +his fate with great firmness and composure. I leave Paris to-morrow for +London. + + +[47] Ariosto, _Orlando Furioso_, VI, 20, 7. + +[48] Virgil, _Aen_., VI, 620 (temnere _divos_).--ED. + +[49] Louis Wirion (1764-1810), an officer of _gendarmerie_, + commander-general of the _place_ de Verdun since 1804, was accused in + 1808 of having extorted money from certain English prisoners quartered + in Verdun (Estwick, Morshead, Garland, etc.). Wirion shot himself + before the end of the long proceedings, which do not seem to have + established his guilt, but had reduced him to misery and despair.--ED. + +[50] Richard Brinsley Sheridan's (1751-1816) _Pizarro_, produced at Drury + Lane in 1799.--ED. + +[51] Three brothers Zadera, all born in Warsaw, served in the Imperial + army.--ED. + +[52] Ariosto, _Orlando Furioso_ III, 2, i.--ED. + +[53] These words mean, or are supposed to mean, in French and in Dutch: "I + don't understand" (_je n'entends pas_).--ED. + +[54] Horace, _Carm._, IV, 2,39.--ED. + +[55]John Chetwode Eustace (1762-1815), author of _A Tour through Italy_ + (2 vol., London, 1813), the eighth edition of which appeared in + 1841.--ED. + +[56] Theodoric was a Goth, not a Lombard.--ED. + +[57] Of course, _Silva Beleni_.--ED. + +[58] Perhaps Clement François Philippe de Laâge Bellefaye, mentioned in the + _Souvenirs_ of Baron de Frénilly, p. 94. His large estates had been + confiscated in the Revolution.--ED. + + + + + + + + +AFTER +WATERLOO + + + + + + +PART II + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +MARCH-JUNE,1816 + +Ball at Cambray, attended by the Duke of Wellington--An Adventure between +Saint Quentin and Compiègne--Paris revisited--Colonel Wardle and Mrs +Wallis--Society in Paris--The Sourds-Muets--The Cemetery of Père La +Chaise--Apathy of the French people--The priests--Marriage of the Duke de +Berri. + + +March, 1816. + +This time I varied my route to Paris, by passing thro' St Omer, Douay and +Cambray. At Cambray I was present at a ball given by the municipality. The +Duke of Wellington was there. He had in his hand an extraordinary sort of +hat which had something of a shape of a folding cocked hat, with divers red +crosses and figures on it, so that it resembled a conjurer's cap. I +understand it is a hat given to his Grace by magnanimous Alexander; St +Nicholas perhaps commissioned the Emperor to present it to Wellington, for +his Grace is entitled to the eternal gratitude of the different Saints, as +well as of the different sovereigns, for having maintained them +respectively in their celestial and terrestrial dominions; and it is to be +hoped, after his death, that the latter will celebrate for him a brilliant +apotheosis, and the former be as complaisant to him and make room for him +in the Empyreum as Virgil requests the Scorpion to do for Augustus: + + ...Ipse tibi jam brachia contrahit ardens + Scorpios, et coeli jusiâ plus parts reliquit.[59] + +I met with an adventure in my journey from St Quentin to Compiègne, which, +had it happened a hundred years ago in France, would have alarmed me much +for my personal safety. It was as follows. I had taken my place at St +Quentin to go to Paris; but all the diligences being filled, the _bureau_ +expedited a _calèche_ to convey me as far as Compiègne, there to meet the +Paris diligence at nine the next morning. It was a very dark cold night, +and snowed very hard. + +Between eleven and twelve o'clock at night, half way between St Quentin and +Compiègne, the axle tree of the carriage broke; we were at least two miles +from any village one way and three the other; but a lone house was close to +the spot where the accident happened. We had, therefore, the choice of +going forward or backward, the postillion and myself helping the carriage +on with our hands, or to take refuge at the lone house till dawn of day. I +preferred the latter; we knocked several times at the door of the lone +house, but the owner refused to admit us, saying that he was sure we were +_gens de mauvaise vie_, and that he would shoot us if we did not go away. +The postillion and I then determined on retrograding two miles, the +distance of the nearest village, and remaining there till morning. We +arrived there with no small difficulty and labour, for it snowed very fast +and heavily, and it required a good deal of bodily exertion to push on the +carriage. Arrived at the village, we knocked at the door of a small +cottage, the owner of which sold some brandy. He received me very civilly, +gave me some eggs and bacon for supper, and a very fair bed. + +The next morning, after having the axle tree repaired, we proceeded on our +journey to Compiègne. I suffered much from the cold during this adventure, +and did not sleep well, having fallen into a train of thought which +prevented me from so doing; and I could not help bringing to my +recollection the adventure of Raymond in the forest near Strassburg, in the +romance of _The Monk_. Nothing worthy of note occurred during the rest of +the journey; but this adventure obliged me to remain one day at Compiègne +to wait for the next diligence. + + +PARIS, April 8th, 1816. + +I delivered my letters to the Wardle family and am very much pleased with +them. I meet a very agreeable society at their house. Col Wardle is quite a +republican and very rigid in his principles.[60] His daughter is a young +lady of first rate talents and has already distinguished herself by some +poetical compositions. I met at their house Mrs Wallis, the sister of Sir +R. Wilson.[61] She is an enthusiastic Napoleonist, and wears at times a +tricolored scarf and a gold chain with a medal of Napoleon's head attached +to it; this head she sometimes, to amuse herself, compels the old emigrants +she meets with in society to kiss. The trial of her brother is now going on +for aiding and abetting the escape of Lavalette. I sincerely hope he will +escape any severity of punishment, but I more fear the effects of Tory +vengeance against him in England, in the shape of depriving him of his +commission, than I do the sentence of any French court. Yet tho' I wish him +well, I cannot help feeling the remains of a little grudge against him for +his calumny against Napoleon in accusing him of poisoning the sick of his +own army before the walls of St Jean d'Acre. I have always vindicated the +character of Napoleon from this most unjust and unfounded aspersion, +because having been in Egypt with Abercrombie's army and having had daily +intercourse with Belliard's division of the French army, after the +capitulation of Cairo, and during our joint march on the left bank of the +Nile to Rosetta, I knew that there was not a syllable of truth in the +story. Mrs Wallis, however, tells me that her brother has expressed deep +regret that he ever gave credence and currency to such a report; and that +he acknowledges that he was himself deceived. But he did Napoleon an +irreparable injury, and his work on the Egyptian campaign contributed in a +very great degree to excite the hatred of the English people against +Napoleon, as well as to flatter the passions and prejudices of the Tories. + +In the affair however of Lavalette Wilson has nobly retrieved his character +and obliterated all recollection of his former error. It is amazing the +popularity he and his two gallant associates have acquired in France by +this generous and chevaleresque enterprise. + +I meet at Col Wardle's a very pleasant French society: conversation, music +and singing fill up the evening. + + +April 15th. + +I have been presented to a very agreeable lady, Madame Esther Fournier, who +holds a _conversazione_ at her house in the Rue St Honoré every Wednesday +evening. Here there is either a concert, a ball or private theatricals; +while in a separate room play goes forward and _crebs_, a game of dice +similar to hazard, is the fashionable game. Refreshments are handed round +and at twelve o'clock the company break up. Mme Fournier is a lady of very +distinguished talent and always acts a principal rôle herself in the +dramatic performances given at her private theatricals. + +I have become acquainted too with a very pleasant family, M. and Mme +Vanderberg, who are the proprietors of a large house and magnificent garden +in the Faubourg du Roule. M. Vanderberg is a man of very large fortune.[62] +He has three daughters, handsome and highly accomplished, and one son; one +of them was married to General R----, but is since divorced; the second is +married to a young colonel of Hussars, and the third is still unmarried; +but being very young, handsome, accomplished and rich, there will be no +lack of suitors whenever she is disposed to accept the connubial chain. I +have dined several times with this family. There is an excellent table. The +choicest old wines are handed about during dinner, and afterwards we +adjourn to another room to take coffee and liqueurs. + +If there is no evening party, the company retire, some for the theatre, +some for other houses, where they have to pass the evening; if the family +remain at home you have the option of retiring or remaining with them, and +the evening is filled up with music or _petits jeux_. I meet with several +agreeable and distinguished people at this house, among whom are M. Anglas, +Mme Duthon from the Canton de Vaud, a lady of great vivacity and talent, +and General Guilleminot and his lady. Col. Paulet, who married M. +Vanderberg's second daughter, was on the staff of General Guilleminot at +the battle of Waterloo and suffered much from a fever and ague that he +caught on the night bivouacs. + +I have attended a séance of the Institution of the _Sourds-Muets_ founded +by the famous Abbé de l'Epée, and continued with equal success by his +successor the Abbé S[icard],[63] who delivered the lecture and exhibited +the talent and proficiency of his pupils. The eldest pupil, Massieu, +himself deaf and dumb, is an extraordinary genius and he may be said in +some measure to direct all the others. Massieu, who has a very interesting +and even handsome countenance, and manners extremely prepossessing, +conducts the examination of the pupils by means of signs, and writing on a +slate or paper; and it is wonderful to observe the progress made by these +interesting young persons, who have been so harshly treated by Nature. The +definitions they give of substances and qualities are so just and happy; +and in their situation, definition is everything, for they cannot learn by +rote, as other boys often do, who, in the study of philology, acquire only +words and not things or meanings. The deaf and dumb persons, on the +contrary, acquire at once by this method of instruction the philosophy of +grammar; and then it is far from being the dry study that many people +suppose. A German princess who was present exclaimed in a transport of +admiration at some of the specimens of definitions and inferences given by +the pupils; " Oh! I wish that I were born deaf and dumb, were it only to +learn grammar properly!" Sir Sidney Smith was present at this lecture and +seemed inclined to make himself a little too conspicuous. For instance, +before the examination began, he seated himself close by the Abbé S[icard] +and pulling a paper out of his pocket said that he had found it on the +ground on his way hither; and that it was part of a leaf from an edition of +Cicero which contained a sentence so applicable to the character and +talents of his friend the Abbé, that he requested permission to read it +aloud and translate it into French for the benefit of those who did not +understand Latin. He then read the sentence. The Abbé, not to be out-done +in compliments, then rose and made a most flaming speech in eulogium of his +friend "the heroic defender of St John d'Acre" and pointed him out to the +audience as the first person who had foiled the arms of the "Usurper." + +Now this word "Usurper" applied to Napoleon did not at all please the +audience, and it shewed a great deal of servility on the part of the Abbé +to insult fallen greatness, and in the person too of a man who had rendered +such vast services to science. In fact this episode was received coldly, +and somewhat impatiently by the audience; and many thought it was a thing +_got up_ between the Admiral and the Abbé to flatter each other's vanity; +indeed my friend Mrs Wallis, next to whom I was placed, and who does not at +all agree with the gallant Admiral in politics, intimated this in a +whisper, loud enough to be heard by all the audience and added: "Such a +humbug is enough to make one sick." Sir Sidney Smith heard all this and +seemed a good deal abashed and disconcerted; he, however, had the good +sense to say nothing, and the examination began. + + +PARIS, May 5th. + +I formed a party with some friends to visit the cemetery of Père la Chaise. +We remarked in particular the places where poor Labédoyère and Marshal Ney +are buried. There is no tombstone on the former, but some shrubs have been +planted, and a black wooden cross fixed to denote the spot where he lies. + +To Marshal Ney there is a stone sepulchre with this inscription: "_Cy-gît +le Maréchal Ney, Prince de la Moskowa_." This cemetery is most beautifully +laid out. The multitude of tombs, the variety of inscriptions in prose and +verse, some of which are very affecting, the yews, the willows, all render +this a delightful spot for contemplation; it commands an extensive view of +Paris and the surrounding country. Foreigners of distinction who die in +Paris are generally buried here; but it would require a volume to describe +to you in detail this interesting cemetery. I think the practice of +strewing flowers over the grave is very touching and classic; it reminded +me of the description of Marcellus's death in Virgil: + + ... Manibus date lilia plenis. + +We however strewed over the tombs of Labédoyère and Ney not lilies, but +violets, for my friend Mrs W[allis], who was of our party, has a great +aversion to the lily. + +We have just heard of Didier's capture and execution at Grenoble.[64] There +are continual reports of insurrections and plots, but it is now well known +that the most of them are _got up_ by the Ultras to entrap the unwary. The +French people seem sunk in apathy and to wish for peace at any rate; +nothing but the most extreme provocation will induce them to take up arms; +but then, if they once do so, woe to the _Chambre Introuvable_, as the +present Chamber of Deputies is called; certainly such a set of venal, +merciless and ignorant bigots and blockheads never were collected in any +assembly. There have occurred several scandalous scenes at Nîmes and other +places. The Protestants are openly insulted and threatened, and the +government is either too weak to prevent it, or, as is supposed, secretly +encourages those excesses. In fact in Paris there are two polices; the one, +that of the Government, the other, and by far the most troublesome, that of +_Monsieur_[65] and the violent Ultra party, or as they are collectively +called the _Pavilion Marsan_.[66] The priests are at work everywhere +trumping up old legends, forging communications from the Holy Ghost, +receiving letters dropped from heaven by Jesus Christ, and all this is done +with the idea of working on fanatical minds, to induce them to commit acts +of outrage and violence on those whom the priests designate as enemies to +the faith, and on weak ones, with the idea of frightening them into +restoring the lands and property which they have purchased or inherited and +which formerly belonged to emigrants or to the Church. + +A lady of my acquaintance (to give you an idea of the arts of these holy +hypocrites) sent for a priest to confess and to receive absolution, not +from any faith in the efficacy of the business, but merely from a desire of +conforming to the ceremonies of the national worship. The priest arrived, +but began by apologizing to her that he was sorry he could not administer +to her the sacrament of absolution; she, surprized, asked the reason; he +answered that it was because her uncle had purchased Church lands, which +she inherited, and that unless she could resolve to restore them to the +church, he could not think of giving her absolution. The lady was at a loss +whether to be indignant at his impudence or to laugh outright at his folly. +She however assumed a becoming gravity and _sang-froid_, and told him that +he was very much mistaken if he thought he had got hold of a simpleton or a +bigot in her; that she had sent for him merely with the idea of conforming +to the national worship, and not with the most remote persuasion of the +necessity or efficacy of his or any other priest's absolution; she added: +"Your conduct has opened my eyes as to the views of all your cloth; I see +you are incurable. I shall never send for any of you again; and be assured +this anecdote shall not be forgotten. You may retire." The priest, abashed +and mortified in finding himself mistaken in his supposed prey, stammered +an excuse and retired. + +I intend to remain at Paris until after the marriage ceremony of the Duke +and Duchess of Berri, and I shall then proceed to Lausanne. It is expected +there will be some disturbance on the occasion of this marriage. + +I have witnessed an execution by the guillotine on the Place de Grève near +the _Hôtel de Ville_. The criminal was guilty of a burglary and murder. It +is the only execution (except political ones) that has taken place at Paris +for the last six months, whereas in England they are strung up by dozens +every fortnight. Independent of there being far less crimes committed in +France than in England, the French code punishes but few offences with +death. + +Why is not the sanguinary English criminal code with death in every +line--why is it not reformed, I say? 'Twould be well if our legislators, +instead of their puerile and frothy declamations against revolutionary +principles and the ambition of Napoleon, would occupy themselves seriously +with this subject. But then the lawyers would all oppose the simplification +of our Code. They find by experience that a complicated one, obstructed by +customs, statutes and acts of Parliament, difficult to be correctly +interpreted, and frequently at variance with each other, is a much more +profitable thing, a much wider and more lucrative field for the exercise of +their profession, than the simplicity of the Code Napoléon; and they would +die of rage and despair at the thought of anybody not a lawyer being able +to interpret the laws himself. Now as our country gentlemen and members of +Parliament are always much inclined to take lawyer's advice, and are +besides fully persuaded and convinced that there are no abuses whatever in +England and that everything is as it should be, there is no hope of any +amelioration in this particular. All reasoning and argument is lost on such +political optimists. + +The punishment of the guillotine certainly appears to be the most humane +mode of terminating the existence of a man that could possibly be invented. +The apparatus is preserved in the _Hôtel de Ville_, and is never exposed to +view or erected on the place of execution, till about an hour before the +execution itself takes place. At the hour appointed the criminal is brought +to the scaffold, fastened to the board, placed at right angles with the +fatal instrument, the head protruding thro' the groove, which embraces the +neck; the executioner pulls a cord, the axe descends and the head of the +criminal falls into a basket. The whole ceremony of the execution does not +take three minutes when the criminal once arrives at the foot of the +guillotine. There is none of that horrible struggling that takes place in +the operation of hanging. + +June 21st, 1816. + +The ceremony of the marriage of the Duke and Duchess of Berri passed off +quietly enough. Several people, it is true, were arrested for seditious +expressions, but no tumult occurred. A great apprehension seemed to prevail +lest something should occur, but the gendarmerie and police were so +vigilant that all projects, had there been any, would have proved abortive. + + +[59] Virgil, _Georg._, I, 35.--ED. + +[60] Colonel Gwyllym Lloyd Wardle was the celebrated exposer of the scandal + in 1808-9, when the mistress of the Duke of York was found to be + trafficking in Commissions. He had retired from active service in + 1802, with the rank of lieutenant-colonel. Financial reasons obliged + him, after 1815, to live on the Continent; he died in Florence, + 1833.--ED. + +[61] Sir Robert Thomas Wilson (1779-1849), author of _The History of the + British Expedition to Egypt_, 1802; a French translation of that work + elicited a protest from Napoleon.--ED. + +[62] Vanderberg had made a fortune as a contractor to the French army; he + is mentioned in Ida Saint Elme's _Mémoires d'une contemporaine_ and + elsewhere.--ED. + +[63] Abbé Sicard (Rooh Ambroise) was director of the Institution of + Sourds-Muets from 1790 to 1797 and from 1800 to 1822.--ED. + +[64] Paul Didier (1758-1816) took part in a Bonapartist conspiracy at Lyons + in 1816, raised an insurrection in the Isère and fled to Piedmont, + whence he was surrendered to the French authorities, condemned to + death and executed at Grenoble.--ED. + +[65] The King's brother, afterwards Charles X.--ED. + +[66] The N.E. pavilion of the Tuileries.--ED. + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +Journey from Paris to Lausanne--Besançon--French refugees in +Lausanne--François Lamarque--General Espinassy--Bordas--Gautier--Michau-- +M. de Laharpe--Mlle Michaud--Levade, a Protestant minister--Chambéry--Aix-- +Details about M. de Boigne's career in India--English Toryism and +intolerance--Valley of Maurienne--Passage across Mont Cenis and arrival at +Suza--Turin. + + +LAUSANNE, July 8th. + +Departing from Paris on the 24th June, 1816, I varied my journey into +Switzerland this time, for instead of travelling thro' Lyons or Dole, I +took the route of Besangon, Pontarlier, Jougne and Orbe. The country +between Dijon and Besançon is a rich and fertile plain. At Besançon the +mountainous country begins; it is a strong fortress, and the last +considerable town of the French frontier. It lies in a very picturesque +situation, being nearly environed by the Doubs, which meanders under its +walls, and by very lofty mountains; on the other side of the Doubs stands +the citadel, its chief strength. The town of Besangon is exceedingly +handsome and well built, and there are several agreeable promenades, two of +which I must particularize, viz., the promenade de Chamarre and the garden +of the Palace of Granvelle. There are besides several Roman antiquities and +the remains of a large amphitheatre. I amused myself very well for a couple +of days at Besançon, and met with some agreeable society at the _Hôtel de +France_ where I lodged. I left Besançon at eight in the morning of the 30th +June, and arrived at Pontarlier at six the same evening. Pontarlier is a +dreary, melancholy looking place, consisting of a very long street and +several offsets of streets, situated in the midst of mountains, eternally +covered with snow. Winter reigns here during nine months of the year. At +Pontarlier the whole garrison were under arms, when I arrived, to pay the +last duties to a most respectable and respected officer, whose death was +occasioned by falling into the river, while at the _necessary_, by the +under board giving way. This officer had served in almost all the campaigns +of Napoleon and had greatly distinguished himself. What a cruel death for a +warrior who had been in fifty battles! That death should have shunned him +in the field of battle, to make him fall in a manner at once inglorious and +ridiculous! yet such is destiny. Pyrrhus fell by a tile flung from a house +by an old woman, and I am acquainted with a gallant captain in the British +Navy who lost his leg by amputation, having broken it (oh horror!) by a +fall from the top of a stage coach. + +I left Pontarlier on the 2d July, and arrived at Lausanne the same evening +at five o'clock. On my return to Lausanne I had the pleasure to form an +acquaintance with several eminent Frenchmen proscribed and banished from +France, on account of having voted the death of Louis XVI, as members of +the National Convention, which tried him, and for having voted, after the +return of Napoleon from Elba, the _Acte additionnel_, which excluded the +Bourbons for ever from the throne of France, Among them are, 1st, Monsieur +Lamarque, who was one of the commissioners sent by the Convention to arrest +Dumouriez, but being seized by him, and delivered over to the Austrians, he +passed some time in captivity and was at length released, by being +exchanged with some others against the Duchess d'Angoulême.[67] He is a +very able man and seems to have far more political talent than any of the +other _Conventionnels_ who are here. On Napoleon's return from Elba he +voted for him, but made strong objections against the formation of a +peerage, which he said was perfectly useless in France, and pregnant with +mischief to boot, as it would only serve as an _appui_ to despotism. He +wrote a pamphlet with some excellent remarks on this, subject. He therein +points out the evils of an hereditary Chamber, and of a priviledged +aristocracy, who have nothing to expect from the people, but all from the +Prince; and in its stead he proposes an additional elective Chamber, +something on the plan of the Senate in America, but he decidedly reprobates +an hereditary peerage. + +The next is General Espinassy, a very good classical scholar and a most +upright and amiable man.[68] In his vote he was solely influenced by strong +but conscienscious republican principles; he resides here with his wife and +two sons; he was considered as one of the best engineer officers in France +and he opposed the nomination of Napoleon to the Imperial dignity in 1804. + +Another, M. Bordas,[69] opposed Napoleon's assumption of the Consulship on +the 18th Brumaire, and was proscribed by him for a short time, but +afterwards amnestied and received into favour. He gave his vote for +Napoleon on the _Champ de Mai_ in 1815, but accompanied this vote by a bold +speech towards Napoleon wherein he found fault with his former despotic +practises, and reminded him of the solemnity of his promise to govern in +future paternally and nationally, as became the sovereign of a free people. +M. Bordas is a very cheerful, lively, companionable man and tho' seventy +years of age, he has an uncommon share of vivacity, with something of the +_ci-devant jeune homme_ about him, and He is pleased to be considered still +as a man _à bonnes fortunes_. + +The next to him is M. Gauthier, who had been a lawyer, and held a +considerable post as a magistrate in the time of the Republic and under the +Empire.[70] He possesses a good deal of talent, close logical reasoning, +and has determined public principle. + +The next, M. Michaud, had been also an advocate, and is possessor of +considerable property in the department of the Doubs;[71] he is a most +rigid unbending republican, something in the style of Verrina in Schiller's +_Fiesco_; he opposed the assumption of the supreme power by Buonaparte on +the 18th Brumaire; he voted against the Consulship for life, as well as +against the assumption of the Imperial dignity. He is a very good classical +scholar. He is a widower and has with him here Mlle Elisa, his only +daughter, who follows her father's fortunes. She is a very amiable and +accomplished young lady; she has a thorough knowledge of music and of +painting in oils, and is classically versed in the Italian language. I soon +became acquainted with the whole of these illustrious exiles, and I find +great delight and instruction from their conversation; and this is a great +relief to me, for the life one leads in a Swiss town is rather monotonous. + + +LAUSANNE. + +I dine very often with my neighbour the Baron de Falkenskioeld, and at his +house I became acquainted with M. de Laharpe, who was preceptor to the +present Emperor of Russia. He is a native of this Canton, and has returned +here to pass the remainder of his life. He is married to a very amiable +Russian lady, and having acquired a pretty good fortune in Russia, he lives +here very happily and comfortably; but notwithstanding this, he is often +tempted to visit Paris, Milan and other great cities, and when there, sighs +to return to his native mountains. + +As the Ultras of France bear a great hatred towards the inhabitants of the +Canton de Vaud, on account of the asylum given and sympathy shown to the +_proscrits_, they have been at the pains of trumping up and printing a +pretended petition from the inhabitants of the department of the Doubs, +praying that the French Government would endeavor to obtain the removal of +these _proscrits_ from the Canton de Vaud, and stating that the said Canton +was the _foyer_ of Jacobinical principles, and the place where Napoleon's +return from Elba was planned and accelerated, and thro' which the +conveyance of intelligence backwards and forwards was conducted. I have no +doubt that in this petition more is meant than meets the ear; that the +Oligarchs of Bern, as well as the Ultras of France, have a share in it, and +that it may be considered not so much as an attempt to compel the Canton to +refuse asylum to these exiles, as to excite the Great Powers to enforce the +abolition of the independence of Vaud, and to replace it under the dominion +and authority of the Canton of Bern. + +Everybody here, however, sees thro' the drift of this petition, and many +persons whose names are put down as having signed it, have written to their +friends at Lausanne, to declare not only that they never signed such a +petition, but their entire ignorance even of the agitation of the question +till they saw the petition itself in print. The French government, however, +has not ventured to act any further upon it, than to make a pompous display +of the royalist zeal and _bon esprit_ that pervades the Department of the +Doubs. + +I see a good deal of Mlle Michaud. I find her conversation extremely +agreeable. She had lent to me an Italian work by Verri entitled _Le notti +Romane al sepolcro di Stipione_. She is a very rigid Catholic, having been +educated by a priest of very strict ideas. Her devotion however does not +render her less cheerful or less amiable. She having expressed a wish to +hear the Protestant church service, I offered to accompany her and we went +together one Sunday to the Cathedral Church at Lausanne. But it +unfortunately happened that on that day a sermon was preached which must +have given a great deal of pain to her filial feelings. Mr Levade, the +minister, took it into his head to give a political sermon, in which, after +a great deal of commonplace abuse of Voltaire, Rousseau and the French +Revolution, and very fulsome adulation towards the English government (a +subject which was brought in by the head and shoulders), of that _island_ +(as he termed it) _surrounded by the Ocean_, he lavished a great deal of +still more fulsome adulation on the Bourbons; and then most wantonly and +unnecessarily began a furious declamation against the _régicides_ as he +termed them, who had taken refuge in the Canton, and intimated pretty +plainly how pleasing it would be to God Almighty that they should be +expelled from it. This intolerant discourse, more worthy of a raving Jesuit +than of a Protestant minister, was deservedly scouted by the inhabitants of +Lausanne; but this did not hinder poor Mlle Michaud from being much +affected at the opprobrious tirade directed against a set of men, among +whom her father bore a conspicuous part, and who acted from patriotic +motives. I must not omit to state that in this discourse M. Levade +interwove some hyperbolical compliments towards the young Prince of Sweden, +who attended the service that morning. He told him that the eyes of all +Europe were fixed upon him, and that Providence had him under his especial +care. + +Now the following is the character of M. Levade.[72] He is a time-serving, +meddling priest, and a most flagrant adulator of the powers that be. He +thinks that by declaiming against the French Revolution, and against +Voltaire and Rousseau, that he will get into favor with the great people +who pass thro' Lausanne, with the French and English Government adherents, +and with the great Tory families of England. No considerable personage ever +passes through Lausanne, but Mr Levade is the first to make him a visit; +and no rich or noble English family arrives with whom he does not +ingratiate himself, and he is not sparing of his adulations. This mode of +procedure has been a very profitable concern to him, as he has received a +vast number of presents, and several valuable legacies, besides securing a +number of pupils among the English families, that come or that have been +here. He is in short a thorough parasite and time server, in every sense of +the word. This adulation of the Bourbon family in his sermon, besides the +meanness of it, was highly misplaced, coming from the mouth of a Protestant +minister, and somebody exclaimed on leaving the Church: "_Que doit-on +penser d'un ministre protestant du Canton de Vaud, qui prodigue des +louanges à une famille qui a été l'ennemie acharnée de l'Elise reformée, et +qui a persécuté les protestants d'une manière si atroce?_" But Mr Levade +(tho' to the honor of the clergymen of the Canton de Vaud he is singular +among _them_), yet he has many persons who perfectly resemble him among the +members of the Church of England, and who are as eager to support despotism +and to crush liberty as any disciple of Loyola or any Janissary of the +Grand Signor. The other Protestant ministers of this Canton were highly +indignant at this sermon; in fact, it was the first time in this city that +the House of God had been profaned by the introduction of political +subjects into a religious discourse. This sermon was the common topic of +conversation for many days after. + + +CHAMBÉRY, 2d August. + +I left Lausanne for Geneva on 28 July. I stopped at Nyon to pay a visit to +Mme Duthon, with whom I became acquainted at Paris. I dined with her and +passed a most agreeable day. Her talents are of the first order, and she is +as great an enthusiast for the German language and litterature as myself, +besides being well versed in Italian. She had a female relation with her. +We took a boat after dinner to navigate the lake, and we visited the +Château and domains of Joseph Napoleon. The next day I proceeded to Geneva. + +I determined on making the journey into Italy this time by Mont-Cenis, and +to make it on foot as far as the foot of Mont-Cenis on the Italian side, +intending to profit of the opportunity of the first conveyance I should +meet with at Suza to proceed to Turin. I accordingly forwarded my +portmanteau to Turin to the care of a banker there, and sallied forth from +Geneva at six o'clock on the morning of 1st August. + +I stopped to dine at Frangy and reached Romilly at seven in the evening. +There is nothing worthy of remark at Romilly. The next morning I stopped at +Aix to breakfast, and visited the bath establishment. The scenery is +picturesque on this route, and the whole road from Aix to Chambéry is +aligned with remarkably fine large trees. At three in the afternoon I +arrived at Chambéry, the capital of Savoy. It is a large handsome city, +situated in a fruitful valley, with a great many gardens and orchards +surrounding it. There is a strong garrison here. Among the many _maisons de +plaisance_ in the environs of this city, the most distinguishable is the +villa of General De Boigne, who has passed the greatest part of his life in +India, in the service of Scindiah, one of the Mahratta chiefs;[73] and it +was by De Boigne's assistance that Scindiah, from being a petty chief, with +not more than three or four hundred horse, became the founder of a powerful +kingdom, comprized chiefly of the provinces of the Ganges and Jumna, torn +from the Mogol Empire, whose Sovereign fell into the hands of Scindiah. +Scindiah caused the Mogol Emperor's eyes to be put out, and kept him as a +state prisoner in Delhi, till the year 1805, when on the Mahrattas engaging +in war with the English, Scindiah was defeated by Lake and lost the greater +part of his conquests. De Boigne had quitted India in 1796, long before +this rupture took place, and at that time Scindiah had a fine regular army +of thirty battalions of 1,000 men, each disciplined, armed and equipped in +the European manner. He had likewise sixty squadrons of regular cavalry and +a formidable train of artillery. At Chambéry I met with two French +_voyageurs de commerce_, who with that positiveness, which is often the +national characteristic, insisted that De Boigne owed his riches and +fortune to his treachery, in having betrayed and sold Tippoo Saib to the +English, when he was in Tippoo's service; and I find this is the current +report all over Savoy. + +Now it is an accusation totally devoid of foundation, as I shall presently +show; and I took this opportunity of vindicating the reputation of De +Boigne, by simply stating that De Boigne could never have betrayd Tippoo, +since he was never in his service; 2dly, that he had, when in the service +of Scindiah, fought against Tippoo, when the Mahrattas coalesced with the +English against that Prince in 1792; and that had it not been for the +assistance given by the Mahrattas to the English (a most impolitic +coalition on the part of the Mahrattas, as it turned out afterwards), +Tippoo would not have been compelled to conclude so humiliating a treaty of +peace; 3dly, that De Boigne had quitted India in 1796, three years before +the second war and death of Tippoo in 1799. I stated, too, that I was +perfectly well acquainted with these particulars of De Boigne's career, +from having served six years in India, and from having been personally +acquainted with a gentleman of the name of Lucius Ferdinand Smith, who was +the ultimate friend of De Boigne and his lieutenant general in the service +of Scindiah; I added that I could not conceive how so unjust and unfounded +an aspersion on De Boigne's character could find currency. + +I hope that what I said will be effectual towards doing away this injurious +report; but very probably it will not, for when the vulgar once imbibe an +opinion, it is difficult to eradicate it from their minds, and they are not +at all obliged to the person who endeavors to undeceive them, so that +General De Boigne's treachery and sale of Tippoo to the English will be +handed down to posterity among the Savoyards, as a fact of which it will be +as little permitted to doubt as of the treachery of Judas. + + +CHAMBÉRY, August 3d. + +At the _table d'hôte_ this day I nearly lost all patience on hearing an +elderly English gentleman extolling the English Ministry to the skies, and +abusing the army of the Loire, calling them rebels and traitors. I stood up +in defence of these gallant men, and stated that the French Army in the +time of the Republic and of the Empire were the most constitutional of all +the European armies, since they were taken from and identified with the +people; and that it was this brotherly feeling for their fellow citizens +that induced them to join the standards of Napoleon, on his return from +Elba; that they only followed the voice of the nation; that all France was +indignant at the tergiversation and breach of faith on the part of the +restored Government, in a variety of instances; and that, had Napoleon and +the army been out of the question, the Bourbons would not have failed to be +upset, from the indignation their measures had excited among the people. He +then said that the Army of the Loire was a most dangerous body of men, and +that that was the reason why the Allies insisted on their being disbanded. +I replied that this was the highest compliment he could pay them, and the +greatest feather in their cap, since it went to prove, that as long as this +Army was in existence, neither the crowned despots, nor the Ultras thought +themselves safe; and that they could not venture to pursue their +anti-national projects, which were all directed towards depriving the +French people of all they had gained by the Revolution and bringing them +back to the _blessings_ of the ancient _régime_. He could say nothing in +reply, but that he feared I had Jacobin principles, to which I made +rejoinder: "If these be Jacobin principles, I glory in them." Some +Sardinian officers, who were present, seemed to enjoy my argument, tho' +they said nothing; and one took me aside, when we quitted the table, and +said he rejoiced to see me take the old man in hand, as he disgusted them +every day by his tirades against the liberal party, and by his fulsome +adulations of the British Government. The old gentleman held forth likewise +in a long speech respecting the finances of England, in praise of the +sinking fund, and when it was suggested to him that England from the +immense national debt must one day become bankrupt: "_Non, Monsieur_," (he +said),"_la Caisse d'Amortissement empêchera cela_." In fine, the _Caisse +d'Amortissement_ was to work miracles. I replied that the principle of the +_Caisse d'Amortissement_ was good, provided a constant and consistent +economy were practised; but that at present and during the whole time from +its establishment, it had been a mockery on the understanding of the +Nation, when we reflected on the profligate expenditure of public money, +occasioned by the ruinous, unjust and liberticide wars, which were entered +into and fomented by the British Government. Indeed, I said it was like the +conduct of a man who possessing an income of 200£ per annum, should set +apart, in a box as a _Caisse d'épargne_, 20£ annually, and at the same time +continue a style of living, the annual expence of which would so far exceed +his income, as to oblige him to borrow 7 or 800£ every year. The old +gentleman was all amort at this comparison, which must be obvious to every +one. Nothing shows in a more glaring light the blind and superstitious +reverence paid to great names; for because this sinking fund was proposed +by Pitt, all his adherents extol it to the skies, without analysing it, and +give him besides the credit of an invention to which he had no right +whatever. + + +ST JEAN DE MAURIENNE. + +I started from Chambéry on the morning of the fourth of August, and stopped +at Montmélian to breakfast. Here begins the valley of Maurienne, and as +this valley, along which the road is cut, is extremely narrow, being hemmed +in on each side by the High Alps, Montmélian, which stands on an eminence +in the centre of the valley (the road running thro' the town), must be a +post of the utmost importance towards the defence of this pass. It was a +fortified place of great consideration in the former wars, and if the +fortifications were repaired and improved, it might be made almost +impregnable, as it would enfilade the road on each side. From the +above-mentioned features of the ground, the valley narrowing more and more +as you proceed, from the high mountains that align it and from its +sinuosities, it follows that at every angle or curve caused by these +sinuosities, you appear as if you were shut out from all the rest of the +world and could proceed no further. The river Isère runs thro' and parallel +with this valley. It rises in the mountains of Savoy and falls into the +Rhône in Dauphiné. I passed the night at Aiguebelle. + +From Aiguebelle to St Jean de Maurienne is twelve leagues, and I found +myself so tired with walking, and my legs from being swelled gave me so +much pain, that I determined to give up the _gloriole_ of making the whole +journey on foot as I intended and to remain here for two days to repose and +then profit by the first conveyance that might pass to conduct me to Turin. + +From Aiguebelle the valley becomes still more narrow, and there is a +continual ascent, tho' it is so gentle as scarcely to be perceptible. Every +spot of ground in this valley, which will admit of cultivation, is put to +profit by the industry of the inhabitants. Here one sees beans, indian +corn, and even wines; for the heat is very great indeed in summer and +autumn, owing to the rays of the sun being concentrated, as it were, into a +focus, in this narrow valley, and were the bed of the Isère to be deepened, +or were it less liable to overflow, from the melting of the snow in spring +and summer, much land, which is now a marsh, might be applied to +agricultural purposes. The inhabitants of this valley regret very much the +separation of Savoy from France, as during the time that Duchy was annexed +to the French Empire, each peasant possessing an ass could earn three +franks per diem in transporting merchandise across Mont-Cenis. St Jean de +Maurienne is a neat little town. I put up at the same inn, and slept in the +same bedroom which was occupied by poor Didier who was put to death at +Grenoble for having raised the standard of liberty. He was surprized here +in bed by the _Carabiniere Reali_ of the Sardinian government, those +satellites of despotism; and according to the barbarous principles laid +down by the crowned heads, delivered over to the French authorities. I +observed a great many _crétins_ in this valley. + + +SUZA, 10th August. + +On the morning of the 8th August two _vetturini_ passed by the inn at St +Jean de Maurienne, and I engaged a place in one of them, as far as Turin. +We arrived at the village of Modena in the evening. The landscape is much +the same as what we have hitherto passed, but the climate is considerably +colder, from the land being more elevated. Hitherto I had suffered much +inconvenience from the heat. The next morning we reached Lans-le-Bourg, the +last town of Savoy lying at the foot of Mount Cenis. + +After breakfast we began the ascent of Mont Cenis, and I made the whole way +from Lans-le-Bourg to the _Hospice_ of Mont Cenis, that is, the whole +ascent, a distance of twenty-five Italian miles, on foot. This _chaussée_ +is another wonderful piece of work of Napoleon; a broad carriage road, wide +enough for three carriages to go abreast, and cut zig-zag with so gentle a +slope as to allow a heavy French diligence to pass, with the utmost ease, +across a mountain where it was formerly thought impossible a wheel could +ever run. This _chaussée_ is passable at all seasons of the year; the +mountain is not so high as that of the Simplon and is less liable to +impediments from the snow; the obstacles from nature are less, and you can +descend in a sledge from the _Hospice_ by gliding down the side of the +cone, and thus descending in nine or ten minutes, whereas the ascent +requires four hours' time. From Lans-le-Bourg to the _Hospice_ on +Mont-Cenis the road is on the flank of an immense mountain and you have no +ravines to cross; the road is cut zig-zag on the flank of the mountain and +forms a considerable number of very acute angles, as it is made with so +gentle a slope that you scarcely feel the difficulty of the ascent. These +repeated zig-zags and acute angles formed by the road, and the very slight +slope given to the ascent, make the different branches appear to be almost +parallel to each other, and it is a very curious and novel sight when a +number of carriages are travelling together on this road to see them with +their horses' heads turned different ways, yet all following the same +course, just like ships on different tacks beating against the wind to +arrive at the same port, a comparison that could not fail immediately to +occur to a sailor. There is scarcely ever any detention on this road from +the fall of snow, as there are a considerable number of persons employed to +_deblay_ it as soon as it falls; but here, as well as on the Simplon, there +are _maisons de refuge_ at a short distance from each other. We stopped for +two hours at the inn at Mont-Cenis, which is about one hundred yards from +the _Hospice_. It was a remarkable fine day, and I enjoyed my walk very +much. The mountain air was keen and bracing and particularly delightful +after being shut up for some many days in the close valley. We had some +excellent trout for dinner. At Mont-Cenis, near the _Hospice_, is a large +lake which is frozen during eight months of the year. Here reigns eternal +winter and the mountains are covered with snows that never melt. From +Mont-Cenis to Suza the descent is very grand and striking, and the scenery +resembles that of the Simplon; there are more obstacles of nature than on +the former part of the road, and here ravines are connected by the means of +bridges, and there are subterraneous galleries to pass thro. Several +_chutes d'eau_ are here observable; one of them I cannot avoid mentioning, +as being very magnificent. It is formed by the Cenischia[74] which divides +Savoy from Piedmont and runs into the Dora at Suza. We were highly +gratified at the sight of the sublime scenery on all sides, and at the +magnificent _chaussée_, and we all (I mean the passengers in the two +coaches and myself) did hommage to the mighty genius who conceived and +caused to be executed such a stupendous work. We arrived at Suza at six +o'clock p.m. + + +TURIN, 18th August. + +Suza is a tolerably large town and has a neat appearance. It is commanded +and defended by the fort of Brunetti, now dismantled, but which is to be +repaired according to the treaty of 1815. It will then be a very important +post and completely barr the pass of Suza. The road from Suza to Rivoli is +thro' a valley widening at every step; at Rivoli you _débouche_ at once +from the gorge of the mountain into a boundless plain. The road is then on +a magnificent _chaussée_ the whole way to Turin, and every vegetable +production announces a change of climate to those coming from Savoy. Here +are fields of wheat, indian corn, mulberry and elm trees and vines hung in +festoons from tree to tree, which give a most picturesque appearance to the +landscape, and, together with the country houses, serve as a relief to the +boundless plain. The _chaussée_ is lined with trees on each side the whole +way from Rivoli to Turin; I observed among carriages of all sorts small +cars, like those used by children, drawn by dogs. These cars contain one +person each. They are frequent in this part of the country, and such a +conveyance is called a _cagnolino_. The Convent of St Michael, situated on +an immense height to the right of the road between Suza and Rivoli, is a +very striking object. The mountain forms a single cone and it appears +impossible to reach the summit except on the back of a Hippogriff: + + E ben appar che d'animal ch'abbia ale + Sia questa stanza nido o tana propria.[75] + + The castle seemed the very neat and lair + Of animal, supplied with plume and quill. + + --Trans. W.S. ROSE. + + +TURIN, 14 August. + +Turin is a large, extremely fine and regular city, with all the streets +built at right angles. The shops are very brilliant; the two _Places_, the +_Piazza del Castello_ and the _Piazza di San Carlo_, are very spacious and +striking, and there are arcades on each side of the quadrangle formed by +them. The _Contrada del Po_ (for in Turin the streets are called +_Contrade_) leads down to the Po, and is one of the best streets in Turin. +Over the Po is a superb bridge built by Napoleon. In the centre of the +_Piazza del Castello_ stands the Royal Palace, and on one side of the +_Piazza_ the Grand Opera house. The streets in Turin are kept clean by +sluices. The favorite promenades are, during the day, under the arcades of +the _Piazza del Castello_ and those of the _Contrada del Po_; and in the +evening round the ramparts of the city, or rather on the site where the +ramparts stood. The French, on blowing up the ramparts, laid out the space +occupied by them in walks aligned by trees. The fortifications of the +citadel were likewise destroyed. + +In the Cathedral Church here the most remarkable thing is the _Chapelle du +Saint Suaire_ (holy winding sheet). It is of a circular form, is inlaid +with black marble and admits scarce any light; so that it has more the +appearance of a Mausoleum than of a Chapel. It reminded me of the _Palace +of Tears_ in the Arabian Nights. + +In the environs of Turin, the most remarkable buildings are a villa +belonging to the King called _La Venezia_, and the _Superga_, a magnificent +church built on an eminence, five miles distant from Turin. In the Royal +Palace, on the _Piazza del Castello_, there is some superb furniture, but +the exterior is simple enough. The country environing Turin forms a plain +with gentle undulations, increasing in elevation towards the Alps, which +are forty miles distant, and is so stocked with villas, gardens and +orchards as to form a very agreeable landscape. From the steeple of the +_Superga_ the view is very fine. + +In the University of Turin is a very good _Cabinet d'Histoire naturelle_, +containing a great variety of beasts, birds and fishes stuffed and +preserved; there is also a Cabinet of Comparative Anatomy, and various +imitations in wax of anatomical dissections. Among the antiquities, of +which there is a most valuable collection, are two very remarkable ones: +the one a beautiful bronze shield, found in the Po, called the shield of +Marius; it represents, in figures in bas-relief, the history of the +Jugurthine war.[76] This shield is of the most exquisite workmanship. The +other is a table of the most beautiful black marble incrusted and inlaid +with figures and hieroglyphics of silver. It is called the _Table of Isis_, +was brought from Egypt and is supposed to be of the most remote antiquity. +It is always kept polished. Among the many valuable pieces of sculpture to +be met with here is a most lovely Cupid in Parian marble. He is represented +sleeping on a lion's skin. It is the most beautiful piece of sculpture I +have ever seen next to the Apollo Belvédère and the Venus dei Medici; it +appears alive, and as if the least noise would awake it.[77] + +Turin used to be in the olden time one of the most brilliant Courts and +cities in Europe, and the most abounding in splendid equipages; now very +few are to be seen. When Piedmont was torn from the domination of the House +of Savoy and annexed to France, Turin, ceasing to be the capital of a +Kingdom, necessarily decayed in splendor, nor did its being made the _Chef +lieu_ of a _Préfecture_ of the French Empire make amends for what it once +was. The Restoration arrived, but has not been able to reanimate it; an air +of dullness pervades the whole city. Obscurantism and anti-liberal ideas +are the order of the day. + +I witnessed a military review at which the King of Sardinia assisted. The +troops made a very brilliant appearance and manoeuvred well. His Majesty +has a very good seat on horseback and a distinguished military air. He is a +man of honor tho' he has rather too high notions of the royal dignity and +authority, and is too much of a bigot in religion; but his word can be +depended on, a great point in a King; there are so many of them that break +theirs and falsify all their promises. He will not hear of a constitution, +and endeavors to abolish or discountenance all that has been effected +during his absence. The priests are caressed and restored to their +privileges, so that the inhabitants of Piedmont are exposed to a double +despotism, a military and a sacerdotal one; the last is ten times more +ruinous and fatal to liberty and improvement than the former. + +I have put up in Turin in the _Pension Suisse_, where for seven franks per +diem I have breakfast, dinner, supper and a princely bed room. The houses +are in general lofty, spacious and on a grand scale. + + +[67] Francois Lamarque, born 1756, a member of the Convention, ambassador + in Sweden, prefect of the Tarn and member of the Cour de Cassation + (1804). He was exiled in 1816.--ED. + +[68] Major Frye (who wrote the name Despinassy) certainly means + Antoine-Joseph Marie Espinassy de Fontanelle's (1787-1829), who was a + member of the Convention, voted the King's death and served in the + Republican army of the Alps. In 1816, he was banished and went to + Lausanne, where he died 1829.--ED. + +[69] Pardoux Bordas (1748-1842) was a member of the Convention. Though he + had not voted the death of Louis XVI, he was banished from France in + 1816 and did not return there before 1828.--ED. + +[70] Antoine Francis Gauthier des Orcières (1752-1838) was elected to the + Etats Généraux in 1789, and, in 1792, to the Convention, where he + voted the death of Louis XVI. Later on, he was member of the Conseil + des Anoiena, juge au tribunal de la Seine and conseiller à la cour + impériale de Paris (1815). Banished in 1816, he returned to France in + 1828. + +[71] Jean Baptists Michaud, a member of the Directoire du département du + Doubs, and a member of the National Convention, voted the death of + Louis XVI and against the proposed appeal to the people.--ED. + +[72] Jean Daniel Paul Etienne Levade (1750-1834), Protestant minister first + in England, then in Amsterdam, finally minister at Lausanne and + professor of theology at the _Académie_ of the same town.--ED. + +[73] Countess de Boigne, in her interesting _Memoirs_ (of which there is an + English translation) abstained from describing her husband's career in + India; this lends additional interest to the information collected by + Major Frye,--ED. + +[74] The manuscript has _Sennar_, a name quite unknown at Suza.--ED. + +[75] Ariosto, _Orlando Furioso_, iv, 13, 5.--ED. + +[76] This shield, now at the _Armoria Reale_, is not antique, but is + ascribed to Benvenuto Cellini.--ED. + +[77] This statue of Cupid is not antique, and has been recently ascribed to + Michelangelo (Knapp, _Michelangelo_, p. 155.)--ED. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +Journey from Turin to Bologna--Asti--Schiller and Alfieri--Italian +_cuisíne_--The _vetturini_--Marengo--Piacenza--The Trebbia--Parma--The +Empress Maria Louisa--Modena--Bologna--The University--The Marescalchi +Gallery--Character of the Bolognese. + + +August ---- 1816 + +'Twas on a fine morning the 16th August that I took my departure from Turin +with a _vetturino_ bound to Bologna. I agreed to pay him sixty francs for +my place in the coach, supper and bed. When this stipulation for supper and +bed is included in the price fixed for your place with the _vetturino_, you +are said to be _spesato_, and then you have nothing extra to pay for but +your breakfast. There were two other travellers in the _vettura_, both +Frenchmen; the one about forty years of age was a Captain of cavalry _en +retraite_, married to a Hungarian lady and settled at Florence, to which +place he was returning; the other, a young man of very agreeable manners, +settled likewise at Florence, as chief of a manufactory there, returning +from Lyons, his native city, whither he had been to see his relations. I +never in my life met with two characters so diametrically opposite. The +Captain was quite a _bourru_ in his manners, yet he had a sort of dry, +sarcastic, satirical humour that was very diverting to those who escaped +his lash. Whether he really felt the sentiments he professed, or whether he +assumed them for the purpose of chiming in with the times, I cannot say, +but he said he rejoiced at the fall of Napoleon. My other companion, +however, expressed great regret as his downfall, not so much from a regard +for the person of Napoleon, as for the concomitant degradation and conquest +of his country, and he spoke of the affairs of France with a great deal of +feeling and patriotism. + +The Captain seemed to have little or no feeling for anybody but himself; +indeed, he laughed at all sentiment and said he did not believe in virtue +or disinterestedness. When, among other topics of conversation, the loss +the French Army sustained at Waterloo was brought on the _tapis_, he said, +"_Eh bien! qu 'importe? dans une seule nuit à Paris on en fabriquera assez +pour les remplacer!_" A similar sentiment has been attributed to the great +Condé.[78] We had a variety of amusing arguments and disputes on the road; +the Captain railed at merchants, and said that he did not believe that +honor or virtue existed among mercantile people (no compliment, by the bye, +to the young fabricant, who bore it, however, with great good humour, +contenting himself with now and then giving a few slaps at the military for +their rapacity, which mercantile people on the Continent have now and then +felt, before the French Revolution, as well as after). The whole road from +Turin to Alexandria della Paglia is a fine broad _chausée_. The first day's +journey brought us to Asti. A rich plain on each side of the road, the +horizon on our right bounded by the Appennines, on our left by the Alps, +both diverging, formed the landscape. Asti is an ancient, well and solidly +built city, but rather gloomy in its appearance. It is remarkable for being +the birthplace of Vittorio Alfieri, the celebrated tragic poet, who has +excelled all other dramatic poets in the general _dénouement_ of his +pieces, except, perhaps, Voltaire alone. I do not speak of Alfleri so much +as a poet as a _dramaturgus_. I may be mistaken, and it is, perhaps, +presumptuous in me to attempt to judge, but it has always appeared to me +that Voltaire and Alfieri have managed dramatic effect and the intrigue and +catastrophe of their tragedies better than any other authors. Shakespeare, +God as he is in genius, is in this particular very deficient. Schiller, +too, the greatest modern poetic genius perhaps and the Shakespeare of +Germany, has here failed also, and nothing can be more correct than the +estimate of Alfieri made by Forsyth[79] when, after speaking of his +defects, he says: "Yet where lives the tragic poet equal to Alfieri? +Schiller (then living also) may perhaps excel him in those peals of terror +which flash thro' his gloomy and tempestuous scene, but he is far inferior +in the mechanism of his drama." + +To return to my first day's journey from Turin. It was a very long day's +work, and we did not arrive at Asti till very late, after having performed +the last hour, half in the dark, on a road which is by no means in good +repute. The character of the lower class of Piedmontese is not good. They +are ferocious, vindictive and great marauders. They make excellent soldiers +during war and they not unfrequently, on being disbanded after peace, by +way of keeping their hand in practise and of having the image of war before +their eyes, ease the traveller of his coin and sometimes of his life. Our +conversation partook of these reminiscences, and during the latter part of +our journey turned entirely on bandits "force and guile," so that we were +quite rejoiced at seeing the smoke and light of the town of Asti and +hearing the dogs bark, which reminded me of Ariosto's lines: + + Non molto va che dalle vie supreme + De' tetti uscir vede il vapor del fuoco + Sente cani abbajar, muggire armento, + Viene alla villa, e piglia alloggiamenti.[80] + + Nor far the warrior had pursued his best, + Ere, eddying from a roof, he saw the smoke, + Heard noise of dog and kine, a farm espied, + And thitherward in quest of lodging hied. + + --_Trans_. W.S. ROSE. + +We met on alighting at the door of a large spacious inn, two ladies who had +very much the appearance of the two damsels at the inn where Don Quixote +alighted and received his order of knighthood; but, in spite of their +amorous glances and a decided leer of invitation, I had like Sacripante's +steed more need of "_riposo e d'esca che di nuova giostra_." The usual +Italian supper was put before us, and very good it was, viz., _Imprimis: A +minestra_ (soup), generally made of beef or veal with vermicelli or +macaroni in it and its never failing accompaniment in Italy, grated +Parmesan cheese. Then a _lesso_ (bouilli) of beef, veal or mutton, or all +three; next an _umido_ (fricassée) of cocks' combs and livers, a favourite +Italian dish; then a _frittura_ of chickens' livers, fish or vegetables +fried. Then an _umido_ or ragout of veal, fish with sauce; and lastly, an +arrosto (roast) of fowls, veal, game, or all three. The _arrosto_ is +generally very dry and done to cinders almost. Vegetables are served up +With the _umidi_, but plain boiled, leaving it optional to you to use +melted butter or oil with them. A salad is a constant concomitant of the +_arrosto_. A desert or fruit concludes the repast. Wine is drank at +discretion. The wine of Lombardy is light and not ill flavored; it is far +weaker than any wine I know of, but it has an excellent quality, that of +facilitating digestion. A cup of strong coffee is generally made for you in +the morning, for which you pay three or four _soldi_ (sous), and in giving +five or six _soldi_ to the waiter, all your expenses are paid supposing you +are _spesato_, i.e., that the _vetturino_ pays for your supper and bed; if +not, your charges are left to the conscience of the aubergiste, which in +Italy is in general of prodigious width. I therefore advise every traveller +who goes with a _vetturino_ to be a spesato, otherwise he will have to pay +four or five times as much and not be a whit better regaled. The +_vetturini_ generally pay from three to three and a half francs for the +supper and bed of their passengers. As the _vetturini_ invariably make a +halt of an hour and half or two hours at mid-day in some town or village, +this halt enables you to take your _déjeuner à la fourchette_, which you +pay for yourself, unless you stipulate for the payment of that also with +the _vetturino_ by paying something more, say one a half franc per diem for +that. In this part, and indeed in the whole of the north of Italy not a +female servant is to be seen at the inns and men make the beds. It is +otherwise, I understand, in Tuscany. + +The whole appearance of the country from Asti to Alexandria presents an +immense plain extremely fertile, but the crops of corn being off the +ground, the landscape would not be pleasing to the eye, were it not +relieved by the frequency of mulberry trees and the vines hung in festoons +from tree to tree. The villages and farmhouses on this road are extremely +solid and well built. We arrived at Alexandria about twelve o'clock, and +after breakfast I hired a horse to visit the field of battle of Marengo, +which is in the neighbourhood of this city, Marengo itself being a village +five miles distant from Alexandria. Arrived on the plain, I was conducted +to the spot where the first Consul stood at the time that he perceived the +approach of Desaix's division. I figured to myself the first Consul on his +white charger, halting his army, then in some confusion, riding along the +line exposed to a heavy fire from the Austrians, who cannonaded the whole +length of the line; aides-de-camp and orderlies falling around him, himself +calm and collected, "spying 'vantage," and observing that the Austrian +deployment was too extended, and their centre thereby weakened, suddenly +profiting of this circumstance to order Desaix's division to advance and +lead the charge which decided the victory on that memorable day, which, +according to Mascheroni: + + _splende + Nell' abisso de' secoli, qual Sole_. + +The whole field of battle is an extensive plain, with but few trees, and to +use Campbell's lines: + + every turf beneath the feet + Marks out a soldier's sepulchre. + +The Column, erected to commemorate this glorious victory, has been thrown +down by order of the Austrian government--a poor piece of puerile spite, +but worthy of legitimacy. Alexandria is, or rather _was_, for the +fortifications no longer exist, more remarkable for being an important +military post than for the beauty of the city itself. There is, however, a +fine and spacious _Place_, which serves as a parade for the garrison, and +being planted with trees by the French when they held it, forms an +agreeable promenade. The fortifications were blown up by the Austrians +before the place was given over to the Sardinian authorities, a flagrant +breach of faith and contract, since by the treaty of 1814 they were bound +to give up all the fortified places that were restored or ceded to the King +of Sardinia in the same state in which they were found when the French +evacuated them, and the Austrians took possession provisorily. The French +regarding (and with reason) this fortress as the key of Lombardy always +kept the fortifications in good repair and well provided with cannon. But +the Austrian government, knowing itself to be unpopular in Italy and +trembling for the safety of her dominions, being always fearful that the +Piedmontese Government might one day be induced to favour an +insurrectionary or national movement in the north of Italy, determined, +finding that it could not keep the fortress for itself, which it strove +hard to do under divers pretexts, to render it of as little use as they +possibly could do to the King of Sardinia; so they blew up the +fortifications and carried off the cannon, leaving the King without a +single fortified place in the whole of his Italian dominions to defend +himself, in case of attack, against an Austrian invasion. + +On the morning of the 15th August we passed thro' Tortona, now no longer a +fortress of consequence. All this country may be considered as classic +ground, immortalized by the campaigns of Napoleon, when commander in chief +of the army of the French Republic in Italy, a far greater and more +illustrious _rôle_ than when he assumed the Imperial bauble and +condescended to mix with the vulgar herd of Kings. + +We arrived at Voghera to breakfast and at Casteggio at night. The country +is much the same as that which we have already passed thro', being a plain, +with a rich alluvial soil, mulberry trees and a number of solidly built +stone farmhouses. The next morning at eleven o'clock we arrived at Piacenza +on the Po, and were detained a quarter of an hour at the _Douane_ of Her +Majesty the Archduchess, as Maria Louisa, the present Duchess of Parma, is +stiled, we being now arrived in her dominions. We drove to the _Hôtel di +San Marco_, which is close to the _Piazza Grande_, and alighted there. On +the Piazza stands the _Hôtel de Ville_, and in front of it are two +equestrian statues in bronze of the Princes Farnesi; the statues, however, +of the riders appear much too small in proportion with the horses, and they +resemble two little boys mounted on Lincolnshire carthorses. + +I did not visit the churches and palaces in this city from not having time +and, besides, I did not feel myself inclined or _bound_ (as some travellers +think themselves) to visit every church and every town in Italy. I really +believe the _ciceroni_ think that we _Ultramontani_ live in mud hovels in +our own country, and that we have never seen a stone edifice, till our +arrival in Italy, for every town house which is not a shop is termed a +_palazzo_, and they would conduct you to see all of them if you would be +guided by them. I had an opportunity, during the two hours we halted here, +of walking over the greater part of the city, after a hasty breakfast. +Piacenza is a large handsome city; among the females that I saw in the +streets the Spanish costume seems very prevalent, no doubt from being so +long governed by a Spanish family. + +On leaving Piacenza we passed thro' a rich meadow country and met with an +immense quantity of cattle grazing. The road is a fine broad _chaussée_ +considerably elevated above the level of the fields and is lined with +poplars. Where this land is not in pasture, cornfields and mulberry trees, +with vines in festoons, vary the landscape, which is additionally enlivened +by frequent _maisons de plaisance_ and excellently built farmhouses. We +passed thro' Firenzuola, a long well-built village, or rather _bourg_, and +we brought to the night at Borgo San Donino. At this place I found the +first bad inn I have met with in Italy, that is, the house, tho' large, was +so out of repair as to be almost a _masure_; we however met with tolerably +good fare for supper. We fell in with a traveller at Borgo San Donino, who +related to us an account of an extraordinary robbery that had been +committed a few months before near this place, in which the _then_ host was +implicated, or rather was the author and planner of the robbery. It +happened as follows. A Swiss merchant, one of those men who cannot keep +their own counsel, a _bavard_ in short, was travelling from Milan to +Bologna with his cabriolet, horse and a large portmanteau. He put up at +this inn. At supper he entered into conversation with mine host, and asked +if there was any danger of robbers on the road, for that he should be sorry +(he said) to fall into their hands, inasmuch as he had with him in his +portmanteau 24,000 franks in gold and several valuable articles of +jewellery. Mine host assured him that there was not the slightest danger. +The merchant went to bed, directing that he should be awakened at daybreak +in order to proceed on his journey. Mine host, however, took care to have +him called full an hour and half before daybreak, assuring him that light +would soon dawn. The merchant set out, but he had hardly journeyed two +miles when a shot from behind a hedge by the road side brought his horse to +the ground. Four men in masks rushed up, seized him and bound him to a +tree; they then rifled his portmanteau, took out his money and jewels and +wished him good morning. + +Before we arrived at Borgo San Donino we crossed the Trebbia, one of the +many tributary streams of the Po, and which is famous for two celebrated +battles, one in ancient, the other in modern tunes (and probably many +others which I do not recollect); but here it was that Hannibal gained his +second victory over the Romans; and here, in 1799, the Russians under +Souvoroff defeated the French under Macdonald after an obstinate and +sanguinary conflict; but they could not prevent Macdonald from effecting +his junction with Massena, to hinder which was Souvoroff's object. In fact, +in this country, to what reflections doth every spot of ground we pass, +over, give rise! Every field, every river has been the theatre of some +battle or other memorable event either in ancient or modern times. + + _Quis gurges aut quae flumina lugubris + Ignara belli?[81]_ + +We started from Borgo San Donino next morning; about ten miles further on +the right hand side of the road stands an ancient Gothic fortress called +Castel Guelfo. Between this place and Parma there is a very troublesome +river to pass called the Taro, which at times is nearly dry and at other +times, so deep as to render it hazardous for a carriage to pass, and it is +at all times requisite to send on a man to ford and sound it before a +carriage passes. This river fills a variety of separate beds, as it +meanders very much, and it extends to such a breadth in its _débordements_, +as to render it impossible to construct a bridge long enough to be of any +use. + +This, however, being the dry season, we passed it without difficulty. Two +or three other streams on this route, _seguaci del Po_, are crossed in the +same manner. + +The road to Parma, after passing the Taro, lies nearly in a right line and +is bordered with poplars. If I am not mistaken, it was somewhere in this +neighbourhood that the Carthaginians under Hannibal suffered a great loss +in elephants, who died from cold, being incamped during the winter. I am +told there is not a colder country in Europe than Lombardy during the +winter season, which arises no doubt from its vicinity to the Alps. + +Opulence seems to prevail in all the villages in the vicinity of Parma, and +an immense quantity of cattle is seen grazing in the meadows on each side +of the road. The female peasantry wear the Spanish costume and are +remarkably well dressed. + +We arrived at Parma at twelve o'clock and stopped there three hours. + + +PARMA. + +After a hasty breakfast, Mr G-- and myself sallied forth to see what was +possible during the time we stopped in this city, leaving the Captain, who +refused to accompany us, to smoke his pipe. This city is very large and +there is a very fine _Piazza._ The streets are broad, the buildings +handsome and imposing, and there is a general appearance of opulence. We +first proceeded to visit the celebrated amphitheatre, called _l'Amfiteatro +Farnese_ in honour of the former sovereigns of the Duchy. It is a vast +building and unites the conveniences both of the ancient and modern +theatres. It has a roof like a modern theatre, and the seats in the +_parterre_ are arranged like the seats in an ancient Greek theatre. Above +this are what we should call boxes, and above them again what we usually +term a gallery. A vast and deep arena lies between the _parterre_ and the +orchestra and fills up the space between the audience and the _proscenium_. +It is admirably adapted both for spectators and hearers; when a tragedy, +comedy or opera is acted, a scaffolding is erected and seats placed in the +arena. At other times the arena is made use of for equestrian exercises and +chariot races in the style of the ancients, combats with wild beasts, etc., +or it may be filled with water for the representation of naval fights +(_naumachia_); in this case you have a vast oval lake between the +spectators and the stage. It is a great pity that this superb and +interesting building is not kept in good repair; the fact is it is seldom +or ever made use of except on very particular occasions: it is almost +useless in a place like Parma, "so fallen from its high estate," but were +such an amphitheatre in Paris, London, or any great city, it might be used +for all kinds of _spectacles_ and amusements. A small theatre from the +design of Bernino stands close to this amphitheatre, and is built in a +light tasteful manner. If fresh painted and lighted up it would make a very +brilliant appearance. This may be considered as the Court theatre. At a +short distance from the theatres is the Museum of Parma, in which there is +a well chosen gallery of pictures. Among the most striking pictures of the +old school is without doubt that of St Jerôme by Correggio; but I was full +as much, dare I be so heretical as to say more pleased, with the +productions of the modern school of Parma. A distribution of prizes had +lately been made by the Empress Maria Louisa, and there were many +paintings, models of sculpture and architectural designs, that did infinite +credit to the young artists. I remarked one painting in particular which is +worthy of a Fuseli. It represented the battle of the river God Scamander +with Achilles. The subjects of most of the paintings I saw here were taken +from the mythology or from ancient and modern history; and this is perhaps +the reason that they pleased me more than those of the ancient masters. Why +in the name of the [Greek: to kalon] did these painters confine +themselves so much to Madonnas, Crucifixions, and Martyrdoms, when their +own poets, Ariosto and Tasso, present so many subjects infinitely more +pleasing? Then, again, in many of these crucifixions and martyrdoms, the +gross anachronisms, such as introducing monks and soldiers with match-locks +and women in Gothic costume at the crucifixion, totally destroy the +seriousness and interest of the subject by annihilating all illusion and +exciting risibility. + +Parma will ever be renowned in history as the birthplace of Caius Cassius, +the Mend and colleague of Brutus. + +The Empress Maria Louisa lives here in the Ducal Palace, which is a +spacious but ornamental edifice. She lives, 'tis said, without any +ostentation. Out of her own states, her presence in Italy would be attended +with unpleasant consequences to the powers that be, on account of the +attachment borne to Napoleon by all classes of society; and it is on this +account that on her last visit to Bologna she received an intimation from +the papal authorities to quit the Roman territory in twenty-four hours. We +next passed thro' St Hilario and Reggio and brought to the evening at the +village of Rubbiera. At St Hilario is the entrance into the Duke of +Modena's territory, and here we underwent again &n examination of trunks, +as we did both on entering and leaving the territory of Maria Louisa. + +Reggio is a large walled city, but I had only time to visit the Cathedral +and to remark therein a fine picture of the Virgin and the Chapel called +"Capella della Morte." Reggio pretends to the honour of having given birth +to the Divine Ariosto: + + Quel grande che cantò l'armi e gli amorl, + +as Guarini describes him, I believe. The face of the country from Parma to +Reggio is exactly the same as what we have passed thro' already. + +The next day (20 August) we passed thro' Modena, where we stopped to +breakfast and refresh horses. It is a large and handsome city, the Ducal +Palace is striking and in the Cathedral is presented the famous bucket +which gave rise to the poem of Tassoni called _La Secchia rapita._ An air +of opulence and grandeur seems to prevail in Modena. + +At Samoggia we entered the Papal territory and again underwent a search of +trunks. Within three miles of Bologna a number of villas and several +tanneries, which send forth a most intolerable odour, announce the approach +to that celebrated and venerable city. On the left hand side, before +entering the town, is a superb portico with arcades, about one and a half +miles in length, which leads from the city to the church of San Luca. On +the right are the Appennines, towering gradually above you. Bologna lies at +the foot of these mountains on the eastern side and here the plain ends for +those who are bound to Florence, which lies on the western side of the vast +ridge which divides Italy. We arrived at Bologna at half-past seven in the +evening, and here we intend to repose a day or two; I shall then cross the +Appennines for the first time in my life. A reinforcement of mules or oxen +is required for every carriage; from the ascent the whole way you can +travel, I understand, very little quicker _en poste_ than with a +_vetturino_. We are lodged at Bologna in a very comfortable inn called +_Locanda d'Inghilterra_. + + +BOLOGNA, 22d August. + +The great popularity of Bologna, which is a very large and handsomely built +city, lies in the colonnaded porticos and arcades on each side of the +streets throughout the whole city. These arcades are mightily convenient +against sun and rain, and contradict the assertion of Rousseau, who +asserted that England was the only country in the world where the safety of +foot passengers is consulted, whereas here in Bologna not only are +_trottoirs_ broader than those of London in general, but you are +effectually protected against sun and rain, and are not obliged to carry an +umbrella about with you perpetually as in London. This arcade system, is, +however, rather a take off from the beauty of the city, and gives it a +gloomy heavy appearance, which is not diminished by the sight of friars and +mendicants with which this place swarms, and announce to you that you are +in the holy land. At Bologna it is necessary to have a sharp eye on your +baggage, on account of the crowds of ragged _fainéans_ that surround your +carriage while it is unloading. + +The first thing that the _ciceroni_ generally take you to see in Italy are +the churches, and mine would not probably have spared me one, but I was +more anxious to see the University. I however allowed him to lead me into +two of the principal churches, viz., the _Duomo_ or Cathedral, and the +church of San Petronio, both magnificent Gothic temples and worth the +attention of the traveller. On the _Piazza del Gigante_ is a fine bronze +statue of Neptune. The _Piazza_ takes its name from this statue, as at one +time in Italy, after the introduction of Christianity and when the ancient +mythology was totally forgotten, the statues of the Gods were called Giants +or named after Devils and their prototypes believed to be such. + +In the Museum at the University is an admirable collection of fossils, +minerals, and machines in every branch of science. There are some excellent +pictures also; the University of Bologna was, you know, at all times famous +and its celebrity, is not at all diminished, for I believe Bologna boasts +more scientific men, and particularly in the sciences _positives_, than any +other city in Italy. + +In the _Palazzo pubblico_ (_Hôtel de Ville_) is a Christ and a Samson by +Guido Reni; but what pleased me most in the way of painting was the +collection in the gallery of Count Marescalchi. The Count has been at great +pains to form it and has shown great taste and discernment. It is a small +but unique collection. Here is to be seen a head of Christ, the colouring +of which is so brilliant as to illuminate the room in which it is appended, +when the shutters are closed, and in the absence of all other light except +what appears thro' the crevices of the window shutters. This head, however, +does not seem characteristic of Christ; it wants the gravity, the soft +melancholy and unassuming meekness of the _great Reformer_: in short, from +the vivid fire of the eyes and the too great self-complacency of the +countenance, it gave me rather the idea + + Del biondo Dio che in Tessalia si adorá. + +I passed two hours in this cabinet. I next repaired to the centre of the +city with the intention of ascending one at least of the two square towers +or _campanili_ which stand close together, one of which is _strait_, the +other a leaning one. _Garisendi_ is the name of the leaning tower, and it +forms a parallelipipedon of 140 feet in height and about twenty feet in +breath and length. It leans so much as to form an angle of seventy-five +degrees with the ground on which it stands. The other tower, the strait +one, is called _Asinelli_ and is a parallelipipedon of 310 feet in height +and about twenty-five feet in length and breadth. I ascended the leaning +tower, but I found the fatigue so great that I was scarcely repaid by the +fine view of the surrounding country, which presents on one side an immense +plain covered with towns, villages and villas, and on the other the +Appennines towering one above another. When on the top of _Garisendi_, +_Asinelli_ appears to be four times higher than its neighbour, and the bare +aspect of its enormous height deterred me from even making the attempt of +ascending it. When viewed or rather looked down upon from _Garisendi_, +Bologna, from its being of an elliptical form and surrounded by a wall and +from having these two enormous towers in the centre, resembles a boat with +masts. + +From the great celebrity of its University and the eminent men it has +produced, Bologna is considered as the most litterary city of Italy. +Galvani was born in Bologna and studied at this University, and among the +modern prodigies is a young lady who is professor of Greek and who is by +all accounts the most amiable _Bas bleu_ that ever existed.[82] The +Bolognese are a remarkably fine, intelligent and robust race of people, and +are renowned for their republican spirit, and the energy with which they at +all times resisted the encroachments of the Holy See. Bologna was at one +time a Republic, and on their coins is the word Libertas. The Bolognese +never liked the Papal government and were much exasperated at returning +under the domination of the Holy Father. In the time of Napoleon, Bologna +formed part of the _Regno d'ltalia_ and partook of all its advantages. +Napoleon is much regretted by them; and so impatiently did the inhabitants +bear the change, on the dismemberment of the kingdom of Italy, and their +transfer to the pontifical sceptre, that on Murat's entry in their city in +1815 the students and other young men of the town flew to arms and in a few +hours organised three battalions. Had the other cities shown equal energy +and republican spirit, the revolution would have been completed and Italy +free; but the fact is that the Italians in general, tho' discontented, had +no very high opinion of Murat's talents as a political character, and he +besides _committed_ a great fault in not entering Rome on his march and +revolutionising it. Murat, like most men, was ruined by half-measures. The +last tune that Maria Louisa was here the people surrounded the inn where +she resided and hailed her with cries of _Viva I'Imperatrice!_ The Pope's +legate in consequence intimated to her the expediency of her immediate +departure from the city, with a request that she would not repeat her +visit. Bologna is considered by the Ultras, _Obscuranten,_ and _Éteignoirs_ +as the focus and headquarters of Carbonarism. + +In the evening I visited the theatre built by Bibbiena and had the pleasure +of hearing for the first time an Italian tragedy, which, however, are now +rarely represented and scarcely ever well acted. This night's performance +formed an exception and was satisfactory. The piece was _Romeo and +Giulietta_. The actress who did the part of Giulietta performed it with +great effect, particularly in the tomb scene. In this scene she reminded me +forcibly of our own excellent actress, Miss O'Neill. This was the only part +of the play that had any resemblance to the tragedy of Shakespeare. All the +rest was on the French model. I saw a number of beautiful women in the +boxes. The Bolognese women are remarkable for their fine complexions; those +that I saw were much inclined to _embonpoint_. + + +[79] And also to Napoleon, after the battle at Eylau.--ED. + +[80] Joseph Forsyth (1763-1815), author of _Remarks on antiquities, arts + and letters in Italy_, London, 1813.--ED. + +[81] Horace, _Carm._, II, I, 33.--ED. + +[82] The young woman in question was Clotilda Tambroni (1768-1818). She + taught Greek at the University of Bologna and was in correspondence + with the great French scholar Ansse de Villoison.--ED. + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +Journey across the Appennines to Florence--Tuscan idioms and +customs--Monuments and galleries at Florence--The Cascino--Churches-- +Theatres--Popularity of the Grand Duke--Napoleon's downfall not +regretted--Academies in Florence. + + +FLORENCE, 26th August. + +The moment you leave Bologna to go to Florence you enter the gorges of the +Appennines, and after journeying seven miles, begin to ascend the ridge. +The ascent begins at Pianoro. Among these mountains the scenery is wild and +romantic, and tho' not so grandiose and sublime as that of the Alps, is +nevertheless extremely picturesque. One meets occasionally with the ruins +of old castles on some of the heights, and I was strongly reminded, at the +sight of these antique edifices, of the mysteries of Udolpho and the times +of the Condottieri. The silence that reigns here is only interrupted by the +noise of the waterfall and the occasional scream of the eagle. The wild +abrupt transition of landscape would suggest the idea of haunting places +for robbers, yet one seldom or never hears of any, on this road. In Tuscany +there is, I understand, so much industry and morality, that a robbery is a +thing unknown; but in his Holiness's dominions, from the idleness and +poverty that prevails, they are said to be frequent. Why it does not occur +in these mountains, in that part of them, at least, which belongs to the +Papal Government, I am at a loss to conceive. + +Here the chesnut and olive trees salute the Ultramontane traveller for the +first time. The olive tree, tho' a most useful, is not an ornamental one, +as it resembles a willow or osier in its trunk and in the colour of its +leaves. The chesnut tree is a glorious plant for an indolent people, since +it furnishes food without labour, as the Xaca or Jack fruit tree does +to the Cingalese in Ceylon. On one of the heights between Pianoro and +Lojano you have in very clear weather a view of both the Adriatic and +Tyrrhene seas. We brought to the night at Scarica l'Asino and the next +morning early we entered the Tuscan territory at Pietra Mala, where there +is a _Douane_ and consequently an examination of trunks. At one o'clock we +arrived at an inn called _Le Maschere_, about fifteen miles distance from +Florence; it is a large mansion and being situated on an eminence commands +an extensive view. One becomes soon aware of being in the Tuscan territory +from the number of cultivated spots to be seen in this part of the +Appennines: for such is the industry of the inhabitants that they do +wonders on their naturally sterile soil. One sees a number of farms. Every +spot of ground is in cultivation, between _Le Maschere_ and Florence in +particular; these spots of ground, gardens, orchards and villas forming a +striking and pleasing contrast with the wild and dreary scenery of the +Appennines. Another thing that indicates one's arrival among the Tuscans is +their aspiration of the letter _c_ before _a_, _o_ and _u_, which is at +first extremely puzzling to a foreigner accustomed only to the Roman +pronunciation. For instance, instead of _camera_, _cotto_, _curvo_, they +pronounce these words _hamera_, _hotto_, and _hurvo_ with an exceeding +strong aspiration of the _h_. It is the same too with the _ch_ which they +aspirate, _ex gr._ instead of _pochino_, _chiave_, they say _pohino_, +_hiave_. The language however which is spoken is the most classical and +pure Italian and except the above mentioned aspiration it is delightful to +the ear; peculiarly so to those who come from the north of Italy, and have +only hitherto heard the unpleasing nasal twang of the Milanese and the +exceeding uncouth barbarous dialect of Bologna. Another striking +peculiarity is the smart appearance of the Tuscan peasantry. They are a +remarkably handsome race of men; the females unite with their natural +beauty a grace and elegance that one is quite astonished to find among +peasants. They express themselves in the most correct and classical +language and they have a great deal of repartee. As the peasantry of +Tuscany enjoy a greater share of _aisance_ than falls to the lot of those +of any other country, and as the females dress with taste and take great +pains to appear smart on all occasions, they resemble rather the +shepherdesses on the Opera stage or those of the fabled Arcadia than +anything in real life. The females too are remarkably industrious and will +work like horses all the week to gain wherewithal to appear smart on +holidays. Their dress is very becoming, and they wear sometimes jewellery +to a large amount on their persons; a very common ornament among them is a +collar of gold around their necks. Their usual head-dress is either a white +straw hat, or a black round beaver hat, with black ostrich feathers. I +prefer the straw hat; it is more tasteful than the round hat which always +seems to me too masculine for a woman. At the inn at _Le Maschere_ we were +waited on by three smart females. The whole road from _Le Maschere_ to +Florence is very beautiful and diversified. Vineyards, gardens, farm houses +and villas thicken as one approaches and when arrived within three miles of +Florence, which lies in a basin surrounded by mountains, one is quite +bewildered at the sight of the quantity of beautiful villas and _maisons de +plaisance_ in every direction. + +Every thing indicates life, industry and comfort in this charming country. +We stopped at a villa belonging to the Grand Duke called _II Pratolino_, +seven miles distant from Florence. Here is to be seen the famous statue +representing the genius of the Appennines. The Villa is unfurnished and out +of repair and the garden and grounds are neglected: it is a great pity, for +it is a fine building and in a beautiful position. The celebrated Bianca +Capello, a Venetian by birth, and mistress of Francesco II de' Medici, +Grand Duke of Tuscany, used to reside here. + + +FLORENCE, 27th August. + +I am extremely well pleased with my accommodations at the hotel where I am +lodged. Mme Hembert, the proprietor, was once _femme de chambre_ to the +Empress Joséphine; she is an excellent woman and a very attentive hostess, +and I recommend her hotel to all those travellers who visit Florence and do +not care to incur the expence of Schneider's. There is an excellent and +well served _table d'hôte_ at two o'clock, wine at discretion, for which, +and for my bedroom, I pay seven _paoli_ per day. This hotel has the +advantage of being in a very central situation. It is close to the _Piazza +del Gran Duca_, the post-office, the _Palazzo Vecchio_, the Bureaux of +Government, the celebrated Gallery of Sculpture and Painting and to the +Arno. It is only 300 yards from the _Piazza del Duomo_, where the Cathedral +stands, and 600 yards from the principal theatre _Della Pergola_ on the one +side; while on the other side, after crossing the _Ponte Vecchio_, stands +the _Palazzo Pitti_, the residence of the Grand Duke, at a distance of +seven or 800 yards. + +The _Piazza del Gran Duca_ is very striking to the eye of the northern +traveller; the statues of the Gods in white marble in the open air would +make him fancy himself in Athens in the olden time. The following statues +in bronze and white marble are to be seen on this _Piazza_. In bronze are: +a statue of Perseus by Cellini; Judith with the head of Holofernes by +Donatello; David and Goliath; Samson. In white marble are the following +beautiful statues: a group representing Hercules and Cacus; another +representing a Roman carrying off a Sabine woman. The Hercules, who is in +the act of strangling Cacus, rests on one leg. Nearly in the centre of the +_Piazza_, opposite to the post office and in front of the _Palazzo +Vecchio_, is the principal ornament of the _Piazza_, which consists of a +group representing Neptune in his car or conch (or shell) drawn by +sea-horses and accompanied by Tritons. The statue of Neptune is of colossal +size, the whole group is in marble and the conch of Egyptian granite. This +group forms a fountain. There is likewise on this _Piazza_ an immense +equestrian statue in bronze of Cosmo the First by John of Bologna. The +_Palazzo Vecchio_ is a large Gothic building by Arnulpho and has a very +lofty square tower or _campanile_. + +The Gallery of Florence being so close to my abode demanded next my +attention. The building in which this invaluable Museum is preserved forms +three sides of a parallelogram, two long ones and one short one, of which +the side towards the south of the quai of the Arno is the short one. + +On the north is an open space communicating with the _Piazza del Gran +Duca_. The Gallery occupies the whole first floor of this vast building. +The _rez de chaussée_ is occupied, on the west side, by the bureaux of +Government, and on the south and east sides by shopkeepers, in whose shops +is always to be seen a brilliant display of merchandize. As there are +arcades on the three sides of this parallelogram, they form the favorite +meridian promenade of the _belles_ and _beaux_ of Florence, particularly on +Sundays and holidays, after coming out of Church. I ascended the steps from +a door on the east side of the building, to visit the Gallery. + +The quantity and variety of objects of art, of the greatest value, baffle +all description, and it would require months and years to attempt an +analysis of all it contains. I shall therefore content myself with pointing +out those objects which imprinted themselves the most forcibly on my +imagination and recollection. In a chamber on the left hand of one wing of +the Gallery stands the Venus de' Medici, sent back last year from France. +In the same chamber with her are the following statues: the extremely +beautiful _Apollino_; the spotted Faun; the _Rémouleur_ or figure which is +in the act of whetting a sickle. All these were in Paris, and are now +restored to this Gallery. In this chamber two pictures struck me in +particular: the one the Venus of Titian, a most voluptuous figure; the +other a portrait of the mistress of Rafaello, called "_La Fornarina_," from +her being a baker's daughter. + +Returning to the Gallery I was quite bewildered at the immense number of +statues, pictures, sarcophagi, busts, altars, etc. Among the pieces of +sculpture those that most caught my attention were: the _Venus genetrix_ +(which I had seen before at Paris); the _Venus victrix_; the _Venus +Anadyomene_; Hercules and Nessus, a superb groupe; a young Bacchus; and an +exquisitely chiselled group representing Pan teaching Olympus to play the +syrinx, tho' the attitude of the former is rather indecorous from not being +in a very quiescent state; a fine statue of Leda with the swan; a Mercury, +both worthy of great attention. I remarked also in particular a statue of +Marsyas attached to a tree and flayed. It is of a pale reddish marble, and +tho' I perfectly agree with Forsyth, that colored marble is not at all +adapted to statuary, yet in this instance it gives a wonderful effect and +is strikingly suitable, as the slight reddish colour gives a full idea of +the flesh after the skin is torn off. It makes one shudder to look at it. +In one of the halls are the statues of Niobe and her daughters, a beautiful +group. Then there is the celebrated copy of the group of the Laocoon by +Bandinelli, which none but the most perfect and skilful connoisseur could +distinguish from the original. But it is totally impossible for me to +describe the immense variety of paintings, historical, portrait and +landscape; the statues single or in groups; the sarcophagi, altars, +bas-reliefs, inscriptions, bronzes, medals, vases, baths, candelabra, +cameos, Etruscan and Egyptian idols with which this admirable Museum is +filled. In a line on each side of the Gallery near the ceiling is a +succession of portraits in chronological order of the Grand Dukes of +Tuscany, the Germanic Emperors, the Kings of France, of England, of Spain, +of Portugal, of the Popes and of the Ottoman Emperors. Among the +antiquities I particularly noticed a large steel mirror and a Roman Eagle +in bronze of the 24th Legion. + +Having passed full four hours in this Museum, I descended the steps, +crossed the Arno and repaired to the building in which is preserved the +_Cabinet d'Histoire Naturelle_. In this Museum what is most remarkable are +the imitations in wax of the whole anatomy of the human body. It is the +first collection of its kind; indeed it is unique in Europe. These +imitations are kept in glass cases and are so true and so perfectly correct +as to leave nothing to desire to the student in anatomy. These imitations +in wax not only include all the details of anatomy, but also the progress +of generation, gestation, and of almost every malady to which the human +body is liable. They are of a frightful exactitude. There are likewise in +this Museum imitations in wax of various plants and shrubs exotic as well +as indigenous and the collection of stuffed birds, beasts and fishes and +that of insects, mineralogy and conchology scarcely yields to the +collection at the _Jardin des Plantes_ at Paris. Neither here nor at the +Florentine gallery are fees allowed to be taken; on the contrary a strict +prohibition of them is posted up in the French, Italian, German and English +languages. + +On the _Ponte Vecchio_ on each side are jewellers' shops, who sell besides +jewellery, cameos and works in mosaic. The Quais on each side of the Arno +are very broad and spacious and form agreeable promenades in the winter +season. The buildings on the banks of the Arno are magnificent. The streets +of Florence have this peculiarity that they are all paved with large flag +stones, which makes them mightily pleasant for pedestrians, but dangerous +at times for horses who are apt to slip. Most of the houses in Florence +have walls of prodigious thickness; one would suppose each house was meant +to be a fortress in case of necessity. + + +FLORENCE, 29th August. + +On the other side of the Arno, a little beyond the _Cabinet Physique_ and +Museum of Natural History stands the _Palazzo Pitti_, the residence of the +Grand Duke. It is a vast building and has a large and choice collection of +pictures; but its finest ornament in my opinion is the statue of Venus by +Canova, which to me at least appears to equal the Medicean Venus in beauty +and in grace. The magnificent and spacious garden belonging to the Palace +is called the garden of Boboli. These gardens form the grand promenade of +the Florentines on Sundays and holidays. The alleys are well shaded by +trees, which effectually protect the promenaders from the rays of the sun. +There are a great many statues in this garden, but the most striking is a +group which lies nearly in the centre of the garden. It is environed by a +large circular basin or lake lined with stone and planted with orange trees +on the whole circumference. In the centre of the lake is a rock and on this +rock is a colossal statue in white marble of Neptune in his car. The car is +in the shape of a marine conch and serves as a basin and fountain at the +same time. There are several other fountains and _jets d'eau_, among which +is a group representing Adam and Eve and the statue of a man pouring out +water from a vase which he has on his shoulder. + +The _Corso_ or grand evening promenade for carriages and equestrians is on +a place called the Cascino, pronounced by the Florentines _Hascino_. The +Cascino consists of pleasure grounds on the banks of the Arno outside the +town, laid out in roads, alleys and walks for carriages, equestrians and +pedestrians. There is a very brilliant display of carriages every evening. +There are _restaurants_ on the Cascino and supper parties are often formed +here. This place is often the scene of curious adventures. Cicisbeism is +universal at Florence, tho' far from being always criminal, as is generally +supposed by foreigners. I find the Florentine women very graceful and many +very handsome; but in point of beauty the female peasantry far exceed the +_noblesse_ and burghers. All of them however dress with taste. The +handsomest woman in Florence is the wife of an apothecary who lives in the +_Piazza del Duomo_ and she has a host of admirers. + +On the promenade _lungo l'Arno_ near the Cascino is a fountain with a +statue of Pegasus, with an inscription in Italian verse purporting that +Pegasus having stopped there one day to refresh himself at this fountain, +found the place so pleasant that he remained there ever since. This is a +poetic nation _par excellence_. _Affiches_ are announced in sonnets and +other metres; and tho' in other countries the votaries of the Muses are but +too apt to neglect the ordinary and vulgar concerns of life, yet here it by +no means diminishes industry, and the nine Ladies are on the best possible +terms with Mr Mercury. + +I shall not attempt a description of the various _palazzi_ and churches of +Florence, tho' I have visited, thanks to the zeal and importunity of my +_cicerone_, nearly all, except to remark that no one church in Florence, +the Cathedral and Baptistery on the _Piazza del Duomo_ excepted, has its +façade finished, and they will remain probably for ever unfinished, as the +completion of them would cost very large sums of money, and the restored +Government, however anxious to resuscitate the _ancient faith_, are not +inclined to make large disbursements from their own resources for that +purpose. I wish however they would finish the façade of two of these +churches, viz., that of _Santa Maria Novella_ and that of _Santa Croce_. +_Santa Maria Novella_ stands in the Piazza of that name which is very +large. It is a beautiful edifice, and can boast in the interior of it +several columns and pilasters of _jaune antique_ and of white marble. But +they have a most barbarous custom in Florence of covering these columns +with red cloth on _jours de Fête_, which spoils the elegant simplicity of +the columns and makes the church itself resemble a _théâtre des +Marionnettes_. But the Italians are dreadfully fond of gaudy colours. In +the church of _Santa Croce_ what most engaged my attention was the monument +erected to Vittorio Alfieri, sculptured by Canova. It is a most beautiful +piece of sculpture. A figure of Italy crowned with turrets seems fully +sensible of the great loss she has sustained in one who was so ardent a +patriot, as well as an excellent tragic poet. This monument was erected at +the expence of the Countess of Albany (Queen of England, had _legitimacy_ +always prevailed, or been as much in fashion as it now is) as a mark of +esteem and affection towards one who was so tenderly attached to her, and +of whom in his writings Alfieri speaks with the endearing and affectionate +appellation of _mia Donna_. The beautiful sonnet to her, which accompanies +the dedication of his tragedy of _Mirra_, well deserves the monument; there +is so much feeling in it that I cannot retrain from transcribing it: + + Vergognando talor, che ancor si taccia, + Donna, per me l'almo tuo nome in fronte + Di queste omai glà troppe a te ben conte + Tragedie, ond'io di folle avrommi taccia; + + Or vo' qual d'esse meno a te dispiaccia + Di te fregiar; benchè di tutte il fonte + Tu sola fosti, e'l viver mio non conte + Se non dal Di, ch'al viver tuo si allaccia. + + Della figlia di Ciniro infelice + L'orrendo a un tempo ed innocente amore + Sempre da' tuoi begli occhi il planto elice; + + Prova emmi questo, ch'al mio dubbio core + Tacitamente imperiosa dice, + Ch'io di Mirra consacri a te il dolore. + +In this sanctuary (church of the _Santa Croce_) are likewise the tombs and +monuments of other great men which Italy has produced. There is the +monument erected to Galileo which represents the earth turning round the +sun with the emphatic words: _Eppur si muove._ Here too repose the ashes of +Machiavelli and Michel Angelo. This church is in fact the Westminster Abbey +of Florence. + +To go from the _Piazza del gran Duca_ to the _Piazza del Duomo_, where +stands the Cathedral, you have only to pass thro' a long narrow street or +rather alley (for it is impervious to carriages) with shops on each side +and always filled with people going to or returning from the Duomo. This +Cathedral is of immense size. The architecture is singular from its being a +mixture of the Gothic and Greek. It appears the most ponderous load that +ever was laid on the shoulders of poor mother earth. There is nothing light +in its structure to relieve the massiveness of the building, and in this +respect it forms a striking contrast to the Cathedral of Milan which +appears the work of Sylphs. The outside of this Duomo of Florence is +decorated and incrusted with black and white marble, which increases the +massiveness of its appearance. The steeple or Campanile stands by itself, +altogether separate from the Cathedral, and this is the case with most of +the Churches in Italy that are not of pure Gothic architecture. This +_Campanile_ is curiously inlaid and incrusted on its outside with red, +white and black marble. The Baptistery is another building on the same +_Piazza_. It is in the same stile of building as the Duomo, but incloses +much less space, and was formerly a separate church, called the church of +St John the Baptist. The immense bronze doors or rather gates, both of the +Duomo and Battisterio, attracted my peculiar notice. On them are figured +bas-reliefs of exquisite and admirable workmanship, representing Scripture +histories. It was the symmetry and perfection of these gates that induced +Michel Angelo to call them in a fit of enthusiasm _The Gates of Paradise_. +At the door of the Battisterio are the columns in red granite, which once +adorned the gates of the city at Pisa, and were carried off by the +Florentines in one of their wars. Chains are fastened round these columns, +as a memorial of the conquest. The cupolas both of the Duomo and +Battisterio are octangular. There is a stone seat on the _Piazza del Duomo_ +where they pretend that Dante used occasionally to sit; hence it is called +to this day _Il Sasso di Dante_. + +You will now no doubt expect me to give some account of the theatres. At +the _Pergola_, which is a large and splendid theatre, I have seen two +operas; the one, _L'Italiana in Algieri_, which I saw before at Milan last +year; the other, the _Barbieri di Seviglia_ by Rossini, which afforded to +my ears the most delightful musical feast they ever enjoyed. The cavatina +_Una voce poco fa_ gave me inconceivable delight. The _Ballo_ was of a very +splendid description and from a subject taken from the Oriental history +entitled _Macbet Sultan of Delhi_. How the Mogul Sultan came to have the +name of Macbet I know not. On the _plafond_ of the _Pergola_ is an +allegorical painting representing the restored Kings of Europe replaced on +their thrones by Valor and Justice. The decorations at this theatre are not +quite so splendid as those of the _Scala_ at Milan, but living horses and +military evolutions seem to be annexed to every historical _Ballo_. Horses +indeed appear to be an indispensable ingredient in the _Balli_ in the large +cities of Italy. + +In the _Teatro Cocomera_, comedies are performed, and very generally those +of the inexhaustible Goldoni. I saw the _Bugiardo_ very fairly performed at +this theatre. The story is nearly the same as that of our piece, _The +Liar_, which is I believe imitated from _Le Menteur_ of Corneille. The +actor who did the Liar was a very good one. The actresses screamed too much +and were rather coarse. Another night at the theatre I saw a piece call'd +_II furioso_, a _comédie larmoyante_ which was interesting and well given; +but the voice of the prompter was occasionally too loud. Tragedies are very +seldom played; the language of Alfieri could never, I will not say be given +with effect, but even conceived by the modern actors. It would be like a +tragedy of Sophocles performed by boys at school. There is another reason +too why these tragedies are not given; they abound too much in republican +and patriotic sentiments to be grateful to the ears of the Princes who +reign in Italy, all of whom being of foreign extraction and unshackled by +constitutions, come under the denomination of those beings called by Greeks +[Greek: Turannoi], I use this word in its Greek sense. Of the Tuscan +Government it is but justice to say that from the days of Leopold to the +present day it was and is a mild, just and paternal government, more so +perhaps than any in Europe; and the only one that can any way reconcile one +altogether to those lines of Pope: + + For forms of Government let fools contest; + Whate'er is best administer'd is best.[83] + +In the time of Leopold the factious nobility were kept in check, and the +industrious classes, mercantile and agricultural, encouraged. The peasantry +were, and are, the most affluent in Europe; and this is no small incitement +to the industry that prevails. On the elevation of Leopold to the throne of +the Caesars, the present Grand Duke succeeded in Tuscany; and he followed +the same system that Leopold did, and was equally beloved by his subjects. +Tuscany was the only country in Italy that did not desire a change at the +period of the French conquest, and the only state wherein the French were +not hailed as deliverers. The Tuscans exhibited a very honorable spirit on +the occasion of Buonaparte's visit to the Grand Duke in 1797. They went +together to the Theatre della Pergola, and on their entering into the Grand +Ducal box, the Grand Duke was hailed with cries of _Viva il Nostro +Sovrano_: now this proof of attachment at a period when Buonaparte was +all-mighty in Italy, when the Grand Duke was but an inferior personage, at +a time too when it was doubtful whether or not he would be dethroned, and +in the very presence of the mighty conqueror, reflects great honor and +credit on the Tuscan character. Buonaparte was much struck at this proof of +disinterested attachment on the part of the Florentines towards their +Sovereign, and told the Grand Duke very ingenuously that he had received +orders to revolutionize the country, from the French Directory; but that as +he perceived the people were so happy, and the Prince so beloved, he could +not and would not attempt to make any change. + +The applause given to the Grand Duke at this critical period is so much the +more creditable to the Florentines as they in general receive their Prince, +on his presenting himself at the theatre, with no other ceremonial than +rising once and bowing. There is no fulsome _God save the King_ repeated +even to nausea, as at the English theatres. In fact none of the Italians +pay that servile adulation to their Sovereigns that the French and English +do. + +The changes projected in Italy at the treaty of Lunéville by Napoleon then +first Consul, and his further views on Italy, induced him at length to +eject an Austrian Prince from the sovereignty of a country which he +intended to annex to the French Empire. The Grand Duke was indemnified with +a principality in Germany, where he remained until the downfall of Napoleon +in 1814; subsequent arrangements again restored him to the sway of the land +he loved so well, and he returned to Florence as if he had only been absent +on a tour, finding scarcely any change in the laws and customs and habits +of the country; for tho' Tuscany was first erected into a Kingdom by the +title of Etruria, and afterwards annexed to the French Empire, the +institutions and laws laid down by Leopold and followed strictly by his +successor were preserved; very little innovation took place, and the few +innovations that were effected were decided ameliorations; for the Emperor +Napoleon had too much tact not to preserve and protect the good he found, +tho' he abolished all old abuses. The improvements introduced by the French +have been preserved and confirmed by the Grand Duke on his return, for he +is a man of too much good sense, and has too much love of justice, to think +of abolishing the good that has been done, merely because it was done by +the French. Tuscany has now a respectable military force of 8,000 men well +armed, clothed and equipped in the French manner. + +Tuscany is the only part of Italy where the downfall of Napoleon was not +regretted; the inhabitants of Leghorn indeed rejoiced at it, for the +commerce of Tuscany being chiefly maritime, Leghorn suffered a good deal +from the continental system. Leghorn in fact decayed in the same proportion +that Milan and other inland cities rose into opulence. + +The character of the Tuscan people is so amiable and pacific that crime is +very rare indeed. Murder is almost unknown and the punishment of death is +banished from the penal code. Where the government is good, the people are +or soon become good. I know of no country in the world more agreeable for a +foreigner to settle in than Tuscany. + +I omitted to remark that in the street called _Borgo d'Ognissanti_ is a +large house or _palazzo_ which belonged to Americo Vespucci. His bust is to +be seen in the Florentine Gallery. It is curious to remark the different +appellations given to the word _street_ in the different cities of Italy. +In Milan a street is called _vico_ and in Turin, _contrada_; in Florence +_strada_ and in Rome, I understand, _via_. + + +FLORENCE, 1st Sept. + +I shall start in a day or two for Rome, being very impatient to behold the +Eternal City, a plan which I have had in view from my earliest days and +which I have not been able hitherto to effect; for like the Abbé Delille I +had sworn to visit the sacred spot where so many illustrious men had spoke +and acted, and to do hommage in person to their Manes. I was always a great +admirer of the "_Popolo Re_." + +In Florence there are a great many literary societies such as the +_Infuocati, Immobili_, and the far renowned _La Crusca_. + +Frequent _Academies_, for so a sitting of a litterary society in Italy is +termed, are held in Florence. There are likewise two Casinos, one for the +nobility and the other for the merchants and burghers; the wives and +daughters of the members attend occasionally; and cards, music and dancing +are the amusements. Florence abounds in artists in alabaster whose +workmanship is beautiful. They make models in alabaster of the most +celebrated pieces of sculpture and architecture, on any scale you chuse: +they fabricate busts too and vases in alabaster. The vases made in +imitation of the ancient Greek vases are magnificent, and some of them are +of immense size. Foreigners generally chuse to have their busts taken; for +almost all foreigners who arrive here are or pretend to be smitten with an +ardent love for the fine arts, and every one wishes to take with him models +of the fine things he has seen in Italy, on his return to his native +country. Here are English travellers who at home would scarcely be able to +distinguish the finest piece of ancient sculpture--the Mercury, for +instance, in the Florentine Gallery, from a Mercury in a citizen's garden +at Highgate--who here affect to be in extacies at the sight of the Venus, +Apollino, &c., and they are fond of retailing on all occasions the terms of +art and connoisseurship they have learned by rote, in the use of which they +make sometimes ridiculous mistakes. For instance I heard an Englishman one +day holding forth on the merits of the Vierge _quisouse_, as he called it. +I could not for some time divine what he meant by the word _quisouse_, but +after some explanation I found that he meant the celebrated painting of the +_Vierge qui coud_, or _Vierge couseuse_, as it is sometimes called, which +latter word he had transformed into _quisouse_. This affectation, however, +of passion for the _belle arti_, tho' sometimes open to ridicule, is very +useful. It generates taste, encourages artists, and is surely a more +innocent as well as more rational mode of spending money and passing time +than in encouraging pugilism or in racing, coach driving and cock fighting. + + +[83] Pope, _Essay on Man_, ep. III, 303-4.--ED. + + + + +CHAPTER X + +Journey from Florence to Rome--Sienna--Radicofani--Bolsena--Montefiascone +wine--Viterbo--Baccano--The Roman Campagna--The papal _douane_--Monuments +and Museums in Rome--Intolerance of the Catholic Christians--The Tiber and +the bridges--Character of the Romans--The _Palassi_ and _Ville_--Canova's +atelier--Theatricals--An execution in Rome. + + +September----, 1816. + +I made an agreement with a _vetturino_ to take me to Rome for three _louis +d'or_ and to be _spesato_. In the carriage were two other passengers, viz., +a Neapolitan lady, the wife of a Colonel in the Neapolitan service, and a +young Roman, the son of the _Barigello_ or _Capo degli Sbirri_ at Rome. We +issued from the _Porta Romana_ at 6 o'clock a.m. the 3d September. + +The road winds thro' a valley, and has a gentle ascent nearly the whole way +to Poggibonsi, where we brought to the first night. The soil hereabouts is +far from fertile, but every inch of it is put to profit. The olive tree is +very frequent and several farms and villages are to be met with. The next +day we arrived at 12 o'clock at Sienna. The approach to Sienna is announced +by a quantity of olive trees. The situation of this city being on an +elevation, makes it cold and bleak. We remained here three hours, so that I +had time to visit some of the places worthy of remark in this venerable +city, which is handsome and very solidly built, but has rather a sombre +appearance. The _Piazza Grande_ lies in a bottom to which you descend from +the environing streets. It is in the shape of a mussel shell and of very +large size. The Cathedral is Gothic and is a very majestic and venerable +building. Inside it is of black and yellow marble. The pavement of this +church contains Scripture histories in mosaic. A library is annexed to the +church. The librarian pointed out to me 80 folio volumes of church music +with illuminated plates; likewise an ancient piece of sculpture much +mutilated, viz., a group of the three Graces. In one of the chapels of this +Cathedral are eight columns of _verd-antique_. I observed a monument of the +Piccolomini family who belong to this city; one of which family figured a +good deal in the Thirty Years' War in Germany. I saw several women in the +Cathedral and at the windows of the houses. The greater part of them were +handsome. The Italian language is spoken here in its greatest purity; it is +the pure Tuscan dialect without the Tuscan aspiration. The Siennese +language is in fact the identical _lingua Toscana in bocca Romana_. + +We arrived the same evening at Buon Convento, an old dismal dirty-looking +town formerly fortified; but the country in the environs is pleasing +enough. The inn here is very bad. On the road between Sienna and this place +I observed a number of mulberry trees. + +The next morning, the 5th Sept., we arrived at Radicofani or rather at an +inn or post house facing Radicofani. This is a very ancient city, and from +its being on an eminence it has an imposing appearance. Above it towers an +immense conical shaped mountain, evidently a volcano in former times. In +fact, the whole country hereabouts is volcanic, which is plainly seen from +the immense masses of calcined stones, the exhalations of sulphur and the +dreary wild appearance of the country, where scarce a tree is to be seen. I +never in my life saw so many calcined rocks and stones of great magnitude +heaped together as at Radicofani. It gave the idea as if it were the +identical field of battle between Jupiter and the Titans, and as if the +masses of rock that everywhere meet the eye had been hurled at the Empyreum +by the Titans and had fallen back on the spot from whence they were torn +up. It is indeed very probable that this volcano which vomited forth rocks +and stones in a very remote age, gave rise to the Fable of the war between +Jupiter and the Giants; just as the volcanos in Sicily and Stromboli gave +rise to the story of the Cyclops with one eye (the crater) in their +forehead. But the mountain of Radicofani must have been a volcano anterior +even to Aetna; it presents the image of an ancient world destroyed by fire. + +At Ponte Centino the next morning we took our leave of + + _La patria bella + Di vaghe Donne e di dolce favella;_ + +in plain prose, we left the Tuscan territory, and re-entered the dominions +of His Holiness. After being detained half an hour at the _Douane_, we +proceeded to Acquapendente to breakfast. The country between Radicofani and +Acquapendente is dreary, thinly populated, little cultivated, and volcanic +steams of sulphur assail the nostrils. Before we arrived at Acquapendente +we had a troublesome river to cross, which at times is nearly dry, and at +other times the water comes down in torrents from the surrounding mountains +and precipices, so as to render its passage extremely dangerous. It is +always necessary previous to the passage of a carriage, to send on a man to +ford and sound it, from its meandering and forming different beds crossed +seven times, twice less than Styx _novies interfusa_, and it is a very slow +operation from the number of rocks and quicksands; so that, should the +torrent come down while you are in the act of crossing, you and your whole +equipage would be swept away by the stream and drowned or dashed to pieces. +Travellers going to and returning from Rome are frequently detained for a +day or two at Ponte Centino or Acquapendente during the rainy season; for +immediately after heavy rains, there is always a great risk and it is +better to halt for several hours to allow the waters to pass off. The +extent of ground that this river covers by its meandering and forming so +many beds nearly parallel to each other renders it impossible to construct +a bridge long enough; and it would be always liable to be swept away by the +torrent. Nobody ever thinks of crossing the river in the dark. There having +no rain fallen for several days we passed it without difficulty. + +Within a mile of Acquapendente the landscape varies and the approach to +this town is exceedingly picturesque. Acquapendente is situated on a lofty +eminence from which several magnificent cascades descend into the ravine +below and which give the name to the town. There are a great number of +trees about this town and they afford a great relief to the eye of the +traveller after so many hours' journey thro' volcanic wastes. The town of +Acquapendente is very ancient; it is very large, but ill-paved and dirty; +the best buildings in it are, however, modern. The inhabitants appear lazy +and dirty. On entering into conversation with some soldiers belonging to +the Papal army, who were stationed at this place, I found that most of them +had served under Napoleon. They spoke of him with tears of affection in +their eyes, and I pleased them much by reciprocating their opinions of that +great man. To speak well of Napoleon is the surest passport to civility and +good treatment on the part of the soldiers and _douaniers_. + +In the evening we arrived at Bolsena, the ancient Volsinium, a city of the +Volscians. It is an ancient looking town, not very clean, and inhabited by +indolent people. It is situated on the banks of a large lake, on which +there are three small islands. It is very aguish and unhealthy, and the +inhabitants appear sickly, with marvellous sallow complexions. The inn +where we put up was a pretty good one, and as this lake abounds in fish, we +had some excellent trout and pike for supper; among other dishes there was +one that was very gratifying to me, an old East and West Indian; and that +was the _Peveroni_ or large red and green peppers or capsicums fried in +oil. Some excellent Orvieto wine crowned our repast, and helped to restore +us from our fatigues. + +On leaving Bolsena the next morning, the 7th, and within a very short +distance from that town we entered a thick and venerable forest, thro' +which the road runs for several miles. Fine old trees of immense height +covered with foliage and thickly studded together give to this forest an +aweful and romantic appearance. It is quite a _lucus opaca ingens_. This +forest has been held sacred since the earliest times and is even now held +in such superstitious veneration by the people that they do not allow it to +be cut. The Dryads and Hamadryads have no doubt long ago taken their +flight, but the wood, from its length and opaqueness, inspired me with some +apprehension lest it might be the abode of some modern votaries of Mercury, +people having confused ideas of _meum_ and _tuum_, and the _appropriative +faculty_ too strongly developed in their organization, and I expected every +moment to hear a shot and the terrible cry of _ferma_; but we met with no +accident nor did we fall in with a living soul. On issuing from this forest +we perceived on an eminence before us, at a short distance, the town of +Montefiascone. We stopped there as almost all travellers do to taste the +famous Montefiascone wine or _Est_ wine, as it is frequently called. This +wine is fine flavored, _pétillant_ and wonderfully exhilarating. It is +renowned for having occasioned the death of a German prelate in the +sixteenth century, who was travelling in Italy and who was remarkably fond +of good wine. The story is as follows. He was accustomed to send on his +servant to the different towns thro' which he was to pass with directions, +to taste and report on the quality of the different wines to be found +there, and if they were good to mark the word _Est_ on the casks from which +he tasted them. The servant, on arrival at Montefiascone, was highly +pleased with the flavour of the wine, of which there were three casks at +the inn where they put up. He accordingly wrote the word _Est_ on each of +the casks. The Bishop arrived soon after and took such a liking to this +wine that he died in a few days of a fever brought on by continual +intoxication. He was buried in one of the churches at Montefiascone and the +monks of the Convent there, themselves _bons-vivans_, determined to give +him a suitable epitaph. They accordingly caused to be engraved on his tomb +the following Latin inscription commemorative of the event: _Est, Est, Est, +propter nimium Est, Dominus Episcopus mortuus_ EST. From the above +circumstance this wine is called _Vino d'Est_, and it affords no small +revenue to the proprietor of the _cabaret_ on the road side who sells it. + +We arrived at Viterbo to breakfast and at Ronciglione in the evening. +Viterbo is a large and handsome city and contains several striking +buildings. It is paved with lava and contains a great variety of fountains. +There is some appearance of commerce and industry in this town and there +are several _maisons de plaisance_ in the neighbourhood. From Viterbo, +thro' Monterosi, to Ronciglione the road lies over a mountain of steep +ascent; here and there are patches of forest. There is not a house to be +seen on this route and from there being a good deal of wood, and no +appearance of cultivation, one fancies oneself rather in the wilds of a new +country like America, than in so old a one as Italy. + +Ronciglione is an old rubbishing town half in ruins and contains no one +thing remarkable. + +The next morning at four o'clock we started from Ronciglione and reached +Baccano to breakfast. + +Baccano contains only two buildings; but they are both very large and +roomy; the one is the inn, and the other serves as a barrack for the +Military. There is always a strong military detachment here for the +security of the road against robbers, who occasionally infest this +neighbourhood. The inn is of immense size. Travellers, who arrive here +late, would do well to halt here the whole night, as not only the road is +dangerous on account of robbers, but because if they arrive at Rome after +five o'clock p.m., they cannot release their baggage and carriage from the +Custom house till next day. Every carriage public or private that arrives +in Rome is bound, unless a special permission to the contrary be obtained +from the Government, to drive direct to the Custom house (_Dogana_). In the +like manner, on travelling from Rome to Florence, people generally prefer +to start from Rome at twelve o'clock and bring to the night at Baccano, so +as to avoid the bad inn at Ronciglione and sleep in preference at Viterbo. +I here speak only of those who travel by short stages as the _vetturini_ +do. + +Ariosto has given a celebrity to this wretched place Baccano in his poem of +the _Orlando Furioso_, in the story of Giocondo in the 28th Canto, as being +the identical place where Fausto, the brother of Giocondo, remained to +await the return of his brother from Rome, to which place he had gone back, +when half way between Baccano and Rome, to fetch the _monile_ which he had +left behind him, and found his wife not _alone_ and _dying with grief_ as +he apprehended, but _sotto la coltre_ with a servant of the family. + +The country between Baccano and Rome is as unpleasing and even worse than +that between the former place and Ronciglione. It is hilly, but not a tree, +nor a house, nor a sign of cultivation to be seen except the two or three +wretched hovels at La Storta. There is nothing at all that announces the +approach to a capital city; and in addition to the dismal landscape there +is a sight still more dismal that salutes the eye of the traveller at +intervals of two or three miles and which does not tend to inspire pleasing +ideas; and this is the sight of arms and legs of malefactors and murderers +suspended on large poles on the road side; for it is the custom here to cut +off the arms and legs of murderers after decapitation, and to suspend them +_in terrorem_ on poles, erected on the very spot where they committed the +murder. The sight of these limbs dangling in the wind is not a very +comfortable one towards the close of the evening. + +We left the _Sepolero di Nerone_, an ancient tomb so called, on the right +of our road and half a mile beyond it crossed the Tiber at the _Ponte Molle +(Pons Milvius)_, where there is a gate, bridge and military post. From this +post to the _Porta del Popolo_, the entrance into the city for those coming +from the North, the distance is one mile; there is a white wall on each +side of the road the whole way, and some farm houses and villas. Near the +_Ponte Molle_ is the field of battle where Maxentius was defeated by +Constantine. + +We entered the _Porta del Popolo_, crossed the _Piazza_ of the same name, +where three streets present themselves to view. In the centre is the street +called the _Corso_, running in a direct line from the _Porta_ across the +_Piazza_. We drove along the _Corso_ till we arrived at a _Piazza_ on our +right hand, which _Piazza_ is called _della Colonna_ from the Column of +Antoninus, which stands on it. We then crossed the _Piazza_ which is very +large and soon reached the _Dogana_ or Custom house, formerly the temple of +Antoninus Pius, where vile modern walls are built to fill up the intervals +between eleven columns of Grecian marble. Here our baggage underwent a +rigorous research; this rigour is not so much directed against the +fraudulent introduction of contraband or duty-bearing merchandise, as +against _books_, which undergo a severe scrutiny. Against Voltaire and +Rousseau implacable war is waged, and their works are immediately +confiscated. Other authors too are sometimes examined, to see whether they +contain anything against Mother Church. As the people employed in +inspecting books are not much versed in any litterature or language but +their own, except perhaps a little French, it is not easy for them to find +out the contents of books in other languages. I had Schiller's works with +me, a volume of which one of the _douaniers_ took up and looked at; on +seeing the Gothic letter he seemed as much astonished as if he had got hold +of a book of _Cabbala_ or _Magic_. He detained the whole work, but it was +sent to me the next day, on my declaring that there was nothing damnable or +heretical in it; for there was no person belonging to the department who +could read German. When the _douaniers_ proceeded to the examination of the +books belonging to one of my fellow travellers, the Neapolitan lady, she +expressed great repugnance to the procedure; the _douaniers_ however +insisted and, behold! there were several _livres galants_ with plates +somewhat _lubriques_, the discovery of which excited blushes on her part +and considerable laughter on the part of the byestanders. These books, +however, not being contraband, were immediately returned to her, as was an +edition of Baffo, belonging to my other fellow traveller, returned to him. +Now this Baffo was a Venetian poet and his works are the most profligate +that ever were penned or imagined by mortal man. Martial and Petronius +Arbiter must hide their diminished heads before Baffo. The owner of this +book chose to read out loud, quite unsolicited, several _choice_ sonnets of +this poet for our edification during the journey; and this branch of +litterature seemed to be the only one with which he was acquainted. + +When the examination was over I took leave of my fellow travellers, and +repaired to the _German Hôtel_ in the _Via de' Condotti_, where I engaged +an apartment, and sat down to dinner at an excellent _table d'hôte_ at five +o'clock. There was a profusion of everything, particularly of fish and +game. Mullets and wild boar are constant dishes at a Roman table. The +mullets at Rome are small but delicious, and this was a fish highly prized +by the ancient Romans. Game of all kinds is very cheap here, from the +abundance of it that is to be met with in wild uninhabited wastes of Latium +and in the Pontine marshes. Every peasant is a sportsman and goes +constantly armed with fire-arms, not only to kill game, but to defend +himself against robbers, who infest the environs of Rome, and who sometimes +carry their audacity so far as to push their _reconnaissances_ close to the +very walls of the city. At the _German Hôtel_ the price of the dinner at +_table d'hôte_, including wine at discretion, is six _paoli_, about three +franks. I pay for an excellent room about three _paoli_ per diem and my +breakfast at a neighbouring _Caffé_ costs me one _paolo_. A _paolo_ is +worth about five pence English. There are ten _paoli_ to a _scudo Romano_ +and ten _bafocchi_ to a _paolo_, The _bafocco_ is a copper coin. + + +ROME, 12th Sept. + +A great number of Germans dine at the _table d'hôte_ of Franz's hotel. +Among them I distinguished one day a very intelligent Bavarian Jew. I +proposed to him a walk to the Coliseum the following morning, as +independent of the benefit I derived from his conversation I was curious to +see whether it was true or not that the Jews always avoided walking under +the Arch of Titus, which was erected in commemoration of the capture of +Jerusalem by the Romans under Titus, in the reign of Vespasian. On stepping +out of the _Hôtel Allemand_, the first thing that met my eye was the +identical beggar described by Kotzebue in his travels in Italy, and he +gives the very same answer now as then to those who give him nothing, viz., +_Pazienza_. + +We crossed the _Piazza di Spagna_, ascended the superb flight of steps of +the _Trinità de' Monti_, where there is a French church called the Church +of St Louis: near it is the _Villa Medici_, which is the seat of the French +Academy of the fine arts at Rome. We then filed along the _Strada Felice_ +till we arrived at the church of _Santa Maria maggiore_, a superb edifice, +the third church in Rome in celebrity, and the second in magnificence. An +immense Egyptian Obelisk stands before it. We then, turning a little to the +right, made the best of our way to the Coliseum where we remained nearly +two hours. I had figured to myself the grandest ideas of this stupendous +building, but the aspect of it far exceeded the sketch even of my +imagination. In Egypt I have seen the Pyramids, but even these vast masses +did not make such an impression on me as the Coliseum has done. I am so +unequal to the task of description that I shall not attempt it; I will give +you however its dimensions which my friend the Jew measured. It is an +ellipse of which the transverse axis is 580 feet in length and its +conjugate diameter 480; but it is not so much the length and breadth as the +solidity of this building that strikes the traveller with astonishment. The +arcaded passage or gallery (on the _rez de chaussée_ between the interior +and the exterior wall), which has a vaulted roof over which the seats are +built, is broad enough to admit three carriages abreast: and the walls on +each side of this gallery are at least twenty feet thick. What a +magnificent spectacle it must have been in the time of the ancient Romans, +when it was ornamented, gilded, and full of spectators, of which it could +contain, it is said, 86,000! The Coliseum has been despoiled by various +Popes and Cardinals to furnish stone and marble to build their palaces; +otherwise, so solid is the building, Time alone would never suffice to +destroy it. At present strict orders are given and sentries are posted to +prevent all further dilapidations, and buttresses have been made to prop up +those parts which had given way. What a pity it is that the Arena has not +been left empty, instead of being fitted up with tawdry niches and images +representing the different stations of the Crucifixion! In the centre is an +immense Cross, which whoever kisses is entitled to one hundred days +indulgence. To what reflections the sight of this vast edifice leads! What +combats of gladiators and wild beasts! What blood has been spilled! Was it +not here that the tyrannical and cowardly Domitian ordered Ulpius Glabrio, +of consular dignity, to descend into the arena and fight with a lion? The +Christian writers mention that many of their sect suffered martyrdom here +by being compelled to fight with wild beasts; but even this was not half so +bad as the conduct of the Christians, when they obtained possession of +political power and dominion, in burning alive poor Jews, Moors and +heretics some centuries afterwards. Indeed the cruelty of the Pagans was +much exaggerated by the above writers and were it even true to its full +extent, their severity was far more excusable than that of the Christians +in later times, for the efforts of the Christian sect in the times of +Paganism were unceasingly directed towards the destruction of the whole +fabric of polytheism, on which was based the entire, social and political +order of the Empire; and they thus brought on themselves perhaps merited +persecution, by their own intolerance; whereas, when they got the upper +hand, they showed no mercy to those of a different religion, and Orthodoxy +has wallowed successively in the blood of Arians, Jews, Moors and +Protestants. + +How many a poor Jew or Moor in Spain and Portugal has been burned alive for +no other reason than + + _Pour n'avoir point quitté la foi de leurs ancêtres._ + +No, no; no sect or religion was ever so persecuting as the Catholic +Christians! The Polytheists of all times, both ancient and modern, were +tolerant to all religions and so far from striving to make proselytes, +often adopted the ceremonies of other worships in addition to their own; +witness the Egyptians, Greeks and Romans of old, and the Hindoos and +Chinese of the present day. The Jews, ferocious and prejudiced as they +were, never persecuted other nations on the ground of religion, and if they +held these nations in abhorrence as idolaters, and considered themselves +alone as the holy people, the people of God (Yahoudi), they never dreamed +of making converts. The Mussulmans tho' they hold it as a sacred precept of +their religion to endeavour to make converts to Islam, do not use violent +means and only compel those of a different faith to pay a higher tribute. +At any rate, they never have or do put people to death merely for the +difference of religious opinions. Such were the reflections I made on +walking about the Arena of this colossal edifice so worthy of the _popolo +Re_. + +On leaving the Coliseum the first thing that meets the eye is the Arch of +Constantine, under which the Roman triumphal and ovationary processions +moved towards the Capitol. The Arch of Constantine stands just outside the +Coliseum. It is of immense size and extremely well preserved. The ground on +which it stands being much filled up and only half of the Arch appearing, +the rest remaining buried in the earth, it was judged adviseable to +excavate all around it in order to come to the pedestal; so that now there +is a walled enclosure all around it and into this enclosure it is a descent +of at least eighteen feet from the ground outside. Several statues of +captive Kings and bas-reliefs representing the victories of Constantine +adorn the facade of this triumphal arch. The inscriptions are perfect, and +the letters were formerly filled up with bronze; but these have been taken +out at the repeated sackings that poor Rome has undergone from friend and +foe. At a short distance from the Arch of Constantine is the Arch of Titus, +under which we moved along on our road towards the Capitol and my friend +the Jew was too much of a cosmopolite to feel the smallest repugnance at +walking under the Arch. Our conversation then turned on the absurd hatred +and prejudice that existed between Christians and Jews; he was very liberal +on this subject and in speaking of Jesus Christ he said: "Jesus Christ was +a Jew and a real philosopher and was therefore persecuted, for his +philosophy interfered too much with, and tended to shake the political +fabric of the Jewish constitution and to subvert our old customs and +usages: for this reason he was put to death. I seek not to defend or +palliate the injustice of the act or the barbarity with which he was +treated; but our nation did surely no more than any other nation ancient or +modern has done or would still do against reformers and innovators." + +The Arch of Titus is completely defaced outside, but in the interior of the +Arch, on each side, is a bas relief: the one representing Vespasian's +triumph over the Jews, and the Emperor himself in a car drawn by six +horses; the other represents the soldiers and followers of the triumph, +bearing the spoils of the conquered nation, and among them the famous +candlesticks that adorned the temple of Jerusalem are very conspicuous. +These figures are in tolerable preservation, only that the Emperor has lost +his head and one of the soldiers has absconded. + +On issuing from the Arch of Titus we found ourselves in the Forum, now the +_Campo Vaccino_: so that cattle now low where statesmen and orators +harangued, and lazy priests in procession tread on the sacred dust of +heroes. + + Où des prêtres heureux foulent d'un pied tranquille + Les tombeaux des Catons et les cendres d'Emile. + +So sings Voltaire, I believe, or if they are not his lines, they are the +Abbé Delille's.[84] + +The imagination is quite bewildered here from the variety of ancient +monuments that meet the eye in every direction. What vast souvenirs crowd +all at once on the mind! Look all around! the _Via Sacra_, the Arch of +Severus, and the Capitol in front; on one side of you, the temple of Peace, +that of Faustina and that of the Sun and Moon: on the other the remaining +three columns of the temple of Jupiter Stator; the three also of the temple +of Jupiter Tonans; the eight columns of the temple of Concord; and the +solitary column of Phocas. At a short distance the temple of Castor and +Pollux and that of Romulus and Remus, which is a round building of great +antiquity, whose rusticity forms a striking contrast with the elegance of +the colonnaded temples, and which was evidently built before the conquest +of Greece by the Romans and the consequent introduction of the fine arts +and of the Grecian orders of architecture. + +You may wish to know my sensations on traversing this sacred ground. The +_Via Sacra_ recalled to me Horace meeting the _bavard_ who addresses him: +_Quid agis, dulcissime rerum_?[85] I then thought of the Sabine rape; of +Brutus' speech over the body of Lucretia; then I almost fancied I could see +the spot where stood the butcher's shop, from whence Virginius snatched the +knife to immolate his daughter at the shrine of Honor; next the shade of +Regulus flitted before my imagination, refusing to be exchanged; then I +figured to myself Cicero thundering against Catiline; or the same with +delicate irony ridiculing the ultra-rigor of the Stoics, so as to force +even the gravity of Cato to relax into a smile; then the grand, the heroic +act of Marcus Brutus in immolating the great Caesar at the altar of +liberty. All these recollections and ideas crowded on my imagination +without regard to order or chronology, and I remained for some time in a +state of the most profound reverie, from which I was only roused by my +friend the Jew reminding me that we had a quantity of other things to see. + +The first object that engaged my attention on being roused from my reverie, +was the Arch of Severus at the foot of the Capitol which towers above it. +Excavations have been made around this Arch (for otherwise only half of it +could be seen) and a stone wall built around the excavated ground in the +same manner as at the Arch of Constantine. Round several of the columns of +the temples I have above enumerated, excavations have been also made; +otherwise the lower half of them would remain buried in the earth and give +to the monuments the appearance of a city which had been half swallowed up +by an earthquake. By dint of digging round the column of Phocas, the +ancient paved road which led to the Capitol has been discovered and is now +open to view. This ancient road is at least thirty feet below the surface +of the present road and the ground about it. This shows how the ground must +have been filled up by the destruction of buildings at the different +sackings of Rome and the consequent accumulation of rubbish. The French +when they were here began these excavations and the Duchess of Devonshire +continues them.[86] It is useful in every way; it employs a number of poor +people and may be the means of discovering some valuable remains of +antiquity and objects of art. At any rate it is highly gratifying to have +discovered the identical road to the Capitol on which so many Consuls, +Dictators and Emperors moved in triumph, and so many captive Kings wept in +chains. + +We then ascended the steps that lead to the modern Capitol and mounted on +the _Campanile_ of the same, from whence there is a superb panoramic view +of Rome. On descending from the _Campanile_, we visited the Tarpeian rock, +which is now of inconsiderable height, the ground about it and heaps of +rubbish having filled up the abyss below. We then entered the court yard of +the Capitol. The Capitol and building annexed to it form three sides of a +rectangle, the centre or _corps de logis_ lying North and South, and the +wings East and West, the whole inclosing a court yard open on the South +side of the rectangle, from whence you descend into the street on the plain +below, by a most magnificent escalier or flight of steps. Of the Capitol, +the _corps de logis_ or central building to which the _Campanile_ belongs, +is reserved for the occupation and habitation of the _Senator Romano_, a +civil magistrate, corresponding something to the mayor in France or +_Oberbürgermeister_ in the German towns, and who is chosen from among the +nobility and nominated by the Pope. The wings contain the _Museum +Capitolinum_ of painting and sculpture. There is a great deal to call forth +the admiration of the traveller in the court yard of the Capitol. The most +prominent object is the famous bronze equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius, +which cannot fail to rivet the attention of the least enthusiastic +spectator. I observed at each angle of the façade of the Capitol a colossal +statue of a captive King in a Phrygian dress; but still more striking than +these are the colossal statues of Castor and Pollux leading horses, which +stand a little in front of the equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius, and +nearer the _escalier_, the one on the right the other on the left. Two +lions in basalt on each side of the _escalier_ are very striking objects, +and the _escalier_ itself is the most superb thing of the kind perhaps in +the world. This _escalier_ and the Marcus Aurelius, unique also in its +kind, are both the workmanship of Michael Angelo.[87] We descended this +_escalier_ and then fronted it to take a view of the Capitol from the +bottom; but the statue of Marcus Aurelius is so prominent and so grand that +it absorbed all my attention. + +After dinner I walked a little in the gardens on the Pincian hill, and then +visited some friends belonging to the French Academy of Painting and +Sculpture, who were so good as to shew me their productions, and also a +copy of the superb folio edition of Denon's work on Egypt which to me, who +had been in that country, was highly gratifying. Oh! what a pity that the +French could not keep that country! What a paradise they would have made of +it! As it is (and to their credit be it said) they did more good for the +country during three years only, than we have done for our possessions in +India for fifty years. + + +ROME, 15th Septr. + +The next morning, after an early breakfast, I repaired to the Pantheon, now +called _Santa Maria della Rotonda_, and appropriated to the Catholic +worship. It is easily recognizable by its rotundity and by the simple +grandeur of its façade and portico. The bronze has been taken out of the +letters of the inscription. This beautiful specimen of ancient architecture +is situated in a small _piazza_ or square called _Piazza della Rotonda_, +where a market of poultry, game, and vegetables is held. There are only now +three or four steps on the _escalier_ to ascend, in order to enter into the +portico; but as it is known that according to the descriptions of the +Pantheon in ancient times there was an immense flight of steps to ascend, +it is an additional proof how much the ground on which modern Rome stands +has been filled up, and consequently it is evident that the greater part of +this flight of steps remains still buried in the earth. + +If I was so struck with the appearance of this interesting edifice outside, +how much more so should I have been on seeing the inside, were not the +niches, where formerly stood the statues of the Gods, filled with tawdry +dolls representing the Virgin Mary and _he_ and _she_ saints. The columns +and pilasters in the interior of this temple are beautiful, all of _jaune +antique_ and one entire stone each. How much better would it have been to +replace the statues of the _Dii Majorum Gentium_ which occupied the niches, +by statues in marble of the Apostles, instead of the dolls dressed in +tawdry colors, and the frippery gilding of the altars on which they stand, +which disfigure this noble building. The Pantheon was built by Agrippa as +the inscription shews. In the interior are sixteen columns of _jaune +antique_. The bronze that formerly ornamented this temple was made use of +to fabricate the baldachin of St Peter's. Of late years it has been the +fashion to erect monuments affixed to the walls of the interior of the +Pantheon to the memory of the great men and heroes of poetry, painting, +sculpture and music who were natives of Italy, or for foreigners, +celebrated for their excellence in those arts, who have died in Rome. Here +are for instance, tablets to the memory of Metastasio, Rafael Mengs, +Sacchini, Poussin, Winckelmann; the Phidias of modern days, the illustrious +Canova, has recommended the placing in the Pantheon of the busts in marble +of all the great men who have flourished in Italy, as the most appropriate +ornament to this temple. He himself with a princely liberality has made a +present to it of the busts of Dante, Petrarca, Ariosto, Tasso, Guarini, +Alfieri, Michel Angelo, Rafaello, Metastasio and various other worthies. +These busts are all the production either of Canova himself, or made by his +pupils under his direction; they are not the least remarkable ornament of +the place. In the centre of the _Piazza della Rotonda_ stands an obelisk +brought from Egypt, which belonged to a temple sacred to Isis in that +country. + +I next repaired to the _Piazza di Navona_, a large and spacious square, +where there is a superb fountain representing a vast rock with four +colossal figures, one of which reclines at the foot of the rock, at each +angle of the pedestal that supports it, and it is surmounted by an Obelisk +which was brought from Egypt and was found in the gardens of Sallust. The +four colossal figures represent the four river Gods of the four great +rivers in Europe, Asia, Africa and America, viz., the Danube, the Ganges, +the Nile, and the Plata. The statue of the Nile has his head half-concealed +by a cloak, emblematical of the source of that river not being discovered. +In the _Piazza_ are frequently held fairs, shews of wild beasts, theatrical +exhibitions and sometimes combats of wild beasts. + +I crossed the Tiber on my way to St Peter's at the _Ponte di Sant' Angelo_; +directly on the other side of the river stands the castle of that name, an +immense edifice formerly the _Moles Adriana_ or Mausoleum of the Emperor +Adrian. It is of a circular form and is a remarkably striking object. From +here there is a spacious street as broad as Portland place, which leads to +the magnificent _Piazza_, where stands the Metropolitan Church of the +Christian world, the pride of Christendom, the triumph of modern +architecture, flanked on each side by a semi-circular colonnaded portico, +which constitutes one of its greatest beauties and distinguishes it from +all the other temples in the world. On the Piazza, considerably in front of +this wonderful edifice and nearly in the centre, stands an immense Egyptian +Obelisk, and at a short distance on each side of the Obelisk two +magnificent fountains which spout water to a great height and which +contribute greatly to the ornament of the _Piazza_. + +Now you must not expect me to give you a description of this glorious +temple. I never in my life possessed descriptive powers, even for objects +of no great importance: how then could I attempt to delineate the +innumerable beauties of this edifice? Yet, vast as it is, the proportions +of the façade are so correct, that they, together with the semi-circular +colonnaded portico, serve to diminish its apparent size and to render its +mass less imposing, but perhaps more beautiful. On this account it appears +at first sight of less size than the Church of St Paul's in London. The +beauty of the architecture, viz., of the façade and of the colonnaded +portico would require days to examine and admire. What shall I say then of +the wonders of the interior, crowded and charged as it is with the finest +pieces of sculpture, columns of the most beautiful _verd antique_ and of +_jaune antique_; the masterpieces of painting copied in mosaic; the +precious, stones and marbles of all sorts that adorn the variety of +magnificent chapels and altars; the immense baldachin with its twisted +columns of bronze (the spoils of the Pantheon and of the temple of +Jerusalem); the profusion of gilding and ornament of all sorts and where in +spite of this profusion there seems _rien de trop_. At first entrance the +eye is so dazzled with the magnificent _tout ensemble_ as to be incapable +for a long time of examining any thing in detail. Each chapel abounds in +the choicest marbles and precious stones: in a word it would seem as if the +whole wealth of the Earth were concentrated here. Without impiety or +exaggeration, I felt on entering this majestic temple for the first time +just as I conceive a resuscitated mortal would feel on being ushered into +the scene of the glories of Heaven. The masterpieces of painting are here +perpetuated in mosaic, and so correctly and beautifully done, that unless +you approach exceedingly close indeed, it is impossible to distinguish them +from paintings. What an useful as well as ornamental art is the mosaic! +There are a great variety of confessionals where penitents and pilgrims may +confess, each in his own tongue, for there is a confessional for the use of +almost every native tongue and language in the Catholic world. The cupola! +What an astonishing sight when you look up at it from below! How can I +better describe it than by relating the anecdote of Michel Angelo its +constructor, who when some one made a remark on the impossibility of making +a finer Cupola than that of the Pantheon, burst out into the following +exclamation: "Do you think so? Then I will throw it in the air," and he +fulfilled his word; for the cupola of St Peter's is exactly of the size of +that of the Pantheon, tho' at such an elevation as to give it only the +appearance of one fourth of its real size, or even less. The sublimity of +the design can only be equalled by the boldness and success of its +execution. Till it was done, it was thought by every artist impossible to +be done. What an extraordinary genius was this Michel Angelo! Ariosto has +hot at all exaggerated in his praise when he speaks of him in punning on +his name: + + _Michel_ più che mortal, _Angel_ divino.[88] + + Michael, less man than Angel and divine. + + --Trans, W.S. ROSE. + +Among the various splendid marble monuments with which this temple abounds +is one erected to the memory of Pope Rezzonico, constructed by Canova and +reckoned one of his masterpieces. The Pope is represented in his +canonicals. Behind and above him is a colossal statue of Religion with a +cross in one hand and rays in form of spikes issuing from her head. I do +not like these spikes. On the dexter side of this monument, is a beautiful +male youthful figure representing a funereal genius with an inverted torch. +The signal delicacy, beauty and symmetry of this statue forms a striking +contrast with the figure of an immense lion sleeping on the sinister side; +and this lion is an irrefragable proof that Canova excels in the +delineation of the terrible as well as the beautiful, for it is admirably +executed. + +At another monument is a superb female figure of colossal size representing +Truth. It was formerly naked, but they have contrived to execute in +coloured marble a vestment to cover her loins and veil her secret beauties. +The reason of which is, that this beautiful statue made such an impression +once upon a traveller (some say he was an Englishman, others a Spaniard) +that it inspired him with a sort of Pygmalionic passion which he attempted +to gratify one night; he was discovered in the attempt, and since that +time, to prevent further scandal or attempts of the sort and to conceal +from profane eyes the charms of the too alluring Goddess, this colored +marble vestment was imagined and executed. This story is borrowed from +Lucian.[89] + +There is also here a fine statue of Pope Gregory XIII and a magnificent +bas-relief, the subject of which is the reform of the calendar by that +Pope. Here too is a monument to Christina Queen of Sweden, and a bas-relief +representing her abjuration of the Lutheran Faith. + +But why should I attempt to detail all these monuments, while it would +require folios for the purpose; let me rather introduce you to the hero and +tutelary saint of this sanctuary. St Peter, a superb bronze statue +something above the usual size of men, is seated on a curule chair in the +nave of the church on the right hand side as you approach the baldachin. He +holds in his hands the keys of Heaven. He receives the adoration of all the +faithful who enter into this temple, and this adoration is performed by +kissing his foot which, from the repeated kissings, is become of a bright +polish and is visibly wearing away. The statue was formerly a statue of +Jupiter Capitolinus, but on the grand revolution among the inhabitants of +Olympus and the downfall of Jupiter, it was broken to pieces, melted down +and fabricated into an image of St Peter, so that this statue has lost +little of its former sovereignty and still rules Heaven and Earth if not +with regal, with at least vice-regal power, tho' under a different name. + +In the Sistine Chapel is the celebrated painting al fresco of the day of +Judgment by Michel Angelo, an aweful subject and nobly and awefully +executed. + +In the porch under the façade of St Peter's are two marble statues on +horseback, one at each end of the porch: they represent Constantine the +Great and Charlemagne, the two great benefactors of the holy Catholic +Church; the one, in fact, its founder, the other its preserver. + +As the Palace of the Vatican stands close to the Church of St Peter's and +communicates with it by an _escalier_, I ascended the _escalier_ in order +to behold and examine the famous Museum of the Vatican, the first in the +world, and unique for the vast treasures of the fine arts that it contains; +treasures which the united wealth of all Europe and India to boot could not +purchase at their just price. Here in fact it may be said are preserved the +riches and plunder of the whole world, which was stripped of all its +valuables by those illustrious brigands the ancient Romans. And mark in +this point the good fortune of Rome; instead of losing them again as other +nations have lost their trophies, Superstition came to her aid and caused +them to be respected and preserved, 'till an enlightened age arose which +guided by Philosophy, Humanity and Science will for ever preserve them +secure against all attacks of barbarians in a sanctuary so worthy of them. + + +_Museum Vaticanum_[90] + +A superb flight of steps leads into a hall of immense length filled on each +side with statues, busts, sarcophagi, altars, urns, vases and candelabra, +all monuments of antiquity and of the most exquisite workmanship. The walls +on each side of this hall are inlaid with tablets bearing inscriptions in +Greek, Latin and Etruscan. One is quite bewildered amongst such a profusion +of Gods, Semi-Gods, Heroes. I must single out a few of the most remarkable +for their workmanship. Here is a group representing the sacrifice of +Mithras. On ascending a few steps at the other end of this hall, in a small +octangular room, are the statue of Meleager; the famous Torso; the tomb of +Scipio with bas-reliefs. On leaving the chamber you come into an octangular +gallery, issuing from which are four circular chambers; each chamber +contains a masterpiece of art. In one is the Apollo Belvedere, in another +the Laocoon (both safely arrived from Paris); in the third Antinous; in the +fourth the Perseus of Canova, with Medusa's head and his famous group of +the two pugilists. Descriptions of the three first would be superfluous-- +for of them + + Mills altri han detto e con via miglior plettro, + +and even with respect to the Perseus of Canova, I shall content myself with +remarking that the sculptor had evidently the Apollo Belvedere in his +ideal, and if he has not quite equalled that celebrated statue, it is +because it is impossible; but he certainly has given the nearest possible +approximation to its excellence. + +In another hall and just at its entrance are the statues of Menander and +Posidippus in a sitting posture, one on either side. In this hall are +innumerable fine statues, but the further end of it, fronting you as you +enter, is a statue which at once engages and rivets your undivided +attention; it at once induces you to approach and to take no notice of the +statues on the right and left of the hall. And how should it be otherwise, +since it is the identical statue of the father of the Gods and men, the +famous Jupiter Capitolinus which adorned the Capitol in ancient Rome. He is +sitting on a throne with a sceptre in one hand and the thunderbolts in the +other, at his feet an eagle. It is a glorious statue and in every respect +characteristic; such grandeur, such majesty in the countenance! It is +impossible not to feel awe and reverence on beholding it. It was on +contemplating this venerable statue that an Englishman who was at Rome some +sixty years ago, stood wrapt for a time in silent veneration; then suddenly +breaking silence he made a profound obeisance before the statue and +exclaimed: "Recollect, O father of the Gods and men, that I have paid my +hommage to you in your adversity and do not forget me, should you ever +raise your head above water again!" + +In the hall of the Muses are the statues of the tuneful Nine which were +found underground among the ruins of Hadrian's villa at Tivoli. + +In the centre of a circular chamber of vast dimensions, is an enormous +circular basin of porphyry, of forty-one feet in diameter. A superb mosaic +adorns the floor of the centre of this chamber, and is inclosed. +Appropriate ornaments to this immense chamber are the colossal statues of +the _Dii majorum Gentium_. Here are Juno, Minerva, Cybele, Jupiter, +Serapis, Mars, Ceres, and others. + +In another hall are two enormous Egyptian Gods in yellow granite; two +superb sarcophagi in red marble and two immense Sphinxes in granite. In +another chamber is an antique car drawn by two horses: the near one is +modern, the off one ancient. The wheels of this car are modern; both car +and horses are of exquisite workmanship. Several fine statues adorn this +chamber, among which the most remarkable are a Phocion, a Paris, an +Antinous, and a Triton carrying off a Nereid. + +I must not omit to mention that in one of the halls is the famous group of +the Nile, represented by an enormous colossal River God, surrounded by +fourteen children playing with young crocodiles. Opposite to this group is +another equally celebrated, viz., the colossal statue of the Tiber, with +the she-wolf giving suck to Romulus and Remus by his side. The mosaic +pavements in this Museum surpass in richness any in the world. In one of +the halls, among the works of modern times, are two beautiful marble tables +richly inlaid with all sorts of stones of value, with bas-reliefs on them; +the one representing the visit of the Emperor Joseph II, and the other that +of Gustavus III of Sweden to Rome, and their reception by the Pope. + +One of the halls of sculpture is appropriated to the figures of animals of +all kinds, from the lion and eagle down to the rat and crawfish in marbles +of all colors, and of all sizes; the best executed among them appeared to +me a group representing a greyhound bitch giving suck to her young. As for +the valuable cameos, coins, medals, and smaller remnants of antiquity in +this Museum, they are innumerable. + +With regard to the paintings that belong to this Museum, there is only a +small, collection but it is unique. Here is the Transfiguration and some +other masterpieces of Rafaello. + +In the _Stanze di Rafaello_ (so they are called) are several large fresco +paintings, viz., one representing the battle of Maxentius and Constantine; +another, the school of Athens and Socrates sitting among the other +philosophers; a third representing a fire; besides others. + +In one of these _stanze_ is a work in tapestry representing Jesus Christ +bursting forth from the sepulchre, but he has a visage far too rubicund and +wanting in dignity; he looks like a person flushed with wine issuing from a +tavern; in the countenance there is depicted (so it appears to me) a +vulgar, not a dignified triumph. + +The Palace of the Vatican is of immense size and is said to cover as much +ground as the city of Turin; and I am inclined to think that there is not a +great deal of exaggeration in this statement, for the vista along the +corridors and galleries appears to be endless. The Library of the Vatican +is of course very extensive and of immense value; but the books, as well as +the manuscripts, are kept in presses which are locked, and it is rather +awkward to be continually applying to the _custode_ to take out and put +back a book. + +The Museum of the Vatican is open twice a week to the public, viz. +Thursdays and Sundays; but foreigners, on shewing their passports, may +obtain admission at any time. + + +ROME, 17th Sept. + +My next visit was to the Capitol in order to inspect the _Museum +Capitolinum_. This time I ascended the magnificent _escalier_ of Michel +Angelo, having the equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius in front. On +arriving at the courtyard, I entered the building on my left (which is on +the right of the façade). Under the colonnaded portico of this wing are the +statues of Caesar and Augustus; here too is the naval column of the consul +Duilius, in commemoration of the first naval victory gained over the +Carthaginians; also a colossal statue of the Rhine called Marforio. In one +of the halls two large statues of the Egyptian Goddess Isis and various +other Egyptian divinities. In this Museum among other things is an altar +representing Claudia drawing to the land the Ship of Cybele; a magnificent +sarcophagus with a bas relief on its side representing the progress of +life; Amalthea giving suck to Jupiter; the God Anubis found among the ruins +of Adrian's palace at Tivoli. On ascending the staircase, I observed on the +right hand fixed in the wall a tablet with a plan of ancient Rome carved on +it. In one of the halls above stairs the most remarkable statue is that of +the dying gladiator (brought back from Paris); this is certainly a noble +piece of sculpture; the bodily pain and mental anguish are singularly well +expressed in the countenance; a superb bronze statue of Hercules; a Centaur +in black marble; a Faun in _rosso antico_; a group of Cupid and Psyche; a +Venus in Parian marble rather larger than the common size. One of the halls +in this museum contains the busts of all the philosophers; another those of +all the Roman emperors; there is also a colossal statue of Pyrrhus; a +superb Agrippina and the celebrated mosaic of the four pigeons. In +enumerating the above I have only to observe that they only constitute a +thousandth part of what is to be seen here. After passing three hours in +this wing of the building, I went over across the courtyard to the other +wing. Under the portico of this wing the following are the most remarkable +among the statues: a Roman _triumphans_, two Phrygian kings in black +marble. In one of the rooms above stairs is a very remarkable piece of +antiquity, viz., the bronze wolf giving suck to Romulus and Remus, which +was found in the temple of Romulus and which was struck by lightning during +the consulate of Julius: the marks made by the lightning are quite +distinct. There is in this wing a small but excellent collection of +paintings, and a great variety of statues, busts, sarcophagi, candelabra, +and antiquities of all sorts. + +The front part, or _corps de logis_ of the Capitol is called _Il Palazzo +del Senato conservatore_, and is the residence of the _Senator Romano_ who +is chosen by the Pope. By the bye, I understand this dignity is generally +given to a foreigner, the Pontiffs being, rather jealous of the Roman +nobility. + +This wing of the Capitol employed me two hours; but I must visit this +Museum as well as that of the Vatican often again; for it would require +months and years to examine them duly. + + +ROME, 18th Sept. + +On this side of the river which is called _Transtevere_, I had an +opportunity of observing the inhabitants, who are called _Transteverini_, +the most of whom pretend to be the descendants of the ancient Romans, +unmixed with any foreign blood. They certainly have very much of that +physiognomy that is attributed to the ancient Romans, for they are a tall, +very robust race of men having something of a ferocious dignity in their +countenance which, however, is full of expression, and the aquiline nose is +a prominent feature among them. They are exceedingly jealous of their +women, whom they keep within doors as much as they can, and if a stranger +on passing by their doors should chance to observe their wives or daughters +who may be standing there and should stop to admire them (for many of them +have an air of antique beauty and majesty of countenance which is +remarkably striking), they will instantly order the females to retire, with +an air of asperity. + +Whether they really be the pure descendants of the ancient Romans is +difficult to say: but it is by no means improbable, since even to this day +they intermarry solely with one another, and refuse to give their daughters +in marriage to foreigners or to those of mixed blood. + +Instances have been known of these families, who are for the most part very +poor, refusing the most advantageous offers of marriage made to their +daughters by rich foreign merchants and artists, on the ground merely that +the suitors were not _Romani_ but _Barbari._ + +As for the _bourgeoisie_ of Rome in general, they _have been_ for some +centuries back and _are_ a very mixed race, composed of all the nations of +Europe. Most of the foreign artists who come here to study the fine arts, +viz., Belgians, Dutch, German, French, English, Swedes, Danes, Poles and +Russians, as well as those from other parts of Italy, struck with the +beauty of the women, and pleased with the tranquility and agreeable society +that prevails in this metropolis, and the total freedom from all _gêne_ and +etiquette, marry Roman women and fix here for life: so that among this +class you meet with more foreign names than Roman; and it is this sort of +colonisation which keeps up the population of Rome, which would otherwise +greatly decrease as well from the celibacy of the number that become +priests, as from the malaria that prevails in and about the city in July +and August. + + +ROME, 19th Sept. + +I have been employed for the last two days in visiting some of the +churches, _palazzi_ and villas of modern Rome; but the number is so +prodigious and there are such a variety of things to be seen in each that I +shall only make mention of a few; indeed there are many that I have not +seen and probably shall not have time to see. As sacred things should +precede profane, let us begin with the churches. + +The first that claims the attention of the traveller after St Peter's, is +the church of St John Lateran which is the oldest church in Christendom, +and was the metropolitan of Rome and of the Christian world before the +building of St Peter's. It lies very nearly in a right line with the +_Piazza di Spagna_, and on a prolonged line, forming an obtuse angle with +the church of Santa Maria Maggiore, which, as I first visited, I shall +first describe and afterwards resume what I have to remark on the subject +of St John Lateran. + +Santa Maria Maggiore is the third church in importance, but the second in +magnificence in Rome. Before its façade stands a single column of granite +of the Corinthian order. The façade of this church is beautiful but it +would be far better without the _campanile_, which I think always +disfigures a church of Grecian architecture; besides it is not in the +centre of the building. The church is richly adorned with mosaics and its +several chapels are admirable from the execution of their architecture and +sculpture and the value of the different rich marbles and precious stones +with which the monuments therein are made and incrusted. Among these +Chapels are those of Sixtus V, Paul V. The grand altar is of porphyry. But +the most striking beauty of this church and which eclipses all its other +ornaments, are the forty columns of beautiful Grecian marble on each side +of the nave. The ceiling, too, is superb and richly gilt; the gilding must +have cost an immense sum and was done, it is said, with the first gold that +was brought from America. Nothing can be more rich than this plafond. The +above forty columns belonged formerly to the temple of Juno Lucina. It is +singular that the ceremony of the _accouchement_ of the Virgin and the +birth of Christ should be performed here. On the 24th December this +pantomime is regularly acted, and crowds of all sorts of people attend, +particularly women. At the moment that the Virgin is supposed to be +delivered a salve of artillery announces the good tidings. This is +singular, I say, when one recollects the peculiar attributes of Juno Lucina +and the assistance she was supposed to give to persons in the same +situation. + +You cannot expect me to detail to you all the riches in precious stones and +gifts of pious princes that adorn the several chapels of this and other +churches; but they appear to contain every stone and jewel mentioned in the +Arabian Nights as being to be found in the cave where Aladdin was left by +the magician; and it must be allowed that the Popes have been remarkably +adroit inchanters in conjuring to Rome all the riches of the Earth. + +The church of St John Lateran is larger and more striking as to its +exterior and as to its architecture than that of Santa Maria Maggiore, but +it is not so charged with ornament and there is scarce any gilding. There +is a simple elegance about it that I think far more pleasing than the +magnificence of Santa Maria. + +St John Lateran contains several beautiful pieces of sculpture in white +marble, rather larger than the usual size of man, of the twelve Apostles, +six on one side of the nave and six on the other; and above them are +bas-reliefs, also in marble, representing the various scenes from the +history of the Old and New Testament. These twelve statues are admirably +well executed and they give to this temple an air of simple grandeur. In +this church are very few paintings on mosaics, but little gilding and no +superfluous ornaments. Sculpture is, in my opinion, far more appropriate to +a place of worship than paintings or dazzling ornaments. Another very +striking beauty of this noble and venerable temple are the columns it +contains some of which are in granite and others of the most beautiful +_verd-antique_. There are besides two superb Corinthian columns of bronze +which adorn one of the altars. Among the chapels of this Cathedral is one +belonging to the Corsini family, which is probably the richest in Europe, +and contains more precious stones and marbles than any other. Yet as this +and the other chapels are in recesses and separated from the aisles of the +church by large bronze gates, you cannot see their contents till you enter +the said chapels; and thus your attention is not diverted by them from the +contemplation of the simple grandeur of the columns and statues which adorn +the body of the temple. + +The bronze columns above mentioned were taken from the temple of Jupiter +Capitolinus. On one side in front of the church of St John Lateran stands +an immense Egyptian Obelisk 115 feet in height, brought from Egypt to Rome +in the time of Constantine. + +I think the placing of these Obelisks in front of the façade of the most +remarkable edifices is an excellent arrangement, as they are never-failing +landmarks to distinguish from afar off the edifices to which they belong. +This Obelisk was found in the _Circus Maximus_, from which it was removed +and placed on this spot by Sixtus V. A large Orphan establishment is close +to this church; and close to it also the _Battisterio_ of Constantine, +which rests on forty-eight columns of porphyry, said to be the finest in +Europe. Another church in the vicinity contains _La Scala Santa_ or holy +staircase of marble which, according to the tradition, adorned Pontius +Pilate's palace at Jerusalem, and on which identical staircase Jesus Christ +ascended to be interrogated by Pilate. The tradition further says that it +was transported to Rome by Angels. This staircase has twenty-eight steps, +and no one is allowed to mount it except on his knees. Nobody ever descends +it, but there are two other _escaliers_ parallel to it, one on the right +hand, the other on the left, by which you descend in the usual manner. Not +being aware of this ceremony, I, on entering the edifice, began to ascend +the _escalier_ which was nearest to me, which proved to be the _Scala +Santa_, for no sooner had I begun to ascend it as I would any other flight +of steps than two or three voices screamed out: "_Signore! O signore! a +ginocchia; o'è la scala santa_!" I asked what was meant and was then told +the whole story, and that it was necessary to mount this staircase on one's +knees or not at all. This I did not think worth the trouble, being quite +contented with beholding it. The marble of this staircase is much worn by +the number of devout people who ascend it in this manner, and this +ceremony, aided by a _quantum suff_ of faith is no doubt of great efficacy. + +The fourth church in estimation, and I believe the next ancient in Rome to +St John Lateran, is the church of _San Paolo fuor della mura_, so called +from its being situated outside the gates of the city. It is of immense +size, but out of repair and neglected. The most striking object of its +architectural contents are the 120 columns of Parian marble which support +its nave. + +_St Pietro in Vincoli_ is chiefly remarkable for its being built near the +dungeon where, according to the tradition, St Peter was confined and from +whence he was released by Angels; its chief ornament is the colossal statue +of Moses. Somewhere close to this place are shewn the ruins of the +Mamertine prison where Jugurtha was incarcerated and died. + +There are in Rome about three hundred other churches, all of which can +boast of very interesting and valuable contents. One in particular called +the Portuguese Church is uncommonly beautiful tho' small; another, that of +St Ignazio, or the Jesuits' church, is vast and imposing, and very fine +singing is occasionally to be heard there. + + +ROME, 21st Sept. + +The Palace occupied by the Pope is that of the Quirinal, standing on the +Quirinal Hill, which is commonly called _Monte Cavallo_ from the statues of +the two _Hippodamoi_ or tamers of horses, thought to be meant for Castor +and Pollux which stand on this hill; this group is surmounted by an +Egyptian obelisk. These statues are said to be the work of Phidias; but +there is a terrible disproportion between the men and the horses they are +leading; they give you the idea of Brobdignagians leading Shetland ponies. +The Quirinal palace is every way magnificent and worthy of the Sovereign +Pontiff; there are large grounds annexed to it; it stands nearly in the +centre of Rome and from this palace are dated the Papal edicts. The Pope +resides here during the whole year, with the exception of three or four +months in the hot season, when he repairs to Castel Gandolfo near la +Riccia. + +Of the fountains the grandest and most striking is that of Trevi, which +lies at the foot of Quirinal Hill. Here is a magnificent group in marble of +Neptune, in his car in the shape of a mussel-shell drawn by Sea-horses and +surrounded by Nymphs and Tritons. An immense basin of white marble, as +large as a moderate sized pond, receives the water which gushes from the +nostrils of the Sea-horses and from the mouths of the Tritons. There is a +very good and just remark made on the subject of this group by Stolberg, +viz. the attention of Neptune seems too much directed towards one of his +horses, a piece of minutiae more worthy of a charioteer endeavouring to +turn a difficult corner, than of the God who at a word could control the +winds and tranquillize the Ocean. + +The fountain Termina, so called from its vicinity to the Thermes of +Diocletian, is the next remarkable fountain. Here is a colossal statue of +Moses striking the rock and causing the water to gush forth. The grandeur +and majesty of this statue would be more striking but for the incongruity +of the arcades on each side of the rock, and the two lions in black basalt +who spout water. Moses and the rock would have been sufficient. Simplicity +is, in my opinion, the soul of architecture, and where is there in all +history a subject more peculiarly adapted to a fountain than this part of +the history of Moses? + +The Fountain Paolina is a fountain that springs from under a beautiful +arcade, but there are no statues nor bas-reliefs. It is a plain neat +fountain and the water is esteemed the best in Rome. This fountain is +situated on the Janicule Hill, from which you have perhaps the best view of +Rome; as it re-unites more than any other position, at one _coup d'oeil_, +both the modern and débris of the ancient city, without the view of the one +interfering with or being intercepted by the other. From here you can +distinguish rums of triumphal arches, broken columns, aqueducts, etc., as +far as the eye can reach. It demonstrates what an immense extent of ground +ancient Rome must have covered. Near the fountain is the church where St +Peter is said to have suffered martyrdom with his head downwards. + +The Column of Trajan is near the fountain Trevi, and it stands in an +inclosure, the pavement of which is seven feet lower than the _piazza_ on +which it stands. The inclosure is walled round. Had not this excavation +been made, one third of the column (lower part) would not be seen. The +_Piazza_, on which this column stands is called _Il foro Trajano_. The +column represents Trajan's triumphs over the Daci, Quadi and Marcomanni, +and is the model from whence Napoleon's column of the Grand Army in the +_Place Vendôme_ at Paris is taken. A statue of St Peter stands on this +column. + +The Column of Antoninus stands on the _Piazza Colonna_; on it are +sculptured the victories gained by that Emperor. Round this column it has +not been necessary to make excavations. On this column stands the statue of +St Paul. + +Amongst the immense variety of edifices and ruins of edifices which most +interest the antiquarian are the Thermes of Diocletian. Here are four +different semi-circular halls, two of which were destined for philosophers, +one for poets and one for orators; baths; a building for tennis or rackets; +three open courts, one for the exercise of the discus, one for athletes and +one for hurling the javelin. Of this vast building part is now a +manufactory, and the hall of the wrestlers is a Carthusian church. + +I have now, I believe, visited most, if not all that is to be seen in Rome. +I have visited the Pyramid of Cestius, the tomb of Metella, I have +consulted, the nymph Egeria, smelled at the _Cloaca Maxima_; in fine, I +have given in to all the _singeries_ of _pedantry_ and _virtù_ with as much +ardour as Martinus Scriblerus himself would have done. But it yet remains +for me to speak of the most interesting exhibition that modern Rome can +boast, and of the most interesting person in it and in all Italy, and that +is the atelier of Canova and Canova himself, the greatest sculptor, +perhaps, either of ancient or modern times, except the mighty unknown who +conceived and executed the Apollo of the Vatican. + +In the atelier of Canova the most remarkable statues I observed are: a +group of Hector and Ajax of colossal size, not quite finished; a Centaur, +also colossal; a Hebe; two Ballerine or dancing girls, one of which +rivetted my attention most particularly. She is reclining against a tree +with her cheek _appuyéd_ on one hand; one of her feet is uplifted and laid +along the other leg as if she were reposing from a dance. The extreme +beauty of the leg and foot, the pulpiness of the arms, the expressive +sweetness of the face, and the resemblance of the marble to wax in point of +mellowness, gives to this beautiful statue the appearance of a living +female _brunette_. It was a long time before I could withdraw my eyes from +that lovely statue. + +The next object that engaged my attention was a group representing a Nymph +reclining on a couch _semi-supine_, and a Cupid at her feet. The luxurious +contour of the form of this Nymph is beyond expression and reminded me of +the description of Olympia: + + Le parti che solea coprir la stola + Fur di tanta eccellenza, ch'anteporse + A quante n'avea il mondo potean forse.[91] + + Parts which are wont to be concealed by gown + Are such, as haply should be placed before + Whate'er this ample world contains in store. + + --Trans. W.S. ROSE + +This group is destined for the Prince Regent of England. Another beautiful +group represents the three Graces; this is intended for the Duke of +Bedford. Were it given to me to chuse for myself among all the statues in +the atelier of Canova, I should chuse these three, viz., the Ballerina, the +Nymph reclining, and this group of the Graces. + +Canova certainly is inimitable in depicting feminine beauty, grace and +delicacy. Among the other statues in this atelier the most prominent are: a +statue of the Princess Leopoldina Esterhazy in the attitude of drawing on a +tablet with this inscription: + + _Anch'io voglio tentar l'arte del bello._ + +This lady is, it seems, a great proficient in painting. + +Here too are the moulds of the different statues made by Canova, the +statues themselves having been finished long ago and disposed of; viz., of +the Empress Maria Louisa of France; of the mother of Napoleon (_Madame +Mère_ as she is always called) in the costume and attitude of Agrippina; of +a colossal statue of Napoleon (the statue itself is, I believe, in the +possession of Wellington.[92]) Here too is the bust of Canova by Canova +himself, besides a great variety of bas-reliefs and busts of individuals, +models of monuments, etc. + +And now, my friend, I have given you a _précis_ not of all that I have +seen, but of what has most interested me and made on my mind impressions +that can never be effaced. I trust entirely to my memory, for I made no +notes on the spot. Many of the things I have seen too much in a hurry to +form accurate ideas and judgment thereon; most of what we see here is shewn +to us like the figures in a _lanterna magica_, for in the various _palazzi_ +and villas the servants who exhibit them hurry you from room to room, +impatient to receive your fee and to get rid of you. I am about to depart +for Naples. On my return to Rome I shall not think of revisiting the +greater number of the _palazzi_, villas and churches; but there are some +things I shall very frequently revisit and these are the two Museums of the +Vatican and of the Capitol, St Peter's, the Coliseum and antiquities in its +neighbourhood, the Pantheon, and last but not least the atelier of the +incomparable Canova. + +You may perhaps be unwilling to let me depart from Rome without some +information as to theatricals. With regard to these, Rome must hang down +her head, for the pettiest town in all the rest of Italy or France is +better provided with this sort of amusement than Rome. There is a theatre +called _Teatro della Valle_, where there is a very indifferent set of +actors, and this is the only theatre which is open throughout the year. +Comedies only and farces are given. The theatres Aliberti and Argentino are +open during the Carnaval only. Operas are given at the Argentino, and +masquerades at the Aliberti. But in fact the lovers of Operas and of the +Drama must not come to Rome for gratification. It is not considered +conformable to the dignity and sanctity of an ecclesiastical government to +patronize them; and it is not the custom or etiquette for the Pope, +Cardinals or higher Clergy ever to visit them. The consequence is that no +performer of any consideration or talent is engaged to sing at Rome, except +one or two by chance at the time of the Carnaval. In amends for this you +have a good deal of music at the houses of individuals who hold +_conversazioni_ or assemblies; in which society would flag very much but +for the music, which prevents many a yawn, and which is useful and +indispensable in Italy to make the evening pass, as cards are in England. + +I intend to stop several days here on my return from Naples, for which +place I shall start the day after to-morrow having engaged a place in a +_vettura_ for two and half _louis d'or_ and to be _spesato_. I am not to be +deterred from my journey by the many stories of robberies and +assassinations which are said to occur so frequently on that road. + +By the bye, talking of robberies and murders, a man was executed the day +before yesterday on the _Piazza del Popolo_ for a triple murder. I saw the +guillotine, which is now the usual mode of punishment, fixed on the centre +of the _Piazza_ and the criminal escorted there by a body of troops; but I +did not stop to witness the decapitation, having no taste for that sort of +_pleasuring_. This man richly deserved his punishment. + + +[84] These lines are from Voltaire's _Henriade_, a poem which no Frenchman + reads nowadays, but that Major Frye could quote from memory. The + correct reading of the first verse is: _Des prêtres fortunés_, etc. + (_Henriade_, canto iv. ed. Kehl, vol. x, p. 97.)--ED. + +[85] Horace, _Sat_., 1, 9, 4.--ED. + +[86] Lady Elizabeth Hervey, second wife of William, fifth Duke of + Devonshire (1809); died March, 1824.--ED. + +[87] A singular slip of the pen; Frye must have known that the equestrian + statue is a Roman work--ED. + +[88] Ariosto, Orlando Furioso, xxxiii, 2, 4.--ED. + +[89] See Lucian, _Imag._, iv; _Amores_, xv, xvi.--ED. + +[90] Major Frye's description is incorrect in many particulars, on which it + seemed unnecessary to draw attention.--ED. + +[91] Ariosto, _Orlando Furioso_, XI, 67, 6. + +[92] That colossal marble statue was given to the Duke of Wellington by + Louis XVIII, and is still to be seen in London, at Apsley House.--ED. + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +From Rome to Naples--Albano--Velletri--The Marshes--Terracina--Mola di +Gaeta--Capua--The streets of Naples--Monuments and Museums--Visit to +Pompeii and ascent to Vesuvius--Dangerous ventures--Puzzuoli and +Baiae--Theatres at Naples--Pulcinello--Return to Rome--Tivoli. + +I started from Rome on the 26th September; in the same _vettura_ I found an +intelligent young Frenchman of the name of R---- D----, a magistrate in +Corsica, who was travelling in Italy for his amusement. There were besides +a Roman lawyer and not a very bright one by the bye; and a fat woman who +was going to Naples to visit her lover, a Captain in the Austrian service, +a large body of Austrian troops being still at Naples. We issued from Rome +by the _Porta Latina_ and reached Albano (the ancient Alba) sixteen miles +distant at twelve o'clock. We reposed there two hours which gave me an +opportunity of visiting the _Villa Doria_ where there are magnificent +gardens. These gardens form the promenade of the families who come to +Albano to pass the heat of the summer and to avoid the effect of the +exhalations of the marshy country about Rome. + +As Albano is situated on an eminence, you have a fine view of the whole +plain of Latium and Rome in perspective. The country of Latium however is +flat, dreary and monotonous; it affords pasture to an immense quantity of +black cattle, such as buffaloes, etc. + +Just outside of Albano, on the route to Naples, is a curious ancient +monument called _Il sepolcro degli Orazj e Curiazj._ It is built of brick, +is extremely solid, of singular appearance, from its being a square +monument, flanked at each angle by a tower in the shape of a cone. It is of +an uncouth rustic appearance and must certainly have been built before + + _Grecia capia ferum victorem cepit et artes + Intulit agresti Latio....._[93] + +and I see no reason against its being the sepulchre of the Horatii and +Curiatii, particularly as it stands so near Alba where the battle was +fought; but be this as it may there is nothing like faith in matters of +antiquity; the sceptic can have little pleasure. + +The country on leaving Albano becomes diversified, woody and picturesque. +Near Gensano is the beautiful lake of Nemi, and it is the spot feigned by +the poets as the scene of the amours of Mars and Rhea Silvia. Near Gensano +also is the country residence of the Sovereign Pontiffs called Castel +Gandolfo. La Riccia, the next place we passed thro', is the ancient Aricia, +mentioned in Horace's journey to Brundusium. We arrived in the evening at +Velletri. + +Velletri is a large town or rather city situated on a mountain, to which +you ascend by a winding road skirting a beautiful forest. From the terrace +of one of the _Palazzi_ here, you have a superb view of all the plain below +as far as the rock of Circe, comprehending the Pontine marshes. There are +several very fine buildings at Velletri, and it is remarkable as being the +birthplace of Augustus Caesar. There is a spacious _Piazza_ too on which +stands a bronze statue of Pope Urban VIII. Velletri is twenty-eight miles +from Rome. + +The next morning, the 27th, we started early so as to arrive by six o'clock +in the evening at Terracina. At Cisterna is a post-house and at Torre tre +Ponti is a convent, a beautiful building, but now delapidated and +neglected. Near it is a wretched inn, where however you are always sure to +find plenty of game to eat. Here begin the Pontine marshes and the famous +Appian road which runs in a right line for twenty-five miles across the +marshes. It was repaired and perfectly reconstructed by Pius VI, and from +him it bears its present appellation of _Linea Pia_. This convent and +church were also constructed by Pius VI with a view to facilitate the +draining and cultivating of the marshes by affording shelter to the +workmen. The _Linea Pia_ is a very fine _chaussée_ considerably raised +above the level of the marsh, well paved, lined with trees and a canal sunk +on one side to carry off the waters. The Pontine marshes extend all the way +from Torre tre Ponti to Terracina. On the left hand side, on travelling +from Rome to Naples, you have two miles or thereabouts of plain bounded by +lofty mountains; on the right a vast marshy plain bounded by the sea at a +distance of seven or eight miles. Nothing can be more monotonous than this +strait road twenty-five miles in length, and the same landscape the whole +way. The air is extremely damp, aguish and unhealthy. Those who travel late +in the evening or early in the morning are recommended not to let down the +glasses of the carriage, in order to avoid inhaling the pestilential miasma +from the marshes, which even the canal has not been able to drain +sufficiently. + +No one can find amusement in this desolate region but the sportsman; and he +may live in continual enjoyment, and slay wild ducks and snipes in +abundance; a number of buffaloes are to be seen grazing on the marshes. +They are not to be met with to the North of Rome. They resemble entirely +the buffaloes of Egypt and India, being black, and they are very terrific +looking animals to the northern traveller, who beholds them here for the +first time. + +These marshes supply Rome abundantly with waterfowl and other game of all +kinds. Every _vetturino_ who is returning to Rome, on passing by, buys a +quantity, for a mere trifle, from the peasantry, who employ themselves much +_à la chasse_, and he is certain to sell them again at Rome for three or +four times the price he paid, and even then it appears marvellous cheap to +an Englishman, accustomed as he is to pay a high price for game in his own +country. + +We arrived a little before six at Terracina, which is on the banks of the +Mediterranean and may be distinguished at a great distance by its white +buildings. The chain of mountains on the left of our road hither form a +sort of arch to the chord of the _linea Pia_ and terminates one end of the +arch by meeting the _linea Pia_ at Terracina, which forms what the sailors +call a bluff point. Terracina stands on the situation of the ancient Anxur +and the description of it by Horace in his Brundusian journey; + + Impositum saxis late candentibus Anxur[94] + +is perfectly applicable even now. It is a handsome looking city and is the +last town in the Pope's territory: part of it is situated on the mountain +and part on the plain at its foot close to the sea. + +The fine white buildings on the heights, the temple of Jupiter Anxurus (of +which the façade and many columns remain entire) towering above them, the +orange trees and the sea, afford a view doubly pleasing and grateful to the +traveller after the dreary landscape of the Pontine Marshes. There is but +one inn at Terracina but that is a very large one; there is, however, but +very indifferent fare and bad attendance. The innkeeper is a sad +over-reaching rascal, who fleeces in the most unmerciful manner the +traveller who is not _spesato_. He is obliged to furnish those who are +_spesati_ with supper and lodging at the _vetturino's_ price; but he always +grumbles at it, gives the worst supper he can and bestows it as if he were +giving alms. As the road between Terracina and Fondi (the first Neapolitan +town) is said to be at times infested by robbers, few travellers care to +start till broad daylight. We did so accordingly the following morning. On +arriving at a place called the _Epitafio_, from there being an ancient tomb +there, we took leave of the last Roman post. At one mile and half beyond +the _Epitafio_ is the first Neapolitan post at a place called _Torre de' +Confini_, where we were detained half an hour to have our passports +examined and our portmanteaus searched. Three miles beyond this post is the +miserable and dirty town of Fondi, wherein our baggage again underwent a +strict search. On leaving Terracina the road strikes inland and has +mountains covered with wood to the right and to the left, nor do we behold +the sea again till just before we arrive at Mola di Gaeta, which is an +exceeding long straggling town on its banks; several fishing vessels lie +here and it is here that part of the Bay of Naples begins to open. The +country from Terracina to Fondi is uncultivated and very mountainous; +between Fondi and Mola di Gaeta it is pretty well cultivated; Itri, thro' +which we passed, is a long, dirty, wretched looking village. + +The next day at twelve o'clock we arrived and stopped to dine at St Agatha, +a miserable village, with a very bad tho' spacious inn the half of which is +unroofed. We arrived at Capua the same evening having passed the rivers +Garigliano and Volturno, and leaving the Falernian Hills on our left during +part of the road. The landscape is very varied on this route, sometimes +mountainous, sometimes thro' a rich plain in full cultivation. + +Capua is a fortified town situated in a flat country and marshy withal. It +is a gloomy, dirty looking city and whatever may have been its splendour +and allurements in ancient times, it at present offers nothing inviting or +remarkable. The lower classes of the people of this town are such thieves +that our _vetturino_ recommended us to remove every thing from the carriage +into our bed rooms, so that we had the trouble of repacking every thing +next morning. Capua is the only place on the whole route where it is +necessary to take the trunks from the carriage. From Capua to Naples is +twenty miles; a little beyond Capua are the remains of a large Amphitheatre +and this is all that exists to attest the splendour of ancient Capua. The +road between Capua and Naples presents on each side one of the richest and +most fruitful countries I ever beheld. It is a perfect garden the whole +way. The _chaussée_ is lined with fruit trees. Halfway is the town or +_borgo_ of Aversa which is large, well-built, opulent and populous. We +entered Naples at one o'clock, drove thro' the _strada di Toledo_ and from +thence to the _largo di Medina_ where we put up at the inn called the +_Aquila nera_. A cordon of Austrian troops lines the whole high road from +Fondi to the gates of Naples; and there are double sentries at a distance +of one mile from each other the whole way. + + +NAPLES, Octr. 5th. + +In Naples the squares or _Piazze_ are called _Larghi_; they are exceedingly +irregular as to shape; a trapezium would be the most appropriate +denomination for them. The _Largo di Medina_ is situated close to the Mole +and light house and is not far from the _Largo del Palazzo_ where the Royal +Palace stands, nor from the _Strada di Toledo_, which is the most bustling +part of the town. On the Mole and sometimes in the _Largo di Medini_ +Pulcinello holds forth all day long, quacks scream out the efficacy of +their nostrums and _improvisatori_ recite battles of Paladins. Here and in +the _Strada di Toledo_ the noise made by the vendors of vegetables, fruit, +lemonade, iced water and water-melons, who on holding out their wares to +view, scream out "_O che bella cosa_!"--the noise and bustle of the cooks' +shops in the open air and the cries of "_Lavora_!" made by the drivers of +_calessini_ (sort of carriage) makes such a deafening _tintamarre_ that you +can scarcely hear the voice of your companion who walks by your side. In +the _Largo del Palazzo_ there is always a large assembly of officers and +others, besides a tolerable quantity of _ruffiani_, who fasten upon +strangers in order to recommend to them their female acquaintances. A +little further is the Quai of St Lucia, where the fish market is held, and +here the cries increase. The quantity of fish of all sorts caught in the +bay and exposed for sale in the market is immense and so much more than can +be sold, that the rest is generally given away to the _Lazzaroni_. Here are +delicious mullets, oysters, whitings, soles, prawns, etc. There is on the +Quai of St Lucia a _restaurant_ where naught but fish is served, but that +is so well dressed and in such variety that amateurs frequently come to +dine here on _maigre_ days; for two _carlini_[95] you may eat fish of all +sorts and bread at discretion. The wine is paid for extra. On the Quai of +St Lucia is a fountain of mineral water which possesses the most admirable +qualities for opening the _primae viae_ and purifying the blood. It is an +excellent drink for bilious people or for those afflicted with abdominal +obstructions and diseases of the liver. It has a slight sulfurous mixed +with a ferruginous taste, and is impregnated with a good deal of fixed air, +which makes it a pleasant beverage. It should be taken every morning +fasting. The presidency over this fountain is generally monopolized by a +piscatory nymph who expects a _grano_ for the trouble of filling you a +glass or two. In reaching it to you she never fails to exclaim _"Buono per +le natiche,"_ and it certainly has a very rapid effect; I look upon it as +more efficacious than the Cheltenham waters and it is certainly much more +agreeable in taste. At the end of the Quai of St Lucia is the _Castello +dell 'Uovo,_ a Gothic fortress, before the inner gate of which hangs an +immense stuffed crocodile. This crocodile is said to have been found alive +in the _fossé_ of the castle, but how he came there has never been +explained; there is an old woman's story that he came every day to the +dungeon where prisoners were confined, and took out one for his dinner. The +_Castello dell 'Uovo_ stands on the extremity of a tongue of land which +runs into the sea. After passing the _Castello dell 'Uovo_ I came to the +_Chiaia_ or Quai properly so called, which is the most agreeable part of +Naples and the favorite promenade of the _beau-monde._ The finest buildings +and _Palazzi_ line the _Chiaia_ on the land side and above them all tower +the Castle of St Elmo and the _Chartreuse_ with several villas intervening. +The garden of the _Chiaia_ contains gravel walks, grass plots, alleys of +trees, fountains, plantations of orange, myrtle and laurel trees which give +a delightful fragrance to the air; and besides several other statues, it +boasts of one of the finest groups in Europe, called the _Toro Farnese._ It +is a magnificent piece of sculpture and represents three men endeavouring +to hold a ferocious bull. It is a pity, however, that so valuable a piece +of sculpture should be exposed to the vicissitudes of the season in the +open air. The marble has evidently suffered much by it. Why is such a +valuable piece of sculpture not preserved in the Museum? + +On the _Chiaia_ are _restaurants_ and _cafés_. 'Tis here also that the +nobility display their carriages and horses, it being the fashionable drive +in the afternoon: and certainly, except in London, I have never seen such a +brilliant display of carriages as at Naples. + +The principal street at Naples is the _Strada di Toledo_. It resembles the +_Rue St Honoré_ and can boast of as much wealth in its shops. The houses +are good, solid and extremely lofty, and the streets are paved with lava. +There are two excellent _restaurants_ at Naples, one in the _Largo del +Palazzo_, nearly opposite the Royal Palace, called the _Villa di Napoli_; +the other not far from it in the _Strada di Toledo_, called _La Corona di +Ferro_. Naples is renowned for the excellency of its ices. You have them in +the shape of all kinds of fruit and wonderfully cheap. Many of the ice +houses and _caffès_ remain open day and night; as do some of the gaming +tables, which are much frequented by the upper classes. The theatre of St +Carlo, which was consumed last year by fire, is rising rapidly from its +ashes and will soon be finished. In the mean time Operas are performed at +the _Teatro Fondi_, a moderate sized theatre. I here saw performed the +opera of _Don Giovanni_ of Mozart, with the _ballo_ of _La pazza per +amore_. Mme Colbran, a Spanish lady, is the _Prima Donna_ and an excellent +singer. + +In all the private societies at Naples a great deal of gaming goes on, and +at some houses those visitors, who do not play, are coolly received. The +following may be considered as a very fair specimen of the life of a young +man of rank and fashion at Naples. He rises about two p.m., takes his +chocolate, saunters about in the _Strada di Toledo_ or in the _Largo del +Palazzo_ for an hour or two, then takes a _promenade à cheval_ on the +_Chiaia_; dines between six and seven; goes to the Opera where he remains +till eleven or half-past eleven; he then saunters about in the different +Cafés for an hour or two; and then repairs to the gaming table at the +_Ridotto_, which he does not quit till broad daylight. The ladies find a +great resource in going to church, which serves to pass away the time that +is not spent in bed, or at the Opera, or at the _promenade en voiture_. The +ladies seldom take exercise on foot at Naples. There being very little +taste for litterature in this vast metropolis, the most pleasant society is +among the foreign families who inhabit Naples or at the houses of the +_Corps diplomatique_. There is, however, a good _cabinet littéraire_ and +library in the _Strada di San Giacomo_, where various French and Italian +newspapers may be read. The Austrians occupy the greater part of the +military posts at Naples; at the Royal Palace however the Sicilian guards +do duty; they are clothed in scarlet and _à anglaise_. + + +NAPLES, 8th Octr. + +One day I went to visit the Museum or _Studii_, as it is called, which is +situated at the extremity of the _Strada di Toledo_ on the land side. Here +is a superb collection of sculpture and painting; and this building +contains likewise the national library, and a choice and unique collection +of Etruscan vases. A large hall contains these vases, which were found at +Pompeii[96]; they are much admired for their beauty and simplicity; each +vase has a mythological or historical painting on it. In this Museum I was +shewn the rolls of papyrus found in Pompeii and Herculaneum and the method +of unrolling them. The work to unroll which they are now employed at this +Museum is a Greek treatise on philosophy by Epicurus. It is a most delicate +operation to unroll these leaves, and with the utmost possible care it is +impossible to avoid effacing many of the letters, and even sentences, in +the act of unrolling. It must require also considerable learning and skill +in the Greek language, combined with a good deal of practise, to supply the +deficiency of the words effaced. When these manuscripts are put in print, +the letters that remain on the papyrus are put in black type, and the words +guessed at are supplied in red; so that you see at one glance what letters +have been preserved, and what are supplied to replace those effaced by the +operation of unrolling; and in this manner are all the papyrus manuscripts' +printed. + + +_Visit to Pompeii and Ascent of Vesuvius_. + +_11th Oct_. + +We returned, Mr R---- D---- and I, from our visit to Vesuvius, half dead +with fatigue from having had little or no rest the whole night, about three +o'clock to Naples. + +We left Naples in a _calèche_ yesterday after breakfast and drove to +Portici. Portici, Resina, and Torre del Greco are beautiful little towns on +the sea-shore of the bay of Naples or rather they may be termed a +continuation of the city, as they are close together in succession, and the +interval filled up with villas. The distance from the gates of Naples to +Portici is three miles. The road runs through the court yard of the Royal +Palace at Portici which has a large archway at its entrance and sortie. We +proceeded to Resina and alighted in order to descend under ground to +Herculaneum, Resina being built on the spot where Herculaneum stood. There +are always guides on this road on the look out for travellers; one +addressed us, and conducted us to a house where we alighted and entered. +Our guide then prepared a flambeau, and having unlocked and lifted up a +trap door invited us to descend. A winding _rampe_ under ground leads to +Herculaneum. We discovered a large theatre with its proscenium, seats, +corridors, vomitories, etc., and we were enabled, having two lighted +torches with us, to read the inscriptions. Some statues that were found +here have been removed to the Museum at Portici. This is the only part of +Herculaneum that has been excavated; for if any further excavations were +attempted, the whole town of Resina, which is built over it, would fall in. +Herculaneum no doubt contains many things of value, but it would be rather +too desperate a stake to expose the town of Resina to certain ruin, for the +sake of what _might_ be found. At Pompeii the case is very different, there +being nothing built over its site. + +After having satisfied our curiosity here, we regained the light of heaven +in Resina, and proceeded to Pompeii, which is seven miles further, the +total distance from Naples to Pompeii being ten miles. The part of Pompeii +already discovered looks like a town with the houses unroofed situated in a +deep gravel or sand pit, the depth of which is considerably greater than +the height of the buildings standing in it. You descend into it from the +brink, which is on a level with the rest of the country; Pompeii is +consequently exposed to the open air, and you have neither to go under +ground, nor to use _flambeaux_ as at Herculaneum, but simply to descend as +into a pit. There is always a guard stationed at Pompeii to protect the +place from delapidation and thefts of antiquarians. From its resembling, as +I have already said, a town in the centre of a deep gravel pit, you come +upon it abruptly and on looking down you are surprized to see a city newly +brought to day. The streets and houses here remain entire, the roofs of the +houses excepted, which fell in by the effect of the excavation; so that you +here behold a Roman city nearly in the exact state it was hi when it was +buried under the ashes of Vesuvius, during its first eruption in the year +79 of the Christian era. It does not appear to me that the catastrophe of +Pompeii could have been occasioned by an earthquake, for if so the streets +and houses would not be found upright and entire: it appears rather to have +been caused by the showers of ashes and _écroulement_ of the mountain, +which covered it up and buried it for ever from the sight of day. The first +place our guide took us to see was a superb Amphitheatre about half as +large as the Coliseum: the arena and seats are perfect, and all the +interior is perfectly cleared out: so are the dens where the wild beasts +were kept; so that you look down into this amphitheatre as into a vast +basin standing on its brink, which is on a level with the rest of the +ground around it, and by means of the seats and passages you may descend +into the _arena_. This Amphitheatre is at a short distance from the rest of +the town. What is at present discovered of this city consists of a long +street with several off-sets of streets issuing from it: a temple, two +theatres, a praetorium, a large barrack, and a peculiarly large house or +villa belonging probably to some eminent person, but no doubt when the +excavation shall be recommenced many more streets will be discovered, as +from the circumstance of there being an amphitheatre, two other theatres +and a number of sepulchral monuments outside the gates, it must have been a +city of great consequence. Most of the houses seem to have had two stories; +the roofs fell in of course by the act of excavation, but the columns +remain entire. I observe that the general style of building in Pompeii in +most of the houses is as follows: that in each building there is a court +yard in the centre, something like the court yard of a convent, which is +sometimes paved in mosaic, and generally surrounded by columns; in the +middle of this court is a fountain or basin: the court has no roof and the +wings of the house form a quadrangle environing it. The windows and doors +of the rooms are made in the interior sides of the quadrangle looking into +the court yard; on the exterior there appears to be only a small latticed +window near the top of the room to admit light. I have seen in Egypt and in +India similarly built houses, and it is the general style of building in +Andalusia and Barbary. In the rooms are niches in the walls for lamps, +precisely in the style of the Moorish buildings in India. + +In many of the chambers of the houses at Pompeii are paintings _al fresco_ +and arabesques on the walls which on being washed with water appear +perfectly fresh. The subjects of these paintings are generally from the +mythology. In some of the rooms are paintings _al fresco_ of fish, flesh, +fowl and fruit; in others Venus and the Graces at their toilette, from +which we may infer that the former were dining rooms and the latter +boudoirs. A large villa (so I deem it as it stands without the gates) has a +number of rooms, two stories entire and three court yards with fountains, +many beautiful fresco paintings on the walls of the chambers. Annexed to +this villa is a garden arranged in terraces and a fish pond. A covered +gallery supported by pillars on one of the sides of the garden served +probably as a promenade in wet weather. In the cellars of this villa are a +number of _amphorae_ with narrow necks. Had the ancients used corks instead +of oil to stop their _amphorae_, wine eighteen hundred years old might have +been found here. It is not the custom even of the modern Italians to use +corks for the wine they keep for their own use: a spoonful of oil is poured +on the top of the wine in the flask and when they mean to drink it they +extract the oil by means of a lump of cotton fastened to a stick or long +pin which enters the neck of the flask and absorbs and extracts the oil. + +Among the buildings discovered in Pompeii is a large Temple of Isis; here +you behold the altar and the pillar to which the beasts of sacrifice were +fastened. In this temple at the time of the first excavation were found all +the instruments of sacrifice and other things appertaining to the worship +of that Goddess. These and other valuables such as statues, coins, utensils +of all sorts were removed to Portici, where they are now to be seen in the +Museum of that place. The _Praetorium_ at Pompeii is the next remarkable +thing; it is a vast enclosure: a great number of columns are standing +upright here and the most of them entire; the steps forming the ascent to +the elevated seat where the Praetor usually sat, remain entire. There is a +large building and court yard near one of the gates of the city supposed to +have been a barrack for soldiers; three skeletons were found here with +their legs in a machine similar to our stocks. The scribbling and +caricatures on the walls of this barrack are perfectly visible and legible. +When one wanders thro' the streets of this singularly interesting city, one +is tempted to think that the inhabitants have just walked out. What a +dreadful lingering death must have befallen these inhabitants who could not +escape from Pompeii at the time of the eruption of Vesuvius which covered +it with ashes. The air could only be exhausted by degrees, so that a +prolonged suffocation or a death by hunger must have been their lot. + +Four skeletons were found upright in the streets, having in their hands +boxes containing jewellery and things of value, as if in the act of +endeavouring to make their escape: these must soon have perished, but the +skeleton of a woman found in one of the rooms of the houses close to a bath +shews that her death must have been one of prolonged suffering. + +What a fine subject Pompeii would furnish for the pen of a Byron! As I have +before remarked, all the valuables and utensils of all sorts found here +have been removed to Portici; it is a great pity that everything could not +be left in Pompeii in the exact situation in which it was found on its +first discovery at the excavation. What a light it would have thrown (which +no description can give) on the melancholy catastrophe as well as on the +private life and manners of the ancients! But if they had been left here, +they would, even tho' a guard of soldiers were stationed here to protect +them, have been by degrees all stolen. + +There were some magnificent tombs just outside the gates which must have +been no small ornament to the city. + +We returned to Resina to dinner at six o'clock. + +We had made an arrangement with one of the guides of Vesuvius called +Salvatore that he should be ready for us at Resina at seven o'clock with a +mule and driver for each of us to ascend the mountain, and we found him +very punctual at the door of the inn at that hour. The terms of the journey +were as follows. One _scudo_ for Salvatore and one _scudo_ for each mule +and driver for which they were to forward us to the mountain, remain the +whole night and reconduct us to Resina the following morning. The object in +ascending at night and remaining until morning is to combine the night view +of the eruption with the visit (if possible) to the crater, which cannot +with safety be undertaken by night, and to enjoy likewise the noble view at +sunrise of the whole bay and city of Naples and the adjacent islands. We +started therefore at a quarter past seven and arrived at half past nine at +a small house and chapel, called the hermitage of Vesuvius, which is +generally considered as half-way up the mountain. In this house dwells an +old ecclesiastic who receives travellers and furnishes them with a couch +and frugal repast. We dismounted here and our worthy host provided us with +some mortadella and an omelette; and we did not fail to do justice to his +excellent _lacrima Christi_, of which he has always a large provision. We +then betook ourselves to rest, leaving orders to be awakened at two o'clock +in order to proceed further up the mountain. There was a pretty decent +eruption of the mountain, which vomited fire, stones and ashes at an +interval of twenty-five minutes, so that we enjoyed this spectacle during +our ascent. A violent noise, like thunder, accompanies each eruption, which +increases the awefulness and grandeur of the sight. At two o'clock our +guide and muleteers being very punctual, we bade adieu to the hermit, +promising him to come to breakfast with him the next morning; we then +mounted our mules and after an hour's march arrived at the spot where the +ashes and cinders, combined with the steepness of the mountain, prevent the +possibility of going any further except on foot. We dismounted therefore at +this place, and sent back our mules to the hermitage to wait for us there. +We now began to climb among the ashes, and tho' the ascent to the position +of the ancient crater is not more than probably eighty yards in height, we +were at least one hour before we reached it, from its excessive steepness +and from gliding back two feet out of three at every step we made. We at +length reached the old crater and sat ourselves down to repose till +day-break. Tho' it was exceeding cold, the exhalation from the veins of +fire and hot ashes kept us as warm as we could wish: for here every step is +literally + + _per ignes + Suppositos cineri doloso_.[97] + +We remained on this spot till broad daylight and witnessed several +eruptions at an interval of twenty or twenty-five minutes. I remarked that +the mountain toward the summit forms two cones, one of which vomited fire +and smoke, and the other calcined stones and ashes, accompanied by a +rumbling noise like thunder. The stones came clattering down the flanks of +the mountain and some of them rolled very near us; had we been within the +radius formed by the erupted stones we probably should have been killed. + +At daylight Mr R---- D---- proposed to ascend the two cones in spite of the +remonstrances of our guide Salvatore, who told us that no person had yet +been there and that we must expect to be crushed to death by the stones, +should an eruption take place, and that it was almost as much madness to +attempt it, as it would be to walk before a battery of cannon in the act of +being fired. Tho' I did not admit all the force of this comparison, yet I +began to think there was a little too much risk in the attempt; my French +friend however was deaf to all remonstrance and said to me, "_As-tu peur_?" +I replied: "No! that I was at all times very indifferent as to life or +death, but that I did not like pain, and was not at all desirous to have an +arm or leg broken, the former accident having happened to a German a few +days before; nevertheless, I added, if you persist in going, I will +accompany you." We accordingly started to ascend the cone, which vomited +fire and smoke, taking care to place ourselves on the windward side in +ascending, and after much fatigue we arrived in about fifteen minutes close +to the apex of the cone, after groping amidst the ashes and stumbling on a +vein of red hot cinders. My shoes were sadly burnt, my stockings singed and +my feet scorched; my friend was less fortunate, for he tumbled down with +his hands on a vein of red hot cinders and burned them terribly. My great +and principal apprehension in making this ascent was of stumbling upon +holes slightly encrusted with ashes and that the whole might give way and +precipitate me into some _gouffre._ On arrival at the summit of the cone we +had just time to look down and perceive that there was a hole or _gouffre,_ +but whether it were very deep or not we could not ascertain, for a blast of +fire and smoke issuing from it at this moment nearly suffocated us; we +immediately lost no time in gliding down the ashes on the side of the cone +on our breech, and reached its base in a few seconds, where we waited till +an eruption took place from the other cone, in order to profit of the +interval to ascend it also. It required four minutes' walk to reach the +base of the other cone and about twelve to ascend to its apex; on arrival +at the brink, where we remained about two minutes, we had just sufficient +time to observe that there was no deep hole or bottomless _gouffre_ as we +expected, but that it formed a crater with a sort of slant and not +exceeding thirty feet in depth to the bottom, which looked exactly like a +lime-kiln, being of a dirty white appearance, and in continual agitation, +as it were of limestones boiling; so that a person descending to the bottom +of this crater would probably be scorched to death or suffocated in a few +minutes, but would infallibly be ejected and thrown into the air at the +first eruption. I mean by this that he would not disappear or fall into a +bottomless pit (as I should have supposed before I viewed the crater), but +that his friends would be sure of finding his body either yet living or +dead, outside the brink of the crater, within the radius made by the +erupted stones and ashes. + +Our guide now begged us for God's sake to descend, as an eruption might be +expected every minute. We accordingly glided down the exterior surface of +the cone among the ashes, on our breech, for it is impossible to descend in +any other way and in a few seconds we reached its base. Finding ourselves +on a little level ground we began to run or rather wade thro' the ashes in +order to get out of reach of the eruption, but we had not gone thirty yards +when one took place. The stones clattered down with a frightful noise and +we received a shower of ashes on our heads, the dust of which got into our +eyes and nearly blinded us. On reaching the brink of the old crater we +stopped half an hour to enjoy the fine view of Parthenope in all her glory +at sunrise. We then descended rapidly, sometimes plunging down the ashes on +our feet and sometimes gliding on our breech till we arrived at the place +where we had descended from our mules, and this distance, which required +one hour to ascend, cost us in its descent not more than seven minutes. + +We then walked to the hermitage in about an hour and a quarter, and arrived +there with no other accident than having our shoes and stockings totally +spoiled, our feet a little singed, the hands of Mr. R.D. severely burned +and both begrimed with ashes like blacksmiths. The ecclesiastic gave us a +breakfast of coffee and eggs and a glass of Maraschino, and we gave him two +_scudi_ each. Before we departed he presented to us his Album, which he +usually does to all travellers, inviting them to write something. I took up +the pen and feeling a little inspiration wrote the following lines: + + Anch'io salito son sul gran Vesuvio, + Mentre cadsa di cineri un diluvio; + Questo cammin mi piace d'aver fatto, + Ma plù mi piace il ritornare intatto. + +which pleased the old man very much to see a foreigner write Italian verse. +I pleased him still more by letting him know that I was an enthusiastic +admirer and humble cultivator of the Tuscan Muse, and that having read and +studied most of their poets, particularly _il divino Ariosto_, I now and +then caught a _scintilletta_ from his verse. We now took a cordial farewell +of our worthy old host, mounted our mules and descended the mountain. On +arrival at Portici we dismissed our guide Salvatore with a _scudo pour +boire_, besides the stipulated price. Salvatore asked me to give him a +written certificate of his services, which he generally sollicits from all +those whom he conducts to the Volcano. I asked him for his certificate +book, and begged to know whether he would have it in prose or verse. He +laughed and said: _Vostra Excellenza è padrone_. I took out my pencil and +wrote the following quatrain: + + Dal monte ignivomo tornati siam stanchissimi, + E del buon Salvator siam tutti contentissimi; + Felice il pellogrin che a Salvator si fida, + Che di lui non si può trovare un miglior guida. + +I never saw any body so delighted as Salvatore appeared when I read to him +what I had written in his book. + +I have another observation to make before I take leave of this celebrated +mountain, which is, that the liquid lava which it ejects is far more +dangerous and destructive than the eruption of stones and ashes; the lava +flows from the flanks of the mountain in a liquid stream. Sometimes there +will be an eruption and no lava flowing: at other tunes the lava flows from +the flanks of the mountain, without any eruption from the crater; at other +times, and then it is most alarming, the eruption takes place accompanied +by the flowing of the lava. All this demonstrates that the volcano is the +effect of the efforts of the subterraneous fire to get some vent and escape +from its confinement. This time I did not observe any lava flowing, except +a slight vein of it on the spot where Mr R.D. fell down and burned his +hands; but it is easy to observe on the side of the mountain the course and +route taken at different times by the lava, which has become hardened and +is very plainly to be distinguished, as it resembles a _river_ (if I may +use the word) of slate meandering between the green sward of the mountain +and descending toward the sea. You can plainly distinguish the course and +direction of the lava which destroyed part of Torre del Greco and swept it +into the sea. + +At Portici, having washed ourselves at the inn from head to foot in order +to get rid of our blacksmith's appearance, and having purchased a new pair +of shoes and stockings each, we visited the Royal Palace and Museum with a +view principally of examining the objects of art and valuables discovered +in Pompeii. The Royal Palace is called _la Favorita_, its architecture is +beautiful; the garden or rather lawn which is ornamented by statues and +enriched by orange groves extends to the sea. The first thing that presents +itself to the view of the visitor at the Museum of Portici are the two +equestrian statues of Marcus Balbus proconsul and procurator and of his +son, which statues were found in Herculaneum. I forgot to mention that +there is an inscription with that name on the side of the proscenium of the +theatre easily legible by the light of _flambeaux_. + +To return to the Museum at Portici, we were then shewn into a room +containing curious _morceaux_ of antiquity discovered at Pompeii: a tripod +in bronze and various other articles of the same metal; tables, various +lamps in bronze, resembling exactly those used in Hindostan, wooden pens, +dice, grains of corn quite black and scorched, a skeleton of a woman with +the ashes incrusted round it (the form of her breast is seen on the crust +of ashes; golden armlets were found on her which were shewn to us), steel +mirrors, combs, utensils for culinary purposes, such as _casseroles_, +frying pans, spoons, forks, pestles and mortars, instruments of sacrifice, +weights and measures, coins, a _carcan_ or _stock_, &c. + +In the upper rooms are to be seen the paintings and _fresques_ found in the +same place. The paintings are poor things, and in their landscapes the +Romans seem to have had little more idea of perspective than the Chinese; +but the _fresques_ are beautiful: the female figures belonging thereto are +delineated with the utmost grace and delicacy. They consist of subjects +chiefly from the mythology. I noticed the following in particular, viz., +Chiron teaching the young Achilles to draw the bow; the discovery of +Orestes; Theseus and the Minotaur (he has just slain the Minotaur and a boy +is in the act of kissing his hand as if to thank him for his deliverance; +the Minotaur is here represented as a monster with the body of a man and +the head of a bull); a Centaur carrying off a nymph; a car drawn by a +parrot and driven by a cricket: a woman offering to another little Loves +for sale (she is pulling out the little Cupids from a basket and holding +them by their wings as if they were fowls); a beautiful female figure +seated on a monster something like the Chimaera of the ancients and holding +a cup before the monster's mouth (emblematical of Hope nourishing a +Chimaera). The arabesques taken from Pompeii and preserved here are very +beautiful. Here also are two statues found in Pompeii: the one representing +a drunken Faun, the other a sitting Mercury. We met two Polish ladies here, +who were amusing themselves in copying the _fresques_. We returned to +Naples at five o'clock, and dined at the _Villa di Napoli_. In the evening +we went to the _Teatro de' Fiorentini_. The piece performed was Pamela or +_La virtû premiata,_ which I understand is quite a stock piece in Italy. It +is written by Goldoni. It was very badly performed; the actors were not +perfect in their parts, and the prompter's voice was as loud as usual. The +costume was appropriate enough, which is far from being always the case at +this theatre. + + +NAPLES, 13 Octr. + +We started on the 12th at six o'clock in the morning (Mr R----- D. and +myself) in a _calèche_ in order to visit Puzzuoli, Baii and all the +classical ground in that direction. We of course passed through the grotto +of Pausilippo. This grotto is thirty feet high and about five hundred feet +long. In fact, it is a vast rock undermined and a high road running thro' +it, the breadth of which is sufficient for three carriages to go abreast. +From its great length it is of course exceeding dark; in order therefore to +obviate this inconvenience lamps constantly lighted are suspended from the +roof and on the sides of the grotto, and holes pierced towards the top to +admit a little daylight. The road pierced thro' this rock and called the +grotto of Pausilippo abridges the journey to Puzzuoli very considerably, as +otherwise you would be obliged to go round by Cape Margelina, which would +increase the distance ten miles. On issuing from the grotto on the other +side, you arrive in a few minutes on the seashore, on the bay formed +between Cape Margelina and Puzzuoli. We stopped at the lake Agnano which is +strongly impregnated with sulfur. On the banks of this lake are the +_Thermae_ or vapour baths, and here is also the famous _Grotto del Cane_, +the pestilential vapour arising from which rises about three inches from +the ground and has the appearance of a spider's web. An unfortunate dog +performs the miracle of the resurrection to all those who visit this +natural curiosity; and we also were curious to see its effect. The guardian +of the Thermes seized the poor animal and held his nose close to the place +from whence the vapour exhales. The dog was seized with strong convulsions +and in two minutes he was perfectly senseless and to all appearance dead; +but on being placed in the open air, he soon recovers. The poor beast shews +evident repugnance to the experiment, and I wonder he does not endeavor to +make his escape, for he has sometimes to perform this feat four or five +times a day. I should suppose that he will not be very long lived, for the +repeated doses of this mephitic vapour must surely accelerate his +dissolution. The heat of the _Thermae_ and steam of the sulphur is almost +insupportable; but it has a most beneficial effect on maladies of the +nerves and cutaneous complaints. + +We then proceeded on our journey to Puzzuoli, the ancient Puteoli, where +are the remains of the famous mole (or bridge as others call it) of +Caligula, intended to embrace or unite the two extremes of the bay of Baiae +formed on one side by Puzzuoli and on the other by cape Misenus. We +alighted to take a _déjeuner à la fourchette_ at Puzzuoli, and then went to +visit the temple of Jupiter Serapis, which is a vast edifice and tho' in +ruins very imposing. On wandering thro' the enceinte of this famous temple, +I thought of Apollonius of Tyana and his sudden appearance to his friend +Damis at the porch of this very temple, when he escaped from the fangs of +Domitian and when it was believed that, by means of magic art, he had been +able at once to transport himself from the Praetorium at Rome to Puteoli. +As I said before, the bay included by cape Misenus and Puzzuoli is what is +called Baiae. The land is low and marshy from Puzzuoli to a little beyond +the lake Avernus; but from Monte Nuovo it begins to rise and form high +cliffs nearly all way to Cape Misenus. It was on these high cliffs that the +opulent Romans built their villas and they must have been as much crowded +together as the villas at Ramsgate and Broadstairs. We embarked in a boat +at Puzzuoli to cross over to Baiae (i.e., the place where the villas +begin), but we stopped on our way thither at a landing place nearly in the +centre of the bay in order to visit the lake Avernus and the Cave of the +Cumaean Sybil, described by Virgil, as the entrance into the realm of +Pluto. The lake Avernus, in spite of its being invested by the poets with +all that is terrible in the mythology as a river of Hell, looks very like +any other lake, and tho' it is impregnated with sulphur, and emits a most +unpleasant smell, birds do not drop down dead on flying over it as +formerly. The ground about it is marshy and unwholesome. The silence and +melancholy appearance of this lake and its environing groves of wood are +not calculated to inspire exhilarating ideas. Full of classic souvenirs we +went to descend into the Cave of the Sybil, and as we descended I could not +refrain from repeating aloud Virgil's lines: + + _Di quibus imperium est animarum umbrasque silentes_,[98] etc. + +This descent really is fitted to give one an idea of the descent to the +shades below, and what added to the illusion was that when we arrived at +the bottom of the descent and just at the entrance of the cave where the +Sybil held her oracles, we discovered four fierce looking fellows with +lighted torches in their hands standing at the entrance. My friend cried +out _Voilà les Furies_, and these proved to be our boatmen who, while we +were contemplating the _bolge d'Averno_, had run on before to provide +torches to shew us the interior of the grotto of the Sybil. As this grotto +is nearly knee-deep filled with water we got on the backs of the boatmen to +enter it. It is about twenty-five feet long, fifteen broad and the height +about thirteen feet. As we were neither devoured by Cerberus nor hustled by +old Charon into his boat, we returned from the _Shades below_ to the light +of heaven, triumphant like Ulysses or Aeneas, considering ourselves now +among the _Pauci quos aequus amavit Jupiter_.[99] + +Acheron, the dreadful Acheron, is not far from Avernus and is likewise a +lake, tho' call'd a river in the mythology. It is also sulfuric and the +ground about it is woody, low, marshy and consequently aguish. + +We next ascended the cliffs of Baiae and we were shown the remains of the +villas of Cicero, Caesar, Sylla and other great names. We then went to the +baths of Nero (so called). Here it is the fashion to descend under ground +in order to feel the effect of the sulfuric heat, which is intense, and my +friend who descended soon returned dripping with perspiration and calling +out: _Qui n'a pas vu cela n'a rien vu!_ but I did not chuse to descend, as +I could feel no pleasure in being half stifled and the _grotto del Cane_ +had already given me a full idea of the force of the vapour of the +_Thermes_. + +We then descended from the cliffs of Baiae on the other side, and visited +the remains of three celebrated temples of antiquity situated on the beach +nearly and very close to each other, viz., the temples of Diana, of Venus +and of Mercury; all striking objects and majestic, tho' in a state of +dilapidation. Each of these temples has cupolas. We then ascended the slope +of ground leading towards cape Misensus, to visit the _Cento Camarelle_ and +_Piscina mirabile_, both vast edifices under ground, serving as cellars or +appendages to a Palace that stood on this spot. We then visited the lake +called the _Mare Morto_ or Styx; and then went round to the other side of +it, to visit those beautiful _coteaux_ planted in vines and their summits +crowned with groves which have obtained the name of the Elysian fields. +This Styx and these Elysian fields look like any other lake and _coteaux_ +and are entirely indebted to the lyre of Maro for their celebrity. + +From thence we went to the extremity of cape Misenus and embarked in our +boat (which we had sent on there to wait for us) to return to Puzzuoli by +crossing the bay at once. In this bay and near cape Misenus a Roman fleet +was usually stationed and Pliny's uncle, I believe, commanded one there at +the time of the first eruption of Vesuvius which cost him his life. + +There is a singular phenomenon in this bay of a mountain that in one of the +later eruptions and earthquakes was formed in twenty-four hours near the +seashore and was named _Monte Nuovo._ + +The small salt water lake called _Lacus Lucrinus_ is also on this bay. It +appears to me to be an artificial lake, made probably by the opulent Romans +who resided at Baiae to hold their mullets and other sea fish which they +wished to fatten. + +Near Puzzuoli likewise is the famous _Solfaterra,_ the bed of an ancient +volcano. It is well worth examining. It has been long since extinguished, +but you meet with vast beds of sulphur and calcined stones, and the smell +is at times almost insupportable. We returned to Naples by half-past seven +o'clock, not a little tired but highly gratified by our excursion. + + +NAPLES, 14th Oct. + +At the _Teatro Nuovo_ I have seen another Italian tragedy performed. The +piece was _Tito Manlio Torquato_, taken from the well known anecdote in the +Roman history. The scenery, decorations and _costume_ were good and +appropriate, not so the acting; for the actors as usual were imperfect in +their parts. I fully agree with Alfieri that Italy must be united and enjoy +a free popular government before one can expect to see tragedies well +performed. It is very diverting to see the puppet shows at Naples and to +hear the witticisms and various artifices of the showman of Pulcinello to +secure payment in advance from his audience, who would otherwise go away +without paying as soon as the performance was over. + +This performance is much attended by the _lazzaroni_ and _fainéans_ of the +lower orders of Naples and the puppet showman is obliged to have recourse +to various stratagems and ingenious sallies to induce a handsome +contribution to be made. Sometimes he will say with a very grave face (the +curtain being drawn up and no Pulcinello appearing) that he is very sorry +there can be no performance this day; for that poor Signor Pulcinello is +sick and has no money to pay the Doctor: but that if a _quête_ be made for +him, he will get himself cured and make his appearance as usual. All the +while that one of the showmen goes about collecting the _grani_, the other +holds a dialogue with Pulcinello (still invisible). Pulcinello groans and +is very miserable. At length the collection is made. Pulcinello takes +medicine, says he is well again, makes his appearance and begins. At +another time the audience is informed that there can be no performance as +Pulcinello is arrested for debt and put in prison, where he must remain +unless a subscription of money be made for him to pay his debts and take +him out of gaol. Then follows an absurd dialogue between Pulcinello +(supposed to answer from the prison) and the showman. The showman scolds +him for being a spendthrift and leading a profligate life, calls him a +_briccone_, a _birbante_, and Pulcinello only groans out in reply, _Povero +me, Povero Pulcinello, che disgrazia! sventurato di me! di non aver +denari!_ These strokes of wit never fail to bring in many a _grano_. + +At another time the curtain is drawn up and discovers a gibbet and +Pulcinello standing on a ladder affixed to it with a rope round his neck. +The showman with the utmost gravity and assumed melancholy informs the +audience that a most serious calamity is about to happen to Naples: that +Signor Pulcinello is condemned to be hanged for a robbery, and that unless +he can procure _molti denari_ to bribe the officers of justice to let him +escape, he will inevitably be hanged and the people will never more behold +their unhappy friend Pulcinello. The showman now implores the commiseration +of the audience, and now reproaches Pulcinello with his profligacy and +nefarious pranks which have brought him to an untimely end. Pulcinello +sobs, cries, promises to reform and to attend mass regularly in future. +What Neapolitan heart can resist such an appeal? The _grani_ are collected. +Pulcinello gives money to the puppet representing the executioner; down +goes the gibbet, and Pulcinello is himself again. + +I shall return in a day or two to Rome, having seen nearly all that Naples +affords. I have now full liberty to die when I chuse according to the +proverb: _Veder Napoli e poí morire_. + +Naples certainly is, taking it all in all, the most interesting city in +Europe, for it unites every thing that is conducive to the _agrémens_ of +life. A beautiful city, a noble bay, a vast commerce, provisions of the +best sort, abundant and cheap, a pleasant society, a delicious climate, +music, Operas, _Balli,_ Libraries, Museums of Painting and Sculpture; in +its neighbourhood two subterraneous cities, a volcano in full play, and +every spot of ground conveying the most interesting _souvenirs_ and +immortalized in prose and verse. Add thereto the vapour baths of sulphur +for stringing anew the nerves of those debilitated by a too ardent pursuit +of pleasure, and the Fountain of St Lucia for those suffering from a +redundancy of bile. Now tell me of any other residence which can equal +this? Adieu. + + +ROME, 22nd Octr. + +Nothing material occurred on my return from Naples to Rome; but on the 2d +day after my arrival I made an excursion to Tivoli, which is about eighteen +miles distant from Rome. I passed the night at the only inn at Tivoli. The +next morning I walked to the _Villa d'Este_ in this neighbourhood, which is +a vast edifice with extensive grounds. Here on a terrace in front of the +villa are models in marble of all the principal edifices and monuments, +ancient and modern, of Rome, very ingeniously executed. From the _Villa +d'Este_ is a noble view of the whole plain of Latium and of the "Eternal +City." + +From hence I walked about two miles further to visit the greatest antiquity +and curiosity of the place, which is the Villa or rather the ruins of the +celebrated Villa built by Adrian, which must have been of immense size from +the vast space of ground it occupies. It was intended to unite everything +that the magnificent ideas of a Prince could devise who wished to combine +every sort of recreation, sensual as well as intellectual, within the +precincts of his Palace; columns, friezes, capitals, entablatures and +various other spoils of rich architecture cover the ground in profusion: +many of the walls and archways are entire and almost an entire cupola +remains standing. Besides the buildings above ground, here are cellars +under ground intended as quarters for the guards and capable of holding +three thousand men, as well as stabling for horses. In the inclosure of and +forming part of this Villa, which covers a circumference of seven miles, +were a gymnasium, baths, temples, a school of philosophers, tanks, a +theatre, &c. The greatest part of these buildings are choaked up and +covered with earth, since it is by excavation alone that what does appear +was brought to light. It was by excavation that a man discovered a large +hall wherein he found the nine beautiful statues of the Muses, which now +adorn the Museum of the Vatican; and no doubt if the Roman government would +recommence the excavations many more valuables might be found. Hadrian's +villa has already furnished many a statue, column and pilaster to the +Museums, churches and Palaces of Rome. + +I was much more gratified in beholding the remains of this Villa than in +visiting Tivoli and I remained here several hours. At four o'clock in the +afternoon I started on my return to Rome; it was imprudent not to have +started sooner, as it is always dangerous to be outside the walls of Rome +after dark, in consequence of the brigands who infest the environs and +sometimes come close to the walls of the city. + +I reached my hotel in Rome at nine o'clock, one hour and half after dark, +but had the good fortune to meet nobody. The Roman peasantry generally go +armed and those who feed cattle in the fields of the Campagna or have any +labour to perform there never sleep there on account of the _mal'aria._ + + +[93] Horace, _Epist.,_ II, 1, 156.--ED. + +[94] Horace, Sat., i, 5, 26.--ED. + +[95] A _carlino_ is of the value of half a franc or five pence English. The + accounts in Naples are kept in _ducati_, _carlini_ and _grani_. Ten + _carlini_ make a ducat and ten _grani_ (a copper coin) make a carlino. + A grano is a _sou_ French in value. The _ducato_ is an imaginary coin. + The _soudo Napoletano_, a handsome silver coin of the size of an _écu + de six francs_, is equal to twelve carlini. + +[96] Not one of these vases was found at Pompeii.--ED. + +[97] Horace, _Carm_., II, 1, 7.--ED. + +[98] Virgil, _Aen_., VI, 264.--ED. + +[99] Virgil, _Aen_., VI, 129.--ED. + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +NOVEMBER-DECEMBER, 1816 + +From Rome to Florence--Sismondi the historian--Reminiscences of +India--Lucca--Princess Elisa Baciocchi--Pisa--The Campo Santo--Leghorn-- +Hebrews in Leghorn--Lord Dillon--The story of a lost glove--From Florence +to Lausanne by Milan, Turin and across Mont Cenis--Lombardy in winter--The +Hospice of Mont Cenis. + + +FLORENCE, Novr. 20th. + +I bade adieu to Rome on the 28th October and returned here by the same road +I went, viz., by Radicofani and Sienna. I arrived here after a journey of +six days, having been detained one day at Aquapendente on account of the +swelling of the waters. The day after my arrival here I despatched a letter +to Pescia to Mr Sismondi de' Sismondi, the celebrated author of the history +of the Italian Republics, to inform him of my intended visit to him, and I +forwarded to him at the same time two letters of introduction, one from +Colonel Wardle and the other from Mr Piton, banker at Geneva, who mentioned +me in his letter to Sismondi as having _des idées parfaitement analogues +aux siennes_. I received a most friendly answer inviting me to come to +Pescia and to pass a few days with him at his villa. Pescia is thirty miles +distant from Florence and the same from Leghorn. I was delighted with the +opportunity of seeing a man whom I esteemed so much as an author and as a +citizen, and of visiting at the same time the different cities of Tuscany, +particularly Lucca and Pisa. I accordingly hired a cabriolet and on the +morning of the 6th Novr drove to Prato, a good-sized handsome town, solidly +built, ten miles distant from Florence. The country on each side of the +road appears highly cultivated, and the road is lined with villas and farm +houses with gardens nearly the whole way. Changing horses at Prato, I +proceeded ten miles further to Pistoia, a large elegant and well-built town +on the banks of the Ombrone. + +The streets in Pistoia are broad and well paved and the _Palazzo pubblico_ +is a striking building; so is the _Seminario_ or College. Here I changed +horses again and proceeded to Pescia, where I alighted at the villa of M. +Sismondi. The distance between Pistoia and Pescia is about ten or eleven +miles. + +Pescia is a beautiful little town, very clean and solidly built, lying in a +valley surrounded nearly on all sides by mountains. Its situation is +extremely romantic and picturesque, and there are several handsome villas +on the slopes and summits of these mountains. On market days Pescia is +crowded with the country people who flock hither from all parts, and one is +astonished to see such a number of beautiful and well dressed country +girls. Industry and comfort are prevalent here, as is the case indeed all +over Tuscany; I mean agricultural industry, for commerce is just now at a +stand. + +I passed three most delightful days and which will live for ever in my +recollection, with Mr Sismondi, in whom I found an inexhaustible fund of +talent and information, combined with such an unassuming simplicity of +character and manner that he appeared to me by far the most agreeable +litterary man that I ever met with. His mother, who is a lady of great +talent and perfectly conversant in English litterature, resides with him. +His sister also is settled at Pescia, being married to a Tuscan gentleman +of the name of Forti. The sister has a full share of the talents and +amiable qualities of her mother and brother. With a family of such +resources as this, you may suppose our conversation did not flag for a +moment, nor do I recollect in the course of my whole life having passed +such a pleasant time; and I only wished that the three days could be +prolonged to three years. Politics, the occurrences of the day, living +characters, classical reminiscences, French, English, Italian and German +litterature, afforded us an inexhaustible variety of topics for +conversation: and the profound local knowledge that Mr Sismondi possesses +of Italy, of its history and antiquities, renders his communications of the +utmost value to the traveller. Our supper was prolonged to a late hour and +I question if the suppers and conversations of Scipio and Atticus, those +_nodes caenaeque Deum_[100] were more piquant or afforded more variety than +ours. Shakespeare, Schiller, Voltaire, Ariosto, Dante, Filangieri, Michel +Angelo, Washington, Napoleon, all furnished anecdotes and reflexions in +abundance. + +The last evening that I passed here, two families of Pescia came in. One of +the gentlemen was a great reader of voyages and travels, and India suddenly +became the subject of discourse. As I had passed six years in that country, +during which time I had visited the three Presidencies of Calcutta, Madras, +and Bombay, having ascended the Ganges as far as Benares, having visited +the Mysore country and Nizam's territory, having sojourned three weeks +among the splendid and magnificent ruins of Bijanagur or Bisnagar, having +travelled thro' the whole of the Deccan from Pondicherry to cape Comorin, +besides having traversed on horseback the whole circumference of Ceylon and +across the whole island from East to West by the Wanny, I was enabled to +furnish them with many an anecdote from the Eastern world, which to them +was a great treat, and I dare say at times my narration appeared almost as +marvellous as a story in the Arabian Nights, particularly when I related +the various religious ceremonies, the grim Idol of Juggernaut, the swinging +to _recover cast_, the exposure of old people to the holy death in the +Ganges by stopping up their nose, mouth and ears with mud, and placing them +on the water's edge at low tide in order that they should be swept off at +the high water; the holy city of Benares; the magnificent remains of +Bisnagar; the splendid Pagodas of Ramisseram; the policy of the Bramins; +the appalling voluntary penances of the _Joguis_ or _Fakirs_ as the +Europeans call them; the bed of spikes; the arm held up in the air for +fifteen years; the tiger hunt; the method of catching the elephant in +Ceylon; the pearl fishery; Sepoy establishment; in short I must have +appeared to them a Ulysses or a Sindbad, and I dare say that they thought I +added from time to time a little embellishment from my imagination, tho' I +can safely and solemnly aver that I did not extenuate nor exaggerate any +thing, but simply related what I had myself seen and witnessed. + +Mr Sismondi is under a sort of banishment from his native country Geneva in +consequence of the side of the question he took in his writings on the +return of the Emperor Napoleon from Elba. It was indeed natural for the +restored government (the Bourbons) to desire the removal from France of a +man of talent who had exposed their past and might scrutinize their future +conduct and wilful faults; but why the Government of Geneva should espouse +their quarrel and visit one of their most estimable citizens with +banishment for opinions not at all connected with nor influential upon +Geneva, appears to me not only absurd and anomalous, but unjust in the +highest degree. But such is the state of degradation to which Europe is +reduced by the triumph of the old _régime_; and the Swiss Governments are +compelled to become the instruments of the vengeance of the coalition. But +I shall dwell no more on this subject at present. Let us hope that in a +short time a more liberal spirit will arise, and the Genevese will be eager +to recall in triumph the illustrious citizen of whom they have so much +reason to be proud. + +We spent our mornings, Mr Sismondi and I, in promenades towards the most +striking points of the country immediately environing Pescia, and as I had +at this time some idea of coming to settle in Tuscany, he was so kind as to +conduct me to look at several villas that were to let; and I inspected +three very beautiful ones well furnished and each capable of holding a +large family, that were to be let for 18, 20, and 24 _louis d'or_ per +annum. + +Wine and every article of life is of prodigious cheapness here, and the +inhabitants are so respectable, and there is such an absence of all crime, +that Pescia must be a very desirable and economical residence for any +foreign family possessing a sufficient knowledge of Italian to mix with the +society of the natives. There are several ancient and noble families in the +neighbourhood, highly respectable in point of moral character and manners, +but rather in _décadence_ in point of fortune. + +It was with the greatest regret that I bade adieu to the amiable Sismondi, +his mother and sister; but I hope for a time only, as I have some idea of +removing my domicile from Lausanne to this part of the world. + +I started at 10 o'clock a.m. on the 11th of November and after two hours' +journey in a cabriolet arrived at Lucca, a distance of ten miles, and put +up at the _Hôtel del Pelicano._ The road runs thro' a highly cultivated +country. + +Lucca is a large fortified city, situated hi a beautifully luxuriant plain +or basin surrounded on all sides by hills and mountains of various slopes, +contours and heights, and abounding in villas, vineyards, mulberry and +olive plantations. Every spot of ground is in cultivation and the industry +of the inhabitants of Lucca is proverbial. Indeed the whole territory of +this little _ci-devant_ Republic is a perfect paradise. + +The city itself, from the massiveness and solidity of the edifices, has +more of a solemn than a lively appearance; but there is a delightful walk +on the ramparts which are lined with trees. The streets are well paved. The +extreme antiquity of the city and style of its edifices make it appear less +_riani_ than the other cities in Tuscany. The Cathedral is Gothic and there +are in it the statues of the four Evangelists. This and the _Palazzo +Pubblico_ are the most conspicuous edifices. Tho' the Republic is +annihilated, the word _Libertas_ still remains on an escutcheon on the +gates of the city. Lucca, tho' no longer a Republic and enclavée in +Tuscany, is for the present an independent state and belongs to an Infanta +of Spain (formerly Princess of Parma) who takes the title of Duchess of +Lucca. It is generally supposed however that on the demise of Maria Louisa, +ex-Empress of the French and now Duchess of Parma, this family, viz., the +Duchess of Lucca and her son will resume their ancient possessions in the +Parmesan, and that Lucca will then be incorporated with Tuscany. + +Before the fall of Napoleon the Princess Elisa Baciocchi his sister was +sovereign of Lucca, and she it was who has embellished the outside of the +city with some beautiful promenades. She devoted her whole time, talents +and resources to the good of her subjects and is highly esteemed and much +regretted by them. The present Duchess of Lucca has no other character but +that which seems common to the Royal families of France, Spain and Naples; +viz., of being very weak and priest-ridden. Lucca furnishes excellent +female servants who are remarkable for their industry and probity. Their +only solace is their lover or _amoroso_, as they term him; and when they +enter into the service of any family, they always stipulate for one day in +the week on which they must have liberty to visit their _amoroso_, or the +_amoroso_ must be allowed to come to the house to visit them. This is an +ancient custom among them and has no pernicious consequences, nor does it +interfere with their other good qualities. At the back of Lucca is an +immense mountain which stands between it and Pisa, and intercepts the +reciprocal view of the two cities which are only ten miles distant from +each other. This mountain and its peculiarity is the very one mentioned by +Dante in his _Inferno_ in the _episode_ of Ugolino: + + _Cacciando il lupo e i lupicini_ AL MONTE, + PER CHE i Pisan veder Lucca NON ponno.[101] + +I started from Lucca in a cabriolet and in two hours arrived at Pisa, +putting up at the _Tre Donzelle_ on the Quai of the Arno. Between Lucca and +Pisa are the _Bagni di Lucca_, a favorite resort for the purpose of bathing +and drinking the mineral waters. + +Pisa is one of the most beautiful cities I have seen in Italy. The extreme +elegance and comfort of the houses, the spacious Quai on the Arno which +furnishes a most agreeable promenade, the splendid style of architecture of +the _Palazzi_ and public buildings, the cleanliness of the streets, the +salubrity of the climate, the mildness of the winter, the profusion and +cheapness of all the necessaries of life, and above all the amenity and +simplicity of the inhabitants, combine to make Pisa an agreeable and +favorite residence. Yet the population having much decreased there appears +an air of melancholy stillness about the city and grass may be seen in some +of the streets. This decay in population causes lodgings to be very cheap. + +The most striking object in Pisa is the leaning tower _(Torre cadente)_ and +after that the Cathedral, Baptistery, and _Campo Santo_ which are all close +to the tower and to each other. Imagine two fine Gothic Churches in a +square or place like Lincoln's Inn Fields; a large oblong building nearly +at right angles with the churches and inclosing a green grass plot in its +quadrangle and a leaning tower of cylindrical form facing the churches: and +then you will have a complete idea of this part of Pisa. + +I must not omit to mention that there is a breed of camels here belonging +to the Grand Duke; I believe it is the only part of Europe except Turkey +where the breed of camels is attempted to be propagated. + + +LEGHORN, 17 Novr. + +I left Pisa for Leghorn on the morning of the 15th November, and after a +drive of two hours in a cabriolet I arrived at the latter place and put up +at the _Aquila Nera._ The distance between Pisa and Leghorn is only 10 or +11 miles and a plain with few trees, either planted in corn or in +pasturage, forms the landscape between the two cities. + +Leghorn (Livorno), being a modern city, does not offer anything remarkably +interesting to the classical traveller either from its locality or its +history. Founded under the auspices of the Medici it has risen rapidly to +grandeur and opulence, and has eclipsed Genoa in commerce. It is a +remarkably handsome city, the streets being all broad and at right angles; +the _Piazze_ are large and the _Piazza Grande_ in particular is +magnificent. There is a fine broad street leading from the _Piazza Grande_ +to the Port. The Port and Mole are striking objects and considerable +commercial bustle prevails there. + +Among the few things worthy of particular notice is the Jewish Synagogue, +decorated with costly lamps and inscriptions in gold in the Hebrew and +Spanish languages, many of which allude to the hospitality and protection +afforded to the Hebrew nation by the Sovereigns of Tuscany. There are a +great number of Hebrew families here: they all speak Spanish, being the +descendants of those unfortunate Jews who were expelled from Spain at the +time of the expulsion of the Moors in the reign of Don Felipe III surnamed +_el Discreto_, who was determined not to suffer either a Jew, Mahometan or +heretic in all his dominions. This barbarous decree was the ruin and +destruction of a number of industrious families, thousands of whom died of +despair at being exiled from their native land. In return for this what has +Spain gained? The Inquisition--despotism in its worst form--poverty--rags +--lice--an overbearing insolent and sanguinary priesthood of whom the +monarch is either the puppet or the slave; a degraded nobility; a half +savage, grossly ignorant, lazy and brutal people. A proper judgment on the +Spanish nation for its cruelty and fanaticism! My guide at Leghorn +conducted me to see the burying ground belonging to the English factory, +which is interesting enough from the variety of tombs, monuments and +inscriptions. Here all Protestants, to whatever nation they belong, are +buried. I noticed Smollett's tomb. It is on the whole an interesting spot, +tho' not quite so much so as the cemetery of Père La Chaise at Paris. + +I returned to Florence from Leghorn _tout d'une traite_ in the diligence. +We stopped at Fornacetti (half way) to dine. There is a good _table d'Hôte +(ordinario)_ there. + + +FLORENCE, 22nd Novr. + +I have become acquainted with Lord Dillon[102] and his family, who are +residing here and from whom I have received much civility. I met at his +house the Marchese Giuliani, one of the adherents of King Joachim, a very +amiable and clever man who speaks English fluently. Lord Dillon is a man of +much reading and information and his conversation is at all times a great +treat. His lady too is very amiable and accomplished. I went one day with a +friend of mine to a _pique-nique_ party at the Cascino, where a laughable +adventure occurred perfectly in the stile of the _novelle_ of Boccacio. As +it is not the custom in Florence that husbands and wives should go together +to places of public amusement, the lady is generally accompanied by her +_cavalier servente:_ but it by no means follows that the _cavalier +servente_ is the favored lover: one is often adopted as a cover to another +who enjoys the peculiar favors of the lady. A gentleman who arrived at the +hall where the supper table was laid out, somewhat earlier than the rest of +the company and before the chamber was lighted, observed a gentleman and +lady ascend the staircase, turn aside by a corridor and enter a chamber +together. It was dark and he could not distinguish their persons. He waited +fifteen or twenty minutes and observed them leave the chamber together, +pass along the corridor and disappear. He had the curiosity to go into the +chamber they had just left and found on the bed a lady's glove. He took up +the glove and put it in his pocket, determined that this incident should +afford him some amusement at supper and the company also by putting some +fair one to the blush. Accordingly, when the supper was nearly over, he +held up the glove and asked with a loud voice if any lady had lost a glove; +when his own wife who was sitting at the same table at some distance from +him called out with the utmost _sangfroid: E il mio! dammelo: l'ho lasciato +cadere._ You may conceive what a laugh there was against him, for he had +related the circumstances of his finding it to several of the company +before they sat down to supper. This reminded me of an anecdote mentioned +by Brantôme as having occurred at Milan in his time, a glove being in this +case also the cause of the _désagrément_. A married lady had been much +courted by a Spanish Cavalier of the name of Leon: one day, thinking he had +made sure of her, he followed her into her bedroom, but met with a severe +and decided repulse and was compelled to leave her _re infectà_. In his +confusion he left one of his gloves on the bed which remained there +unperceived by the lady. The husband of the lady arrived shortly afterwards +and as he was aware of the attentions of the Spaniard to his wife and had +noticed his going into the house, he went directly to his wife's chamber, +where the first thing that captivated his attention was a man's military +glove on the bed. He, however, said nothing, but from that moment abstained +from all conjugal duty. The lady finding herself thus neglected by a +husband who had been formerly tender and attentive, was at a loss to know +the reason, and determined to come to an _éclaircissement_ with him in as +delicate a manner as she could. She therefore took a slip of paper, wrote +the following lines thereon and placed it on his table: + + _Vigna era, vigna son; + Era podada, or più non son; + E non sò per qual cagion + Non mi poda il mio patron._[103] + +The husband, on reading these lines, wrote the following in answer: + + _Vigna eri, vigna sei; + Eri podada, e più non sei; + Per la gran fa del Leon + Non ti poda il tuo patron._ + +The lady on reading these lines perceived at once the cause of her +husband's estrangement and succeeded in explaining the matter +satisfactorily to him, which was facilitated by the ingenuous declaration +of Leon himself that he had tried to succeed but had been repulsed. The +husband and wife being perfectly reconciled lived happily and no doubt the +vine was cultivated as usual. + +I left Florence the 27th November, and arrived at Turin 5th December. In an +evil hour I engaged myself to accompany an old Swiss Baroness with whom I +became acquainted at the Hotel of Mine Hembert to accompany her to Turin. +She had with her her son, a fine boy of thirteen years of age but very much +spoiled. We engaged a _vetturino_ to conduct us to Turin, stopping one day +at Milan. The Baroness did not speak Italian and generally sent for me to +interpret for her when any disputes occurred between her and the people at +the inns, and these disputes were tolerably frequent, as she always gave +the servants wherever she stopped a good deal of trouble and on departing +generally forgot to give them the _buona grazia._ I sometimes paid them for +her myself in order to avoid noise and tumult; at other times we departed +under vollies of abuse and imprecations such as _brutta vecchia, maladetta +carogna,_ and so forth. The Baroness had strong aristocratic prejudices and +was a bitter enemy of the French Revolution to which she attributed +collectively all the _désagrémens_ she had experienced during life and all +the inconveniences she met with during our present journey. The negligence +and impertinence of the servants in Italy were invariably attributed by her +to the revolutionary principle and she told me that the servants in her +native canton Bern were the best in the world, but that even in them the +French Revolution had made a great deal of difference and that they were +not so submissive as they used to be. As she sent for me to be her dragoman +in all her disputes on the road, you may conceive how glad I was to arrive +at Turin to be rid of her. She put me in mind of Gabrina in the _Orlando +Furioso._ We stopped one day at Milan but we were very near being detained +two or three days at Fiacenza owing to an informality in the Baroness's +passport, which had not been visé by the Austrian Legation at Florence. In +vain she pleaded that she was told at the inn at Florence that such _visa_ +was not necessary; the police officer at the Austrian _Douane_, at a short +distance beyond Piacenza, was inexorable and refused to _viser_ her +passport to allow her to proceed. She was in a sad dilemma and it was +thought we should be obliged to remain at Piacenza. I however recommended +her to be guided by me and not to talk with or scold anybody, and that I +would ensure her arrival at Milan without difficulty, for I had observed +that her scolding the officer at the _Douane_ only served to make him more +obstinate. I recommended her therefore that when we should arrive within +sixty or seventy paces of the gate at Milan, she should get out of the +carriage with her son and walk thro' the gate on foot with the utmost +unconcern as if she belonged to the town and was returning from a +promenade; and that while they stopped us who were in the carriage to +examine our passports, she should walk direct to the inn where we were to +lodge, then write to the Consul of her nation to explain the business. She +followed my advice and passed unobserved and unmolested into Milan. On the +preceding evening at Castel-puster-lengo at supper I asked whether she +thought the rigour of the Austrian government was also the offspring of the +French Revolution. The Baroness had brought up her son in all these +feelings and particularly in a determined hatred of the Canton de Vaud; for +in the evening when we arrived at the inn and were sitting round the fire, +he would shake the burning faggots about and say: _Voilà la ville de +Lausanne en cendres!_ If he grows up with these ideas and acts upon them, +he stands a good chance of being shot in a duel by some Vaudois. It is a +pity to see a child so spoiled, for he was a very fine boy, tho' very +violent in his temper which probably he inherited from his mother. Somebody +at the _pension Surpe_ at Milan who knew her told me that the Baroness was +of an aristocratic family and had married a rich _bourgeois_ of Bern whom +she treated rather too much _de haut en bas;_ in short that it was a +marriage quite _à la George Dandin_, till the poor man took it into his +head to die one day. At Turin we parted company, she for Genoa and I for +Lausanne. + + +_From Turin to Lausanne_. + +I felt the cold very sensibly in the journey from Florence to Milan and +Turin. There is not a colder country in Europe than Lombardy in the winter. +The vicinity of the Alps contributes much to this; and the houses being +exceedingly large and having no stoves it is quite impossible that the +fireplaces can give heat sufficient to warm the rooms. I started from Turin +on the morning of the 9th December in the French diligence bound to Lyon, +but taking my place only as far as Chambéry. In the diligence were a +Piedmontese Colonel who had served under Napoleon, and a young Scotchman, a +relation of Lord Minto. The latter was fond of excursions in ice and snow +and on our arrival at Suza he proposed to me to start from there two or +three hours before the diligence and to ascend Mont Cenis on foot as far as +the _Hospice_ and I was mad enough to accede to the proposal, for it +certainly was little less than madness in a person of my chilly habits and +susceptibility of cold and who had passed several years within the tropics +to scale the Alps on foot in the middle of December and to walk 24 miles in +snow and ice at one o'clock in the morning, which was the hour at which we +started. I was well clad in flannel and I went thro' the journey valiantly +and in high spirits and without suffering much from the cold till within +five miles of the Hospice, when a heavy snow storm came on; it then began +to look a little ugly and but for Napoleon's grand _chaussès_ we were lost. +We struggled on three miles further in the snow before we fell in with a +_maison de refuge_. We knocked there and nobody answered. We then +determined _coûte que coûte_ to push on to the _Hospice_ which we knew +could not be more than two miles distant; indeed it was much more advisable +so to do than to run the risk of being frozen by remaining two or three +hours in the cold air till the diligence should come up. In standing still +I began to feel the cold bitterly; so in spite of the snow storm, we pushed +on and arrived at the inn at Mont-Cenis at five in the morning. We rubbed +our hands and faces well with snow and took care not to approach the fire +for several minutes, fortifying ourselves in the interim with a glass of +brandy. We then had some coffee made and laid ourselves down to sleep by +the side of an enormous fire until the diligence arrived, which made its +appearance at eight o'clock. The passengers stopped to breakfast and the +Scotchman proposed to me to make the descent of Lans-le-Bourg also on foot; +but I was quite satisfied with the prowess I had already exhibited and +declined the challenge. He however set off alone and thus performed the +entire passage of Mont Cenis on foot. As for the rest of us we were carried +down on a _traineau_; that is to say the diligence was unloaded and its +wheels taken off; the baggage and wheels were put on one _traineau_ and the +diligence with the passengers in it on another, and in this manner we +descended to Lans-le-Bourg. Nothing remarkable occurred on this journey and +we arrived at Chambéry in good case. I hired a _calèche_ to go to Geneva, +remained there three days and arrived at Lausanne on the 18th December. + + +[100] Horace, _Sat_., II, 6, 65.--ED. + +[101] Dante, _Inferno_, I, 33,29.--ED. + +[102] Henry Augustus, thirteenth Viscount Dillon (1777-1832), married + (1807) to Henrietta Browne (died 1862).--ED. + +[103] Quoted from memory, with mistakes. The text has been corrected as it + stands in Brantôme, _Les Dames galantes_, ed. Chasles, vol. I, p. + 351.--ED. + + + + + + + + +AFTER +WATERLOO + + + + + + +PART III. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +MARCH-SEPTEMBER, 1817 + +Journey from Lausanne to Clermont-Ferrand--A wretched conveyance--The +first dish of frogs--Society in Clermont-Ferrand--General de +Vergeunes--Cleansing the town--Return to Lausanne--A zealous +priest--Journey to Bern and back to Lausanne--Avenches--Lake Morat--Lake +Neufchatel--The Diet in Bern--Character of the Bernois--A beautiful +Milanese lady. + +I started from Lausanne on the 4th March 1817, and arrived on the same day +at 4 o'clock at Geneva. On my arrival at Geneva, my banker informed me that +I had been denounced to the police, for some political opinions I had +spoken at the _Hôtel de l'Ecu de Genéve_, previous to my journey into +Italy, and that I had been traced as far as Turin. I went directly on +hearing this to the police, and desired to know who my accusers were, and +that the accusation against me might be investigated immediately. Both +these propositions were however declined, and I was told it was an _affaire +passeé_, and of no sort of consequence; so that from that day to this I +have never been able to ascertain who my friends were. + +I left Lausanne with the intention of paying a visit to my friend Col. +Wardle and his family at Clermont-Ferrand, in the Department of the Puy de +Dôme, in Auvergne, where they are residing. I staid three days at Geneva, +and then set off at 7 in the evening on the 8th March with the Courier for +Lyons. + +I never regretted any thing so much, and was near paying severely for my +rashness in putting myself into such a wretched conveyance, at such a +season of the year; but I had made the agreement with the Courier without +inspecting his carriage, and was obliged to adhere to the bargain. It was a +vehicle entirely open before; it was a bitter cold, rainy, snowy night; and +I had the rain and snow in my face the whole way, and on crossing the +Cerdon I was seized with a violent ague fit, and suffered so much from it +that on arrival at a village beyond Nantua where we stopped for supper, I +determined to proceed no further, but to rest there that night; and I asked +the innkeeper if he could furnish me with a bed for the night. He however +made so many objections and seemed so unwilling that I should remain, that +I was obliged to make up my mind to proceed. I allayed the _frissonnement_ +by a large glass of brandy and water, made fiery hot. At eight o'clock next +morning I arrived at Lyons, more dead than alive. A warm bath, however, +remaining in bed the whole day, buried in blankets, abstaining from all +food, a few grains of calomel at night and copious libations of rice gruel +the next day restored me completely to health; and after a _séjour_ of four +days at Lyons, I was enabled to proceed on my journey to Clermont on the +14th March. We arrived at Roanne in the evening and I stopped there the +whole night. + +Between Lyons and Roanne is the mountain of Tarare where the road is cut +right athwart the mountain and is consequently terribly steep; indeed it is +the steepest ascent for a carriage I ever beheld. All the passengers were +obliged to _bundle out_ and ascend on foot; and even then it is a most +arduous _montée_ for such a cumbrous machine as a French diligence. + +The country between Lyons and Roanne appears diversified; but this is not +the season for enjoying the beauties of nature. Roanne consists of one +immensely long street, but it is broad, and contains excellently built +houses and shops. There is a theatre also and baths. It is situated on the +Loire which I now salute for the first time. + +The following morning at nine o'clock a _patache_ (a sort of two wheeled +carriage) was in waiting to convey me the remainder of my journey; and I +arrived at night at a large village or town called Thiers. Halfway between +Roanne and Thiers, on stopping at a small village to dine, I observed a +dish of frogs at the kitchen fire at the inn; and as it was the first time +I had observed them as an article of food in France, I was desirous to +taste them. They were dressed in a _fricassée_ of white sauce, and I found +them excellent. The legs only are used. They would be delicious as a curry. +The next morning we continued our journey; and crossing the river Allier at +twelve o'clock, arrived at Clermont-Ferrand at 2 p.m., and dined with Col. +Wardle. Clermont and Ferrand are two towns within a mile and half distant +from each other and this Clermont is generally called Clermont-Ferrand to +distinguish it from other towns of the same name. + + +CLERMONT, March 26th. + +I have taken lodgings for a month, and board with a French family for 90 +franks per month. On the road hither the immense mountain called the Puy de +Dôme is discernible at a great distance; it is said to have been a volcano. + +Clermont is a very ancient city and has an air of dullness; but the _Place_ +and promenades round the town are excellent. It is the capital of this +department (Puy de Dôme). There is a terrible custom here of emptying the +_aguas mayores y menores_ (as the Spaniards term those secretions) into the +small streets that lie at the back of the houses. The consequence is that +they are clogged up with filth and there is always a most abominable +stench. One must be careful how one walks thro' these streets at night, +from the liability of being saluted by a golden shower. The lower classes +of the Auvergnats have the reputation of being dirty, slovenly and idle. + +Here is a church built by the English in the time of Edward III, when the +Black Prince commanded in this country; and it was in a chapel in this +city, the remains of which still exist, that Peter the Hermit preached the +first crusade. These are almost the only things worthy of remark in the +town itself, except that there is a good deal of commerce carried on, +manufactures of crockery, cloth and silk stockings. But in the natural +curiosities of the environs of Clermont there is a great deal to interest +the botanist and mineralogist and above all there is a remarkable +petrifying well, very near the town, where by leaving pieces of wood, +shell-fish and other articles exposed to the dropping of the water, they +become petrified in a short time. This water has the same effect on dead +animals and rapidly converts them into stone. I have myself seen a small +basket filled with plovers' eggs become in eight days a perfect +petrifaction. + + +CLERMONT, April 2d. + +I am arrived here at rather a dull season: the Carnaval is just over and +all the young ladies are taking to their _Livres d'Heures_ to atone for any +levity or indiscretion they may have been guilty of during the hey day of +the Carnaval. The Wardle family have a very pleasant acquaintance here, +chiefly among the _libéraux_, or moderate royalists, but there are some +most inveterate _Ultras_ in this city, who keep aloof from any person of +liberal principles, as they would of a person infected with the plague. The +noblesse of Auvergne have the reputation of being in general ignorant and +despotic. There is but little _agrément_ or instruction to be derived from +their society, for they have not the ideas of the age. In general the +nobles of Auvergne, tho' great sticklers for feudality and for their +privileges, and tho' they disliked the Revolution, had the good sense not +to emigrate. + +There is a Swiss regiment of two battalions quartered here. It bears the +name of its Colonel, De Salis. As there are a number of officers of the old +army here, on half pay, about three hundred in number, it is said, frequent +disputes occur between them and the Swiss officers. The Swiss are looked +upon by the people at large as the satellites of despotism and not without +reason. It is, I think, degrading for any country to have foreign troops in +pay in time of peace. Several attempts have been made in the Chamber of +Deputies to obtain their removal or _licencíement_, but without success. As +it is supposed that the song of the _Ranz des Vaches_ affects the +sensibility of the Swiss very much, and makes them long to return to their +native mountains, a wag has recommended to all the young ladies in France +who are musicians to play and sing the _Ranz des Vaches_ with all their +might, in order to induce the Swiss to betake themselves to their native +country. + +There has been a great deal of denunciation going forward here; but the +General de V----[104] who commands the troops in Clermont, determined to +put a stop to it. He had the good sense to see that such a system, if +encouraged, would be destructive of all society, prejudicial to the +Government, and vexatious to himself; as he would be thereby kept +continually in hot water. Accordingly, on a delator presenting himself and +accusing another of not being well affected to the present order of things, +and of having spoken disrespectfully of the King, M. de V---- said to him: +"I have no doubt, Sir, that your denunciation proceeds from pure motives, +and I give you full credit for your zeal and attachment to the royal cause; +but I cannot take any steps against the person whom you accuse, unless you +are willing to give me leave to publish your name and consent to be +confronted with him, so that I may examine fairly the state of the case, +and render justice to both parties." The accuser declined acceding to this +proposition. The General desired him to withdraw, and shortly after +intimated publicly that he would listen to no denunciation, unless the +denouncer gave up his name and consented to be confronted with the accused. +The consequence of this intimation was that all denunciations ceased. The +late Prefect however was not so prudent, and chose rather to encourage +delation; but mark the consequence! He arrested several persons wrongfully, +was obliged to release them afterwards, was in continual hot water and it +ended by the Government being obliged to displace him. To avoid the merited +vengeance of many individuals whom he had ill-treated, he was obliged, on +giving up his prefecture, to make a precipitate retreat from Clermont. The +delators attempted the same system with the new Prefect and Col. Wardle, +having invited some of the Swiss officers to a ball, to which were likewise +invited people of all opinions, an information was lodged against him, +purporting that he wanted to corrupt the Swiss officers from their +allegiance. The Prefect sent the letter to Col. Wardle and said that it had +not made the slightest impression on his mind, and that he treated it as a +malicious report. The new Prefect adopted the same system as the General +and tranquillity is since perfectly restored. + +Things have been taking a better turn since the dissolution of the _Chambre +introuvable_. Decazes, the present minister, is an able man, and if he is +not _contrarié_ by the _Libéraux_, he will keep the fanatical _Ultras_ in +good order. The Bishop of Clermont is a liberal man also, and as it seems +the wish of the present public functionaries here to conciliate, it is to +be hoped that their example will not be lost on the _bons vieux +gentilshommes_ of Auvergne. + +I find an inexhaustible fund of entertainment from the conversation of M. +C----. He has so many interesting anecdotes to relate respecting the French +Revolution. With regard to his present occupations, which are directed +towards rural economy, he tells me that he has succeeded in a plan of +cleansing the town from its Augean filth, and making it very profitable to +himself; and that he calculates to obtain a revenue thereby of twenty +thousand franks annually. He has, in short, undertaken to be the grand +_scavenger_ of the town, and the Government, in addition to a salary of +2,500 francs per annum, which they give him for his trouble, give to him +the exclusive privilege of removing all the dung he can collect in the +precincts of the city, and of converting it to his own advantage. He began +by fitting up a large enclosure, walled on each side, and in which he +deposits all the filth he can collect in the stables, yards and streets of +Clermont. He sends his carts round the town every morning to get them +loaded. All their contents are brought to this repository, and shot out +there. Straw is then placed over this dung, and then earth or soil +collected from gullies and ravines, and this arranged _stratum super +stratum_, till it forms an immense compact cake of rich compost; and when +it has filled one of the yards and has completed a thickness of five feet, +he sells it to the farmers, who send their carts to carry it off. He has +divided this enclosure or repository into three or four compartments. The +compost therefore is prepared, and ready to be carried off in one yard, +while the others are filling. In this he has rendered a great benefit to +the public, for the Auvergnats are incurable in their custom of emptying +their _pots de chambre_ out of the windows; so that the streets every +morning are in a terrible state: but thanks to the industry of C---- his +cars go round to collect the precious material, and all is cleared away by +twelve o'clock. He collects bones too, and offal to add to the compost. He +conducted me to see his premises; but the odour was too strong.... + +I returned to Lausanne by the same route, leaving Clermont on the 6th +April, staying four days at Lyons and as many at Geneva. Young Wardle +accompanied me. We met with no other adventure on the road than having a +young Catholic priest, fresh from the seminary, for our travelling +companion, from Thiers to Roanne. This young man wished to convert Wardle +and myself to Catholicism. + +Among many arguments that he made use of was that most silly one, which has +been so often sported by the Catholic theologians, viz.: that it is much +safer to be a Catholic than a Protestant, inasmuch as the Catholics do not +allow that any person can be saved out of the pale of their church, whereas +the Protestants do allow that a Catholic may be saved. I answered him that +this very argument made more against Catholicism than any other, and that +this intolerant spirit would ever prevent me (even had such an idea entered +into my head) of embracing such a religion. I then told him that, once for +all, I did not wish to enter into any theological disputes; that I had +fully made up my mind on these subjects; and that I would rather take the +opinion of a Voltaire or a Franklin on these matters than all the opinions +of all the theologians and churchmen that ever sat in council from the +Council of Nicsea to the present day. This silenced him effectually. Such +is the absurd line of conduct pursued by the Catholic priests of the +present day in France. Instead of reforming the discipline and dogmas of +their church and adapting it to the enlightened ideas of the present age, +they are sedulously employd in preaching intolerant doctrines, and reviving +absurd legends, and pretended miracles, which have been long ago consigned +to contempt and oblivion by all rational Catholics; and by this they hope +to re-establish the ecclesiastical power in its former glory and +preponderance. Vain hope! By the American and French Revolutions a great +light is gone up to the _Gentiles_. Catholicism is on its last legs, and +they might as soon attempt to replace our old friend and school +acquaintance Jupiter on the throne of heaven, as to re-establish the Papal +power in its pristine splendour; to borrow the language of the _Pilgrim's +Progress_, the Giant _Pope_ will be soon as dead as the Giant _Pagan_. + +On arrival at Lyons we put up at the _Hôtel du Parc_, where I found cheaper +and better entertainment than at the _Hôtel du Nord_. + +My friend young Wardle has fallen in love with a very beautiful _cafetière_ +at Lyons', and spends a great part of his time in the _café_, at which this +nymph administers, and looks at her, _sighs, looks and sighs again_. It is +not probable however that he will succeed in his suit, for she has been +courted by very many others and no one has succeeded. She remains constant +to her _good man_, and the breath of calumny has never ventured to assail +her. I met one day at Lyons with my old friend W----s of Strassburg, who +was a Lieutenant in the 25th Regiment in the French service and served in +the battle of Waterloo.[105] He is now here and being on _demi-solde_, +employs himself in a mercantile house here as principal commis. He dined +with us and we passed a most pleasant day together. + +I arrived on the 20th April at Lausanne. + + * * * * * + +After remaining some weeks, at Lausanne on my return from Clermont, I +determind on making a pedestrian trip as far as Bern and Neufchatel +previous to returning into Italy, which it is my intention to do in +September. I sent on my portmanteau accordingly to Payerne near Avenches, +intending to pay a visit and pass three days with my friend, the Revd. Mr. +J[omini],[106] the rector of the parish there, from whom I had received a +pressing invitation. I was acquainted at Lausanne with his daughter, Mme +C----, and was much pleased in her society. She had great talent of +conversation, and I never in my life met with a lady possessed of so much +historical knowledge. I started on the 27th June from Lausanne, passed the +first night at Mondon and the next afternoon arrived at Avenches, the +_Aventicum_ of the ancient Romans. Payerne is only a mile distant from +Avenches, and I was received with the utmost cordiality by the worthy +pastor and his daughter. The scenery on the road to Avenches is very like +the scenery in all the rest of the Canton de Vaud, viz., alternate mountain +and valley, lofty trees, and every spot capable of cultivation bearing some +kind of produce; corn just ready for the sickle and fruit such as cherries +and strawberries in full bloom. Avenches has an air of great antiquity and +looks very gloomy withal, which forms a striking contrast to the neat, well +built towns and villages of this Canton on the banks of the lake Leman +where everything appears so stirring and cheerful. Avenches, on the +contrary, is very dull, and there is little society. + +At Mr. J[omini] there were, besides his daughter, his son and his son's +wife. All the _ministres_ (for such is the word in use to designate +Protestant clergymen and you would give great offence were you to call them +_prêtres_) have a fixed salary of 100£ sterling per annum, with a house and +ground attached to the cure; so that by farming a little they can maintain +then? families creditably. M. Jomini lost his wife some time ago, and still +remains a widower. + +I left Payerne on the fifth of July and walked to the _campagne_ of M. de +T[reytorre]us,[107] situated on the banks of the lake Morat. It is a very +pretty country house, spacious and roomy, and I was received with the +utmost cordiality by M. de T[reytorrens] and his amiable family. He is a +very opulent proprietor in this part of the country, and has spent part of +his life in England. He is a dignified looking man, a little too much +perhaps of the old school and no friend to the innovations and changes +arising from the French Revolution. Having lived much among the Tory +nobility of England, he has imbibed their ideas and views of things. His +son is now employed in one of the public offices in London. His wife and +three daughters, one of whom is married to a _ministre_, dwell with him. +With this family I passed three days in the most agreeable manner. I find +the style and manner of living of the _noblesse_ (or country gentlemen, as +we should style them) of Switzerland very comfortable, in every sense of +the word. I wish my friends the French would take more to a country life, +it would essentially benefit the nation. The way of living in M. de +T[reytorre]us family is as follows. A breakfast of coffee and bread and +butter is served up to each person separately in their own room, or in the +_Salle à manger_, Before dinner every one follows his own avocation or +amusement. At one, the family assemble to dinner which generally consist of +soup, _bouilli, entrées_ of fish, flesh and fowl, _entremets_ of +vegetables, a _rôti_ of butcher's meat, fowl or game, pastry and desert. +The wine of the country is drunk at dinner as a table wine, and _old_ wines +of the country or wines of foreign growth are handed round to each guest +during the desert. After dinner coffee and liqueurs are served. After an +hour's conversation or repose, promenades are proposed which occupy the +time till dusk. Music, cards or reading plays fill up the rest of the +evening, till supper is announced at nine o'clock, which is generally as +substantial as the dinner. + +On taking leave of Mr. de T[reytorre]ns' family I walked to the banks of +the lake Neufchâtel, having a stout fellow with me to carry my _sac-de +nuit_. On arrival at the lake I crossed over in a boat to Neufchâtel, which +lies on the other side. I remained there the whole of the day. It is a very +pretty neat little city, in a romantic position. Its government is a +complete anomaly. Neufchâtel forms a component part of the Helvetic +confederacy, and yet the inhabitants are vassals of the King of Prussia, +and the aristocracy are proud of this badge of servitude. The King of +Prussia however does not at all interfere with its internal government, and +his supremacy is in no other respects useful to him than in giving him a +slight revenue. French is the language spoken in the canton. There is a +marked distinction of rank all over Switzerland, except in Geneva, Vaud and +the small democratic cantons such as Zug and Schwytz, where it is merely +nominal. In short, tranquillity is the order of the day. Each rank respects +the privileges of the other and the peasant, however rich, is not at all +disposed to vary from his usual mode of life or to ape the noble; and +hence, tho' sumptuary laws are no longer in force, they continue so +virtually and the peasantry in all the German cantons adhere strictly to +the national costume. + + +BERN, 14 July. + +I put myself in the diligence that plies between Neufchatel and Bern at +nine p.m., on the 12 July, and the following morning put up at the _Crown +Inn_ in the city of Bern, in the _Pays Allemand_, whereas the French +cantons are termed the _Pays Romand_. Bern is a remarkably elegant city as +much so as any in Italy, and much cleaner withal. The streets are broad, +and in most of them are _trottoirs_ under arcades. There are a great number +of book-sellers here, and the best editions of the German authors are to be +procured very cheap. Bern is situated on an eminence forming almost an +island as it were in the middle of the river Aar; steep ravines are on all +sides of it; and there is a bridge over the Aar to keep up the +communication; and as the borders of the island, on which the city stands, +are very steep, a zig-zag road, winding along the ravines, brings you to +the city gates. These gates are very superb. On each side of the gates are +two enormous white stone bears, the emblems of the tutelary genius of this +city. The houses are very lofty and solidly built. The promenades in the +environs of Bern are the finest I have seen anywhere, and the grounds +allotted to this purpose are very tastefully laid out. These promenades are +paved with gravel and cut thro' the forests, that lie on the _coteaux_ and +ravines on the other side of the Aar. There are several neat villas in the +neighbourhood of these promenades, and there are _cafés_ and _restaurants_ +for those who chuse to refresh themselves. Such is the beauty of these +walks, that one feels inclined to pass the whole day among them. They are +laid out in such variety, and are so multiplied, that you often lose your +way; you are sure however to be brought up by a _point de vue_ at one or +other of the angles of the zig-zag; and this serves as a guide _pour vous +orienter_, as the French say. Another favorite promenade is a garden, in +the town itself, that environs the whole city from which and from the +superb terrace of the Cathedral you have a magnificent view of the glaciers +that tower above the Grindelwald and Lauterbrunn. The immense forests that +are in the neighbourhood of Bern form a striking contrast with the +cornfields in the vallies and on the _coteaw._ There are but few vineyards +in the neighbourhood of Bern. + + +BERN, 16 July. + +The Diet is held this year in Bern and it is now sitting. I have met with +the two Deputies of the Canton de Vaud, MM. P----- and M-----. I am glad to +hear from them that the animosity existing between the two cantons of Bern +and Vaud is beginning to subside. M. P------ has made a most able and +conciliating speech at the Diet. Still there is a good deal of jealousy +rankling in the breast of the Bern _noblesse_ and the _avulsumimperium_ is +a very sore subject with them. I recollect once at Lausanne meeting with a +young man of one of the principal families of Bern, who had been hi the +English service. The conversation happened to turn on the emancipation of +the Canton de Vaud from the domination of Bern, when the young man became +perfectly furious and insisted that the Vaudois had no right whatever to +their liberty, for that the Canton of Bern had purchased the province of +Vaud from the Dukes of Savoy. _"En un mot" (said he), "ils sont nos +esclaves, nos ilotes et ils sont aussi clairement notre propriété que les +nègres de la Jamaïque le sont de leurs maîtres"_ + +A very harsh measure has lately been passed in the Diet, evidently +suggested by the aristocracy of Bern, which tended to fine and punish those +Swiss officers who remained in Prance to serve under Napoleon after his +return from Elba, and who did not obey the order of the Diet which recalled +them. A very able objection has been made to this measure in a _brochure,_ +wherein it is stated that many of these officers had no means of living +out of France and that, on a former occasion, when a number of Swiss +officers were serving the English Government and were employed in America +in the war against the United States in 1812 and 1818, the Diet, then under +Napoleon's influence, issued a decree recalling them and commanding them to +quit the English service forthwith. This they refused to do and continued +to serve. No notice whatever was taken of this act of disobedience, when +they returned to their native country on being disbanded in 1814, and they +were very favourably received. Why then, says the author of this pamphlet, +is a similar act of disobedience to pass unnoticed in one instance and to +be so severely punished in another? Or do you wish to prove that your +vengeance is directed only against those who remained in France, to fight +for its liberties, when invaded by a foreign foe, while those who remained +in America to fight against the liberties and existence of the American +Republic you have received with applause and congratulation? Is such +conduct worthy of Republicans? O, fie! + +Such an argument is in my opinion convincing for all the world except for +an English Tory, a French _Ultra_ or a Bern Oligarch. + +The Arsenal here is well worth seeing; here is a superb collection of +ancient armour, much of which were the spoils of the Austrian and +Burgundian chivalry, who fell in their attempts to crush Helvetic liberty. + +By way of shewing how fond the Bernois are of old institutions and customs, +they have been at the trouble to catch three or four bears and keep them in +a walled pit in the city, where they are well fed and taken care of. The +popular superstition is that the bears entertained in this manner +contribute to the safety of the commonwealth; and this establishment +continued ever in full force, until the dissolution of the old Confederacy +took place and the establishment in its place of the Helvetic Republic +under the influence of the French directorial government. The custom, then, +appearing absurd and useless, was abolished, and the bears were sold. But +since the peace of 1814 other bears have been caught and are nourishd, as +the former ones were, at the expence of the state. + +Bern derives its name from _Büren_, the German word for _Bears_ (plural +number). Only the French spell _Berne_, with an _e_ at the end of it. + +There are no theatrical amusements going forward here. Cards and now and +then a little music form the evening recreations. + +In the inn at Bern I became acquainted with a most delightful Milanese lady +and her son. Her name is L------; she is the widow of an opulent banker at +Milan and has a large family of children. She was about thirty-eight years +of age and is still a remarkably handsome woman. Time has made very little +impression on her and she unites very pleasing manners with a great taste +for litterature. She is greatly proficient in the English language and +litterature, which she understands thoroughly, tho' she speaks it with +difficulty. She is an enthusiastic admirer of Shakespeare, Milton and +Byron. She had been to Zurich for her son, who was employed in a commercial +house there, in order to take him back with her into Italy. She spoke +French as well as Italian, and her son had a very good knowledge of German. +She offered me a seat in her carriage, on the understanding that I was +going to Lausanne, where she intended to stop a day or two. An offer of the +kind made by so elegant and fascinating a woman you may be assured I did +not scruple to accept, and I was in hopes of improving on this acquaintance +and renewing it at Milan. Indeed, did not business oblige me to remain some +weeks at Lausanne, I should certainly offer my services to escort her all +the way to Milan. She had letters of introduction for Lausanne, and during +her stay there I acted as her _cicerone_, to point out the most interesting +objects and points of view, which the place affords. + + +[104] Louis Charles Joseph Gravier, vicomte de Vergennes d'Alonné, was the + son of the Comte de Vergennes, who was minister under the reign of + Louisi XVI. Born at Constantinople in 1766, he took service at the + early age of thirteen, was promoted captain in 1782 and colonel in + 1788. Having emigrated in 1791, he served in Condé's army, then took + service in England from 1795 to 1797. On the 3rd March, 1815, he + re-entered the army as "maréchal de camp," and, on the 2nd November of + that same year, was promoted general commander of the department of + Puy de Dôme. He retired on the 8th March, 1817, and seems to have been + much regretted at Clermont. Died 1821.--ED. + +[105] Jean François Wlnkens, born at Aix-la-Chapelle In 1790, is mentioned + in the records of the French War Office as having served in the 25th + Regiment at Waterloo. His family may have belonged to Strassburg.--ED. + +[106] Pierre Jacques Jomini, Protestant minister at Avenches from 1808 to + 1819.--ED. + +[107] The Treytorrens family, of old nobility and fame, now extinct, + possessed a large estate at Guévaux, on the borders of the lake of + Morat.--ED. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV + +SEPTEMBER 1817-APRIL 1818 + +Journey from Lausanne to Milan, Florence, Rome and Naples--Residence at +Naples--The theatre of San Carlo--Rossini's operas--Gaming in Naples--The +_Lazzaroni_--Public writers--Carbonarism--Return to Rome--Christmas eve at +Santa Maria Maggiore--Mme Dionigi--Theatricals--Society in Rome--The papal +government--Lucien Bonaparte, prince of Canino--Louis Napoleon, ex-King of +Holland--Pope Pius VII--Thorwaldsen--Granet--The Holy Week in Rome--The +Duchess of Devonshire--From Rome to Florence by the Perugia road. + +I started from Lausanne with a party of two ladies in a Milanese _vettura_ +on the morning of the 20th September. We arrived at Milan on the 25th late +in the evening. On passing the Simplon we met with three or four men who +had the appearance of soldiers, and asked for alms something in the style +of the old Spanish soldier who accosted Gil Blas on his first journey. Our +ladies were a little alarmed. On travelling over the plains of Lombardy, +one of these ladies, who had never before been out of her country +(Switzerland) and was consequently accustomed to see the horizon bounded at +a very short distance by immense mountains on all sides, was much alarmed, +on arrival at the plain, at seeing no bounds to the horizon; she was +apprehensive of _falling down_ and _rolling over_. Her remark reminded me +of one of the objections made to the project of Columbus's voyage in +discovery of a western passage to India; it was said that in consequence of +the rotundity of the earth they would roll down and never be able to get up +again. The sensation experienced by my fellow traveller, however, may be +well accounted for and explained by any one who from a plain surface +situated on a great height looks down without a railing or balcony. + +These ladies were quite delighted with the splendour and bustle of Milan +and particularly when I took them to the _Scala_ theatre, where a very +splendid _Ballo_ was given, intitled _Sammi Ré d'Egitto_. The scenery and +decorations were magnificent, being taken from Denon's drawings of Egyptian +views, and the costume was exceedingly appropriate. My fellow travellers +were much struck at the appearance of the horses on the stage and the +grotesque dancing. The last scene was the most magnificent. It represented +the great Pyramids, on the angles of which stood a line of soldiers from +the _base_ to the _apex_ holding lighted torches. The _coup d'oeil_ was +enchanting. I took the ladies to see my old friend Girolamo and in fine was +their _cicerone_ every where. We remained only four days at Milan and then +proceeded to Florence, where we arrived on the 7th October. We employed six +days for our journey and one day we halted at Bologna. After remaining four +days at Florence and taking the Radicofani road we arrived at Rome the 18th +October. + +At Rome I met my friend P.G. and his wife who were travelling towards +Naples and I likewise made two very pleasant acquaintances, the one a +Portuguese, the other a Milanese. The Milanese is a cousin of the +Neapolitan minister Di M------; and the Portuguese (M. de N------) had been +employed by his Government in a diplomatic capacity at Vienna. At Rome I +engaged appartments from the 20th of December for three months and then +started for Naples, with the intention of passing two months there, and +returning to Rome, to be in time to witness the fete at Christmas Eve. At +Velletri I met with a Jamaica family, Mr and Mrs O------, with their +daughter and daughter-in-law; and we were strongly advised to take an +escort as far as _Torre tre ponti_, being obliged to start very early from +Velletri in order to reach Terracina before night-fall. Nothing however +occurred and we arrived at Terracina without accident. The rascally +innkeeper there made Mr O------ pay forty franks for each miserable room +that he occupied, and fifteen franks a head for his supper; he was very +insolent with all. I was rejoiced to find that in one instance he failed in +his hopes of extortion. As he is obliged by law to furnish supper and beds +at a fixed price to those who travel with _vetturini_ and are _spesati_, +he, whenever a _vetturino_ arrives locks up all his decent chambers and +says that they are engaged, in order to keep them for those travellers who +may arrive in their own carriages and whom he can fleece _ad libitum_. A +friend of mine and his lady, who were travelling in their own carriage, +had, in order to avoid this extortion, engaged with a _vetturino_ to +conduct them from Naples to Rome with _his horses_, but their own carriage, +and, had stipulated to be _spesati_. Mine host of Terracina, seeing a smart +carriage drive up, ordered one of his best rooms to be got ready, ushered +them in himself and returnd in half an hour to ask what they would have for +supper; when to his great astonishment and mortification, they referred him +for the arrangement of the supper to the _vetturino_, saying that they were +_spesati_. He then began to curse and swear, said that they should not have +that room, and wanted to turn them out of it forcibly; but my friend Major +G---- took up one of his pistols, which were lying on the table, and told +the innkeeper that if he did not cease to molest them and instantly quit +the room, he would blow out his brains. This threat had the desired effect, +and he withdrew. It appears that this fellow has in the end outwitted +himself, for most people now, who travel on this road in their own +carriage, chuse to travel with a _vetturino_ and his horses and are +_spesati_, solely in order to avoid the extortion practised upon them. + +We arrived at Naples on the 29th October without accident. A _buona grazia_ +of a _scudo_ at the frontier obviated the delay which would otherwise have +occurred in examining our baggage by the _douaniers_. I put up at No 1 +_Largo St Anna di Palazzo_, near the _Strada di Toledo_, at the house of +one Berlier, who had been a domestic of poor Murat's. The Austrian troops +being now withdrawn, the military cordon of sentinels from the frontier to +Naples is kept up by the Neapolitan troops; but what a contrast between the +vigilance of the Austrian sentinels, and the negligence of the Neapolitans! +The last time I travelled on this road, I never failed, after dusk, to hear +the shout of _Wer da?_ of the Austrian sentries, long before I came up to +them, and I always found them alert. Now that the cordon was Neapolitan, I +always found the sentries either asleep, or playing at cards with their +companion (the sentries being double), both having left their arms at the +place where they were posted. At night I have no doubt they all fall +asleep, so that three or four active _banditti_ might come and cut the +throats of the whole chain of sentries in detail. + + +30th October, 1818. + +I have begun my course of water drinking at the fountain of Sta Lucia. +Since I was here the last time, the theatre of St Carlo has been finished +and I went to visit it the second night after my arrival. It is a noble +theatre and of immense size, larger it is said than the _Scala_ at Milan, +tho' it does not appear so. The profusion of ornament and gilding serves to +diminish the appearance of its magnitude. It is probably now the most +magnificent theatre in Europe. The performance was _Il Babiere di Siviglia_ +by Rossini, and afterwards a superb _Ballo_ taken closely from Coleman's +_Blue-Beard_ and arranged as a _Ballo_ by Vestris. The only difference lies +in the costume and the scenery; for here the _Barbe Bleue,_ instead of +being a Turkish Pacha, as in Coleman's piece, is a Chinese Mandarin, and +the decorations are all Chinese. A great deal of Scotch music is introduced +in this _Ballo,_ and seems to give great satisfaction. At the little +theatre of San Carlino I witnessed the representation of Rossini's +_Cenerentola,_ a most delightful piece. The young actress who did the part +of Cenerentola acted it to perfection and sung so sweetly and correctly, +that it would seem as if the _rôle_ were composed on purpose for her. The +part of Don Magnifico was extremely well played, and those of the sisters +very fairly and appropriately. The three actresses who did the part of +Cenerentola and her sisters, were all handsome, but she who did Cenerentola +surpassed them all; she was a perfect beauty and a grace. I think the music +of this opera would please the public taste in England. Rossini seems to +have banished every other musical composer from the stage. + +I have seen, at the Theatre of San Carlo, the _Don Giovanni_ of Mozart; but +certainly, after being accustomed to the extreme vivacity of Rossini's +style, the music, even of the divine Mozart, appears to go off heavily. +There is too much of what the French call _musique de fanfares_ in the +opera of _Don Giovanni_ and I believe most of the Italians are of my way of +thinking. + +We have just heard of the death of the poor Princess Charlotte. I am no +great admirer of Kings and Queens; and yet I must own, I could not help +feeling regret for the death of this princess. I had formed a very high +opinion of her, from many traits in her character; and I fancied and hoped +that she was destined to redeem England from the degradation and bad odour +into which she had been plunged by the borough-mongers and bureaucrats, +engendered by the Pitt system. She had liberal ideas and an independent +spirit. I really almost caught myself shedding tears at this event, and had +she been buried here, I should have gone to scatter flowers upon her tomb: + + His saltem accumulem donis, et fungar inani + Munere.[108] + +Has no royalist or ministerial poet been found to do hommage to her +_manes_? Had she lived to be Queen of England she would have found a +thousand venal pens to give her every virtue under heaven. + +There is a professor of natural philosophy now at Naples, of the name of +Amici, from Modena, who has invented a microscope of immense power. The +circulation of the blood in the thigh of a frog (the coldest animal in +nature), when viewed thro' this microscope, appears to take place with the +rapidity of a Swiss torrent. + +Since I have been here, I have once more ascended Vesuvius; there was no +eruption at all this time, but I witnessed the sight of a stream of red-hot +liquid lava flowing slowly down the flank of the mountain. It was about two +and a half feet broad. + +In my letters from Naples, the last time I was there, I gave you some idea +of the state of society. Among the upper classes gaming is reduced to a +science and is almost exclusively the order of the day. There is little or +no taste for litterature among any part of the native society. The upper +classes are sensualists; the middling ignorant and superstitious. With +regard to the _Lazzaroni_, I do not think that they at all deserve the ill +name that has been given to them. They always seem good humoured and +willing to work, when employment is given to them; and they do not appear +at all disposed to disturb the public peace, which, from their being so +numerous and formidable a body, they could easily do. The Neapolitan +dialect has a far greater affinity to the Spanish than to the Tuscan, and +there are likewise, a great many Greek words in it. When one takes into +consideration the extreme ignorance that prevails among the Neapolitans in +general, one is astonished that such a prodigy of genius as Filangieri +could have sprung up among them. What talent, application, deep research +and judgment were united in that illustrious man! And yet there are many +Neapolitans of rank who have never heard of him. Would you believe that on +my asking one of the principal booksellers in Naples for Filangieri's work +on legislation (an immortal work which has called forth the admiration and +eulogy of the greatest geniuses of the age, of which Benjamin Franklin and +Sir Wm Jones spoke in the most unqualified terms of approbation; a work +which has been translated into all the languages of Europe), I was told by +the bookseller that he had never heard either of the author or of his work. + +A very curious thing at Naples is the number of public writers; who compose +letters and memorials in booths, fitted up in the streets. As the great +majority of the people are so ignorant as to be unable to read or write, it +follows that when they receive letters, they must find somebody to read +them for them and to write the answers required. They accordingly, on the +receipt of a letter, bring it to one of these public scribes, ask him to +read it for them and to write an answer, for which trouble he receives a +fixed pay. These writers are thus let into the secrets of family affairs of +more than half of the city; and as some-of them are in the pay of the +Government for communicating intelligence, you may guess how formidable +they may become to liberty and how dangerous an engine in the hands of a +despotic Government. + +It appears that the theatre of San Carlo is principally kept up by gaming; +that is to say, the managers and proprietors would not undertake the +direction of it without the Gaming Bank being annexed to it; for otherwise +they would lose money, the expence of the Opera on account of the +magnificent decorations of the Ballets being very great, which the receipts +of the theatre are insufficient to meet; but the profits of the Casino +cover all and amply reimburse the proprietors. + +With regard to political opinions here there is a great stagnation. It +costs the Neapolitans too much trouble to think and reflect. M-----, the +principal minister, is however no favourite; neither is N-----, who has +quitted the Austrian service, and is nominated Captain-General of the +Neapolitan army.[109] + +There is a great talk about the increase of Carbonarism. You will probably +ask me what Carbonarism means. I am not initiated in the secret of the +Carbonari; but as far as I can understand, this sect or secret society has +its mysteries like modern Free-masonry or like the Orphics of old, and +several progressive degrees of initiation are required. Its secret object +is said to be the emancipation of Italy from a foreign despotism and the +forming of a government purely national. This is the reason why this sect +is regarded with as much jealousy by the different governments of Italy as +the early Christians used to be by the Pagan Emperors. Great proofs of +courage, constancy and self denial are required from the initiated; and +very many fail, or do not rise beyond the lower degrees of initiation, for +it is very difficult for an Italian to withstand sensuality. But the +leaders of this sect are perfectly in the right to require such proofs, for +no man is fit to be trusted with any political design whatever, who has not +obtained the greatest mastery over his passions. The word _Carbonari_, I +need not tell you, means _Coalmen_; the Italian history presents many +examples of secret societies taking their appellation from some mechanical +profession. + +I have now been nearly two months in Naples, and the _zampogne_ or +bag-pipes, which play about the streets at night, announce the speedy +approach of Christmas, so that I shall soon take my departure for Rome. + + * * * * * + +I left Naples on the 18th of December and arrived at Rome on the 22d. I am +settled in my old lodgings, No. 29 _Piazza di Spagna_. Nothing worth +mentioning occurred during the journey. + +The fete, of the birth of Christ held at Santa Maria Maggiore on the +evening of the 24th December is of the most splendid description, and +attended by an immense crowd of women. Guns are fired on the moment that +the birth of the Saviour is announced, and this event occurs precisely at +midnight. The Romans seem to rejoice as much at the anniversary of this +event, as if it happened for the first time, and as if immediate temporal +advantage were to be derived from it. + +I have mixed a good deal in society in Rome since my return from Naples. +Among other acquaintance I must particularly distinguish Mme Dionigi, a +very celebrated lady, possessing universality of talent.[110] She is well +known all over Italy, for the extent of her litterary attainments, but more +particularly for her proficiency in the fine arts, above all in painting, +of which she is an adept. She also possesses the most amiable qualities of +the heart, and is universally beloved and respected for the worth of her +private character, and for her generous disposition. She has all the +vivacity of intellect belonging to youth, tho' now nearly eighty-six years +of age,[111] and of a very delicate physical constitution; in short she +affords, and I often tell her so, the most striking proof of the +immortality of the soul. There is a _conversazione_ at her house twice a +week, where you meet with foreign as well as Italian _litterati_, and +persons of distinction of all nations, tongues and languages. Her eldest +daughter, Mme D'Orfei, is an excellent _improvisatrice_, and has frequently +given us very favourable specimens of the inspiration which breathes itself +in her soul. I have likewise witnessed the talent of two very extraordinary +_improvisatori_, the one a young girl of eighteen years of age, by name +Rosa Taddei. She is the daughter of the proprietor of the _Teatro della +Valle_ at Rome, and sometimes performs herself in dramatic pieces; yet, +strange to say, tho' she is an admirable _improvisatrice_ and possesses a +thorough classic and historical knowledge, she is but an indifferent +actress. + +It is a great shame that her father obliges her to act on the stage in very +inferior parts, when she ought only to exhibit on the tripod. I assisted at +an _Accademia_ given by her one evening at the _Teatro della Valle_, when +she improvised on the following subjects, which were proposed by various +members of the audience: 1st, _La morte d'Egeo_; 2dy, _La Madre Ebrea_; +3rd, _Coriolano alle mura di Roma_; 4th, _Ugolino_; 5th, _Saffo e Faone_; +6th, in the Carnaval with the following _intercalario: "Maschera ti +conosco, tieni la benda al cor_!" which _intercalario_ compels a rhyme in +_osco_, a most difficult one. The _Madre Ebrea_ and _Coriolano_ were given +in _ottava rima_ with a _rima obbligata_ for each stanza. The _Morte +d'Egeo_ was given in _terza rima_. Her versification appeared to be +excellent, nor could I detect the absence or superabundance, of a single +syllable. She requires the aid of music, chuses the melody; the audience +propose the subject, and _rima obbligata_, and the _intercalario_, where it +is required. In her gestures, particularly before she begins to recite, she +reminded me of the description given of the priestess of. Delphi. She walks +along the stage for four or five minutes in silent meditation on the +subject proposed, then suddenly stops, calls to the musicians to play a +certain symphony and then begins as if inspired. Among the different rhimes +in _osco_, a gentleman who sat next to me proposed to her _Cimosco_. I +asked him what _Cimosco_ he meant; he replied a Tuscan poet of that name. +For my part, I had never heard of any other of that name than the King +_Cimosco_ in the _Orlando Furioso_, who makes use of fire-arms; and Rosa +Taddei was, it appears, of my opinion, since this was the _Cimosco_ she +chose to characterise; and she made thereby a very neat and happy +comparison between the gun of Cimosco and the arrow of Cupid. This talent +of the _improvisatori_ is certainly wonderful, and one for which there is +no accounting. It appears peculiar to the Italian nation alone among the +moderns, but probably was in vogue among the ancient Greeks also. It is +certain that Rosa Taddei gives as fine thoughts as are to be met with in +most poets, and I am very much tempted to incline to Forsyth's opinion that +Homer himself was neither more nor less than an _improvisatore_, the Greek +language affording nearly as many poetic licences as the Italian, and the +faculty of heaping epithet on epithet being common in both languages. + +The other genius in this wonderful art is Signer Sgricci. He is so far +superior to Rosa Taddei in being five or six years older, in being a very +good Latinist and hi _improvising_ whole tragedies on any subject, chosen +by the audience. When the subject is chosen, he develops his plan, fixes +his _dramatis personae_ and then strikes off in _versi sciolti_. He at +times introduces a chorus with lyric poetry. I was present one evening at +an _Accademia_ given by him in the Palazzo Chigi. The subject chosen was +_Sophonisba_ and it was wonderful the manner in which he varied his plot +from that of every other dramatic author on the same subject. He _acted_ +the drama, as well as composed it, and pourtrayed the different characters +with the happiest effect. The ardent passion and impetuosity of Massinissa, +the studied calm philosophy and stoicism of Scipio, the romantic yet +dignified attachment of Sophonisba, and the plain soldierlike honorable +behaviour of Syphax were given in a very superior style. I recollect +particularly a line he puts in the mouth of Scipio, when he is endeavouring +to persuade Massinissa to resist the allurements and blandishments of love: + + Chè cor di donne è laberinto, in quale + Facil si perde l'intelletto umano. + +This drama he divided into three acts, and on its termination he improvised +a poem in _terza rima_ on the subject of the contest of Ajax and Ulysses +for the armour of Achilles. + +Wonderful, however, as this act of improvising may appear, it is not +perhaps so much so as the mathematical faculty of a youth of eight years of +age, Yorkshireman by birth, who has lately exhibited his talent for +arithmetical calculation _improvised_ in England and who in a few seconds, +from mental calculation, could give the cube root of a number containing +fifteen or sixteen figures. + +Is not all this a confirmation of Doctor Gall's theory on craniology? viz., +that our faculties depend on the organisation of the scull. I think I have +seen this frequently exemplified at Eton. I have known a boy who could not +compose a verse, make a considerable figure in arithmetic and geometry; and +another, who could write Latin verse with almost Ovidian elegance, and yet +could not work the simplest question in vulgar fractions. Indeed, I think +there seems little doubt that we are born with dispositions and +propensities, which may be developed and encouraged, or damped and checked +altogether by education. + +I have become acquainted with several families at Rome, so that I am at no +loss where to spend my evenings. Music is the never failing resource for +those with whom the spirit of conversation fails. The society at Rome is +perfectly free from etiquette or _gêne_. When once presented to a family +you may enter their house every evening without invitation, make your bow +to the master and mistress of the house, enter into conversation or not as +you please. You may absent yourself for weeks together from these +_conversazioni_, and nobody will on your re-appearance enquire where you +have been or what you have been doing. In short, in the intercourse with +Roman society, you meet with great affability, sometimes a little _ennui_, +but no _commérage_. The _avvocati_ may be said to form almost exclusively +the middling class in Rome, and they educate their families very +respectably. This class was much caressed by the French Government during +the time that Rome was annexed to the French Empire, and most of the +employés of the Government at that time were taken from this class. I have +met with several sensible well-informed people, who have been accurate +observers of the times, and had derived profit in point of instruction from +the scenes they had witnessed. + +The Papal Government began, as most of the restored governments did, by +displacing many of these gentlemen, for no other fault than because they +had served under the Ex-government, and replaced them by ecclesiastics, as +in the olden time. But the Papal Government very soon discovered that the +whole political machine would be very soon at a stand, by such an +_épuration_; and the most of them have been since reinstated. Consalvi, the +Secretary of State, is a very sensible man; he has hard battles to fight +with the _Ultras_ of Rome in order to maintain in force the useful +regulations introduced by the French Government, particularly the +organisation of a vigilant police, and the putting a stop to the murders +and robberies, which used formerly to be committed with impunity. The +French checked the system of granting asylum to these vagabonds altogether. +But on the restoration of the Papal Government a strong interest was made +to allow asylums, as formerly, to criminals. Many of these gentry began to +think that the good old times were come again, wherein they could commit +with impunity the most atrocious crimes; and no less than eighty persons +were in prison at one time for murder. This opened the eyes of the +Government, and Consalvi insisted on the execution of these men and carried +his point of establishing a vigilant police. The Army too has been put on a +better footing. The Papal troops are now clothed and disciplined in the +French manner, and make a most respectable appearance. The infantry is +clothed in white; the cavalry in green. The cockade is white and yellow. No +greater proof can be given of the merit and utility of the French +institutions in Italy, than the circumstance of all the restored +Governments being obliged by their interests (tho' contrary to their wishes +and prejudices), to adopt and enforce them. There is still required, +however, a severer law for the punishment of post office defalcations. +Simple dismissal is by no means adequate, when it is considered how much +mischief may ensue from such offences. A very serious offence of this +nature and which has made a great sensation, has lately occurred. As all +foreign letters must be franked, and as the postage to England is very +high, one of the clerks at the Post office had been in the habit of +receiving money for the franking of letters, appropriated it to his own +use, and never forwarded the letters. This created great inconvenience; a +number of families having never received answers to their letters and being +without the expected remittances, began to be uneasy and to complain. An +enquiry was instituted, and it was discovered that the clerk above +mentioned had been carrying on this game to a great extent. He used to tear +the letters and throw the fragments into a closet. Several scraps of +letters were thus discovered and, on being examined, he made an ample +confession of his practises. He was merely discharged, and no other +punishment was indicted on him. I am no advocate for the punishment of +death for any other crime but wilful murder; but surely this fellow was +worse than a robber, and deserved a greater severity of punishment. + + +ROME, 10th February, 1818. + +The Carnaval has long since begun, and this is the heaven of the Roman +ladies. On my remarking to a lady that I was soon tired of it and after a +day or two found it very childish, she replied: "_Bisogna esser donna e +donna Italiana per ben godere de' piaceri del Carnevale_." + +When I speak of the Carnaval, I speak of the last ten days of it which +precede Lent. The following is the detail of the day's amusement during the +season. + +After dinner, which is always early, the masks sally out and repair to the +_Corso_. The windows and balconies of the houses are filled with +spectators, in and out of masks. A scaffolding containing an immense number +of seats is constructed in the shape of a rectangle, beginning at the +_Piazza del Popolo_, running parallel to the _Corso_ on each side, and +terminating near the _Piazza di Venezia_; close to which is the goal of the +horse race that takes place in this enclosure. Carriages, with persons in +them, generally masked, parade up and down this space in two currents, the +one ascending, the other descending the _Corso_. They are saluted as they +pass with showers of white comfits from the spectators on the seats of the +scaffolding, or from the balconies and windows on each side of the street. +These comfits break into a white powder and bespatter the clothes of the +person on whom they fall as if hair-powder had been thrown on them. This +seems to be the grand joke of this part of the Carnival. After the +carriages have paraded about an hour, a signal is given by the firing of a +gun that the horse race is about to begin. The carriages, on the gun being +fired, must immediately evacuate the _Corso_ in order to leave it clear for +the race; some move off and _rendezvous_ on the _Piazza del Popolo_ just +behind the scaffolding, from the foot of which the horses start; others +file off by the _Via Ripetta_ and take their stand on the _Piazza Colonna_. +The horse-race is performed by horses without riders, generally five or six +at a time. They are each held with a bridle or halter by a man who stands +by them, in order to prevent their starting before the signal is given; and +this requires no small degree of force and dexterity, as the horses are +exceedingly impatient to set off. The manes of the horses are dressed in +ribbands of different colours to distinguish them. Pieces of tin, small +bells and other noisy materials are fastened to their manes and tails, in +order by frightening the poor animals, to make them run the faster, and +with this view also squibs and crackers are discharged at them as they pass +along. A second gun is the signal for starting; the keepers loose their +hold, and off go the horses. The horse that arrives the first at the goal +wins the grand prize; and there are smaller ones for the two next. This +race is repeated four or five times till dusk, and then the company +separate and return home to dress. They then repair to the balls at the +different casinos, and at the conclusion of the ball, supper parties are +formed either at _restaurants_ or at each other's houses. During the time +occupied in the balls and promenades, as every body goes masked either in +character or in _domino_, there is a fine opportunity for pairing off, and +it is no doubt turned to account. This is a pretty accurate account of a +Roman Carnaval. A great deal of wit and repartee takes place among the +masks and they are in general extremely well supported, and indeed they +ought to be, for there is a great sameness of character assumed at every +masquerade, and very little novelty is struck out, except perhaps by some +foreigner, who chuses to introduce a national character of his own, which +is probably but little, or not at all, understood by the natives, and very +often not at all well supported by the foreigner himself. An American +gentleman once made his appearance as an Indian warrior with his +war-hatchet and calumet; he danced the war dance, which excited great +astonishment. He then presented his calumet to a mask, who not knowing what +the ceremony meant, declined it, when the Mohawk flourished his hatchet and +gave such a dreadful shriek as to set the whole company in alarm.[112] On +the whole this character was so little understood that it was looked upon +as a _mauvaise plaisanterie_. + +The usual characters are Pulcinelli, Arlecchini, Spanish Grandees, Turks, +fortune tellers, flower girls and Devils; sometimes too they go in the +costume of the Gods and Goddesses of the ancient mythology. I observe that +the English ladies here prefer to appear without masks in the costume of +the Swiss and Italian peasantry. + +There is a very large English society at Rome, and at some of the parties +here, you could suppose yourself in Grosvenor Square. + +The late political changes have brought together in Rome many persons of +the most opposite parties and sentiments, who have fallen from the height +of political power and influence into a private station, but who enjoy +themselves here unmolested, and even protected by the Government, and are +much courted by foreigners. I have seen at the same masquerade, in the +_Teatro Aliberti_, in boxes close to each other, the Queen of Spam (mother +of Ferdinand VII), and the Princess Borghese, Napoleon's sister. In a box +at a short distance from them were Lucian Buonaparte, his wife and +daughters. Besides these, the following ex-Sovereigns and persons of +distinction, fallen from their high estate, reside in Rome, viz., King +Charles IV of Spain; the ex-King of Holland, Louis Buonaparte; the +abdicated King of Sardinia, Victor Emanuel; Don Manuel Godoy, the Prince of +Peace; Cardinal Fesch, and Madame Letitia, the mother of Napoleon. + +I had an opportunity of being presented to Lucian, who bears the title of +Prince of Canino, before I left Rome for Naples, as on leaving the Pays de +Vaud I was charged by a Swiss gentleman to deliver a letter to him, the +purport of which was to state that he had rendered services to Joseph +Napoleon, when he was resident in that Canton, in consequence of which he +had been persecuted and deprived of his employment at Lausanne, which was +that of Captain of the Gendarmerie; and in the letter he sollicited +pecuniary assistance from the Prince of Canino. I rode out one morning to +the Villa of Ruffinella where the Prince resides and was very politely +received; it appeared however that the Prince was totally unacquainted with +the person who wrote the letter, nor was he at all aware of the +circumstances therein mentioned. I told him that I was but little +acquainted with the writer of the letter, but that he, on hearing of my +intention of going to Rome, asked me to deliver it personally. The Prince +told me he would write himself to the applicant on the subject. Here the +negotiation ended; but on my taking leave the Prince said he should be +happy to see me whenever I chose to call. The Prince has the character of +being an excellent father and husband, and seems entirely and almost +exclusively devoted to his family. He has a remarkably fine collection of +pictures and statues in his house at Rome. + +I had an opportunity likewise of seeing the ex-King of Holland, Louis +Napoleon, who seems to be a most excellent and amiable man, and in fact +everybody agrees in speaking of him with eulogy. + +With regard to the present Pontiff Pius VII, from the excellence of his +private character and virtues, and from his unassuming manners and goodness +of heart, there is but one opinion respecting him. Even those who do not +like the ecclesiastical Government, and behold in it the degradation of +Italy, render justice to the good qualities of Pius VII. He always +displayed the greatest moderation and humanity in prosperity, and in +adversity he was firm and dignified. In his morals and habits he is quite a +primitive Christian, and if he does not possess that great political talent +which has distinguished some of his predecessors, he has been particularly +fortunate and discriminating in the choice of his minister, in whom are +united ability, firmness, suavity of manner and unimpeachable character. I +think I have thus given a faithful delineation of Cardinal Consalvi. + + +ROME, March 12th. + +I have made a very valuable acquaintance in M. K[ölle][113] the envoy of +the King of Würtemberg, to the Holy See. He is an enthusiastic admirer of +his countryman the poet Schiller, and thro' his means of procuring German +books, I am enabled to prosecute my studies in that noble language. An +Italian lady there having heard much of Schiller and Bürger, and not being +acquainted with the German language, requested me to make an Italian +translation of some of the pieces of those poets; chusing the _Leonora_ of +Bürger as one, and leaving to myself the choice of one from Schiller, I +represented the extreme difficulty of the task, but as she had read a +sonnet of mine on Lord Guildford's project of establishing an University in +the Italian language, she would not hear of any excuse. To work then I set, +and completed the translation of _Leonora_, together with one of Schiller's +_Feast of Eleusis_. These and my sonnet were the cause of my being +recommended for admission as a member of the Academy _degli Arcadi_ in Rome +and I received the pastoral name of _Galeso Itaoense_. + +The Carnaval is now over and the ladies are all at their _Livres d'Heures_, +posting masses and prayers to the credit side, to counterbalance the sins +and frailties committed during the carnaval in the account which they keep +in the Ledger of Heaven. Dancing and masquerading are now over and +_Requiems_ and the _Miserere_ the order of the day at the _conversazioni_. + +At Mr K[ölle]'s house I have become acquainted with Thorwaldsen, the famous +Danish sculptor, who is by many considered as the successful rival of +Canova; but their respective styles are so different, that a comparison can +scarce be made between them. Canova excels in the soft and graceful, in the +figures of youthful females and young men; Thorwaldsen in the grave, stern +and terrible. In a word, did I wish to have made a Hebe, a Venus, an +Antinoüs, an Apollo, I should charge Canova with their execution. Did I +wish for an Ajax, an Hercules, a Neptune, a Jupiter, I should give the +preference to Thorwaldsen. + +In their private characters they much resemble each other, being both +honorable, generous, unassuming, and enthusiastic lovers of their +profession and of the fine arts hi general. + +I have been to see a remarkably fine picture, by a modern French artist, of +the name of Granet. It may be considered as the _chef d'oeuvre_ of the +perspective or dioramic art. This picture represents the ulterior of the +convent of the Capuchins, near the Barberini Palace. The picture is by no +means a very large one; but the optical deception is astonishing. You fancy +you are standing at the entrance of a long hall and ready to enter it; on +looking at it, thro' a piece of paper rolled hi form of a speaking +trumpet--which by hiding from the sight the frame of the picture, prevents +the illusion from being dissipated--you suppose you could walk into the +hall; and each figure of a monk therein appears a real human creature, seen +from a long distance, so skilfully has the artist disposed his light and +shade. This picture has excited the admiration of connoisseurs, as well as +others, and it is universally proclaimed a masterpiece. M. Granet's house +is filled every day with persons coming to see this picture, and many +repeat their visits several tunes in the week. He has received several +orders for copies of this picture, and I fancy he begins to be tired of +eternally copying the same thing; for he told me that he wished that the +gentlemen who employed him would vary their subjects, and either chuse some +other themselves, or let him chuse for them. But no! such is the effect of +vogue and fashion, and such the despotic influence they exercise even over +the polite arts, that everybody must have a copy of Granet's picture of the +interior of the Convent of Capuchins _coûte que coûte_; so that poor Granet +seems bound to this Convent for life; except in the intervals of his +labours, he should hit off another subject, with equal felicity, and this +alone may perhaps serve to diminish the universal desire of possessing a +copy of the Convent. The original picture is destined for the King of +France.[114] + +I remarked, in the collection of the works of this artist, a small picture +representing Galileo in prison, and a monk descending the steps of the +dungeon bringing him his scanty meal. A lamp hangs suspended from the roof, +in the centre of the dungeon, and the artist has made a very happy hit in +throwing the whole glare of the lamp on the countenance of Galileo, who is +seated reading a book, while the gaoler monk is left completely in the +shade. On seeing this I exclaimed: _Veramente, Signor Granet, e buonissimo +quel vostro concetto!_ + + +Easter Tuesday. + +I have at length seen all the fine sights that Rome affords during the Holy +Week, and have witnessed most of the religious ceremonies, viz., the +illuminated cross hi St Peter's on Good Friday; the high mass celebrated by +the Pope in person on Easter Sunday; the Papal benediction from a window of +the church above the façade on the same day; the illumination of the façade +of St Peter's on Easter Monday, and the _Girandola_ or grand firework at +the Castle of St Angelo on the same evening. The ceremony of the Pope +washing the feet of twelve poor men I did not see, for I could not get into +the Sistine Chapel, where the ceremony was performed: and at the mass +performed by the Pope in the Sistine Chapel I did contrive to enter, but +was so oppressed by the crowd and heat, that I almost fainted away, and was +very glad to get out of the Chapel again, before the ceremony commenced. +Why in the name of commonsense do they perform these ceremonies in the +Sistine Chapel which is small, instead of doing them in the church of St +Peter's, which would contain so many people and produce a much grander +effect? + +A great many people are deprived of seeing the ceremonies in the Sistine +Chapel from the difficulty of getting in. The Pope's Swiss Guard attend on +that day in their ancient _costume_, with helmets, cuirasses and halberds; +these guard the entrance of the staircase leading to the Chapel, and they +have no small trouble and difficulty in maintaining order, as there is +always a great scuffle to get in, and they are particularly importuned by +German visitors, who thinking to be favored by them, in speaking to them in +their own language, vociferate; _Ich bin Ihr Landsmann!_ and hope by this +to obtain a preference. + +On Friday evening a large Cross is erected before the grand altar; every +part of this Cross is filled with lamps, and at seven in the evening the +whole is illuminated. It has a most brilliant appearance and gives the +happiest _chiaro-oscuro_ effect to the statues, columns and pilasters which +abound in this vast temple. There is no other light on this occasion than +that reflected from the Cross. On Easter Sunday, when the Pope celebrates +high mass in the church of St Peter's, the Papal noble Guard, composed of +young men from the principal families in Rome, form a hedge on each side of +the nave of the church, from the entrance of the facade to the grand altar. +The street or interval formed between this double line may be about thirty +feet broad, and behind this guard or in any other part of the church, the +spectators may stand; but as these guards wear very large feathers in their +hats, they intercept very much the sight of those who stand behind them. +The uniform of the Papal Noble Guard is very splendid, being a scarlet +coat, covered with gold lace, white feathers, white breeches and long +military boots. The approach of the Pope is announced by the thunder of +cannon, and he is brought into the Church dressed in full pontificals, with +the triple Crown on his head, on a chair borne by men, _palanquin_ fashion; +he is conducted thro' the lane formed by the Papal Guard, and as he passes +he makes the sign of the cross several times with his finger, repeating the +words: _Urbi et Orbi_. He is then set down, with his face fronting the +baldachin, when he immediately takes off the tiara, and begins the +ceremony. That ended, he leaves the church in the same state, and then +ascends the staircase, in order to prepare to give the benediction, which +is usually given from a window above the facade of the church. The Pope is +there seated on a chair with the triple Crown on his head. Troops of +cavalry and infantry are drawn up in a semi-circle before the façade of the +church, and the whole vast _arena_ of the _Piazza di San Pietro_ is covered +with spectators. On a sudden his Holiness rises, extends his hands towards +heaven, then spreads them open, and seems as if he scattered something he +held in them on the crowd below; a silly young Frenchman who was standing +next to me said: _Le voilà! Le voilà qui arrache la bénédiction au ciel, et +qui la répand sur tout le monde!_ I could not refrain from laughing at this +sally, tho' I was much impressed with the solemnity of the scene, which I +think one of the grandest and most sublime I ever beheld. This ceremony +concluded, salves of ordnance were fired. The Pope retires amidst clouds of +smoke, and seems to vanish from the Earth. The troops then fire a _feu de +joie_ and move off, playing a march in quick time, and the company +disperse. + +It is the étiquette on these occasions that no person be admitted either +into the church of St Peter or into the Sistine Chapel except in full +toilette. The ladies dress generally in black with caps and feathers; the +gentlemen either in black full dress or in military uniform. From the +variety of foreigners of all nations that are here, most of whom are +military men, or intitled to wear military uniforms, much is added to the +splendour of the spectacle. + +On the evening of Easter Monday, I was present at the illumination of the +facade of St Peter's. Rows of lamps are suspended the whole length of the +columns and pilasters and all over the cupola, so that, when illuminated, +the style of the architecture is perceptible. The illumination takes place +almost at once. How it is managed I cannot say; but a splendid illuminated +temple seems at once to drop from the clouds, like the work of an +enchanter; I say _drop from the clouds_, because the illumination begins +from the cross and cupola and is communicated with the rapidity of +lightning to every other part of the edifice. About ten o'clock the same +evening the most magnificent firework perhaps in the world begins to play +from the castle of St Angelo. All kinds of shapes are assumed by these +fireworks: here are castles, pagodas, dragons, griffins, etc. These last +about an hour and then conclude, and with them conclude all the ceremonies +used in commemoration of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ. + +Among the sights of Rome I must not omit that of a famous robber of the +name of Barbone, who was the terror of the whole surrounding country from +the depredations he committed. Having capitulated, and surrendered himself +to the Papal Government, he is now confined in the Castle of St Angelo as a +state prisoner. His wife, or a woman calling herself so, is confined there +with him, and she is said to be a woman of uncommon beauty. It is quite the +rage among the English here to go to see these _illustrious_ captives, and +Madame Barbone, superbly dressed, receives the hommage of the visitors. The +Duchess of D[evonshire] is said to have visited her, and made her a present +of a pearl necklace. I hope this is not true. Surely the Duchess, who is a +woman of talent and an encourager of the fine arts, might have found some +other object worthier of her munificence. What claims the mistress, or even +the wife, of a public robber can have on the generosity of travellers, I am +at a loss to conceive; but such is the _bizarrerie_ and _inconsequence_ of +the English, and no doubt, be this story of her Grace of D[evonshire] +having given a present true or not, it will occasion many other presents +being made to the captive Princess by a host of silly lord-aping English +men and women. Barbone has, it is said, made an excellent capitulation. He +has stipulated to be released from prison after a year and a day's +confinement, and no doubt he will then resume his old trade of brigandage. +In the meantime he has disbanded his troops, as he calls them; but will his +troops obey him, now that he is a captive? will they not rather chuse +another leader? + +In the time of the French occupation, nothing of this kind took place; but +the present Government is weak and timid. I have not been myself to see +either Barbone or his wife, but I have heard quite enough about them; they +form one of the principal sights in Rome, and I am quite _unfashionable_ in +not having gone to visit them; for according to the opinion of my English +acquaintance, he who has not seen Barbone and his wife has seen nothing. + + * * * * * + +I started from Rome on the second of April with a _vetturino_, and on +arrival at Baccano, we struck off into a road on the right hand, and +arrived at Cività Castellana at a late hour. Cività Castellana merits no +further attention, except that it is supposed to stand on the site of the +ancient city of Veii. The following day at ten o'clock we reached the small +town of Narni. Here are the remains of a beautiful bridge, constructed over +the ravine, thro' which flows the river Nera, and which was built in the +time of Augustus. It affords a very favorable specimen of the Roman bridge +architecture. There is a small chapel here, and it contains, engraved on a +stone, a description of a miracle wrought here about four years ago by the +Virgin Mary, who saved the life of a postillion. He went into the river to +water his horses, when he was carried off by the torrent and would have +been drowned, had not the Virgin, on her aid being invoked, dashed into the +river and haled him out by the hair of his head. Of this story, to use a +phrase of old Josephus,[115] every one may believe as much as he thinks +proper; but certain it is that the postillion made oath (which oath is +registered) that his life was saved by the Virgin Mary in this manner, and +he has put up a votive tablet at her shrine, which remains to this day, +commemorative of the event. There is also a Roman aqueduct in the +neighbourhood, eleven Italian miles in length. + +We arrived at Terni at three o'clock and immediately hired a _calèche_ (the +other travellers and myself) to visit the famous cascade of the Velino, +about three miles distant from the town of Terni. The road thither is very +rugged, and is a continual ascent on the flank of a ravine. For a long time +before you arrive on the brink of the cascade, you hear the roaring of the +waters; and it certainly is the most magnificent and awe-inspiring sight of +the kind I ever beheld. It is far more stupendous than any cascade in +Switzerland. That of Tivoli compared to it is as an infant six months old +to a Goliath. The Velino forms three successive falls, and the last is +tremendous, since it falls from a height of 1,068 feet into the abyss +below. The foam and the froth it occasions is terrific; and the spray +ascends so high that in standing at the distance of fifty yards from the +fall you become as wet as if you had been standing in a shower of rain. The +first fall it forms is of 800 feet; the second little less; the third I +have stated already. No painting can possibly give a faithful delineation +of this, and very possibly no poetic description can give an adequate idea +thereof. We passed the whole night at Terni and the next morning we stopped +to dine at Spoleto. The same evening we arrived at Foligno. Spoleto is a +neat town and well paved. Several ruins of ancient buildings are in its +vicinity. Before you arrive there, on the left of the road, is an immensely +high two-arched bridge. There is an aqueduct likewise just outside the +town. We did not omit to read the inscription on the gate of the town, in +commemoration of the repulse of Hannibal, who failed in his attempt to make +himself master of this city, after having beat the Romans near the lake +Trasymene. The gate is called in consequence _Porta Fugae_, and this gate +constitutes the principal glory of Spoleto. We were shown the rums of a +Palace built by Theodoric. On leaving the town, just outside the gate, we +were shewn a bridge which had laid underground for many centuries and had +been lately discovered. A bridge was known to have been built here in the +time of Augustus, and it is very probably the identical one; we could only +see the top and part of the parapet. + +Foligno is a large, well built city, neatly paved, populous and commercial, +renowned for manufactories of paper, wax, and confectionary. + +The whole road between Spoleto and Foligno is thro' a beautiful valley in +high cultivation. There is a good deal of rich pasture ground, and it is +watered by the river called in ancient tunes Clitumnus. Here are to be seen +a fine breed of white cattle for which this part of the country has been +long renowned, which cattle were used, in preference, for sacrifices +(_Albi, Clitumne, greges_).[116] A similar breed is to be found in India +and Egypt. + +The streets in Foligno are broad. I remarked the _Palazzo Pubblico_ and +Cathedral as very fine buildings. Our next day's journey brought us to +Perugia, after passing by Assisi, the birth place of the famous St Francis, +founder of the order of Franciscans. It is situated on an eminence: +convents and churches abound therein. + +Perugia is a large and opulent city, standing like a fortress on a +mountain, and towering over the plain below. It is of steep ascent from the +plain, and there are various terraces along the ramparts, commanding +several fine points of view of the rich and fertile plains all round. These +terraces are planted with trees and form the promenades appertaining to the +city. The architecture of the various churches and Palaces is very +superior. The streets are broad and every building has an air of +magnificence. The Cathedral, dedicated to St Laurence, is well worth +visiting; it stands on the _Piazza del Duomo_, where there is a fine +fountain ornamented with statues. In the church of St Peter's there are +some fine columns of marble and some pictures of Perugino and Raffaello. + + +[108] Virgil, _Aen_., VI, 886.--ED. + +[109] Of the two persons here mentioned, by their initials only, the first, + Luigi de' Medici, was chosen as Chancellor of the Exchequer by King + Ferdinando in June, 1815. The second was Nugent, an Austrian + _marescallo_, who became _capitano generale_ of the Neapolitan army, + August, 1816, and _capo del supremo comando_, February, 1817.--ED. + +[110] This most distinguished lady, Marianna Candidi, was born in Rome in + 1756; her mother, Magdalena Scilla, was the daughter of a well known + antiquary of Messina, Agostino Scilla. Marianna learned Latin, drawing + and music; she achieved a reputation as landscape painter, and was + elected a member of the Academies of St Luke in Rome, of Bologna, Pisa + and Philadelphia. She married the lawyer Domenico Dionigi, and gave him + seven children, one of whom, Henrietta, became Madame Orfei, and was + much esteemed as "improvisatrice." Madame Dionigi herself published + several works, among which a _Storia de' tempi presenti_, written in + view of the education of her children. Her _salon_ in Rome was + frequented by many men of distinction, such as Visconti, d'Agincourt, + Erskine, etc. She died on the 10th June, 1826, at the age of seventy. + --ED. + +[111] She was no more than sixty-two at that time.--ED. + +[112] To present the calumet is an offer of peace and amity among the + aborigines of North America and to refuse it is regarded as the + greatest insult. + +[113] Frye gives only the initial of the name, which I have completed from + the _Almanach de Gotha_, 1818.--ED. + +[114] The Interior of the Convent of the Capucini was first painted by + Granet in the year 1811. None of the numerous replicas are in the + Louvre, but there is one in London (Buckingham Palace) and one at + Chatsworth.--ED. + +[115] The author may have meant "old Herodotus."--ED. + +[116] Virgil, _Georg._, II, 146.--ED. + + + + +CHAPTER XV + +APRIL-JULY, 1818 + +Journey from Florence to Pisa and from thence by the Appennines to +Genoa--Massa-Carrara--Genoa--Monuments and works of art--The +Genoese--Return to Florence--Journey from Florence through Bologna and +Ferrara to Venice--Monument to Ariosto in Ferrara--A description of +Venice--Padua--Vicenza--Verona--Cremona--Return to Milan--The Scala +theatre--Verona again--From Verona to Innspruck. + +It is the custom for most travellers going to Genoa to embark on board of a +_felucca_ at Spezia, which lies on the sea coast, not far from Sarzana: but +I preferred to go by land, and I cannot conceive why anyone should expose +himself to the risks, inconveniences and delays of a sea passage, when it +is so easy to go by land thro' the Appennines. I started accordingly the +following morning, mounted on a mule, and attended by a muleteer with +another mule to convey my portmanteau. I found this journey neither +dangerous nor difficult, but on the contrary agreeable and romantic. The +road is only a bridle road. I paid forty-eight franks for my two mules and +driver, and started at seven in the morning from Sarzana. The wild +appearance of the Appennines, the aweful solitudes and the highly +picturesque points of view that present themselves at the various +sinuosities of the mountains and valleys; the view of the sea from the +heights that tower above the towns of Oneglia and Sestri Levante, rendered +this journey one of the most interesting I have ever made. I stopped to +dine at Borghetto and brought to the night at Sestri Levante, breakfasted +the next morning at Rapallo, and arrived the same evening at four o'clock +in Genoa. Borghetto is a little insignificant town situate in a narrow +valley surrounded on all sides by the lofty crags of the Appennines. Sestri +Levante is a long and very straggling town, part of it being situated on +the sea shore, and the other part on the gorge of the mountain descending +towards the sea beach; so that the former part of the town lies nearly at +right angles with the latter, with a considerable space intervening. The +road for the last four miles between Borghetto and Sestri Levante is a +continual descent. The inn was very comfortable and good at Sestri Levante. +The beginning of the road between Sestri and Rapallo is on the beach till +near Rapallo, when it strikes again into the mountains and is of +considerable ascent. Rapallo is a very neat pretty place, situate on an +eminence commanding a fine view of the sea. The greater part of the road +between Rapallo and Genoa is on the sea-coast, but cut along the mountains +which here form a bluff with the sea. Villas, gardens and vineyards line +the whole of this route and nothing can be more beautiful. The neatness of +the villas and the abundance of the population form a striking contrast to +the wild solitudes between Sarzana and Sesto, where (except at Borghetto) +there is not a house to be seen and scarce a human creature to be met, and +where the eagle seems to reign alone the uncontrolled lord of the creation. + + +GENOA, 23rd April. + +The view of Genoa from the sea is indisputably the best; for on entering by +land from the eastern side, the ramparts are so lofty as to intercept the +fine view the city would otherwise afford. From the sea side it rises in +the shape of an amphitheatre; a view therefore taken from the sea gives the +best idea of its grandeur and of the magnificence of its buildings, for +everybody on beholding this grand spectacle must allow that this city well +deserves its epithet of _Superba_. + +I observe in my daily walks on the _Esplanade_ a number of beautiful women. +The Genoese women are remarkable for their beauty and fine complexions. +They dress generally in white, and their style of dress is Spanish; they +wear the _mezzara_ or veil, in the management of which they display much +grace and not a little coquetry. Instead of the fan exercise recommended to +women by the _Spectator_, the art of handling the _mezzara_ might be +reduced to a manual and taught to the ladies by word of command. + +I put up at the house of a Spanish lady on the _Piazza St Siro_, and here +for four _livres_ a day I am sumptuously boarded and lodged. There are +three principal streets in Genoa, viz., _Strada Nuova_, _Balbi_, and +_Nuovissima_. Yet these three streets may be properly said to form but one, +inasmuch as they lie very nearly in a right line. These streets are broad +and aligned with the finest buildings in Genoa. This street or streets are +the only ones that can be properly called so, according to the idea we +usually attach to the word. The others deserve rather the names of lanes +and alleys, tho' exceedingly well paved and aligned with excellent houses +and shops. In fact the streets _Nuova_, _Nuovissima_ and _Balbi_ are the +only ones thro' which carriages can pass. The others are far too narrow to +admit of the passage of carriages. The houses on each side of them are of +immense height, being of six or seven stories, which form such a shade as +effectually to protect those who walk thro' these alleys from the rays of +the sun. The houses diminish in height in proportion as they are built on +the slant of the mountain from the bottom to the top, those at the bottom +being the loftiest. Carriages are scarcely of any use in the city of Genoa, +except to drive from one end of the town to another thro' the streets +_Nuova_, _Balbi_ and _Nuovissima_; and accordingly a carriage with four +wheels, or even with two, is a rare conveyance in Genoa. The general mode +of conveyance is on a sedan chair, carried by porters, or on the backs of +mules or asses. Genoa is distinguished by the beauty of the Palaces of its +patricians, which are more numerous and more magnificent than those of any +other city, probably, in the world. + +The Ducal Palace or Palace of Government, where the Doge used to reside, +claimed my first attention; yet, tho' much larger, it is far less splendid +than many of the Palaces of individual patricians. In fact, the Ducal +Palace is built in the Gothic taste and resembles a Gothic fortress, having +round towers at each angle. The Hall, where the Grand Council used to sit, +is superb, and is adorned with columns of _jaune antique_. On the _plafond_ +is a painting representing the discovery of America by Columbus; for the +Genoese duly appreciate, and never can forget their illustrious countryman. +The lines of Tasso, "_Un uom della Liguria avrà ardimento_," etc., and the +following stanza, _Tu spiegherai Colombo a urn nuovo polo_, etc. are in the +mouth of everyone.[117] The Hall of the Petty Council is neat, but it is +the recollection of the history of this once famous Republic that renders +the examination of this Palace so interesting. But now Genoa's glory is +gone; she has been basely betrayed into the hands of a Government she most +detested. The King of Sardinia is nowhere; and he is not a little proud of +being the possessor of such a noble sea port, which enables him to rank as +a maritime power. + +The Genoese are laborious and make excellent sailors; but now there is +nothing to animate them; and they will never exert themselves in the +service of a domination which is so little congenial to them. They sigh for +their ancient Government, of whose glories they had so often heard and +whose brilliant exploits have been handed down to the present day not +merely by historical writers and poets, but by _improvisatori_ from mouth +to mouth. The Genoese nobles, those merchant Kings, whose riches exceeded +at one time those of the most powerful monarchs of Europe, who were the +pawn-brokers to those Sovereigns, are now in a state of decay. Commerce can +only flourish on the soil of liberty, and takes wing at the sight of +military and sacerdotal chains; and tho' the present Sovereign affects to +caress the Genoese _noblesse_, they return his civilities with sullen +indifference, and half concealed contempt and aversion. The commerce of +Genoa is transferred to Leghorn, which increases in prosperity as the +former decays. + +The climate of Genoa is said to be exceedingly mild during the winter, +being protected on the north by the Appennines, which tower above it to an +immense height. Beautiful villas and grounds tastefully laid out in +plantations of orange trees, pomegranates, etc., abound in the environs of +this city, and everything announces the extreme industry of the +inhabitants, for the soil is proverbially barren. This shews what they have +done and what they could still do were they free; but now they have nothing +to animate their exertions. The public promenades are on the bastions and +curtains of the fortifications, on the _Esplanade_ and in the streets +_Balbi_, _Nuova_ and _Nuovissima_. There is also another very delightful +promenade, tho' not much used by the ladies, viz., on the Mola or Pier +enveloping the harbour. + +One of the most remarkable constructions in Genoa is the bridge of +Carignano, which is built over an immense ravine and unites the hills +Fengano and Carignano. It is so high that houses of six stories stand under +its arches in the valley below. No water except in times of flood runs +under this bridge and it much resembles, tho' somewhat larger, the bridge +at Edinburgh which unites the old and new towns. The principal churches +are: first, the Cathedral, which is not far from the Ducal Palace; it is +richly ornamented and incrusted with black marble; the church of the +Annunziata and that of St Sire. They are all in the Gothic style of +architecture and loaded with that variety of ornament and diversity of +beautiful marbles which distinguish the churches of Italy from those of any +other country. Near the bridge of Carignano is a church of the same name, +wherein are four marble colossal statues. + +On the west of the city and running two miles along the sea-beach is the +_faubourg_ of St Pietro d'Arena, which presents a front of well built +houses the whole way; these houses are principally used as magazines and +store houses. + + +FLORENCE, 5 May. + +I left Genoa on the 30th April, returned on mule-back from Genoa to +Sarzana, stopping the first night at Sestri. The second evening when near +Sarzana, it being very dark, I somehow or other got out of the road and my +mule fell with me into a very deep ditch; but I was only slightly bruised +by the fall; my clothes however were covered with dirt and wet. The road +from Genoa to Sarzana might with very little expense be made fit for +carriages by widening it. At present it is only a bridle road, and on some +parts of it, on the sides of ravines, it is I think a little ticklish to +trust entirely to the discretion of one's _monture_; at least I thought so +and dismounted twice to pass such places on foot. A winding stream is to be +forded in two or three places, but it is not deep except after rains; and +then I think it must be sometimes dangerous to pass, till the waters run +off. Those, who are fond of mountain scenery will, like myself, be highly +gratified in making this journey; for it is thro' the loftiest, wildest and +most romantic part of the Appennines. From Sarzana I hired a cabriolet to +return to Pisa and from thence I took the diligence to Florence. + + +FERRARA. + +On the 9th of May I set out from Florence on my journey hither. Two days' +journey brought me to Bologna where I stopped one day; and the following +day I reached this place (Ferrara), six miles distant from Bologna. The +country between these two cities is a perfect plain and very fertile. At +Malalbergo (half-way) We crossed the Reno in a boat. I put up at the _Tre +Mori_ in Ferrara. Having remained two and half days here I have had time to +inspect and examine almost everything of consequence that the city affords. +The city itself has an imposing, venerable appearance and can boast of some +fine buildings; yet with all this there is an air of melancholy about it. +It is not peopled in proportion to its size and grass is seen growing in +several of the streets. I believe the unhealthiness of the environing +country is the cause of the decrease of population, for Ferrara lies on a +marshy plain, very liable to inundation In the centre of the city stands +the ancient Palace of the Dukes of Ferrara, a vast Gothic edifice, square, +and flanked with round towers, and a large court-yard in the centre. It was +in this court-yard that Hugo and Parisina were decapitated. From the top of +this palace a noble view of the plain of the Po represents itself, and you +see the meanderings of that King of Rivers, as the Italian poets term it. +As the Po runs thro' a perfectly flat country, and is encreased and swollen +by the torrents from the Alps and Appennines that fall into the smaller +rivers, which unite their tributary streams with the Po and accompany him +as his _seguaci_ to the Adriatic, this country is liable to the most +dreadful inundations: flocks and herds, farm-houses and sometimes whole +villages are swept away. Dykes, dams and canals innumerable are in +consequence constructed throughout this part of the country, to preserve it +as much as possible from such calamities. Ariosto's description of an +over-flowing of this river is very striking, and I here transcribe it: + + Con quel furor che il Re de' fiumi altero, + Quando rompe tal volta argine e sponda, + E che ne' campi Ocnei si apre il sentiero, + E i grassi solchi e le biade feconde, + E con le sue capanne il gregge intero, + E co' cani i pastor porta neil' onde, etc.[118] + + Even with that rage wherewith the stream that reigns, + The king of rivers--when he breaks his mound. + And makes himself a way through Mantuan plains-- + The greasy furrows and glad harvests, round, + And, with the sheepcotes, nock, and dogs and swains + Bears off, in his o'erwhelming waters drowned. + + --Trans. W.S. ROSE. + +The next place I went to see was the Lyceum or University, where there is a +very fair cabinet of natural history in all its branches. The Library is +very remarkable, and possesses a great number of valuable manuscripts. But +my principal object in visiting this Museum was to see the monument erected +in honour of Ariosto, which has been transferred here from the Benedictine +church. The inkstand and chair of this illustrious bard are carefully +preserved and exhibited. They exactly resemble the print of them that +accompanies the first edition of Hoole's translation of the _Orlando +Furioso_. Among the manuscripts what gratified me most was the manuscript +of the _Gerusalemme liberata_ of Tasso. But few corrections appear in this +manuscript; tho from the extreme polish and harmony of the versification +one would expect a great many. It is written in an extremely legible hand. + +I also inspected the original manuscripts of the _Pastor Fido_ of Guarini +and of the _Suppositi_ of Ariosto. + +I then went to visit the Hospital of St Anna, for the sake of seeing the +dungeon where poor Tasso was confined and treated as mad for several years. +When one beholds this wretched place, where a man can scarce stand upright, +one only wonders how he could survive such treatment; or how he could +escape becoming insane altogether. The old wooden door of this cell will +soon be entirely cut away by amateurs, as almost everyone who visits the +dungeon chops off a piece of wood from the door to keep as a relic. The +door is in consequence pieced and repaired with new wood, and in a short +time will be in the state of Sir John Cutter's worsted stockings which were +darned so often with silk that they became finally all silk. + +Ferrara has a strong citadel which is still garrisoned by Austrian troops; +and they will probably not easily be induced to evacuate it. The Austrian +Eagle seldom looses his hold. + + +VENICE, 18th May. + +On the 16th May at six o'clock in the morning I left Ferrara in a +_cabriolet_ to go to the _Ponte di Lago oscuro_, which is a large village +on the south bank of the Po, three miles distant from Ferrara. A flying +bridge wafted me across the river, which is exceedingly broad and rapid to +the north bank, where a barge was in waiting to receive passengers for +Venice. This barge is well fitted up and supplied with _comestibles_ of all +sorts and couches to recline on. The price is twelve francs for the +passage, and you pay extra for refreshments. The bark got under weigh at +seven o'clock and descended rapidly this majestic river, which however, +from its great breadth, and from the country on each side of it being +perfectly flat, did not offer any interesting points of view. Plains and +cattle grazing thereon were the only objects, for they take care to build +the farms and houses at a considerable distance from the banks, on account +of the inundations. After having descended the Po for a considerable +distance, we entered a canal which unites the Po with the Adige. We then +descended the Adige for a short distance, and entered another canal which +unites the Adige with the Brenta. Here we stopped to change barges, and it +required an hour and half to unload and reload the baggage. We then entered +the Brenta and from thence into the Lagoons, and passing by the islands of +Malamocco and Chiozzo entered Venice by the _Canale grande_ at three +o'clock in the morning. The whole night was so dark as totally to deprive +us of the view of the approach of Venice. The barge anchored near the Post +office and I hired a gondola to convey me to the inn called _Le Regina +d'Ungheria_. + + +VENICE, 26th May. + +I was much struck, as everyone must be who sees it for the first time, at +the singular appearance of Venice. An immense city in the midst of the +Ocean, five miles distant from any land; canals instead of streets; +gondolas in lieu of carriages and horses! Yet it must not be inferred from +this that you are necessarily obliged to use a gondola in order to visit +the various parts of the city; for its structure is as follows. It is built +in compartments on piles on various mud banks, always covered indeed by +water, but very shallow and separated from each other (the mud banks I +mean) by deep water. On each of these compartments are built rows of +houses, each row giving front to a canal. The space between the backs of +the rows of houses forms a narrow street or alley paved with flag stones, +very like Cranborn Alley for instance; and these compartments are united to +each other (at the crossings as we should say) by means of stone bridges; +so that there is a series of alleys connected by a series of bridges which +form the _tout ensemble_ of this city; and you may thus go on foot thro' +every part of it. To go on horseback would be dangerous and almost +impracticable, for each bridge has a flight of steps for ascent and +descent. All this forms such a perfect labyrinth from the multiplicity and +similarity of the alleys and bridges, that it is impossible for any +stranger to find his way without a guide. I lost my way regularly every +time that I went from my inn to the _Piazza di San Marco_, which forms the +general rendezvous of the promenaders and is the fashionable lounge of +Venice; and every time I was obliged to hire a boy to reconduct me to my +inn. On this account, in order to avoid this perplexity and the expence of +hiring a gondola every time I wished to go to the _Piazza di San Marco_ I +removed to another inn, close to it, called _L'Osteria della Luna_, which +stands on the banks of the _Canale grande_ and is not twenty yards from the +_Piazza_. + +I then hired a gondola for four days successively and visited every canal +and every part of the city. Almost every family of respectability keeps a +gondola, which is anchored at the steps of the front door of the house. +After the _Piazza di San Marco_, of which I shall speak presently, the +finest buildings and Palaces of the nobility are on the banks of the +_Canale grande_, which, from its winding in the shape of an S, has all the +appearance of a river. The _Rialto_ is the only bridge which connects the +opposite banks of the _Canale grande_; but there are four hundred smaller +bridges in Venice to connect the other canals. + +The _Rialto_, the resort of the money changers and Jews, is a very singular +and picturesque construction, being of one arch, a very bold one. On each +side of this bridge is a range of jewellers' shops. A narrow Quai runs +along the banks of the _Canale grande_. + +I have visited several of the _Palazzi_, particularly those of the families +Morosini, Cornaro, Pisani, Grimani, which are very rich in marbles of +_vert_ and _jaune antique_; but they are now nearly stripped of all their +furniture, uninhabited by their owners, or let to individuals, mostly +shopkeepers; for since the extinction of the Venetian Republic almost all +the nobility have retired to their estates on the _terra firma_, or to +their villas on the banks of the Brenta; so that Venice is now inhabited +chiefly by merchants, shopkeepers, chiefly jewellers and silk mercers, +seafaring people, the constituted authorities, and the garrison of the +place. + +Tho' Venice has fallen very much into decay, since the subversion of the +Republic, as might naturally be expected, and still more so since it has +been under the Austrian domination, yet it is still a place of great +wealth, particularly in jewellery, silks and all articles of dress and +luxury. In the _Merceria_ you may see as much wealth displayed as in +Cheapside or in the Rue St Honoré. + +I have had the pleasure of witnessing a superb regatta or water _féte_, +given in honour of the visit of the Archduke Rainier to this city, in his +quality of Viceroy of the Lombardo-Venetian kingdom. There were about one +hundred and fifty barges, each fitted up by some department of trade and +commerce, with allegorical devices and statues richly ornamented, +emblematical of the trade or professions to which the barge belonged. Each +barge bore an appropriate ensign, and the dresses of the crew were all +tasteful, and thoroughly analogous to the profession they represented. +These barges are richly gilded, and from the variety of the costumes and +streamers, I thought it one of the most beautiful sights I ever beheld. +Here were the bankers' barge, the jewellers', the mercers', the tailors', +the shoe-makers', and, to crown all, the printers' barge, which showered +down from the masthead sonnets in honor of the _féte_, printed on board of +the barge itself. Every trade or profession, in short, had a barge and +appropriate flag and costumes. A quantity of private barges and gondolas +followed this procession. The Archduke and his staff occupied the +Government barge, which is very magnificent and made in imitation of the +Bucentaur. Musicians were on board of many of the barges, and the houses on +both banks of the _Canale Grande_ were filled with beautiful women and +other spectators waving their handkerchiefs. Guns were fired on the +embarkation of the Viceroy from the _Piazzetta di San Marco_, and on his +return. The _Piazza_ itself was splendidly illuminated, and the _cafés_ +which abound there, and which constitute one half of the whole quadrangle, +were superbly and tastefully decorated. + +The _Piazza di San Marco_ is certainly the most beautiful thing of the kind +in the world. It is a good deal in the style of the _Palais Royal_ at +Paris, and tho' not so large, is far more striking, from the very tasteful +and even sumptuous manner in which the _cafés_ are fitted up, both +internally and externally; they have spacious rooms with mirrors on all +sides, some in the shape of Turkish tents, others in that of Egyptian +temples. The _Piazza_, forming an oblong rectangle, is arcaded on the two +long sides, and of the two short ones, one presents a superb modern palace +built by Napoleon, and richly adorned with the statues of all the heathen +Gods on the top, which Palace was usually occupied by Eugene Napoléon; the +other presents the church of St Marco and the old palace of Government, +where in the time of the Republic the Doge used to reside. The church of St +Mark is unique as a temple in Europe, for it is neither Grecian nor Gothic, +but in a style completely Oriental, from the singularity of its structure, +its many gilded cupolas and the variety of its exterior ornaments. At +_first sight_ it appears a more striking object than either St Peter's in +Rome or St Paul's in London. On the top of the façade, which is singularly +picturesque, stand the four bronze horses which have been brought back from +Paris to their old residence. + +I ascended the top of the façade in order to examine them. They are +beautifully formed, in very good cast and have not at all been damaged by +the journey. The _Piazza_ is paved with broad flagged stones. The Doge's +palace is a vast building, very picturesque withal, and seems a _mélange_ +of Gothic and Moorish architecture. At right angles to it and facing the +_Piazzetta_, which issues from the _Piazza_ and forms a quai to the _Canale +Grande_, stands the famous state prison and _Ponte de 'Sospiri_. On the +_Piazzetta_ and fronting the landing place stand two columns of white +marble, on one of which stands the winged Lion of St Marco and on the other +a crocodile, emblematical of the foreign commerce and possessions of the +Republic. The space between these two columns was allotted for the +execution of State criminals. Not far from the church of St Marco, and near +to that angle of the _Piazza_ which connects it with the _Piazzetta_, +stands the famous _Campanile_ or Steeple of San Marco. It is a square +building 800 feet in height, from the top of which one has the best view of +Venice and its adjacent isles, the distant Alps and the _marina dove il Po +discende_. A Quai, if Quai it may be called, which has a row of houses on +each side, one row of which is on the water's edge, leads from the +_Piazzetta_ to some gardens, which terminate on a point of land. This Quai +is very broad and well paved, and is the only thing that can be called a +street in all Venice. The _Piazza di San Marco_, therefore, this Quai and +the garden before mentioned form the only promenades in Venice. This garden +moreover has trees, and these are the only trees that are to be met with in +this city. In this garden are two _Cafés_. + +The variety of costume is another very agreeable spectacle at Venice. Here +you meet with Albanians, Greeks, Turks, Moors, Sclavonians and Armenians, +all in their respective national costumes. The first Armenian I met with +here was sitting on a stone bench on the _Piazza di San Marco_, and this +brought forcibly to my recollection the Armenian in Schiller's +_Ghost-seer_. + +These _Cafés_ and _Casinos_ on the _Piazza_ are open day and night. Ices +and coffee superiorly made and other refreshments of all kinds at very low +prices are to be had. Some of these _casinos_ are devoted to gaming. The +first families in Venice repair to the _Piazza_ in the evening after the +Opera, female as well as male. They promenade up and down the _Piazza_ or +sit down and converse in the _Cafés_ and _Casinos_ till a late hour. Few go +to bed in Venice in the summer time before six In the morning, so that +sleep seems for ever banished from the _Piazza_. Music and singing goes +forward in these _casinos_, and the ear is often charmed with the sound of +those delightful Venetian airs, whose simple melody ravishes the soul. The +Venetian dialect is very pleasing, and scarcely yields in harmony to the +Tuscan. It contains a great many Sclavonic words. It is the only dialect of +Italy that is at all pleasing to my ear, for I do not at all relish the +nasal twang and truncated terminations of the Piedmontese and Lombard +dialects, nor the semi-barbarous jargon of the Genoese and the Neapolitan +and, least of all, the execrable cacophony of the Bolognese. + +I visited of course the Arsenal and the Doge's Palace. The apartments in +the latter are very spacious and ornamented in the Gothic taste of +grandeur. The chamber of the Council is peculiarly magnificent. There is a +good deal of tapestry and some fine paintings and statues: among the former +I particularly noticed an allegorical picture, representing the triumph of +Venice over the league of Cambray. Venice is represented by the winged +Lion, and the powers of the Coalition are pourtrayed by various other +beasts. Among the latter is a beautiful group in marble representing +Ganymede and the Eagle. The terror depicted in the countenance of the +beautiful boy, and the passion that seems to agitate the Eagle, are +surprizingly well pourtrayed. + +The principal theatre at Venice, the _Teatro Fenice_, is not open; but I +have visited the other theatres, and among other things witnessed the +representation of a new opera, call'd _Il Lupo d'Ostende_. The piece itself +was rather interesting; but the music was feeble and did not seem to give +general satisfaction. The singing is in general very good at Venice, but in +scenery, dresses and decorations the theatres here are far inferior to +those of Milan and Naples. + +I find the air of Venice very hot and unpleasant, arising from the +exhalation from the canals; and it appears to me as if I were on board of +an enormous ship. I begin to pant for _terra firma_ and green fields. + +I have visited in a gondola some of the islands, viz., Malamocco and St +Lazare, where there is a convent of Armenian monks. + +Why are the gondolas hung with black? it gives to them such a dismal +funereal appearance. They always resemble the bodies of hearses placed on +boats. I am not fond of gaudy colours in general, yet I do think a gondola +should have a somewhat livelier color than black. + + +PADUA, 8th June. + +Padua is not above ten miles distant from Fusina. As I started from Venice +at six in the morning I had a fine receding view of the Ocean Queen, with +her steeples and turrets rising from the sea. Venice has no fortifications +and needs them not. Her insular position protects her from land attacks, +and the shoals prevent the approach of ships of war. Floating batteries +therefore and gunboats are her best defence. The road from Fusina to Padua +is on the banks of the Brenta the whole way, and is lined with trees. There +are a great number of villas on the banks of the Brenta, well built in the +best style of architecture, the most of them after the designs of Palladio, +the Prince of modern architects. + +Padua is an exceedingly large city: but its arcades and the narrowness of +the streets give it a gloomy appearance. There are however some beautiful +promenades in the suburbs. There are also the remains of an ancient Arena. +Padua is famous for its Seminario or University, which is a superb edifice. +The Church of St Anthony of Padua is of vast size, having six cupolas. +There are four organs in this church. In the chapel of the Saint himself +are a great many ornaments, among which are a crucifix in bronze and +fresques representing the different actions and miracles of this patron +Saint of the Padovani. Probably as this city was founded by the Trojan +Antenor they have transformed his name into that of a Christian Saint and +called him St Anthony, just as Virgil has been transformed into a magician +at Naples. There is a fine view from the steeple of this immense edifice. +There is another magnificent church also in this city, that of St Justine, +built after the designs of Palladio, the principal ornament of which is a +painting of the martyrdom of the Saint by Paul Veronese. But one of the +greatest curiosities in this ancient city is the immense Saloon in the +_Palazzo della Giustizia_. It is, I presume, the loftiest and largest hall +in the world that is supported by nothing but its walls, it being three +hundred feet long, one hundred feet broad and one hundred feet high. In +the Saloon is the tomb of Livy, the Historian, who was a native of Padua. +The inhabitants of Padua dress much in black, seem a quiet, staid sort of +people, and are very industrious. I put up at the _Stella d'Oro_, a good +inn. + + +VICENZA, 10th June. + +I arrived at this beautiful _bijou_ of a town on the morning of the 9th +June at eight o'clock. I call it a _bijou_ from its exceeding neatness, and +the extreme beauty of the architecture of its edifices, which are almost +all after the designs of Palladio, of white stone and in the Greek taste. +Palladio was a native of Vicenza. The _Piazza_ and _Palazzo Pubblico_ +perfectly correspond with the beauty of the rest of the city, and the +promenades about it are tastefully laid out. But the two most striking +objects in point of edifices in Vicenza and both constructed by Palladio +are the covered portico and the _Teatro Olimpico_. The covered portico is +two miles in length and leads to the chapel of the _Madonna del Monte_, +situated on an eminence, at that distance from the city. A magnificent +triumphal arch stands before it, and there is an extensive view of the +surrounding country. The _Teatro Olimpico_ is a small, but beautiful +theatre, built strictly after the model of the ancient Greek theatres. It +is peculiarly precious as being the only one of the kind in Europe. How +admirably adapted both for seeing and hearing are such theatres! It has, +for scenery, the model of a Palacé, curiously carved in wood, which +represents a Royal Palace, for the ancients never shifted their scenes, and +this may account for their adhering so strictly to the unities. Statues and +bas-reliefs adorn this beautiful little theatre. Many years ago, on +particular occasions, it was the custom to act plays here, either +translated from the Greek, or taken strictly from the Greek model. This +theatre is esteemed Palladio's _chef d'oeuvre_. + +The _Campo di Marie_ is a vast _Place_ outside the town. The Place and its +gate are well worth inspecting, so is the famous villa with the Rotonda, +belonging to the Marchese di Capra, the original after which the villa +belonging to the Duke of Devonshire at Chiswick is built. The environs of +this interesting city are very beautiful and present an exceeding rich +soil, highly cultivated in corn, mulberry trees and vines hanging from them +in festoons. + + +VERONA, 12th June. + +I started yesterday morning from Vicenza and arrived here in about three +hours, the distance being nearly the same as between Vicenza and Padua. We +crossed the Adige which divides the city into two unequal parts and drove +to the _Due Torri_, a large and comfortable inn with excellent rooms and +accommodations. Verona is a very handsome city, for here also Palladio was +the designer or builder of many edifices. It has a very cheerful and gay +appearance, tho' not quite so much so as Vicenza. The reason of this +difference is that in Verona the greater part of the buildings are in the +Gothic style, which always appears heavy and melancholy, whereas in Vicenza +all is Grecian. The Amphitheatre of course claimed my first notice. It +yields only to the Coliseum in size and grandeur and is in much better +preservation, the whole of the ellipse and its walls being entire, whereas +in the Coliseum part of the walls have been pulled down. Indeed the +Amphitheatre of Verona may be said to be almost perfectly entire. _Tempus +edax rerum_ has been its only enemy; whereas avarice and religious +fanaticism have contributed, much more than time, to the dilapidation of +the Coliseum. The Amphitheatre of Verona can contain 24,000 persons. In it +is constructed a temporary theatre of wood, where they perform plays and +farces in the open air. Verona is much embellished by several _Palazzi_ +built by Palladio, which form a curious contrast with the other buildings +and churches which are in the Gothic style. Verona can boast among its +antiquities of three triumphal arches, the first, _Porta de' Bursari_, +erected in the year 252 in the reign of the Emperor Gallienus; the second, +called _Porta del Foro_; and the third, built by Vitruvius himself, in +honour of the family Gavia. + +The churches here are richly ornamented and the _Palazzo del Consiglio_ has +many fine marble and bronze statues. In this city also are the tombs and +monuments of the Scala family, who were at one time Sovereigns of Verona. +They are in the Gothic style and of curious execution. The Cathedral has an +immense _campanile_ (steeple), from which is a fine view of the surrounding +country, and the progressive risings of the Alps, the lower parts of which +lie close upon Verona. Beautiful villas and farmhouses abound in the +neighbourhood of this city. The favourite promenades are the _Corso_ and +the _Bra_. On the _Bra_ I saw a very brilliant display of carriages, and +some very pretty women in them. The theatre is by Palladio, is exquisitely +beautiful, and very tastefully fitted up. I assisted at the representation +of _La Gazza Ladra_, one of Rossini's best operas. + +I should think Verona would be a very delightful séjour; everything is very +cheap; a fine country highly cultivated; a remarkably healthy climate; a +society which unites much urbanity and a love of amusement with a taste for +the fine arts and for the graver sciences, and a general appearance of +opulence and comfort. The shops in Verona appear very splendid, and the +_Bra_, when lighted up in the evening, is a very lively and animating +scene. + + +MANTUA, 15 June. + +I could not go to Milan without stepping a little out of my road to visit +this ancient and redoubtable fortress, so celebrated in the early campaigns +of Buonaparte, besides the other claims it has on the traveller's attention +as the birth place of Virgil. This place is of immense strength, as a +military post; being situated on a small isthmus of land, separating two +lakes, and communicating with the rest of the country by an exceeding +narrow causeway. This position, added to the strength of the +fortifications, render the fortress impregnable, if well garrisoned and +provisioned. The city is, however, unhealthy from the lake and marshy land +about it, and there is but a scanty population. Grass grows in the streets +and it is the dullest and indeed the only dull town in all Italy. +Everything in this city announces decay and melancholy, and I met with +several men looking full as halfstarved and deplorable as Shakespeare's +Apothecary in Romeo and Juliet. Yet the city is by no means an ugly one. +The buildings are imposing, the streets broad and well paved, and there is +a fine circular promenade in the centre of which is a Monument erected in +honor of Virgil by the French general Miollis, who had a great veneration +for all poets. The _Palazzo pubblico_ and the Cathedral are the most +striking buildings. The latter contains the tombs and monuments of the +Gonzaga family, the whilom Sovereigns of Mantua. There are also several +monuments in honor of some French officers, who were killed in the +campaigns of Italy under Buonaparte and erected to their memory by his +direction. + +Outside the town, at a short distance from the causeway and _tête de pont_, +is the celebrated palace called the T, from its being in the form of that +letter, which was the usual residence of the Dukes of Mantua. It is a noble +edifice and its gardens are well laid out. These gardens have this +peculiarity, that at the entrance of each of the grand avenues is a figure +of a man on horseback caparizoned in armour, like the Knights of old. This +is all I have to say about Mantua. The Mincio beset with "osiers dank" +flows into the lake. + + +CREMONA, 16th June. + +From Mantua I directed my course to this city, which is large and +fortified, situated on the Po which forms many little islands in the +environs. This city is of great antiquity, and has a number of Gothic +buildings. You do not find here the specimens and imitations of Grecian +architecture as at Vicenza and Verona. The _campanile_ of the Cathedral is +of immense height, but one is repaid for the fatigue of ascending by the +extensive view from its summit. There are 498 steps. I put up at the +_Colombina_, a very good inn. The Cremonese seem to be an industrious +people. There is a great deal of pasture land in the environs of this city +and much cheese is made here and in the Lodesan. Several ricefields are +also to be met with between this place and Lodi. + + +MILAN, 25 June. + +I have been on a visit to the ancient and venerable city of Pavia, which is +about eighteen miles distant from Milan, thro' a rich highly cultivated +plain. The road lies in a right line the whole way. About three miles +distant from Pavia on the Milan side stands the celebrated _Certosa_, which +we stopped to visit. The church of the _Certosa_ contains the greatest +quantity of riches in marbles, and precious stones, of any building in the +world, probably. The architecture is Gothic, and the workmanship of the +exterior exquisite; but the ulterior is most dazzling; and at the sight of +the rich marbles and innumerable precious stones of all kinds with which it +abounds, I was reminded of Aladdin and began to fancy myself in the cavern +of the Wonderful Lamp. This church was built by Galeazzo Visconti, whose +coffin is here, and his statue also, in white marble. There are several +bas-reliefs of exquisite workmanship. There are no fewer than seventeen +altars here and of the most beautiful structure you can conceive, being +inlaid in mosaic with jasper, onyx and lapis-lazuli. Besides these precious +marbles of every colour and quantity under heaven, here are abundance of +rubies, emeralds, amethysts, aquamarines and topazes, incrusted in the +different chapels and altars. Here again is a proof of the falsehood and +injustice of the aspersions cast on the French army, as being the +plunderers of churches; for if they were so, how comes it that the +_Certosa_ the richest of all, was spared? Mr Eustace[119] in his admiration +of Church splendour, should at least have given the French no small degree +of credit for their abstinence from so rich a prize. A canal runs parallel +to the road the whole way from Milan to Pavia, where it joins the Tessino. +The banks of the Canal and each side of the road are lined with poplars. +Pavia is one of the most ancient cities in Italy and has something very +antique and solemn in its appearance. It is quite Gothic and was the +capital city of the Lombard Kings. The streets are broad and the _Piazza_ +is large. I could not find any traces of the ancient palace of the Lombard +Kings, which I should like much to have done; for then I should have +endeavoured to make out the chamber into which Jocondo peeped and +discovered what cured him of his melancholy, and where the impatient Queen +received the petulant answer from her beloved Nano, conveyed by one of her +waiting maids who told her: + + E per non stare in perdita d'un soldo, + A voi nega venire fl manigoldo.[120] + + Nor, lest he lose a doit, his paltry stake, + Will that discourteous churl his game forsake + + --_Trans._ W.S. ROSE. + + +MILAN, 28th June. + +I have been to the _Scala_ theatre, to see the _Ballet of the Vestal_, one +of the most interesting Ballets I ever beheld. Oh! what a mighty magician +is the ballet master Vigano, and as for the prima ballerina, Pallerini, +what praises can equal her merit? then, the delightful soul soothing music, +so harmonious, so pathetic, and the decorations so truly tasteful and +classical! I can never forget the impression this fascinating Ballet made +on me. It is called _La Vestale_. It opens with a view of the Circus in +ancient Rome, and various gymnastic exercises, combats of gladiators, of +athletes, and ends with a chariot race with real horses. The Roman Consuls +are present in all their pomp, surrounded by Lictors with axes and fasces. +The Vestal virgins assist at this spectacle, and from one of them the +victor in the games receives a garland, as the recompense of his prowess. +The victor is the son of one of the Consuls and the hero of the piece; the +heroine is the Vestal Virgin who crowns him with the garland. The young +victor becomes desperately enamored of the Vestale, and she appears also to +feel an incipient flame. After the games are over, the victor returns to +his father's house, and meeting there one of his friends, discloses to him +his love for the Vestale and his idea of entering by stealth into the +temple of Vesta, where his beloved was appointed to watch the sacred fire. +His friend endeavors, but in vain, to dissuade him from so rash an attempt, +which can only end in the destruction, both of his beloved and himself. All +the remonstrances, however, of the friend are vain; and the hero fixed in +his resolve watches for the opportunity, when it is the turn of his beloved +to officiate in the temple of Vesta, and enters therein. The Vestale is +terrified and supplicates him to retire: in vain; and after a long but +ineffectual struggle she sinks into his arms at the foot of the altar. +Suddenly the sacred flame becomes extinguished; a noise is heard; the +Vestals enter; the unfortunate fair is roused from her stupor by the noise +of footsteps and has just time to oblige her lover to retire, which he +reluctantly does, but not unperceived by the Vestals. The Matron of the +Vestals reproaches her with the crime she has committed and orders her to +be placed in a dungeon. She is brought out to be examined by the High +Priest, found guilty and condemned by him to the usual punishment of the +Vestals for a breach of their vow, viz., the being buried alive outside the +gates of Rome. The moment the sentence is pronounced a black veil is thrown +over her. The scene then changes to the place of execution; the funeral +procession takes place; the vault is dug and a man stands by with a pitcher +of water and loaf of bread, to deliver to her when she should descend. The +Consuls are present, attended by the Lictors and Aediles. All the other +vestals are present, of whom the culprit takes an affectionate leave and is +about to descend into the vault. Suddenly a noise of arms and shouts are +heard. It is her lover who having collected a few followers come rushing +forward with arms in their hands to arrest the execution. He forces his way +into the presence of the Consuls, but the sight of his father inspires him +with awe; he staggers back; at this moment a Lictor at the command of the +other Consul plunges a spear into his breast. The Vestal is hurried to the +brink of the vault, into which she is forced to descend to the +accompaniment of mournful music, while her dying lover vainly endeavours to +crawl towards her. The curtain falls. + +The exquisite acting of La Pallerini drew tears from my eyes: it was indeed +too horrible a subject for a _Ballo_, which in my opinion ought to end +happily. The scenery was the finest of the kind I think I ever witnessed. +The first scene represents the _Circus maximus_; the interior of the temple +of Vesta and the place of execution outside the walls of Rome were most +classically correct and appropriate: the music was beyond all praise and +singularly affecting. This Ballet has excited such an enthusiastic +approbation that Vigano the Ballet master, Pallerini who acts the Vestal +and the young man who performs the hero of the piece were summoned every +evening after the termination of the Ballet, to appear on the stage, and +receive applauses, which seemed to increase at every representation. I have +been to see this ballet six or seven times, and always with increased +delight. I was there on the last night of its representation, when some +amateurs and people connected with the theatre put in practice what +appeared to mean ill-judged _concetto_, however well merited the compliment +it meant to convey. When the Vestal was about to descend into the vault, a +genius with wings rose from it and repeated a few lines beginning _Tu non +morrai_ and telling her that the suffrages of the Insubrian people had +decreed to her immortality, and printed sonnets were showered down on the +stage from all parts of the house. I think it would have been much better +to let the piece finish in the usual way, and then at its termination call +for La Pallerini to advance and receive the garlands and hommage so justly +her due. + +I was in the _loge_ belonging to my friend Mme L-----; there were three or +four _litterati_ with her, and they were all unanimous that it was an +absurd and pedantic _concetto_. + +In a day or two I shall start from Milan for Munich thro' Brescia and +Verona and the Tyrol. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI + +JULY-SEPTEMBER 1818 + +Innspruck--Tyrol and the Tyrolese--From Innspruck to Munich--Monuments and +churches--Theatricals--Journey from Munich to Vienna on a floss--Trouble +with a passport--Complicated system of Austrian money--Description of +Vienna--The Prater--The theatres--Schiller's _Joan of Arc_--A +_Kinderballet_--The young Napoleon at Schoenbrunn--Journey from Vienna to +Prague. + + +INNSPRUCK, 15th July. + +I had engaged with a _vetturino_ to convey me from Verona to Innspruck for +four _louis d'or_ and to be _spesato_. A Roman gentleman and his lady were +my fellow travellers; they were going to pass the summer months at a small +_campagne_ they possess in the Tyrol. We stopped the first night at +Roveredo. The road from Verona to Roveredo is on the banks of the Adige +(called in German the Etsch) in a narrow and deep valley, shut up on both +sides by mountains, almost immediately on leaving Verona. We found the +weather extremely hot in this valley. Roveredo seems to be a very neat +clean little city, and the Adige flows with astonishing rapidity along this +narrow valley. The women of Roveredo have the reputation of being very +beautiful; and I recollect having seen two Roveredo girls at Venice, who +were models of female beauty. They have a happy mixture of German and +Italian blood and manners, but Italian is the language of the country. The +second morning of our journey we arrived and stopped to dinner at the +venerable and celebrated city of Trent. The country we passed thro' is much +the same as that between Verona and Roveredo, the Adige being on our left. +Trent lies also in the valley of the Adige, shut up between the Alps. The +whole valley appears in high cultivation. The streets of Trent are broad; +the Cathedral is a remarkably fine Gothic building. In the church of Sta +Maria Maggiore was held the famous council of Trent. There are a great many +silk mills in Trent. German as well as Italian is spoken; indeed the two +languages are equally familiar to most of the inhabitants. In the evening +we arrived at Sabern after passing thro' Lavis. One description will serve +for these towns and indeed for most of the towns in the Tyrol, viz., that +of being neat, clean and solidly built. The inns are excellent and the +inhabitants very civil. The Adige runs close to the road and parallel to +it, nearly the whole way to Bolsano or Botzen, where Italian ceases to be +spoken and German is the national tongue. Botzen is a large and flourishing +place. + +One general description will serve for the Tyrol, regarding the towns, +adjacent country, customs, inns, inhabitants, dress and manners. + +First the towns are fully as neat, clean and well built as those in +Switzerland; the country too is very similar, tho' not quite on so grand a +scale of sublimity; but you have fully as much variety in mountain and +valley, glacier and cascade. The climate is exactly the same as that of +Switzerland, being very hot in the valleys in summer. The inns are clean +and good, the provisions excellent and well cooked, the wines much better +than those of Switzerland; there is good attendance by females and all at a +far cheaper rate than in Switzerland. The Tyroleans are much more courteous +in their manners than the Swiss; they have not that boorishness and are of +more elegant figure than their Helvetic neighbours. The women of the Tyrol +are in general remarkably beautiful, exceedingly well shaped and of fine +complexions. + +In the towns the bourgeoises dress well, something in the French style, and +it is their custom to salute travellers who pass by kissing their hands to +them. The dress of the female peasantry, however, is unpleasing to the eye +and so uncouth, that it would make the most beautiful women appear homely. +In the first place I will speak of their head dress, of which there are +three different kinds, two of which are as _bizarre_ as can be imagined. +The first sort is a cap of sheepskin, the fleece of which is as white as +snow, and the cap is of conical shape, the base being exceeding large in +proportion to its height, and resembles much the sugar loaves made in +Egypt. The second is a black scull cap, with the three pieces of stiff +black _gaze_, sticking out like the vanes of a windmill; so that when put +on the head, one vane stands upright from the forehead and the other two +from each ear. The third head dress is a broad straw hat, and I wish they +would stick to this coiffure, and discard the two others. Then the waist of +their dress is as long as + + ...du pole antarctique an détroit de Davis.[121] + +Their petticoats are exceedingly short, scarcely reaching the calf of the +legs, which are enveloped in a pair of flaming red stockings. Who the devil +could invent such an ungraceful dress for a female? + +The costume of the men on the contrary is becoming and graceful. It +resembles very much the costume of the Andalusians. The hat is exactly the +same, the crown being small and the rim very broad. + +The Tyroleans are a fine gallant race of men and are excellent marksmen. +They were formerly much attached to the House of Austria; but that +attachment is now entirely changed to dislike, from the ingratitude they +have met with, since they have been replaced under that scepter. + +The only fault I find in the Tyroleans, is that they are rather too devout +and consequently too much under the influence of the clergy. Yet in their +devotion there is not the smallest tinge of hypocrisy and they are esteemed +a highly moral people. + +If you arrive at an inn in the evening, while the family are at prayer, +neither master nor servants will come to wait on you, till prayers are +over; and then you will be served with sufficient alacrity; but the prayers +are rather long. + +I believe the priests extort a good deal of money from these good people. +The road thro' the Tyrol was made by the Romans, in the time of Septimus +Severus. An immense number of Crucifixes on the road attest and command the +devotion of the people. + +How Kotzebue can call Innspruck a dirty town I am at a loss to conceive. He +must have visited it during very rainy weather; for to me it appears one of +the cleanest and most chearful towns I have ever seen. There are several +very fine buildings, for instance the Jesuits' College, and the Franciscan +monastery; Nothing can be more picturesque than the situation of this city +in the valley of the Inn and its romantic windings. The suburbs are very +extensive and can boast several fine houses. The cupola of the Government +House is gilded, which gives it a splendid appearance. In the _Hofkirche_ +or church of the court there are a number of statues, large as life, in +bronze; among which my guide pointed out to me those of Clovis, Godfrey of +Bouillon, Albert the Wise, Charles V, Philip II of Spain, Rudolph of +Hapsburgh, and to my great astonishment the British King Arthur; there were +twenty-eight statues altogether. But on my return to my inn, I found that +my guide had made a great error respecting King Arthur, and that the said +statue represented Prince Arthur, son of Henry VII, King of England, and +not the old Hero of Romance; and my hostess' book further informed me that +these statues were those of the Kings and Princes belonging to families +connected by descent and blood with Maximilian I. In the same _Hofkirche_ +is a fine monument erected to Maximilian and a statue of bronze of this +Emperor is figured kneeling between four bronze figures representing four +Virtues. In the gardens of the Palace of the Archduke Ferdinand in this +city is a fine equestrian statue which rests entirely on the hind feet of +the horse. From Innspruck there is a water passage by the river Inn all the +way to Vienna, as the Inn flows into the Danube at Passau. The banks of the +Inn are so romantic and picturesque that I would willingly prolong my +_séjour_ at Innspruck, but as I mean to take the journey from Mittenwald to +Munich by the river Isar, I must take advantage of the raft which starts +from that place the day after to-morrow. + + +MUNICH, 20th July. + +I left Innspruck in a _chaise de poste_ on the 16th, and arrived the same +evening at five o'clock at Mittenwald. At a short distance before I arrived +at Mittenwald, I entered the Bavarian territory, which announces itself by +a turnpike gate painted white and blue, the colours and _Feldzeichen_ of +Bavaria. In the Austrian territory the barriers are painted black and +yellow, these being the characteristic colors of Austria. + +Mittenwald is a small neat town, offering nothing remarkable but a church +yard or _Ruhe-garten_ (garden of repose) as it is called, where there are a +number of quaint inscriptions on the tombstones. At Mittenwald I had some +trouble about my passport, as it was not _visé_ by a Bavarian authority; +but I explained to the officer that I had never fallen in with any Bavarian +authority since I left Rome, and that, while at Rome, I had no intention of +going thro' Bavaria; that at Milan the Austrian authorities had _visé_ my +passport for Vienna and that I should only pass thro' Munich, without +making a longer stay than one week. He acquiesced in my argument, but +inserted my explanation on the passport. At half a quarter of a mile beyond +Mittenwald I met the raft just about to get under weigh at eleven o'clock +a.m. This raft is about as long as the length of a thirty-six gun frigate, +and formed of spars fastened together; on this is a platform about one and +a half feet high. The Isar begins its course close to Mittenwald, and the +place on which the raft stood, previous to departure, was very shallow; but +water was quickly let in from sluices to float the raft, and off we set +with a cargo of peasants, male and female, and merchandise bound for +Munich. As the river Isar rushes between immense mountains, and forms a +continual descent until the plains of Bavaria open to view, you may +conceive with what rapidity we went. We encountered several falls of water +of two, three, four and sometimes five feet which we had to _shoot_, which +no boat could possibly do without being upset. The lower part of the raft +was frequently under water in making these _shoots_ and we were obliged to +hold on fast to our seats to prevent being jerked off. Nothing can be more +romantic and picturesque than this journey, and there is something aweful +in _shooting_ these falls; these rafts are, however, so solidly constructed +that there is no danger whatever. They can neither sink nor upset. We +arrived and halted the evening at Tölz, a large village or town on the +right bank of the Isar. What gives to Tölz a remarkably singular appearance +is, that on a height at a short distance from the town, and hanging +abruptly over the river, you perceive several figures in wood, larger than +the life, which figures form groups, representing the whole history of the +passion of Jesus Christ. At a short distance, if you are not prepared for +this, you suppose that they are real men, and that a procession or +execution is going forward. On landing I immediately ascended this hill in +order to observe this curiosity, and there I beheld the following groups, +first: Christ in the midst of his disciples preaching; secondly: the +disciples asleep in a cave, and Christ watching and praying; next was Judas +betraying Christ to the soldiery; then the judgment of Christ before +Pilate; then Christ bearing his cross to the place of execution; and lastly +the crucifixion on Mount Calvary. The ground is curiously laid out so as to +represent, as much as possible, the ground in the environs of Jerusalem. +Tölz is a pretty village, but contains nothing more remarkable than the +above groups. + +The next day at twelve o'clock we perceived the spires of Munich, and at +two anchored close to one of the bridges from whence, having hired a +wheelbarrow to trundle my portmanteau, I repaired to the inn called the +Golden Cross--_Zum goldenen Kreutz_. At Tölz the Rhetian Alps recede from +the view; the landscape then presents a sloping plain which is perfectly +level within four miles of Munich. The river widens immediately on issuing +from the gorges of the Tyrol and for the last five miles we were followed +by boys on the banks of the river, begging for wood, with which our raft +was laden, and we threw to them many a faggot. Wood is the great export +from the Tyrol to Bavaria, as the latter is a flat country and has not much +wood, with which on the contrary the Tyrol abounds. A sensible difference +of climate is now felt and the air is keener than in the Tyrol. The price +of a place on the raft from Mittenwald to Munich cost only one florin, and +at Tölz an excellent supper, bed and coffee in the morning cost me only one +florin. + + +MUNICH, 23rd July. + +Munich, the capital of Bavaria, is an ancient Gothic city of venerable +appearance. The houses are very solid in structure, and the streets +sufficiently broad to give to the city a cheerful appearance. There are +some suburbs added to it, built in the modern taste, which embellish it +greatly. A large Place outside the old town, called the _Carolinen-Platz,_ +presents a number of villas disposed in the form of a circus. In these +suburbs the people assemble on holidays and Sundays, to smoke and drink +beer, of which a great quantity is consumed, it being the favorite and +national beverage. From the lively scene of the lower class of the +bourgeoisie, male and female, meeting here in the _Biersschanks_ and +_Tanzsaale_ I was reminded of the lines in Faust: + + Gewiss man findet hier + Die schönsten Mädchen, und das beste Bier, + +which may be thus rendered: + + Here let us halt! 'tis here we're sure to find + Beer of the best and maidens fair and kind! + +There are other very agreeable promenades outside the town, laid out as +_jardins anglais,_ the garden of Ostenwald for instance; and should you +wish to extend your walk further, there is Nymphenburg, a royal Palace and +gardens, just one league distant from the city. + +The _Residenz-schloss_ or Palace of the King is a solid building. The +interior is well worth seeing. There is a superb saloon with a vast number +of valuable miniatures appended to the wainscoating. An enormously heavy +bed, groaning with gold and silver embroidery and pearls and which is said +to weigh a ton, is to be seen here. There is a very good collection of +pictures, chiefly portraits, of the Electoral, now Royal family. There is a +fine chapel too belonging to this palace; a superb staircase of marble, and +some fine old tapestry representing the actions of Otto von Wittelsbach. +There is likewise a curious miniature copy of Trajan's column in gold and +incrusted with precious stones, besides a variety of other things of value. + +There are two theatres in Munich; one called the Hof or Court theatre, +where there is a company of comedians for tragedy and comedy, the expences +of which are defrayed principally by the King. The boxes are generally let +to the nobility and the _parterre_ is open to every body on payment. I +witnessed the representation of Mozart's _Nozze di Figaro._ The King was +present and was greeted with much affection. He has a very benignant +expression of countenance. He is much beloved by his subjects, for he has +governed them paternally. He has given to them a constitution _unasked;_ +for they were so contented with the old Government, that they desired no +change; but he, with his usual good sense, saw the propriety of consulting +and complying with the spirit of the age. A German writer of some eminence +at the time of the French Revolution, when the aristocrats and alarmists of +all countries were crying out against it, and proposing harsh measures to +arrest its progress, said: "Sovereigns of Europe, do you wish to set bounds +to the progress of French principles? Nothing can be more simple; you have +only to govern your people like Maximilian of Bavaria and Frederick of +Saxony, and your subjects will never desire a change." + +At the German (national) theatre which is a fair sized one, I saw a tragedy +performed called _Der Wald bey Herman-stadt_ (the Forest near +Hermanstadt),[122] It was an interesting piece taken from a feudal legend. +The part of Elisene was performed by Mlle Vohs, a very good actress. I +missed very much one thing in Munich, and that is the want of _cafés_ like +those in France and Italy, which have so brilliant an appearance. They make +coffee here at the inns; and there are two or three dull places up one pair +of stairs, where they play at billiards, and make as indifferent coffee as +is made in England. The hour of dining at Munich is in general one o'clock. +A slice of ham or sausage with beer form the _goûter,_ usually taken at +five or six o'clock; and at nine follows a supper as solid as the dinner. +The Germans are not loungers as the French and Italians, who, for the most +part, spend all their spare time in coffee-houses. When I mentioned to a +Bavarian that I could find no _cafés_ in Munich resembling those in France +and Italy, he said with emphasis! _Gott bewahre_ (God forbid)! I could not +help thinking he was in the right; for those splendid _cafés_ are very +seducing to young people and tend to encourage a life of idleness and to +keep them from their studies. The lower _bourgeoisie_ and _Stubenmädchen_ +(_maidservants_) wear a singular head dress. It is made of stuff worked +with silver or gold and resembles two horns sticking out one at each ear. +This head dress must be costly. This class of women wear also on _fête_ +days gold crosses, collars and earrings. + +The Bavarians seem a frank, honest set of people, tho' sometimes a little +rough, in their exterior deportment. The character of Otto of Wittelsbach, +in the tragedy of that name, gives the best idea of the Bavarian character. + +I have made acquaintance here with a Mr F-----, an Austrian gentleman, and +two Polish gentlemen, the one an officer and the other a medical man. They +are brothers and had both served in the French army. We have agreed to +travel to Vienna together on board of the raft which starts every week from +Munich to Vienna. This raft brings to every day between twelve o'clock and +two near some town or village on the banks of the river, in order to allow +the passengers to dine, and anchors every evening at seven o'clock near +some town or village to sup and sleep. You have only to tell the +_Flossmeister_, or Master of the Raft, at what inn you mean to put up, or +if you have no preference, he will recommend you one; and at five the next +morning he goes his rounds to the different inns to collect his passengers, +and at six gets under weigh. + + +VIENNA, 2nd August. + +I left Munich on the 25th July and arrived on the 6th day of our journey, +30th July, at Vienna, The _Floss_, or raft, on board of which we embarked, +is about as long as the main deck of an eighty-four gun ship and about +forty feet in breadth. It is constructed of strong spars lashed together. +On the spars is constructed a large platform and on the platform several +cabins, containing tables and chairs. Mr F----, the Poles and myself hired +a cabin to ourselves. On the raft was a great deal of merchandize going to +Vienna. At Vienna the _Flossmeister_, after landing his passengers and +merchandize, sells his raft and returns on horseback to Munich. A raft is +constructed weekly at Munich from wood felled in the Tyrol and floated on +the Isar down to Munich. We arrived the first evening at Freysingen, but it +was nearly dark when we arrived; it seemed however as far as we could +observe to be a neat village; at any rate, we met with a very comfortable +inn there with good fare and good beds. We met with a very pleasant family +on board the raft, bound to Landshut; M. and Mme S. were extremely +well-informed people and their two daughters very fine girls. + +We arrived the following day at twelve o'clock at Landshut, which is a very +fine town. There is an immense Gothic tower or steeple to the Church of St +Martin, about 450 feet in height. At Deckendorf, where the Isar flows into +the Danube, I saluted for the first time that noble river. We stopped the +night at Pillshofen and arrived the following day at twelve o'clock at +Passau. Passau is a large, well built and handsome city, and is situated on +the confluent of three rivers, the Inn, the Illst and the Danube; for here +the two former flow into the latter, one on each side. Each of these rivers +just before the point of juncture seem to be of different colors; for +example the Danube appears blue, the Inn white, and the Illst black. At +Passau we put up at the Wild Man (_Zum Wilden Mann_), a favorite sign for +inns in these parts. + +The Cathedral and _Residenz-Schloss_ are striking buildings, and the city +has a lively and grand appearance. The women appear to be in general +handsome and well dressed. We brought to the evening at Engelhardtzell, +where the barrier, painted black and yellow, announced our return to the +Austrian territory. We underwent at the Customs house a rigid search for +tobacco: they even took away the tobacco that some passengers had in their +pouches. They were likewise very rigid about our passports. The English +passports do not please them at all, on account of the features of the +bearer not being specified therein, and as I answered their questions in +German, they supposed me to be a native of that country and asked me what +business I had with a British passport. I replied: _Weil ich ein Engländer +bin.--Sie ein Engländer? Sie 'sind gewiss aus Nord Deutschland. Sie +sprechen recht gut Deutsch.--Meine Herren, ich bin ein Engländer: viele +Engländer studieren und sprechen Deutsch, und wenn Sièmit mir eine +langeUnterredung gehalten hätten, so hätten Sie bald ausgefunden durch +meine Sprachfehler, dass ich kein geborner Deutscher bin.--Aber Sie haben +unsere Fragen vollkommen gut beantwortet.--Warum nicht? man hat mir die +nehmlichen Fragen so wiederholten Malen gestellt, dass ich die dazu +gehörigen Antworte auswendig habe, wie em Katechismus_.[123] The officer +laughed, took up a pen, _viséd_ and gave me back my passport. + +The whole of the country on the banks of this noble river the Danube is +picturesque and presents much variety. There cannot be a more delightful +summer tour than a descent down this river. The next town of consequence +that we arrived at was Linz, a large, populous and beautifully built city +and capital of Upper Austria. The circumjacent country is in part +mountainous. The Danube is very broad here, and there is an immensely long +wooden bridge. We put up at the inn _Zum goldenen Kreutz_ (golden cross). +Here it became indispensably necessary to change our money for Austrian +paper, for that sort of it called _Wiener Währung_ (Vienna security), since +neither foreign coin nor another description of Austrian paper, called +_Conventions-Münze_ (conventional currency), are current for ordinary +purposes; and it is necessary to get them changed for the current paper +_Wiener Währung._To explain this matter more fully and clearly: there are +two sorts of paper money in the Austrian Dominions. One is called +_Conventions-Münze_ (conventional currency), which is fully equivalent to +gold and sliver and cannot be refused as such throughout the whole of the +Austrian dominions; the other, called _Wiener Währung_ (Vienna security) is +current and payable in Austria proper only, and bears a loss, out of the +Archduchy. The value of the _Wiener Währung_ fluctuates considerably, but +the usual par of exchange is as 2 to 1: that means, two hundred florins +_Wiener Währung_ are equal to one hundred _Convenzions-Münze_ or gold and +silver money. Even the _Convenzions-Münze_ bears a loss, tho' trifling, out +of the Imperial Dominions. The exchange has been known to have been at 400 +per cent; that is, four hundred florins _Wiener Währung_ were only worth +one hundred florins gold and silver; but just now it may be reckoned a +little beyond par, fluctuating from 200 to 220. In fact, the value of a +florin _Wiener Währung_ may be calculated at a frank in French money. All +this is exceedingly troublesome to travellers, particularly to those who do +not understand the German language; for as they cannot read the +inscription, it would be difficult for them to know the difference between +one sort of paper money and the other and they might be seriously imposed +upon. I advise therefore all travellers, before they arrive at the Austrian +frontier, whether coming from Bavaria, Saxony, or Italy, to buy up the +_Wiener Währung_ notes they may meet with, and which may be purchased at +great profit, probably, beyond the frontier, whereas if they defer +purchasing till they arrive within the Austrian frontier, they can only +procure the _Wiener Währung_ at the common rate of exchange current. + +At Linz we find ourselves again in a wine country. Linz is renowned for the +beauty of its women, and we had a most favorable specimen in our landlord's +daughter, one of the most beautiful girls I ever beheld. We talked to her a +great deal, and a scene ridiculous enough occurred. She has very beautiful +arms which we all seemed to admire; and all at once, by instinct as it +were, the two Poles lifted up one arm and I the other, and our respective +lips were fastened on either arm at the same moment as if by word of +command. We apologized for the liberty we took, saying that her arms were +perfectly irresistible and that we had never seen such fine ones before. +She accepted our excuse with the utmost good nature, and laughed very +heartily. Her father is a man of information and a good classical scholar, +a thing which is by no means uncommon among the inn-keepers of Germany. We +stopped here that night, and the ensuing forenoon. We had an excellent +supper, very good wine, and we drank to the health of the fair Amalia, the +host's daughter. Our host, who was a friend of Mr F----'s, gave us the +best of every thing, and our expences did not amount to more than seven +florins _Wiener Währung_, for supper, bed, breakfast and dinner. We passed +the forenoon in visiting the different parts of the city and we were struck +with the appearance of opulence and industry that prevails. + +Before we arrived at Mölk, which is the next important place, we passed the +town of Ens and beyond that the famous _Strudel_ or Whirlpool which is +dangerous at times for boats. Our raft was completely whirled round. This +whirlpool is caused by rocks rising abruptly out of the water. The popular +tradition is that this whirlpool is the abode of a very malicious and +spiteful _Wassernixe_, Undine or Water Goblin, who delighted in drowning +passengers. The scenery hereabouts is more wild and romantic than what we +have hitherto passed and bears a great resemblance to the landscape on the +Rhine between Mayence and Coblentz. Mölk is an Abbey and a very magnificent +edifice it is, situated on an eminence which forms the angle with the river +and rises quite _à pio_ from the water's edge; it lies quite _en face_ to +those who approach it, descending the stream, so that the river seems to be +terminated by it. It commands a noble prospect. I had only time to inspect +hastily the church. Beyond Mölk is a range of rocks that bear a great +resemblance to a wall, and jut out a great deal towards the river. It is +called the _Devil's wall_ from the tradition of the Devil having +endeavoured to make a wall to dam up the river. Above this wall is the +famous castle and vineyard called _Spitz am Platz_, and further on is the +castle of Dierenstein, situated on a mountain on the left bank of the +Danube. The ascent is very steep; this castle, now in ruins, was the place +where Richard Coeur de Lion was confined. The walls only of the castle and +part of the chapel are all that remain; we did not fail to visit a place of +such celebrity. A convent lies below it. + +We brought to the night at a large village where there is an excellent inn; +and the next day, the Leopoldsberg, bursting forth to view, announced to us +the approach to Vienna. We anchored at Nussdorf, where there is a Custom +house, and from whence the distance to Vienna is about one and half mile +English. After having my trunk examined, I hired a hackney coach and drove +into Vienna. The barriers beyond the suburb are called _Lines_, and between +the Suburbs and the old town is an Esplanade. We entered the Suburbs by the +_Währinger Linie_, and the old town by the _Rothes Thor_ (Red gate); and +from thence I repaired to the inn _Zum weissen Wolf_ (white Wolf) in the +_Altem Fleischmarkt_ (old meat-market). + + +VIENNA, Augt. 4. + +The old town of Vienna is not very large, since you can walk round its +circumference on the ramparts in two hours. It was formerly fortified, but +the French blew up the fortifications, leaving only the rampart; and by so +doing they did a thing of great utility for the Viennese, and gave to the +Austrian government an excellent opportunity of joining the old town to the +magnificent faubourgs, by filling up the esplanade which separates them +with streets and squares, which would prevent the unpleasant effects of +dust in dry, and the mud in wet weather, for this dust and mud renders the +esplanade almost at all times a disagreeable promenade, there being a sharp +wind prevalent almost the whole year at Vienna, which blows about the dust +_en tourbillons_. Here then was an excellent opportunity, afforded by the +blowing up of the fortifications, of paving the whole of the esplanade and +filling it up with streets. But no! the Austrian government seem determined +upon restoring the fortifications, and a considerable number of workmen are +employed. This is very silly, for these fortifications are not of the least +use against a foreign enemy, inasmuch as the enemy can always erect his +batteries among the faubourgs and need only make one parallel, the +protection and cover afforded to him by the faubourgs rendering the other +two superfluous. The faubourgs are by far the finest part of the city, and +the garrison of the old town, in endeavouring to defend it, would destroy +by every shot they should fire the fine buildings on the faubourgs. Of the +folly of making such a defence they were made fully sensible in 1809. One +of the Archdukes threw himself into the old town of Vienna, with an +intention of defending it to the last and refused to surrender. Napoleon +caused batteries to be erected on the _Rennweg_ or _Corso_ covered by the +church of St Charles, the Manege and Palace of the Hungarian noble guard, +all magnificent buildings in the faubourgs. He then summoned the garrison +of the old town again to surrender saying: "Every shot fired against the +besiegers destroys your own most valuable property and finest edifices." +This argument, backed by the entreaties of the citizens, had its effect and +the capitulation was signed. This shows the perfect inutility of fortifying +the old town of Vienna against a foreign enemy. Indeed a capital city +should never be fortified; it generally contains too many things of value, +ever to be exposed to the risk of a bombardment. It would seem, however, +that the object of the Austrian government in reconstructing these works +were to keep its own subjects at Vienna in check. But in this case it would +be much more advisable to construct a fortress on the heights of Kahlenberg +or of Leopoldsberg, both of which command the city and the whole expanse +below. The Turks were encamped on the Kahlenberg at the famous siege of +Vienna. + +Vienna proper, the old town, is a Gothic city, but a very handsome one. The +streets are in general broad and well paved; but the _Places_ or Squares +are small. With the exception of the _Herrengasse_, where the nobility +reside, the rest of Vienna is inhabited by shopkeepers and wholesale +dealers; and the shops are brilliant and well fitted up. The _Kärnthner +Strasse_, a long and tolerably broad street, and the _Kohlmarkt_ present +the greatest display of wealth. Indeed the _Kärnthner Strasse_ may be +considered as the principal street; this street and the _Kohlmarkt_ have a +great resemblance to the finest parts of Holborn. The _Graben_ also present +a fine display of shops and may be termed the Bond Street of Vienna. The +_Sanct Stephans Platz_ where the Cathedral church of Vienna, called _St +Stephans Kirche_, stands, is the largest _Place_ in Vienna. The Cathedral +is a very ancient and curious Gothic edifice, and the steeple is nearly 450 +feet high. I happened to enter the Cathedral one day on the occasion of a +solemn requiem celebrated for the soul of Prince Metternich's father. Had +it been for the son, instead of the father, many an honorable man +persecuted at the instigation of that most machiavelic of all ministers, +might exclaim in making a slight alteration in a well known epitaph: + + Cy-gît M---- ah! qu'il est bien + Pour son repos et pour le mien! + +Among the other striking buildings in the old town is the _Hofburg_ or +Imperial Palace, a very extensive quadrangular building, with a large court +in its centre. A Guard mounts here every day at eleven o'clock. It was in +one of the saloons of this palace that the celebrated Congress of Vienna +was held; a Congress whose labours will be long and severely felt by Europe +and duly appreciated by posterity, who will feel any other sentiment but +that of gratitude for the arrangements entered into there. The _Hofburg_ +was built by Leopold VII in 1200. This building, from its being extremely +irregular and from its having received additions at intervals in the +different styles of architecture, has been aptly enough considered as the +type of the Austrian monarchy, and of its growth from a Markgraviate to an +Empire; in _this_, by the continued acquisition of foreign territories +differing from each other in manners and hi speech; in _that_, by the +continued addition of various specimens of architecture and style of +building in its augmentation. + + +VIENNA, Aug. 8th. + +I am very well content with my abode at the _Weisser Wolf_, tho' it is not +a first-rate hotel. They are very civil people, and I have an excellent and +spacious room for two florins _Wiener Whärung_ per diem. Lodgings are the +only things that are dear in Vienna, every other article is, however, +cheaper than in any other city I have yet been in. All kinds of Hungarian +wine may be had at the most reasonable prices. I generally breakfast at a +neighbouring _Café_ in the _Fleischmarkt_ for the sake of reading the +_Allgemeine Zeitung_ which is taken in there, and which is the only journal +having a shade of liberality which is permitted in the Austrian dominions. +From the hours of twelve to three, dinners _à la carte_ are served at the +_Weisser Wolf_. For two and half florins _W.W._, I get an excellent dinner +with a bottle of Offener wine. The wine of Offen resembles much that of +Bordeaux in its quality and flavor. The tariff however of the dinners and +wines varies daily a few kreutzers, in consequence of the eternal +fluctuation of the _W.W._, so that every morning a fresh tariff is affixed +to the wainscot of the saloon where the dinners are served. Supper, served +likewise _à la carte_, is at its full tide between the hours of eight and +ten o'clock; and as Vienna is renowned for the celebrity of its beefsteaks +and cutlets, called here _Rostbraten_, these and a salad seem to be the +favourite dish for supper. My mornings I have hitherto passed in lounging +about the _Kärnthner Gasse, St Stephen's Platz, Kohlmarkt_, etc. For an +hour before dinner the fashionable promenade is on the rampart in front of +the palace of Duke Albert of Saxe-Teschen; in the evening on the _Prater_, +in a carriage, on horseback, or on foot. The _Prater_ is of immense extent +and offers a great variety of amusements and sights. I generally return +home at night pretty well fatigued from my rambles. + +There is another great inconvenience at Vienna, resulting from the +fluctuation of the current money, and this is that a stranger, dwelling at +an inn, is sure to be disturbed five or six times in the morning, sometimes +as early as five or six o'clock, by Jews who rap at his door to enquire if +he wants to exchange gold and silver against currency or _vice versâ_. I +used to lose all patience at being so disturbed in the morning, and was +obliged in self-defence to put an affiche on the door of my room to this +effect: "_Man kauft und verkauft hier nichts; kein Wechsler darf +hereintreten_." "Here there is no buying and selling; no money changer is +allowed to come in," and I hereby recommend to all strangers not to treat +with these Jews, but on their arrival, or at any time they think fit, to go +to a banking establishment in this city, where every day after eleven +o'clock you can exchange your gold and silver for paper at the just rate of +exchange, as published at the Bourse, paying only a very slight premium, +and on leaving Vienna to go to the same establishment to change your +superfluous _Wiener Währung_ for _Convenzions Münze_ or gold and silver +money. For when the Jews tell you the rate of exchange is so and so, you +conclude probably your bargain with them, and on enquiring at the Bourse +you find that the Jew has made a percentage of six or eight per cent, out +of you. _Louis d'or_ are the best foreign coin to bring into the Austrian +Dominions. Next to them in utility are the Dutch ducats, or _Geharnischte +Männer_ as they are termed, from the figure of the man in armour upon them. +All other corns suffer a loss in proportion. The bankers in Vienna pay the +foreign bill of exchange in _Convenzions Münze_, which you must afterwards +change for _Wiener Währung_, the only current money in Vienna and Austria. +But what makes it additionally troublesome is that here in Vienna there are +particular payments, which must absolutely be paid in gold or silver or +_Convenzions Münze_, and _not Wiener Währung_; for instance the franking of +foreign letters at the post office, where they do not take the _Wiener +Währung_. In vain you may intreat them to take the _Wiener Währung_ at any +rate they please; no! you must go elsewhere and buy from the first person +you can meet with as much gold and silver as is required for the franking +of the letters; so bigotted are they in the Austrian dominions to the +letter of the law! This happened to me: I wanted to frank three letters for +England and I went to the post office with _Wiener Währung_ paper, not +being aware of this regulation, and I was obliged to return to my Hotel, to +lay hold of a Jew, and to buy from him as much gold and silver as was +requisite for the franking of the letters. + +At the _Wechselbank_ or Bank of Exchange I have before mentioned, the crowd +that attends daily is immense; but the business is carried on without hurry +or confusion. You hand in your paper or your gold and silver coin, the +clerk who receives it gives you an order on paper for the amount specified, +which paper you take into another room and therein receive the amount. This +establishment, however, remains open only two hours every day, between +eleven and one I believe; so if you are too late for this interval of time, +you must apply to the brokers, Christian or Israelite. + + +VIENNA, August 11th. + +We left the old town by the _Burg-thor,_ and crossing the Esplanade, +directed our course to the _Rennweg,_ one of the suburbs, in order to view +the majestic edifice of St Charles, which is equal in the beauty of its +architecture to many of the finest churches in Rome. Its façade and cupola +render it one of the most striking buildings belonging to Vienna. We next +visited the _Manège_ and the Palace called the palace of the Hungarian +Noble Guard. They are both beautiful edifices. The faubourgs of Vienna are +built in the modern style and their buildings, both public and private, +excellent in their way and in the best state. The streets of the faubourgs +are broad but not paved. The most celebrated of these faubourgs are _Maria +Hülf_, _Leopold-stadt_, _Landstrasse_, the _Rennweg_, the _Wühringer +Gasse_; and I am persuaded that if the old town were united to the faubourg +by means of streets and squares and the esplanade filled up with buildings, +Vienna would perhaps be the handsomest city in Europe and the fourth in +size, for the best buildings and palaces are in the faubourgs, viz., the +Military College, the Polytechnic School, St Charles' Church, the Porcelain +fabric, the Palaces of Esterhazy, Kaunitz, Stahremberg, Schwarzenberg, +Palfy, and the beautiful Palace and ground of Belvedere in which last is a +noble collection of pictures open to the public. At the Polytechnic school +one of the principal professors is a friend of Mr F------'s, and he +explained to us the nature of the establishment and the course of studies +pursued. The apparatus for every branch of science is on the grandest +scale. After dinner we repaired to the _Prater_, crossing a branch of the +Danube which here forms several islands. The _Prater_ requires and deserves +particular mention. Part of it is something in the style of the _Champs +Elysées_ at Paris, and it is fully equal to it in the variety of amusements +and enjoyments to be met with there; but it is far larger and more +beautiful on account of its landscape and the diversified manner in which +the grounds are laid out. The _Prater_, then, is an immense park, laid out +on an island of considerable extent on the Danube. The nearest faubourg to +it is the _Leopoldstadt_, which is also the most fashionable one, and a +bridge conducts you from that faubourg direct into the _Prater_. The +_Prater_ presents a mixture of garden, meadow, upland and forest; the lofty +trees arranged in avenues or in clumps give a delightful protecting shade. +On the road destined for the carriages there is every afternoon a most +brilliant display of carriages. Another avenue is destined for equestrians, +and two avenues, one on each side of these two, for pedestrians. There are +besides winding footpaths, that conduct you all over this vast extent of +ground, and circular grass plots surrounded by trees where the pedestrian +may repose and eat and drink if he will. Here are _restaurants_ in plenty, +_cafés_, Panoramas, exhibitions of wild beasts, swings, tennis courts, +places for running at the ring, do for burlesque dramatic performances, +_farceurs_, jugglers, De Bach's Equestrian Amphitheatre in the style of +Franconi, _Salles de Danse_, baths, billiard rooms, gaming tables, and even +houses appropriated to gallantry. In fact, the _Prater_ is quite the +Paradise of the bourgeoisie of Vienna, who are fond of the pleasures of the +table and take every opportunity of making dinner and supper parties. The +bourgeois of Vienna are far more sensual than spiritual and not at all +disposed to self-denial. + +Excellent hams and sausages are to be had here; and the Viennese who dines +and sups heartily at his own house never fails, during his evening +promenade, to take a tolerable good portion of ham or sausage, with a +proportion of Offen wine or Maylander Beer, by way of staying his stomach +during the tedious interval between dinner and supper. I need scarce add +that smoking is universal, as indeed it is all over Germany, for I scarcely +ever see a German without a pipe either in his mouth or fastened to his +coat and a bag or pouch of tobacco either in his pocket or attached to his +button hole. In the _Prater_ dances often take place in the open air +between the grisettes of Vienna, who are in general handsome and well made, +and who dress well, and their lovers and admirers. The _Prater_ was first +opened to the public by the Emperor Joseph II. The _Au-garten_ is another +place of recreation and amusement, but on a smaller and much more tranquil +and sober scale, than the _Prater_. None of the lower classes think of +coming here, tho' it is open to every body decently dressed: there is not +that profuse eating and drinking going forward. It is more properly +speaking a promenade, and forms a garden with alleys of trees where music +is often performed and there is a superb saloon where refreshments may be +had. The _Au-garten_ is frequented chiefly by the _Noblesse_ and _Haute +Bourgeoisie_. In the morning likewise it is a fashionable resort to drink +the mineral waters. It adjoins the _Prater_, being on the same island. It +was the favourite lounge of Joseph II, who opened it to the public by +affixing this inscription on one of the gates: + + Allen Menschen gewidmete Erlustigung von ihrem Schätzer + + "Place of recreation open to all Men by their esteemer." + + +VIENNA, Aug. 13th. + +There are a great number of theatres at Vienna. Two are situated in the old +town, viz., the _Hof-theater_ and the _Burg-theater_. The _Hof-theater_ is +only open when the Court are at Vienna, and they are now at Baden, ten +leagues distant. The _Burg-theater_ is open all the year round, and may be +considered as the national theatre. It is much frequented by the +bourgeoisie and inhabitants of the old town, who do not chuse to take the +trouble to go to the _Wieden-theater_, which is situated in the faubourgs, +and which is more of a classical and fashionable theatre than the other, +inasmuch as it is more elegantly and classically built, better fitted up, +and has a far better company of comedians. At the _Burgtheater_ I saw +Kotzebue's _Edelsinn und Armuth_ performed. The Wieden theatre which is, as +I have said, in the faubourgs, is the handsomest theatre perhaps in Europe +for its size. It is not large, but it is fitted up with so much taste and +you see and hear so well; every ornament is so chaste and there is nothing +at all tawdry or superfluous. It is, I really think, a model of what every +theatre ought to be. There is a good deal of bronze about it which gives it +a classical appearance, and the boxes are supported by Caryatides in +bronze. There is a peculiarity in all the theatres at Vienna, which is, +that in the _parterre_ you must sit in the place the number of which is +marked on your ticket. These places are called _Gesperrte Sitze,_ and each +seat resembles an armchair. When not occupied, the seat is folded up and +locked to the back of the chair, until the person who holds the ticket +corresponding to its number comes to take it; so that no other but the +person holding the ticket corresponding to the number can take it, and you +are thus never likely to be shoved out of your place, as you are at most of +the theatres in Europe. There are men stationed at the doors who follow you +into the _parterre_ to unlock and let down a seat for you, and to them you +give your ticket with a slight gratification, which is however quite +optional; your ticket you previously pay for at the door. + + +VIENNA, Augt. 20th. + +I have been to see Schönbrunn, the usual residence of the young Napoleon; +but he is now at Baden with the Imperial family, where his mother, who is +lately arrived from Italy, is also on a visit. The young Napoleon is said +to be a remarkable fine boy, and a great favorite with his grandfather the +Emperor. Many are the anecdotes related of him. I shall mention one. He had +heard so often talk of his father, that shortly after the arrival of his +mother, he wished to see his father also and asked his attendants +repeatedly and not in a very patient tone: _Wo ist denn mein Vater?_[124] +This was told to his grandfather the Emperor; and he gave directions that +the child should be brought to him, the very next time he should put the +question. He then said to him: _Du möchtestwissen wo dein Vater ist? Er ist +in Verhaft. Man hat es mit ihm gut gemeint; weil er aber unruhig war, so +hat man ihn in Verhaft gestellt, und Dich wird man auch verhaften, wenn Du +unruhig bist._[125] + +So much for this anecdote; but I did not hear what was the answer of the +young prince. The young Napoleon is, it appears, a great favorite of the +soldiers, who quite adore him, and he will sometimes go into the kitchen to +get bread and meat to give to the soldiers on Guard at the Palace. A +singular event happened lately to Maria Louisa. During her stay at +Schõnbrunn, her _chatouille,_ with several things of value in it, +_bijouterie,_ etc., was stolen from her. She caused enquiries to be made, +and researches to be set on foot. Nobody has been able to find out who took +it; but it was put back in the precise place from whence it was taken, and +not a single article of the _bijouterie_ or things of value was missing. It +is supposed this theft was made for political purposes, in order to +discover the nature of her epistolary correspondence, if any existed. Had +it been taken by a vulgar thief, it is not probable that the articles of +value would have been restored. Such is the unhappy condition of that +Princess to be always an object of suspicion and espionnage. + + +_Journey to Prague_. + + +I left Vienna on the 28th August in a _Landkutsche_ and arrived at Prague +on the first of September. + +These _Landkutsche_ are on the same plan and footing with the _vetture_ in +Italy, and travel in the same manner, with this difference, however; that +the _Landkutscher_ do not usually, as the _vetturini_ do, undertake to +provide for the supper and bed of their passengers. In a word, you are not +_spesato;_ and in Germany there is not the least necessity for it, for +there is no such thing as extortion on the part of the German innkeepers, +who are by far the most respectable of that profession. Besides, in most +places, everything is _tariffed,_ and where it is not, the landlord never +makes an unreasonable demand, or attempts to make foreigners pay more than +natives; whereas in Italy if you are not _spesato_ there are no bounds to +the rapacity of the innkeepers, witness mine host of Terracina. Both Italy +and Germany present the greatest convenience for travellers, as the +_Landkutsche_ or _vetture_ are continually passing from town to town. There +is however this difference between them, that the Italian _vetturini_ will +abate their price, if their carriage is full excepting one place, and that +they must start, whereas the German _Landkutscher_ never abate their price. + +I paid for my journey from Vienna to Prague thirty-five florins _Wiener +Währung,_ and we made the journey in five days. Our first day's journey +brought us to Höllabrunn, having stoppd to dinner at Stockeran. The road is +excellent and the several towns and villages we past thro' clean and well +built. The landscape was either a plain, or gently undulating and extremely +well cultivated. + +Bohemia resembles Moravia, being an exceedingly rich corn country, +generally open; not many trees about the country near the road side, except +at the _Chateau_ and farm houses. The language is a dialect of the +Sclavonic, mixed with some German; but at the inns there is always one or +two servants who speak German. In Bohemia a traveller not speaking German, +and who has no interpreter with him, would find himself greatly +embarrassed. The Bohemians call themselves in their own language +_Cherschky_, and the Hungarians call themselves _Magyar_. + + +[117] Tasso, _Gerusalemme liberata_, canto XV, ottave 31, 32: + + Un uom della Liguria avrà ardimento + All' incognito corao esporsi in prima... + Tu spiegherai, Colombo, a un nuovo polo + Lontane si le fortunate antenne...--ED. + + +[118] Ariosto, Orlando Furioso, XL, 31, 1.--ED. + +[119] See reference to Eustace p. 131. + +[120] Ariosto, _Orlando Furioso_, XXVIII, 38, 7.--ED. + +[121] Boileau, _Satires_, XI, v. 117. + +[122] The drama, _Der Wold bei Hermannstadt,_ is the work of Johanna + Fraenul von Weissenthurn (1773-1847), a celebrated Viennese actress + and authoress. An opera was written on the same text by W. Westmeyer, + --ED. + +[123] Because I am an Englishman--You are an Englishman? you are certainly + a North-German; you speak very correct German.--Gentlemen, I tell you + I am an Englishman; many English study and speak the German language + and if you had held a long conversation with me, you would soon have + perceived from my faults in speaking, that I am not a German.--But you + have answered our questions so correctly.--Why not, the same questions + have been put to me so often that I have all the necessary answers by + heart like a catechism. + +[124] Where is my father? + +[125] "You wish to know where your father is? He is under arrest; people + were well disposed to him; but he is placed under arrest, because he + was unruly, and if you are unruly you will be placed under arrest + likewise." + + + + +CHAPTER XVII + +SEPTEMBER 1818-MARCH 1819 + +The splendid city of Prague--The German expression, "To give the +basket"--Journey from Prague to Dresden--Journey from Dresden to Berlin--A +description of Berlin--The Prussian Army--Theatricals--Peasants talk about +Napoleon--Prussians and French should be allies--Absurd policy of the +English Tories--Journey from Berlin to Dresden--A description of +Dresden--The battle of Dresden in 1813--Clubs at Dresden--Theatricals-- +German beds--Saxon scholars--The picture gallery--Tobacco an ally of +Legitimacy--Saxon women--Meissen--Unjust policy of Europe towards the King +of Saxony. + + +PRAGUE, 4 Sept. + +Prague is a far more striking and splendid city than Vienna, without its +faubourgs. The streets are broader; and it has a more cheerful and less +confined appearance than the old town of Vienna. The position of Prague too +is very romantic and picturesque, part of it lying on a mountain and part +on a plain; and it stands on the confluent of two rivers, the Mulda and the +Braun. The upper part of the city, called Oberburg, stands on a height +called Ratschin, and on this height stands a most magnificent palace and +other stately buildings. There is a beautiful panoramic view from this part +of Prague. In this part of the city too is the cathedral of St Wenzel or +Wenceslaus, who was its founder. His tomb and that of St John Nepomucene, a +favorite saint of the Bohemians, is in this church. The Cathedral is of +extreme solidity, but little ornamented, having been plundered by the +Swedes in 1648. The canopy over the shrine of St John Nepomucene has a +profusion of votive offerings appended to it. The lower part of Prague is +divided into two parts by the Mulda. The bridge across the Mulda is one of +the finest in Europe. It has twenty-four arches, its length is 1700 feet +and its breadth 35. Among several statues on this bridge is a very +remarkable one of Jesus Christ, made of bronze gilt, which cost a large sum +of money to its founder, a Jew! There is a Latin inscription on it which +explains the paradox. There stood on the same spot a wooden statue of +Christ in the XVI century. One day an opulent Jew, on passing by, made some +scoffing or contemptuous remark on it. He was overheard by some of the +people, accused of blasphemy and condemned to die; but on expressing great +contrition and offering to pay a fine to any amount, he was pardoned, on +the condition of his promising to erect a bronze statue gilt of Jesus +Christ on the same spot, at his own expense, with an inscription explaining +the reason of its construction; which promise he punctually performed. +Prague abounds in Jews. Two-thirds at least of its population are of that +persuasion. In the lower town the most striking edifices are the palace of +the Wallenstein family, descendants of the famous Wallenstein, so +distinguished in the Thirty Years war. Annexed to this Palace is a spacious +garden, which is open to the public as a promenade. It is well laid out. +There is a large aviary. This Palace covers a vast extent of ground. The +Colloredo family, who are descended from Wenceslaus, have a superb Palace +in this city; and there is a stable belonging to it, partly in marble and +of rich architecture, capable of containing thirty-six horses. No traveller +who comes to Prague should omit visiting these two Palaces of Wallenstein +and Colloredo. On the bridge over the Mulda before mentioned, is the statue +in bronze of St John Nepomucene, on the spot from whence he was thrown into +the river by his brother saint, King Wenceslaus, for refusing to divulge +the gallantries of his (Wenceslaus') wife, to whom he was confessor. A +favorite promenade on Sundays is on the _Färber Insel_ or Dyers island, +which is a small island on the Mulda. Here the young men of the town come +to dance with the _grisettes_ and milliner girls of Prague, who are +renowned for their beauty and complaisance. + +The Jewish burying ground is a curiosity for a person who has never visited +the Oriental countries. The tombstones are stowed thick together. Everybody +recollects the anecdote of the ingenious method adopted by Joseph II for +squeezing a large sum of money from the Jews of Prague, by giving out that +he intended to claim this cemetery, in order to build therein a Palace. The +Jews who, like all the Orientals, have the most profound veneration for the +spot where their ancestors are buried, presented a large sum of money to +the Emperor, to induce him to renounce his design. + +The _Stadt-Haus_ (Hotel de Ville) is a fine building; and the _Marktplatz_ +(market square) is very spacious, and contributes much to the beauty of the +town. In the centre of it stands an ancient fountain of a dodecagonal form. +The basin is of red marble, and near it stands a large stone column, with a +statue of the Virgin, bronze gilt, on its summit. A well supplied market, +or rather fair, is carried on here every day in the week. The Theatre is a +fine building and is of immense size. I witnessd the representation of a +burlesque tragedy called _Die Belagerung von Ypsilon_ (the siege of +Ypsilon), but I could not at all comprehend the cream of the jest. Madame +Catalani, who is here, sang at this theatre one night. The theatre was +completely filled and the price of admission to the boxes and _parterre_ a +ducat. The street adjoining to the theatre was crowded by people +endeavoring to catch the sweet sounds. Immense hommage has been paid to +Catalani by the authorities here. + +The balls of the _bourgeoisie_ of Prague are splendid and well attended. +The _bourgeoisie_ is very opulent in this city. There are but few residents +_Noblesse_. The expences at the inns here are rather greater than those at +Vienna, wine being a foreign commodity and beer the national beverage. My +daily expences here for lodging, dinner, supper and breakfast amounted to +four florins _Convenzions Münze_, about nine franks nearly, French money. +The country environing Prague is rich and abounding in corn; there are +likewise hops. The walls of Prague still bear the marks made by Frederic's +shot when he blockaded Prague. + + +PRAGUE, 7th Sept. + +To-morrow I shall start for Dresden, The diligence goes off only once a +week, but I have engaged a car or rather light basket waggon drawn by two +horses (a vehicle very common in Germany) to convey me to Dresden in two +days and half. I am to pay for half of the waggon, and another traveller +will pay for the remaining half. + +Before I leave Prague I must tell you that I have found out the origin of +the German phrases _Jemand den Korb zu geben (to give the basket)_, which +means a refusal of marriage. Thus when a young lady refuses an offer of +marriage on the part of her admirer, the phrase is: _Sie hat ihm den Korb +gegeben_ (_She has given him the basket_). Hitherto I have not met with any +one who could explain to me satisfactorily the origin of so singular a +phrase; but on reading lately a volume of the _Volksmährchen_ (_Popular +tales_) I found not only the derivation of this phrase, but also that of +the name of the city of Prague. Both are connected in the same story, and +both concern the history of Prague. The story is as follows. + +Libussa, Duchess of Bohemia, had three lovers, two of whom were not +remarkably intelligent, but the third possessed a great deal of talent and +was her favorite. She was much importuned by the rival suitors. She +appeared before them one day with a basket filled with plums in her hand; +and said she would give her hand in marriage to whoever of them should +guess the following arithmetical riddle. She said: "One of you shall take +half the plums that are in this basket, and one over: another shall take +half of what remains, and one over: the third shall take half of what still +remains and three over, and then all the plums will have been taken. Now +tell me how many plums there are in the basket." Her favorite was the only +one who could guess the number of plums which was _thirty_. To him +therefore she gave her hand and the plums, and to the other suitors the +empty basket. Hence the phrase. The solution of the question is as follows: + + A takes half of the plums in the basket (30) and one + over . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 + 1 = 16 + B half of what remained (14) and one over . . . . . 7 + 1 = 8 + C half of what remained (6) and three over . . . . . 3 + 3 = 6 + --- + Total 30 + +Now with regard to the origin of the city of Prague. The former residence +was much too small, and Libussa directed her workmen to build a town on the +spot, where they should find at midday a man making the _best use of his +teeth_. They began their research and one day at that hour discovered a +carpenter sawing a block of wood. It struck them that this laborious man +was making a better use of his teeth (viz., teeth of his saw) than the mere +feeder and they judged that this ought to be the place where the town +should be built. They therefore proceeded to trace with a plough the +circumference of the town. On asking the carpenter what he was about to +make with the block he was sawing, he said " A threshold for a door," which +is called _Prah_ or _Praha_ in the Bohemian language and Libussa gave to +the city the name of _Praha_ or _Prag_. + + +BERLIN, 24th Sept. + +Berlin has a splendid and cheerful appearance, with fine broad streets, +superb white buildings and Palaces, for the most part in the Grecian taste; +it has quite the appearance in short of an Italian city. Nearly all the +streets are at right angles; they are kept very clean and the shops make a +brilliant display. I felt so much pain in my legs, from the effect of my +pedestrian journey, that I was obliged to remain in my chamber one entire +day. There is a very good _table d'hôte_ at my bin for twelve _Groschen_. +Wine is paid for extra, and at the rate of from 12 to 18 _Groschen_ the +bottle. The sort usually drunk here is the Medoc. The prices of articles of +prune necessity are dearer in Berlin than either at Dresden or Vienna; +particularly the article of washing, which is dearer than in any country I +have yet visited. + +The next morning I began my rambles, and directed my course to the favorite +and fashionable promenade of the _beau monde_, at all hours of the day, I +mean in the fine street or alley _Unter den Linden_, so called from it +being planted with lime trees. There is a range of elegant buildings on +each side, and at the end, near the _Thier Garten_ (Park), is a superb gate +called the _Brandenburger Thor_ in the shape of a triumphal arch ornamented +with a statue of Peace, with an olive branch in her hand, standing on a car +drawn by four horses abreast, the whole groupe being of bronze and of +exquisite workmanship. The four horses are imitated from the Corinthian +horses at Venice and yield to them in nothing but antiquity. Indeed they +have a much more pleasing and striking effect, in being thus attached to a +car, than standing by themselves, as the Venetian ones do, on the top of +the façade of a church. This _Brandenburger Thor_ is constructed after the +model of the Propylaeum of Athens. + +The Opera House, a building in the Grecian taste erected by Frederic the +Great with the inscription _Apollini et Musis_, and after that the Academy +of the Fine Arts engaged my attention. Both these buildings are remarkable, +and they are near the _Linden_. The old town is much intersected by canals +communicating with the Spree which divides it. I call it the old town, to +distinguish it from the quarter composed of streets of recent construction +between the former _enceinte_ of the town and the Brandenburger Thor. The +Hotel of the Invalides, a ponderous building, bears the following +inscription: _Laesis non victis_. The Bank and the Arsenal next engaged my +attention, as also a Guard House of recent construction in the shape of a +Doric temple. The Royal Palace is an immense building, partly in the Gothic +and partly in the Grecian style. It is very heavy but imposing. The +interior of this Palace is royally fitted up, except the little room +occupied by the great Frederic, which is left in the same state as when he +occupied it; and you know he was not fond of superfluous ornament. In the +green before the Palace stands the statue of the Prince of Anhalt Dessau, +the founder of the Prussian Infantry system, and at a short distance from +this, on the _Lange Brücke,_ stands the colossal equestrian statue in +bronze of the Great Elector. + +The _Königstrasse_ is the principal street and a very fine one it is; next +to it in point of beauty is the _Französische_ _Strasse_. The _Wilhelm +Platz_ is adorned with the statues in marble of Schwerin, Seidlitz, Keith, +Winterfeld, and Ziethen. But I cannot enumerate all the splendid public +establishments and fine things to be seen in this beautiful city. The most +striking church is that of St Hedwig. I call it the most striking from its +resemblance to the Pantheon at Rome. The Cathedral is perhaps a finer +building. 'Tis in this last that the Electoral and Royal remains are +deposited. + +The streets 'here swarm with military, and indeed the profession of arms +seems to have too much sway in the Prussian dominions. The subalterns and +young men of the Prussian Army are said to have republican sentiments, and +they, in common with all the burghers, desire a constitution. It galls them +to see one enjoyed by the Bavarians, whom they affect to look upon as +inferior to them in intelligence, and that it should be refused to them. +Most of the nobility and the greater part of the General and field officers +are however inveterate aristocrats. + +You have heard, I dare say, of the attempt made by some officers among the +nobility to exclude from the service, after the peace, those officers who +were not noble. When it is considered that their best and most zealous +officers sprung from the burghers, and that Prussia, when abandoned by her +King and nobles, was saved from permanent subjection only by the +unparalleled exertions of her burghers and peasantry, one is shocked at +such ingratitude and absurdity. But the officers of the Royal Guard went so +far as to draw up a petition to the King, requesting him to dismiss all the +officers of the corps who were not noble, and Blucher was applied to to +present this petition to the King. Blucher read the paper and ordered all +the officers to assemble on the parade and thus addressed them: "Gentlemen, +I have received your paper and read its contents with the utmost +astonishment. All the remarks that I shall permit myself to make on the +subject of this petition, are, that it makes me ashamed of being myself a +noble." He then tore the petition in pieces and dismissed them. + +I have been once at the theatre. _Lodoiska_ was performed. I saw a number +of fine women in the boxes. Formerly gallantry and pleasure were the order +of the day at Berlin; but now, the Court assuming the exterior of rigid +morality and strictly exercised religious devotion, mystic cant and +dullness is the order of the day. The death of the Queen of Prussia threw a +great damp over the amusements of the Court. At Charlottenburg, which is a +short distance from Berlin, in the grounds there, they point out to you her +favourite spots. She was a most amiable Princess, and united to great +personal beauty so much grace and fascination and so many good qualities +that she was beloved by all, and the breath of calumny never ventured to +assail her. + +The alley _Unter den Linden_ in the evening presents a great assemblage of +Cyprian nymphs, who promenade up and down; they dress well and are +perfectly well behaved. There is a superb establishment of this kind at +Berlin, which all strangers should visit out of curiosity. It is not +indispensably necessary to sacrifice to the Goddess whose worship is +carried on there; but you may limit yourself to admire the temple, call for +refreshments and contemplate the priestesses. + +There is the utmost moral and political freedom at Berlin, and tho' the +Government is despotic in form, freedom of speech is allowed. An army of +200,000 men admirably disciplined and armed, of these a garrison of 15,000 +men in Berlin and as many at Potsdam, are quite sufficient to keep in check +all attempts to put political theories and speculations into practice. +Indeed, it would be very difficult to excite a revolt; the various German +governments are carried on very paternally and the government is scarcely +felt; habits of obedience have taken deep root among the people, and a +German peasant as long as he gets enough to eat and drink, does not +conceive himself unhappy, or thinks of a change. I could not help laughing +the other day, at a little village near Berlin, when I heard some peasants +talking of Napoleon; one of them, who seemed to have some partiality for +him, exclaimed, meaning to blame him for leaving Elba: _Aber warum verliess +er seine Insel? Er hatte doch zu essen und trinken so viel er wolte_ (Why +did he leave Elba? He had surely plenty to eat and drink). This good +peasant could not conceive that a man blessed with these comforts should +like to change his situation or run any risks to do so. + +French as well as German is commonly spoken in Berlin, and I am glad to see +that the prejudice against the French is wearing off. If the French and +Prussians could understand one another, and knew their own interests, or if +the French had a liberal national Government, I mean, one more identified +with the interests of the people than the present one is, what advantage +might not rise therefrom? They are natural allies, and united they might be +able effectually to humble the overbearing insolence and political +coxcombry of the Czar, shake to its centre the systematic despotism and +light-fearing leader of Austria, and keep in check the commercial +greediness, monopolizing spirit and Tory arrogance of England. The German +political writers duly appreciate the illiberal policy of England towards +the continental nations, by which she invariably helps to crush liberty on +the Continent in the hopes of paralysing their energies and industry, in +order to compel them to buy English manufactures, and in fine to make them +dependent on England for every article of consumption. England, ever since +the beginning of the reign of George III to the present day, has been +always ready to lend a hand to crush liberty, to perpetuate abuses and to +rivet the fetters of monarchial, feudal and ecclesiastical tyranny. + +These are facts and cannot be denied. The English people have been taxed to +the last farthing to support a war of privileges against Freedom; and +Europe is in consequence prostrate at the feet of an unprincipled +coalition, thro' England's arms and England's gold; and then an English +minister, and his vile hireling journals, tell you that the continental +nations are not ripe for and do not deserve liberty. Even the Pope and +Grand Turk, both so much dreaded by our pious ancestors, have been +supported, caressed and subsidized, in order to help to put down all +efforts made to obtain rational liberty, which the courtiers always affect +to stigmatize with the name of "Jacobinism," while a number of needy +individual have enriched themselves by the public plunder and byaiding and +abetting the system, all _novi homines_, men who, had there been more to +gain on the other side than by espousing Toryism, would not have been +backward; men who are Jacobins in the real sense of the word, however they +cloak themselves under the specious names of Church and King men; upholders +of Pitt and his system, for which they affect a veneration they are far +from really feeling; men, in fact, whose political scruples of whatever +nature they be, would soon melt away. + + +DRESDEN, 5th October. + +I have been fortunate in getting into very comfortable lodgings, having two +rooms and as much firing as I chuse for eight _Reichsthalers_ per month. +Coffee is made for me at home in the morning, and I generally dine and sup +at a _restaurant_ close by near the bridge. The _Platz_ in the Neustadt is +close to my lodgings, and being very large and well paved and lined with +trees, it affords a very agreeable promenade. Rows of elegant houses line +the sides of this Plata, among which the _Stadthaus_ is particularly +remarkable. The famous _Japan Palace_, as it is called, is also in the +_Neustadt_, and but a short distance from the _Platz_. The gardens of Count +Marcolini afford also a pleasant promenade; but by far the most agreeable +walk, in my opinion, is on the _Zwinger_, a sort of terrace on the left +bank of the Elbe in the old town, adjoining the palace and gardens of Count +Bruhl. From this place you have a noble view of a long reach of the Elbe. +It is besides the favorite promenade of the ladies. On the _Zwinger_ too is +a building containing a fine collection of paintings. Here are _cafés_ +likewise and a _restaurant_. The evening promenades are in the gardens of +the _Linkischer Bad_ (Bath of Link) on the banks of the Elbe, where there +is a summer theatre. This is the favourite resort of the _bourgeoisie_ on +Sundays and _jours de fête; goûters_ and supper parties are formed here and +very good music is heard. The Elbe bridge is of beautiful structure, and +there is a good regulation with respect to those who pass over this bridge; +which is that one side of the bridge is reserved for those going from the +new to the old town, and the other side for those going from the old to the +new town, and if you attempt to go on the wrong side you are stopped by a +sentry, so that there is no jostling nor lounging on this bridge. An arch +of this bridge was blown up by Marshal Davoust in order to arrest the +progress of the Russians, and a great deal of management was necessary to +effectuate it, for the worthy Saxons have a great veneration for this +bridge, and in order to inforce the execution of this resolution on the +part of the Marshal, the personal order of the King and the employment of +Saxon troops were necessary. It has been rebuilt since, and no one would +know that the arch had ever been blown up, but from the extreme whiteness +of the new arch, contrasting with the darker color of the old ones. + +In the old town or Dresden proper, the finest buildings are: the Catholic +church, standing near the bridge, an edifice yielding in beauty but to few +in Italy and to none in other countries. Here you hear excellent music +during the church service; and the King and Royal family, all of whom are +Catholics, attend constantly. The Royal Palace is very near the church and +not far from it is the theatre. Saxony being a Lutheran country, the public +exercise of the Catholic religion was not permitted until Napoleon's time, +when he proposed an arrangement to permit to the King and all other +Catholics the public celebration of their religion, which proposition was +acceded to with universal approbation on the part of the Protestants, and +now the Host is frequently displayed in the streets. There are however but +few Catholics in Dresden among the natives. So great is the respect for +usages and customs in Germany, that the Electors of Saxony, on going over +to Catholicism, never thought even of requesting the indulgence of +exercising their religion publicly, and the granting it has produced no +evil consequence, liberalism and the most unreserved toleration in matters +of religion being the order of the day. + +The Royal Palace is a very fine and extensive building and the interior is +well worth seeing, particularly the superb _Riesen-Saal_ where Augustus II +used to give his magnificent _fêtes_. One of the last and most brilliant +_fêtes_ given here was that given by the King of Saxony to the Emperor +Napoleon just before the Russian campaign, at which the Emperor and Empress +of Austria and most of the Sovereigns of Germany assisted, to do hommage to +the great Conqueror. + +The _Schloss-gasse_ or Castle Street leads from the Palace into the _Markt +Platz_ where the markets and fairs are held. In this place, in the +_Schloss-gasse_ and in another street parallel to it, that leads from the +porcelain Manufactory to the _Grosser Platz_ (_Grande Place_), are the +finest shops and greatest display of wealth. On the _Grosser Platz_ stands +the _Frauen-Kirche_, a superb Protestant church, and which may be +considered as the cathedral church of Dresden. The _Platz_ is large. There +is great cleanliness in all the streets of Dresden, and the houses are well +built and uniform; but there are few other very prominent edifices except +those I have mentioned. On going outside the town by the gate of Pirna +stands, almost immediately on the right, on turning down a road, the +Gardens and Palace of Prince Anthony. Leaving this on your right and +proceeding along the _chaussée_ or high road which is nearly parallel to +the river, at the distance of three-quarters mile from the Gate, stands the +Palace and Gardens called _Der Grosse Garten_ (grand garden), which you +leave on your right, if you continue your route on the _chaussée_ towards +Pirna. I have not yet visited the _Grosse Garten_. There is likewise a fine +promenade on the banks of the Elbe, but quite in an opposite direction to +the Pirna gate, for to arrive at it from this gate, you must traverse the +Pirna street and _Grosser Platz_; and on arrival near the bridge direct +your course to the left, which will lead you out of one of the gates into +an immensely long avenue of elm trees parallel to the river which forms the +promenade. + + +DRESDEN, Oct. 10th. + +I have been to see the Palace and grounds of the _Grosser Garten_. The +garden and park, for it unites both, is of great extent, and beautifully +laid out; but a number of fine trees have been knocked down and mutilated +by cannon shot during the battle of Dresden in 1818, when this garden was +occupied by the Allied troops and exposed to a heavy fire of fifty pieces +of cannon, from a battery erected by Napoleon on the opposite side of the +river, which completely commanded and enfiladed the whole range of the +garden. How the Palace itself escaped being knocked to pieces is wonderful; +but I suppose Napoleon must have given orders to spare it as much as +possible. This Palace is of beautiful structure and in the style of an +Italian villa; statues of the twelve Caesars and bas-reliefs adorn the +exterior. The columns and pilasters are of the Corinthian order. As for the +interior, it is unfurnished, and has been so since the Seven Years' war, +when it was plundered by the enemy, and has never since been inhabited by +the Electoral family. There is a superb rectangular basin of water in this +garden. These gardens are delightfully laid out; why they are not more +frequented I cannot conceive, but I have hitherto met with very few people +there, tho' they are open to all the world. They will form my morning's +promenade, for I prefer solitude to a crowd in a morning walk. But one of +the gardeners here tells me that on Sunday evening there is generally a +good deal of company, who come to listen to the music which is played in a +building fitted up for the purpose at one side of the garden. Wine, coffee, +beer and other refreshments are to be had; but beer is the favorite +beverage. Smoking is universal among the young men; the most ardent +admirers of the fair sex never forget their pipe. During the courtship the +surest sign that the fair one does not intend to _give_ her lover _the +basket_ is when she presents him with a bag to hold his tobacco. Her +consent is implied thereby. + +During the battle of Dresden, the slaughter in this garden was immense, and +the Allies were finally driven out of it. The gardener related to me an +affecting story of a young lady of Dresden, whose lover was killed in this +battle and buried in the _Grosser Garten_. She has taken it so much to +heart that she comes here three or four times in the week to visit this +grave and strew flowers over it. She remains for some time absorbed in +silent meditation and then withdraws. She has a settled melancholy, but it +has not yet affected her understanding. + + +DRESDEN, Oct. 15th. + +I met with my old friend, Sir W.I., who was travelling to Berlin, with the +idea of passing the winter there and of proceeding in the summer to Moscow. +Thro' the interests of my friends, Col. D------ and Baron de F------ I have +been ballotted for and admitted a member of a club or society here called +the _Ressource_. It is held in a large house on the _Markt Platz_, and is +indeed a most agreeable resource to all foreigners; for 'tis in this +society that they are likely to meet and form acquaintance with the +_noblesse_, principal _bourgeoisie_ and _litterati_. It is conducted on the +most liberal scale and not confined to those of birth and fortune. Good +character, polite behaviour and litterary requirements will ensure +admittance to a candidate. This society consists of members and honorary +members; among the honorary members are foreigners and others whose stay in +Dresden is short; but whoever remains for more than one year must cease to +be an honorary member and must be ballotted for in order to become a +permanent member, and should he be blackballed he ceases to belong to the +society altogether. This is a very good regulation. A year is a sufficient +time of proof for the character and conduct of a person, and should he +during this interval prove himself obnoxious to the members of the society, +they can at its expiration exclude him for ever afterwards. + +No enquiry is made as to the character and conduct of a person who is +admitted as an honorary member: it is sufficient that he be recommended by +a permanent member, which is deemed a sufficient guarantee for his +respectability. In this society there are dining rooms, billiard rooms, +card rooms, a large reading room. Here too is a small but well chosen +library and three or four newspapers in every European language; all the +German newspapers and reviews and the principal periodical works in the +German, French, English and Italian languages. The English papers taken in +here are the _Times, Courier_ and _Chronicle_. Of the French, the +_Moniteur, Journal des Débats, Constitutionel, Journal du Commerce, Gazette +de France_ and _Gazette de Lausanne_, and of the Italian the _Gazette di +Milano, di Venezia, di Firenze_ and _di Lugano_. Every German newspaper is, +I believe, to be found here. The Society lay in their stock of wine, which +is of the best quality; good cooks and servants are kept. Dinners go +forward from one to three. You dine _à la carte_ and pay the amount of what +you call for to the waiters. Coffee, liqueurs and all sorts of refreshments +are likewise to be had. Supper, likewise _à la carte_, goes forward between +nine and eleven. The evening before supper may be employed, if you chuse, +in cards, billiards, or reading. Very pleasant and useful acquaintances are +made at the _Ressource_, since if a foreigner renders himself agreeable to +the gentlemen who frequent this society, they generally propose taking him +to their houses and introducing him to their families. After an +introduction, you may go at any hour of the evening you please: but morning +visits are not much in fashion, since the _toilette_ is seldom made till +after dinner, which is always early in Germany. There is no getting dinner +after three o'clock in any part of Dresden. Besides the _Ressource_ there +are several other Clubs here, such as the _Harmonic_ and others. The public +balls are given at the _Hôtel de Pologne_ twice a week, viz., one for the +_Noblesse_ and one for the _Bourgeoisie_. None of the female _Bourgeoisie_ +are admitted to the balls and societies of the _Noblesse_, and only such of +the males as occupy posts or employments at Court or under Government such +as _Königs-rath_, _Hof-rath_, or officers of the Army. It is therefore +usual, when the Sovereign wishes to introduce a person of merit among the +_Bourgeoisie_ into the upper circles, that he gives him the title of _Rath_ +or Counsellor; but this priviledge of being presentable at Court does not +extend to their wives and daughters. All the Military officers, from +whatever class of life they spring, have introduction _de jure_ into the +balls and societies of the _Noblesse_, and are always in uniform. But when +they attend the balls of the _Bourgeoisie_, it is the etiquette for them to +wear plain clothes: at the balls of the _Bourgeoisie_, therefore, not an +uniform is to be seen. I observed by far the prettiest women at the balls +of the _Bourgeoisie_, and very many are to be found there who in education +and accomplishments fully equal those of the _Noblesse_, and this is no +small merit, for the women in Saxony of the higher classes are extremely +well educated; most of them are proficient in music and are versed in +French and Italian litterature. They seem amiable and goodnatured and by no +means _minaudières_, as Lady Mary Wortley Montague has rather unjustly +termed them; for they appear to me to be the most frank, artless creatures +I ever beheld, and to have no sort of _minauderie_ or _coquetterie_ about +them. Beauty is the appanage of the Saxon women, hence the proverb in +rhyme: + + Darauf bin ich gegangen nach Sachsen, + Wo die schönen Mädchen auf den Baümen wachsen. + +In English: + + Behold me landed now on Saxon ground, + Where lovely damsels on the trees are found. + +A taste for litterature is indeed general throughout the whole nation; and +this city is considered as the Athens of Germany. + + +DRESDEN, Nov. 8th. + +I have been at the theatre and witnessed the representation of a tragedy +called _Die Schuld_, written by Adolphus Müllner. It is a most interesting +piece, and the novelty of it has made a striking impression on me. It is +written in the eight-footed trochaic metre, similar to that in which the +Spanish tragedies are written. It hinges on a prophecy made by a Gipsey, in +which the person to whom the prophecy is made, in endeavoring to avert it, +hastens its accomplishment. The piece is full of interest and the +versification harmonious. I have been twice at the Italian opera, where I +saw the _Gazza Ladra_ and _Il Matrimonio secreto_. I came here with the +idea of giving myself up entirely to the study of the German language; but +such is the beauty of the country environing Dresden that, though winter +has commenced I employ the greatest part of the day in long walks. For +instance I have been to Pillnitz, which is on the right bank of the Elbe +about seven miles from Dresden, ascending the river. The road is on the +bank of the river the whole way. The Palace at Pillnitz is vast and well +built. During a part of the year the Royal family reside there. Pillnitz +will remain "damn'd to everlasting fame" as the place where the famous +treaty was signed, the object of which was to put down the French +Revolution, which Mr Pitt and the British ministry knew of and sanctioned, +tho' they pretended ignorance of it and professed to have no desire to +interfere with the affairs of France. + +Every thing pleases me at Dresden except the beds. I wish it were the +fashion to use blankets and _édredons_ for the upper covering instead of +the _lits de plumes_; for they are too heavy and promote rather too intense +a perspiration, and if you become impatient of the heat, and throw them off +you catch an intense cold. You know how partial I am to the Germans, and +can even put up with their eternal smoking, tho' no smoker myself, but to +their beds I shall never be reconciled. A German bed is as follows: a +_paillasse_, over that a mattress, then a featherbed with a sheet fastened +to it, and over that again another featherbed with a sheet fastened to it; +and thus you lie between two featherbeds; but these are not always of +sufficient length, and you are often obliged to coil up your legs or be +exposed to have them frozen by their extending beyond the featherbeds; for +the cold is very great during the winter. + +The more I see of the people here, the more I like them. The national +character of the Germans is integrity, tho' sometimes cloaked under a rough +exterior as in Bavaria and Austria; but here in Saxony it is combined with +a suavity of manners that is very striking, for the Saxons are the Tuscans +of Germany in point of politeness, and they are far more accomplished +because they take more pains in cultivating their minds. + +A savant in Italy is a man who writes a volume about a coin, filled with +hypotheses, when, with all his learning forced into the service, he proves +nothing; and this very man is probably ignorant in the extreme of modern +political history, and that of his own times, and has more pedantry than +taste. Such a man is often however in Italy termed a _Portento_, but in +Dresden and in most of the capitals of Germany where there are so many of +science and deep research, a man must not only be well read in antiquities, +but also well versed in political economy and in analysis before he can +venture to give a work to the public. Latin quotations, unsupported by +reason and philosophical argument will avail him nothing, for the German is +a terrible _Erforscher_ and wishes to know the _what_, the _how_ and the +_when_ of every thing; besides an Italian _savant_ is seldom versed in any +other tongue than his own and the Latin, with perhaps a slight knowledge of +French; whereas in Germany it is not only very common to find a knowledge +of French, English, Italian, Latin and Greek united in the same person, but +very many add Hebrew, Arabic and even Sanscrit to their stock of Philology. +As a specimen for instance of German industry, I have seen, at the club of +the _Ressource_, odes on the Peace in thirty-six different languages, and +all of them written by native Saxons. This shows to what an extent +philology is cultivated in Germany; indeed, it is quite a passion and a +very useful one it is. I know that many people regard it as a loss of time, +and say that you acquire only new words, and no new ideas; but I deny this. +I maintain that every new language learned gives you new ideas, as it puts +you at once more _au fait_ of the manners and customs of the people, which +can only be thoroughly learned by reading popular authors in their original +language: for there are several authors of the merit of whose style it is +impossible to form an adequate idea in a translation, however correct and +excellent it be. Indeed I wonder that the study of the German language is +not more attended to in England, France, and Italy; but to the English, +methinks, it is indispensable. All the customs and manners of Europe are +taken from the German; all modern Europe bears the Teutonic stamp. We are +all the descendants of the Teutonic hordes who subjugated the Roman Empire +and changed the face of Europe; 'tis they who have given and laid down the +grand and distinguishing feature between modern Europe and ancient Europe +and Asia: I mean the respect paid to women. To what nation, I say, is due +the chivalrous respect to women which is the surest sign of civilization, +and which was unknown to the ancient Greeks and Romans, except to the +Germans, who even in their most uncivilized state paid such veneration to +their women as to consult them as oracles on all occasions and to admit +them to their councils? Tacitus particularly mentions this; and speaking of +the Germans of his time, he says, "They have an idea that there is +something divine about a woman."[126] It is this feeling, handed down to us +from our Teutonic ancestors, that contributes mainly to make the European +so superior to all the Asiatic nations, where woman still remains a +degraded being, and 'tis this feeling that gives to us the palm above all +Greek and Roman glory. What are the modern European nations, the English, +French, Italians, Switzers, even Spanish and Portuguese, but the +descendants of these warlike Teutonic tribes who swept away the effeminate +Romans from the face of the earth? and do we not see the Teutonic policy +and usages, defective and degenerated as they sometimes are, the best +safeguard of liberty against the insidious interpretation of the Roman law, +which is founded on the pretended superiority of one nation, the inferred +inferiority of all the rest? + +With regard to theatricals, I have witnessed the representation of a +tragedy, lately published, called _Sappho_, by a young poet of the name of +Grillparzer. This tragedy is strictly on the Greek model. Its versification +in iambics is so beautiful that it is regarded as the triumph of the +_Classics_ over the _Romantics_; and by this piece Grillparzer has proved +the universality of his genius; for he wrote a short time ago a dramatic +piece in the _romantic_ style and in the eight rhymed trochaic metre called +_die Anhfrau_ (the ancestress) where supernatural agency is introduced. +This I have read; it is a piece full of interest; still it was thought too +_outré_ by the _Classiker_. It was supposed that this was the peculiar +style of the author, and that he adopted it from inability to compose in +the classic taste, when behold! by way of proving the contrary, he has +given us a drama simple in its plot, where all the unities are preserved, +and where the subject one would think was too well known to produce much +interest; he has given, I say, to this piece (Sappho), from the extreme +harmony of its versification and the pathos of the sentiments expressed +therein, an effect which I doubt any tragedy of Euripides or Sophocles +surpasses. The character of Sappho and her passion for Phaon; his +indifference to her and attachment to the young Melitta, an attendant and +slave of Sappho's, and Sappho throwing herself into the sea after uniting +Phaon and Melitta, constitute the plot of the drama. But simple as the +plot, and old as the story is, it excites the greatest interest, and never +fails to draw tears from the audience. What can be more artless and +pathetic, for instance, than these lines of the young Melitta when she +regrets her expatriatioa: + + Kein Busen schlägt mlr bier in diesem Lande, + Und meine Freunden wohnen weit von hier. + +In English: + + No bosom beats for me in this strange land, + And far from here my friends and parents dwell. + +I have no doubt that some of these days _Sappho_ will be translated into +the idiom of modern Greece and acted in that country. The actress, who did +the part of Sappho, gave it full effect, and the part of the young Melitta +was fairly performed; but I did not approve of the acting of the performer +who played Phaon. He overstepped the modesty of nature and the intention of +the author; for he was in his gesture and manner grossly rude and insolent +to poor Sappho, whereas, tho' his love to Melitta was paramount, he ought +to have shown no ordinary struggle in stifling his gratitude to his +benefactress Sappho. + +I admire the German word _Gebieterinn_ (mistress). It is majestic and +harmonious, and the only word, in any modern language that I know of, +poetic enough to render aptly the Greek word [Greek: Despoina]. + + +DRESDEN, Decr. 1st. + +I have been to visit the famous Gallery of paintings here; but you must not +expect from me a description. I shall send you a catalogue. It would be +endless to describe the various _chefs-d'oeuvre_ which are contained in +this valuable collection. Dresden has always been considered as the +Florence of Germany and has always been renowned for its Gallery of +paintings; hence the almost innate taste of the Saxons for the _Beaux Arts_ +and the great encouragement given to them at all tunes by this Government. +It is here and at Meissen that the best German is thought to be spoken, +tho' Hanover disputes this prerogative with Dresden. + +I have been to see the antiquities and curiosities of the _Japanischer +Palast_ (Palace of Japan), as it is called. In this Palace is a quantity of +ancient armour and the most superb collection of porcelain I believe in +Europe. The collection of precious stones is also immense; and I never in +my life saw such a profusion of diamonds, emeralds, turquoises, sapphirs, +amethysts and topazes. In this Museum are three statues found in +Herculaneum on its first discovery or excavation, viz., an Athlete, an +Esculapius, and a Venus. Here too, and from this circumstance, the Palace +takes its name, is a collection of Japanese antiquities and ornaments, +lacker work in gold and silver, which is unique in the world. From the +Royal Library, a foreigner, on being recommended, may have at his own house +all such books to read as can be replaced if lost or spoiled; but the +manuscripts and scarce and valuable editions are not permitted to be taken +out of the Library. Any person once admitted on recommendation may go to +read in this Library at stated hours and may consult any book or manuscript +he pleases on applying to the librarian. + +A person fond of music will be in a continual state of enjoyment at +Dresden. Besides the fine music in the Royal Chapel, the band of the King's +Guard is composed of first rate musicians, who attend regularly at Guard +mounting and play for an hour together. There is also a band of music every +evening during the summer months that plays in the gardens of the +_Linkischer Bad_. Then there are various other places of recreation and +amusement, at all of which musicians are in attendance; for a Saxon cannot +enjoy his repast or his pipe without music and good music too to facilitate +his digestion. There is a custom in Dresden that on the occasion of the +death of a person the young choristers of the Cathedral are sent for to +sing hymns, standing in a semi-circle round the door of the house of the +defunct. These choristers are all dressed in black and their style of +singing is melodious, solemn and impressive. + +Smoking is so prevalent here and in all parts of Germany that if you wish +to denote one of the male sex, _smoker_ would be quite a synonymous word. +Such is the passion for this enjoyment that even at the balls the young +men, the moment they have finished the waltz, quit the hands of their +partners and rush into another room in order to smoke; nor would the beauty +of Venus nor the wit of Minerva be powerful enough to restrain the young +German from giving way to his darling practise. Smoking tobacco has I think +this visible effect, that it serves to calm all tumultuous passions, and +what confirms me in this idea is, that most young Germans, in commencing +life as adults, are full of enthusiastic and even exaggerated notions of +liberty and equality. They are romantic to a degree that is difficult to be +conceived, and seem to be restrained by no selfish or worldly ideas. This +you would suppose would tend to render them rather turbulent subjects, +under an autocratical government; but all this _Schwärmerey_ evaporates +literally in smoke: they take to their pipe, and by degrees the fumes of +tobacco cause all these lofty ideas to dissipate: the pipe becomes more and +more necessary to their existence, and consoles them for their wrongs real +or imaginary; and in three or four years they sit down contentedly to their +several occupations, as strait-forward, painstaking, plodding men, quite +satisfied to follow the routine chalked out for them, and either totally +forget all ambitious views, or become too indolent to make any sacrifice to +obtain them, and this _virtue comes from tobacco_!! The German Hippogriff +becomes an Ox, dull and domestic, and treads out the corn placed before +him, content to have his share thereof in peace and quietness. + +The German Governments, which are mild and paternal, are fully aware of +this and allow the utmost liberty of speech; well knowing that, thanks to +that friend and ally of Legitimacy, tobacco, the romantic visionary and +somewhat refractory youth will subside into a tranquil _ganz alltäglicher +Mann_ and become totally averse to any innovation which demands the +sacrifice of repose. + +The pipe which has this sedative effect on political effervescence, has a +still stronger similar effect, it is said, on the passion of love; hence +the German husbands are proverbially sluggish. But the ladies, none of whom +smoke, preserve their romanticity during their whole lives, and would, if +they had their choice, give their hands to foreigners, who are more +attentive to them than their own countrymen. + +The young ladies here are, 'tis said, extremely romantic in their ideas of +love and capable of the strongest attachment. They think that any thing +should be pardoned to sincere passion. It has been related to me that some +time ago a young man, who was devotedly attached to a girl, on the father +refusing his consent to the marriage, stabbed the girl and then himself. An +immense number of young ladies attended their funeral, to throw flowers +over the grave of the two lovers. Assuredly the young man was only a +noviciate in smoking. + +Everybody must, I think, admire the Saxon women. They are in general +handsome and have fine shapes; they are warm hearted and affectionate; and +they are almost universally well educated. Indeed the whole Saxon people +are so amiable that foreigners find themselves so happy here that they are +unwilling to quit the country. Very many form matrimonial attachments. In +short, this people fully merit the epithet a celebrated English traveller +(Sherlock)[127] has bestowed on them when he called them a _herrliches +Volk_. + + +DRESDEN, Jan. 8d, 1819. + +I have made an excursion to Meissen which lies on the same bank of the +river with the old town of Dresden at a distance of twelve miles. As there +is no road on the left bank of the river to Meissen, you must cross the +river twice to arrive at it, viz., once at Neustadt and once at Meissen, +the road being on the right bank. I put up at the _Hirsch_ (Stag), a very +comfortable inn. I went to Meissen with a view of seeing the Russian +contingent pass the Elbe on their return from France, which has been +evacuated in consequence of the arrangement at Aix-la-Chapelle. They +appeared a fine body of men, clothed _à la française_ and seemed in high +spirits. They seem to have imbibed liberal ideas during their residence in +France, for some of the officers who dined at the inn at Meissen spoke very +freely on passing events. + +The return of the Saxon contingent is expected in Dresden in a day or two, +and there will no doubt be a great deal of rejoicing among the military and +their relations to meet their old comrades and friends; and potent +libations of _Doppel Bier_ will no doubt be made. Meissen is said to be +famous for the beauty of its women and the few that I saw in the streets +did not contradict this reputation. + + +DRESDEN, Jany. 5th, 1819. + +We have had several balls here. Waltzing is the only sort of dance in +fashion at Dresden, excepting now and then a Polonaise. + +I have witnessed an interesting spectacle in the _Grosser Garten_. The pond +or basin is completely frozen over, and a Russian Prince, Gallitzin, who is +here, has fitted up a sort of _Montagnes Russes_ as they are called. Blocks +of ice are placed on an inclined plane to the top of which you mount by +means of a staircase; and then, seating yourself in a sort of sledge, you +slide down the inclined plane with immense velocity. The Prince often +persuades a lady to sit on this sleigh on his lap and descend together; and +this no doubt serves to _break the ice_ of many an amorous intrigue. This +construction of the Prince Gallitzin has contributed to fill the _Grosser +Garten_ with the _beau monde_, every day from twelve to two o'clock; so +that you see we are in no want of amusements at Dresden. + +The King frequently attends the theatre; he is a tall, fine looking man, +and is usually dressed in the uniform of his Foot-Guards, which is scarlet +faced with yellow. The poor King has taken much to heart the injustice with +which he has been treated by the coalition, and no doubt will not easily +forget the ill-bred and insolent letter of Castlereagh to the Congress, +wherein he said that the King of Saxony deserved to lose his dominions for +adhering to Napoleon. But how the King of Saxony could act otherwise I am +at a loss to find: so little could he possibly deserve this treatment for +adhering to Napoleon, that had his advice been taken in the year 1805, the +French would never have been able to extend their conquests so far, nor to +dictate laws to Germany. But Lord Castlereagh seems to have either never +known or wilfully forgotten the anterior political conduct of Saxony. Had +he been more versed in German affairs, or had studied with more accuracy +the events passing before his eyes, it would have been a check upon his +arrogance; but here was a genuine disciple of the Pitt school (that school +of ignorance and insolence), who sets himself up as the moral regenerator +of nations and as a distributor of provinces, while he is grossly ignorant +of the political system of the country on whose destinies he pretends to +decide so peremptorily. Had Castlereagh paid attention to what was going +forward in Germany in 1805, he would have seen too that of all powers +Prussia was the very _last_ who with any _shadow of justice_ could pretend +to an indemnification at the expense of Saxony. In the year 1805, the King, +then Elector of Saxony, strongly advised the Prussian Cabinet to forget its +ancient rivalry and jealousy of Austria and to coalesce with the latter +power, in resisting the encroachments of Napoleon, in order to prevent the +latter from attempting the overthrow of the whole fabric of the +constitution of the Holy Roman Empire, with the intricacy and fragility of +which no prince in Germany was better acquainted than the Elector of +Saxony. Prussia however was still reluctant to engage in the contest and +gave no support whatever to Austria. Napoleon defeats the Austrians at +Austerlitz and dictates peace. Six months after the Prussian Cabinet, +excited by a patriotic but rash and ill-calculating party, has recourse to +arms, not from any generous policy, but because she sees herself outwitted +by Napoleon, who refuses to cede to her Hanover in perpetuity. Prussia +begins the war and calls on Saxony, who always moved in her orbit, to join +her. To the Elector of Saxony this war (in 1806) appeared then ill-timed +and too late; but with that good faith, nevertheless, which invariably +characterized him, he remained faithful to his engagement and furnished his +quota of troops to Prussia. The Saxon troops fought nobly at the battle of +Jena. This battle annihilates all the power of Prussia, and lays Saxony +entirely at the mercy of the Conqueror; but Napoleon not only treats Saxony +with moderation, but with rare generosity; he does not take from her a +single village, but aggrandizes her and gives to her the Duchy of Warsaw +and to her Sovereign the title of King. Saxony becomes in consequence a +member of the confederation of the Rhine and is bound to support the +Protector in all his wars offensive and defensive. The Russian war in 1812 +begins: every German state, Austria and Prussia in the number, furnishes +its contingent of troops. The campaign is unsuccessful, the climate of +Russia having annihilated the French Army, and Napoleon returns to Paris. +Saxony is now exposed to invasion and harassed by the incursions of the +Cossacks. The King of Saxony is perplexed in what manner to act, so as to +ensure to his subjects that protection which was ever uppermost in his +thoughts; feeling however with his usual sagacity that every thing would +ultimately depend on the dispositions of Austria, he repairs himself to +Prague, in order to have an interview with one of the Austrian ministers, +and to sound that Cabinet. Austria however still vacillates and declines +stating what her intentions are. Napoleon returns from Paris, defeats the +Prussians and Russians at Bautzen and re-occupies all Saxony. He then +writes to the King of Saxony to desire him to return immediately to his +dominions and to fulfil his engagements. What was the King to do? Austria +still refusing to declare herself, was he to sacrifice his crown and +dominions uselessly to the vengeance of Napoleon, to please the Emperor of +Russia and King of Prussia, who for aught he knew might patch up a peace +the next day? and this was the more probable from their having been beaten +at Bautzen, which circumstance also might with equal probability induce +Austria to coalesce with, instead of against France. All the other members +of the Confederation of the Rhine remained staunch to Napoleon and poured +their contingents into Saxony; was he to be the only unfaithful ally and +towards a Monarch who had always treated him with the strongest marks of +attachment and regard? and when neither Russia nor Prussia were likely to +give him the least assistance? He therefore returned to Dresden; and +Napoleon took up his grand position the whole length of the Elbe, from the +mountains of Bohemia to Hamburgh, thus covering the whole of Saxony with +his army. Austria however at last comes forward to join the coalition. +Fortune changes; the Saxon troops, tired of beholding their country the +perpetual theatre of war and trusting to the generosity of the Allies, go +over to them in the middle of a battle, and decide, thereby, the fate of +the day at Leipzig. The King of Saxony is made a prisoner, and then he is +punished for what he could not help. Why was he to be punished more than +any other member of the Confederation of the Rhine? One would think that +the seasonable defection of his troops at Leipzig should have induced the +Allies to treat him with moderation. The other States of the Confederation +did not abandon Napoleon until after he was completely beaten at Leipzig; +and Austria refused to accede to the coalition until a _carte blanche_ was +given her to help herself in Italy. + +Let every impartial man therefore review the whole of this proceeding and +then say whether the King of Saxony, so proverbial for his probity, so +adored by his subjects, deserved to be insulted by such an unfeeling letter +as that of Castlereagh. No! the King of Saxony better deserves to reign +than any King of them all. Would they had even a small share of his +virtues! Another proof and a still stronger one of the great integrity and +honor of this excellent Prince, is, that when Napoleon offered to mediatize +in his favor the various ducal Houses in Saxony, such as Weimar, Gotha, +Cobourg, etc., and to annex these countries to his dominions, he declined +the offer. Would Prussia, Austria, or Hanover have been so scrupulous? + +The young ladies here, tho' well versed and delighting in various branches +of litterature, cannot overcome that strong national propensity to tales +and romances wherein the _terrific and supernatural_ abounds; in all their +romances accordingly this taste prevails strongly; nay, even in some of the +romances, where the scene is laid in later times, there is some such +anachronism as the story of a spectre. + +I recollect reading a novel, the scene of which is laid in Italy about the +time of the battle of Marengo, wherein a ghost is introduced who +contributes mainly to the unravelling of the piece. A young lady here of +considerable talent and of general information confessed to me, when I +asked her, what subjects pleased her most in the way of reading, that +nothing gave her so much delight as "_Geistergeschichten_." Lewis' romance +of "_The Monk_" is a great favorite in Germany.[128] By the bye, his +poetical tale of _Alonzo and Imogen_ is evidently taken from a similar +subject in the _Volks-mährchen_. + +The weather has set in very cold and the Elbe is nearly frozen over. It is +impossible to go out of the house without a _Pelz_ or cloak lined with fur; +for otherwise, on leaving a room heated by a stove, the effect of the cold +is almost instantaneous and brings on an ague fit. This I attribute to the +excessive heat kept up in the rooms and houses by the stoves. As smoking is +so prevalent here, this contributes much also to keeping the body in a +praeternatural heat and rendering it still more obnoxious to cold on +removal from a room to the open air. It has been remarked by a medical +author, in the Russian campaign in 1812, that the soldiers of the southern +nations and provinces, viz., Provençaux, Gascons, Italians, Spaniards, and +Portuguese, endured the cold much better and suffered less from it than the +Germans and Hollanders. The reason is sufficiently obvious: the former live +in the open air even in the middle of winter and seldom make use of a fire +to warm themselves; whereas the Germans and Dutch live in an atmosphere of +stove-heat and smoke and seldom like to stir abroad in the open air during +winter, unless necessity obliges them. Hence they become half-baked, as it +were; their nerves are unstrung, their flesh flabby and they become so +chilly, as to suffer from the smallest exposure to the atmosphere. In the +houses in Germany, on account of the stoves, the cold is never felt, +whereas it is very severely in Italy and Spain where many of the houses +have no fireplaces. On this account I prefer Germany as a winter residence, +for I think there is no sensation so disagreeable as to feel cold in the +house. In the open air I do not care a fig for it, for my cloak lined with +bearskin protects me amply. The climate here in winter is a dry cold, which +is much more salubrious and agreeable to me than the changeable, humid +climate of Great Britain, where, though the cold is not so great, it is +much more severely felt. + + +[126] Tacitus, _Germania_, C, VIII.--ED. + +[127] Martin Sherlock (d. 1797), author of _Lettres d'un voyageur anglais_, + which were published in Paris 1779 and, the year after, in London. + +[128] Matthew Gregory Lewis, 1775-1818, published _Ambrosio or the Monk_ in + 1795.--ED. + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII + +MARCH-APRIL 1819 + +Journey from Dresden to Leipzig--The University of Leipzig--Liberal +spirit--The English disliked in Saxony--The English Government hostile to +liberty--Journey to Frankfort--From Frankfort to Metz and Paris--A.F. +Lemaître--_Bon voyage_ to the Allies--Return to England. + +I left Dresden on the 2nd March, 1819. A _Landkutsche_ conveyed me as far +as Leipzig in a day and half, stopping the first night at Oschaly, where +there is a good inn. At Leipzig I put up at the _Hôtel de Bavière_ and +remained five days. Leipzig is a fine old Gothic city. It is, as everybody +knows, famous for its University and its Fair, which is held twice a year, +in spring and in autumn, and which is the greatest mart for books perhaps +in the world. The University of Leipzig and indeed all the Universities of +Germany are in bad repute among the _Obscuranten_ and _éteignoirs_ of the +day, on account of the liberal ideas professed by the teachers and +scholars. In the University of Leipzig every thing may be learned by those +who chuse to apply, but those who prefer remaining idle may do so, as there +is less compulsion than at the English Universities. There is however such +a national enthusiasm for learning, in all parts of Germany, that the most +careless and ill-disposed youth would never be about to support the +ridicule of his fellow students were he backward in obtaining prizes, but +after all I have heard of the dissipation, lawlessness, and want of +discipline at Leipzig, I can safely affirm that all these stories are +grossly exaggerated: and I fancy there is little other dissipation going +forward than amours with _Stubenmädchen_. I do not hear of any drunkenness, +gaming or horse racing; nor do the professors themselves, who ought to be +the best judges of what is going on, complain of the insubordination of +their pupils. But what I principally admire in this, and indeed in other +German Universities, is that there are no distinctions of rank, such as +gold tassels, etc., no servile attention paid to sprigs of nobility, as in +the Universities in England, where the Heads of Colleges and Fellows are +singularly condescending to the son of a Peer, a Minister, or a Bishop. +Perfect equality prevails in Leipzig and the son of the proudest +_Reichsgraf_ is allowed no more priviledges than the son of a barber; nor +do the professors make the least difference between them. In fact, in spite +of the vulgar belief in England respecting the _hauteur_ of the German +_noblesse_ and the vassalage of the other classes, I must say, from +experience, that the German nobility show far less _hauteur_ and have in +general more really liberal ideas than most part of our English +aristocracy, and a German burgher or shop-keeper would disdain to cringe +before a nobleman as many shopkeepers, aye, and even gentry, are sometimes +known to do in England. Another circumstance too proves on how much more +liberal a footing Leipzig and other German Universities are than our +English ones, which is, that in England none but those who profess the +religion of the Church of England, or conform to its ritual, are admitted; +but here all sects are tolerated and admitted, and all live in perfect +harmony with each other. The students are at liberty to chuse their place +of worship and the sermons that are preached in the Catholic as well as the +Protestant churches are such as sensible men of whatever opinion might +listen to with profit, and without being shocked by absurdities or +intolerant ideas. + +Mysteries, theologic sophistry and politics are carefully avoided, and a +pure morality, a simple theosophy, comprehensible to the meanest +understanding, pervades these simple discourses. The consequence of this +toleration and liberal spirit is that an union between the Lutheran and +Calvinistic churches has been effected. + +I met a number of mercantile people at the _table d'hôte_ at Leipzig in the +_Hôtel de Bavière_, and I entered a good deal into conversation with them; +but when they discovered I was an Englishman, I could see a sudden coldness +and restraint in their demeanour, for we are very unpopular in Germany, +owing to the conduct of our Cabinet, and they have a great distrust of us. +The Saxons complain terribly of our Government for sanctioning the +dismemberment of their country and of the insolent letter of Castlereagh. +It is singular enough that Saxony is the only country where English goods +are allowed to be imported free of duty; but our great and good ally the +King of Prussia (as these goods must pass thro' his territory) has imposed +a tolerably heavy transit duty. I am glad of it; this is as it should be. I +rejoice at any obstacles that are put to British commerce; I rejoice when I +hear of our merchants suffering and I quite delight to hear of a +bankruptcy. They, the English merchants, contributed with their gold to +uphold the corrupt system of Pitt and to carry on unjust, unreasonable and +liberticide wars. Yes! it is perfectly fit and proper that the despotic +governments they have contributed to restore should make them feel their +gratitude. If the French since their Revolution have not always fought for +liberty, they have done so invariably for science; and wherever they +carried their victorious arms, abuses were abolished, ameliorations of all +kinds followed, and the arts of life were improved. Our Government since +the accession of George III has never raised its arm except in favor of old +abuses, to uphold despotism and unfair privileges, or to establish +commercial monopoly. Our victories so far from being of beneficial effect +to the countries wherein we gained them, have been their curse. We can +interfere and be prodigal of money and blood to crush any attempt of the +continental nations towards obtaining their liberty; but when it is +necessary to intercede in favour of oppressed patriots, then we are told +that we have no right to interfere with the domestic policy of other +nations. We can send ships to protect and carry off in safety a worthless +Royal family, as at Naples in 1799, but we can view with heartless +indifference, and even complacency, the murders committed in Spain by the +infamous Ferdinand and his severities against those to whom he owes his +crown, all of whom had the strongest daim to our protection as having +fought with us in the same cause and contributed to our success. + +The _Platz_ at Leipzig is large and here it is that the fair is held. The +theatre is an elegant building and lies just outside one of the gates of +the city. Innumerable shops of booksellers are here and it is astonishing +at how cheap a rate printing in all languages is carried forward. + +There are some pleasant promenades in the environs of Leipzig; but this is +not a time of the year to judge of the beauty of the country. I went, +however, to view the house occupied by Napoleon on the eve of the battle of +Leipzig. A monument is to be erected to the memory of Poniatowsky in the +spot where he perished. + +I started from Leipzig on 7th March at eleven o'clock. I was five days en +route from Leipzig to Frankfort, tho' the distance does not exceed +forty-five German miles. I travelled in the diligence, but had I known that +the arrangements were so uncomfortable, I should have preferred going in a +_Landkutsche_, which would have made the journey in seven days and afforded +me an opportunity of stopping every night to repose; whereas in the +diligence, tho' they go _en poste_, they travel exceedingly slow and it is +impossible to persuade the postillion to accelerate his usual pace. He is +far more careful of his horses than of his passengers. This I however +excuse; but it is of the frequent stoppages and bad arrangement of them +that I complain. Instead of stopping at some town for one whole night or +two whole nights out of the five, they stop almost at every town for three, +four and five hours; so that these short stoppages do not give you time +enough to go to bed and they are besides generally made in the day time or +early in the morning and evening. We passed thro' the following cities and +places of eminence, viz., Lutzen; the spot where Gustavus Adolphus was +killed is close to the road on the left hand with a plain stone and the +initials G.A. inscribed on it. Weimar is a very neat city and where I +should like much to have staid; but I had only time to view the outside of +the Palace and the _Stadthaus_. Erfurt and Gotha are both fine looking +cities. In Gotha I had only time to see the outside of the _Residenz +Schloss_ or Ducal Palace, which is agreeably situated on an eminence, and +to remark in the _Neumarkt Kirche_ the portrait of Duke Bernard of Saxe +Weimar and the monuments of the princes of that family. At Erfurt there is +the tomb of a Count Gleichen who was made prisoner in the Holy Land, in the +time of the Crusades, and was released by a Mahometan Princess on condition +of his espousing her. The Count was already married in Germany and there he +had left his wife; but such was his gratitude to the fair Musulmane, that +he married her with the full consent of his German wife and they all three +lived happily together. Fulda, where we stopped four hours, appears a fine +city, and is situated on an eminence commanding a noble view of a very +fertile and extensive plain. The Episcopal Palace and the churches are +magnificent, and the general appearance of the town is striking. The +Bishopric of Fulda was formerly an independent ecclesiastical state, but +was secularised at the treaty of Lunéville and now forms part of the +territory of Hesse-Cassel. + +The _Feld-zeichen_ of Hesse-Cassel is green and red. After passing thro' +Hanau, where we halted three hours, which gave me an opportunity of viewing +the field of battle there, we proceeded to Frankfort and arrived there at +twelve o'clock the 12th of March. I put up at the _Swan_ inn. In summer +time the country about Fulda and in general between Fulda and Frankfort +must be very pleasing from the variety of the features of the ground. We +lived very well and very cheap on the road. The price of the diligence from +Leipzig to Frankfort was eleven _Reichsthaler_. + +After remaining three days to repose at Frankfort I took my place to +Mayence and from thence to Metz and Paris. In the diligence from Mayence +and indeed all the way to Paris I found a very amusing society. There were +two physicians and M. L[emaître], a most entertaining man and of +inexhaustible colloquial talent; for, except when he slept, he never ceased +to talk. His conversation was however always interesting and entertaining, +for he had figured in the early part of the French Revolution and was well +known in the political and litterary world as the editor of a famous +journal called _Le Bonhomme Richard_.[129] + +Metz is a large, well built and strongly fortified city. Verdun, thro' +which we passed, became quite an English colony during the war from the +number of _detenus_ of that nation who were compelled to reside there. At +Epernay we drank a few bottles of Champagne and a toast was given by one of +the company, which met with general applause. It was _Bon voyage_ to the +Allies who have now finally evacuated France to the great joy of the whole +nation, except of the towns where they were cantoned, where they +contributed much towards enriching the shopkeepers and inhabitants. + +I remained in Paris six days and then proceeded to England. + + +[129] _Le bonhomme Richard aux bonnes gens_ was not a "famous journal," as + only two numbers appeared in 1790 (M. Tourneux, _Bibliographie de + l'histoire de Paris pendant la Révolution_, vol. 11, p. 585, n. 10, + 511). The publisher, Antoine-François Lemaître, whom Major Erye + mentions in this passage, was the author of some other revolutionary + pamphlets, e.g., _Lettres bougrement patriotiques_, etc.--ED. + + + + + + +INDEX + +Acheron, Lake. +Adam, Major-General commands Light Brigade of General + Sir H. Clinton's division. +Aix-la-Chapelle: + Hotel-de-Ville; + Cathedral; + relics of Charlemagne; + Napoleon's benefactions; + overbearing demeanour of Prussian soldiers; + Faro bank; + interesting Tyrolese girl; + baths. +Albanot Villa Doria, + ancient monument. +Albany, Countess of, + her claim to be the legitimate Queen of England; + Alfieri's attachment to. +Alexandria: Austrian Government destroys fortifications of +Alfieri: compared with Shakespeare, Schiller, and Voltaire, + monument erected to, by Canova; + his sonnet to Countess of Albany. +Alsace-Lorraine: severance of, from France anticipated by Prussian + officers. +Andernach: ruins of palace of Kings of Austrasia, + church containing embalmed body of Emperor Valentinian; + crossing of Rhine by Julius Caesar at. +Angoulême, Duchesse d': temperament and religious fanaticism of. +Antwerp: English families fly from Brussels to. +Archenholz: historian of the Seven Years' War. +Army of the Loire: exemplary conduct of, when disbanded. +Arona: colossal statue of St Charles Borromeus at. +Austria: fluctuations in the value of the paper currency of + Napoleon's policy as regarded. +Avernus, Lake. + +Baciocchi, Princess Elise: sister of Napoleon and Sovereign of Lucca. +Baffo, Venetian poet. +Baiae: baths of Nero, + ruins of temples; + the Styx; + Elysian Fields. +Belgium: + dislike to severance from France; + feeling towards Holland; + attachment to Napoleon; + preparations for the Campaign; + all inhabitants requisitioned for the repair of fortifications. +Berlin: occupation of, after Jena, + excellent conduct of French troops of occupation; + excesses committed by troops of Rhenish Confederation; + insolent conduct of troops raised by Prince of Isenburg; + art treasures of, respected by French Republican Armies; + Unter den Linden; + Brandenburger Thor; + public buildings; + streets; + statues of great men in the Wilhelm Platz; + Churches; + the officers of the Army; + anecdote of Blucher. +Bern: attempts in 1815 to regain possession of the Canton de Vaud. +Bigottini: fine performance at the Grand Opera, Paris. +Bingen: Mausethurm, + Bishop Hatto. +Blacas, Vicomte de: at Court of Louis XVIII at Ghent. +Blucher: popularity of, in London, + encourages the excesses of his soldiery; + nicknames of; + narrowly escapes capture at Ligny; + saves English at Hougoumont; + anecdote related of. +Bohemia: dialect of. +Bologna: arcades, + remarkable picture in gallery of Count Marescalchi; + leaning tower; + lady-professor of Greek; + Carbonari; + theatre; + women; + barbarous dialect. +Bonn: + Electoral palace; + Roman antiquity; + legends of the Sieben Gebirge; + Das Heimliche Gericht. +Bordas, M, politics of. +Borgo San Donino, remarkable highway robbery at. +Borromean Islands, splendid villa in Isola Bella. +Bourbons, the: want of patriotism of the Duc de Berri, + their injudicious conduct; + Louis XVIII and Monsieur at Ghent; + amusing nickname of Louis XVIII; + dislike of the French people to; + their atrocious policy; + send emissaries to South of France from Coblentz; + unpopularity of; + fulsome adulation of; + cause removal of Sismondi from Geneva; + character of royal families of France, Spain, and Naples. +Brussels: description of, + historical associations; + Place du Sablon, celebrated fountain; + theatres; + humanity of inhabitants of, to the wounded after Waterloo. + +Caffarelli, Statue of, in Palais du Luxembourg. +Canova, works of, in St Peter's, + master-pieces in his atelier in Rome; + character of his genius. +Capellen, Baron de, + proclamation of, to the inhabitants of Brussels. +Capua, + thievishness of lower classes of. +Carbonari, degrees and initiation, + object; + meaning of name. +Castlereagh, Lord: insolent letter of, respecting King of Saxony. +Catalani: singing of. +Ceylon: Frye's travels in. +Chalon: affection felt for Napoleon in, + Austrian officers in. +Charleroy: defeat of Prussian army at. +Chateaubriand: at the Court of Louis XVIII at Ghent. +Chatham, Earl of: indignation of, at employment of Indians in the War + of Independence. +Clermont: Peter the Hermit preaches First Crusade in, + petrifying well; + Swiss regiment; + anonymous denunciations; + method of cleansing town. +Coblentz: monument to Marceau, + Bourbon intrigues with Jacobins and Brissotins. +Code Napoléon: simplicity and advantages of, as compared with + English criminal law. +Cologne: Cathedral, + the three kings; + the eleven thousand virgins; + etymology of the name; + Jean-Marie Farina. +Cremona: Gothic buildings, + Campanile of Cathedral. +Consalvi, Cardinal: character and abilities of. +Campagna: limbs of quartered malefactors hung up on roadsides, + armed peasants; + the malaria. + +David: pictures by, in Palais du Luxembourg. +De l'Epée, Abbé: founder of the Institution of the _Sourds-Muets_. +Dessaix: Statue of, in Palais du Luxembourg. +De Watteville: disbands his army. +Delille, Abbé, his poetry. +De Boigne, General: his great services to Scindiah, + unjustly accused of treachery towards Tippoo Sahb. +Didier: handed over by the Sardinian Government to the French, + his execution at Grenoble. +Dijon: the town, + manufactories of. +Dionigi, Mme: literary and artistic attainments of. +D'Orfei, Mme. +Dresden: The Japanischer Palast, + music in; + Prince Galhitzin; + the King; + bridge over the Elbe; + Marshal Davoust; + Grosser Garten; + Ressource Club; + etiquette; + title of "Rath"; + theatres; + beds; + scholars. +Duchesnois, Mlle: fine acting of. + +Egypt: striking testimony to the good done by the French in. +Ehrenbreitstein: flying bridge, + great natural strength; + beauty of women of. +Ellis, Col. Sir H.: perishes at Waterloo. +Emigrés, the: + incorrigibility of; + ingratitude to Napoleon; + their foolish expectations; + efforts to cause restoration of lands formerly theirs. +Ens: + whirlpool; + the Waternixie. +Erfurt: legend of Count Gleichen. +Espinassy, General: republican principles of. +Eton: principles instilled into boys at. +Eustace, Mr: examples of his credulity and bigotry. + +Ferrara: + Hugo and Parisina; + the Po; + relics of Ariosto; + MSS of Ariosto, Tasso, Guarini; + Hospital of St Anna. +Firmin: acting of. +Fleurus: Prussian army defeated at. +Florence: + the Duomo; + Battisterio; + il Sasso di Dante; + theatres; + public buildings; + statues; + Gallery; + Venus; + de Medici; + paintings and sculpture; + portraits of sovereigns; + Roman antiquities; + remarkable imitations in wax of human anatomy; + Ponte Vecchio; + street paving; + thickness of walls of houses; + Palazzo Pitti; + Canova's Venus; + Boboli Gardens; + Cascino; + beauty of the women; + Pegasus; + Italian fondness for gaudy colours; + Canova's monument to Alfieri; + Church of Santa Croce; + the Florentine Westminster Abbey; + academies; + La Crusca; + English travellers; + Lord Dillon; + story illustrating Florentine life. +Fouché: complains of the conduct of the Allies. +Frankfort: + Venus Vulgivaga; + Jews; + cathedral; + inauguration of Roman Caesars in the Römer; + the Golden Bull; + portraits of the Emperors; + theatre; + adaptation of German language to music; + political opinion in; + dislike to Austria. +French Revolution: worst excesses of, surpassed. + +Galileo: monument erected to, in church of Santa Croce. +Gauthier, M.: exiled to Lausanne. +Geneva: scenery, + Fort de l'Écluse; + arcades; + J.J. Rousseau; + Calvin; + Servetus; + sentiments of Genevese towards Napoleon and the Revolution; + literary aptitude of Genevese; + attachment to their country; + the women; + French refugees refused an asylum in; + admitted into Helvetic Confederation. +Genoa: the women of, + peculiarities of the streets; + ducal palace; + Columbus; + bridge of Carignano; + churches. +Georges, Mlle: fine acting of, + her rendering of "Agrippina"; + plays the part of "Clytemnestra," supported by her sister as "Iphigénie". +Ghent: Court of Louis XVIII at. +Girolamo, Signor: anecdote of. +Godesberg: interesting ruins near. +Granet: remarkable pictures by. +Grassini: singing of. +Grillparzer, author of the tragedy "Sappho". +Grotto of Pausilippo. +Grotto del Cane. +Guérin: pictures by, in Palais du Luxembourg. +Guillotine, the. + +Helvetic Confederation: guaranteed by the Allied Powers in 1814, + Geneva admitted into. +Herculaneum. +Hockheim; Rhenish wines. +Holland: feeling towards the House of Orange, + regret at loss of Cape of Good Hope and Ceylon. +Hougoumont: Bulow and Blucher march to the assistance of the English at + devastation of. +Hulin, General: cashiers a Prussian officer in the French service. + +India: Frye's travels in. +Innspruck: the Hofkirche, + statues of kings and princes connected with Maximilian I. + +Kléber: statue of, in Palais du Luxembourg. +Klingmann, Philipp: plot of his tragedy "Faust". + +Labédoyère: execution of. +Lacoste: acts as Napoleon's guide at Waterloo. +Lafayette: rebukes British Commissioner at the Conference. +Lafond: acting of. +Lafontaine, Augustus: comparison of works of, with the "Nouvelle Heloise" + of Rousseau. +La Harpe, General: influences Emperor of Russia in favour of the Vaudois. +Lamarque: sent by the Convention to arrest Dumouriez, + delivered over to the Austrians; + votes for Napoleon. +Landshut: Church of St Martin at. +Language: influence of, upon the poetry and plays of Italy, France, + England and Germany. +Lausanne: steep ascents, + beauty of environs; + Republican principles of; + intolerant discourse of minister. +Leipzig: Saxon troops go over to the Mies during the battle of, + the University; + unpopularity of the English in. +Leghorn: Hebrew families in, + Don Felipe III; + Smollett's tomb. +Liége: situation of, + coal-pits near; + commerce with Holland; + fortifications; + destroyed by Joseph II. +Linz: beauty of the women, + curious incident; + learned innkeepers. +Lodi: interesting model in the Hôtel des Invalides of battle of. +Louvre: works of art in, + stripping of, by the Allies. +Lucca: female servants, + the amoroso; + Dante's mountain. +Lyons: buildings, + scenery; + feelings towards Napoleon; + character of inhabitants; + manufactures. + +Maastricht: situation, + Montagne de St Pierre. +Machiavelli: entombed in church of Santa Croce. +Mâcon: quai, + wine; + grisettes. +Maffei: his "Polyphonte" compared with that of Voltaire. +Maitland, Captain: Napolean surrenders to. +Mantua: situation, + Cathedral; + monuments of the Gonzagas; + the T palace and gardens. +Marengo: the Battle of, + Commemoration column thrown down. +Maria Louisa: ordered to quit papal territory, + enthusiastic reception of, at Bologna; + victim of a strange theft. +Mars, Mlle: graceful acting of. +Massieu: pupil of the Abbé Sicard. +Mayence: Cathedral, + Citadel. +Michel Angelo: anecdote of. +Milan: _Teatro della Scala_, + the _Duomo_; + the women of; + dialect; + the _Zecca_; + palace; + Ambrosian Library; + hospital; + _Teatro Olimpico_; + Porta del Sempione; + Italian comedy and audiences; + Teatro Girolamo; + Milanese twang; + ballet; + acting of La Pallerini. +Mittenwald: great raft, + interesting journey. +Mölk: tradition of the Devil's Wall, + ruins of Castle of Dierenstein; + Richard Coeur de Lion. +Mont Cenis: description of the Chaussée. +Mont St. Jean: dreadful sight on plateau of. +Montefiascone: story of the _Vino d'Est_. +Morice, Colonel: death at Waterloo. +Munich: the King, + national theatre; + social life in; + female head-dress. +Murat: Italian opinion of. + +Namur: situation of, + Citadel demolished by Joseph II; + complaints against. +Prussian soldiery. +Napoleon: takes tribute of works of art from vanquished Governments, + calumniated by the _émigrés_; + unjust aspersions on; + narrow escape from capture; + confident of success before Waterloo; + constructs Chaussée of Mont Cenis. +Naples: + life of a man of fashion in; + Etruscan vases and papyri in museum; + theatres; + _Pulcinello_; + social advantages; + lazzaroni; + dialect; + effect of general ignorance. +Nelson, Lord: conduct towards Caraccioli, +Neuwied: University of. +Ney, Marshall: Wellington and Emperor of Russia refuse to interfere + in favour of + +Padua: + University; + Church of St Anthony; + Palazzo della Giustizia; + tomb of Livy. +Paris: Louis XVIII in, + Kotzebue on the _Palais Royal_; + Café Montausier; + the Louvre; + statues and paintings collected by the French Government; + productions at the Grand Opera; + Column of the _Place Vendôme_; + Gardens of the Tuileries; + Chamber of Deputies; + the _Invalides_; + models of the fortresses of France; + Picture Gallery of the Palais du Luxembourg; + frequency of quarrels between French and Prussian officers in the; + _Palais Royal_; + behaviour of English officers in; + masterpieces performed in the _Théâtre français_; + Ney shot in the Gardens of the Luxembourg. +Parma: "L'Amfiteatro Farnese", + paintings; + birthplace of Cassius. +Passau: junction of the Danube, Inn and Illst. +Perugia. +Pescia, + advantages of living in. +Picton, Lieut-Genl Sir T.: perishes at Waterloo. +Piedmont: character of the lower classes of. +Pillnitz: + the palace; + Treaty of. +Pisa. +Pitt: credited with the invention of the sinking fund. +Pius VII: character and virtues of. +Pompeii: + amphitheatre; + houses; + Temple of Isis; + Praetorium; + antiquities removed to Museum of Portici. +Pontine Marshes. +Prague: situation, + bridge over the Mulda; + remarkable statue; + Jews; + palaces of the Wallensteins and Colloredos; + St John Nepomucene; + Joseph II's ingenious method of extorting money from the Jews; + Catalani; + story of the Duchess Libussa. + +Rafaelli: mosaic work of. +Rho: ancient tree. +Rome: censorship of books at the Dogana, + Coliseum; + Arch of Constantine; + _Via Sacra_--excavations; + Tarpeian Rock; + Capitol; + St Peter's; + anecdote of Michel Angelo; + statue of St Peter; + masterpieces of sculpture in Capitoline Museum; + Transteverini; + effect of the settling of foreign artists in; + Santa Maria Maggiore; + Church of St John Lateran; + Egyptian obelisk; + La Scala Santa; + Quirinal; + fountains; + Column of Trajan; + baths of Diocletian; + theatres; + masterpieces of art in the Vatican Museum; + statue of Jupiter Capitolinus; + stanze di Rafaello; + Appian Road; + social life in; + the _Avvocati_; + Papal Government; + post office defalcations; + the Carnival; + races in the Corso; + masquerades; + Sovereigns and persons of distinction living in Rome in 1818; + Easter in; + Swiss Guard; + Noble Guard; + papal benediction; + illumination of St Peter's; + fireworks from Castle of St Angelo; + the brigand Barbone; + his wife. + +Savoy: character of inhabitants of. +Schönbrunn: anecdote of Napoleon's son. +Schuyler, General: his reproof of General Burgoyne. +Scindiah: career of. +Sgricci, Signor: his genius for improvisation. +Sicard, Abbeé; director of the Institution of the _Sourds-Muets_, +eulogises Sir Sidney Smith. +Sienna: cathedral, + Piccolomini monument; + dialect. +Simplon: road over the, + Chaussée; + _maisons de refuge_. +Sismondi, + the historian banished from Geneva. +Smith, Lucius F.: friend of De Boigne. +Smith, Sir Sidney: his eulogy of the Abbé Sicard. +Spoleto: ruins of ancient buildings. +St Cloud: favourite residence of Napoleon. +St Eustatius: pillaged by Admiral Rodney. +St Germain: depôt for articles plundered by Prussian officers. +St Helena: injustice of Napoleon's banishment to. +Stewart, Lord: conduct of, at Conference of French Commissioners + with the Allies. + +Taddei, Rosa: her talent for improvisation. +Talma, his ailing at the Théâtre Français. +Thorwaldsen: character of his genius. +Tivoli: the Villa d'Este, + Adrian's Villa. +Tölz: remarkable groups of figures in wood, representing + history of Christ. +Tournay, + citadel of. +Trévoux: scenery on the road between Mâcon and, + hotel-keeper's beautiful daughter. +Turin: Chapelle du Saint Suaire, + remarkable works of art in; + the King of Sardinia. +Tuscany: contrast with papal dominions, + pronunciation; + peasantry; + fondness of Tuscan women for dress; + feeling towards Napoleon in; + character of the people; + house of Americo Vespucci. +Tyrol, the: general description of, + dress of the peasant women. + +Valais: crétins of. +Vaud, Canton de: character of inhabitants of, + gratitude to France; + democratic spirit; + La Harpe; + defends its independence; + hatred of French Royalists to. +Velino: remarkable cascade. +Venice: Canale Grande, + Rialto; + palaces of great families; + the Merceria; + water-fête; + Piazza di San Marco; + Church of St Mark; + Campanile; + variety of costumes in; + dialect; + social life in; + Doge's palace; + theatres; + gondolas. +Verbruggen, H.: work of, in church of St Gudule, Brussels. +Verona: amphitheatre, + Palladio; + Scala family; + social advantages in. +Versailles: magnificence of. +"Vertraute Briefe" the. +Vesuvius: eruptions, + lava. +Vicenza. +Vienna: Art treasures of, respected by French Republican armies, + great raft; + streets; + Cathedral; + Hofburg; + Congress of; + Wechselbank; + Belvedere Palace; + Prater; + theatres. +Visconte, Galeazzo: builds church of the Certosa. +Volnais, Mlle: Acting of. +Voltaire: his play, "Mérope", + his benefactions to Ferney; + relics of; + portraits of contemporaries in his château. + +Walker, Adam: his lectures to Etonians stopped. +Wardle, Col.: republican principles of, + anonymous denunciation of. +Waterloo: French officer's remarks on. +Wellington: his confidence in the result of the campaign, + gallantry of; + checks frequency of corporal punishment in the army. +Wilson, Maj.-Genl: accompanies Frye on a tour through the theatre of War. +Wilson, Sir R.: his charges against Napoleon. +Wirion: removed from office by Napoleon. + +York, Duke of, + opposes frequent corporal punishment in the Army. + +Zedera, Chevalier: political dispute with Genevese, + his journey with Frye to Italy; + his parting with Frye. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of After Waterloo: Reminiscences of +European Travel 1815-1819, by Major W. 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For +example an eBook of filename 10234 would be found at: + + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/0/2/3/10234 + +or filename 24689 would be found at: + https://www.gutenberg.org/2/4/6/8/24689 + +An alternative method of locating eBooks: + https://www.gutenberg.org/GUTINDEX.ALL + + diff --git a/old/10939-8.zip b/old/10939-8.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..74d033d --- /dev/null +++ b/old/10939-8.zip diff --git a/old/10939.txt b/old/10939.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..0c32a9e --- /dev/null +++ b/old/10939.txt @@ -0,0 +1,14904 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of After Waterloo: Reminiscences of European +Travel 1815-1819, by Major W. E Frye + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: After Waterloo: Reminiscences of European Travel 1815-1819 + +Author: Major W. E Frye + +Release Date: February 4, 2004 [EBook #10939] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK AFTER WATERLOO *** + + + + +Produced by Robert Connal and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team from images generously made available by gallica +(Bibliotheque nationale de France) at http://gallica.bnf.fr. + + + + + +AFTER WATERLOO + +Reminiscences of European Travel 1815-1819 + +By + +MAJOR W.E. FRYE + +EDITED WITH A PREFACE AND NOTES + +By SALOMON REINACH + +Member of the Institute of France + + + + +LONDON +1908 + + + + +To + + V.A.M. + S.R. + + + + +PREFACE + +The knowledge of Major Frye's manuscript and the privilege of publishing it +for the first time I owe to the kindness of two French ladies, the Misses +G----. Their father, a well known artist and critic, used to spend the +summer months at Saint Germain-en-Laye together with his wife, who was an +English woman by birth. They had been for a long time intimately acquainted +with Major Frye, who lived and ended his life in that quiet town. The +Major's hostess, Mme. de W----, after his death in 1858, brought the +manuscript to Mrs. G---- and gave it to her in memory of her friend. It was +duly preserved in the G---- family, but remained unnoticed. The Misses +G---- rediscovered it in 1907, when it had been lying in a cupboard for +upwards of half a century. On their showing it to me I thought it was +interesting for many reasons, and worthy of introduction to the public. I +hope the reader will share my opinion, which is also that of several +English scholars and men of letters, to whom I communicated extracts from +the manuscript. + +The reminiscences are in the form of letters addressed to a correspondent +who, however, is never named and of whose health, family and private +circumstances not the slightest mention is to be found. So I am inclined to +believe that he never existed, and that Major Frye chose to imitate +President de Brosses and others who thus recorded their travelling +experiences in epistolary form. + +The manuscript--which will eventually be deposited in a public library--is +entirely in Major Frye's large and legible hand; at some later time it was +evidently revised by himself, but many names which I have endeavoured to +complete were left in blank or only indicated by initials. There are three +folio volumes, bound in paper boards. In this edition it has been thought +advisable to leave out a certain number of pages devoted to theatricals, of +which Major Frye was a great votary, and also some lengthy descriptions of +landscapes, museums and churches, the interest of which to modern readers +does not correspond to the space occupied by them. For the information +contained in the footnotes I am indebted to many correspondents, English, +French, Swiss, Belgian and Italian, to whom I here express my hearty +thanks. I am under special obligation to Sir Charles Dilke, Mr Oscar +Browning, Professor Novati, Professor Corrado Ricci, Commandant +Esperandieu, Professor Cumont, Professor Stilling and Mr Hoechberg. + +Major Frye's tombstone is in the cemetery of Saint Germain, and reads thus: +"To the memory of Major William Edward Frye, who departed this life the 9th +day of October, 1858." On the same stone has been added in French: +"Perceval Edmond Litchfield, decede le 15 Avril, 1888." About P.E. +Litchfield I know nothing; he must have been the Major's intimate friend +during the last period of his life. + + * * * * * + +W.E. Frye was born Oct. 29, 1784, and received his education at Eton +(1797-9) in the time of the French Revolution. "The system was," he says, +"to drill into the heads of the boys strong aristocratic principles and +hatred of democracy and of the French in particular." The effect produced +on the youth was the reverse of that intended. From 1799 to 1822 he +belonged to the British army: here is an abstract of his services: + + Ensign, 2nd Foot, 5th August, 1799. + Lieutenant, 2nd Foot, 7th March, 1800. + Half-pay, 4th Foot, 14th April, 1808. + Lieutenant, 24th Foot, 8th December, 1804. + Captain, 56th Foot, 18th April, 1805. + 3rd Ceylon Regt., 15th Feb., 1810. + Half-pay, 3rd Foot, 7th March, 1816. + 4th Foot, 24th Feb., 1820. + Brevet-Major, 12th August, 1819. + Sold out, 15th August, 1822. + +In 1799, Frye took a part in the British Expedition to Holland. In 1801 he +was in Egypt with Lord Abercrombie's army and received the medal for war +service. His career in India lasted six years and gave him occasion to +visit the three presidencies and Ceylon. In 1814 he returned on furlough to +Europe and was in Brussels during the Waterloo campaign. The subsequent +years--1815 to 1819--he employed visiting Western Europe, as appears from +his reminiscences. I have read letters of his which prove that he lived in +Paris from 1830 to 1832. Later, about 1848, he took an apartment in Saint +Germain, and died there in 1858. + +Major Frye was a very distinguished linguist; besides knowing Greek and +Latin, he understood almost all European languages, and was capable of +writing correctly in French, Italian and German. The Misses G---- have +shown me a rare book published by him at Paris in 1844 under the following +title: + +"Trois chants de l'Edda. Vaftrudnismal, Thrymsquidal, Skirnisfor, traduits +en vers francais, accompagnes de notes explicatives des mythes et +allegories, et suivis d'autres poemes par W.E. Frye, ancien major +d'infanterie au service d'Angleterre, membre de l'Academie des Arcadiens de +Rome. Se vend a Paris, pour l'auteur, chez Heideloff & Cie, Libraires, 18 +Rue des Filles St. Thomas. 1844" (In 8vo, xii, 115 pp.) + +At the end of that volume are translations by Major Frye of several +Northern poems--in German, Italian and English verse--from the Danish and +the Swedish; then come two sonnets in French verse, the one in honour of +Lafayette, the other about the Duke of Orleans, whose premature death he +compares with that of the Northern hero of the Edda, Balder. A part of +Frye's translation of the Edda, before appearing in book form, had been +published in _l'Echo de la Litterature et des Beaux Arts_, a periodical +edited by the Major's friend, M. de Belenet. + +Frye loved poetry, though his ideas on the subject were rather those of the +eighteenth century than our own. It is interesting to find an English +officer reading Voltaire, Gessner, Ariosto, and quoting them from memory +(which explains that some of his quotations had to be corrected). The +sentimental vein of Rousseau's generation still flows and vibrates in him, +as when he says that he has never been able to read the letters of Wolmar +to St Preux in Rousseau's _Nouvelle Heloise_ without shedding tears. German +minor poetry, now quite forgotten, attracted him almost as much as the +great pages of Schiller, Buerger, and Goethe. The Misses G. possess a +manuscript translation in three volumes, in the Major's own hand, of +Wieland's _Agathodemon_ done into English. This he evidently intended to +publish, as he had written the title-page which is worded as follows: + +"Agathodemon, a philosophical romance translated from the German of Wieland +by W.E. Frye, member of the Academy degli Arcadi in Rome, and of the Royal +Society of Northern Antiquarians of Copenhagen, ex-major of infantry in His +British Majesty's service." + +Frye describes with accuracy, and shows much appreciation of fine scenery +and architecture. His judgements in painting and sculpture are sincere, +though often betraying the autodidact and amateur. He loved music, +especially Rossini's operas which were then beginning their long career of +triumph. Theatricals of all sorts, especially ballets, had a great +attraction for him and elicited his enthusiastic comments. In comparing +tragedies and comedies which he had seen performed in different countries, +he gave repeated proofs of his knowledge and critical insight. We can take +him as a good example of that intelligent class of English travellers whose +intercourse with the Continental _litterati_ has so well contributed to +establish the good reputation of British culture and refined appreciation +of the arts. + +The chief interest of Frye's reminiscences lies, however, in quite another +direction. He was a friend of liberty, a friend of France, an admirer of +Napoleon, and a hater of the Tory regime which brought about Napoleon's +downfall. "France's attempts at European domination, in the Napoleonic era, +are graciously described as but so many efforts towards spreading the light +of civilization over Europe." These words, written about a quite recent +work and a propos of the "Entente cordiale," apply perfectly to Frye's +reminiscences. Travelling immediately before and after the Emperor's +collapse, he found that everywhere, excepting in Tuscany, the French +domination was regretted, because the ideals of liberty and equality had +shone and vanished with the tricolour flag. He admires the French people, +though not the _Ultras_ and bigots, and has fine words of praise for the +French army: "Yes, the French soldier is a fine fellow. I have served +against them in Holland and in Egypt, and I will never flinch from +rendering justice to their exemplary conduct and lofty valour." He takes +trouble to refute the exaggerated reports which were then circulated all +over Europe about the cruelties and vandalism practised by the French: "If +the French since the Revolution have not always fought for liberty, they +have done so invariably for science; and wherever they carried their +victorious arms abuses were abolished, ameliorations of all kinds followed +and the arts of life were improved. Our government, since the accession of +George III, has never raised its arm except in favour of old abuses, to +uphold despotism and unfair privileges or to establish commercial +monopoly." + +Sometimes, indeed, speaking of his own country and its government, Major +Frye uses very hard words, which might seem unpatriotic if we did not know, +from many other memoirs and letters, to what a terrible strain orthodox +Toryism, coupled with bigotry and hypocrisy, had put the patience of +liberal Englishmen at that period. He called the British government "the +most dangerous, artful, and determined enemy of all liberty,"--"England," +he says, "has been always ready to lend a hand to crush liberty, to +perpetuate abuses and to rivet the fetters of monarchical, feudal and +ecclesiastical tyranny." And later on he inveighs against the English +merchants, who "contributed with their gold to uphold the corrupt system of +Pitt and to carry on unjust, unreasonable and liberticide wars." + +Whatever may be the final judgement of history on the Tory principles in +politics in the days of the Congress of Vienna, Major Frye's love of +liberty and intellectual progress entitle him to the sympathy of those who +share his generous feelings and do not consider that personal freedom and +individual rights are articles for home use only. Since Frye wrote, the +whole of Europe, excepting perhaps Russia, has reaped the benefits of the +French Revolution, and reduced, if not suppressed, what the Major called +"kingcraft and priestcraft." He did not attempt to divine the future, but +the history of Europe in the nineteenth century has been largely in +accordance with his desires and hopes. It is not a small merit for a +writer, in the midst of one of the most rabid reactions that the world has +known, to have clung with such tenacity to ideals, the complete victory of +which may now be contemplated in the near future. + +S.R. + + + + + + +CONTENTS + + + +PART I. + + +CHAPTER I + +MAY-JUNE, 1815 + +Passage from Ceylon to England--Napoleon's return--Ostend--Bruges +--Ghent--The King of France at Mass--Alost--Bruxelles--The Duke of +Wellington very confident--Feelings of the Belgians--Good conduct of +British troops--Monuments in Bruxelles--Theatricals--Genappe and +Namur--Complaints against the Prussian troops--Mons--Major-General +Adam--Tournay--A French deserter--General Clinton's division--Cavalry +review--The Duke de Berri--Back to Bruxelles--Unjust opinions about +Napoleon and the French--Battle at Ligny--The day of Waterloo in +Bruxelles--Visit to the battlefield--Terrible condition of the +wounded--Kindness of the Bruxellois. + + +CHAPTER II + +From Bruxelles to Liege--A priest's declamation against the French +Revolution--Maastricht--Aix-la-Chapelle--Imperial relics--Napoleon +regretted--Klingmann's "Faust"--A Tyrolese beauty--Cologne--Difficulties +about a passport--The Cathedral--King-craft and priest-craft--The +Rhine--Bonn and Godesberg--Goethe's "Goetz von Berlichingen"--The Seven +Mountains--German women--Andernach--Ehrenbreitstein--German hatred against +France--Coblentz--Intrigues of the Bourbon princes in Coblentz--Mayence-- +Bieberich--Conduct of the Allies towards Napoleon--Frankfort on the +Mayn--An anecdote about Lord Stewart and Lafayette--German poetry--The +question of Alsace and Lorraine--Return to Bruxelles--Napoleon's surrender. + + +CHAPTER III + +From Bruxelles to Paris--Restoration of Louis XVIII--The officers of the +allied armies--The Palais Royal--The Louvre--Protest of the author against +the proposed despoiling of the French Museums--Unjust strictures against +Napoleon's military policy--The _cant_ about revolutionary robberies--The +Grand Opera--Monuments in Paris--The Champs Elysees--Saint-Cloud--The +Hotel des Invalides--The Luxembourg--General Labedoyere--Priests and +emigrants--Prussian Plunder--Handsome behaviour of the English +officers--Reminiscences of Eton--Versailles. + + +CHAPTER IV + +From Paris to Bruxelles--Visiting the plains of Waterloo--The Duke de Berri +at Lille--Beauvais--Return to Paris--Remarks on the French theatre +--Talma--Mlle Duchesnois--Mlle Georges--French alexandrine verse--The Abbe +Delille--The Opera Comique. + + +CHAPTER V + +From Paris to Milan through Dijon, Chalon-sur-Saone, Lyons, Geneva and the +Simplon--Auxerre--Dijon--Napoleon at Chalon-sur-Saone--The army of the +Loire--Macon--French _grisettes_--Lyons--Monuments and theatricals-- +Geneva--Character and opinions of the Genevois--Voltaire's chateau at +Ferney--The chevalier Zadera--From Geneva to Milan--Crossing the +Simplon--Arona--The theatres in Milan--Rossini--Monuments in Milan--Art +encouraged by the French--Mr Eustace's bigotry--Return to Switzerland +--Clarens and Vevey--Lausanne--Society in Lausanne--Return to Paris--The +Louvre stripped--Death of Marshal Ney. + + + +PART II + + +CHAPTER VI + +MARCH-JUNE, 1816 + +Ball at Cambray, attended by the Duke of Wellington--An Adventure between +Saint Quentin and Compiegne--Paris revisited--Colonel Wardle and Mrs +Wallis--Society in Paris--The Sourds-Muets--The Cemetery of Pere La +Chaise--Apathy of the French people--The priests--Marriage of the Duke de +Berri. + + +CHAPTER VII + +Journey from Paris to Lausanne--Besancon--French refugees in Lausanne +--Francois Lamarque--General Espinassy--Bordas--Gautier--Michau--M. de +Laharpe--Mlle Michaud--Levade, a Protestant minister--Chambery--Aix +--Details about M. de Boigne's career in India--English Toryism and +intolerance--Valley of Maurienne--Passage across Mont Cenis and arrival at +Suza--Turin. + + +CHAPTER VIII + +Journey from Turin to Bologna--Asti--Schiller and Alfieri--Italian +_cuisine_--The _vetturini_--Marengo--Piacenza--The Trebbia--Parma--The +Empress Maria Louisa--Modena--Bologna--The University--The Marescalchi +Gallery--Character of the Bolognese. + + +CHAPTER IX + +Journey across the Appennines to Florence--Tuscan idioms and +customs--Monuments and galleries at Florence--The Cascino--Churches-- +Theatres--Popularity of the Grand Duke--Napoleon's downfall not +regretted--Academies in Florence. + + +CHAPTER X + +Journey from Florence to Rome--Sienna--Radicofani--Bolsena--Montefiascone +wine--Viterbo--Baccano--The Roman Campagna--The papal _douans_--Monuments +and Museums in Rome--Intolerance of the Catholic Christians--The Tiber and +the bridges--Character of the Romans--The _Palazzi_ and _Ville_--Canova's +atelier--Theatricals--An execution in Rome. + + +CHAPTER XI + +From Rome to Naples--Albano--Velletri--The Marshes--Terracina--Mola di +Gaeta--Capua--The streets of Naples--Monuments and Museums--Visit to +Pompeii and ascent to Vesuvius--Dangerous ventures--Puzzuoli and +Baiae--Theatres at Naples--Pulcinello--Return to Rome--Tivoli. + + +CHAPTER XII + +NOVEMBER-DECEMBER, 1816 + +From Rome to Florence--Sismondi the historian--Reminiscences of +India--Lucca--Princess Elisa Baciqochi--Pisa--The Campo Santo--Leghorn-- +Hebrews in Leghorn--Lord Dillon--The story of a lost glove--From Florence +to Lausanne by Milan, Turin and across Mont Cenis--Lombardy in winter--The +Hospice of Mont Cenis. + + + +PART III + + +CHAPTER XIII + +MARCH-SEPTEMBER, 1817 + +Journey from Lausanne to Clermont-Ferrand--A wretched conveyance--The +first dish of frogs--Society in Clermont-Ferrand--General de Vergennes-- +Cleansing the town--Return to Lausanne--A zealous priest--Journey to Bern +and back to Lausanne--Avenches--Lake Morat--Lake Neufchatel--The Diet in +Bern--Character of the Bernois--A beautiful Milanese lady. + + +CHAPTER XIV + +SEPTEMBER, 1817-APRIL, 1818 + +Journey from Lausanne to Milan, Florence, Rome and Naples--Residence at +Naples--The theatre of San Carlo--Rossini's operas--Gaming in Naples--The +_Lazzaroni_--Public writers--Carbonarism--Return to Rome--Christmas eve at +Santa Maria Maggiore--Mme Dionigi--Theatricals--Society in Rome--The papal +government--Lucien Bonaparte, prince of Canino--Louis Napoleon, ex-King of +Holland--Pope Pius VII--Thorwaldsen--Granet--The Holy Week in Rome--The +Duchess of Devonshire--From Rome to Florence by the Perugia road. + + +CHAPTER XV + +APRIL-JULY, 1818 + +Journey from Florence to Pisa and from thence by the Appennines to +Genoa--Massa--Carrara--Genoa--Monuments and works of art--The +Genoese--Return to Florence--Journey from Florence through Bologna and +Ferrara to Venice--Monument to Ariosto in Ferrara--A description of +Venice--Padua--Vicenza--Verona--Cremona--Return to Milan--The Scala +theatre--Verona again--From Verona to Innspruck. + + +CHAPTER XVI + +JULY-SEPTEMBER, 1818 + +Innspruck--Tyrol and the Tyrolese--From Innspruck to Munich--Monuments and +churches--Theatricals--Journey from Munich to Vienna on a floss--Trouble +with a passport--Complicated system of Austrian money--Description of +Vienna--The Prater--The theatres--Schiller's _Joan of Arc_--A +_Kinderballet_--The young Napoleon at Schoenbrunn--Journey from Vienna to +Prague. + + +CHAPTER XVII + +SEPTEMBER, 1818-MARCH, 1819 + +The splendid city of Prague--The German expression, "To give the basket"-- +Journey from Prague to Dresden--Journey from Dresden to Berlin--A +description of Berlin--The Prussian Army--Theatricals--Peasants talk about +Napoleon--Prussians and French should be allies--Absurd policy of the +English Tories--Journey from Berlin to Dresden--A description of +Dresden--The battle of Dresden in 1813--Clubs at Dresden--Theatricals-- +German beds--Saxon scholars--The picture gallery--Tobacco an ally of +Legitimacy--Saxon women--Meissen--Unjust policy of Europe towards the King +of Saxony. + + +CHAPTER XVIII + +MARCH-APRIL, 1819 + +Journey from Dresden to Leipzig--The University of Leipzig--Liberal +spirit--The English disliked in Saxony--The English Government hostile to +liberty--Journey to Frankfort--From Frankfort to Metz and Paris--A.F. +Lemaitre--_Bon voyage_ to the Allies--Return to England. + + * * * * * + + + + + + + + +CHAPTER I + +MAY-JUNE, 1815 + +Passage from Ceylon to England--Napoleon's return--Ostend--Bruges--Ghent-- +The King of France at Mass--Alost--Bruxelles--The Duke of Wellington very +confident--Feelings of the Belgians--Good conduct of British +troops--Monuments in Bruxelles--Theatricals--Genappe and Namur--Complaints +against the Prussian troops--Mons--Major-General Adam--Tournay--A French +deserter--General Clinton's division--Cavalry review--The Duke de +Berri--Back to Bruxelles--Unjust opinions about Napoleon and the +French--Battle at Ligny--The day of Waterloo in Bruxelles--Visit to the +battlefield--Terrible condition of the wounded--Kindness of the Bruxellois. + + +BRUXELLES, May 1, 1815. + +I proceed to the fulfilment of my promise, to give you from time to time +the details of my tour, and my reflections on the circumstances that occur +at this momentous crisis. + +To me, who have spent the greatest part of my life out of Europe, the whole +scene is so new that I am quite bewildered with it; and you will, I am +afraid, as I write on the impulse of the moment, find my ideas at times +rather incoherently put together. What changes have taken place in Europe +within the last two years! and how great were those which occurred during +the interval of my passage from Ceylon last year, which island I quitted +about the time that we received in that part of the world intelligence of +the battle of Leipsic! Having had a long passage from distant Taprobane, it +was only on my arrival at the Cape of Good Hope, that I learned, to my +utter astonishment, the news of the capitulation of Paris to the allied +powers, and of the overthrow of the power and dynasty of Napoleon. I +recollect that at the Cape there was great rejoicing and jubilee on this +occasion; but I confess, as to myself, I did not see any reason for giving +vent to this extravagant joy; and I must have had even at that time somehow +or other a presentiment of what would soon happen, as in communicating this +intelligence to a friend in India I made use of these words: "get a court +dress made, my good friend, and a big wig, ruffled shirt, and hair-powder, +and stick an old-fashioned sword by your side, for, depend on it, old +fashions will come into play again; the most arbitrary and aristocratic +notions will be revived and terrible machinations will be framed against +the liberties of Europe." + +Of course at the Cape we only heard one side of the question; and I began +to be almost convinced that it was as necessary for humanity, as for the +repose of Europe, that the giant should be put down; and I was consoled +when it was effected, ostensibly, at least, by the voice of the people. + +I had scarcely been three months in England, when the return of Napoleon +from Elba, and the extraordinary dislocation of the Bourbons from the +throne of France, summoned Europe again to arms; the crusade is preached at +Vienna, and behold! his Grace of Wellington appointed the Godfrey of the +holy league. I had reason, about six weeks before the news of this event +reached London, from some conversation I had with an intelligent friend, +who had just returned from a tour on the Continent, to suppose that the +slightest combination against the Bourbons would prove successful, from +their injudicious conduct and from the temper of the people; but I never +could have supposed that the return of the man of Elba would be hailed with +such unparalleled and unanimous acclamation. As I had long ago wished for +an opportunity of visiting the continent of Europe, which had never before +occurred to me, I eagerly embraced the offer made to me by my friend +Major-General Wilson, formerly Lieut.-Governor of Ceylon,[1] to accompany +him on a military tour through the country about to be the theatre of war. +Though I had never before visited the Continent (except with the British +army in the invasion of Holland in 1799, when I began my military career), +yet I was not wholly unprepared for travelling, having united to a +classical, as well as military education, a tolerable knowledge of history, +and a partial acquirement of the principal modern European languages, which +I had begun to learn when very young and which I kept up during my leisure +hours in India, which, like those of Don Quixote, were many. I preferred +this study infinitely to that of the Asiatic languages, for which I never +felt any taste, as I dislike bombast, hyperbole and exaggeration; and +though an ardent admirer of the Muses, I never could find pleasure in what +Voltaire terms "le bon style oriental, ou l'on fait danser les montagnes et +les collines," and I prefer the amatory effusions of Ovid to those of the +great King Solomon himself. + +The war will no doubt commence in Belgium, and of course the Emperor +Napoleon will be the assailant, for it cannot be supposed that after the +act of ban passed against him by the Amphictyons of Vienna he will remain +tranquil, and not strike the first blow, which may render him master of +Belgium and its resources. + +We embarked at Ramsgate on the first of May for Ostend on board of a small +vessel bound thither. Our fellow passengers were two officers of dragoons, +several commissaries with their servants, horses, etc. After a passage of +twenty-four hours, we entered the harbour of Ostend at one o'clock the +following day. Ostend, once so flourishing and opulent, has long since +fallen into decay; its usual dullness is however just now interrupted by +the bustle of troops landing to join the allied army. Cavalry, infantry, +artillery, horses, guns, stores, etc., are landed every minute. The quays +are the only parts of this city which can boast of handsome buildings; the +fortifications seem to be much out of repair; in fact, the aggrandizement +of Antwerp occasioned necessarily the deterioration of Ostend. + +The General and myself went to put up at the _Tete d'Or_, the only inn +where we could procure beds; and we embarked early next morning at the +embouchure of the canal on board of a _treckschuyt_ which conveyed us in +three hours to Bruges. + +The landscape between Ostend and Bruges is extremely monotonous, it being a +uniformly flat country; yet it is pleasing to the eye at this season of the +year from the verdure of the plains, which are all appropriated to +pasturage, and from the appearance of the different villages and towns, of +which the eye can embrace a considerable number. There is a good road on +the banks of the canal, and the troops, on their line of march, enlivened +much the scene. Bruges, formerly the grand mart and emporium of the +commerce of the East, not only for the Low Countries, but for all the North +of Europe, seems, if we may judge from the state of the buildings and the +stillness that prevails, to be also in a state of decline. We however had +only time to visit the _Hotel de Ville_ and to remark the immense height of +the steeple on the _Grande Place_. We observed a number of pretty women in +the streets and in the shops employed in lace making. Bruges has been at +all times renowned for the beauty of the female sex, and this brought to my +recollection a passage in Schiller's tragedy of the _Maid of Orleans_, +wherein the Duke of Burgundy says that the greatest boast of Bruges is the +beauty of its women. + +Another _treckschuyt_ was to start at twelve o'clock for Ghent; but we +preferred going by land and General Wilson hired a carriage for that +purpose. The distance is about thirty miles. The road from Bruges to Ghent +or Gand is perfectly straight, lined with trees and paved like a street. +The country is quite flat, and though there is nothing to bound the +horizon, the trees on each side of the road intercept the view. + +We arrived at Ghent about six in the afternoon of the 4th and had some +difficulty in finding room, as the different hotels were filled with +officers of the allied army; but at length, after many ineffectual +applications at several, we obtained admission at the _Hotel de Flandre_, +where we took possession of a double-bedded room, the only one unoccupied. + +Gand seems to be a very neat, clean and handsome city, with an air of +magnificence about it. The _Grande Place_ is very striking, and the +promenades are aligned with trees. We inspected the exterior of several +public buildings and visited the interior of several churches. In the +cathedral we had the honour of seeing at High Mass his most Christian +Majesty, Monsieur and the Comte de Blacas, Vicomte de Chateaubriand and +others, composing the Court of _notre Pere de Gand_, as Louis XVIII is +humorously termed by the French, from his having fixed his head-quarters +here. A great many French officers who have followed his fortunes are also +here, but they seem principally to belong to the Gardes du Corps. A number +of military attended the service in the cathedral in order to witness the +devotions of the Bourbon family. Monsieur has all the appearance of a worn +out debauchee, and to see him with a missal in his hand and the strange +contrite face he assumes, is truly ridiculous. These princes, instigated no +doubt by the priests, make a great parade of their sanctity, for which +however those who are acquainted with their character will not give them +much credit. But religious cant is the order of the day _intra et extra +Iliacos muros_, abroad as well as in England. The King of France takes the +lead, having in view no doubt the advice of Buckingham to Richard III: + + A pray'r book in your hand, my Lord, were well, + For on that ground I'll make an holy descant. + +and M. de Chateaubriand will no doubt trumpet forth the devotion and +Christian humility of his master. Those, however, who are at all acquainted +with this prince's habits, and are not interested in palliating or +concealing them, insinuate that his devotions at the table are more sincere +than at the altar and that, like the Giant Margutte in the Morgante +Maggiore of Pulci, he places more faith and reliance on a cappone lesso +ossia arrosto than on the consecrated but less substantial wafer.[2] + +After contemplating this edifying spectacle, we returned to our inn, and +the next morning after breakfast we set out on our journey to Bruxelles. +The road is exactly similar to that between Bruges and Gand, but the +country appears to be richer and more diversified, and many country houses +were observable on the road side. We passed thus several neat villages. At +one o'clock we stopped at Alost to refresh our horses and dine. At the +table d'hote were a number of French officers belonging to the Gardes du +Corps. On entering into conversation with one of them, I found that he as +well as several others of them had served under Napoleon, and had even been +patronised and promoted by him; but I suppose that being the sons of the +ancient _noblesse_ they thought that gratitude to a _parvenu_ like him was +rather too plebeian a virtue. Some of them, however, with whom I conversed +after dinner seemed to regret the step they had taken. "If we are +successful," said they, "it can only be by means of the Allied Armies, and +who knows what conditions they may impose on France? If we should be +unsuccessful, we are exiled probably for life from our country." During +dinner, two pretty looking girls with musical instruments entered the hall, +and regaled our ears with singing some romances, among which were _Dunois +le Troubadour_ and _La Sentinelle_. They sang with much taste and feeling. +I surmise this is not the only profession they exercise, if I might judge +from the _doux yeux_ they occasionally directed to some of the officers. +These girls did not at least seem by their demeanour as if likely to incur +the anathema of Rinaldo in the _Orlando Furioso_: + + meritamente muoro Una crudele, + +but rather more disposed to + + dar vita all'amator fidele.[3] + +Alost is a neat, clean town or large village, and the same description will +serve for all the towns and villages in Brabant and Flanders, as they are +built on the same plan. We arrived at Bruxelles late in the evening and put +up at the _Hotel d'Angleterre_. + +This morning, the General and myself went to pay our respects to the _Gran +Capitano_ of the _Holy League_, and we left our cards. He is, I hear, very +confident of the result of the campaign, and no doubt he has for him the +prayers of all the pious in England against those atheistical fellows the +French; and these prayers will surely elicit a "host of angels" to come +down to aid in the destruction of the Pandemonium of Paris where Satan's +lieutenant sits enthroned. The reflecting people here are astonished that +Napoleon does not begin the attack. The inhabitants of Belgium are in +general, from all that I can hear or see, not at all pleased with the +present order of things, and they much lament the being severed from +France. The two people, the Belgians and Hollanders, do not seem to +amalgamate; and the former, though they render ample justice to the +moderation, good sense, and beneficent intentions of the present monarch, +who is personally respected by every one, yet do not disguise their wish to +be reunited to France and do not hesitate to avow their attachment to the +Emperor Napoleon. This union does not please the Hollanders either, on +other grounds. They complain that their interests have been sacrificed +entirely to those of the house of Orange, and they say that from the +readiness they displayed in shaking off the yoke of France, and the great +weight they thereby threw into the scale, they were entitled to the +restitution of all their colonies in Asia, Africa, and America. The +colonies of the Cape of Good Hope and Ceylon are what they most regret; for +these colonies in particular furnished ample employment and the means of +provision for the cadets of patrician families. If you tell them they have +acquired the Belgic provinces as an indemnification, they answer: "So much +the worse for us, for now the patronage of the colonial offices must be +divided between us and the Belgians." + +The preparations for the grand conflict about to take place are carried on +with unabating activity; the conscription is rigorously enforced and every +youth capable of bearing arms is enrolled. Almost all the officers of the +Belgian army and a great proportion of the soldiery have served with the +French and have been participators of their laurels; one cannot therefore +suppose that they are actuated by any very devouring zeal against their +former commander; nor have I found amongst the shop-keepers or respectable +people with whom I have conversed, and who have been falsely represented as +having suffered much from the tyranny of Napoleon, any who dislike either +his person or government, and certainly none either high or low express the +cannibal wish that I heard some English country gentlemen and London +merchants utter for the destruction of Paris and of the French people, nor +would it be easy to find here men of the _humane_ and _generous_ sentiments +professed by some of our aldermen and contractors when they welcomed with +ferocious acclamations of joy and were ready to embrace the Baschkir or +Cossack who told them that he had slaughtered so many French with his own +hand; nor would the ladies here be so eager to kiss old Blucher as was the +case in London. + +This city is filled with British and Hanoverian troops. Their conduct is +exemplary, nor is any complaint made against them. The Highland regiments +are however the favourites of the Bruxellois, and the inhabitants give them +the preference as lodgers. They are extremely well behaved (they say, when +speaking of the Highlanders) and they cheerfully assist the different +families on whom they are quartered in their household labour. This +reflects a good deal of credit on the gallant sons of Caledonia. Their +superior morality to those of the same class either in England or in +Ireland must strike every observer, and must, in spite of all that the +_Obscuranten_ or _Chevaliers de l'Eteignoir_ and others who wish to check +the progress of the human mind may urge to the contrary, be mainly +attributed to the general prevalence of education _a la portee de tout le +monde_. Wherever the people are enlightened there is less crime; ignorance +was never yet the safeguard of virtue. As for myself I honour and esteem +the Scottish nation and I must say that I have found more liberal ideas and +more sound philosophy among individuals of that nation than among those of +any other, and it is a tribute I owe to them loudly to proclaim my +sentiments; for though personal gratitude may seem to influence me a little +on this subject, yet I should never think of putting forth my opinion in +public, were it not founded on an impartial observation of the character of +this enterprising and persevering people. A woman who had some Highlanders +quartered in her house told me in speaking of them: "Monsieur, ce sont de +si bonnes gens; ils sont doux comme des agneaux." "Ils n'en seront pas +moins des lions an jour du combat," was my reply. + +I have amused myself with visiting most of the remarkable objects here, but +you must not expect from me a detail of what you will find in every +description book. You wish to have my ideas on the subjects that most +strike me individually, and those you shall have; but it would be very +absurd and presumptuous in me to attempt to give a _catalogue raisonne_ of +buildings and pictures and statues, or to set up as a connoisseur when I +know nothing either of sculpture, of architecture or painting; nor am I +desirous of imitating the young Englishman, who, in writing to his father +from Italy, described so much in detail, and so scientifically, every +production, or staple, peculiar to the cities which he happened to visit, +that he wrote like a cheese-monger from Parma, like a silk mercer from +Leghorn, like an olive and oil merchant from Lucca, like a picture dealer +from Florence, and like an antiquarian from Rome. + + +BRUXELLES, May 10. + +The _Hotel d'Angleterre_ where we are lodged is within four minutes walk +from the finest part of the city, where the Parc and Royal Palace is +situated. The Parc is not large, but is tastefully laid out in the Dutch +style, and is the fashionable promenade for the _beau monde_ of Bruxelles. +The women, without being strikingly handsome, have much grace; their air, +manner and dress are perfectly _a la francaise_. A good cafe and restaurant +is in the centre of one of the sides, and the buildings on the quadrangle +environing the Parc, which form the palace and other tenements are superb. +The next place I went to see was the _Hotel de Ville_ and its tower of +immense height. It is a fine Gothic building, but that which should be the +central entrance is not directly in the centre of the edifice, so that one +wing of it appears considerably larger than the other, which gives it an +awkward and irregular appearance. On the Place or Square as we should call +it, where the _Hotel de Ville_ stands, is held the fruit and vegetable +market, and a finer one or more plentifully supplied I never beheld. This +_Place_ is interesting to the historian as being the spot where Counts +Egmont and Hoorn suffered decapitation in the reign of Philip II of Spain, +by order of the Duke of Alva, who witnessed the execution from a window of +one of the houses. The conduct of these noblemen at the place of execution +was so dignified that even the ferocious duke could not avoid wiping his +eyes, hardened as his heart was by religious and political fanaticism; and +though he held them in abhorrence as rebels and traitors a tear did fall +for them down his iron cheek. How fortunate for the liberties of Holland +that William the Taciturn did not also fall into the claws of that Moloch +Philip! I next visited the museum and picture gallery, where I witnessed +the annual exposition of the modern school of painting. The specimens I saw +pleased me much, particularly because the subjects were well chosen from +history and the mythology, which to me is far more agreeable than the +subjects of the paintings of the old Flemish school; but I am told often +that I know nothing about painting, so I shall make no further remarks but +content myself with sending you a catalogue, with the pictures marked +therein which made most impression on me. With respect to the churches of +Brussels those of Ste. Gudule and of the Capuchins are the finest and most +remarkable. In the former is the Temptation of Adam by the Serpent, richly +carved in wood in figures as large as life grouped round the pulpit.[4] + +The _Place du Sablon_ is very striking from the space it occupies, and on +it is a fountain erected by Lord Bruce.[5] The fountains which are to be +met with in various parts of the city are highly ornamental, and among them +I must not omit to mention a singularly grotesque one which is held in +great veneration by the lower orders of the Bruxellois and is by them +regarded as a sort of Palladium to the city. It is the figure of a little +boy who is at _peace_, according to the late Lord Melville's[6] +pronunciation of the words, and who spouts out his water incessantly, +reckless of decorum and putting modesty to the blush. What would our +vice-hunters say to this? He is a Sabbath breaker in the bargain and +continues his occupation on Sundays as well as other days and _in fine_ he +rejoices in the name of _Mannekenpis_. + +The ramparts, or rather site of the ramparts (for the fortifications of +Bruxelles no longer exist), form an agreeable promenade; but the favourite +resort of all the world at Bruxelles in the afternoon is the _Attee verte_. +Here all classes meet; here the rich display their equipages and horses; +and the lower orders assemble at the innumerable _guinguettes_ which are to +be met with here, in order to play at bowls, dominoes, smoke and drink +beer, of which there is an excellent sort called _Bitterman._ The avenues +on each side of the carriage road are occupied by pedestrians, and on one +side of the road is the canal, covered at all times with barges and boats +decked with flags and streamers. At the cabarets are benches and tables in +the open air under the trees; and here are to be seen the artisan, the +bargeman and the peasant taking their afternoon _delassement_, and groups +of men, women and children drinking beer and smoking. These groups reminded +me much of those one sees so often in the old Flemish pictures, with this +difference, that the old costume of the people is almost entirely left off. +Female minstrels with guitars stroll about singing French romances and +collecting contributions from this cheerful, laughter-loving people. The +dark walk, as it is called, near the park is a favourite walk of the upper +classes in the evening. There his Grace of Wellington is sometimes to be +seen with a fair lady under his arm. He generally dresses in plain clothes, +to the astonishment of all the foreign officers. He is said to be as +successful in the fields of Idalia as in those of Bellona, and the ladies +whom he honours with his attentions suffer not a little in their +reputations in the opinion of the _comperes_ and _commeres_ of Bruxelles. + +I have only been twice to the theatre since I have been here. The _Salle de +Spectacle_ is indifferent, but they have an excellent company of comedians. +The representations are in French. I saw the _Festin de Pierre_ of +Corneille exceedingly well performed. The actors who did the parts of Don +Juan and Sganarelle were excellent, and the scene with M. Dimanche, wherein +he demands payment of his bill, was admirably given. I have also seen the +_Plaideurs_ of Racine, a very favourite piece of mine; every actor played +his part most correctly, and the scene between the Comtesse de Pimbeche and +Chicaneau and L'Intime wherein the latter, disguised as a _Bailli_, offers +himself to be kicked by the former, was given in very superior style. The +scene of the trial of the dog, with the orations of Petit Jean as +_demandeur_ and L'Intime as _defenseur_, were played with good effect. I +never recollect having witnessed a theatrical piece which afforded me +greater amusement. + + +NAMUR, May 12. + +We left Brussels yesterday afternoon, and having obtained passports to +visit the military posts we went to Genappe, a small village half-way +between Bruxelles and Namur, where we brought to for the night at a small +but comfortable inn called _Le Roi d'Espagne_. Two battalions of the +regiment Nassau-Usingen are quartered in Genappe. We arrived at Namur this +morning at nine o'clock and put up at the _Hotel d'Arenberg_. On the road +we stopped at a peasant's house to drink coffee; and we were entertained by +our hostess with complaints against the Prussians, who commit, as she said, +all sorts of exactions on the peasantry on whom they are quartered. Not +content with exacting three meals a day, when they were only entitled to +two, and for which they are bound to give their rations, they sell these, +and appropriate the money to their own use; then the demand for brandy and +_schnapps_ is increasing. But what can be expected from an army whose +leader encourages them in all their excesses? Blucher by all accounts is a +vandal and is actuated by a most vindictive spirit. The Prussians reproach +the Belgians with being in the French interest; how can they expect it to +be otherwise? They have prospered under French domination, and certainly +the conduct of the Prussians is not calculated to inspire them with any +love towards themselves nor veneration for the Sovereign who has such +all-devouring allies. I asked this woman why she did not complain to the +officers. She answered! "Helas, Monsieur, c'est inutile; on donne toujours +la meme reponse: '_Nichts verstehn_,'" for it appears when these complaints +are made the Prussian officers pretend not to understand French. + +Namur is now the head-quarters of Marshal Blucher, who is in the enjoyment +of divers _noms de guerre_, such as "Marshall Vorwaerts," "Der alte Teufel." +On the high road, about two miles and a half before we reached Namur, we +met with a party of Prussian lancers, who were returning from a foraging +excursion. They were singing some warlike song or hymn, which was +singularly impressive. It brought to my recollection the description of the +Rhenish bands in the _Lay of the Last Minstrel_: + + Who as they move, in rugged verse + Songs of Teutonic feuds rehearse. + +The Prussian cavalry seem to be composed of fine-looking young men, and I +admire the genuine military simplicity of their dress, to which might be +most aptly applied the words of Xenophon when describing the costume of the +younger Cyrus: [Greek: _En tae Persikae stolae ouden ti hubrsmenae_][7] in +substituting merely the word [Greek: _Prussikae_] for [Greek: _Persikae_]. +One sees in it none of those absurd ornaments and meretricious foppery +which give to our cavalry officers the appearance of Astley's men.[8] + +The situation of Namur is exceedingly picturesque, particularly when viewed +from the heights which tower above the town, whereon stood the citadel +which was demolished by order of Joseph II, as were the fortifications of +all the frontier fortresses. The present Belgian Government however mean to +reconstruct them, and Namur in particular, the citadel of which, from the +natural strength of its position, is too important a post to be neglected. +The town itself is situated on the confluent of the Sambre and Meuse and +lies in a valley completely commanded and protected by the citadel. The +churches are splendid, and there is an appearance of opulence in the shops. +The inhabitants, from its being a frontier town, are of course much alarmed +at the approaching contest, for they will probably suffer from both +parties. We heard at the inn and in the shops which we visited the same +complaints against the Prussians. The country in the environs of this place +is exceedingly diversified, and it presents the first mountain scenery we +have yet met with. The banks of the Meuse hereabouts present either an +abrupt precipice or coteaux covered with vines gently sloping to the +water's edge. Namur is distant thirty-four miles from Brussels, and there +is water conveyance on the Meuse from here to Liege and Maastricht. + + +MONS, May 14. + +We started yesterday morning at four o'clock from Namur. The whole road +between Namur and Mons presents a fine, rich open country abounding in +wheat, but not many trees. We stopped to breakfast at Fleurus, at an inn +where there were some Prussian officers. One of them, a lieutenant in the +2nd West Prussian Regiment, had the kindness to conduct us to see the field +of battle where the French under Jourdan defeated the Austrians in 1794. It +is at a very short distance from the town; he explained the position of the +two armies in a manner perfectly clear and satisfactory to us. The Prussian +officers all seem very eager for the commencement of hostilities, and their +only fear is now that all these mighty preparations will end in nothing; +viz., either that the French people, alarmed at the magnitude of the +preparations against them, will compel the Emperor Napoleon to abdicate, or +that the Allies will grow cool and, under the influence of Austria, bring +about a negotiation which may end in a recognition of the Imperial title +and dynasty. They would compound for a defeat at first, provided the war +were likely to be prolonged. In the meantime, reinforcements continue to +arrive daily for their army. We hear but little news of the intentions or +movements of the other Allies; it being forbidden to enter into political +discussions, it is difficult to ascertain the true state of affairs. + +We continued our journey through Charleroy and Binch to this place. At a +small village between Binch and Mons we were stopped by a sentinel at a +Prussian outpost and our passports demanded. Neither the sentinel, however, +nor the sergeant, nor any of the soldiers present, could read or understand +French, in which language the passport was drawn up; but the sergeant told +me that the officers were in a house about a quarter of a mile distant and +that he would conduct me thither, but that he himself could not presume to +let us pass, from not knowing the tenor of our passport. I went accordingly +with the sergeant to this house, There I found the officer commanding the +piquet and several others sitting at table, carousing with beer and tobacco +and nearly invisible from the clouds of smoke which pervaded the room. I +explained to the officer who we were and requested him to put on the +passport his _visa_ in the German language, so that the non-commissioned +officers at the various posts through which we might pass would be able to +understand it and let us pass without hindrance. This he did accordingly +and we proceeded on our journey. + +We arrived here in the evening and put up at the _Hotel Royal_. We found at +Charleroy, Binch and here, a number of people employed in repairing and +reconstructing the fortifications. Men, women and boys are all put in +requisition to accelerate this object, as it is the intention of the +Belgian Government to put all the frontier fortresses in the most complete +state of defence. On ascending one of the steeples this morning we had a +fine view of the surrounding country and of the height of Genappe, which +are close to Mons and memorable for the brilliant victory gained by +Dumouriez over the Austrians in 1792. The landscape presents an undulating +campaign country, gentle slopes and alternate plains covered with corn, as +far as the eye can reach, and interspersed with villages and farmhouses. In +Mons is a very large splendid shop or warehouse of millinery, perfumery, +jewellery, etc. It is called _La Toilette de Venus_, and is served by a +very pretty girl, who, I have no doubt from her simpering look and eloquent +eyes, would have no objection to be a sedulous priestess at the altar of +the Goddess of Amathus. A battalion of Hollanders--a very fine body of +men--marched into this place yesterday evening; the rest of the garrison is +composed of Belgians, chiefly conscripts. + + +LEUZE, May 15. + +Yesterday morning we left Mons and proceeded to Ath to breakfast. A +multitude of people were employed there also at the fortifications. The +garrison of Ath is composed of Hanoverians. Ath reminded me of the wars of +King William III and my Uncle Toby's sieges.[9] There was so little +remarkable to be seen at Ath that we proceeded to this place shortly after +breakfast and arrived at one o'clock, it being only ten miles distance +between Ath and Leuze. We took up our quarters with Major-General Adam, who +commands the Light Brigade of General Sir H. Clinton's division. This +brigade is quartered here and in the adjacent farmhouses. General Adam, +though he has attained his rank at a very early age, is far more fitted for +it than many of our older generals, some of whom (I speak from experience) +have few ideas beyond the fixing of a button or lappel, or polishing a +belt, and who place the whole _Ars recondita_ of military discipline in +pipe-clay, heel-ball and the goose step. Fortunately for this army, the +Duke of Wellington has too much good sense to be a martinet and the good +old times are gone by, thank God, when a soldier used to be sentenced to +two or three hundred lashes for having a dirty belt or being without a +_queue_. To the Duke of York also is humanity much indebted for his +endeavours to check the frequency of corporal punishment. The Duke of York, +with all his zeal for the service, never loses sight of the comfort of the +soldier and is indefatigable in his exertions to ameliorate his conditions. +We had a pleasant dinner party at General Adam's, and at night I went to +sleep at the house occupied by Captain C., one of the aides-de-camp of the +General,[10] an active, intelligent officer who had formerly served in the +marines, which service he had quitted in order to enter the regular army. + + +May 16. + +Yesterday morning we paid a visit to Tournay, which is distant from Leuze +about ten miles, and we breakfasted at the _Signe d'Or_. We then proceeded +to pay our respects to the Commandant General V.[11] The garrison consists +of Belgians. General V. had been some time in England as a prisoner of war. +He was made prisoner, I think he said, at Batavia. He received us very +politely, and not only gave us permission to visit the works of the +citadel, but sent a sergeant to accompany us. The new citadel is building +on the site of the old one, and, like it, is to be a regular pentagon. The +fortifications of the city itself are not to be reconstructed; these of the +citadel, which will be very strong, rendering them superfluous. The +sergeant was a native of Wuertemberg and had served in the army of his own +country and in that of France in most of the campaigns under Napoleon. He +was a fine old veteran, and very intelligent, for he explained to us the +nature of the works with great perspicuity. With true Suabian dignity he +refused a five franc piece which I offered him as a slight remuneration for +the trouble he had taken, and as he seemed, I thought, rather offended at +the offer, I felt myself bound to apologize. From the number of workmen +employed in repairing the citadel, it will not be long before it is placed +in a respectable state of defence. Tournay is a large handsome city and the +spacious quais on the banks of the Scheld which runs through it add much to +the neatness of its appearance. It is only ten miles distant from Lille, +but all communication from France is stopped. We learned that some of the +Hanoverians had been deserting. In return we met with a young French hussar +who had come over to the Allies. He seemed to be an impudent sort of +fellow, and said, with the utmost _sang-froid_, that the reason he deserted +was that he had not been made an officer as he was promised, and he hoped +that Louis XVIII would be more sensible of his merits than the Emperor +Napoleon. We returned to Leuze to dinner in the afternoon. This morning we +went to assist at a review of General Clinton's division, on a plain called +_Le Paturage_, about seven miles distant from Leuze. The Light Brigade and +the Hanoverian Brigades form this division. The manoeuvres were performed +with tolerable precision, but they were chiefly confined to advancing in +line, retiring by alternate companies covered by light infantry and change +of position on one of the flanks by _echelon_. The British troops were +perfect; the Hanoverians not so, they being for the most part new levies. +In one of the _echelon_ movements, when the line was to be formed on the +left company of the left battalion, a Hanoverian battalion, instead of +preserving its parallelism, was making a terrible diversion to its right, +when a thundering voice from the commander of the brigade to the commandant +of the battalion: "_Mein Gott, Herr Major, wo gehn Sie hin?_" roused him +from his reverie; when he must have perceived, had he wheeled up into line, +the fearful interval he had left between his own and the next battalion on +the left. + +After the review had finished we repaired to the chateau of the Prince de +Ligne, then occupied by Lieut.-General Sir H. Clinton, to partake of a +breakfast given by him and his lady. On the breaking up of the breakfast +party, General Wilson and myself remained at the chateau to dine with +General Adam _al fresco_ in the garden under the trees. The palace and +garden of the Prince de Ligne are both very magnificent. The latter is of +great extent, but too regular, too much in the Dutch taste to please me. +Little or no furniture is in the palace; but there are some family pictures +and a theatre fitted up in one of the halls for the purpose of private +theatricals. In the garden is a monument erected by the late Prince de +Ligne to one of his sons, Charles by name, who was killed in the Russian +service at the siege of Ismail. The present prince is a minor and resides +at Bruxelles. + + +GRAMMONT, May 18. + +We left Leuze yesterday afternoon and arrived here at seven in the evening +in order to be present at the cavalry review the next morning. We partook +of an elegant supper given to us by our friend, Major Grant of the 18th +Hussars, and we were much entertained and enlivened by the effusions of his +brilliant genius and inexhaustible wit. The whole cavalry of the British +army passed in review this morning before the Duke of Wellington, who was +there with all his staff and received the salutes of all the corps like +Godfrey, _con volto placido e composto_. It was a very brilliant spectacle. +The Duke de Berri was present. I think I never beheld so ignoble and +disagreeable a countenance as this prince possesses. I thought to myself +that he had much better have stayed away from this review; for he must be +insensible to all patriotism who could take pleasure in contemplating a +foreign force about to enter and ravage his own country. We learn that the +Duchess d'Angouleme is to have a review of the _fideles_ very shortly. She +is certainly much more warlike than the males of that family; this +disposition is increased by her religious fanaticism. This renders her, of +course, a most dangerous person to meddle with politics; but great +allowances must be made for her feelings, which must naturally be +embittered by the recollection of so much suffering during the Revolution +and of the barbarous and inhuman treatment experienced by her father and +mother. + +I observed a peculiarity in this part of the country, viz., that there are +villages lying close to each other in some of which French is spoken, in +others Flemish; and that, with some few exceptions, the inhabitants of +neighbouring villages are reciprocally unintelligible. General Wilson does +not intend to return to Bruxelles. I shall accompany him as far as Gand and +then return to Bruxelles to await the issue of the contest. + + +BRUXELLES, June 11. + +I took leave of General Wilson at Gand on the 22nd of last month and +immediately returned here, where I have been ever since. I have shifted my +quarters to a less expensive hotel and am now lodged at the _Hotel de la +Paix_. We get an excellent dinner at the table d'hote for one and a half +francs, wine not included; this is paid for extra, and is generally at the +price of three francs per bottle. This hotel is very neatly fitted up and +is very near the _Hotel de Ville_. At the table d'hote I frequently meet +Prussian officers who on coming in to visit Bruxelles put up here. We have +just learned the proceedings of the _Champ de Mai_ at Paris, by which it +appears that Napoleon is solemnly recognized and confirmed as Emperor of +the French. This intelligence sent a young Prussian officer, who sat next +to me, in a transport of joy, for this makes the war certain. The Prussians +seem determined to revenge themselves for the humiliation they suffered +from the French during the time they occupied their country, and I +sincerely pity by anticipation the fate of the French peasants upon whom +these gentlemen may chance to be quartered. Terrible will be the first +shock of battle, and it may be daily expected, and dreadful will be the +consequences to the poor inhabitants of the seat of war. Cannot this war be +avoided? I am not politician enough to foresee the consequences of allowing +Napoleon to keep quiet and undisturbed possession of the throne of France; +but the consequences of a defeat on the part of the Allies will be the loss +of Belgium and the probable annihilation of the British army; certainly the +dissolution of the coalition, for the minor German powers, and very likely +Austria also, would be induced to make a separate peace. We can clearly see +that Napoleon has not now the power he formerly possessed and that the +Republican party, into whose hands he has thrown himself, seem disposed not +only to remain at peace, but to shackle him in every possible manner. It is +evident, too, that his last success was owing to the dislike of the people +to the Bourbons from their injudicious and treacherous conduct; and the +threats and impossible language held by the priests and emigrants towards +the holders of property paved the way for the success of his enterprise and +enabled him to achieve a triumph unparalleled in history. + +On the contrary, by forcing him to go to war, should he gain the first +victory, Belgium will be re-united to France, all the resources of that +country brought into the scale against the Allies; Napoleon will be more +popular than ever, the Republican party will be put to silence, the +enthusiasm of the army will rise beyond all restraint, and, in a word, +Napoleon will be himself again. The other Allies can do little without the +assistance of England, and our finances are by no means in a state to bear +such intolerable drains. + +As to the Prussians, on minute enquiry I do not find that they were so +ill-treated by the French as is generally believed, and that, except the +burden of having troops quartered on them (no small annoyance, I allow), +they had not much reason to complain. The quartering of the troops on them +and the payment of the war contributions was the necessary consequence of +the occupation of their country by an enemy; but I have just been reading a +German work, written by a native of Berlin, shortly after the entry of the +French troops in that city after the battle of Jena in 1806. This work is +entitled _Vertraute Briefe aus Berlin_, and in it the author distinctly +declares that the discipline observed by the French troops during the +occupation of Berlin was highly strict and praiseworthy, and that the few +excesses that took place were committed by the troops of the Rhenish +Confederation; and he adds that the inhabitants preferred having a French +soldier quartered on them to a Westphalian, Bavarian or Wuertembergher. +Further, the troops that behaved with the greatest oppression and insolence +towards the burghers were those belonging to a corps composed of native +Prussians, raised for the service of Napoleon by the Prince of +Isenburg.[12] In his recruiting address the prince invites the Prussian +youth to enter into the service of the invincible Napoleon, and tells him +that to the soldier of Napoleon everything is permitted. The regiment was +soon fitted up and the soldiers began to put in practice in good earnest +the theory of the _affiche_. They committed excesses of all sorts; and one +officer in particular behaved so brutally and infamously to a poor tailor +on whom he was quartered, and to whom, before he entered the French +service, he was under the greatest obligations, that General Hulin, the +commandant of the place at Berlin during the French occupation, was obliged +to cashier him publicly on the parade and to cause his epaulettes to be +torn from his coat in order to mark the disgust and indignation that he and +all the French officers felt at the base ingratitude of this man. + +This work, "Vertraute Briefe" (confidential letters), contains much curious +matter and very interesting anecdotes respecting the corruption, venality +and depravation that prevailed in the Prussian Court and army previous to +the war in 1806. Let this suffice to show that the Prussians have not so +much reason to complain against the French as they pretend to have; +besides, the conduct of the Prussian Government itself was so vacillating +and contradictory that they had themselves only to blame for what they +suffered. They should have supported Austria in 1805. But the fact is that +the vanity and the _amour propre_ of the Prussian military were so hurt at +the humiliation they experienced at and after the battle of Jena that it +was this that has embittered them so much against the French. + +Let it not, however, be supposed for a moment that I seek to excuse or +palliate the conduct of Napoleon towards Prussia. I have always thought it +not only unjust but impolitic. Impolitic, because Prussia was, and ought +always to be, the obvious and natural ally of France, and Napoleon, instead +of endeavouring to crush that power, should have aggrandized her and made +her the paramount power in Germany. It was in fact his obvious policy to +cede Hanover in perpetuity to Prussia, and have rendered thereby the breach +between the Houses of Brandenburgh and Hanover irreparable and +irreconcilable. This would have thrown Prussia necessarily into the arms +of France, in whose system she must then have moved, and all British +influence on the Continent would have been effectually put an end to. +Another prime fault of Napoleon was that he did not crush and dismember +Austria in 1809 as he had it in his power to do; and by so doing he would +have merited and obtained the thanks and good will of all Germany for +having overturned so despotic and light-fearing a Government. But he has +paid dearly for these errors. Instead of destroying a despotic power +(Austria), he chose rather to crush an enlightened and liberal nation, for +such I esteem the Prussian nation, and I always separate the Prussian +people from their Government. The latter fell, and fell unpitied, after one +battle; but it has been almost miraculously restored by the unparalleled +exertions and energies of the burghers and people. May this be a lesson to +the Government! and may the King of Prussia not prove ungrateful! + +Troops continue to arrive here daily, and now that the ceremony of the +_Champ de Mai_ is over, we may expect that Napoleon will repair to his army +and commence operations. + + +June 17. + +Napoleon arrived at Maubeuge on the 18th and the grand conflict has begun. +The Prussians were attacked on the 14th and 15th at Ligny and driven from +their position.[13] They are said to have suffered immense loss and to be +retreating with the utmost confusion. Our turn comes next. The thunder of +the cannon was heard here distinctly the most part of yesterday and some +part of our army must have been engaged. Our troops have all marched out of +Bruxelles in the direction of the frontier. In the affair with the +Prussians we learn that the Duke of Brunswick was killed and that Blucher +narrowly escaped being made prisoner. + + +June 18. + +The grand conflict has begun with us. It is now four o'clock p.m. The issue +is not known. The roar of the cannon continues unabated. All is bustle, +confusion and uncertainty in this city. Cars with wounded are coming in +continually. The general opinion is that our army will be compelled to +retreat to Antwerp, and it is even expected that the French will be in +Bruxelles to-night. All the towns-people are on the ramparts listening to +the sound of the cannon. This city has been in the greatest alarm and +agitation since the 16th, when a violent cannonade was heard during the +afternoon. From what I have been able to collect, the French attacked the +Prussians on the 14th, and a desperate conflict took place on that day, and +the whole of the 15th,[14] when the whole of the Prussian army at Ligny, +Fleurus and Charleroy was totally defeated and driven from its position; a +dislocation of our troops took place early in the morning of the 16th, and +our advanced guard, consisting of the Highland Brigade and two Battalions +of Nassau-Usingen, fell in with the advanced guard of the French Army +commanded by Marshal Ney near Quatre-Bras, and made such a gallant defence +against his corps d'armee as to keep it in check the whole day and enable +itself to fall back in good order to its present position with the rest of +the army, about ten miles in front of Bruxelles. Indeed, I am informed that +nothing could exceed the admirable conduct of the corps above mentioned. +Yesterday we heard no cannonade, but this afternoon it has been unceasing +and still continues. All the caricatures and satires against Napoleon have +disappeared from the windows and stalls. The shops are all shut, the +English families flying to Antwerp; and the proclamation of the Baron de +Capellen[15] to the inhabitants, wherein he exhorts them to be tranquil and +assures them that the Bureaux of Government have not yet quitted Bruxelles, +only serves to increase the confusion and consternation. The inhabitants in +general wish well to the arms of Napoleon, but they know that the retreat +of the English Army must necessarily take place through their town; that +our troops will perhaps endeavour to make a stand, and that the +consequences will be terrible to the inhabitants, from the houses being +liable to be burned or pillaged by friend or foe. All the baggage of our +Army and all the military Bureaux have received orders to repair and are +now on their march to Antwerp, and the road thither is so covered and +blocked up by waggons that the retreat of our Army will be much impeded +thereby. Probably my next letter may be dated from a French prison. + + +BRUXELLES, June 21. + +Judge, my friend, of my astonishment and that of almost everybody in this +city, at the news which was circulated here early on the morning of the +19th, and has been daily confirmed, viz., that the French Army had been +completely defeated and was in full flight, leaving behind it 220 pieces of +cannon and all its baggage, waggons and _munitions de guerre_. I have not +been able to collect all the particulars, but you will no doubt hear enough +of it, for I am sure it will be _said_ or _sung_ by all the partisans of +the British ministry and all the Tories of the United Kingdom for months +and years to come; for further details, therefore, I shall refer you to the +Gazette. The following, however, you may consider as a tolerably fair +precis of what took place. The attack began on the 18th about ten +o'clock[16] and raged furiously along the whole line, but principally at +Hougoumont, a large _Metairie_ on the right of our position, which was +occupied by our troops, and from which all the efforts of the enemy could +not dislodge them. The slaughter was terrible in this quarter. From twelve +o'clock till evening several desperate charges of cavalry and infantry were +made on the rest of our line. Both sides fought with the utmost courage and +obstinacy, and were prodigal of life in the extreme. But it is generally +supposed that our army must have succumbed towards the evening had it not +been for the arrival of Bulow's division of Prussians, followed closely by +Blucher and the rest of the army, which had rallied with uncommon celerity. +These moved on the right flank of the French, and decided the fortune of +the day by a charge which was seconded by a general charge from the whole +of the English line on the centre and left of the French. Seeing themselves +thus turned, a panic, it is said, spread among the young Guard of the +French army, and a cry of "_Sauve qui peut! nous sommes trahis!_" spread +like wildfire. The flight became universal; the old Guard alone remained, +refused quarter and perished like Leonidas and his Spartans. The Prussian +cavalry being fresh pursued the enemy all night, _l'epee dans les reins_, +and it may be conceived from their previous disposition that they would not +be very merciful to the vanquished. Indeed, on the 15th, it is said that +the French were not very merciful to them. It was like the combat of +Achilles and Hector. + + No thought but rage and never ceasing strife + Till death extinguish rage and thought and life. + +France will now call out to Napoleon as Augustus did to Varus, "Give me +back my legions!" The loss on both sides was very great, but it must have +been prodigious on the side of the French. The whole Allied Army is in full +pursuit. Several friends and acquaintances of mine perished in this battle, +viz., Lieut.-General Sir T. Picton, Colonel Sir H. Ellis and Colonel +Morice. + + +June 22. + +This morning I went to visit the field of battle, which is a little beyond +the village of Waterloo, on the plateau of Mont St Jean; but on arrival +there the sight was too horrible to behold. I felt sick in the stomach and +was obliged to return. The multitude of carcases, the heaps of wounded men +with mangled limbs unable to move, and perishing from not having their +wounds dressed or from hunger, as the Allies were, of course, obliged to +take their surgeons and waggons with them, formed a spectacle I shall never +forget. The wounded, both of the Allies and the French, remain in an +equally deplorable state. + +At Hougoumont, where there is an orchard, every tree is pierced with +bullets. The barns are all burned down, and in the court-yard it is said +they have been obliged to burn upwards of a thousand carcases, an awful +holocaust to the War-Demon. + +As nothing is more distressing than the sight of human misery when we are +unable to silence it, I returned as speedily as possible to Bruxelles with +Cowper's lines in my head: + + War is a game, which, were their subjects wise, + Kings should not play at. + +I hope this battle will, at any rate, lead to a speedy peace. + + +June 28. + +We have no other news from the Allied Army, except that they are moving +forward with all possible celerity in the direction of Paris. You may form +a guess of the slaughter and of the misery that the wounded must have +suffered, and the many that must have perished from hunger and thirst, when +I tell you that all the carriages in Bruxelles, even elegant private +equipages, landaulets, barouches and berlines, have been put in requisition +to remove the wounded men from the field of battle to the hospitals, and +that they are yet far from being all brought in. The medical practitioners +of the city have been put in requisition, and are ordered to make +domiciliary visits at every house (for each habitation has three or four +soldiers in it) in order to dress the wounds of the patients. The +Bruxellois, the women in particular, have testified the utmost humanity +towards the poor sufferers. It was suggested by some humane person that +they who went to see the field of battle from motives of curiosity would do +well to take with them bread, wine and other refreshments to distribute +among the wounded, and most people did so. For my part I shall not go a +second time. Napoleon, it is said, narrowly escaped being taken. His +carriage fell into the hands of the Allies, and was escorted in triumph +into Bruxelles by a detachment of dragoons. So confident was Napoleon of +success that printed proclamations were found in the carriage dated from +"Our Imperial Palace at Laecken," announcing his victory and the liberation +of Belgium from the insatiable coalition, and wherein he calls on the +Belgians to re-unite with their old companions in arms in order to reap the +fruits of their victory. This was certainly rather premature, and reminds +me of an anecdote of a Spanish officer at the siege of Gibraltar, related +by Drinkwater in his narrative of that siege.[17] When the British garrison +made a sortie, they carried the advanced Spanish lines and destroyed all +their preparations; the Spanish officer on guard at the outermost post was +killed, but on the table of his guard room was found his guard report +filled up and signed, stating that "nothing extraordinary had happened +since guard-mounting." + +Mr L. of Northumberland, having proposed to me to make a tour with him to +Aix-la-Chapelle and the banks of the Rhine, I shall start with him in a day +or two. + + +[1] Sir Wiltshire Wilson (1762-1842), Commander of the Royal Artillery in + Ceylon, 1810-1815.--Ed. + +[2] Pulci, _Morgante_, canto XVIII, ottava 114-115. The Giant Morgante + meets the villain Margutte and asks him if he be a Christian or a + Saracen. Margutte answers that he cares not, but only believes in + boiled or in roasted capon: + + Rispose allor Margutte: A dirtel tosto + Io non credo pio al nero ch'all' azzurro. + Ma nel cappone, o lesso, o vuogll arrosto.... + +[3] Ariosto, _Orlando Furioso_, iv, 63, f.--ED. + +[4] A work of H, Verbruggen of Antwerp (1677).--ED. + +[5] Lord Bruce, Earl of Ailesbury, caused this fountain to be erected in + 1751, as a token of gratitude to the town of Bruxelles where he had + lived in exile.--E.D. + +[6] Henry Dundas, Viscount Melville (1741-1811), elevated to the peerage in + 1802.--ED. + +[7] Xenophon, _Education of Cyrus_, II, 4, 4.--ED. + +[8] Astley's Amphitheatre, near Westminster Bridge.--ED. + +[9] Uncle Toby, in Laurence Sterne's _Tristram Shandy_.--ED. + +[10] Lieutenant R.P. Campbell, aide-de-camp to Major-General Adam.--ED. + +[11] In May, 1815, the officer commanding-in-chief at Tournai was + General-Major A.C. Van Diermen.--ED. + +[12] Karl Friedrich Ludwig Moritz, Fuerst zu Ysenburg-Bierstein (1766-1820), + took service with Austria (1784), with Prussia (1804), and later with + Napoleon (1806), who commissioned him as brigadier-general. The + shameless conduct of this officer is exposed by B. Poten, _Allgemeine + Deutsche Biographie_, vol. XLIV, p. 611.--ED. + +[13] The battle at Ligny was fought on June 16.--ED. + +[14] The facts and dates here given are of course inaccurate; but this + proves that Major Frye wrote his text in the very midst of the crisis, + and that his manuscript has not been tampered with.--ED. + +[15] Baron van Capellen, a Dutch statesman, was governor-general of the + Belgian provinces, residing at Bruxelles. He was afterwards + governor-general of Dutch India. Born in 1778, he died in 1848. His + memoirs have been published in French by Baron Sirtema de Grovestins + (1852), and contain an interesting passage on that momentous day, + 18th June, 1815.--ED. + +[16] Not before half past eleven.--ED. + +[17] John Drinkwater, also called Bethune (1762-1844), published a + well-known _History of the Siege of Gibraltar, 1779-1783_.--ED. + + + + +CHAPTER II + +From Bruxelles to Liege--A priest's declamation against the French +Revolution--Maastricht--Aix-la-Chapelle--Imperial relics--Napoleon +regretted--Klingmann's "Faust"--A Tyrolese beauty--Cologne--Difficulties +about a passport--The Cathedral--King-craft and priest-craft--The +Rhine--Bonn and Godesberg--Goethe's "Goetz von Berlichingen"--The Seven +Mountains--German women--Andernach--Ehrenbreitstein--German hatred against +France--Coblentz--Intrigues of the Bourbon princes in Coblentz--Mayence-- +Bieberich--Conduct of the Allies towards Napoleon--Frankfort on the +Mayn--An anecdote about Lord Stewart and Lafayette--German poetry--The +question of Alsace and Lorraine--Return to Bruxelles--Napoleon's surrender. + + +LIEGE, June 26. + +Mr L. and myself started together in the diligence from Bruxelles at seven +o'clock in the evening of the 24th inst. and arrived here yesterday morning +at twelve o'clock. I experienced considerable difficulty in procuring a +passport to quit Bruxelles, my name having been included in that of General +Wilson, which he carried back with him to England. Our Ambassador was +absent, and I was bandied about from bureau to bureau without success; so +that I began at last to think that I should be necessitated to remain at +Bruxelles all my life, when fortunately it occurred to Mr L. that he was +intimately acquainted with the English Consul, and he kindly undertook to +procure me one and succeeded. On arrival here we put up at the _Pommelette +d'Or_. The price of a place in the diligence from Bruxelles to Liege is +fifteen franks. We passed thro' Louvain, but too late to see anything. The +country about Liege is extremely striking and picturesque; the river Meuse +flows thro' the city, and the banks of the river outside the town are very +_riants_ and agreeable. Liege is a large, well-built city, but rather +gloomy as to its appearance, and lies in a hollow completely surrounded by +lofty hills. The remains of its ancient citadel stand on a height which +completely commands the city; on another height stands a monastery, a +magnificent building. There are a great many coal-pits in the vicinity of +Liege, and a great commerce of coals is carried on between this city and +Holland by the _treckschuyte_ on the Meuse. We visited the ancient +Episcopal palace and the Churches. The Palace is completely dismantled. +This city suffered much during the revolt of the Belgian provinces against +the Emperor Joseph II, and having distinguished itself by the obstinacy of +its defence, it was treated with great rigour by the Austrian Government. +The fortifications were blown up, and nothing now remains on the site of +the old citadel but a large barrack. I remained two whole hours on this +height to contemplate the beauties of the expanse below. The banks of the +river, which meanders much in these parts, and the numerous _maisons de +campagne_ with the public promenades and allees lined with trees, +exhilarate the scene of the environs, for the city itself is dull enough. +Several pretty villas are situated also on the heights, and were I to dwell +here I should choose one of them and seldom descend into the valley and +city below, + + Where narrow cares and strife and envy dwell. + +Liege, however sombre in its appearance, is a place of much opulence and +commerce. A Belgian garrison does duty here. At the inn, after dinner, I +fell into conversation with a Belgian priest, and as I was dressed in black +he fancied I was one of the cloth, and he asked me if I were a Belgian, for +that I spoke French with a Belgian accent; "Apparemment Monsieur est +ecclesiastique?--Monsieur, je suis ne Anglais et protestant." He then began +to talk about and declaim against the French Revolution, for that is the +doctrine now constantly dinned into the ears of all those who take orders; +and he concluded by saying that things would never go on well in Europe +until they restored to God the things they had taken from Him. I told him +that I differed from him very much, for that the sale of the Church domains +and of the lands and funds belonging to the suppressed ecclesiastical +establishments had contributed much to the improvement of agriculture and +to the comfort of the peasantry, whose situation was thereby much +ameliorated; and that they were now in a state of affluence compared with +what they were before the French Revolution. I added: "Enfin, Monsieur, +Dieu n'a pas besoin des choses terrestres." On my saying this he did not +chuse to continue the conversation, but calling for a bottle of wine drank +it all himself with the zest of a Tartuffe. I believe that he was surprised +to find that an Englishman should not coincide with his sentiments, for I +observe all the adherents of the ancient regime of feudality and +superstition have an idea that we are anxious for the re-establishment of +all those abuses as they themselves are, and it must be confessed that the +conduct of our Government has been such as to authorize them fully in +forming such conjectures, and that we shall be their staunch auxiliaries in +endeavouring to arrest and retrograde the progress of the human mind. In +fact, I soon perceived that my friend was not overloaded with wit and that +he was one of those priests so well described by Metastasio: + + Il di cui sapere + Sta nel nostro ignorar.... + + +MAASTRICHT, 27th June. + +This morning, after a promenade on the banks of the Meuse--for I am fond of +rivers and woods (_flumina amo silvasque inglorius_)--we embarked on a +_treckschuyt_ and arrived here after a passage of four hours. The scenery +on the banks of the Meuse all the way from Liege to Maastricht is highly +diversified and extremely romantic; but here at Maastricht this ceases and +the dull uniformity of the Dutch landscape begins. When on the ramparts of +the city to the North and West an immense plain as far as the eye can reach +presents itself to view; a few trees and sandhills form the only relief to +the picture. The town itself is neat, clean and dull, like all Dutch towns. +The fortifications are strong and well worth inspection. The most +remarkable thing in the neighbourhood of Maastricht is the Montagne de St +Pierre, which from having been much excavated for the purpose of procuring +stone, forms a labyrinth of a most intricate nature. I advise every +traveller to visit it, and if he has a classical imagination he may fancy +himself in the labyrinth of Crete. + + +AIX-LA-CHAPELLE, 29th June. + +We started in the morning of the 28th from Maastricht in the diligence for +Aix-la-Chapelle and arrived here at twelve o'clock, putting up at Van +Guelpen's Hotel, _Zum Pfaelzischen Hofe_ (a la Cour palatine), which I +recommend as an excellent inn and the hosts as very good people. The price +of our journey from Liege to Maastricht in the water-diligence was 2-1/2 +franks, and from Maastricht to Aix-la-Chapelle by land was 7 franks the +person. The road from Maastricht to this place is not very good, but the +country at a short distance from Maastricht becomes picturesque, much +diversified by hill and dale and well wooded. As the Meuse forms the +boundary between the Belgic and Prussian territory, we enter the latter +sooner after leaving Maastricht. I find my friend L. a most agreeable +travelling companion; travelling seems to be his passion, as it is mine; +and fortune has so far favoured me in this particular, that my professional +duties and private affairs have led me to visit the four quarters of the +globe. After dinner, on the first day of our arrival here, we went to visit +the _Hotel de Ville_, before which stands on a pedestal in a bason an +ancient bronze statue of Charlemagne. It has nothing to recommend it but +its antiquity. The _Hotel de Ville_ is similar to other Gothic buildings +used for the same purpose. In the great hall thereof there is a large +picture representing the ambassadors of all the powers who assisted at the +signing of the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle in 1742; and a full length +portrait of the present King of Prussia, as master of the city, occupies +the place where once stood that of Napoleon, its late lord. We next went to +see the Cathedral and sat down on the throne on which the German Caesars +used to be crowned. We viewed likewise the various costly articles of +plate, the gifts of pious princes. The most remarkable things among them +are several superb dresses of gold and silver embroidery, so thickly laid +on that they are of exceeding weight. These dresses form part of the +wardrobe of the Virgin Mary. Next to be seen is a case or chest of massy +silver, adorned with innumerable precious stones of great value; which case +contains the bones or ashes of Charlemagne. His right arm bone is however +preserved separate in a glass case. The sword of this prince too, and the +Imperial crown is to be seen here. The sacristan next proceeded to show to +us the other relics, but having begun with the exhibition of a rag dipped +in the sweat of Jesus Christ and a nail of the Holy Cross, we began to +think we had seen enough and went away perfectly satisfied. There is no +other monument in honour of Charlemagne, but a plain stone on the floor of +the Church with the simple inscription "Carolo Magno." On going out of the +city thro' one of the gates, and at a short distance from it, we ascended +the mountain or rather hill called the Louisberg on which are built a +Ridotto and Cafe, as also a Column erected in honour of Napoleon with a +suitable inscription; the inscription is effaced and is about to be +replaced by another in the German language in commemoration of the downfall +of the _Tyrant_, as the Coalition are pleased to call him. This Tyrant is +however extremely regretted by the inhabitants of Aix-la-Chapelle and not +without reason, for he was a great benefactor to them and continually +embellished the city, confirming and increasing its privileges. The +inhabitants are not at all pleased with their new masters; for the +behaviour of the Prussian military has been so insulting and overbearing +towards the burghers and students that it is, I am told, a common +exclamation among the latter, alluding to the Prussians having stiled +themselves their deliverers: _De nostris liberatoribus, Domine, libera +nos_. Indeed, I can evidently discern that they are not particularly +pleased at the result of the battle of Waterloo. + +In the evening I went to the theatre, which has the most inconvenient form +imaginable, being a rectangle. As anti-Gallicanism is the order of the day, +only German dramas are allowed to be performed and this night it was the +tragedy of Faust, or Dr Faustus as we term him in England, not the Faust of +Goethe, which is not meant for nor at all adapted to the stage, but a drama +of that name written by Klingmann.[18] It is a strange wild piece, quite in +the German style and full of horrors and diableries. In this piece the +sublime and terrible border close on the ridiculous; for instance the Devil +and Faust come to drink in a beer-schenk or ale-house. 'Tis true the Devil +is incognito at the time and is called "der Fremde" or "the Stranger"; it +is only towards the conclusion of the piece that he discovers himself to be +Satan.... The actor who played the part of the Stranger had something in +his physiognomy very terrific and awe-inspiring. In another scene, which to +us would appear laughable and absurd, but which pleases a German audience, +three women in masks come on the stage to meet Faust, in a churchyard, and +on unmasking display three skeleton heads. + +Poor Faust had stipulated to give his soul to the Devil for aiding him in +the attainment of his desires; the Devil on his part agrees to allow him to +commit four deadly sins before he shall call on him to fulfil his contract. +Faust, in the sequel, kills his wife and his father-in-law. Satan then +claims him. Faust pleads in arrest of judgement, that he has only committed +two crimes out of the four for which he had agreed; and that there +consequently remained two others for him to commit before he could be +claimed. The Devil in rejoinder informs him that his wife was with child at +the time he killed her, which constituted the third crime, and that the +very act of making a contract with the Devil for his soul forms the fourth. +Faust, overwhelmed with confusion, has not a word to say; and Satan seizing +him by the hair of his head, carries him off in triumph. This piece is +written in iambics of ten syllables and the versification appeared to me +correct and harmonious, and the sentiments forcible and poetical; this +fully compensated for the bizarrerie of the story itself, which, by the +bye, with all the reproach thrown by the adherents of the classic taste on +those of the romantic, is scarcely more _outre_ than the introduction of +Death ([Greek: _thanatos_]) as a dramatic personage in the _Alcestis_ of +Euripides. + +There is at Aix-la-Chapelle at one of the hotels a Faro Bank; it is open +like the gates of Hell _noctes atque dies_ and gaming goes forward without +intermission; this seems, indeed, to be the only occupation of the +strangers who visit these baths. There is near this hotel a sort of Place +or Quadrangle with arcades under which are shops and stalls. At one of +these shops I met with the most beautiful girl I ever beheld, a Tyrolese by +birth and the daughter of a print-seller. She was from the Italian Tyrol; +Roveredo, I think she said, was her birthplace. She united much grace and +manner with her beauty, on account of which I could not avoid complimenting +her in her native tongue, which she seemed pleased to hear. Her eyes and +eyebrows brought to my recollection the description of those of Alcina: + + Sotto due negri e sottilissimi archi, + Son due neri occhi, anzi, due chiari soli, + Pietosi a riguardare, a mover parchi, + Intorno a cui par che Amor scherzi e voli.[19] + + Two black and slender arches rise above + Two clear black eyes, say suns of radiant light; + Which ever softly beam and slowly move; + Round these appears to sport in frolic flight, + Hence scattering all his shafts, the little Love. + + --_Trans_. W.S. ROSE. + +We then proceeded to look at the suburb of this city called Bortscheid, by +far the finest part of the city and at some elevation above it. It commands +an extensive view. We also visited the various bath establishments; the +taste of the water had some resemblance to that of Harrogate, and is good +in bilious, scrofulous and cutaneous complaints. On our return to the hotel +we learned the news of the capitulation of Paris to the Allied powers. It +is said to be purely a military convention by which the French army is to +evacuate Paris and retire behind the Loire. There is no talk and no other +intelligence about Napoleon, except that he had been compelled by the two +Houses of Legislature to abdicate the throne. We are still in the dark as +to the intentions of the Allies. I regret much that my friend and fellow +traveller L. is obliged to return to Bruxelles and cannot accompany me to +Cologne, to which place I am impatient to go and to pay my respects to old +father Rhine, so renowned in history. + + +COLOGNE. + +I left Aix-la-Chapelle on the morning of the 2nd of July and arrived at +Cologne about six o'clock in the evening, putting up at the Inn _Zum +heiligen Geist_ (Holy Ghost), which is situated on the banks of the river. +The price of the journey in the diligence is 18 franks. On the road hither +lies Juliers, a large and strongly fortified town surrounded by a marsh. It +must be very important as a military post. The road after quitting Juliers +runs for the most part thro' a forest, and has been much improved and +enlarged by the French; before they improved it, it was almost impassable +in wet weather. We met on the road several Prussian waggons and +reinforcements on their march to Bruxelles. Two of my fellow travellers in +the diligence were very intelligent young men belonging to respectable +families in Cologne and were returning thither; they likewise complained +much of the overbearing demeanour of the Prussian military towards the +burghers. + +Cologne is a large, but very dull looking city, as dull as Liege; it would +seem as if all towns and cities under ecclesiastical domination were dull +or rendered so by the prohibition of the most innocent amusements. The +fortifications are out of repair; but the Prussian Government intend to +make Cologne a place of great strength. The name of the village on the +opposite of the river is Deutz, and in the time of the French occupation +there was a _tete-de-pont_. The next morning I was obliged to appear before +the police, and afterwards before the _Commandant de la Place_, in order to +have my passport examined and _vise_. At the bureau of the police it was +remarked to me that my passport was not _en regle_, the features of the +bearer not being therein specified. I replied that it was not my fault; +that it was given to me in that shape by the English Consul at Bruxelles +and that it was not my province to give to the Consul any directions as to +its form and tenor. The Commissary of Police then asked me what business I +was about in travelling, and the following conversation took place: "Was +haben Sie fuer Geschaefte?"--"Keine; ich reise nur um Vergnuegen's Willen."--" +Sonderbar!"--"Worin liegt das Sonderbare, dass man reist um ein schoenes +Land zu sehen?"[20]--He made no answer to this, but one of his coadjutors +standing by him said in a loud whisper, "Ein Herumreiser," which means an +adventurer or person who travels about for no good,--in a word, a +suspicious character. I then said with the utmost calm and indifference: +"Gentlemen, as soon as you shall have finished all your commentaries on the +subject of my passport, pray be so good as to inform me what I am to do, +whether I may go on to Mayence and Frankfort as is my intention, or return +to Bruxelles." The Commissary, after a slight hesitation, signed the _visa_ +and I then carried it to the bureau of the Commandant, whose secretary +signed it without hesitation, merely asking me if I were a military man. + +In the afternoon I went to visit the Dome or Cathedral. It is a fine +specimen of Gothic architecture, but singular enough the steeple is not yet +finished. In this Cathedral the most remarkable thing is the Chapel of the +Three Kings, wherein is deposited a massy gold chest inlaid with precious +stones of all sorts and of great value, containing the bones of the +identical three Kings (it is said) who came from the East to worship the +infant Jesus at Bethlehem. The Scriptures say it was three wise men or +Magi. The legend however calls them Kings and gives them Gothic names. Let +schoolmen and theologians reconcile this difference: _ce n'est point notre +affaire_. To me it appears that when the German tribes embraced +Christianity and enrolled themselves under the banner of St Peter, it was +thought but fair to allow them to give vent to a little nationality and to +blend their old traditions with the new-fangled doctrine, and no doubt the +Sovereign Pontiffs thought that the people could never be made to believe +too much; the same policy is practised by the Jesuit missionaries in China, +where in order to flatter the national vanity and bend it to their purposes +they represent Jesus Christ as being a great personal friend and +correspondent of Confucius. + +To return to these monarchs, wise men or Magi: their _sculls_ are kept +separate to the rest of the bones and each _scull_ bears a crown of gold. +But if you are fond of miracles, legends, and details of relics, come with +me to the Church of St Ursula in this city, and see the proof positive of +the miraculous legend of the eleven thousand Virgins who suffered martyrdom +in this city, in the time of Attila; the bones of all of whom are carefully +preserved here and adorn the interior walls of the Church in the guise of +arms arranged in an armoury. Eleven thousand sculls, each bearing a golden +or gilt crown, grin horribly on the spectator from the upper part of the +interior walls of the church, where they are placed in a row. What a fine +subject this would make for a ballad in the style of Buerger to suppose that +on a particular night in the year, at the midnight hour when mortals in +slumbers are bound, the bones all descending from the walls where they are +arranged, forming themselves into bodies, clapping on their heads and +dancing a skeleton dance round the Ghost of Attila! The people of Cologne, +in the time of the ecclesiastical Electorate, had the reputation of being +extremely superstitious, and no doubt there were many who implicitly +believe this pious tale; indeed, who could refuse their assent to its +authenticity, on beholding the proof positive in the sculls and bones? + +I recollect that in the History of the Compere Mathiew[21] the Pere Jean +rates mightily the natives of Cologne for their bigotry and superstition +and for the bad reception they gave to him and to his philosophy. That +people are happier from a blind belief, as some pretend, appears to me +extremely problematical. For my part, under no circumstances can I think +bliss to consist in ignorance; nor have I felt any particular discomfort in +having learned at a very early age to put under my feet, as Lucretius +expresses it, the _strepitum Acherontis avari_. On the contrary, it has +made me a perfect cosmopolitan, extinguished all absurd national and +religious prejudices, and rendered me at home wherever I travel; and I meet +the Catholic, the Lutheran, the Moslem, the Jew, the Hindou and the Guebre +as a brother. _Quo me cunque ferat tempestas, deferor hospes_.[22] Let me +add one word more to obviate any misrepresentation of my sentiments from +some malignant Pharisee, that tho' I am no friend to King-craft and +Priest-craft, and cannot endure that religion should ever be blended with +politics, yet I am a great admirer of the beautiful and consoling +philosophy or theosophy of Jesus Christ which inculcates the equality of +Mankind, and represents the Creator of the universe, the Author of all +being, as the universal Father of the human race. + +Cologne derives its name from _Colonia_, as it was a Roman Colony planted +here to protect the left bank of the Rhine from the incursions of the +German hordes. It is here that the grand and original manufactory of the +far-famed _Eau de Cologne_ is to be seen. The _Eau de Cologne_ is a +sovereign remedy for all kinds of disorders, and if the _affiches_ of the +proprietor, Jean-Marie Farina, be worthy of credit, he is as formidable a +check to old Pluto as ever Aesculapius was. The sale of this water is +immense. + +On my return to the inn, I met with a Dutch clergyman who was travelling +with his pupils, three very fine boys, the sons of a Dutch lady of rank. He +was to conduct them to the University of Neuwied, on the right bank of the +Rhine, in order to place them there for their education. The young men seem +to have profited much from their studies. Their tutor seemed to be a +well-informed man and of liberal ideas; he preferred speaking German to +French, as he said he had not much facility in expressing himself in the +latter language. He said if I were going his way he would be happy to have +the pleasure of my company, to which I very willingly acceded, and we +agreed to start the next morning early so as to arrive at Bonn to +breakfast, and then to go on to Godesberg, where he proposed to remain a +few days. + +From the windows of our inn we have a fine view of the river, and I have +not omitted doing hommage to old Father Rhine by taking up some of his +water in the hollow of my hand to drink. The Rhine of later years has been +considered the guardian of Germany against the hostile incursions of the +French, and Schiller represents this river as a Swiss vigilant on his post, +yet in spite of his vigilance and fidelity unable to prevent his restless +neighbour from forcing his safeguard. The following are the lines of +Schiller where the river speaks in a distich: + + Treu wie dem Schwfeizer gebuehrt bewach'ich Germaniens Grenze, + Aber der Gallier huepft ueber den duldenden Strom. + + In vain my stream I interpose + To guard Germania's realm from foes; + The nimble Gauls my cares deride + And often leap on t'other side. + + +GODESBERG, 4th July. + +The distance from Cologne to Bonn is 18 miles and Godesberg is three miles +further. We stopped to breakfast at Bonn and after breakfast made a +promenade thro' the city. Bonn is a handsome, clean, well-built and +cheerful looking city and the houses are good and solid. + +The Electoral Palace is a superb building, but is not occupied and is +falling rapidly to decay. From the terrace in the garden belonging to this +Palace, which impends over the Rhine, you have a fine view of this noble +river. This Palace was at one time made use of as a barrack by the French, +and since the secularization of the Ecclesiastical Electorates it has not +been thought worth while to embellish or even repair it. There is a Roman +antiquity in this town called the _Altar of Victory_, erected on the Place +St Remi, but remarkable for nothing but its antiquity; it seems to be a +common Roman altar.[23] The road from Bonn to Godesberg is three miles in +length and thro' a superb avenue of horse-chesnut trees; but before you +arrive at Godesberg, there is on the left side of the road a curious +specimen of Gothic architecture called _Hochkreutz_, very like Waltham +cross in appearance, but much higher and in better preservation; it was +erected by some feudal Baron to expiate a homicide. The castle of Godesberg +is situated on an eminence and commands a fine prospect; it is now a mass +of rums and the walls only remain. It derives its name of Godesberg or +Goetzenberg from the circumstance of its having been formerly the site of a +temple of Minerva built in the time of the Romans, and thence called +Goetzenberg by the Christians, _Goetze_ in German signifying an idol. + +On the plain at the foot of the hill of Godesberg and at the distance of an +eighth of a mile from the river, a shelving cornfield intervening, stand +three large hotels and a ridotto, all striking edifices. To the south of +these is situated a large wood. These hotels are always full of company in +the summer and autumn: they come here to drink the mineral waters, a +species of Seltzer, the spring of which is about a quarter of a mile +distant from the hotels. The hotel at which we put up bears the name of +_Die schoene Aussicht_ (la Belle Vue) and well does it deserve the name; for +it commands a fine view of the reaches of the river, north and south. +Directly on the opposite bank, abruptly rising, is the superb and +magnificent chain of mountains called the _Sieben Gebirge_ or Seven +Mountains. On the summit of these mountains tower the remains of Gothic +castles or keeps, still majestic, tho' in ruins, and frowning on the plains +below; they bring to one's recollection the legends and chronicles of the +Middle Ages. They bear terrible awe-inspiring names such as Drachenfels, +Loewenberg; the highest of them is called Drachenfels or the Rock of Dragons +and on it stood the Burg or Chateau of a Feudal Count or _Raubgraf_, who +was the terror of the surrounding country, and has given rise to a very +interesting romance called _The Knights of the Seven Mountains_. This +feudal tyrant used to commit all sorts of depredations and descend into the +plains below, in order to intercept the convoys of merchandize passing +between Aix-la-Chapelle and Frankfort. It was to check these abuses and +oppressions that was instituted the famous Secret Tribunal _Das heimliche +Gericht_, the various Governments in Germany being then too weak to protect +their subjects or to punish these depredations. This secret tribunal, from +the summary punishments it inflicted, the mysterious obscurity in which it +was enveloped, and the impossibility of escaping from its pursuit, became +the terror of all Germany. They had agents and combinations everywhere, and +exercised such a system of espionage as to give to their proceedings an +appearance of supernatural agency. A simple accusation was sufficient for +them to act upon, provided the accuser solemnly swore to the truth of it +without reserve, and consented to undergo the same punishment as the +accused was subjected to, in case the accusation should be false; till this +solemnity was gone through, no pursuit was instituted against the offender. +There was scarcely ever an instance of a false accusation, for it was well +known that no power could screen the delator from the exemplary punishment +that awaited him; and there were no means of escaping from the omniscience +and omnipotence of the secret tribunal. + +To return to Godesberg, it is a most beautiful spot and much agreeable +society is here to be met with. The families of distinction of the +environing country come here for the purpose of recreation and drinking the +mineral waters. We sit down usually sixty to dinner, and I observe some +very fine women among them. On Sunday there is a ball at the ridotto. The +promenades in the environs are exceedingly romantic, and this place is the +favourite resort of many new married couples who come here to pass the +honeymoon. The scenery of the surrounding country is so picturesque and +beautiful as to require the pencil of an Ariosto or Wieland to do justice +to it: + + Ne se tutto cercato avessi il mondo + Vedria di questo un pin gen til paese.[24] + + And, had he ranged the universal world, + Would not have seen a lovelier in his round. + + --_Trans_. W.S. ROSE. + +To the researches of the naturalist and mineralogist the Seven Mountains +offer inexhaustible resources. The living and accommodation of the three +hotels are very reasonable. For one and a half florins you have an +excellent and plentiful dinner at the table d'hote, including a bottle of +Moselle wine and Seltzer water at discretion; by paying extra you can have +the Rhine wines of different growths and crops and French wines of all +sorts. + +I am much pleased with the little I have seen of the German women. They +appear to be extremely well educated. I observe many of them in their +morning walks with a book in their hand either of poetry or a novel. +Schiller is the favourite poet among them and Augustus Lafontaine the +favourite novel writer.[25] He is a very agreeable author were he not so +prolix; yet we English have no right to complain of this fault, since there +is no novel in all Germany to compare in point of prolixity with Clarissa, +Sit Charles Grandison, or Tom Jones. The great fault of Augustus Lafontaine +is that of including in one novel the history of two or three generations. +A beautiful and very interesting tale of his, however, is entirely free +from this defect and is founded on a fact. It is called _Dankbarkeit und +Liebe_ (Gratitude and Love). There is more real pathos in this novelette +than in the _Nouvelle Heloise_ of Rousseau. + + +EHRENBREITSTEIN, 8 July. + +After a _sejour_ of three days at Godesberg, we left that delightful +residence and proceeded to Neuwied to deposit the boys. We stopped, +however, for an hour or two at Andernach, which is situated in a beautiful +valley on the left bank. We viewed the remains of the palace of the Kings +of Austrasia and the church where the body of the Emperor Valentinian is +preserved embalmed. + +Andernach is remarkable for being the exact spot where Julius Caesar first +crossed the Rhine to make war on the German nations. Directly opposite +Neuwied, which is on the right bank, stands close to the village of +Weissenthurm the monument erected to the French General Hoche. We crossed +over to Neuwied in a boat. Neuwied is a regular, well-built town, but +rather of a sombre melancholy appearance and is only remarkable for its +university. Science could not chuse a more tranquil abode. This University +has been ameliorated lately by its present sovereign the King of Prussia. +It was not the interest of Napoleon to favour any establishment on the +right bank at the expence of those on the left, the former being out of his +territory. At Neuwied I took leave of my agreeable fellow travellers, as +they intended to remain there and I to go on to Ehrenbreitstein. An +opportunity presented itself the same afternoon of which I profited. I met +with an Austrian Captain of Infantry and his lady at the inn where I +stopped who were going to Ehrenbreitstein in their _caleche_, and they were +so kind as to offer me a place in it. I found them both extremely +agreeable; both were from Austria proper. He had left the Austrian service +some time ago and had since entered into the Russian service; from that he +was lately transferred, together with the battalion to which he belonged, +into the service of Prussia and placed on the retired list of the latter +with a very small pension. He did not seem at all satisfied with this +arrangement. He had served in several campaigns against the French in +Germany, Italy and France, and was well conversant in French and Italian +litterature. + +We stopped _en passant_ at a _maison de plaisance_ and superb English +garden belonging to the Duke of Nassau-Weilburg. The house is in the style +of a cottage _orne_, but very roomy and tastefully fitted up; but nothing +can be more diversified and picturesque than the manner in which the garden +is laid out. The ground being much broken favours this; and in one part of +it is a ravine or valley so romantic and savage, that you would fancy +yourself in Tinian or Juan Fernandez. We arrived late in the evening in the +Thal Ehrenbreitstein, which lies at the foot of the gigantic hill fortress +of that name, which frowns over it and seems as if it threatened to fall +and crush it. My friends landed me at the inn _Zum weissen Pferd_ (the +White Horse), where there is most excellent accommodation. Just opposite +Ehrenbreitstein, on the left bank, is Coblentz; a superb flying bridge, +which passes in three minutes, keeps up the communication between the two +towns. + +Early the next morning, I ascended the stupendous rock of Ehrenbreitstein, +which has a great resemblance to the hill forts in India, such as Gooty, +Nundydroog, etc. It is a place of immense natural strength, but the +fortifications were destroyed by the French, who did not chuse to have so +formidable a neighbour so close to their frontier, as the Rhine then was. +The Prussian Government, however, to whom it now belongs, seem too fully +aware of its importance not to reconstruct the fortifications with as +little delay as possible. Ehrenbreitstein completely commands all the +adjacent country and enfilades the embouchure of the Moselle which flows +into the Rhine at Coblentz, where there is an elegant stone bridge across +the Moselle. Troops without intermission continue to pass over the flying +bridge bound to France, from the different German states, viz., Saxons, +Hessians, Prussians, etc., so that one might apply to this scene Anna +Comnena's expression relative to the Crusades, and say that all Germany is +torn up from its foundation and precipitated upon France. I suppose no less +than 70,000 men have passed within these few days. The German papers, +particularly the _Rheinische Mercur_, continue to fulminate against France +and the war yell resounds with as much fury as ever. From the number of +troops that continue to pass it would seem as if the Allies did not mean to +content themselves with the abdication of Napoleon, but will endeavour to +dismember France. The Prussian officers seem to speak very confidently that +Alsace and Lorraine will be severed from France and reunited to the +Germanic body, to which, they say, every country ought to belong where the +German language is spoken, and they are continually citing the words of an +old song: + + + Wo ist das deutsche Vaterland?.... + Wo man die deutsche Zunge spricht, + Da ist das deutsche Vaterland.[26] + +In English: "Where is the country of the Germans? Where the German language +is spoken, there is the country of the Germans!" + +Coblentz is a clean handsome city, but there is nothing very remarkable in +it except a fine and spacious "Place." But in the neighbourhood stands the +_Chartreuse_, situated on an eminence commanding a fine view of the whole +_Thalweg_. This _Chartreuse_ is one English mile distant from the town and +my friend the Austrian Captain had the goodness to conduct me thither. It +is a fine large building, but is falling rapidly to decay, being +appropriated to no purpose whatever. The country is beautiful in the +environs of this place, and has repeatedly called forth the admiration and +delight of all travellers. Near Coblentz is the monument erected to the +French General Marceau, who fell gloriously fighting for the cause of +liberty, respected by friend and foe. + + +July 10th. + +We had a large society this day at the table d'hote. The conversation +turned on the restoration of the Bourbons, which nobody at table seemed to +desire. Several anecdotes were related of the conduct of the Bourbon +princes and of the emigration, who held their court at Coblentz when they +first emigrated; these anecdotes did not redound much to their honor or +credit, and I remark that they are held in great disgust and abhorrence by +the inhabitants of these towns, on account of their treacherous and +unprincipled conduct. It was from here that "La Cour de Coblentz," as it +was called, intrigued by turns with the Jacobins and the Brissotins and, by +betraying the latter to the former, were in part the cause of the +sanguinary measures adopted by Robespierre.[27] The object of this +atrocious policy was that the French people would, by witnessing so many +executions, become disgusted at the sanguinary tyranny of Robespierre and +recall the Bourbons unconditionally; which, fortunately for France and +thanks to the heroism and bravery of the republican armies, did not take +place; for had the restoration taken place at that time, a dreadful +reaction would have been encouraged and the cruelties of the reign of +Terror surpassed. With the same view, emissaries were dispatched from the +Court of Coblentz to the South of France in order, under the disguise of +patriots, to preach up the most exaggerated corollaries to the theories of +liberty and equality. + +Among other things at Ehrenbreitstein is a superb pleasure barge belonging +to the Dukes of Nassau for water excursions up and down the Rhine. A _coche +d'eau_ starts from here daily to Mayence and another to Cologne. The price +is ten franks the person. The superb _chaussee on_ the left bank of the +Rhine, which extends all the way from Cologne to Mayence, was constructed +by the direction of Napoleon. In the evening I went to the theatre at +Coblentz, where Mozart's opera of Don Giovanni was represented. I +recollected my old acquaintance "La ci darem la mano," which I had often +heard in England. + + +MAYENCE, 12th July. + +I embarked in the afternoon of the 11th in the _coche d'eau_ bound to +Mayence. Except an old "Schiffer," I was the only passenger on board, as +few chuse to go up stream on account of the delay. I, however, being master +of my own time, and wishing to view the lovely scenery on the banks of the +river, preferred this conveyance, and I was highly gratified. After +Boppart, the bed of the river narrows much. High rocks on each bank hem in +the stream and render it more rapid. Nothing can be more sublime and +magnificent than the scenery; at every turn of the river you would suppose +its course blocked up by rocks, perceiving no visible outlet. Remains of +Gothic castles are to be seen on their summits at a short distance from +each other, and where the banks are not abrupt and _escarpes_ there are +_coteaux_ covered with vines down to the water's edge. The tolling of the +bells at the different villages on the banks gives a most aweful solemn +religious sound, and the reverberation is prolonged by the high rocks, +which seem to shut you out from the rest of the world. There are the walls +nearly entire of two castles of the Middle Ages, the one called "Die Katze" +(the cat); the other "Die Maus" (the Mouse); each has its tradition, for +which and for many other interesting particulars I refer you to Klebe's and +Schreiber's description of the banks of the Rhine. + +We arrived early in the evening at St Goar, where we stopped and slept. St +Goar is a fine old Gothic town, romantically situated, and is famous from +having two whirlpools in its neighbourhood. It is completely commanded and +protected by Rheinfels, an ancient hill fortress, but the fortification of +which no longer exist. It requires half an hour's walk to ascend to the +summit of Rheinfels, but the traveller is well repaid for the fatigue of +the ascent by the fine view enjoyed from the top. I remained at Rheinfels +nearly an hour. What a solemn stillness seems to pervade this part of the +river, only interrupted by the occasional splash of the oar, and the +tolling of the steeple bell! Bingen on the right bank is the next place of +interest, and on an island in the centre of the river facing Bingen stand +the ruins of a celebrated tower call'd the "Mauesethurm" (mouse tower), so +named from the circumstance of Bishop Hatto having been devoured therein by +rats according to the tradition. This was represented as a punishment from +Heaven on the said bishop for his tyranny and oppression towards the poor; +but the story was invented by the monks in order to vilify his memory, for +it appears he was obnoxious to them on account of his attempts to enforce a +rigid discipline among them and to check their licentiousness. + +Bieberich, a superb palace belonging to the Dukes of Nassau on the right +bank, next presents itself to view on your left ascending; to your right, +at a short distance from Bieberich, you catch the first view of Mayence on +the left bank, with its towers and steeples rising from the glade. We +reached Mayence at 4 o'clock p.m., and I went to put up at the three Crowns +(_Drei-Kronen_). The first news I learned on arriving at Mayence was that +Napoleon had surrendered himself to the Captain of an English frigate at +Oleron; but though particulars are not given, Louis XVIII is said to be +restored, which I am very sorry to hear. The Allies then have been guilty +of the most scandalous infraction of their most solemn promise, since they +declared that they made war on Napoleon alone and that they never meant to +dictate to the French people the form of government they were to adopt. +Napoleon having surrendered and Louis being restored, the war may be +considered as ended for the present, unless the Allies should attempt to +wrest any provinces from France, and in this case there is no saying what +may happen. This has finally ended the career of Napoleon. + +There is in Mayence a remarkably fine broad spacious street called "die +grosse Bleiche" and in general the buildings are striking and solid, but +too much crowded together as is the case in all ancient fortified cities. +The Cathedral is well worth seeing and contains many things of value and +costly relics. When one views the things of value in the churches here, at +Aix-la-Chapelle and at Cologne, what a contradiction does it give to the +calumnies spread against the French republicans that they plundered the +churches of the towns they occupied! There is an agreeable promenade lined +with trees on the banks of the river called _L'Allee du Rhin._ Mayence is +strongly fortified and has besides a citadel (a pentagon) of great +strength, which is separated from the town by an esplanade. The _Place du +Marche_ is striking and in the _Place Verte_ I saw for the first time in my +life the Austrian uniform, there being an Austrian garrison as well as +troops belonging to the other Germanic states, such as Prussians, +Bavarians, Saxons, Hessians, and troops of the Duchy of Berg. This City +belongs to the Germanic Confederation and is to be always occupied by a +mixed garrison. The Archduke Charles has his head-quarters here at present. +I attended an inspection of a battalion of Berg troops on the _Place +Verte_; they had a very military appearance and went thro' their manoeuvres +with great precision. From the top of the steeple of the Church of Sanct +Stephen you have a fine view of the whole Rheingau. Opposite to Mayence, on +the right bank, communicating by an immensely long bridge of boats, is the +small town and fort of Castel, which forms a sort of _tete-de-pont_ to +Mayence. The works of Castel take in flank and enfilade the embouchure of +the river Mayn which flows into the Rhine. One of the redoubts of Castel is +called the redoubt of Montebello, thus named after Marshal Lannes, Duke of +Montebello. + +The German papers continue their invectives against France. In one of them +I read a patriotic song recommending the youth of Germany to go into France +to revenge themselves, to drink the wine and live at the cost of the +inhabitants, and then is about to recommend their making love to the wives +and daughters of the French, when a sudden flash of patriotism comes across +him, and he says: "No! for that a German warrior makes love to German girls +and German women only!" (_Und kuesst nur Deutsche Maedchen._) With regard to +the women here, those that I have hitherto met with, and those I saw at +Ehrenbreitstein, were exceedingly handsome, so that the German warriors, if +love is their object, will do well to remain here, as they may go further +and fare worse, for I understand the women of Lorraine and Champagne are +not very striking for personal beauty. There were some good paintings in +the picture gallery here and this and the fortifications are nearly all +that need call forth the attention of a traveller who makes but a fleeting +visit. + + +FRANKFORT-ON-THE-MAYN, 14th July. + +I arrived here the day before yesterday in the diligence from Mayence, the +price of which is two and a half florins the person, and the distance +twenty-five English miles; there is likewise a water conveyance by the Mayn +for half the money. The road runs thro' the village of Hockheim, which in +England gives the name of _Hock_ to all the wines of Rhenish growth. The +country is undulating in gentle declivities and vales and is highly +cultivated in vines and corn. I put up here at the _Hotel Zum Schwan_ (The +Swan), which is a very large and spacious hotel and has excellent +accommodation. There is a very excellent table d'hote at one o'clock at +this hotel, for which the price is one and a half florins the person, +including a pint of Moselle wine and a _krug_ or jar of Seltzer water. +About four or five o'clock in the afternoon it is the fashion to come and +drink old Rhine wine _a l'Anglaise_. That sort called _Rudesheimer_ I +recommend as delicious. There is also a very pleasant wine called the +_Ingelheimer_, which is in fact the "red Hock." At one of these afternoon +meetings a gentleman who had just returned from Paris related to us some +anecdotes of what passed at the Conference between the French commissioners +who were sent after the abdication of Napoleon, by the provisional +government, to treat with the Allies; in which it appeared that the British +commissioner, Lord S[tewart],[28] brother to the Secretary of State for +Foreign Affairs, made rather a simple figure by his want of historical +knowledge or recollection. He began, it seems, in rather a bullying manner, +in the presence of the commissioners, to declaim against what he called the +perfidy and mutiny of the French army against their lawful Sovereign; when +the venerable Lafayette, who was one of the commissioners and who is ever +foremost when his country has need of his assistance, remarked to him that +the English revolution in 1688, which the English were accustomed always to +stile glorious, and which he (Lafayette) stiled glorious also, was +effectuated in a similar manner by the British army abandoning King James +and ranging themselves under the standard of the Prince of Orange; that if +it was a crime on the part of the French army to join Napoleon, their +ancient leader who had led them so often to victory, it was a still greater +crime on the part of the English army to go over to the Prince of Orange +who was unknown to them and a foreigner in the bargain; and that therefore +this blame of the French army, coming from the mouth of an Englishman, +surprised him, the more so as the Duke of Marlborough, the boast and pride +of the English, set the example of defection from his Sovereign, who had +been his greatest benefactor. Lord S[tewart], who did not appear to be at +all conscious of this part of our history, was staggered, a smile was +visible on the countenances of all the foreign diplomatists assembled +there, and Lord S[tewart], to hide his confusion, and with an ill-disguised +anger, turned to Lafayette and said that the Allies would not treat until +Napoleon should be delivered to them. "Je m'etonne, my lord, qu'en faisant +une proposition si infame et si deshonorante, vous vous plaisez de vous +adresser au prisonnier d'Olmuetz," was the dignified answer of that virtuous +patriot and ever ardent veteran of liberty.[29] + +The main street in Frankfort called the _Zeil_ is very broad and spacious, +and can boast of a number of splendid houses belonging to individuals, +particularly the house of Schweitzer[30]; and on the Quai, on the banks of +the Mayn, there is a noble range of buildings. The bridge across the Mayn +is very fine and on the other side of the river is the suburb of +Sachsenhansen, which is famous for being the head-quarters of the +priestesses of the Venus vulgivaga who abound in this city. There are in +Frankfort an immense number of Jews, who have a quarter of the city +allotted to them. The gardens that environ the town are very tastefully +laid out, and serve as the favourite promenade of the _beau monde_ of +Frankfort. The Cathedral will always be a place of interest as the temple +wherein in later times the German Caesars were crowned and inaugurated. At +the _Hotel de Ville_ called the _Roemer_, which is an ugly Gothic building, +but interesting from its being in this edifice that the Emperors were +chosen, is to be seen the celebrated Golden Bull which is written on +parchment in the Latin language with a golden seal attached to it. In the +Hall where the Electors used to sit on the election of an Emperor of the +Romans, are to be seen the portraits of several of the Emperors, and a very +striking one in particular of the Emperor Joseph II, in full length, in his +Imperial robes. There is no table d'hote at the _Swan_ for supper, but this +meal is served up _a la carte_, which is very convenient for those who do +not require copious meals. At the same table with me at supper sat a very +agreeable man with whom I entered into conversation. He was a Hessian and +had served in a Hessian battalion in the English service during the +American war. He was so kind as to procure me admission to the Casino at +the Hotel Rumpf,[31] where there is a literary institution and where they +receive newspapers, pamphlets and reviews in the German, French, English +and Italian languages. In Frankfort there are several houses of individuals +which merit the name of palaces, and there is a great display of opulence +and industry in this city. In the environs there is abundance of _maisons +de plaisance_. For commerce it is the most bustling city (inland) in all +Germany, besides it being the seat of the present German Diet; and from +here, as from a centre, diverge the high roads to all parts of the Empire. + +I have been once at the theatre, which is very near the _Swan_. A German +opera, the scene whereof was in India, was given. The scenery and +decorations were good, appropriate, and the singing very fair. The theatre +itself is dirty and gloomy. The German language appears to me to be better +adapted to music than either the French or English. The number of dactylic +terminations in the language give to it all the variety that the +_sdruccioli_ give to the Italian. As to poetry, no language in the world +suits itself better to all the vagaries and phantasies of the Muse, since +it possesses so much natural rythm and allows, like the Greek, the +combination of compound words and a redundancy of epithets, and it is +besides so flexible that it lends itself to all the ancient as well as the +modern metres with complete success: indeed it is the only modern language +that I know of which does so. + +As for political opinions here, the Germans seem neither to wish nor to +care about the restoration of the Bourbons; but they talk loudly of the +necessity of tearing Alsace and Lorraine from France. In fact, they wish to +put it out of the power of the French ever to invade Germany again; a thing +however little to be hoped for. For the minor and weaker Germanic states +have always hitherto (and will probably again at some future day) invoked +the assistance of France against the greater and stronger. I observe that +the Austrian Government is not at all popular here, and that its bad faith +in financial matters is so notorious and has been so severely felt here, +that a merchant told me, alluding to the bankruptcy of the Austrian +Government on two occasions when there was no absolute necessity for the +measure, that Frankfort had suffered more from the bad faith of the +Austrian Government than from all the war contributions levied by the +French. + + +BRUXELLES, 28th July. + +On arrival at Coblentz we heard that Napoleon had surrendered himself +unconditionally to Capt. Maitland of the _Bellerophon_. He never should +have humiliated himself so far as to surrender himself to the British +ministry. He owed to himself, to his brave fellow soldiers, to the French +nation whose Sovereign he had been, not to take such a step, but rather die +in the field like our Richard III, a glorious death which cast a lustre +around his memory in spite of the darker shades of his character; or if he +could not fall in the field, he should have died like Hannibal, rather than +commit himself into the hands of a government in which generosity is by no +means a distinguishing feature, and which on many occasions has shown a +petty persecuting and vindictive spirit, and thus I have no hesitation in +portraying the characteristics of our Tory party, which, unfortunately for +the cause of liberty, rules with undivided sway over England. He will now +end his days in captivity, for his destination appears to be already fixed, +and St Helena is named as the intended residence; he will, I say, be +exposed to all the taunts and persecutions that petty malice can suggest; +and this with the most uncomfortable reflections: for had he been more +considerate of the spirit of the age, he might have set all the Monarchs, +Ultras and Oligarchs and their ministers at defiance. But he wished to ape +Charlemagne and the Caesars and to establish an universal Empire: a thing +totally impossible in our days and much to be deprecated were it possible. + +Consigned to St Helena, Napoleon will furnish to posterity a proverb like +that of Dionysius at Corinth. This banishment to St Helena will be very +ungenerous and unjust on the part of the English Government, but I suppose +their satellites and adherents will term it an act of clemency, and some +_Church and Kingmen_ would no doubt recommend hewing him in pieces, as +Samuel did to Agag. + +I stopped three days at Aix-la-Chapelle to drink the waters and then came +straight to this place stopping half a day in Liege. I shall start for +Paris in a couple of days, as the communication is now open and the public +conveyances re-established. My passport is _vise_ in the following terms: +"Bon pour aller a Paris en suivant la route des armees alliees." I am quite +impatient to visit that celebrated city. + + +[18] Philipp Klingmann (1762-1824) was better known as an actor than as an + author.--ED. + +[19] Ariosto, _Orlando Furioso_, VII, 12, 1.--ED. + +[20] "What business have you? None, I travel for amusement. Strange! What + is there strange in travelling to see a fine country?" + +[21] _Le Compere Mathieu_, a satirical novel by the Abbe Henri Joseph + Dulaurens, published 1765 and sometimes (though wrongly) attributed to + Voltaire. One of the prominent talkers in the dialogues is Pere Jean + de Domfront.--ED. + +[22] Horace, _Epist_., I, i, 15.--ED. + +[23] This altar, inscribed _Deae Victoriae Sacrum (Corpus inscr. lat_. + XIII, 8252), was erected by the Roman fleet on the Rhine at the place + now called _Altsburg_ near Cologne and, after its discovery, taken to + Bonn, where it was set up on the _Remigius-Platz_ (now called + _Roemer-Platz_) on Dec, 3, 1809. It is now in the Provincial + Museum.--ED. + +[24] Ariosto, _Orlando Furioso_, vi, 20, 3.--ED. + +[25] August Lafontaine (1758-1831), born in Brunswick of a family of French + protestants, was the very prolific and now quite forgotten author of + many novels and novelettes.--ED. + +[26] From Ernst Moritz Arndt's (1779-1860) celebrated poem, _Des Deutschen + Vaterland_.--ED. + +[27] There seems to be much truth in this opinion, though the question of + the intrigues of Louis XVIII with Robespierre is still shrouded in + obscurity. Some pages of General Thiebault's memoirs might have + cleared it up, but they have been torn out from the manuscript + (_Memoires du General Baron Thiebault_, vol. I, p. 273). Louis XVIII + paid a pension to Robespierre's sister, Charlotte.--ED. + +[28] Sir Charles Stewart, created Lord Stewart In 1814; he was a + half-brother of Lord Castlereagh.--ED. + +[29] The same story is given, with slight differences, by Lafayette himself + (_Memoires_, vol. V, p. 472-3; Paris and Leipzig, 1838). See also + _Souvenirs historiques et parlementaires du Comte de Pontecoulant_, + vol. III, p. 428 (Paris, 1863). Major Frye's narrative is by far the + oldest and seems the most trustworthy.--ED. + +[30] The house in question was built about 1780 by Nicolas de Pigage for + the rich merchant, Franz von Schweizer; Pigage was the son of the + architect of King Stanislas at Nancy. The Schweizer palace became + later on the _Hotel de Russie_ and was demolished about 1890, the + Imperial Post Office having been erected in its place. The Schweizer + family is now extinct.--ED. + +[31] A _Casinogesellschaft_, still in existence (1908), was founded at + Frankfort in 1805, with the object of uniting the aristocratic + elements of the city, admittance being freely allowed to distinguished + strangers, in particular to the envoys of the _Bundestag_. The + _Gesellschaft_ or club occupied spacious rooms in the house of the + once famous _tapissier_ and decorator Major Rumpf, grandfather of the + German sculptor of the same name. That building, situated at the + corner of the _Rossmarkt_, was demolished about 1880.--ED. + + + + +CHAPTER III + +From Bruxelles to Paris--Restoration of Louis XVIII--The officers of the +allied armies--The Palais Royal--The Louvre--Protest of the author against +the proposed despoiling of the French Museums--Unjust strictures against +Napoleon's military policy--The _cant_ about revolutionary robberies--The +Grand Opera--Monuments in Paris--The Champs Elysees--Saint-Cloud--The Hotel +des Invalides--The Luxembourg--General Labedoyere--Priests and +emigrants--Prussian Plunder--Handsome behaviour of the English officers-- +Reminiscences of Eton--Versailles. + + +PARIS, August 3rd. + +Here I am in Paris. I left Bruxelles the 29th July, stopped one night at +Mons and passing thro' Valenciennes, Peronne and St Quentin arrived here on +the third day. The villages and towns on the road had been pretty well +stripped of eatables by the Allied army, as well as by the French, so that +we did not meet with the best fare. In every village the white flag was +displayed by way of propitiating the clemency of the Allies and averting +plunder. + + +August 7th. + +I have put up at the _Hotel de Cahors_, Rue de Richelieu, where I pay five +francs per diem for a single room; such is the dearness of lodgings at this +moment. It is well furnished, however, with sofas, commodes, mirrors and a +handsome clock and is very spacious withal, there being an alcove for the +bed. This situation is extremely convenient, being close to the Palais +Royal, Rue St Honore, Theatre Francais, Louvre and the Tuileries on one +side, and to the Grand Opera, the Theatre Feydeau, the Italian Opera and +the Boulevards on the other. The National Library is not many yards distant +from my hotel, and a few yards from that _en face_ is the Grand Opera house +or _Academie Royale de Musique_. + +This city is filled with officers and travellers of all kinds who have +followed the army. The House of Legislature of the Hundred Days,--as it is +the fashion to style Napoleon's last reign--dissolved themselves on the +demand of a million of francs as a war contribution made by Marshall +Blucher. Louis XVIII has been hustled into Paris, and now occupies the +throne of his ancestors under the protection of a million of foreign +bayonets, and the _banniere des Lis_ has replaced the tricolor on the +castle of the Tuileries. A detachment of the British army occupies +Montmartre, where the British flag is flying, and in the Champs Elysees and +Bois de Boulogne are encamped several brigades of English and Hanoverians. +The Sovereigns of Russia, Austria and Prussia are expected and then it is +said that the fate of France will be decided. The Army of the Loire has at +length made its submission to the King, after stipulating but in vain for +the beloved tricolor. Report says it is to be immediately dissolved and a +new army raised with more legitimate inclinations. Should the King accede +to this, France will be completely disarmed and at the mercy of the Allies, +and the King himself a state prisoner. The entrance into Paris, thro' the +Faubourg St Denis, does not give to the stranger who arrives there for the +first time a great idea of the magnificence of Paris; he should enter by +the Avenue de Neuilly or by the Porte St Antoine, both of which are very +striking and superb. + +Now you must not expect that I shall or can give you a description of all +the fine things that I have seen or am about to see, for they have been so +often described before that it would be a perfect waste of time, and I can +do better in referring you at once to the _Guide des Voyageurs a Paris_; so +that I shall content myself with merely indicating these objects which make +the most impression on me. + +My first visit was, as you will have no doubt guessed, to the Palais Royal: +there I breakfasted, there I dined, and there I passed the whole day +without the least _ennui_. It is a world in itself. It swarms at present +with officers of the Allied army. The variety of uniforms adds to the +splendour and novelty of the scene. The restaurants and cafes are filled +with them. The Palais Royal is certainly the temple of animal +gratification, the paradise of gastronomes. The officers are indulging in +all sorts of luxury, revelling in Champaign and Burgundy, in all the +pleasures of the belly, as well as _in iis quae sub ventre sunt_. 'Twill be +a famous harvest for the restaurateurs and for the Cyprians who parade up +and down the Arcades, sure of a constant succession of suitors. In fact, +whatever be the taste of a man, whether sensual or intellectual or both, he +can gratify himself here without moving out of the precincts of the Palais +Royal. Here are cafes, restaurants, shops of all kinds whose display of +clocks, jewellery, stuffs, silks, merchandize from all parts of the world, +is most brilliant and dazzling; here you find reading-rooms where +newspapers, reviews and pamphlets of all tongues, nations and languages are +to be met with; here are museums of paintings, statues, plans in relief, +cosmoramas; here are libraries, gaming houses, houses of fair reception; +cellars where music, dancing and all kinds of orgies are carried on; +exhibitions of all sorts, learned pigs, dancing dogs, military canary +birds, hermaphrodites, giants, dwarf jugglers from Hindostan, catawbas from +America, serpents from Java, and crocodiles from the Nile. Here, so +Kotzebue has calculated, you may go through all the functions of life in +one day and end it afterwards should you be so inclined. You may eat, +drink, sleep, bathe, go to the _Cabinet d'aisance_, walk, read, make love, +game and, should you be tired of life, you may buy powder and ball or opium +to hasten your journey across Styx; or should you desire a more classic +_exit_, you may die like Seneca opening your veins in a bath. Deep play +goes forward day and night, and I verily believe there are some persons in +Paris who never quit these precincts. The restaurants and cafes are most +brilliantly fitted up. One, _Le Cafe des Mille Colonnes_, so called from +the reflection of the columns in the mirrors with which the wainscoat is +lined, boasts of a _limonadiere_ of great beauty. She is certainly a fine +woman, dresses very well, as indeed most French women do, and has a +remarkably fine turned arm which she takes care to display on all +occasions. I do not, however, perceive much animation in her; she always +appears the same, nor has she made any more impression on me--tho' I am of +a very susceptible nature in this particular--than a fine statue or picture +would do. There she sits on a throne and receives the hommage and +compliments of most of the visitors and the money of all, which seems to +please her most, for she receives the compliments which are paid her with +the utmost _sang-froid_ and indifference, and the money she takes especial +care to count. English troops, conjointly with the National Guard, do duty +at the entrance of the Palais Royal from the Rue St Honore; and it became +necessary to have a strong guard to keep the peace, as frequent disputes +take place between the young men of the Capital and the Prussian officers, +against whom the French are singularly inveterate. + +The French, when left to themselves, are very peaceable in their pleasures +and the utmost public decorum is observed; their sobriety contributes much +to this; but if there were in London an establishment similar to that of +the Palais Royal, it would become a perfect pandemonium and would require +an army to keep the peace. The French police keep a very sharp look-out on +all political offences, but are more indulgent towards all moral ones, as +long as public decorum is not infringed, and then it is severely punished. +But they have none of that censoriousness or prying spirit in France which +is so common in England to hunt out and criticise the private vices of +their neighbours, which, in my opinion, does not proceed from any real +regard for virtue, but from a fanatical, jealous, envious, and malignant +spirit. Those vice-hunters never have the courage to attack a man of wealth +and power; but a poor artisan or labourer, who buys a piece of meat after +twelve o'clock on Saturday night, or a glass of spirits during church-time +on Sunday, is termed a Sabbath-breaker and imprisoned without mercy. + +In the Palais Royal the three most remarkable temples of dissipation are +Very's for gastronomes, Robert's faro bank for gamesters, and the Cafe +Montausier for those devoted to the fair sex. The Cafe Montausier is fitted +up in the guise of a theatre where music, singing and theatrical pieces are +given; you pay nothing for admission, but are expected to call for some +refreshment. It is splendidly illuminated, and is the Cafe _par +excellence_, frequented by those ladies who have made the opposite choice +to that of Hercules, and who, taking into consideration the shortness and +uncertainty of life, dedicate it entirely to pleasure, reflecting that + + Laggiu nell' Inferno, + Nell' obblio sempiterno, + In sempiterno orrore, + Non si parla d'amore. + +Of course, this saloon is crowded with amateurs, and the Prussians and +English are not the least ardent votaries of the Goddess of Paphos; many a +vanquished victor sinks oppressed with wine and love on the breast of a +Dalilah: this last comparison suggests itself to me from the immense +quantity of hair worn by the Prussians, as if their strength, like that of +Samson's, depended on their _chevelure_. There is a very pretty graceful +girl who attends here and at the different restaurants and cafes with an +assortment of bijouterie and other knick-knacks to sell. She is full of wit +and repartee; but her answer to all those who attempt to squeeze her hand +and make love to her is always: "_Achetez quelque chose._" Her name is +Celine and she has a great flow of conversation on all subjects but that of +love, which she invariably cuts short by "_Achetez quelque chose._" + + + +10th August. + +I have been to see the Museum of sculpture and painting in the Louvre, but +what is to be seen there baffles all description: + + Se tante lingue avessi e tante voci + Quanti occhi il cielo o quante arene il mare + Non basterian a dir le lodi immense. + +The _Apollo Belvedere_, the _Venus de Medici_ and the _Laocoon_ first +claimed my attention, and engaged me for at least an hour and a half before +I could direct my attention to the other masterpieces. I admire indeed the +_Laocoon_, still more the _Venus_, but the _Apollo_ certainly bears away +the palm and I fully participate of all Winkelmann's enthusiasm for that +celebrated statue. The _Venus_ is a very beautiful woman, but the _Apollo_ +is a god. One is lost, and one's imagination is bewildered when one enters +into the halls of sculpture of this unparalleled collection, amidst the +statues of Gods, Demi-Gods, Heroes, Philosophers, Poets, Roman Emperors, +Statesmen and all the illustrious worthies that adorned the Greek and Roman +page. What subjects for contemplation! A chill of awe and veneration +pervaded my whole frame when I first entered into that glorious temple of +the Arts. I felt as I should were I admitted among supernatural beings, or +as if I had "shuffled off this mortal coil" and were suddenly ushered into +the presence of the illustrious tenants of another world; in fact, I felt +as if Olympus and the whole Court of Immortals were open to my view. No! I +cannot describe these things, I can only feel them; I throw down the pen +and call upon expressive silence to muse their praise. + +Of the Picture Gallery too what can I say that can possibly give you an +idea of its variety and extent? Here are the finest works of the Italian, +Flemish, and French schools, and you are as much embarrassed to single out +the favourite object, as the Grand Signor would be, among six or seven +hundred of the most beautiful women in the world, to make his choice. The +only fault I find in this collection is that there were rather too many +Scripture pieces, Crucifixions, Martyrdoms and allegorical pictures, and +too few from historical or mythological subjects. Yet perhaps I am wrong in +classing the Scripture pieces with Martyrdoms, Crucifixions, Grillings of +Saints and Madonnas; there are very many beautiful episodes in the +Scriptures which would furnish admirable subjects for painters. Why then +have they chosen disgusting subjects such as Judith sawing off Holofernes' +head, Siserah's head nailed to the bedpost, John the Baptist's on a +trencher, etc.? But the pictures representing Martyrdoms are too revolting +to the eye and should not be placed in this Museum. + +It is reported that the Allies mean to strip this Museum [of sculpture and +painting]. No! it cannot be, they never surely can be guilty of such an act +of Vandalism and contemptible spite. I am aware that there is a great +clamour amongst a certain description of English for restoring these +statues and pictures to the countries from whence they came, and that it is +the fashion to term the translation of them to Paris a revolutionary +robbery; but let us bring these gentlemen to a calm reasoning on the +subject. + +The statues and paintings in question belonged either to Governments at war +with France, or to individuals inhabiting those countries; now, with +respect to individuals, I will venture to affirm, on the best authority, +that the property of no individual was taken from him without an +equivalent. Those who had statues and pictures of value and wished to sell +them, received their full value from the French Government, but there was +no force used on the occasion; in fact, many who were in want of money were +rejoiced at the opportunity of selling, as they could never have otherwise +disposed of those valuable articles to individuals at the same price that +the French Government gave. I recollect a day or two ago being in +conversation with a Milanese on this subject and others connected with the +occupation of Italy by the French. I happened to mention that the conquest +of Italy by the Republican armies must have been attended with confiscation +of property; he assured me that no such thing as confiscation of property +took place; that so far from being the losers by the French invasion and +the establishment of their system, they had on the contrary been +considerable gainers, for that the country flourished under their +domination in a manner before unknown, and that one of the greatest +advantages attendant on the occupation was the establishment of an equality +of weight and measures, the decimal division of the coin, the introduction +of an admirable code of laws free'd from all barbarisms--legal, political +and theological--and intelligible to all classes, so that there was no +occasion to cite old authors and go back for three or four hundred years to +hunt out authorities and precedents for what men of sense could determine +at once by following the dictates of their own judgment. + +With respect to the statues and pictures belonging to the different +governments of Italy, it must never be forgotten that these governments +made war against the French Revolution either openly or insidiously, and +did their utmost to aid the coalition to crush the infant liberties of +France. Those who did not act openly did so covertly and indirectly; in +short, from their tergiversations and intrigues, they had no claim whatever +on the mercy of the conquerors, who treated them with a great deal of +clemency. The destruction of these governments was loudly called for by the +people themselves, who looked on the French as their deliverers. + +It will be admitted, I believe, that it is and has been the custom on the +continent, in all wars, for all parties to levy war contributions on the +conquered or occupied countries; but Buonoparte thought it more glorious +for the French name to take works of art instead of money; and not a statue +or picture was taken from the vanquished governments except by a solemn +treaty of cession, or given in lieu of contributions at the option of the +owners, and the Princes were very glad to give up their pictures and +statues, which the most of them did not know how to appreciate, in lieu of +money which they were all anxious to keep; and on these articles a fair +value was fixed by competent judges. In this manner did the French become +the possessors of these valuable objects of art, and in this manner was the +noble Museum in Paris filled up, and surely nothing could be more generous +and liberal than the use made of the Museum by the French Government; +foreigners were indeed more favoured than the inhabitants themselves. To +the inhabitants of Paris this Museum is open twice a week; but to +foreigners on producing their passports, it is open every day in the week +all the year round; artists of all nations are allowed, during a certain +number of hours each day, to come to copy the statues and pictures which +suit their taste; and stoves are lighted for their accommodation during +winter, and all this gratis.--Now, before these objects of art were +collected here, they were distributed, some in churches, and some in +Government palaces. To see the first, required a specific introduction to +the owner; to see the second, application to the attendants of the churches +became necessary, and for both these you were required to pay fees to the +servants and church-attendants, who are always impatient to take your fee +and hurry you through the apartments or chapels, scarcely giving you time +to examine anything. To be admitted into the Government palaces was a +matter of favour, and here also fees were required.[32] Here in the Louvre +there is no introduction required; no court to be paid to _major-domos_, no +favour; it is open to all classes, high and low, without exception, and no +money is allowed to be given. + +But there are some people, in their ridiculous fury against the French +Revolution, who would fain persuade us that before that epoch there was a +golden age on the earth, that there were no acts of violence committed, no +frauds practised, no property injured, no individuals ill-used; that every +Prince governed like Numa; that every noble was a Bayard, and every priest +like a primitive apostle. Why I need go no further than the Seven Years' +war to show that in that war, during the height of European civilisation, +and carried on between the most polished nations in Europe, there were much +more acts of violence and rapine carried on than ever were done by the +French republicans. I by no means wish to excuse or even palliate the acts +of ferocity which took place at that epoch of the French Revolution called +the reign of Terror, which were executed by a people wrought up to frenzy +by a recollection of their wrongs; and I know too well that many virtuous +individuals fell victims to their indiscriminating fury; but I do believe +and aver that much more clamour was made at the execution of a handful of +corrupt courtiers, intriguing and profligate women of quality and worthless +priests, than all the rest put together. + +To return to the Seven Years' war (I may be permitted to take this +retrospect, I hope, since it is the fashion, and those who differ with me +in opinions go much farther back than I do), let the French royalists and +emigrants recollect the confiscation of property and barbarity exercised by +Marshall Richelieu in Hanover, where many families were reduced to beggary. +They may not chuse to recollect this; but the Hanoverians do and they have +not forgotten the _Pavillon de Hanovre_, so called by the wits of the time +from its having been built by the Marshall with money arising from the +spoils of Hanover; will they recollect also the harsh treatment inflicted +on the burghers and citizens of a town in Germany, who were shut up in a +room and kept without food or drink for nearly three days because they +would not consent to fix a heavy and unwarrantable contribution on their +fellow citizens; when these unhappy but virtuous men were only allowed to +go out for the necessities of nature attended by sentries, and on the third +day, when fainting with hunger, a little bread and water was given to them, +with an assurance that in future they were not to expect such luxuries. +Have they forgot the devastation committed in Berlin by the Austrians in +the Seven Years' war, when they pillaged, burned or destroyed all the +valuable property of the royal Palaces, the most valuable works of art, +vases, statues of antiquity, the loss of which could never be replaced; +when they lopped off the heads, arms and legs of the statues? Have they +forgot the conduct of the belligerent powers at the siege of Dresden at the +same epoch, when whole families, among whom were helpless old men and women +with children at the breast, were compelled to leave Dresden in the middle +of a most rigorous winter and were driven to take refuge in the fields +where the most of them perished with hunger and cold; and where many +individuals lost their reason and became insane from the treatment they +received? Have they forgotten the merciless barbarities inflicted by the +Russians in the same war on the inhabitants of the Prussian territory? +their ripping up and burning men, women, and children? and the dreadful +retaliation inflicted on them at the battle of Zorndorff, when the +Prussians, exasperated at the idea of those horrors so fresh in their +memory, on being ordered to bury the Russian dead, threw the wounded men +also belonging to that nation into the graves dug for the dead, to be thus +buried alive, and hastily filled them up with earth, as if fearful that +they might relent, did they give themselves time for reflection? These are +not exaggerations; they are given by an author celebrated for his +impartiality and deep research and who was an eye-witness of many of these +proceedings; I mean Archenholz in his admirable history of the Seven Years' +war.[33] + +Then again in the war of American Independence (and here my countrymen must +excuse me if I point out the acts of injustice committed by them, when +acting in obedience to an unprincipled and arbitrary government and in a +cause hostile to freedom), who does not recollect the private property +wantonly destroyed and confiscated by the English? their employing the +Indian tribes, those merciless savages of the forest, to scalp, etc., which +called forth the indignation of a Chatham? and the grossly unjust pillage +and confiscation of property which took place at St Eustatius by the +commanders of a _religious and gracious King_?[34] Again, who does not +recollect the gentle but deep reproof given by the American General +Schuyler to the English General Burgoyne, when the latter was made prisoner +by the Americans under Gates? General Schuyler's valuable house, barns, +etc., had been burned by the express order of Burgoyne. Nevertheless, +Schuyler received him with dignified politeness, magnanimously stifled the +recollection of the injury he had received, and obtained for him a good +quarter, merely remarking, "General, had my house and farms not been +burned, I could have offered you a more comfortable abode." How Burgoyne +must have felt this reproof! yet he was not by nature a harsh man, but he +had the orders of his government to exercise severities; he was educated in +Tory principles, and passive obedience is their motto. + +Can one forget likewise even, in the late war, Nelson's conduct to +Caraccioli at Naples, whom he caused to be hanged on board of an English +ship of war, together with a number of other patriots, in violation of a +solemn capitulation, by which it had been stipulated that they should be +considered as prisoners of war and sent to France? Then again the wanton +destruction of the Capitol and other public buildings at Washington not +devoted to military purposes, which it is not usual to destroy or deface; +and the valuable public library too which was burned? What excuse can be +offered for this? Were the times of Omar returned? It is fair and allowed +by the laws of war to blow up and destroy arsenals, magazines, containing +warlike stores and engines of destruction, but to destroy with Gothic +barbarity buildings of great symmetry and beauty, and a library too--O fie! + +Why I will defy any man to point out a single instance where the French +republican armies or Napoleon ever injured or wantonly destroyed a single +national edifice, a single work of art, a single book belonging to any +other country! On the contrary, they invariably extended their protection +to the Arts and Sciences. Why at Vienna, where there is, I understand, a +most splendid museum, and many most valuable works of art and antiquity, +tho' this city fell twice into their possession, they never destroyed or +took away a single article; but, on the contrary, there, as well as in +Berlin, they invited the inhabitants to form a civic guard for the +protection of their property. As to the Vandalism shewn during the reign of +Terror, and I by no means seek to palliate it, that was of short duration, +it was madness, if you will, but it was disinterested--and other nations +who talk a great deal about their superior morality would do well to look +at home. They would there observe, in their own historic page, that the +atrocities of the French Revolution have not only been equalled but +surpassed perhaps by more dreadful scenes committed at Wexford in 1798, +under the auspices of the Government then ruling Ireland and which the +noble and virtuous ----[35] disdained to serve. + +Excuse this long digression, but I feel it my duty to open the eyes of my +countrymen and prevent them from supporting on all occasions the unjust +acts of their Government, which reflect dishonour on a great and +enlightened nation; which can boast, among its annals, of some of the most +heroic, splendid, and disinterested characters that ever the world +produced. + +All that I need add on the subject of the statues and pictures is, that +putting out of the question the justice or injustice of the restitution, it +will be a great loss to England and to English artists in particular, +should they be removed: many an artist can afford to make a trip to Paris, +who would find it beyond his means to make a journey to Florence or Rome. + +If these objects of art are to be taken away, it should be stipulated so in +the treaty of peace; and then everybody would understand it. This would be +putting it on the fairest footing. You then say to France: "You gained +these things by conquest; you lose them by defeat"; but for God's sake let +us have no more of that _cant_ about revolutionary robberies! + + +PARIS, ---- + +I went for the first time to the Grand Opera, or, as it is here called, the +Academie Royale de Musique, which is in the Rue de Richelieu. _Armida_ was +the piece performed, the music by Glueck. The decorations were splendid and +the dancing beyond all praise. The scenes representing the garden of Armida +and the nymphs dancing fully expressed in the mimic art those beautiful +lines of Tasso: + + Cogliam d'amor la rosa! amiamo or, quando + Esser si puote riamato amando![36] + +The effect of the dissolution of the palace and gardens by the waving of +Armida's wand is astonishing; it appears completely to be the work of +inchantment, from the rapidity of execution which follows the _potentissime +parole_. The French recitative however does not please me. The serious +opera is an exotic and does not seem to thrive on the soil of France. The +language does not possess sufficient intonation to give effect to the +recitative. + +On the contrary, the comic operas are excellent; and here the national +music and singing appear to great advantage. It never degenerates to the +grotesque or absurd _buffo_ of the Italians, but is always exquisitely +graceful, simple, touching and natural. + +Among the ballets, I have seen perhaps three of the best, viz., _Achille a +Scyros, Flore et Zephire_ and _La folle par amour_. In the ballet of Flore +and Zephire, the dancers who did these two parts appeared more aerian than +earthly. To use a phrase of Burke's, I never beheld so _beautiful a vision. +Nina_, or _la folle par amour_, is a ballet from private life. The title +sufficiently explains its purport; it is exquisitely touching and pathetic. +O what a divine creature is Bigottini! what symmetry of form! what innate +grace, what a captivating expression of countenance; and then the manner in +which she did the mad scenes and her return to reason! Oh! I was moved even +to tears. Never had any performance such an effect upon me. What a +magnificent _tout ensemble_ is the Grand Opera at Paris! Whenever I feel +chagrined or melancholy I shall come here; I feel as if I were in a new +world; the fiction appears reality; my senses are ravished, and I forget +all my cares. + +I have very little pleasure in visiting royal Palaces, unless they have +been the residence of some transcendent, person like Napoleon or Frederick +II of Prussia, as the sight of splendid furniture and royal pomp affords me +no gratification; and I would rather visit Washington's or Lafayette's +farms in company with these distinguished men than dine with all the +monarchs of Europe. After a hasty glance at the furniture of the Tuileries, +what fixed my attention for a considerable time was "La Salle des +Marechaux," where are the portraits of all the modern French Marshalls. +They are all full length portraits and are striking resemblances; some are +in the Marshall's undress uniform and others in the full court costume +which is very elegant, being the costume of the time of Francis I with the +Spanish hat and plumes. I did not observe Ney's or Soult's portraits among +them. + +In front of the great square of the Tuileries where the troops exercise, +stands the Arch of Triumph erected by Napoleon, commonly called _l'Arc du +Carrousel_. It is a beautiful piece of architecture, but is far too small +to tally with such a vast mass of buildings as the Palace and offices of +the Tuileries. By the side of them it appears almost Lilliputian. It would +have been better to have made it in the style of the triumphal arch of the +Porte St Denis. On this arc of the Carrousel are _bas-reliefs_ both outside +and inside, representing various actions of Napoleon's life. He is always +represented in the Roman costume, with the imperial laurel on his brows, +with kings kneeling, and presenting the keys of conquered cities. On the +outside are statues, large as life, in modern military costume, +representing the different _armes_ which compose the French army.[37] On +the top of this Arc du Carrousel is an antique car of triumph, to which are +harnessed the four bronze horses which were taken from the facade of the +Church of San Marco in Venice. They are of beautiful workmanship and of +great antiquity. What various and mighty revolutions have these horses +witnessed! Cast in Corinth in the time of the glories of the Grecian +commonwealths and removed by conquest to Rome, they witnessed the +successive fall of the Grecian and Roman states; transferred to +Constantinople in the time of Constantine, and from thence removed to +Venice when Constantinople fell into the hands of the French and Venetians; +transferred from thence to Paris in 1798, they have witnessed the +successive falls of the Eastern and Western Empires, of the Republic of +Venice and the Napoleonic dynasty and Empire. Report says they are to be +restored to Venice; and who knows whether they may not be destined one day +to return to their original country, Greece, under perhaps Russian +auspices? + +The Gardens of the Tuileries which lie at the back part of the palace are +very spacious, well laid out in walks and lined with trees. Large basins +inlaid with stone, fountains and statues add to the grandeur of these +gardens; they extend from the Tuileries as far as the Place Louis XV +parallel to the Seine, and are separated by a wall and parapet and a +beautiful cast iron railing from the Quai, and on the other side from the +Rue de Rivoli, one of the new streets, and the best in Paris for +pedestrians. On the side opposite the palace itself is the _Place Louis +XV_, called in the time of the republic _Place de la Revolution_, and where +the unfortunate Louis XVI suffered decapitation. The _Place Louis XV_ is by +far the most magnificent thing of the kind I have ever seen and far exceeds +the handsomest of our squares in London. On one side of it is the _Hotel du +Garde Meuble_, a superb edifice. On the other the Quai, the river; and on +the other side of the river is the _Palais du Corps legislatif_, now the +place where the Chamber of Deputies hold their sitting, and which has a +magnificent facade. In front of this place are the Champs Elysees and +avenue of Neuilly and behind the gardens and palace of the Tuileries. + +My next visit was to the _Place Vendome_, where stands the majestic column +of the Grand Army. To me this column is the most striking thing of its kind +that I have hitherto seen. It is of bronze and of the most beautiful +workmanship, cast from the cannon taken from the Austrians in the war of +1805, and on it are figured in bas-relief the various battles and +achievements, winding round and round from the base to the capital. It is +constructed after the model of the Column of Trajan in Rome. + +The next place I visited was the Chamber of Deputies. It is a fine building +with a Doric facade and columns; it is peculiarly striking from its noble +simplicity. On the facade are bas-reliefs representing actions in +Napoleon's life. The flight of steps leading to the facade is very grand, +and there are colossal figures representing Prudence, Justice, Fortitude +and other legislative virtues. The Chamber itself where the Deputies hold +their sittings is in the form of a Greek theatre; the arch of the +semi-circle forms the gallery appropriated to the audience, and comprehends +in its enclosure the seats of the deputies like the seats in a Greek +theatre; on the chord of the semi-circle where the _proscenium_ should be, +is the tribune and President's seat. The whole is exceedingly elegant. The +Orator whose turn it is to speak leaves his seat, ascends the tribune and +faces the Deputies. The anti-rooms adjoining this Chamber are fitted up +with long tables and fauteuils and are appropriated to the sittings of the +various committees. These antichambers are hung round with pictures +representing the victories of the French armies; but they are covered with +green baize and carefully concealed from the public eye in order to stifle +recollections and prevent comparisons. + + +PARIS, August. + +I mounted on horseback and rode out to St Cloud to breakfast, passing +through the Champs Elysees, the Bois de Boulogne and the little town of +Passy, and returned by the Quai, as far as the bridge of Jena, which I +passed and went to visit the _Hotel des Invalides, le Champ de Mars_, the +_Pantheon_ or Church of St Genevieve and the Palace of the Luxembourg. This +was pretty good work for one day; and as you will expect some little +account of my ideas thereon, I shall give you a _precis_ of what most +interested me. + +In the Champs Elysees are quartered several English regiments who are +encamped there, and this adds to the liveliness of the scene; our soldiers +seem to enjoy themselves very much. They are in the midst of places of +recreation of all kinds, such as guinguettes, tennis-courts, dancing salons +and cafes, and besides these (places of Elysium for English soldiers), wine +and brandy shops innumerable; our soldiers seem to agree very well with the +inhabitants. In the Bois de Boulogne are Hanoverian troops as well as +English. At Passy I stopped at the house occupied by my friend, Major C. of +the 33rd Regt.,[38] who was to accompany me to St Cloud. St Cloud is an +exceedingly neat pretty town, well and solidly built, and tolerably large. +There are a great many good restaurants and cafes, as St Cloud with its +Palace, promenades and gardens forms one of the most favourite resorts of +the Parisians on Sundays and _jours de fete_. Diners _de societe_ and +_noces et festins_ are often made here; and there is both land and water +conveyance during the whole day. There are two roads by land from Paris: +the one on the Quai the whole way; the other through the Bois de Boulogne +and Champs Elysees. The gardens of St Cloud are laid out something in the +style of a _jardin anglais_, but mixed with the regular old fashioned +garden; it abounds in lofty trees, beautiful sites and well arranged vistas +commanding extensive views of Paris and the country environing. St Cloud +was the favourite residence of Napoleon; and the furniture in the palace +here shows him to be a man of the most refined taste. All is elegant and +classic; there is nothing superfluous; the furniture is modern, but in +strict imitation of the furniture of the ancients and chiefly in bronze. +There are superb vases and candelabras in marble, magnificent clocks of +various kinds, marble busts, and busts in bronze of great men, and bronze +statues large as life holding lamps. The chairs and sofas too are in a +classic taste, as are the beds and baths. We were informed here that +Blucher, who passed one night here, tore with his spur the satin covering +of one of the sofas and that he did it wilfully; but I never can believe +that the old man would be so silly, and I rather think that this story is +an invention of the keeper of the Palace, or that if it was done, it was +done by an accident merely. But the fact is that Blucher has a contempt for +and hates the Parisians and likes to mortify them on all occasions; he +threatens to do a number of things which he never seriously intends, merely +for the sake of teasing them; and it must be owned that they deserve a +little contempt from the want of _caractere_ they showed on the entrance of +the Allies. Be it as it may, Blucher is the _bete noire_ of the Parisians +and they are as much afraid of him as the children are of _Monsieur +Croque-mitaine_. + +We returned from St Cloud by the Quai, crossed the bridge of Jena, +galloped along the _Champs de Mars_, took a hasty glance at the _Hotel des +Invalides_, a magnificent edifice and which may be distinguished from all +other buildings by its gilded cupola. It is a superb establishment in every +respect, and is furnished with an excellent library. A great many old +soldiers are to be seen in this library occupied in reading; they are very +polite to all visitors, particularly to ladies. Nothing can better +demonstrate the superior character, intelligence and deportment of the +French soldiers over those of all other countries than the way in which +they employ their time in literary pursuits, their dignified politeness to +visitors and the intelligent answers they give to questions. I am afraid +our British veterans, brave as they are in the field, occupy themselves, +when laid up as invalids, more in destroying their bodies by spirituous +liquors than in improving their minds by reading. The Chapel of this +establishment where were displayed the banners and trophies taken at +different epochs from the enemies of France, and which were much mutilated +by the wars since the Revolution, is now stripped of all the ensigns of +glory. They were all burned by the French themselves previous to the +capitulation of Paris in 1814, in order to prevent their falling into the +hands of the enemy. An old soldier who was my guide related this with tears +in his eyes, but suddenly checking himself said: "_Mais telle est +l'histoire_." + +The only things now in this Chapel that interest the eye of the traveller +are the monuments of Vauban and Turenne. Of the rest nought remains but the +brilliant souvenirs. + + Fuit Ilium, et ingens + Gloria Teucrorum!...[39] + +I had a great deal of difficulty in inducing this old soldier to accept of +three franks; I told him at last that, as he did not want it himself, to +take it and give it to somebody that did. I then visited the rest of the +establishment. There is a whole range of rooms which contains models or +plans in relief of all the fortresses of France; they are admirably and +most minutely executed; not only the fortifications and public buildings, +but the private houses, the gardens, orchards, meadows, mountains, hill and +dale, bridges, trees, every feature of the ground in fine and of the +surrounding country are given in miniature. In fact it gives you the same +idea of the places themselves and of the environing country as if you were +held up in the air over them to inspect them; or as if you viewed them from +a balloon at the distance of 800 yards from the earth. The models of +Strassburg, Lille and three or four others have been taken away by the +Austrians and Prussians, but I have seen those of Calais, Dunkirk, +Villefranche, Toulon, and Brest, and in fact almost every other French +fortress. This is one of the most interesting sights in Paris, and for this +we are certainly indebted to the occupation; for I question much if +travellers were ever permitted to see these models until Paris fell into +the hands of the Allies. Prussian sentries do duty at the doors; how +grating this must be to the old invalids! Among the models I must not omit +to mention a very curious one which represents the battle of Lodi. The town +of Lodi, the bridge and river are admirably executed. The soldiers are +represented by little figures about a quarter of an inch in height and +cobwebs are disposed so as to represent the smoke of the firearms, +Buonaparte and his staff are on horseback on one side of the bridge. There +is also a very fine model of the _Hotel des Invalides_ itself. + +From hence we went to the garden and palace of the Luxembourg. These +gardens form the midday and afternoon promenade of that part of the city. +In one wing of the Palace is the Chamber of Peers, elegantly fitted up and +in some respect resembling a Greek theatre. The busts of Cicero, Brutus, +Demosthenes, Phocion and other great men of antiquity adorn the niches of +this chamber and on the grand _escalier_ are the statues in natural size of +Kleber, Dessaix, Caffarelli and other French generals. Report says that +these statues will be removed. + +In the picture gallery at the Luxembourg is a choice collection of pictures +of the modern French school such as Guerin, David, etc. The subjects are +extremely well chosen, being taken from the mythology or from ancient and +modern history. I was too glad to find no crucifixions, martyrdoms, nor +eternal Madonnas. I distinguished in particular the _Judgment of Brutus_ +and the _Serment des Horaces et des Curiaces_. Connoisseurs find the +attitudes too stiff and talk to you of the Italian school; but I prefer +these; yet I had better hold my tongue on this subject, for I am told I +know nothing about painting. + +Poor Labedoyere[40] is sentenced to be shot by the Court Martial which +tried him, and the sentence will be carried immediately into execution. His +fate excites universal sympathy, and I have seen many people shed tears +when talking on this subject. He certainly ought to be protected by the +12th Article of the Capitulation. The French are very uneasy; the Allies +have begun to strip the Louvre and there is no talk of what the terms of +peace are to be, or what is the determination of the Allies. This is a +dreadful state of uncertainty for the French people and may lead to a +general insurrection. The Allies continue pouring troops into France and +levying contributions. "_Vae victis_" seems their motto. France is now a +disarmed nation, and no French uniform is to be seen except that of the +National Guard and the "Garde Royale." France is at the mercy of her +enemies and prostrate at their feet; a melancholy prospect for European +liberty! + +The Allies have parades and reviews two or three times a week and the +Sovereigns of Russia, Austria and Prussia constantly attend; Wellington is +their showman. These crowned Heads like mightily playing at soldiers; I +should think His Grace must be heartily tired of them. Massacres and +persecutions of the Protestants have begun to take place in the South of +France, and the priests are at work again threatening with excommunication +and hell the purchasers and inheritors of emigrant estates and church +lands. These priests and emigrants are incorrigible. Frequent quarrels take +place almost every evening in the Palais Royal between the Prussian +officers and the French, particularly some of the officers from the army of +the Loire. I rather suspect these latter are the aggressors. The Prussians +being gorged with plunder come there to eat, drink and amuse themselves and +have as little stomach for fighting as the soldier of Lucullus had after +having enriched himself; but the officers of the army of the Loire are, +poor fellows, in a very different predicament; they have not even been paid +what is due to them, and they, having none of those nice felicities (to use +an expression of Charlotte Smith's)[41] which make life agreeable, are +ready for any combat, to set their life on any cast, "to mend it, or to be +rid of 't." The Prussians indulge in every sort of dissipation, which they +are enabled to do by the plunder which they have accumulated, and of which +they have formed, I understand, a _depot_ at St Germain. They send these +articles of plunder to town every day to be sold, and then divide the +profits, which are sure to be spent in the Palais Royal, and other places +of revel and debauchery. + +They sometimes affect a fastidiousness of stomach which is quite laughable, +and not at all peculiar to the Germans, who are in general blessed by +nature with especial good appetites; and they spend so much money that the +English officers who have not had the advantages of plunder that these +Prussians have had must appear by the side of them stingy and niggardly. + +I was witness one day to a whimsical scene, which will serve to give you an +idea of the airs of importance these gentlemen give themselves. I was one +day at Versailles and after having visited the palace and gardens I entered +the Salon of a restaurateur and called for a veal cutlet and _vin +ordinaire_. There was a fat Prussian Major with two or three of his +companions at one of the tables, who had been making copious libations to +Bacchus in Burgundy and Champaign. He heard me call for _vin ordinaire_, +and whether it was to show his own magnificence I know not, but he called +out to the _cafetiere_: "Madame, votre vin ordinaire est il buvable? car +j'en veux donner a mon trompette, et s'il n'est pas bon, il n'en boira pas. +Faites venir mon trompette." Now I dare say in his own country this Major +would not have disdained even the "schwarze Bier" of Brandenburgh. + +Scarcely any quarrels, I believe, take place between the English and +French, nor did I hear of any violent fracas but one. In this instance, the +English officers concerned must have been sad, brutal, vulgar fellows. +They, however, after behaving in a most gross insulting manner, were +compelled by some Frenchmen not to eat but to drink their words, and that +out of a vessel not usually employed in drinking. I shall not repeat the +contemptible affair, but it furnished the subject of a caricature. + +The English officers in general behave in a handsome and liberal manner, +and their conduct was spoken of in high terms of encomium by very many of +the French themselves. I regret however exceedingly that any of the British +officers should have imbibed the low prejudices and vulgar hatred against +the French, which certain people preach up in England to cover their own +peculations and interested views. A young friend of mine, with whom I was +one day talking on political subjects, said to me: "I cannot help agreeing +with you in many things, but I am staggered when I think that your ideas +and reasoning are so contrary to the ideas in which I have been brought up; +so that I rather avoid entering at all on political questions." + +I do not wonder at all at this, for I recollect when I was at school at +Eton, the system was to drill into the heads of the boys strong +aristocratic principles and hatred of Democracy and of the French in +particular; we were ordered to write themes against the French Revolution +and verses of triumph over their defeats, with now and then a sly theme on +the great advantage of hereditary nobility; in these verses God Almighty +was to be represented as closely allied to the British Government and a +_sleeping partner_ of the Administration. One of the fellows of Eton +College actually told the late Mr Adam Walker, the celebrated lecturer on +natural and experimental philosophy, who was accustomed to give lectures +annually to the Etonians, that his visits were no longer agreeable and +would be dispensed with in future; as "Philosophy had done a great deal of +harm and had caused the French Revolution." + +With respect to my visit to Versailles, I was much struck with the vast +size and magnificence of the buildings and with the ingenuity displayed in +the arrangement of the grounds and the numerous groups of statues, +grottos, aqueducts, fountains and ruins. Still it pleases me less than St +Cloud, for I prefer the taste of the present day in gardening and the +arrangement of ground, to the ponderous and tawdry taste of the time of +Louis XIV, and I prefer St Cloud to Versailles, just as I should prefer a +Grecian Nymph in the simple costume of Arcadia to a fine court lady rouged +and dressed out with hoops, diamonds, and headdress of the tune of Queen +Anne. Napoleon must have had an exquisite taste. + + +[32] Exceptions to this are, I understand, the Gallery at Florence, and the + Museo Vaticano at Rome, which are both open to all and no fees allowed. + +[33] Johann Wilhelm Archenholz (1743-1812), author of the _Geschichte des + Siebenjaehrigen Krieges_, 1789.--ED. + +[34] In February, 1781, before the declaration of war was generally known + in the West Indies, Rodney's fleet surrounded the Dutch island of + Eustatius, which had become a sort of entrepot for supplying America + with British goods; two hundred and fifty ships, together with several + millions worth of merchandise, were seized and sold at a military + auction. The plunder of Eustatius was bitterly commented upon In the + British House of Commons.--Lee Richard Hildreth, _The History of the + United States_, vol. III, p. 335.--ED. + +[35] The name is in blank. Major Frye may have meant Beauchamp Bagenal + Harvey (1762-1798), the squire of Wexford who deserted to the Irish + rebels.--ED. + +[36] Tasso, _Jerusalemme liberata_, canto XVI, ottava 15.--ED. + +[37] For instance, a Cuirassier, a Dragoon, a Grenadier, a Tirailleur, an + Artilleryman. + +[38] Major G. Colclough, senior major of the 33rd Regt.--ED. + +[39] Virgil, _Aen_., II. 325.--ED. + +[40] La Bedoyere (Charles Huchet, Comte de) distinguished himself in + several of the Napoleonic wars, in particular at Ratisbonne and + Borodino. Being a colonel at Grenoble, in March, 1815, he deserted to + Napoleon's cause and was nominated by him general and _pair de + France_. In July, 1815, he was arrested in Paris, tried for high + treason and shot, August 19, in spite of Benj. Constant's efforts to + save him.--ED. + +[41] Charlotte Smith (1749-1806), author of _Emmeline, or the Orphan of the + Castle_ (1788), _Celestina_ (1792), _The Old Manor House_ (1793), + etc.--ED. + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +From Paris to Bruxelles--Visiting the plains of Waterloo--The Duke de Berri +at Lille--Beauvais--Return to Paris--Remarks on the French theatre-- +Talma--Mlle Duchesnois--Mlle Georges-French alexandrine verse--The Abbe +Delille--The Opera Comique. + +I met with my brother-in-law and his nephew at Paris, and hearing from them +that they had an intention of returning to England by the way of Bruxelles, +with the idea of visiting the plains of Waterloo, I was induced to +accompany them. We started on the 18th August, taking the exact route from +Paris that was taken by Napoleon. Passed the first night at St Quentin; the +second at a small village on the line between Mons and Charleroy in the +Belgian territory. The next morning, after breakfasting at Nivelles, we +proceeded to Quatre Bras and Mont St Jean. At the little cabaret called _a +la belle Alliance_ we met a host of Englishmen who had been to behold the +field of battle; Lacoste, the peasant who was Napoleon's guide on the day +of battle, was about to conduct them across the fields to Hougoumont. We +followed them. The devastation of the place, every tree being pierced with +bullets, and the whole premises being nearly burned to the ground, seemed +to astonish their _weak minds_; one of them was not contented till he had +measured the length and breadth of the garden and orchards. + +Cuirasses, helmets, swords and various other spoils of war found on the +spot, were offered for sale by some boys and eagerly bought up as relics. +My brother-in-law made a purchase of a helmet, sword and cuirass, intending +to hang it up in his hall. For my part I have seen, and can see no reason +whatever to rejoice at this event. I fear it is pregnant with infinite +mischief. + +We arrived at Bruxelles on the afternoon of the 20th August and after +visiting thePark, _Alee verte_ and Palace of Laeken, we proceeded the next +morning on our journey to Lille. + +The Duke of Berri was at Lille and a grand _fete_ was given in the evening +to celebrate the second restoration of the Bourbons. Fireworks were let +off, the city was brilliantly illuminated and boys (hired of course) went +about the streets singing the following refrain + + A bas, a bas Napoleon! + Vivent, vivent les Bourbons! + +A number of beautiful women elegantly attired paraded up and down the +public promenades, which are exceedingly well and tastefully laid out. This +city is built with great regularity, and the streets are broad, neat, and +clean. It is by far the handsomest city I have ever seen either in France +or Belgium. The _Hotel de Ville_ and the theatre both are on the _Grande +Place_ and are well worth seeing. Lille is renowned for its fortifications; +I much wished to visit the citadel but I was not permitted. At dinner at +the table d'hote at the _Hotel du Commerce_, I remarked a French officer +declaiming violently against Napoleon; but I heard afterwards that he was +the son of an Emigrant; the rest of the company did not seem to approve his +discourse and shewed visible impatience at it. + +Lille may be easily recognised at its approach from the immense quantity of +wind-mills that are in the vicinity of this city, some of which are used +for grinding of wheat and others for the expression of oil. A great deal of +flax from whence the oil is made, grows in the country. + +I left Lille on the morning of the 24th inst., with the courier for Amiens. +From Amiens I took the diligence to Beauvais and on arrival there I put up +under the hospitable roof of my friend Major G., of the 18th Light +Dragoons, lately made Lt.-Colonel for his gallantry at Waterloo.[42] I did +not want for amusement here, for the next day a _fete champetre_ was given +just outside the walls of the town, and I admired the grace and tournure of +the female peasantry and their good dancing. How much more creditable are +these innocent and agreeable _fetes_ to the fairs and meetings in England, +which are generally signalized in drunkenness! The next afternoon presented +a novel sight to the inhabitants of Beauvais, it being a grand cricket +match played between the officers of the 10th and 18th Dragoons. It was won +by the latter, mainly owing to the superior play of Colonel G. of the 18th, +who never touched a bat since he was at Burney's school. The Officers +afterwards dined _al fresco_ and many toasts accompanied by the huzzas were +given, to the astonishment of the bystanders, who seemed to consider us as +little better than barbarians. One of the officers wishing to pay a +compliment to the inhabitants of Beauvais proposed the health of Louis +XVIII, but they seemed to take it coldly and not at all to be flattered by +the compliment. + +After five days very agreeable residence at Beauvais, I put myself in the +diligence to return to Paris. During the journey an ardent political +altercation arose between a young lady, who appeared to be a warm partisan +of Napoleon, on the one side, and a Garde du Corps on the other. The lady +was seconded by a young gentleman, of whom it was difficult to say, whether +he sustained her argument from a dislike to the present order of things, or +from a wish to ingratiate himself in her favour. The argument of the Garde +du Corps was espoused, but soberly, by one of the passengers who was a +mathematical professor at one of the Lyceums; he was not by any means an +Ultra, but he supported the Bourbons, with moderate, gentlemanly and I +therefore believe sincere attachment. This professor seemed a well informed +sort of man; he told me that he was acquainted with Sir James M., formerly +recorder at Bombay. On our arrival at the _Bureau des Messageries_, the +whole company forgot their disputes and parted good friends; and the young +man who was partisan of the young lady in the political dispute took care +to +inform himself of her abode in Paris. + + * * * * * + +Remarks on the various dramatic performances which I witnessed at Paris, +with opinions on the French theatre in general. + +In my ideas of dramatic works I am neither rigidly classic nor romantic, +and I think both styles may be good if properly managed and the interest +well kept up; in a word I am pleased with all genres _hors le genre +ennuyux_,[43] and tho' a great admirer of Shakespeare and Schiller, I am +equally so of Voltaire, Racine and Corneille; I take equal delight in the +pathos of the sentimental dramas of Kotzebue as in the admirable satire and +_vis comica_ of the unrivalled Moliere, so that on my arrival at Paris I +was not violently prejudiced either for or against the French stage, but +rather pre-occupied, to use a gentler term, in its favour; and I have not +been at all disappointed, for I think I can pronounce it with safety the +first, perhaps the only stage in Europe. + +I now mean to speak not of Operas, nor of Operas-comiques, nor of +melodrames, nor of vaudevilles; all these have their respective merits; but +when I speak of the French stage, I confine myself to the regular theatre +of tragedy and comedy, of their classical pieces; in a word, to the +dramatic performances usually given at the _Theatre Francais_. + +The first piece I saw performed was _Manlius_;[44] but I was too far off +from the stage to judge of the acting, and could do little more than catch +the sounds. The parterre and the whole house was full. I was in the fourth +tier of boxes, yet I could distinguish at intervals the finest and most +prominent traits, of Talma's acting, particularly in that scene where he +upbraids his friend with having betrayed him. This he gave with uncommon +energy and effect. The plot of this piece is very similar to that of +_Venice preserved_.[45] + +The next piece I saw represented was the _Avare_ of Moliere, which to me +was one of the greatest dramatic treats I had ever witnessed. Every part +was well supported. The next was _Athalie_ of Racine. Here too I was highly +gratified. Mlle Georges performed the part of Athalie and gave me the +perfect ideal of the haughty Queen. Her narration of the dream was given +with the happiest effect, and in her attempt to conceal her uneasiness and +her affected contempt of the dream in these lines: + + Un songe, me devrois--je inquieter d'un songe? + +she seemed in reality to labour under all the anxiety and fatigue arising +from it. That fine scene between Joad and Joas was well given, and the +little girl who did the part of Joas performed with a good deal of spirit. +The actor who played Joad recited in a most impressive manner the advice to +the young prince terminating in these lines: + + Vous souvenant, mon fils, que cache sous ce lin, + Comme eux vous futes pauvre et comme eux orphelin. + +The interrogating scene between Athalie and Joad was given spiritedly, but +the rather abrupt and uncourtierlike reply to the Queen's remark, "Ils sont +deux puissans dieux"--"Lui seul est dieu, Madame, et le votre n'est rien"-- +excited a laugh and I fancy never fails to do so, every time the piece is +performed. + +Racine has several passages in his tragedies which perhaps have rather too +much _naivete_ for the dignity of the cothurnus; for instance in the answer +of Agamemnon to Achille in the tragedy of _Iphigenie_: + + Puisque vous le savez, pourquoi le demander? + +A poet of to-day would be quizzed for a line like the above, but who dare +venture to point out any defect in an author of whom Voltaire has said and +with justice too, that the only criticism to be made of him (Racine) would +be to write under every page: "Admirable, harmonieux, sublime!" + +The costume and the decorations at the _Theatre francais_ are so strictly +classical and appropriate in every respect, that it is to me a source of +high delight to witness the representation of the favourite pieces of +Racine, Corneille, Moliere and Voltaire, which I have so often read with so +much pleasure in the closet and no small quantity of which I have by heart. + +The next piece I saw was the _Cinnna_ of Corneille; and here it was that I +beheld Talma for the second time. I was of course highly pleased, tho' I +was rather far off to hear very distinctly; this was, however, no very +great loss, as I was perfectly well acquainted with the tragedy. Talma's +gestures, his pause's, his natural mode of acting gave a great relief to +the long declamation with which this tragedy abounds. When this tragedy was +given it was during the time that poor Labedoyere's trial was going on, and +the allusions to Augustus' clemency were eagerly seized and applauded. It +was hoped that Louis XVIII would imitate Augustus. Vain hope! + +I have seen _Phedre_; the part of Phedre by that admirable actress Mlle +Duchesnois, who performs the part so naturally and with so much passion +that we entirely forget the extreme plainness of the person. She acts with +far more feeling and pathos than Mlle Georges. I shall never be able to +forget Mlle Duchesnois in _Phedre_. She gave me a full idea of the +impassioned Queen, nor were it possible to depict with greater fidelity the +"Venus toute entiere a sa proie attachee," as in that beautiful speech of +Phedre to Oenone wherein she reveals her passion for Hippolyte and +pourtrays the terrible struggle between duty and female delicacy on the one +hand, and on the other a flame that could not be overcome, convinced as it +were of the complete inutility of further efforts of resistance and +invoking death as her only refuge. I was moved even to tears. I am so great +an admirer of the whole of this speech beginning "Mon mal vient de plus +lorn" etc., and ending "Un reste de chaleur tout pret a s'exhaler," that I +think in it Racine has not only united the excellencies of Euripides, +Sappho and Theocritus in describing the passion of love, but has far +surpassed them all; that speech is certainly the masterpiece of French +versification and scarcely inferior to it is that beautiful and ingenuous +confession of love by Hippolyte to Aricie. What an admirable _pendant_ to +the love of Phedre! In Hippolyte you behold the innocence, simplicity and +ingenuousness of a first and pure attachment: in Phedre the _embrasement_, +the ungovernable delirium of a criminal passion. + +I have seen Mlle Duchesnois again in the _Merope_ of Voltaire and admire +her more and more. This is an admirable play. The dialogue is so spirited; +the agitation of maternal tenderness, and the occasional bursts of feelings +impossible to be restrained, render this play one of the most interesting +perhaps on the French stage, and Mlle Duchesnois gave with the happiest +effect her part in those two scenes; the first wherein she supposes Egisthe +to be the person who has killed her son; in the other where having +discovered the reality of his person, she is obliged to dissemble the +discovery, but on Egisthe being about to be sacrificed she exclaims +"Barbare, c'est mon fils!" The part of Egisthe was given by a young actor +who made his appearance at this theatre for the first tune, and he executed +his part with complete success (Firmin, I think, was his name). Lafond did +the part of Polyphonte and did it well. At this tragedy many allusions were +caught hold of by the audience according as they were Bourbonically or +Napoleonically inclined; at that part of Polyphonte's speech wherein he +says: + + Le premier qui fut Roi fut un soldat heureux. + Qui sert bien son pays n'a pas besoin d'ayeux. + +Thunders of applause proceeded from those who applied it to Napoleon. At +the line: + + Est il d'autre parti que celui de nos rois? + +a loud shout and clapping proceeded from the Royalists; but I fancy if +hands had been shown these last would have been in a sad minority. I have +often amused myself with comparing the _Merope_ of Voltaire with that of +Maffei and am puzzled to which to give the preference. Maffei has made +Polyphonte a more odious and perhaps on that account a more theatrical +character, while Voltaire's Polyphonte is more in real life. In the play of +Voltaire he is a rough brutal soldier, void of delicacy of feeling and not +very scrupulous, but not that praeternatural deep designing villain that he +is represented in the piece of Maffei. In fact Maffei's Polyphonte appears +too _outre_; but then on the stage may not a little exaggeration be +allowed, just as statues which are destined to be placed in the open air or +on columns appear with greater effect when larger than the natural size? +Alfleri seems to have given the preference to the Merope of Voltaire. + +I have seen Talma a second time in the part of Nero in the Britannicus of +Racine; Mlle Georges played the part of Agrippina. Talma was Nero from head +to foot; his very entry on the stage gave an idea of the fiery and +impatient character of the tyrant, and in the scene between him and his +mother Agrippina nothing could be better delineated. The forced calm of +Agrippina, while reproaching her son with his ingratitude, and the +impatience of Nero to get rid of such an importunate monitress, were given +in a style impossible to be surpassed. Talma's dumb show during this scene +was a masterpiece of the mimic art. If Talma gives such effects to his +roles in a French drama, where he is shackled by rules, how much greater +would he give on the English or German stages in a tragedy of Shakespeare +or Schiller! + +Blank verse is certainly better adapted to tragedy than rhymed +alexandrines, but then the French language does not admit of blank verse, +and to write tragedies in prose, unless they be tragedies in modern life, +would deprive them of all charm; but after all I find the harmonious pomp +and to use a phrase of Pope's "The long majestic march and energy divine" +of the French alexandrine, very pleasing to the ear. I am sure that the +French poets deserve a great deal of credit for producing such masterpieces +of versification from a language, which, however elegant, is the least +poetical in Europe; which allows little or no inversion, scarce any poetic +license, no _enjambement_, compels a fixed caesura; has in horror the +hiatus; and in fine is subject to the most rigorous rules, which can on no +account be infringed; which rejects hyperbole; which is measured by +syllables, the pronunciation of which is not felt in prose; compels the +alternative termination of a masculine or feminine rhyme; and with all this +requires more perhaps than any other language that cacophony be sedulously +avoided. Such are the difficulties a French poet has to struggle with; he +must unite the most harmonious sound with the finest thought. In Italian +very often the natural harmony of the language and the music of the sound +conceal the poverty of the thought; besides Italian poetry has innumerable +licenses which make it easy to figure in the Tuscan Parnassus, and where +anyone who can string together _rime_ or _versi sciolti_ is dignified with +the appellation of a poet; whereas from French poetry, a mediocrity is and +must be of necessity banished. Neither is it sufficient for an author to +have sublime ideas; these must be filed and pruned. Inspiration can make a +poet of a German, an Italian or an Englishman, because he may revel in +unbounded license of metre and language, but in French poetry inspiration +is by no means sufficient; severe study and constant practise are as +indispensable as poetic verve to constitute a French poet. The French poets +are sensible of this and on this account they prefer imitating the +ancients, polishing their rough marble and fitting it to the national +taste, to striking out a new path. + +The Abbe Delille, the best poet of our day that France has produced, has +gone further; he had read and admired the best English poets such as +Milton, Pope, Collins and Goldsmith, and has not disdained to imitate them; +yet he has imitated them with such elegance and judgment that he has left +nothing to regret on the part of those of his countrymen who are not +acquainted with English, and he has rendered their beauties with such a +force that a foreigner Versed in both languages who did not previously know +which was the original, and which the translation, might take up passages +in Pope, Thomson, Collins and Goldsmith and read parallel passages in +Delille and be extremely puzzled to distinguish the original: for none of +the beauties are lost in these imitations. And yet, in preferring to +imitate, it must not be inferred that he was deficient in original +thoughts. + +To return to the theatre, I have seen Mlle Mars in the _role_ of Henriette +in the _Femmes Savantes_ of Moliere. Oh! how admirable she is! She realizes +completely the conception of a graceful and elegant Frenchwoman of the +first society. She does not act; she is at home as it were in her own +salon, smiling at the silly pretensions of her sister and at the ridiculous +pedantry of Trissotin; her refusing the kiss because she does not +understand Greek was given with the greatest _naivete_. In a word Mlle Mars +reigns unrivalled as the first comic actress in Europe. + +I have seen too, _Les Plaideurs_ of Racine and _Les fourberies de Scapin_ +of Moliere, both exceedingly well given; particularly the scene in the +latter wherein it is announced to Geronte that his son had fallen into the +hands of a Turkish corsair, and his answer "Que diable allait-il faire dans +la galere?" + +I have seen also _Andromaque_, _Iphigenie_ and _Zaire_. Mlle Volnais did +the part of Andromaque; but the monotonous plaintiveness of her voice, +which never changes, wearies me. In _Iphigenie_ I was more gratified; for +Mlle Georges did the part of Clytemnestre, and her sister, a young girl of +seventeen, made her debut in the part of Iphigenie with great effect. The +two sisters supported each other wonderfully well, and Lafond did Agamemnon +very respectably. + +Mlle Georges the younger, having succeeded in _Iphigenie_, appeared in the +part of Zaire, a bold attempt, and tho' she did it well and with much +grace, yet it was evidently too arduous a task for her. The whole onus of +this affecting piece rests on the _role_ of Zaire. In the part where +_naivete_ was required she succeeded perfectly and her burst: "Mais +Orosmane m'aime et j'ai tout oublie" was most happy; but she was too faint +and betrayed too little emotion in portraying the struggle between her love +for Orosmane and the unsubdued symptoms of attachment to her father and +brother and to the religion of her ancestors. In short, where much passion +and pathos was required, there she proved unequal to the task; but she has +evidently all the qualities and dispositions towards becoming a good +actress, and with more study and practise I have no doubt that three or +four years hence, she will be fully equal to the difficult task of giving +effect to and portraying to life, the exquisitely touching and highly +interesting _role_ of Zaire. She was not called for to appear on the stage +after the termination of the performance, tho' frequently applauded during +it. The actor who did the part of Orosmane, in that scene wherein he +discovers he has killed Zaire unjustly, gave a groan which had an unhappy +effect; it was such an awkward one, that it made all the audience laugh; no +people catch ridicule so soon as the French. + +What I principally admire on the French stage is that the actors are always +perfect in their parts and all the characters are well sustained; the +performance never flags for a moment; and I have experienced infinitely +more pleasure in beholding the dramas of Racine and Voltaire than those of +Shakespeare, and for this reason that, on our stage, for one good actor you +have the many who are exceedingly bad and who do not comprehend their +author: you feel consequently a _hiatus valde deflendus_ when the principal +actor or actress are not on the stage. I have been delighted to see Kemble, +and Mrs Siddons and Miss O'Neil, and while they were on the stage I was all +eyes and ears; but the other actors were always so inferior that the +contrast was too obvious and it only served to make more conspicuous the +flagging of interest that pervades the tragedies of Shakespeare, _Macbeth_ +alone perhaps excepted. I speak only of Shakespeare's faults as a +dramaturgus and they are rather the faults of his age than his own; for in +everything else I think him the greatest litterary genius that the world +ever produced, and I place him far above any poet, ancient or modern; yet +in allowing all this, I do not at all wonder that his dramatic pieces do +not in general please foreigners and that they are disgusted with the low +buffoonery, interruption of interest and want of arrangement that ought of +necessity to constitute a drama; for I feel the same objections myself when +reading Shakespeare, and often lose patience; but then when I come to some +sublime passage, I become wrapt up in it alone and totally forget the piece +itself. In order to inspire a foreigner with admiration for Shakespeare, I +would not give him his plays to read entire, but I would present him with a +_recueil_ of the most beautiful passages of that great poet; and I am sure +he would be so delighted with them that he would readily join in the "All +Hail" that the British nation awards him. Thus you may perceive the +distinction I make between the creative genius who designs, and the artist +who fills up the canvas; between the Poet and the Dramaturgus. I am +probably singular in my taste as an Englishman, when I tell you that I +prefer Shakespeare for the closet and Racine or Voltaire or Corneille for +the stage: and with regard to English tragedies, I prefer as an acting +drama Home's _Douglas_[46] to any of Shakespeare's, _Macbeth_ alone +excepted; and for this plain reason that the interest in _Douglas_ never +flags, nor is diverted. + +In giving my mite of admiration to the French stage, I am fully aware of +its faults, of the long declamation and the _fade galanterie_ that +prevailed before Voltaire made the grand reform in that particular: and on +this account I prefer Voltaire as a tragedian to Racine and Corneille. The +_Phedre_ and _Athalie_ of Racine are certainly masterpieces, and little +inferior to them are _Iphigenie, Andromaque_ and _Britannicus_, but in the +others I think he must be pronounced inferior to Voltaire; as a proof of my +argument I need only cite _Zaire, Alzire, Mahomet, Semiramis, l'Orphelin de +la Chine, Brutus_. Voltaire has, I think, united in his dramatic writings +the beauties of Corneille, Racine and Crebillon and has avoided their +faults; this however is not, I believe, the opinion of the French in +general, but I follow my own judgment in affairs of taste, and if anything +pleases me I wait not to ascertain whether the "master hath said so." + +It shows a delicate attention on the part of the directors of the _Theatre +Francais_, now that so many foreigners of all nations are here, to cause to +be represented every night the masterpieces of the French classical +dramatic authors, since these are pieces that every foreigner of education +has read and admired; and he would much rather go to see acted a play with +which he was thoroughly acquainted than a new piece of one which he has not +read; for as the recitation is extremely rapid it would not be so easy for +him to seize and follow it without previous reading. + +Of Moliere I had already seen the _Avare_, the _Femmes savantes_ and the +_Fourberies de Scapin_. Since these I have seen the _Tartuffe_ and _George +Dandin_ both inimitably performed; how I enjoyed the scene of the _Pauvre +homme!_ in the _Tartuffe_ and the lecture given to George Dandin by M. and +Mme de Sotenville wherein they recount the virtues and merits of their +respective ancestors. Of Moliere indeed there is but one opinion throughout +Europe; in the comic line he bears away the palm unrivalled and here I +fully agree with the "general." + +I must not quit the subject of French theatricals without speaking of the +_Opera comique_ at the _Theatre Faydeau_. It is to the sort of light pieces +that are given here, that the French music is peculiarly appropriate, and +it is here that you seize and feel the beauty and melody of the national +music; these little _chansons_, _romances_ and _ariettas_ are so pleasing +to the ear that they imprint themselves durably on the memory, which is no +equivocal proof of their merit. I cannot say as much for the tragic singing +in the _Opera seria_ at the Grand French Opera, which to my ear sounds a +perfect psalmody. There is but one language in the world for tragic +recitative and that is Italian. On the other hand, in the _genre_ of the +_Opera comique_, the French stage is far superior to the Italian. In the +French comedy everything is graceful and natural; the Italians cannot catch +this happy medium, so that their comedies and comic operas are mostly +_outre_, and degenerate into downright farce and buffoonery. + + +[42] Major James Grant, of the 18th Light Dragoons, was made a Brevet + Lieutenant Colonel on 18th June, 1815.--ED. + +[43] A phrase in prose, often quoted as a verse, from Voltaire's preface to + the _Enfant Prodigue: Tous les genres sont bons, hors le genre + ennuyeux_.--ED. + +[44] A tragedy often acted by Talma, the work of Antoine d'Aubigny de + Lafosse (1653-1708).--ED. + +[45] Thomas Otway's once celebrated tragedy, 1682.--ED. + +[46] _The Tragedy of Douglas_, by John Home (1722-1808).--ED. + + + + +CHAPTER V + +From Paris to Milan through Dijon, Chalon-sur-Saone, Lyons, Geneva and the +Simplon--Auxerre--Dijon--Napoleon at Chalon-sur-Saone--The army of the +Loire--Macon--French _grisettes_--Lyons--Monuments and theatricals-- +Geneva--Character and opinions of the Genevois--Voltaire's chateau at +Ferney--The chevalier Zadera--From Geneva to Milan--Crossing the +Simplon--Arona--The theatres in Milan--Rossini--Monuments in Milan--Art +encouraged by the French--Mr Eustace's bigotry--Return to Switzerland-- +Clarens and Vevey--Lausanne--Society in Lausanne--Return to Paris--The +Louvre stripped--Death of Marshal Ney. + +I left Paris on the 17th Sept., in the diligence of Auxerre, The company +was as follows: a young Genevois who had served in the National Guard at +Paris, and had been wounded in a skirmish against the Prussians near that +city; a young Irish Templar; a fat citizen of Dijon and an equally fat +woman going to Dole. We arrived the following day at 11 o'clock at Auxerre, +a town situated on the banks of the Seine. Water conveyance may be had from +Paris to Auxerre, price 12 francs the person: the price in the diligence is +28 francs. We had during our journey much political conversation; the +Bourbons and the English government were the objects of attack, and neither +my friend the barrister nor myself felt the least inclined to take up their +cause. The Genevois had with him Fouche's expose of the state of the +nation, wherein he complains bitterly of the conduct of the Allies. All +France is now disarmed and no troops are to be seen but those in foreign +uniform. The face of the country between Paris and Auxerre is not +peculiarly striking; but the soil appears fertile and the road excellent. +After breakfast we started from Auxerre and stopped to sup and sleep the +same night at Avallon. At Semur, which we passed on the following day, +there is a one arched bridge of great boldness across the river Armancon. +We arrived in the evening at Dijon. The country between Auxerre and Dijon +is very undulating in gentle hill and dale, but for the want of trees and +inclosures it has a bleak appearance. As you leave Avallon and approach +Dijon, the hills covered with vines indicate your arrival in a wine +country. I put up at the _Chapeau rouge_ at Dijon and remained there one +day, in order to visit the _Chartreuse_ which is at a short distance from +the town and commands an extensive view. It was devastated during the +Revolution. The view from it is fine and extensive and that is all that is +worth notice. The country about it is rich and cultivated, and the +following lines of Ariosto might serve for its description: + + Culte pianure e delicati colli, + Chiare acque, ombrose ripe e prati molli.[47] + + 'Mid cultivated plain, delicious hill, + Moist meadow, shady bank, and crystal rill. + + --_Trans_. W.S. ROSE. + +The city of Dijon is large, handsome and well built. It has an appearance +of industry, comfort and airiness. There are several mustard manufactories +in this town. A dinner was given yesterday by the municipality to the +National Guard, and an immense quantity of mustard was devoured on the +occasion in honor of the staple manufactory of Dijon. From Dijon I put +myself in the diligence to go to Chalon and after stopping two hours at +Beaune, arrived at Chalon at 5 o'clock p.m. The country between Dijon and +Chalon is flat, but cultivated like a garden. It is likewise the wine +country _par excellence_. I do not know a wine more agreeable to palate +than the wine of Beaune. + +At Chalon I put up at the _Hotel du Parc_. Chalon is beautifully situated +on the banks of the Saone. The Quai is well constructed and forms an +agreeable promenade. There is an Austrian garrison in Chalon. The hostess +of the inn told me that Napoleon stopped at her house on his way from Lyons +to Paris, when he returned from Elba, and she related to me with great +eagerness many anecdotes of that extraordinary man: she said that such was +the _empressement_ on the part of the inhabitants to see him, and embrace +him by way of testifying their affection, that the Emperor was obliged to +say: "Mais vous m'etouffez, mes enfans!" In fact, had the army remained +neutral, the peasantry alone would have carried the Emperor on their +shoulders to Paris. It is quite absurd to say that a faction did this and +that it was effectuated merely by the disaffection of the Army. The Army +did its duty in the noblest manner, for it is the duty of every army to +support the national cause and the voice of the people, and by no means to +become the blind tools of the Prince; for it is absurd, as it is degrading +to humanity, it is impious to consider the Prince as the proprietor of the +country and the master of the people; he is, or ought to be, the principal +magistrate, the principal soldier paid by the people, like any other +magistrate or soldier, and like them liable to be cashiered for misconduct +or breach of faith. This is not a very fashionable doctrine nowadays, and +there is danger of it being forgotten altogether in the rage for what is +falsely termed legitimacy; it becomes therefore the bounden duty of every +friend of freedom to din this unfashionable doctrine into the ears of +Princes and unceasingly to exclaim to them and to their ministers: + + Discite justitiam moniti et non temnere gentes.[48] + +In their conduct on this occasion the French soldiers proved themselves far +more constitutional than those of any other army in Europe; let despots, +priests and weak-headed Tories say what they please to the contrary. + +I embarked the following morning at 12 o'clock in the _coche d'eau_ for +Lyons. There was a very numerous and motley company on board: there were +three bourgeois belonging to Lyons returning thither from Paris; a quiet +good-humoured sort of woman not remarkable either for her beauty nor +vivacity; a young Spaniard, an adherent of King Joseph Napoleon, very +taciturn and wrapped up in his cloak tho' the weather was exceeding hot; he +seemed to do nothing else but smoke _cigarros_ and drink wine, of which he +emptied three or four bottles in a very short time--a young Piedmontese +officer, disbanded from the army of the Loire, who no sooner sat down on +deck than he began to chaunt Filicaja's beautiful sonnet, "_Italia, Italia, +O tu cui feo la sorte_," etc.--a merchant of Lyons who had been some time +in England, and spoke English well--a Lyonnese Major of Infantry, also of +the army of the Loire, who had served in Egypt in the 32nd Demi-brigade; +three Austrian officers of Artillery with their servants. A large barge +which followed and was towed by the _coche d'eau_ was filled with Austrian +soldiers, and on the banks of the river were a number of soldiers of the +Army of the Loire returning to their families and homes. + +The peaceable demeanour and honourable conduct of this army is worthy of +admiration, and can never be sufficiently praised: not a single act of +brigandage has taken place. The Austrian officers expressed to me their +astonishment at this, and said they doubted whether any other army in +Europe, disbanded and under the same circumstances, would behave so well. I +told them the French soldier was a free-man and a citizen and drawn from a +respectable class of people, which was not the case in most other +countries. Yes, these gallant fellows who had been calumniated by furious +Ultras, by the base ministerial prints of England, and the venal satellites +of Toryism, who had been represented as brigands or as infuriated Jacobins +with red caps and poignards, these men, in spite, of the contumely and +insult they met with from servile prefects, and from those who never dared +to face them in the field, are a model of good conduct and they preserve +the utmost subordination, tho' disbanded: they respect scrupulously the +property of the inhabitants and pay for everything. Mr. L., the young Irish +barrister, told me at Dijon that he left his purse by mistake in a shop +there in which were 20 napoleons in gold, when a soldier of the army of the +Loire, who happened to be in the shop, perceived it and came running after +him with it, but refused to accept of anything, tho' much pressed by Mr. +L., who wished to reward him handsomely for his disinterested conduct. Yes, +the French soldier is a fine fellow. I have served against them in Holland +and in Egypt and I will never flinch from rendering justice to their +exemplary conduct and lofty valour. No! it is not the French soldiery who +can be accused of plundering and exaction, but what brought the French name +in disrepute was the conduct of certain _prefects_ and _administrators_ in +Germany who were promoted to these posts for no other reason than because +they were of the old _noblesse_ or returned _Emigrants_, whom Napoleon +favoured in preference to the Republicans whom he feared. These emigrants +repaid his favours with the basest ingratitude; after being guilty of the +grossest and most infamous _concussions_ on the inhabitants of those parts +of Germany where their jurisdiction extended, they had the hypocrisy after +the restoration to declaim against the oppression of the _Usurper's_ +government and its system: but Napoleon richly deserved to meet with this +ingratitude for employing such unprincipled fellows. I believe he was never +aware of the villany they carried on, or they would have met with his +severest displeasure in being removed from office, as was the case with +Wirion at Verdun.[49] + +I do not find that the French soldiers with whom I have conversed are so +much attached to the person of the Emperor as I was led to believe; but +they are attached to their country and liberty; and in serving him, they +conceived they were serving the man _par excellence_ of the People. + +The French army too was beloved by the people, instead of being dreaded by +them as the armies of most other European nations are. In short, whenever I +met with and held conversation with soldiers of this army, I was always +tempted to address them in the words of Elvira to Pizarro when she seeks to +console him for his defeat: + + Yet think another morning shall arise, + Nor fear the future, nor lament the past.[50] + +The French Major was very much inclined to take up a quarrel with an +Austrian officer, on my account, but I dissuaded him. The cause was as +follows. A young Austrian boy, servant to one of the officers of Artillery, +had entered the _coche d'eau_ at Chalon, some minutes before his master, +and began to avail himself of the right of conquest by taking possession of +the totality of one of the cabins and endeavouring to exclude the other +passengers; among other things he was going to thrust my portmanteau out of +its place. I called to him to let it alone, when the French Major stepped +forward and said that if he dared to touch any of the baggage belonging to +the passengers, he would punish him on the spot and his master also, for +that he longed to measure swords with those "Jean F---- d'Autrichiens." +Fearful of a serious quarrel between them and being unwilling that any +dispute should occur on my account, I requested the Major not to meddle +with the business, for that I was sure the Austrian officer would check the +impertinence of his servant when he came on board; and that if he did not, +I was perfectly able and willing to defend my own cause. The Austrian +officers came on board a few minutes after, when I addressed them in +German, and explained to them the behaviour of the boy; they scolded him +severely for his impertinence to us and threatened him with the _Schlag_, +should it occur again. The rest of the journey passed without any incident. +I found that my friend the Major had served in the French army in Egypt in +the division Lanusse in the battle of the 21st March, 1801, (30 Ventose) +and that consequently we were opposed to each other in that battle, as I +was then serving as a Lieutenant in the Queen's Regiment, commanded by that +excellent and amiable officer the Earl of D[alhousie] in General Doyle's +brigade. + +The voyage on the Saone presents some pleasing and picturesque points of +view; the _coteaux_ on the banks of the river are covered with vines. We +arrived at 8 o'clock in the evening to sup and sleep at Macon and put up at +the _Hotel des Sauvages_. We had a most sumptuous repast, fish, flesh, +fowls, game, fruit and wine in profusion, for all which, including our +beds, we had only to pay 2-1/2 francs the person. + +There is a spacious Quai at Macon, which always adds to the beauty of a +city, and there are some fine buildings, public and private. I need not +enlarge on the excellence of the Macon wine. The country girls we observed +on the banks of the river as we floated along, and the _grisettes_ of the +town who were promenading on the Quai when we arrived, wore a peculiarly +elegant _costume_ and their headdress appeared to me to be something +Asiatic. + +The voyage on the subsequent day was more agreeable than the preceding one. +The country between Macon and Lyons is much more beautiful and diversified +than that which we have hitherto seen and resembles much the picturesque +scenery of the West-Indian landscape. One part between Macon and Trevoux +resembles exactly the island of Montserrat. + +Within two miles of Trevoux we were hailed by some _grisettes_ belonging to +the inns at that place, in order to invite us to dine at their respective +inns. There was one girl exceedingly beautiful whose name was Sophie, +daughter of the proprietor of the _Hotel des Sauvages_ at Trevoux. She, by +her grace and coquetry, obtained the most recruits and when we disembarked +from the boat, she led us in triumph to her hotel. From her beauty and +graceful manner, Sophie, in a country where so much hommage is paid to +beauty, must be a most valuable acquisition to the interests of the inn, +and tho' she smiles on all, she takes care not to make herself cheap, and +like Corisca in the _Pastor Fido_ she holds put hopes which she does not at +all intend to gratify. After passing by the superb scenery on the banks of +the river (which increases in interest as you approach Lyons), the _Isle +Barbe_ and _la Tour de la belle Allemande_, we arrived at Lyons at 5 p.m. +and debarked on the _Quai de la Saone_. A _fiacre_ took me up and deposited +me safe at the _Hotel du Nord_ situated on the _Place St Claire_ and not +many yards distant of the _Quai du Rhone_. + + +LYONS, 26th Sept. + +Lyons is situated on a tongue of land at the junction of the Saone and +Rhone, and there is a fine bridge on the spot where the streams unite, +called _le pont du Confluent_, which joins the extremity of the tongue of +land with the right bank of the Saone. There is besides a large bridge +across the Rhone, higher up, before it joins the Saone, leading in a right +line from the _Hotel de Ville_; and two other bridges across the Saone. The +_Quai du Rhone_ is by far the finest and most agreeable part of the city. +It is spacious, well paved, aligned with trees, and boast the finest +edifices public and private in the whole city; it is the favourite +promenade of the _beaux_ and _belles_ of Lyons. The sight of the broad and +majestic Rhone itself is a grand object, and on a fine day the prospect is +augmented by the distant view of the fleecy head of Mont Blanc. On this +Quai and within a 100 yards of the bridge on the Rhone are the justly +celebrated _bains du Rhone_, fitted up in a style of elegance even superior +to those called _les Bains Vigier_ on the Seine at Paris. The grand +Hospital is also on the Quai; the facade is beautiful; its architecture is +of the Ionic order and the building itself as well as its interior economy +has frequently elicited the admiration of travellers. Among the Places in +this city the finest is that of Bellecour. + +The scenery is extremely diversified in the environs of Lyons, and in the +city there is great appearance of wealth and splendour. Lyons flourished +greatly during the time of the continental blockade, as it was the central +depot of the commerce between France and Italy. Napoleon is much respected +and regretted here, and with reason, as he was a great benefactor to this +city. The Lyonnese are too frank, too open in their sentiments and too +grateful not to render justice to his great talents and good qualities, +while they blame and deplore his ambition. In fact an experience of a few +days and some acquaintance I made here has given me a very favourable +impression of the inhabitants of this city. The men are frank in their +manners, polite, well informed, and free from all frivolity. The women are +in general handsome, well shaped, and have much grace and are exceedingly +well educated; they seem totally free from the _Petite-maitressism_ of the +Parisian women, and both sexes seem to possess a good deal of what the +French term _caractere_. Had the Parisians resembled the Lyonnese, Paris +would never have fallen twice into the hands of the enemy, nor would the +Lyonnese women have welcomed the entry of the invaders into their city with +waving handkerchiefs, etc. These qualities of the inhabitants, the beauty +of the country, and the cheapness of all the comforts and luxuries of life, +would make Lyons one of the most agreeable places of residence to a +foreigner of liberal sentiments and principles. + +Cloth and silk are the staple manufactures of Lyons, particularly the +latter; I accompanied my friend Mr M---- to see his fabrique of silk which +is of considerable extent and importance, and everything appeared to me, as +far as one totally ignorant of the business and its process could judge, +admirably regulated and rapid in its execution. The _tournure_ of the +_grisettes_ of Lyons is very striking and they possess completely the +_grata protervitas_, the _vultus nimium lubricus aspici_ which Horace so +much admires in Glycera. + +I visited both the theatres here, viz.: the _Grand Theatre_, situated near +the _Hotel de Ville_, and the smaller one called the _Theatre des +Celestins_. At the former was some good dancing, and at the latter I was +engaged in a conversation which I cannot forbear citing as it will serve to +show the dislike the people have to the feudal system and the dread they +have of its re-establishment, tho' they can know nothing about it except by +tradition. The piece performed was called _Le petit Poucet_ (Tom Thumb and +the Ogre); but I missed my old acquaintance the Ogre and his seven-league +boots of Mother Goose, and found that in this melodrama he was transformed +into a tyrannical and capricious _Seigneur Feodal_. There was a very pretty +young lady about 16 years of age accompanied by her father in the same box +with me, and I observed to her, "Ou est donc l'Ogre? il parait que l'on en +a fait un Seigneur feodal." "Oui, monsieur (she replied), et avec raison, +car ils etaient bien les Ogres de ce temps la." I entered into a long +conversation with my fair neighbour and found her well informed and well +educated, with great good sense and knowledge of the world far beyond her +years. She told me that she had begun to study English and that her father +was a miniature painter. I took leave of her not without feeling much +affected and my heart not a little "percosso dall' amoroso strale." + +I must not forget to mention that there is a most spacious and magnificent +building on the _Quai du Rhone_ to the North of the bridge, which serves as +a cafe and ridotto or assembly room for balls, etc. I am afraid to say how +many feet it has in length; but it is the most superb establishment of the +kind I have ever met with. + +Fortunately for the city of Lyons, the famous decree of Robespierre for +its destruction, and the column with the inscription, "Lyon a porte les +armes contre la liberte; Lyon n'est plus," which was to occupy its place, +was never put in execution and tho' this city suffered much from +revolutionary vandalism yet it soon recovered and has flourished ever since +in a manner unheard of at any former period. No people are more sensible +than the Lyonnese of the great benefits produced by the Revolution, and no +people more deprecate a return to the _ancien regime_. + + +Oct. 2nd, GENEVA. + +I started in the diligence for Geneva on the 28th Sept. and found it +exceedingly cold on ascending the mountain called the _Cerdon_; the scenery +is savage and wild, and the road in many parts is on the brink of +precipices. We stopped at Nantua for supper and partook of some excellent +trout. There is a large lake near the town, and 'tis here that the Swiss +landscape begins. Commanding a narrow pass stands the fort of L'Ecluse. The +Austrians lost a great many men in attempting to force it. From this place +you have a noble view of the Alps and Mont-Blanc towering above them. As +this was the first time I beheld these celebrated mountains I was +transported with delight and my mind was filled with a thousand classical +and historical recollections! The scenery, the whole way from Fort l'Ecluse +to Geneva, is most magnificent and uncommonly varied. Mountain and valley, +winter and summer, on the same territory. Descending, the city of Geneva +opens gradually; you behold the lake Leman and the Rhone issuing from it. +We entered the city, which is fortified, and after crossing the double +bridge across the Rhone, we arrived at the _Hotel de l'Eau de Geneve_ at 12 +o'clock. The most striking thing in the city of Geneva to the traveller's +eye as he enters it, is the view of the arcades on each side of the street, +excellent for pedestrians and for protection against sun and rain, but +which give a heavy and gloomy appearance to the city. An immense number of +watch-makers is another distinguishing feature in this city. The first +thing shewn to me by my _valet de place_ was the house where Jean Jacques +Rousseau was born; I then desired him to shew me the spot where that +barbarian Calvin caused to be burnt the unhappy Servetus for not having the +same religious opinions as himself. + +The most agreeable promenades of the city are on the bastions and ramparts, +a place called _La Treille_ and a garden or park of small extent called +_Plain Palais_. In this park stands on a column the bust of J.J. Rousseau. +This park was the scene of a great deal of bloodshed in 1791 on account of +political disputes between the aristocratic and democratic parties, or +rather between the admirers and imitators of the French Revolution and +those who dreaded such innovations. This affair excited so much horror, and +the recollection of it operated so powerfully on the imagination of the +inhabitants, that the place became entirely abandoned as a public +promenade, and avoided as a polluted spot for many years. Very likely +however a sort of lustration has taken place; an oration was pronounced and +the place again declared worthy of contributing to the recreation of the +inhabitants. It is now become the favourite promenade of the citizens of +Geneva, tho' there are still some who cannot get over their old prejudices +and never set their foot in it. There is likewise a pleasant walk as far as +the town of Carrouge in Savoy, which town has been lately ceded by the King +of Sardinia to the republic of Geneva. In Geneva the sentiments of the +inhabitants do not seem to be favourable either to the French Revolution, +or to Napoleon. Their political ideas accord very much with those professed +by the government party in England, and they make a great parade of them +just now, as a means of courting the favour of England and of the Allied +Sovereigns. The government here have shewn a great disposition to second +the views of the Allied Powers in persecuting those Frenchmen who have been +proscribed by the Bourbon government. + +This state lost its independence during the revolutionary wars and was +incorporated with France. As the citizens were suspected of being more +favourable to the English than suited the policy of the French government +of that time, they were viewed with a jealous eye and I believe some +individuals were harshly treated; but what most vexed and displeased them +was the enforcement of the conscription among them, for the Genevois do not +like compulsion; they are besides more pacific than war-like and tho' like +the Dutch they have displayed great valour where their interest is at +stake, yet Mercury is a deity far more in veneration among them than +Bellona. The natural talent of this people is great, and it has been +favoured and developed by the freedom of their institutions; and this +republic has produced too many eminent men for that talent to be called in +question; they seem to have decided talents and dispositions for financial +operations. A Genevois has the aptitude of great application united to a +very discerning, natural genius, and he generally succeeds in everything he +undertakes. Literature is much cultivated here, and the females, who are +in general handsome and graceful, excel not only in the various feminine +accomplishments, such as music, dancing and drawing, but they carry their +researches into the higher branches of litterature and science and acquire +with great facility foreign languages. It is true that you now and then +meet with a little pedantry on the part of the young men and some of the +young women are _tant soit feu precieuses_; and you may guess from their +conversation, which is sometimes forced, that the person who speaks has +been learning his discourse by heart from some book in the morning, with +the intention of sporting it as a natural conversation in the evening. In +short, one does not meet with that _abandon_ in society that is to be met +with in Paris; you must measure your words well to shine in a Genevese +society. This, however, is a very pardonable sort of coxcombry; and tho' it +appear sometimes pedantic, and occasionally laughable, yet it tends to +encourage learning and science, and compels the young men to read in order +to shine and captivate the fair. + +The Genevese women make excellent wives and mothers; and many strangers, +struck with their beauty and talent, as well as with the _agremens_ of the +country in general, marry at Geneva and settle themselves there for life. +It is observed that the Genevoises are so attached to their country that on +forming a matrimonial connection with foreigners, they always stipulate +that they shall not be removed from it. On the dismemberment of the Empire +of Napoleon, Geneva was _agrege_ to the Helvetic Confederation, as an +independent Canton of which there are now twenty-two. Three, viz. Geneva, +Vaud, and Neufchatel, are French in language and manners. One, the Tessino, +is Italian, and the remaining eighteen are all German. It is a great +advantage to Geneva to belong to the Helvetic Confederacy, as formerly, +when she was an isolated independent state, she was in continual dread of +being swallowed up by one or other of her two powerful neighbours, France +and the King of Sardinia, and only existed by their forbearance and mutual +jealousy. + +I walked out one morning to Ferney in order to visit the chateau of +Voltaire and to do hommage to the memory of that great man, the benefactor +of the human race. It was he who gave the mortal blow to superstition and +to the power of the clergy. It is the fashion for priests, Ultras and +Tories to rail against him, but I judge him by his works and the effect of +his works. His memory is held in reverence by the inhabitants of Ferney as +their father and benefactor. He spent his whole fortune in acts of the most +disinterested charity; he saved entire families from ruin and portioned off +many a young woman who was deprived of the gifts of fortune and enabled +them to form happy matrimonial connections; in short, doing good seems to +have been one of the most ardent passions of his soul. In three memorable +instances he shewed his hatred of cruelty and injustice, and unmasked +triumphantly ecclesiastical imposture and fanaticism. He has been +reproached with vanity, but surely that may be pardoned in a man who +received the hommage of the whole literary world, who was considered as an +oracle, and whose every sentence was recorded; whose talent was so +universal, that he excelled in every branch of litterature that he +undertook. + +Ferney, which was only a miserable village when Voltaire first took up his +residence there, is now a large flourishing and opulent town. + +I found Voltaire's Chateau occupied by a fat heavy Swiss Officer who was on +duty there, Ferney being at this moment occupied by the troops of the Swiss +confederation. He was at breakfast, but on my stating to him that I was +come to see the apartments of Voltaire he directed the housekeeper to shew +them to me. On the left hand side after ascending a flight of steps, before +you come into the Chateau, is a Chapel built by Voltaire with this simple +inscription: "_Deo erexit Voltaire_." In the apartment usually occupied by +him for the purpose of composition, are preserved his chair, table, +inkstand and bed as sacred relics; and in the Salon are to be seen the +portraits of several public characters, his contemporaries, and which were +constantly appended there in his life time. Among these portraits I +distinguished those of Frederick the Great of Prussia, Catherine II of +Russia, Lekain, Diderot, Alembert, Franklin, Helvetius, Marmontel and +Washington, besides many others. There is nothing remarkable either in the +Chateau, or in the gardens appertaining to it; but as it stands on an +elevation, it commands a fine view, which is so well described in that ode +which begins: + + O maison d'Aristippe, o jardins d'Epicure! + +I returned to Geneva and dined with my friend M. Picot the banker, who +presented me to his brother's family, which I found a very amiable one, and +I was particularly delighted with his father, a fine venerable old man, who +is a pastor of the Church of Geneva and a great admirer of our poets +Thomson and Milton. + +I have made acquaintance at the _Ecu de Geneve_ with a very gallant and +accomplished officer, the Chevalier Zadera, a Pole by birth and a Colonel +in the French army.[51] He had been on the staff of the Prince d'Eckmuehl at +Hamburgh and had served previously in St Domingo, in Germany and in Italy. +He had just quitted the French service, having a great repugnance to serve +under the Bourbon dynasty, and he is about to go to Italy on private +business. He seems a very well informed man and well versed in French, +Italian and German litterature. He also understands well to read and write +English and speaks it, but not at all fluently. He acquired his English in +the United States of America, whither he went when he escaped from the +horrors of St Domingo. By the Americans he was received with open arms and +unbounded hospitality as the compatriot of Pulaski who fell gloriously +fighting in their cause, the cause of liberty, at the battle of Savannah. +He was liberally supplied with money by several individuals without the +smallest expectation or chance of repayment at the time, and was forwarded +in this manner from town to town and from state to state throughout the +whole Union; so that the tour he made and the time he passed in that land +of liberty, he reckons as far the most agreeable epoch of his life. One +evening at the _Ecu de Geneve_ I found Zadera in altercation on political +subjects with two French Ultras who had been emigrants, a Genevois and a +Bernois, both anti-liberal. This was fearful odds for poor Zadera to be +alone against four _acharnes_. I sat down and espoused his cause and we +maintained our argument gloriously. The dispute began on the occasion of +Zadera condemning the harshness shewn by the government of Geneva towards +the _Conventionnels_ and others who were banished from France on the second +restoration of Louis XVIII by a vote of the _Chambre introuvable_ in +refusing them an asylum in the Republic and compelling them to depart +immediately in a very contumelious manner. I said it was inconsistent and +unworthy of the Genevese who called themselves republicans to persecute or +join in the persecution of the republicans of France in order to please +foreign despots. The others then began to be very violent with me. I +replied, "Messieurs, vous avez beau parler; les Genevois sont de tres bons +cambistes et les meilleurs banquiers de l'Europe, mais il ne sont pas bons +republicains." + +Geneva has been so often described by tourists that I shall not attempt any +description except to remark that there are several good Cabinets and +collections of pictures belonging to individuals. There is a magnificent +public library. The manufactures are those of watches and models of the +Alps which are exceedingly ingenious. There are no theatrical amusements +here; and during divine service on Sunday the gates of the city are shut, +and neither ingress nor egress permitted; fortunately their liturgy (the +Calvinistic) is at least one hour shorter than the Anglican. Balls and +concerts take place here very often and the young Genevois of both sexes +are generally proficient in music. They amuse themselves too in summer with +the "tir de l'arc" in common with all the Swiss Cantons. + + +October 3rd. + +I have been in doubt whether I should go to Lausanne, return to Paris or +extend my journey into Italy; but I have at length decided for the latter, +as Zadera, who intends to start immediately for Milan, has offered me a +place in his carriage _a frais communs_. I found him so agreeable a man and +possessing sentiments so analogous to my own that I eagerly embraced the +offer, and we are to cross the Simplon, so that I shall behold a travel +over that magnificent _chausee_ made by Napoleon's orders, which I have so +much desired to see and which everybody tells me is a most stupendous work +and exceeding anything ever made by the Romans. As the Chevalier has served +in Italy and was much _repandu_ in society there, I could not possibly have +a pleasanter companion. He has with him Dante and Alfieri, and I have +Gessner's _Idylls_ and my constant travelling companion Ariosto, so that we +shall have no loss for conversation, for when our native wits are +exhausted, a page or two from any of the above authors will suggest +innumerable ideas, anecdotes, and subjects of discourse. + + +MILAN, 10th Oct. + +We started from Geneva at seven in the morning of the 4th October, and in +half an hour entered the Savoyard territory, of which _douaniers_ with blue +cockades (the cockade of the King of Sardinia) gave us intimation. The road +is on the South side of the lake Leman. In Evian and Thonon, the two first +villages we passed thro', we do not find that _aisance_, comfort and +cleanliness that is perceivable on the other side of the lake, in the +delightful Canton de Vaud. The double yoke of priestcraft and military +despotism presses hard upon the unhappy Savoyard and wrings from him his +hard-earned pittance, while no people are better off than the Vaudois; yet +the Savoyards are to the full as deserving of liberty as the Swiss. The +Savoyard possesses honesty, fidelity and industry in a superior degree, and +these qualities he seldom or ever loses, even when exposed to the +temptations of a great metropolis like Paris, to which they are compelled +to emigrate, as their own country is too poor to furnish the means of +subsistence to all its population. When in Paris and other large cities, +the Savoyards contrive, by the most indefatigable industry and incredible +frugality, to return to their native village after a certain lapse of time, +with a little fortune that is amply sufficient for their comfort. The +poorest Savoyard in Paris never fails to remit something for the support of +his parents. Both Voltaire and Rousseau have rendered justice to the good +qualities of this honest people. It is a thousand pities that this country +(Savoy) is not either incorporated with France, or made to form part of the +Helvetic confederacy. + +On passing by La Meillerie we were reminded of "La nouvelle Heloise" and +the words of St Preux: "Le rocher est escarpe: l'eau est profonde et je +suis au desespoir." On the opposite side of the lake is to be seen the +little white town of Clarens, the supposed residence of the divine Julie. A +little beyond St Gingolph, which lies at the eastern extremity of the lake, +we quit Savoy and enter into the Valais, which now forms, a component part +of the Helvetic confederacy. German is the language spoken in the Valais. +As the high road into Italy passes thro' the whole length of this Canton, +Napoleon caused it to be separated from the Helvetic union and to form a +Republic apart, with the ulterior view and which he afterwards carried into +execution of annexing it to the French Empire. The Valais forms a long and +exceedingly narrow valley, thro' the whole length of which the Rhone flows +and falls into the lake Leman at St Gingolph. The breadth of this valley in +its widest part is not more probably than 1,000 yards, and in most places +considerably narrower, and it is enclosed on each side, or rather walled up +by the immense mountains of the higher Alps which rise here very abruptly +and seem to shut out this valley from the rest of the world. The high road +runs nearly parallel to the course of the Rhone and is sometimes on one +side of the river and sometimes on the other, communicating by bridges; +from the sinuosity of the road and the different points of view presented +by the salient and re-entering angles, of the mountains the scenery is +extremely picturesque, grand and striking, and as sometimes no outlet +presents itself to view, you do not perceive how you are ever to get out of +this valley but by a stratagem similar to that of Sindbad in the Valley of +Diamonds. At St Maurice is a remarkable one-arched bridge built by the +Romans. We stopped at Martigny to pass the night; within one mile of +Martigny and before arriving at it, we perceived the celebrated waterfall +called the _Pissevache_; and the appellation, though coarse, is perfectly +applicable. From Martigny a bridle road branches off which leads across the +Grand St Bernard to Aoste. The next morning we arrived at Sion, called in +the language of the country Sitten, the metropolis of the Valais; it is a +neat-looking and tolerably large town, and which from its position might be +made a most formidable military post, as there is a steep hill close to it +which rises abruptly from the centre of the valley, and commands an +extensive view east and west. Works erected on this height would enfilade +the whole road either way and totally obstruct the approach of an enemy. +There is besides a large castle on the southern _paroi_ of mountains which +hem in this valley, which would expose to a most galling fire and take in +flank completely those who should attempt to force the passage whether +coming from St Maurice or Brieg. We stopped two hours at Sion to mend a +wheel and this gave me time to ascend the mountain on which the castle +stands. There were several masons and workmen employed in the construction +of a church which they are erecting at the request and entire expense of +His Sardinian Majesty. I could not ascertain what were the reasons that +induced the King to build a church in a foreign territory. I did not +observe either on the road or in any of the village thro' which we passed +any striking specimen of Valaisan female beauty; but I often remarked the +prominent bosom that Rousseau describes as frequent among them. We met with +several _cretins_ or idiots, all of whom had _goitres_ in a greater or less +degree. These _souls of God without sin_, as the cretins are called, are +very merry souls; they always appear to be laughing. They seem to have +adopted and united three systems of philosophy: they are Diogenes as to +independence and neglect of decency and cleanliness; Democriti as to their +disposition to laugh perpetually; and Aristippi inasmuch as they seem to be +perfectly contented with their state. They are in general fat and well fed, +for the poorest inhabitants give them something. They have a good deal of +cunning, and many curious anecdotes are related of them which shews that +they are endowed with a sort of sagacity resembling the instinct of +animals. I recollect one myself mentioned by Zimmermann in his Essay on +Solitude, of a cretin who was accustomed to imitate with his voice the +sound of the village clock whenever it struck the hours and quarters; one +day, by some accident, the clock stopped; yet the cretin went through the +chimes of the hours and quarters with the same regularity as the clock +would have done had it been going. + +We arrived at night at the village of Brieg at the foot of the Simplon and +put up at a very comfortable inn. Brieg and Glisse are two small villages +lying within a quarter of a mile distance from each other. The direct road +runs thro' Brieg and is a great advantage to this town; while Glisse lost +this benefit from the opposition shewn by its inhabitants to the annexation +of the Valais to the French Empire. They now deeply regret this refusal as +few travellers chuse to stop at Glisse. + +_Passage of the Simplon_. + + Chi mi dara la voce e le parole + Convenienti a si nobil soggetto?[52] + + Who will vouchsafe me voice that shall ascend + As high as I would raise my noble theme? + + --Trans. W.S. ROSE. + +How shall I describe the Simplon and the impressions that magnificent piece +of work, the _chaussee_ across it, made on my mind? On arrival at the +village of the Simplon, which lies at nearly the greatest elevation off the +road and is more than half-way across, I wrote in my enthusiasm for the +author of this gigantic work, the following lines: + + O viaggiator, se avessi tu veduto + Quel monte, pria che fosse il cammin fatto, + Leveresti le mani, e stupefatto + Diresti, "chi l'avrebbe mai creduto? + Son come quel d'Alcide i tuoi miracoli! + Vincesti, Napoleon', piu grandi ostacoli!" + +Imagine a fine road or causeway broad enough for three carriages to go +abreast, cut in the flanks of the mountains, winding along their contours, +sometimes zigzag on the flank of one ravine, and sometimes turning off +nearly at right angles to the flank of another; separated from each other +by precipices of tremendous depth, and communicating by one-arched bridges +of surprising boldness; besides stone bridges at each re-entering angle, to +let pass off the water which flows from the innumerable cascades, which +fall from the summits of the mountains. Ice and snow eternal on the various +_pics_ or _aiguilles_ (as the summits are here called) which tower above +your head, and yet in the midst of these _belles horreurs_ the road is so +well constructed, so smooth, and the slope so gentle that when there are +fogs, which often happen here and prevent you from beholding the +surrounding scenery, you would suppose you were travelling on a plain the +whole time. Balustrades are affixed on the sides of the most abrupt +precipices and buttresses also in order to secure the exterior part of the +_chaussee_. On the whole length of the _chaussee_ on the exterior side are +conical stones of four feet in height at ten paces distant from each other, +in order to mark the road in case of its being covered with snow. There are +besides _maisons de refuge_ or cottages, at a distance of one league from +each other, wherein are stationed persons to give assistance and food to +travellers, or passengers who may be detained by the snow storms. There is +always in these cabins a plentiful supply of biscuit, cheese, salt and +smoked meats, wine, brandy and fire-wood. In those parts of the road where +the sides of the ravines are not sloping enough to admit of the road being +cut along them, subterraneous galleries have been pierced through the rock, +some of fifty, some of a hundred and more yards in length, and nearly as +broad as the rest of the road. In a word it appears to me the grandest work +imagined or made by man, and when combined with its extreme utility, far +surpasses what is related of the Seven Wonders of the world. There are +fifty-two bridges throughout the whole of this route, which begins at the +distance of three miles from Geneva, skirts the southern shore of the lake, +runs thro' the whole Valais, traverses the Simplon and issuing from the +gorges of the mountains at Domo d'Ossola terminates at Rho in the Milanese. +From Brieg to the toll-house, the highest part of the road, the distance is +about 18 miles. It made me dreadfully giddy to look down the various +precipices; and what adds to the vertigo one feels is the deafening noise +of the various waterfalls. As the road is cut zigzag, in many parts, you +appear to preserve nearly the same distance from Brieg after three hours' +march, as after half an hour only, since you have that village continually +under your eyes, nor do you lose sight of it till near the toll-house. +Brieg appears when viewed from various points of the road like the +card-houses of children, the Valais like a slip of green baize, and the +Rhone like a very narrow light blue ribband; and when at Brieg before you +ascend you look up at the toll-house, you would suppose it impossible for +any human being to arrive at such a height without the help of a balloon. +It reminded me of the castle of the enchanter in the _Orlando Furioso_, who +keeps Ruggiero confined and who rides on the Hippogriff. + +The village of the Simplon is a mile beyond the toll-house, descending. We +stopped there for two hours to dine. A snow storm had fallen and the +weather was exceedingly cold; the mountain air had sharpened our appetite, +but we could get nothing but fish and eggs as it was a _jour maigre_, and +the Valaisans are rigid observers of the ordinances of the Catholic church. +We however, on assuring the landlord that we were _militaires_, prevailed +on him to let us have some ham and sausages. German is the language here. +The road from the toll-house to Domo d'Ossola (the first town at the foot +of the mountain on the Italian side) is a descent, but the slope is as +gentle as on the rest of the road. Fifteen miles beyond the village of the +Simplon stands the village of Isella, which is the frontier town of the +King of Sardinia, and where there is a rigorous _douane_, and ten miles +further is Domo d'Ossola, where we arrived at seven in the evening. Between +Isella and Domo d'Ossola the scenery becomes more and more romantic, +varying at every step, cataracts falling on all sides, and three more +galleries to pass. Domo d'Ossola appears a large and neat clean town, and +we put up at a very good inn. At Isella begins the Italian language, or +rather Piedmontese. + +The next morning we proceeded on our journey till we reached Fariolo, which +is on the northern extremity of the _Lago Maggiore_. The road from Domo +d'Ossola thro' the villages of Ornavasso and Vagogna is thro' a fertile and +picturesque valley, or rather gorge, of the mountain, narrow at first, but +which gradually widens as you approach to the lake. The river Toso runs +nearly in a parallel direction with the road. The air is much milder than +in Switzerland, and you soon perceive the change of climate from its +temperature, as well as from the appearance of the vines and mulberry trees +and Indian corn called in this country _grano turco_. + +At Fariolo, after breakfast, my friend Zadera took leave of me and embarked +his carriage on the lake in order to proceed to Lugano; and I who was bound +to Milan, having hired a cabriolet, proceeded to Arona, after stopping one +hour to refresh the horses at Belgirate. The whole road from Fariolo to +Arona is on the bank of the _Lago Maggiore_, and nothing can be more neat +than the appearance of all these little towns which are solidly and +handsomely built in the Italian taste. + +Before I arrived at Arona, and at a distance of two miles from it, I +stopped in order to ascend a height at a distance of one-eighth of a mile +from the road to view the celebrated colossal statue in bronze of St +Charles Borromaeus, which may be seen at a great distance. It is seventy +cubits high, situated on a pedestal of twenty feet, to ascend which +requires a ladder. You then enter between his legs, or rather the folds of +his gown, and ascend a sort of staircase till you reach his head. There is +something so striking in the appearance of this black gigantic figure when +viewed from afar, and still more when you are at the foot of it, that you +would suppose yourself living in the time of fairies and enchanters, and it +strongly reminded me of the Arabian Nights, as if the statue were the work +of some Genie or Peri; or as if it were some rebel Genius transformed into +black marble by Solomon the great Prophet. I am not very well acquainted +with the life and adventures of this Saint, but he was of the Borromean +family, who are the most opulent proprietors of the Milanese. Every tract +of land, palace, castle, farm in the environs of Arona seem to belong to +them. If you ask whose estate is that? whose villa is that? whose castle is +that? the answer is, to the Count Borromeo, who seems to be as universal a +proprietor here as _Nong-tong-paw_ at Paris or _Monsieur Kaniferstane_ at +Amsterdam.[53] Arona is a large, straggling but solidly built town, and +presents nothing worth notice. + +We proceeded on our journey the next morning. Shortly after leaving Arona, +the road diverges from the lake and traverses a thick wood until it reaches +the banks of the Tessino; on the other bank of which, communicating by +means of a flying bridge, stands the town of Sesto Calende. The Tessino +divides and forms the boundary between the Sardinian and Austrian +territory, and Sesto Calende is the frontier of His Imperial, Royal and +Apostolic Majesty. After a rigorous search of my portmanteau at the +_Douane_, and exhibiting my passport, I was allowed to proceed on my +journey to Milan. + +At Rho, where I stopped to dine, stands a remarkably ancient tree said to +have been planted in the time of Augustus. The country presents a perfect +plain, highly cultivated, all the way from Sesto to Milan. The _chaussee_ +is broad and admirably well kept up and lined on both sides with poplars. +The roads in Lombardy are certainly the finest in Europe. I entered Milan +by the gate which leads direct to the esplanade between the citadel and the +city, and drove to the _Pension Suisse_, which is in a street close to the +Cathedral and Ducal palace. + + +MILAN, 12 October. + +I am just returned from the _Teatro della Scala_, renowned for its immense +size: it certainly is the most stupendous theatre I ever beheld and even +surpassed the expectation I had formed of it, so much so that I remained +for some minutes lost in astonishment. I was much struck with the +magnificence of the scenery and decorations. An _Opera_ and _Ballo_ are +given every night, and the same are repeated for a month, when they are +replaced by new ones. The boxes are all hired by the year by the different +noble and opulent families, and in the _Parterre_ the price is only thirty +soldi or sous, about fifteen pence English, for which you are fully as well +regaled as at the _Grand Opera_ at Paris for three and a half francs and +far better than at the Italian theatre in London for half a guinea. The +opera I saw represented is called _L'Italiana in Algieri_, opera buffa, by +Rossini. + +The _Ballo_ was one of the most magnificent spectacles I ever beheld. The +scenery and decorations are of the first class and superior even to those +of the _Grand Opera_ at Paris. The _Ballo_ was called _Il Cavaliere del +Tempio_. The story is taken from an occurrence that formed an episode in +the history of the Crusades and which has already furnished to Walter Scott +the subject of a very pleasing ballad entitled the _Fire-King_, or _Count +Albert and Fair Rosalie_. Battles of foot and horse with real horses, +Christians and Moslems, dancing, incantations, excellent and very +appropriate music leave nothing to be desired to the ravished spectator. In +the _Ballo_ all is done in pantomime and the acting is perfect. The +Italians seem to inherit from their ancestors the faculty of representing +by dumb show the emotions of the mind as well as the gestures of the body, +and in this they excel all other modern nations. The dancing is not quite +so good as what one sees at the Paris theatre, and besides that sort of +dancing they are very fond in Italy of grotesque dances which appear to me +to be mere _tours de force_. But the decorations are magnificent, and the +cost must be great. + +It was a fine moonlight night on my return from the _Scala_, which gave a +very pleasing effect to the _Duomo_ or Cathedral as I passed by it. The +innumerable aiguilles or spires of the most exquisite and delicate +workmanship, tapering and terminating in points all newly whitened, gave +such an appearance of airiness and lightness to this beautiful building +that it looked more visionary than substantial, and as if a strong puff of +wind would blow it away. The next morning I went to visit the Cathedral in +detail. It stands in the place called _Piazza del Duomo_. On this _piazza_ +stands also the Ducal Palace; the principal cafes and the most splendid +shops are in the same _piazza_, which forms the morning lounge of Milan. +Parallel to one side of the _Duomo_ runs the _Corsia de' Servi_, the widest +and most fashionable street in Milan, the resort of the _beau monde_ in the +evening, and leading directly out to the _Porta Orientale_. The Cathedral +appears to me certainly the most striking Gothic edifice I ever beheld. It +is as large as the Cathedral of Notre Dame at Paris, and the architecture +of the interior is very massive. There is little internal ornament, +however, except the tomb or mausoleum of St Charles Borromeo, round which +is a magnificent railing; there are also the statues of this Saint and of +St Ambrogio. There are several well-executed bas-reliefs on the outside of +the Church, from Scripture subjects, and the view from any of the balconies +of the spires is very extensive. On the North the Alps, covered with snow +and appearing to rise abruptly within a very short horizon, tho' their +distance from Milan is at least sixty or seventy miles; and on all the +other sides a vast and well-cultivated plain as far as the eye can reach, +thickly studded with towns and villages, and the immense city of Milan nine +miles in circumference at your feet. The streets in general in Milan are +well paved; there is a line of trottoir on each side of the street +equi-distant from the line of houses; so that these trottoirs seem to be +made for the carriage wheels to roll on, and not for the foot passengers, +who must keep within the space that lies between the trottoirs and line of +houses. With the exception of the _Piazza del Duomo_ there is scarcely +anything that can be called a _piazza_ in all Milan, unless irregular and +small open places may be dignified with that name; the houses and buildings +are extremely solid in their construction and handsome in their appearance. +A canal runs thro' the city and leads to Pavia; on this canal are stone +bridges of a very solid construction. The shops in Milan are well stored +with merchandize, and make a very brilliant display. The finest street, +without doubt, is the _Corsia de' Servi_. In the part of it that lies +parallel to the Cathedral, it is about as broad as the _Rue St Honore_ at +Paris; but two hundred yards beyond it, it suddenly widens and is then +broader than Portland Place the whole way to the _Porta Orientale_. On the +left hand of this street, on proceeding from the Cathedral to the _Porta +Orientale_, is a beautiful and extensive garden; an ornamental iron railing +separates it from the street. From the number of fine trees here there is +so much shade therefrom that it forms a very agreeable promenade during the +heat of the day. On the right hand side of the _Corsia de' Servi_, +proceeding from the Cathedral, are the finest buildings (houses of +individuals) in Milan, among which I particularly distinguished a superb +palace built in the best Grecian taste with a colonnaded portico, +surmounted by eight columns. Just outside the _Porta Orientale_ is the +_Corso_, with a fine spacious road with _Allees_ on each side lined with +trees. The _Corso_ forms the evening drive and _promenade a cheval_ of the +_beau monde_. I have seen nowhere, except in Hyde Park, such a brilliant +show of equipages as on the Corso of Milan. I observe that the women +display a great _luxe de parure_ at this promenade. + +The women here appear to me in general handsome, and report says not at all +cruel. They have quite a _fureur_ for dress and ornaments, hi the adapting +of which, however, they have not so much taste as the French women have. +The Milanese women do not understand the _simplicite recherchee_ in their +attire, and are too fond of glaring colours. The Milanese women are accused +of being too fond of wine, and a calculation has been made that two bottles +_per diem_ are drank by each female in Milan; but, supposing this +calculation were true, let not the English be startled, for the wine of +this, country is exceedingly light, lighter indeed than the weakest +Burgundy wine; indeed, I conceive that two bottles of Lombard wine are +scarce equivalent in strength to four wine glasses of Port wine. The +Lombards for this reason never drink water with their wine; and indeed it +is not necessary, for I am afraid that all the wine drank in Milan is +already baptised before it leaves the hands of the vendor, except that +reserved for the priesthood; such, at any rate, was the case before the +French Revolution, and no doubt the wine sellers would oppose the abolition +of so _ancient_ and _sacred_ a custom. The Milanese are a gay people, +hospitable and fond of pleasure: they are more addicted to the pleasures of +the table than the other people of Italy, and dinner parties are in +consequence much more frequent here than in other Italian towns. The women +here are said to be much better educated than in the rest of Italy, for +Napoleon took great pains to promote and encourage female instruction, well +knowing that to be the best means of regenerating a country. + +The dialect spoken in the Milanese has a harsh nasal accent, to my ear +peculiarly disagreeable. Pure Italian or Tuscan is little spoken here, and +that only to foreigners. French, on the contrary, is spoken a good deal; +but the Milanese, male and female, among one another, speak invariably the +_patois_ of the country, which has more analogy to the French than to the +Italian, but without the grace or euphony of either. + +I have visited likewise the _Zecca_, or Mint, where I observed the whole +process of coining. They still continue to coin here Napoleons of gold and +silver, with the date of 1814, and they coin likewise crowns or dollars +with Maria Theresa's head, with the date of the last year of her reign. The +double Napoleon of forty _franchi_ of the Kingdom of Italy is a beautiful +coin; on the run are the words, _Dio protegge l'Italia_. It may not be +unnecessary to remark that in Italy by the word _Napoleone_, as a coin, is +meant the five franc piece with the head of Napoleon, and a twenty franc +gold piece is called _Napoleone d'oro_. + +At the _Zecca_ I was shown some gold, silver and bronze medals, struck in +commemoration of the formation of the Lombardo-Venetian Kingdom, under the +sceptre of Austria. They bear the following inscription, which, if I +recollect aright, is from Horace: + + Redeunt in aurum + Tempora priscum,[54] + +but this golden age is considered by the Italians as a very leaden one; and +it seems to bear as much analogy to the golden age, as the base Austrian +copper coin, daubed over with silver, and made to pass for fifteen and +thirty soldi, has to the real gold and silver _Napoleoni_, which by the way +are said to be fast disappearing; they are sent to Vienna, and Milan will +probably be in time blessed with a similar paper currency to that of +Vienna. + +Napoleon seems to be as much regretted by the Milanese as the Austrian +Government is abhorred; in fact, everybody speaks with horror and disgust +of the _aspro boreal scettro_ and of the _aquila che mangia doppio_, an +allusion taken from the arms of Austria, the double-headed Eagle. + +I have visited the ancient Ducal, now the Royal, Palace; it is a spacious +building, chaste in its external appearance, but its ulterior very +magnificent; its chiefest treasures are the various costly columns and +pilasters of marble and of _jaune antique_ which are to be met with. The +_salle de danse_ is peculiarly elegant, and in one of the apartments is a +fine painting on the plafond representing Jupiter hurling thunderbolts on +the Giants. Jupiter bears the head of Napoleon. Good God! how this man was +spoiled by adulation! + +The staircase of the Palace is superb, and the furniture is of the most +elegant description, being faithfully and classically modelled after the +antique Roman and Grecian. After visiting the Ambrosian library (by the +way, it is quite absurd to visit a library unless you employ whole days to +inspect the various editions), I went to the Hospital, which is a +stupendous building, and makes up 8,000 beds. The arrangement of this +hospital merits the greatest praise. I then peeped into several churches, +and I verily believe my conductor would have made me visit every church in +Milan, if I had not lost all patience, and cried out: _perche sempre +chiese? sempre chiese? andiamo a vedere altra cosa_. He conducted me then +to the citadel, or rather place where the citadel stood, and which now +forms a vast barrack for the Austrian troops. We then went to visit the +_Teatro Olimpico_, which was built by Napoleon. It is built in the style of +the Roman amphitheatres, but much more of an oval form than the Roman +amphitheatres were in general; that is to say, the transverse axis is much +longer in proportion to the conjugate diameter than is the case in the +Roman amphitheatres, and it is by no means so high. In the time of +Napoleon, games were executed in this circus in imitation of the games of +the ancients, for Napoleon had a great hankering to ape the Roman Caesars +in everything. There were, for instance, gymnastic exercises, races on +foot, horse races, chariot races like those of the Romans, combats of wild +beasts, and as water can be introduced into the arena, there were sometimes +exhibited _naumachiae_ or naval fights. These exhibitions were extremely +frequent at Milan during the vice-regency of Prince Eugene Napoleon; during +this Government, indeed, Milan flourished in the highest degree of opulence +and splendour and profited much by being one of the principal depots of the +inland trade between France and Italy, during the continental blockade, +besides enjoying the advantage of being the seat of Government during the +existence of the _Regno d'Italia_. Even now, tho' groaning under the leaden +sceptre of Austria, it is one of the most lively and splendid cities I ever +beheld; and I made this remark to a Milanese. He answered with a deep sigh: +"Ah! Monsieur, si vous aviez ete ici dans le temps du Prince Eugene! Mais +aujourd'hui nous sommes ruines." + +My next visit was to the _Porta del Sempione_, which is at a short distance +from the amphitheatre, and which, were it finished, would be the finest +thing of the kind in Europe; it was designed, and would have been completed +by Napoleon, had he remained on the throne. Figures representing France, +Italy, Fortitude and Wisdom adorn the facade and there are several +bas-reliefs, among which is one representing Napoleon receiving the keys of +Milan after the battle of Marengo. All is yet unfinished; columns, +pedestals, friezes, capitals and various other architectural ornaments, +besides several unhewn blocks of marble, lie on the ground; and probably +this magnificent design will never be completed for no other reason than +because it was imagined by Napoleon and might recall his glories. Verily, +Legitimacy is childishly spiteful! + +Yesterday morning I went to see an Italian comedy represented at the +_Teatro Re_. The piece was _l'Ajo nell' imbarazzo_--a very droll and +humorous piece--but it was not well acted, from the simple circumstance of +the actors not having their parts by heart, and the illusion of the stage +is destroyed by hearing the prompter's voice full as loud as that of the +actors, who follow his promptings something in the same way that the clerk +follows the clergyman in that prayer of the Anglican liturgy which says "we +have erred and strayed from our ways like lost sheep." An Italian audience +is certainly very indulgent and good-natured, as they never hiss, however +miserable the performance. + +But in speaking of theatrical performances, no person should leave Milan +without going to see the _Teatro Girolamo_, which is one of the +"curiosities" of the place, peculiar to Milan, and more frequented, +perhaps, than any other. This is a puppet theatre, but puppets so well +contrived and so well worked as to make the spectacle well worth the +attention of the traveller. It is the _Nec plus ultra of Marionettism_, in +which Signer Girolamo, the proprietor, has made a revolution, which will +form an epoch in the annals of puppetry; having driven from the stage +entirely the _graziosissima maschera d'Arlecchino_, who used to be the hero +of all the pieces represented by the puppets and substituted himself, or +rather a puppet bearing his name, in the place of Harlequin, as the +principal _farceur_ of the performance. He has contrived to make the puppet +Girolamo a little like himself, but so much caricatured and so monstrously +ugly a likeness that the bare sight of it raises immediate laughter. The +theatre itself is small, being something under the size of our old +Haymarket little theatre, but is very neatly and tastefully fitted up. The +puppets are about half of the natural size of man, and Girolamo, aided by +one or two others, works them and gives them gesture, by means of strings, +which are, however, so well contrived as to be scarcely visible; and +Girolamo himself speaks for all, as, besides being a ventriloquist, he has +a most astonishing faculty of varying his voice, and adapting it to the +_role_ of each puppet, so that the illusion is complete. The scenery and +decorations are excellent. Sometimes he gives operas as well as dramas, and +there is always a _ballo_, with transformation of one figure into another, +which forms part of the performance. These transformations are really very +curious and extremely well executed. Almost all the pieces acted on the +theatre are of Girolamo's own composition, and he sometimes chooses a +classical or mythological subject, in which the puppet Girolamo is sure to +be introduced and charged with all the wit of the piece. He speaks +invariably with the accent and _patois_ of the country, and his jokes never +fail to keep the audience in a roar of laughter; his mode of speech and +slang phrases form an absurd contrast to the other figures, who speak in +pure Italian and pompous _versi sciolti_. For instance, the piece I saw +represented was the story of Alcestis and was entitled _La scesa d'Ercole +nell Inferno_, to redeem the wife of Admetus. Hercules, before he commences +this undertaking, wishes to hire a valet for the journey, has an interview +with Girolamo, and engages him. Hercules speaks in blank verse and in a +phrase, full of _sesquipedalia verba_, demands his country and lineage. +Girolamo replies in the Piedmontese dialect and with a strong nasal accent: +"_De mi pais, de Piemong_." Girolamo, however, though he professes to be as +brave as Mars himself has a great repugnance to accompanying his master to +the shades below, or to the "_casa del diavolo_," as he calls it; and while +Hercules fights with Cerberus, he shakes and trembles all over, as he does +likewise when he meets _Madonna Morte_. + +All this is very absurd and ridiculous, but it is impossible not to laugh +and be amused at it. An anecdote is related of the _flesh and blood_ +Girolamo, that he had a very pretty wife, who took it into her head one day +to elope with a French officer; and that to revenge himself he dramatized +the event and produced it on his own theatre under the title of _Colombina +scampata coll'uffiziale_, having filled the piece with severe satire and +sarcastic remarks against women in general and Colombina in particular. + +The atelier of the famous artist in mosaic Rafaelli is well worth +inspecting; and here I had an opportunity of beholding a copy in mosaic and +nearly finished of the celebrated picture of Leonardo da Vinci representing +the _Caena Domini_. What a useful as well as admirable art is the mosaic to +perpetuate the paintings of the greatest masters! I recollected on +beholding this work that Eustace, in his _Tour thro' Italy_,[55] relates +with a pious horror that the French soldiers used the original picture as a +target to practise at with ball cartridge, and that Christ's head was +singled out as the mark. This absurd tale, which had not the least shadow +of truth in it, has, it appears, gained some credit among weak-minded +people; and I therefore beg leave to contradict it in the most formal +manner. It was Buonaparte who, the moment the picture was discovered, +ordered it to be put in mosaic. No! the French were the protectors and +encouragers, and by no means the destroyers of the works of art; and this +ridiculous story of the picture being used as a target was probably +invented by the priesthood, who seemed to have taken great delight in +imposing on poor Eustace's credulity. To me it seems that such a story +could only have been invented by a monk, and believed and repeated by an +old woman or a bigot. The priests and French emigrants have invented and +spread the most shameful and improbable calumnies against the French +republicans and against Napoleon, and that credulous gull John Bull has +been silly enough to give full credence to all these tales, and stand +staring with his eyes and mouth open at the recital, while a vulgar jobbing +ministry (as Cobbet would say) _picked his pockets_. + +Quite of a piece with this is the said Mr Eustace's bigotry, in not chusing +to call Lombardy by its usual appellation "Lombardy," and affectedly +terming it "the plain of the Po." Why so, will be asked? Why because Mr +Eustace hates the ancient Lombards, and holds them very nearly in as much +horror as he does the modern French; because, as he says, they were the +enemies of the Church and made war on and despoiled the Holy See. The fact +is that the Lombard princes were the most enlightened of all the monarchs +of their time; they were the first who began to resist the encroachments of +the clergy and to shake off that abject submission to the Holy See which +was the characteristic of the age. The Lombards were a fine gallant race of +men and not so bigoted as the other nations of Europe. Where has there ever +reigned a better and more enlightened and more just and humane prince than +Theodoric?[56] But Theodoric was an Arian, hence Mr Eustace's aversion, for +he, with the most servile devotion, rejects, condemns and anathematizes +whatever the Church rejects, condemns and anathematizes. For myself I look +on the extinction of the Lombard power by Charlemagne to have been a great +calamity; had it lasted, the reformation and deliverance of Europe from +Papal and ecclesiastical tyranny would have happened probably three hundred +years sooner and the Inquisition never have been planted in Spain. I have +made this digression from a love of justice and from a wish to vindicate +the French Republic and Napoleon from one at least of the many unjust +aspersions cast on them. I feel it also my duty to state on every occasion +that I, belonging to an army sent to Egypt in order to expel them from that +country, have been an eyewitness of the good and beneficial reforms and +improvements that the French made in Egypt during a period of only three +years. They did more for the good of that country in this short period, +than we have done for India in fifty years. + +Being obliged to be in London on the 24th December I took leave of the +agreeable city of Milan with much regret on the 19th of October and engaged +a place in a Swiss _voiture_ going to Lausanne. My fellow travellers were +two Brunswick officers in the service of the Princess of Wales, who were +returning to their native country; and a Hungarian and his son settled in +Domo d'Ossola. Nothing occurred till we arrived at Arona, where we were +detained a whole day, in consequence of some informality in the passport of +the two Germans, viz., that of its not having been _vise_ by the Sardinian +Charge d'Affaires at Milan. + +During our detention at Arona, I fell in with a young Frenchman who was +going to Milan in company of some Swiss friends. The Swiss were permitted +to proceed, but the other was not, for no other reason than because he was +a Frenchman; so that he took a place in our carriage in order to return to +Switzerland. I found him a very agreeable companion, for tho' much +chagrined and vexed at this harsh and ungenerous treatment on the part of +the Piedmontese authorities, he soon recovered his good humour, and +contributed much to the pleasure of our journey. The Germans came back to +Arona very late at night, and during the rest of the journey gave vent to +their feelings with many an execration such as _verfluchter Spitzbube, +Hundsfott_, on the heads of the inexorable police officers of Arona. The +next day, on passing by Belgirate, we took a boat to visit the Borromean +islands, and afterwards returned to rejoin our carriage at Fariolo. The +first of these islands that we visited was the _Isola Bella_, where there +is a large and splendid villa, belonging to the Borromean family. The rooms +are of excellent and solid structure, and there are some good family +pictures. The furniture is ancient, but costly. The _rez de chaussee_ or +lower part of the house, which is completely _a fleur d'eau_ with the lake, +is tastefully paved, and the walls decorated with a mosaic of shells. One +would imagine it the abode of a sea nymph. I thought of Calypso and +Galatea. There are in these apartments _a fleur d'eau_ two or three +exquisite statues. + + +LAUSANNE, 11th November. + +I have been now nearly three weeks at Lausanne and am much pleased both +with the inhabitants, who are extremely affable and well-informed, and with +the beautiful sites that environ this city, the capital of the Canton de +Vaud. The sentiments of the Vaudois, with the exception of a few absurd +families among the _noblesse_, who from ignorance or prejudice are +sticklers for the old times, are highly liberal; and as they acquired their +freedom and emancipated themselves from the yoke of the Bernois, thro' the +means of the French Revolution, they are grateful to that nation and +receive with hospitality those who are proscribed by the present French +Government; their behaviour thus forming a noble contrast to the servility +of the Genevese. The Government of the Canton de Vaud is wholly democratic +and is composed of a Landamman and grand and petty council, all +_bourgeois_, or of the most intelligent among the agricultural class, who +know the interests of their country right well, and are not likely to +betray them, as the _noblesse_ are but too often induced to do, for the +sake of some foolish ribband, rank, or title. The _noblesse_ are in a +manner self-exiled (so they say) from all participation in the legislative +and executive power; for they have too much _morgue_ to endure to share the +government with those whom they regard as _roturiers_; but the real state +of the case is that the people will not elect them, and the people are +perfectly in the right, for at the glorious epoch when, without bloodshed, +the burghers and plebeians upset the despotism of Bern, the conduct of the +_noblesse_ was very equivocal. La Harpe was the leader of this beneficial +Revolution, for which, however, the public mind was fully prepared and +disposed; and La Harpe was a virtuous, ardent and incorruptible patriot. + +This canton had been for a long period of years in a state of vassalage to +that of Bern; all the posts and offices of Government were filled by +Bernois and the Vaudois were excluded from all share in the government, and +from all public employments of consequence. When the Sun of Revolution, +after gloriously rising in America, had shone in splendour on France, and +had successfully dissipated the mists of tyranny, feudality, priestcraft +and prejudice, it was natural that those states which had languished for so +many years in a humiliating situation should begin to look about them and +enquire into the origin of all the shackles and restraints imposed on them; +and no doubt the Vaudois soon discovered that it was an anomaly in politics +as well as in reason that two states of such different origin, the one +being a Latin and the other a Teutonic people, with language, customs, and +manners so different, should be blended together in a system in which all +the advantages were on the side of Bern, and nought but vassalage on the +part of Vaud. A chief was alone wanting to give the impulse; he was soon +found; the business was settled in forty-eight hours; and by the mediation +of the French Government, Vaud was declared and acknowledged an independent +state and for ever released from the dominion of Bern. The federative +constitution was then abolished throughout the union, and a general +Government, called the Helvetic Republic, substituted in its place; but +this constitution not suiting the genius and habits of the people, nor the +locality of the country, was not of long duration; troubles broke out and +insurrections, which were fomented and encouraged by the adherents of the +old regime. But Napoleon, by a wise and salutary mediation, stepped in +between them, and prevented the effusion of blood, by restoring the old +confederation, modified by a variety of ameliorations. In the act of +mediation, Napoleon contented himself with separating the Valais entirely +from the confederation, and shortly after annexing it to France, on account +of the high road into Italy across the Simplon running thro' that +territory, and which it became of the utmost importance to him to be master +of. The new Helvetic Confederation was inviolably respected and protected +by Napoleon; for never after the act of mediation did any French troops +enter in the Canton de Vaud, or any part of the Union to pass into Italy. +They always moved on the Savoy side of the Lake to enter into the Valais. +This act of mediation saved probably a good deal of bloodshed and in a very +short time gave such general satisfaction, and was in every respect so +useful and beneficial to the Helvetic Union, that in spite of the intrigues +of the Senate of Bern, who have never been able to digest the loss of Vaud, +the Allied Powers in the year 1814 solemnly guaranteed the Helvetic +Confederation as established by the Act of Mediation, merely restoring the +Valais to its independence and aggregating it as an independent Canton to +the general Union. Geneva, on its being severed from the French Empire, and +recovering its independence, solicited the Helvetic Union to be admitted as +a member and component part of that Confederacy; which was agreed to, and +it was and remains aggregated to it also. + +In 1815, on the return of Napoleon from Elba and on the renewal of the war, +the Bern Government made a most barefaced attempt to regain possession of +the Canton de Vaud; to this they were no doubt secretly encouraged by the +Allies, and principally it is said by the British Government, the most +dangerous, artful and determined enemy of all liberty; but this project was +completely foiled, by the penetration, energy and firmness of the +inhabitants of the Canton de Vaud and of its Government in particular. The +central Government of the Union was at that time held at Bern and it was +agreed upon in the Diet that Switzerland should remain perfectly neutral +during the approaching conflict; an army of observation of 80,000 men was +voted and levied to enforce this neutrality, but the command of it was +given to De Watteville, who had been a colonel in the English service, and +was a determined enemy of the French Revolution and of everything connected +with or arising out of it. On the approach of the Austrian army, De +Watteville, instead of defending the frontier and repelling the invasion, +disbanded his army and allowed the Austrians to enter. No doubt he was +encouraged, if not positively ordered to do this, by the Government of +Bern, many members of which are supposed to have received bribes from the +British Government to render the decreed neutrality null and void. At the +same moment that this army was disbanded, the directoral Canton (Bern) +caused to be intimated to the Canton de Valid that it was the wish and +intention of the High Allies to replace Switzerland in the exact state it +was in, previous to the French Revolution; and that, in consequence, two +Commissioners would be sent from Bern to Lausanne, to take charge of the +Bureaux, Archives and _insignia_ of Government, etc., and to act as a +provisional Government under the direction of Bern. The Landamman and the +grand and petty council at Lausanne, on learning this intelligence, +immediately saw thro' the scheme that was planned to deprive them of their +independence; they, therefore, passed a decree, threatening to arrest and +punish as conspirators the Commissioners, should they dare to set their +foot in the Canton, and declaring such of their countrymen who should aid +or abet this scheme, or deliver up a single document to the Commissioners, +traitors and rebels; they likewise called on the whole Canton to arm in +defence of its independence and proclaimed at the same time that should +this plan be attempted to be carried into execution, they would join their +forces to those of Napoleon and thus endanger the position of the Allies. +They took their measures accordingly; the whole Canton Sew to arms; the +Bernois and the Allies were alarmed and consultations held; the Count de +Bubna, the Austrian General, being consulted, thought the attempt so +hazardous and so pregnant with mischief that he had the good sense to +recommend to the Allied Powers and to the Canton of Bern to desist from +their project and not to make or propose any alteration in the Helvetic +Constitution, as guaranteed in 1814. His advice was of great weight and was +adopted, and thus the Vaudois by their firmness preserved their +independence. They met with great support likewise on this trying occasion +from General La Harpe, preceptor to the Emperor of Russia, and a relation +to the gentleman of the same name who was so instrumental in the +emancipation of Vaud. La Harpe, who enjoyed the confidence of his pupil, +exerted himself greatly in procuring his good offices in favour of the +Vaudois his countrymen, and this was no small weight in the scale. + +Lausanne is an irregularly built city, and not very agreeable to +pedestrians, for its continual steep ascents and descents make it extremely +fatiguing, and there is a part of the town to which you ascend by a flight +of stairs; the houses in Lausanne have been humorously enough compared to +musical notes. The country in the environs is beautiful beyond description +and has at all times elicited the admiration of travellers. There is an +agreeable promenade just outside the town, on the left hand side of the +road which leads to Geneva, called _Montbenon_, which is the fashionable +promenade and commands a fine view of the lake. On the left hand side is a +Casino and garden used for the _tir de l'arc_, of which the Vaudois, in +common with the other Helvetic people, are extremely fond. On the right +hand side of the road is a deep ravine planted in the style of an English +garden, with serpentine gravel walks, and on the other side of the ravine +stands the upper part of the city, the Cathedral, _Hotel de Ville_, and the +_Chateau du Bailli_, which is the seat of Government. From the terrace of +the Cathedral you enjoy a fine view, but a still finer and far more +comprehensive one is from the Signal house, or _Belvedere_ near the forest +of Sauvabelin (_Silva Bellonae_ in Pagan times)[57]. In this wood fairs, +dances and other public festivals are held, and it is the favourite spot +for parties of pleasure to dine _al fresco_; it is a pity, however, that +the edifice called the _Belvedere_ was not conceived in a better taste; it +has an uncouth and barbarous appearance. + +Lausanne is situated about a quarter of a mile (in a right line) from the +lake, and you descend continually in going from the city to the Lake Leman +by a good carriage road, until you arrive on the borders of the lake, where +stands a neat little town called Ouchy, or as it is sometimes termed _le +port de Lausanne_. There is a good quai and pier. The passage across the +lake from Ouchy to the Savoy side requires four hours with oars. + +I have made several pleasant acquaintances here, viz., M. Pidon the +Landamman, a litterato of the first order; Genl La Harpe, the tutor of the +Emperor of Russia; but the most agreeable of all is the Baron de +F[alkenskiold], an old gentleman of whose talents, merits and delightful +disposition I cannot speak too highly. He has the most liberal and +enlightened views and opinions, and is extremely well versed in English, +French and German litterature. He is a Dane by birth and was exiled early +in life from his own country, on account of an accusation of being +implicated in the affair of Struensee; and it is generally supposed that he +was one of Queen Matilda's favoured lovers, which supposition is not +improbable, as in his youth, to judge from his present dignified and +majestic appearance, he must have been an uncommonly handsome man. He has +lived ever since at Lausanne, and tho' near seventy-four years of age and +tormented with the gout, he never loses his cheerfulness, and passes his +time mostly with his books. He gives dinner parties two or three times a +week, which are exceedingly pleasant, and one is sure to meet there a +small, but well informed society of natives and foreigners. Most German +travellers of rank and litterary attainments, who pass thro' Lausanne, +bring letters of introduction and recommendation to the Baron and are sure +to meet with the utmost hospitality and attention. + +The women of the Canton de Vaud are in general very handsome, well shaped +and graceful; litterature, music, dancing and drawing are cultivated by +them with success; and among the men, tho' one does not meet perhaps with +quite as much instruction as at Geneva (I mean that it is not so general), +yet no pedantry whatever prevails as in Geneva. At Lausanne they have +sincere and solid republican principles and they do not pay that servile +court to the English that the Genevese do; nor have they as yet adopted the +phrase "_Dieu me damne_." + + +PARIS, Dec. 5th. + +I returned to Paris by Geneva and crossing the Jura chain of mountains +passed thro' Dole, Auxonne and Dijon. At Geneva, where I stopped three +days, I met, at a musical party given by M. Picot the banker, the +celebrated cantatrice Grassini, who looked as beautiful as ever, and sung +in the most fascinating style several airs, particularly "_Quelle pupille +tenere_" in the opera of the _Orazj e Curiazi_. To my taste her style of +singing is far preferable to that of Catalani; there is much more pathos +and feeling in the singing of Grassini; it is completely and truly the +"_cantar che nell'anima si sente_." Catalani is very powerful, wonderful, +if you will, in execution; but she does not touch my heart as Grassini +does. + +On my return to Paris from Geneva I found that the conditions of peace had +been made public. They are certainly hard, not so much on account of the +cession of territory, which is trifling, as on account of the vast sums of +money that Prance is obliged to pay, and the still more galling condition +of having to pay and feed at her expense an army of occupation of 150,000 +men, of the Allied troops, for a term of three or five years, and to cede +during that period several important fortresses. The inhabitants of Paris +look very gloomy and nobody seems to think that the peace will last half as +long. Prussia and Austria strove hard to wrest Alsace and German Lorraine +from France; hosts of German publicists had accompanied their armies into +France and had written pamphlet upon pamphlet to prove that mountains and +not rivers were the proper boundaries of nations and that wherever the +German language prevails, the country ought to belong to the Germanic body. +Ergo, the Vosges mountains were the natural boundaries of France, and +Alsace and German Lorraine should revert to Germany. Russia and England, +however, opposed this, and insisted that these two provinces should remain +with France; but I have no doubt that the first movements that may occur in +France (and they will perhaps be secretly encouraged) will serve as a +pretext for the Allies to separate these countries definitively from +France. + +The Louvre has been stripped of the principal statues and pictures which +have been sent back to the places from whence they were taken, to the great +mortification of the Parisians, most of whom would have consented to the +cession of Alsace and Lorraine and half of France to boot on condition of +keeping the statues and pictures. The English Bureaux are preparing to +leave Paris and the troops will soon follow; a new French army is +organizing and several Swiss battalions are raised. It is generally +supposed that by the end of December France, with the exception of the +fortresses and districts to be occupied by the Allied Powers, will be freed +from the pressure of foreign troops. + +The Chamber of Peers is occupied with the trial of Marshall Ney, the +Conseil de Guerre, which was ordered to assemble for that purpose having +declared itself incompetent. The friends of Ney advised him to claim the +protection of the 12th Article of the Capitulation of Paris, and Madame +Ney, it is said, applied both to the Duke of Wellington and to the Emperor +of Russia; both ungenerously refused; to the former Nature has not given a +heart with much sensibility, and the latter bears a petty spite against Ney +on account of his title, _Prince de la Moskowa_. It is pretty generally +anticipated that poor Ney will be condemned and executed; for tho' at the +representation of _Cinna_ a few nights ago, at the Theatre Francais, the +allusions to clemency were loudly caught hold of and applauded by the +audience, yet I suspect Louis XVIII is by no means of a relenting nature, +and that he is as little inclined to pardon political trespasses as his +ancestor Louis IX was disposed to pardon those against religion; for, +according to Gibbon, his recommendation to his followers was: _"Si +quelqu'un parle contre la foi chretienne dans votre presence, donnez lui +l'epee ventre-dedans_." + + +December 18th. + +I met with an emigrant this day at the Palais Royal who was acquainted with +my family in London. It was the Vicomte de B*****ye.[58] He had resided +some time in England and also in Switzerland. He is an amiable man, but a +most incorrigible Ultra. He displayed at once the ideas that prevail among +the Ultras, which must render them eternally at variance with the mass of +the French nation. In speaking of the state of France, he said: "_Je n'ai +jamais cesse et jamais je ne cesserai de regarder comme voleurs tous les +acquereurs des biens des emigres. Il faudroit, pour le bonheur de la +France, qu'elle fut places dans le meme etat ou elle etait avant la +Revolution._" He would not listen to my reasons against the possibility of +effecting such a plan, even were the plan just and reasonable in itself. I +told him that for the emigrants to expect to get back their property was +just as absurd as for the descendants of those Saxon families in England, +whose ancestors were dispossessed of their estates by William the +Conqueror, to think of regaining them, and to call upon the Duke of +Northumberland, for instance, as a descendant of a Norman invader, to give +up his property as unjustly acquired by his progenitors. We did not hold +long converse after this; his ideas and mine diverged too much from each +other. + +The English are very much out of favour with the emigrants, as well on +account of the stripping of the Louvre as on account of not having shot all +the _liberaux_. They had the folly to believe that the Allied troops would +merely make war for the emigrants' interests, and after having put to death +a considerable quantity of those who should be designated as rebels and +Jacobins by them (the emigrants), would replace France in the exact +position she was in 1789, and then depart. + +Poor Marshall Ney's fate is decided. He was sentenced to death, and the +sentence was carried into execution not on the _Place de Grenelle_ as was +given out, but in the gardens of Luxemburgh at a very early hour. He met +his fate with great firmness and composure. I leave Paris to-morrow for +London. + + +[47] Ariosto, _Orlando Furioso_, VI, 20, 7. + +[48] Virgil, _Aen_., VI, 620 (temnere _divos_).--ED. + +[49] Louis Wirion (1764-1810), an officer of _gendarmerie_, + commander-general of the _place_ de Verdun since 1804, was accused in + 1808 of having extorted money from certain English prisoners quartered + in Verdun (Estwick, Morshead, Garland, etc.). Wirion shot himself + before the end of the long proceedings, which do not seem to have + established his guilt, but had reduced him to misery and despair.--ED. + +[50] Richard Brinsley Sheridan's (1751-1816) _Pizarro_, produced at Drury + Lane in 1799.--ED. + +[51] Three brothers Zadera, all born in Warsaw, served in the Imperial + army.--ED. + +[52] Ariosto, _Orlando Furioso_ III, 2, i.--ED. + +[53] These words mean, or are supposed to mean, in French and in Dutch: "I + don't understand" (_je n'entends pas_).--ED. + +[54] Horace, _Carm._, IV, 2,39.--ED. + +[55]John Chetwode Eustace (1762-1815), author of _A Tour through Italy_ + (2 vol., London, 1813), the eighth edition of which appeared in + 1841.--ED. + +[56] Theodoric was a Goth, not a Lombard.--ED. + +[57] Of course, _Silva Beleni_.--ED. + +[58] Perhaps Clement Francois Philippe de Laage Bellefaye, mentioned in the + _Souvenirs_ of Baron de Frenilly, p. 94. His large estates had been + confiscated in the Revolution.--ED. + + + + + + + + +AFTER +WATERLOO + + + + + + +PART II + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +MARCH-JUNE,1816 + +Ball at Cambray, attended by the Duke of Wellington--An Adventure between +Saint Quentin and Compiegne--Paris revisited--Colonel Wardle and Mrs +Wallis--Society in Paris--The Sourds-Muets--The Cemetery of Pere La +Chaise--Apathy of the French people--The priests--Marriage of the Duke de +Berri. + + +March, 1816. + +This time I varied my route to Paris, by passing thro' St Omer, Douay and +Cambray. At Cambray I was present at a ball given by the municipality. The +Duke of Wellington was there. He had in his hand an extraordinary sort of +hat which had something of a shape of a folding cocked hat, with divers red +crosses and figures on it, so that it resembled a conjurer's cap. I +understand it is a hat given to his Grace by magnanimous Alexander; St +Nicholas perhaps commissioned the Emperor to present it to Wellington, for +his Grace is entitled to the eternal gratitude of the different Saints, as +well as of the different sovereigns, for having maintained them +respectively in their celestial and terrestrial dominions; and it is to be +hoped, after his death, that the latter will celebrate for him a brilliant +apotheosis, and the former be as complaisant to him and make room for him +in the Empyreum as Virgil requests the Scorpion to do for Augustus: + + ...Ipse tibi jam brachia contrahit ardens + Scorpios, et coeli jusia plus parts reliquit.[59] + +I met with an adventure in my journey from St Quentin to Compiegne, which, +had it happened a hundred years ago in France, would have alarmed me much +for my personal safety. It was as follows. I had taken my place at St +Quentin to go to Paris; but all the diligences being filled, the _bureau_ +expedited a _caleche_ to convey me as far as Compiegne, there to meet the +Paris diligence at nine the next morning. It was a very dark cold night, +and snowed very hard. + +Between eleven and twelve o'clock at night, half way between St Quentin and +Compiegne, the axle tree of the carriage broke; we were at least two miles +from any village one way and three the other; but a lone house was close to +the spot where the accident happened. We had, therefore, the choice of +going forward or backward, the postillion and myself helping the carriage +on with our hands, or to take refuge at the lone house till dawn of day. I +preferred the latter; we knocked several times at the door of the lone +house, but the owner refused to admit us, saying that he was sure we were +_gens de mauvaise vie_, and that he would shoot us if we did not go away. +The postillion and I then determined on retrograding two miles, the +distance of the nearest village, and remaining there till morning. We +arrived there with no small difficulty and labour, for it snowed very fast +and heavily, and it required a good deal of bodily exertion to push on the +carriage. Arrived at the village, we knocked at the door of a small +cottage, the owner of which sold some brandy. He received me very civilly, +gave me some eggs and bacon for supper, and a very fair bed. + +The next morning, after having the axle tree repaired, we proceeded on our +journey to Compiegne. I suffered much from the cold during this adventure, +and did not sleep well, having fallen into a train of thought which +prevented me from so doing; and I could not help bringing to my +recollection the adventure of Raymond in the forest near Strassburg, in the +romance of _The Monk_. Nothing worthy of note occurred during the rest of +the journey; but this adventure obliged me to remain one day at Compiegne +to wait for the next diligence. + + +PARIS, April 8th, 1816. + +I delivered my letters to the Wardle family and am very much pleased with +them. I meet a very agreeable society at their house. Col Wardle is quite a +republican and very rigid in his principles.[60] His daughter is a young +lady of first rate talents and has already distinguished herself by some +poetical compositions. I met at their house Mrs Wallis, the sister of Sir +R. Wilson.[61] She is an enthusiastic Napoleonist, and wears at times a +tricolored scarf and a gold chain with a medal of Napoleon's head attached +to it; this head she sometimes, to amuse herself, compels the old emigrants +she meets with in society to kiss. The trial of her brother is now going on +for aiding and abetting the escape of Lavalette. I sincerely hope he will +escape any severity of punishment, but I more fear the effects of Tory +vengeance against him in England, in the shape of depriving him of his +commission, than I do the sentence of any French court. Yet tho' I wish him +well, I cannot help feeling the remains of a little grudge against him for +his calumny against Napoleon in accusing him of poisoning the sick of his +own army before the walls of St Jean d'Acre. I have always vindicated the +character of Napoleon from this most unjust and unfounded aspersion, +because having been in Egypt with Abercrombie's army and having had daily +intercourse with Belliard's division of the French army, after the +capitulation of Cairo, and during our joint march on the left bank of the +Nile to Rosetta, I knew that there was not a syllable of truth in the +story. Mrs Wallis, however, tells me that her brother has expressed deep +regret that he ever gave credence and currency to such a report; and that +he acknowledges that he was himself deceived. But he did Napoleon an +irreparable injury, and his work on the Egyptian campaign contributed in a +very great degree to excite the hatred of the English people against +Napoleon, as well as to flatter the passions and prejudices of the Tories. + +In the affair however of Lavalette Wilson has nobly retrieved his character +and obliterated all recollection of his former error. It is amazing the +popularity he and his two gallant associates have acquired in France by +this generous and chevaleresque enterprise. + +I meet at Col Wardle's a very pleasant French society: conversation, music +and singing fill up the evening. + + +April 15th. + +I have been presented to a very agreeable lady, Madame Esther Fournier, who +holds a _conversazione_ at her house in the Rue St Honore every Wednesday +evening. Here there is either a concert, a ball or private theatricals; +while in a separate room play goes forward and _crebs_, a game of dice +similar to hazard, is the fashionable game. Refreshments are handed round +and at twelve o'clock the company break up. Mme Fournier is a lady of very +distinguished talent and always acts a principal role herself in the +dramatic performances given at her private theatricals. + +I have become acquainted too with a very pleasant family, M. and Mme +Vanderberg, who are the proprietors of a large house and magnificent garden +in the Faubourg du Roule. M. Vanderberg is a man of very large fortune.[62] +He has three daughters, handsome and highly accomplished, and one son; one +of them was married to General R----, but is since divorced; the second is +married to a young colonel of Hussars, and the third is still unmarried; +but being very young, handsome, accomplished and rich, there will be no +lack of suitors whenever she is disposed to accept the connubial chain. I +have dined several times with this family. There is an excellent table. The +choicest old wines are handed about during dinner, and afterwards we +adjourn to another room to take coffee and liqueurs. + +If there is no evening party, the company retire, some for the theatre, +some for other houses, where they have to pass the evening; if the family +remain at home you have the option of retiring or remaining with them, and +the evening is filled up with music or _petits jeux_. I meet with several +agreeable and distinguished people at this house, among whom are M. Anglas, +Mme Duthon from the Canton de Vaud, a lady of great vivacity and talent, +and General Guilleminot and his lady. Col. Paulet, who married M. +Vanderberg's second daughter, was on the staff of General Guilleminot at +the battle of Waterloo and suffered much from a fever and ague that he +caught on the night bivouacs. + +I have attended a seance of the Institution of the _Sourds-Muets_ founded +by the famous Abbe de l'Epee, and continued with equal success by his +successor the Abbe S[icard],[63] who delivered the lecture and exhibited +the talent and proficiency of his pupils. The eldest pupil, Massieu, +himself deaf and dumb, is an extraordinary genius and he may be said in +some measure to direct all the others. Massieu, who has a very interesting +and even handsome countenance, and manners extremely prepossessing, +conducts the examination of the pupils by means of signs, and writing on a +slate or paper; and it is wonderful to observe the progress made by these +interesting young persons, who have been so harshly treated by Nature. The +definitions they give of substances and qualities are so just and happy; +and in their situation, definition is everything, for they cannot learn by +rote, as other boys often do, who, in the study of philology, acquire only +words and not things or meanings. The deaf and dumb persons, on the +contrary, acquire at once by this method of instruction the philosophy of +grammar; and then it is far from being the dry study that many people +suppose. A German princess who was present exclaimed in a transport of +admiration at some of the specimens of definitions and inferences given by +the pupils; " Oh! I wish that I were born deaf and dumb, were it only to +learn grammar properly!" Sir Sidney Smith was present at this lecture and +seemed inclined to make himself a little too conspicuous. For instance, +before the examination began, he seated himself close by the Abbe S[icard] +and pulling a paper out of his pocket said that he had found it on the +ground on his way hither; and that it was part of a leaf from an edition of +Cicero which contained a sentence so applicable to the character and +talents of his friend the Abbe, that he requested permission to read it +aloud and translate it into French for the benefit of those who did not +understand Latin. He then read the sentence. The Abbe, not to be out-done +in compliments, then rose and made a most flaming speech in eulogium of his +friend "the heroic defender of St John d'Acre" and pointed him out to the +audience as the first person who had foiled the arms of the "Usurper." + +Now this word "Usurper" applied to Napoleon did not at all please the +audience, and it shewed a great deal of servility on the part of the Abbe +to insult fallen greatness, and in the person too of a man who had rendered +such vast services to science. In fact this episode was received coldly, +and somewhat impatiently by the audience; and many thought it was a thing +_got up_ between the Admiral and the Abbe to flatter each other's vanity; +indeed my friend Mrs Wallis, next to whom I was placed, and who does not at +all agree with the gallant Admiral in politics, intimated this in a +whisper, loud enough to be heard by all the audience and added: "Such a +humbug is enough to make one sick." Sir Sidney Smith heard all this and +seemed a good deal abashed and disconcerted; he, however, had the good +sense to say nothing, and the examination began. + + +PARIS, May 5th. + +I formed a party with some friends to visit the cemetery of Pere la Chaise. +We remarked in particular the places where poor Labedoyere and Marshal Ney +are buried. There is no tombstone on the former, but some shrubs have been +planted, and a black wooden cross fixed to denote the spot where he lies. + +To Marshal Ney there is a stone sepulchre with this inscription: "_Cy-git +le Marechal Ney, Prince de la Moskowa_." This cemetery is most beautifully +laid out. The multitude of tombs, the variety of inscriptions in prose and +verse, some of which are very affecting, the yews, the willows, all render +this a delightful spot for contemplation; it commands an extensive view of +Paris and the surrounding country. Foreigners of distinction who die in +Paris are generally buried here; but it would require a volume to describe +to you in detail this interesting cemetery. I think the practice of +strewing flowers over the grave is very touching and classic; it reminded +me of the description of Marcellus's death in Virgil: + + ... Manibus date lilia plenis. + +We however strewed over the tombs of Labedoyere and Ney not lilies, but +violets, for my friend Mrs W[allis], who was of our party, has a great +aversion to the lily. + +We have just heard of Didier's capture and execution at Grenoble.[64] There +are continual reports of insurrections and plots, but it is now well known +that the most of them are _got up_ by the Ultras to entrap the unwary. The +French people seem sunk in apathy and to wish for peace at any rate; +nothing but the most extreme provocation will induce them to take up arms; +but then, if they once do so, woe to the _Chambre Introuvable_, as the +present Chamber of Deputies is called; certainly such a set of venal, +merciless and ignorant bigots and blockheads never were collected in any +assembly. There have occurred several scandalous scenes at Nimes and other +places. The Protestants are openly insulted and threatened, and the +government is either too weak to prevent it, or, as is supposed, secretly +encourages those excesses. In fact in Paris there are two polices; the one, +that of the Government, the other, and by far the most troublesome, that of +_Monsieur_[65] and the violent Ultra party, or as they are collectively +called the _Pavilion Marsan_.[66] The priests are at work everywhere +trumping up old legends, forging communications from the Holy Ghost, +receiving letters dropped from heaven by Jesus Christ, and all this is done +with the idea of working on fanatical minds, to induce them to commit acts +of outrage and violence on those whom the priests designate as enemies to +the faith, and on weak ones, with the idea of frightening them into +restoring the lands and property which they have purchased or inherited and +which formerly belonged to emigrants or to the Church. + +A lady of my acquaintance (to give you an idea of the arts of these holy +hypocrites) sent for a priest to confess and to receive absolution, not +from any faith in the efficacy of the business, but merely from a desire of +conforming to the ceremonies of the national worship. The priest arrived, +but began by apologizing to her that he was sorry he could not administer +to her the sacrament of absolution; she, surprized, asked the reason; he +answered that it was because her uncle had purchased Church lands, which +she inherited, and that unless she could resolve to restore them to the +church, he could not think of giving her absolution. The lady was at a loss +whether to be indignant at his impudence or to laugh outright at his folly. +She however assumed a becoming gravity and _sang-froid_, and told him that +he was very much mistaken if he thought he had got hold of a simpleton or a +bigot in her; that she had sent for him merely with the idea of conforming +to the national worship, and not with the most remote persuasion of the +necessity or efficacy of his or any other priest's absolution; she added: +"Your conduct has opened my eyes as to the views of all your cloth; I see +you are incurable. I shall never send for any of you again; and be assured +this anecdote shall not be forgotten. You may retire." The priest, abashed +and mortified in finding himself mistaken in his supposed prey, stammered +an excuse and retired. + +I intend to remain at Paris until after the marriage ceremony of the Duke +and Duchess of Berri, and I shall then proceed to Lausanne. It is expected +there will be some disturbance on the occasion of this marriage. + +I have witnessed an execution by the guillotine on the Place de Greve near +the _Hotel de Ville_. The criminal was guilty of a burglary and murder. It +is the only execution (except political ones) that has taken place at Paris +for the last six months, whereas in England they are strung up by dozens +every fortnight. Independent of there being far less crimes committed in +France than in England, the French code punishes but few offences with +death. + +Why is not the sanguinary English criminal code with death in every +line--why is it not reformed, I say? 'Twould be well if our legislators, +instead of their puerile and frothy declamations against revolutionary +principles and the ambition of Napoleon, would occupy themselves seriously +with this subject. But then the lawyers would all oppose the simplification +of our Code. They find by experience that a complicated one, obstructed by +customs, statutes and acts of Parliament, difficult to be correctly +interpreted, and frequently at variance with each other, is a much more +profitable thing, a much wider and more lucrative field for the exercise of +their profession, than the simplicity of the Code Napoleon; and they would +die of rage and despair at the thought of anybody not a lawyer being able +to interpret the laws himself. Now as our country gentlemen and members of +Parliament are always much inclined to take lawyer's advice, and are +besides fully persuaded and convinced that there are no abuses whatever in +England and that everything is as it should be, there is no hope of any +amelioration in this particular. All reasoning and argument is lost on such +political optimists. + +The punishment of the guillotine certainly appears to be the most humane +mode of terminating the existence of a man that could possibly be invented. +The apparatus is preserved in the _Hotel de Ville_, and is never exposed to +view or erected on the place of execution, till about an hour before the +execution itself takes place. At the hour appointed the criminal is brought +to the scaffold, fastened to the board, placed at right angles with the +fatal instrument, the head protruding thro' the groove, which embraces the +neck; the executioner pulls a cord, the axe descends and the head of the +criminal falls into a basket. The whole ceremony of the execution does not +take three minutes when the criminal once arrives at the foot of the +guillotine. There is none of that horrible struggling that takes place in +the operation of hanging. + +June 21st, 1816. + +The ceremony of the marriage of the Duke and Duchess of Berri passed off +quietly enough. Several people, it is true, were arrested for seditious +expressions, but no tumult occurred. A great apprehension seemed to prevail +lest something should occur, but the gendarmerie and police were so +vigilant that all projects, had there been any, would have proved abortive. + + +[59] Virgil, _Georg._, I, 35.--ED. + +[60] Colonel Gwyllym Lloyd Wardle was the celebrated exposer of the scandal + in 1808-9, when the mistress of the Duke of York was found to be + trafficking in Commissions. He had retired from active service in + 1802, with the rank of lieutenant-colonel. Financial reasons obliged + him, after 1815, to live on the Continent; he died in Florence, + 1833.--ED. + +[61] Sir Robert Thomas Wilson (1779-1849), author of _The History of the + British Expedition to Egypt_, 1802; a French translation of that work + elicited a protest from Napoleon.--ED. + +[62] Vanderberg had made a fortune as a contractor to the French army; he + is mentioned in Ida Saint Elme's _Memoires d'une contemporaine_ and + elsewhere.--ED. + +[63] Abbe Sicard (Rooh Ambroise) was director of the Institution of + Sourds-Muets from 1790 to 1797 and from 1800 to 1822.--ED. + +[64] Paul Didier (1758-1816) took part in a Bonapartist conspiracy at Lyons + in 1816, raised an insurrection in the Isere and fled to Piedmont, + whence he was surrendered to the French authorities, condemned to + death and executed at Grenoble.--ED. + +[65] The King's brother, afterwards Charles X.--ED. + +[66] The N.E. pavilion of the Tuileries.--ED. + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +Journey from Paris to Lausanne--Besancon--French refugees in +Lausanne--Francois Lamarque--General Espinassy--Bordas--Gautier--Michau-- +M. de Laharpe--Mlle Michaud--Levade, a Protestant minister--Chambery--Aix-- +Details about M. de Boigne's career in India--English Toryism and +intolerance--Valley of Maurienne--Passage across Mont Cenis and arrival at +Suza--Turin. + + +LAUSANNE, July 8th. + +Departing from Paris on the 24th June, 1816, I varied my journey into +Switzerland this time, for instead of travelling thro' Lyons or Dole, I +took the route of Besangon, Pontarlier, Jougne and Orbe. The country +between Dijon and Besancon is a rich and fertile plain. At Besancon the +mountainous country begins; it is a strong fortress, and the last +considerable town of the French frontier. It lies in a very picturesque +situation, being nearly environed by the Doubs, which meanders under its +walls, and by very lofty mountains; on the other side of the Doubs stands +the citadel, its chief strength. The town of Besangon is exceedingly +handsome and well built, and there are several agreeable promenades, two of +which I must particularize, viz., the promenade de Chamarre and the garden +of the Palace of Granvelle. There are besides several Roman antiquities and +the remains of a large amphitheatre. I amused myself very well for a couple +of days at Besancon, and met with some agreeable society at the _Hotel de +France_ where I lodged. I left Besancon at eight in the morning of the 30th +June, and arrived at Pontarlier at six the same evening. Pontarlier is a +dreary, melancholy looking place, consisting of a very long street and +several offsets of streets, situated in the midst of mountains, eternally +covered with snow. Winter reigns here during nine months of the year. At +Pontarlier the whole garrison were under arms, when I arrived, to pay the +last duties to a most respectable and respected officer, whose death was +occasioned by falling into the river, while at the _necessary_, by the +under board giving way. This officer had served in almost all the campaigns +of Napoleon and had greatly distinguished himself. What a cruel death for a +warrior who had been in fifty battles! That death should have shunned him +in the field of battle, to make him fall in a manner at once inglorious and +ridiculous! yet such is destiny. Pyrrhus fell by a tile flung from a house +by an old woman, and I am acquainted with a gallant captain in the British +Navy who lost his leg by amputation, having broken it (oh horror!) by a +fall from the top of a stage coach. + +I left Pontarlier on the 2d July, and arrived at Lausanne the same evening +at five o'clock. On my return to Lausanne I had the pleasure to form an +acquaintance with several eminent Frenchmen proscribed and banished from +France, on account of having voted the death of Louis XVI, as members of +the National Convention, which tried him, and for having voted, after the +return of Napoleon from Elba, the _Acte additionnel_, which excluded the +Bourbons for ever from the throne of France, Among them are, 1st, Monsieur +Lamarque, who was one of the commissioners sent by the Convention to arrest +Dumouriez, but being seized by him, and delivered over to the Austrians, he +passed some time in captivity and was at length released, by being +exchanged with some others against the Duchess d'Angouleme.[67] He is a +very able man and seems to have far more political talent than any of the +other _Conventionnels_ who are here. On Napoleon's return from Elba he +voted for him, but made strong objections against the formation of a +peerage, which he said was perfectly useless in France, and pregnant with +mischief to boot, as it would only serve as an _appui_ to despotism. He +wrote a pamphlet with some excellent remarks on this, subject. He therein +points out the evils of an hereditary Chamber, and of a priviledged +aristocracy, who have nothing to expect from the people, but all from the +Prince; and in its stead he proposes an additional elective Chamber, +something on the plan of the Senate in America, but he decidedly reprobates +an hereditary peerage. + +The next is General Espinassy, a very good classical scholar and a most +upright and amiable man.[68] In his vote he was solely influenced by strong +but conscienscious republican principles; he resides here with his wife and +two sons; he was considered as one of the best engineer officers in France +and he opposed the nomination of Napoleon to the Imperial dignity in 1804. + +Another, M. Bordas,[69] opposed Napoleon's assumption of the Consulship on +the 18th Brumaire, and was proscribed by him for a short time, but +afterwards amnestied and received into favour. He gave his vote for +Napoleon on the _Champ de Mai_ in 1815, but accompanied this vote by a bold +speech towards Napoleon wherein he found fault with his former despotic +practises, and reminded him of the solemnity of his promise to govern in +future paternally and nationally, as became the sovereign of a free people. +M. Bordas is a very cheerful, lively, companionable man and tho' seventy +years of age, he has an uncommon share of vivacity, with something of the +_ci-devant jeune homme_ about him, and He is pleased to be considered still +as a man _a bonnes fortunes_. + +The next to him is M. Gauthier, who had been a lawyer, and held a +considerable post as a magistrate in the time of the Republic and under the +Empire.[70] He possesses a good deal of talent, close logical reasoning, +and has determined public principle. + +The next, M. Michaud, had been also an advocate, and is possessor of +considerable property in the department of the Doubs;[71] he is a most +rigid unbending republican, something in the style of Verrina in Schiller's +_Fiesco_; he opposed the assumption of the supreme power by Buonaparte on +the 18th Brumaire; he voted against the Consulship for life, as well as +against the assumption of the Imperial dignity. He is a very good classical +scholar. He is a widower and has with him here Mlle Elisa, his only +daughter, who follows her father's fortunes. She is a very amiable and +accomplished young lady; she has a thorough knowledge of music and of +painting in oils, and is classically versed in the Italian language. I soon +became acquainted with the whole of these illustrious exiles, and I find +great delight and instruction from their conversation; and this is a great +relief to me, for the life one leads in a Swiss town is rather monotonous. + + +LAUSANNE. + +I dine very often with my neighbour the Baron de Falkenskioeld, and at his +house I became acquainted with M. de Laharpe, who was preceptor to the +present Emperor of Russia. He is a native of this Canton, and has returned +here to pass the remainder of his life. He is married to a very amiable +Russian lady, and having acquired a pretty good fortune in Russia, he lives +here very happily and comfortably; but notwithstanding this, he is often +tempted to visit Paris, Milan and other great cities, and when there, sighs +to return to his native mountains. + +As the Ultras of France bear a great hatred towards the inhabitants of the +Canton de Vaud, on account of the asylum given and sympathy shown to the +_proscrits_, they have been at the pains of trumping up and printing a +pretended petition from the inhabitants of the department of the Doubs, +praying that the French Government would endeavor to obtain the removal of +these _proscrits_ from the Canton de Vaud, and stating that the said Canton +was the _foyer_ of Jacobinical principles, and the place where Napoleon's +return from Elba was planned and accelerated, and thro' which the +conveyance of intelligence backwards and forwards was conducted. I have no +doubt that in this petition more is meant than meets the ear; that the +Oligarchs of Bern, as well as the Ultras of France, have a share in it, and +that it may be considered not so much as an attempt to compel the Canton to +refuse asylum to these exiles, as to excite the Great Powers to enforce the +abolition of the independence of Vaud, and to replace it under the dominion +and authority of the Canton of Bern. + +Everybody here, however, sees thro' the drift of this petition, and many +persons whose names are put down as having signed it, have written to their +friends at Lausanne, to declare not only that they never signed such a +petition, but their entire ignorance even of the agitation of the question +till they saw the petition itself in print. The French government, however, +has not ventured to act any further upon it, than to make a pompous display +of the royalist zeal and _bon esprit_ that pervades the Department of the +Doubs. + +I see a good deal of Mlle Michaud. I find her conversation extremely +agreeable. She had lent to me an Italian work by Verri entitled _Le notti +Romane al sepolcro di Stipione_. She is a very rigid Catholic, having been +educated by a priest of very strict ideas. Her devotion however does not +render her less cheerful or less amiable. She having expressed a wish to +hear the Protestant church service, I offered to accompany her and we went +together one Sunday to the Cathedral Church at Lausanne. But it +unfortunately happened that on that day a sermon was preached which must +have given a great deal of pain to her filial feelings. Mr Levade, the +minister, took it into his head to give a political sermon, in which, after +a great deal of commonplace abuse of Voltaire, Rousseau and the French +Revolution, and very fulsome adulation towards the English government (a +subject which was brought in by the head and shoulders), of that _island_ +(as he termed it) _surrounded by the Ocean_, he lavished a great deal of +still more fulsome adulation on the Bourbons; and then most wantonly and +unnecessarily began a furious declamation against the _regicides_ as he +termed them, who had taken refuge in the Canton, and intimated pretty +plainly how pleasing it would be to God Almighty that they should be +expelled from it. This intolerant discourse, more worthy of a raving Jesuit +than of a Protestant minister, was deservedly scouted by the inhabitants of +Lausanne; but this did not hinder poor Mlle Michaud from being much +affected at the opprobrious tirade directed against a set of men, among +whom her father bore a conspicuous part, and who acted from patriotic +motives. I must not omit to state that in this discourse M. Levade +interwove some hyperbolical compliments towards the young Prince of Sweden, +who attended the service that morning. He told him that the eyes of all +Europe were fixed upon him, and that Providence had him under his especial +care. + +Now the following is the character of M. Levade.[72] He is a time-serving, +meddling priest, and a most flagrant adulator of the powers that be. He +thinks that by declaiming against the French Revolution, and against +Voltaire and Rousseau, that he will get into favor with the great people +who pass thro' Lausanne, with the French and English Government adherents, +and with the great Tory families of England. No considerable personage ever +passes through Lausanne, but Mr Levade is the first to make him a visit; +and no rich or noble English family arrives with whom he does not +ingratiate himself, and he is not sparing of his adulations. This mode of +procedure has been a very profitable concern to him, as he has received a +vast number of presents, and several valuable legacies, besides securing a +number of pupils among the English families, that come or that have been +here. He is in short a thorough parasite and time server, in every sense of +the word. This adulation of the Bourbon family in his sermon, besides the +meanness of it, was highly misplaced, coming from the mouth of a Protestant +minister, and somebody exclaimed on leaving the Church: "_Que doit-on +penser d'un ministre protestant du Canton de Vaud, qui prodigue des +louanges a une famille qui a ete l'ennemie acharnee de l'Elise reformee, et +qui a persecute les protestants d'une maniere si atroce?_" But Mr Levade +(tho' to the honor of the clergymen of the Canton de Vaud he is singular +among _them_), yet he has many persons who perfectly resemble him among the +members of the Church of England, and who are as eager to support despotism +and to crush liberty as any disciple of Loyola or any Janissary of the +Grand Signor. The other Protestant ministers of this Canton were highly +indignant at this sermon; in fact, it was the first time in this city that +the House of God had been profaned by the introduction of political +subjects into a religious discourse. This sermon was the common topic of +conversation for many days after. + + +CHAMBERY, 2d August. + +I left Lausanne for Geneva on 28 July. I stopped at Nyon to pay a visit to +Mme Duthon, with whom I became acquainted at Paris. I dined with her and +passed a most agreeable day. Her talents are of the first order, and she is +as great an enthusiast for the German language and litterature as myself, +besides being well versed in Italian. She had a female relation with her. +We took a boat after dinner to navigate the lake, and we visited the +Chateau and domains of Joseph Napoleon. The next day I proceeded to Geneva. + +I determined on making the journey into Italy this time by Mont-Cenis, and +to make it on foot as far as the foot of Mont-Cenis on the Italian side, +intending to profit of the opportunity of the first conveyance I should +meet with at Suza to proceed to Turin. I accordingly forwarded my +portmanteau to Turin to the care of a banker there, and sallied forth from +Geneva at six o'clock on the morning of 1st August. + +I stopped to dine at Frangy and reached Romilly at seven in the evening. +There is nothing worthy of remark at Romilly. The next morning I stopped at +Aix to breakfast, and visited the bath establishment. The scenery is +picturesque on this route, and the whole road from Aix to Chambery is +aligned with remarkably fine large trees. At three in the afternoon I +arrived at Chambery, the capital of Savoy. It is a large handsome city, +situated in a fruitful valley, with a great many gardens and orchards +surrounding it. There is a strong garrison here. Among the many _maisons de +plaisance_ in the environs of this city, the most distinguishable is the +villa of General De Boigne, who has passed the greatest part of his life in +India, in the service of Scindiah, one of the Mahratta chiefs;[73] and it +was by De Boigne's assistance that Scindiah, from being a petty chief, with +not more than three or four hundred horse, became the founder of a powerful +kingdom, comprized chiefly of the provinces of the Ganges and Jumna, torn +from the Mogol Empire, whose Sovereign fell into the hands of Scindiah. +Scindiah caused the Mogol Emperor's eyes to be put out, and kept him as a +state prisoner in Delhi, till the year 1805, when on the Mahrattas engaging +in war with the English, Scindiah was defeated by Lake and lost the greater +part of his conquests. De Boigne had quitted India in 1796, long before +this rupture took place, and at that time Scindiah had a fine regular army +of thirty battalions of 1,000 men, each disciplined, armed and equipped in +the European manner. He had likewise sixty squadrons of regular cavalry and +a formidable train of artillery. At Chambery I met with two French +_voyageurs de commerce_, who with that positiveness, which is often the +national characteristic, insisted that De Boigne owed his riches and +fortune to his treachery, in having betrayed and sold Tippoo Saib to the +English, when he was in Tippoo's service; and I find this is the current +report all over Savoy. + +Now it is an accusation totally devoid of foundation, as I shall presently +show; and I took this opportunity of vindicating the reputation of De +Boigne, by simply stating that De Boigne could never have betrayd Tippoo, +since he was never in his service; 2dly, that he had, when in the service +of Scindiah, fought against Tippoo, when the Mahrattas coalesced with the +English against that Prince in 1792; and that had it not been for the +assistance given by the Mahrattas to the English (a most impolitic +coalition on the part of the Mahrattas, as it turned out afterwards), +Tippoo would not have been compelled to conclude so humiliating a treaty of +peace; 3dly, that De Boigne had quitted India in 1796, three years before +the second war and death of Tippoo in 1799. I stated, too, that I was +perfectly well acquainted with these particulars of De Boigne's career, +from having served six years in India, and from having been personally +acquainted with a gentleman of the name of Lucius Ferdinand Smith, who was +the ultimate friend of De Boigne and his lieutenant general in the service +of Scindiah; I added that I could not conceive how so unjust and unfounded +an aspersion on De Boigne's character could find currency. + +I hope that what I said will be effectual towards doing away this injurious +report; but very probably it will not, for when the vulgar once imbibe an +opinion, it is difficult to eradicate it from their minds, and they are not +at all obliged to the person who endeavors to undeceive them, so that +General De Boigne's treachery and sale of Tippoo to the English will be +handed down to posterity among the Savoyards, as a fact of which it will be +as little permitted to doubt as of the treachery of Judas. + + +CHAMBERY, August 3d. + +At the _table d'hote_ this day I nearly lost all patience on hearing an +elderly English gentleman extolling the English Ministry to the skies, and +abusing the army of the Loire, calling them rebels and traitors. I stood up +in defence of these gallant men, and stated that the French Army in the +time of the Republic and of the Empire were the most constitutional of all +the European armies, since they were taken from and identified with the +people; and that it was this brotherly feeling for their fellow citizens +that induced them to join the standards of Napoleon, on his return from +Elba; that they only followed the voice of the nation; that all France was +indignant at the tergiversation and breach of faith on the part of the +restored Government, in a variety of instances; and that, had Napoleon and +the army been out of the question, the Bourbons would not have failed to be +upset, from the indignation their measures had excited among the people. He +then said that the Army of the Loire was a most dangerous body of men, and +that that was the reason why the Allies insisted on their being disbanded. +I replied that this was the highest compliment he could pay them, and the +greatest feather in their cap, since it went to prove, that as long as this +Army was in existence, neither the crowned despots, nor the Ultras thought +themselves safe; and that they could not venture to pursue their +anti-national projects, which were all directed towards depriving the +French people of all they had gained by the Revolution and bringing them +back to the _blessings_ of the ancient _regime_. He could say nothing in +reply, but that he feared I had Jacobin principles, to which I made +rejoinder: "If these be Jacobin principles, I glory in them." Some +Sardinian officers, who were present, seemed to enjoy my argument, tho' +they said nothing; and one took me aside, when we quitted the table, and +said he rejoiced to see me take the old man in hand, as he disgusted them +every day by his tirades against the liberal party, and by his fulsome +adulations of the British Government. The old gentleman held forth likewise +in a long speech respecting the finances of England, in praise of the +sinking fund, and when it was suggested to him that England from the +immense national debt must one day become bankrupt: "_Non, Monsieur_," (he +said),"_la Caisse d'Amortissement empechera cela_." In fine, the _Caisse +d'Amortissement_ was to work miracles. I replied that the principle of the +_Caisse d'Amortissement_ was good, provided a constant and consistent +economy were practised; but that at present and during the whole time from +its establishment, it had been a mockery on the understanding of the +Nation, when we reflected on the profligate expenditure of public money, +occasioned by the ruinous, unjust and liberticide wars, which were entered +into and fomented by the British Government. Indeed, I said it was like the +conduct of a man who possessing an income of 200L per annum, should set +apart, in a box as a _Caisse d'epargne_, 20L annually, and at the same time +continue a style of living, the annual expence of which would so far exceed +his income, as to oblige him to borrow 7 or 800L every year. The old +gentleman was all amort at this comparison, which must be obvious to every +one. Nothing shows in a more glaring light the blind and superstitious +reverence paid to great names; for because this sinking fund was proposed +by Pitt, all his adherents extol it to the skies, without analysing it, and +give him besides the credit of an invention to which he had no right +whatever. + + +ST JEAN DE MAURIENNE. + +I started from Chambery on the morning of the fourth of August, and stopped +at Montmelian to breakfast. Here begins the valley of Maurienne, and as +this valley, along which the road is cut, is extremely narrow, being hemmed +in on each side by the High Alps, Montmelian, which stands on an eminence +in the centre of the valley (the road running thro' the town), must be a +post of the utmost importance towards the defence of this pass. It was a +fortified place of great consideration in the former wars, and if the +fortifications were repaired and improved, it might be made almost +impregnable, as it would enfilade the road on each side. From the +above-mentioned features of the ground, the valley narrowing more and more +as you proceed, from the high mountains that align it and from its +sinuosities, it follows that at every angle or curve caused by these +sinuosities, you appear as if you were shut out from all the rest of the +world and could proceed no further. The river Isere runs thro' and parallel +with this valley. It rises in the mountains of Savoy and falls into the +Rhone in Dauphine. I passed the night at Aiguebelle. + +From Aiguebelle to St Jean de Maurienne is twelve leagues, and I found +myself so tired with walking, and my legs from being swelled gave me so +much pain, that I determined to give up the _gloriole_ of making the whole +journey on foot as I intended and to remain here for two days to repose and +then profit by the first conveyance that might pass to conduct me to Turin. + +From Aiguebelle the valley becomes still more narrow, and there is a +continual ascent, tho' it is so gentle as scarcely to be perceptible. Every +spot of ground in this valley, which will admit of cultivation, is put to +profit by the industry of the inhabitants. Here one sees beans, indian +corn, and even wines; for the heat is very great indeed in summer and +autumn, owing to the rays of the sun being concentrated, as it were, into a +focus, in this narrow valley, and were the bed of the Isere to be deepened, +or were it less liable to overflow, from the melting of the snow in spring +and summer, much land, which is now a marsh, might be applied to +agricultural purposes. The inhabitants of this valley regret very much the +separation of Savoy from France, as during the time that Duchy was annexed +to the French Empire, each peasant possessing an ass could earn three +franks per diem in transporting merchandise across Mont-Cenis. St Jean de +Maurienne is a neat little town. I put up at the same inn, and slept in the +same bedroom which was occupied by poor Didier who was put to death at +Grenoble for having raised the standard of liberty. He was surprized here +in bed by the _Carabiniere Reali_ of the Sardinian government, those +satellites of despotism; and according to the barbarous principles laid +down by the crowned heads, delivered over to the French authorities. I +observed a great many _cretins_ in this valley. + + +SUZA, 10th August. + +On the morning of the 8th August two _vetturini_ passed by the inn at St +Jean de Maurienne, and I engaged a place in one of them, as far as Turin. +We arrived at the village of Modena in the evening. The landscape is much +the same as what we have hitherto passed, but the climate is considerably +colder, from the land being more elevated. Hitherto I had suffered much +inconvenience from the heat. The next morning we reached Lans-le-Bourg, the +last town of Savoy lying at the foot of Mount Cenis. + +After breakfast we began the ascent of Mont Cenis, and I made the whole way +from Lans-le-Bourg to the _Hospice_ of Mont Cenis, that is, the whole +ascent, a distance of twenty-five Italian miles, on foot. This _chaussee_ +is another wonderful piece of work of Napoleon; a broad carriage road, wide +enough for three carriages to go abreast, and cut zig-zag with so gentle a +slope as to allow a heavy French diligence to pass, with the utmost ease, +across a mountain where it was formerly thought impossible a wheel could +ever run. This _chaussee_ is passable at all seasons of the year; the +mountain is not so high as that of the Simplon and is less liable to +impediments from the snow; the obstacles from nature are less, and you can +descend in a sledge from the _Hospice_ by gliding down the side of the +cone, and thus descending in nine or ten minutes, whereas the ascent +requires four hours' time. From Lans-le-Bourg to the _Hospice_ on +Mont-Cenis the road is on the flank of an immense mountain and you have no +ravines to cross; the road is cut zig-zag on the flank of the mountain and +forms a considerable number of very acute angles, as it is made with so +gentle a slope that you scarcely feel the difficulty of the ascent. These +repeated zig-zags and acute angles formed by the road, and the very slight +slope given to the ascent, make the different branches appear to be almost +parallel to each other, and it is a very curious and novel sight when a +number of carriages are travelling together on this road to see them with +their horses' heads turned different ways, yet all following the same +course, just like ships on different tacks beating against the wind to +arrive at the same port, a comparison that could not fail immediately to +occur to a sailor. There is scarcely ever any detention on this road from +the fall of snow, as there are a considerable number of persons employed to +_deblay_ it as soon as it falls; but here, as well as on the Simplon, there +are _maisons de refuge_ at a short distance from each other. We stopped for +two hours at the inn at Mont-Cenis, which is about one hundred yards from +the _Hospice_. It was a remarkable fine day, and I enjoyed my walk very +much. The mountain air was keen and bracing and particularly delightful +after being shut up for some many days in the close valley. We had some +excellent trout for dinner. At Mont-Cenis, near the _Hospice_, is a large +lake which is frozen during eight months of the year. Here reigns eternal +winter and the mountains are covered with snows that never melt. From +Mont-Cenis to Suza the descent is very grand and striking, and the scenery +resembles that of the Simplon; there are more obstacles of nature than on +the former part of the road, and here ravines are connected by the means of +bridges, and there are subterraneous galleries to pass thro. Several +_chutes d'eau_ are here observable; one of them I cannot avoid mentioning, +as being very magnificent. It is formed by the Cenischia[74] which divides +Savoy from Piedmont and runs into the Dora at Suza. We were highly +gratified at the sight of the sublime scenery on all sides, and at the +magnificent _chaussee_, and we all (I mean the passengers in the two +coaches and myself) did hommage to the mighty genius who conceived and +caused to be executed such a stupendous work. We arrived at Suza at six +o'clock p.m. + + +TURIN, 18th August. + +Suza is a tolerably large town and has a neat appearance. It is commanded +and defended by the fort of Brunetti, now dismantled, but which is to be +repaired according to the treaty of 1815. It will then be a very important +post and completely barr the pass of Suza. The road from Suza to Rivoli is +thro' a valley widening at every step; at Rivoli you _debouche_ at once +from the gorge of the mountain into a boundless plain. The road is then on +a magnificent _chaussee_ the whole way to Turin, and every vegetable +production announces a change of climate to those coming from Savoy. Here +are fields of wheat, indian corn, mulberry and elm trees and vines hung in +festoons from tree to tree, which give a most picturesque appearance to the +landscape, and, together with the country houses, serve as a relief to the +boundless plain. The _chaussee_ is lined with trees on each side the whole +way from Rivoli to Turin; I observed among carriages of all sorts small +cars, like those used by children, drawn by dogs. These cars contain one +person each. They are frequent in this part of the country, and such a +conveyance is called a _cagnolino_. The Convent of St Michael, situated on +an immense height to the right of the road between Suza and Rivoli, is a +very striking object. The mountain forms a single cone and it appears +impossible to reach the summit except on the back of a Hippogriff: + + E ben appar che d'animal ch'abbia ale + Sia questa stanza nido o tana propria.[75] + + The castle seemed the very neat and lair + Of animal, supplied with plume and quill. + + --Trans. W.S. ROSE. + + +TURIN, 14 August. + +Turin is a large, extremely fine and regular city, with all the streets +built at right angles. The shops are very brilliant; the two _Places_, the +_Piazza del Castello_ and the _Piazza di San Carlo_, are very spacious and +striking, and there are arcades on each side of the quadrangle formed by +them. The _Contrada del Po_ (for in Turin the streets are called +_Contrade_) leads down to the Po, and is one of the best streets in Turin. +Over the Po is a superb bridge built by Napoleon. In the centre of the +_Piazza del Castello_ stands the Royal Palace, and on one side of the +_Piazza_ the Grand Opera house. The streets in Turin are kept clean by +sluices. The favorite promenades are, during the day, under the arcades of +the _Piazza del Castello_ and those of the _Contrada del Po_; and in the +evening round the ramparts of the city, or rather on the site where the +ramparts stood. The French, on blowing up the ramparts, laid out the space +occupied by them in walks aligned by trees. The fortifications of the +citadel were likewise destroyed. + +In the Cathedral Church here the most remarkable thing is the _Chapelle du +Saint Suaire_ (holy winding sheet). It is of a circular form, is inlaid +with black marble and admits scarce any light; so that it has more the +appearance of a Mausoleum than of a Chapel. It reminded me of the _Palace +of Tears_ in the Arabian Nights. + +In the environs of Turin, the most remarkable buildings are a villa +belonging to the King called _La Venezia_, and the _Superga_, a magnificent +church built on an eminence, five miles distant from Turin. In the Royal +Palace, on the _Piazza del Castello_, there is some superb furniture, but +the exterior is simple enough. The country environing Turin forms a plain +with gentle undulations, increasing in elevation towards the Alps, which +are forty miles distant, and is so stocked with villas, gardens and +orchards as to form a very agreeable landscape. From the steeple of the +_Superga_ the view is very fine. + +In the University of Turin is a very good _Cabinet d'Histoire naturelle_, +containing a great variety of beasts, birds and fishes stuffed and +preserved; there is also a Cabinet of Comparative Anatomy, and various +imitations in wax of anatomical dissections. Among the antiquities, of +which there is a most valuable collection, are two very remarkable ones: +the one a beautiful bronze shield, found in the Po, called the shield of +Marius; it represents, in figures in bas-relief, the history of the +Jugurthine war.[76] This shield is of the most exquisite workmanship. The +other is a table of the most beautiful black marble incrusted and inlaid +with figures and hieroglyphics of silver. It is called the _Table of Isis_, +was brought from Egypt and is supposed to be of the most remote antiquity. +It is always kept polished. Among the many valuable pieces of sculpture to +be met with here is a most lovely Cupid in Parian marble. He is represented +sleeping on a lion's skin. It is the most beautiful piece of sculpture I +have ever seen next to the Apollo Belvedere and the Venus dei Medici; it +appears alive, and as if the least noise would awake it.[77] + +Turin used to be in the olden time one of the most brilliant Courts and +cities in Europe, and the most abounding in splendid equipages; now very +few are to be seen. When Piedmont was torn from the domination of the House +of Savoy and annexed to France, Turin, ceasing to be the capital of a +Kingdom, necessarily decayed in splendor, nor did its being made the _Chef +lieu_ of a _Prefecture_ of the French Empire make amends for what it once +was. The Restoration arrived, but has not been able to reanimate it; an air +of dullness pervades the whole city. Obscurantism and anti-liberal ideas +are the order of the day. + +I witnessed a military review at which the King of Sardinia assisted. The +troops made a very brilliant appearance and manoeuvred well. His Majesty +has a very good seat on horseback and a distinguished military air. He is a +man of honor tho' he has rather too high notions of the royal dignity and +authority, and is too much of a bigot in religion; but his word can be +depended on, a great point in a King; there are so many of them that break +theirs and falsify all their promises. He will not hear of a constitution, +and endeavors to abolish or discountenance all that has been effected +during his absence. The priests are caressed and restored to their +privileges, so that the inhabitants of Piedmont are exposed to a double +despotism, a military and a sacerdotal one; the last is ten times more +ruinous and fatal to liberty and improvement than the former. + +I have put up in Turin in the _Pension Suisse_, where for seven franks per +diem I have breakfast, dinner, supper and a princely bed room. The houses +are in general lofty, spacious and on a grand scale. + + +[67] Francois Lamarque, born 1756, a member of the Convention, ambassador + in Sweden, prefect of the Tarn and member of the Cour de Cassation + (1804). He was exiled in 1816.--ED. + +[68] Major Frye (who wrote the name Despinassy) certainly means + Antoine-Joseph Marie Espinassy de Fontanelle's (1787-1829), who was a + member of the Convention, voted the King's death and served in the + Republican army of the Alps. In 1816, he was banished and went to + Lausanne, where he died 1829.--ED. + +[69] Pardoux Bordas (1748-1842) was a member of the Convention. Though he + had not voted the death of Louis XVI, he was banished from France in + 1816 and did not return there before 1828.--ED. + +[70] Antoine Francis Gauthier des Orcieres (1752-1838) was elected to the + Etats Generaux in 1789, and, in 1792, to the Convention, where he + voted the death of Louis XVI. Later on, he was member of the Conseil + des Anoiena, juge au tribunal de la Seine and conseiller a la cour + imperiale de Paris (1815). Banished in 1816, he returned to France in + 1828. + +[71] Jean Baptists Michaud, a member of the Directoire du departement du + Doubs, and a member of the National Convention, voted the death of + Louis XVI and against the proposed appeal to the people.--ED. + +[72] Jean Daniel Paul Etienne Levade (1750-1834), Protestant minister first + in England, then in Amsterdam, finally minister at Lausanne and + professor of theology at the _Academie_ of the same town.--ED. + +[73] Countess de Boigne, in her interesting _Memoirs_ (of which there is an + English translation) abstained from describing her husband's career in + India; this lends additional interest to the information collected by + Major Frye,--ED. + +[74] The manuscript has _Sennar_, a name quite unknown at Suza.--ED. + +[75] Ariosto, _Orlando Furioso_, iv, 13, 5.--ED. + +[76] This shield, now at the _Armoria Reale_, is not antique, but is + ascribed to Benvenuto Cellini.--ED. + +[77] This statue of Cupid is not antique, and has been recently ascribed to + Michelangelo (Knapp, _Michelangelo_, p. 155.)--ED. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +Journey from Turin to Bologna--Asti--Schiller and Alfieri--Italian +_cuisine_--The _vetturini_--Marengo--Piacenza--The Trebbia--Parma--The +Empress Maria Louisa--Modena--Bologna--The University--The Marescalchi +Gallery--Character of the Bolognese. + + +August ---- 1816 + +'Twas on a fine morning the 16th August that I took my departure from Turin +with a _vetturino_ bound to Bologna. I agreed to pay him sixty francs for +my place in the coach, supper and bed. When this stipulation for supper and +bed is included in the price fixed for your place with the _vetturino_, you +are said to be _spesato_, and then you have nothing extra to pay for but +your breakfast. There were two other travellers in the _vettura_, both +Frenchmen; the one about forty years of age was a Captain of cavalry _en +retraite_, married to a Hungarian lady and settled at Florence, to which +place he was returning; the other, a young man of very agreeable manners, +settled likewise at Florence, as chief of a manufactory there, returning +from Lyons, his native city, whither he had been to see his relations. I +never in my life met with two characters so diametrically opposite. The +Captain was quite a _bourru_ in his manners, yet he had a sort of dry, +sarcastic, satirical humour that was very diverting to those who escaped +his lash. Whether he really felt the sentiments he professed, or whether he +assumed them for the purpose of chiming in with the times, I cannot say, +but he said he rejoiced at the fall of Napoleon. My other companion, +however, expressed great regret as his downfall, not so much from a regard +for the person of Napoleon, as for the concomitant degradation and conquest +of his country, and he spoke of the affairs of France with a great deal of +feeling and patriotism. + +The Captain seemed to have little or no feeling for anybody but himself; +indeed, he laughed at all sentiment and said he did not believe in virtue +or disinterestedness. When, among other topics of conversation, the loss +the French Army sustained at Waterloo was brought on the _tapis_, he said, +"_Eh bien! qu 'importe? dans une seule nuit a Paris on en fabriquera assez +pour les remplacer!_" A similar sentiment has been attributed to the great +Conde.[78] We had a variety of amusing arguments and disputes on the road; +the Captain railed at merchants, and said that he did not believe that +honor or virtue existed among mercantile people (no compliment, by the bye, +to the young fabricant, who bore it, however, with great good humour, +contenting himself with now and then giving a few slaps at the military for +their rapacity, which mercantile people on the Continent have now and then +felt, before the French Revolution, as well as after). The whole road from +Turin to Alexandria della Paglia is a fine broad _chausee_. The first day's +journey brought us to Asti. A rich plain on each side of the road, the +horizon on our right bounded by the Appennines, on our left by the Alps, +both diverging, formed the landscape. Asti is an ancient, well and solidly +built city, but rather gloomy in its appearance. It is remarkable for being +the birthplace of Vittorio Alfieri, the celebrated tragic poet, who has +excelled all other dramatic poets in the general _denouement_ of his +pieces, except, perhaps, Voltaire alone. I do not speak of Alfleri so much +as a poet as a _dramaturgus_. I may be mistaken, and it is, perhaps, +presumptuous in me to attempt to judge, but it has always appeared to me +that Voltaire and Alfieri have managed dramatic effect and the intrigue and +catastrophe of their tragedies better than any other authors. Shakespeare, +God as he is in genius, is in this particular very deficient. Schiller, +too, the greatest modern poetic genius perhaps and the Shakespeare of +Germany, has here failed also, and nothing can be more correct than the +estimate of Alfieri made by Forsyth[79] when, after speaking of his +defects, he says: "Yet where lives the tragic poet equal to Alfieri? +Schiller (then living also) may perhaps excel him in those peals of terror +which flash thro' his gloomy and tempestuous scene, but he is far inferior +in the mechanism of his drama." + +To return to my first day's journey from Turin. It was a very long day's +work, and we did not arrive at Asti till very late, after having performed +the last hour, half in the dark, on a road which is by no means in good +repute. The character of the lower class of Piedmontese is not good. They +are ferocious, vindictive and great marauders. They make excellent soldiers +during war and they not unfrequently, on being disbanded after peace, by +way of keeping their hand in practise and of having the image of war before +their eyes, ease the traveller of his coin and sometimes of his life. Our +conversation partook of these reminiscences, and during the latter part of +our journey turned entirely on bandits "force and guile," so that we were +quite rejoiced at seeing the smoke and light of the town of Asti and +hearing the dogs bark, which reminded me of Ariosto's lines: + + Non molto va che dalle vie supreme + De' tetti uscir vede il vapor del fuoco + Sente cani abbajar, muggire armento, + Viene alla villa, e piglia alloggiamenti.[80] + + Nor far the warrior had pursued his best, + Ere, eddying from a roof, he saw the smoke, + Heard noise of dog and kine, a farm espied, + And thitherward in quest of lodging hied. + + --_Trans_. W.S. ROSE. + +We met on alighting at the door of a large spacious inn, two ladies who had +very much the appearance of the two damsels at the inn where Don Quixote +alighted and received his order of knighthood; but, in spite of their +amorous glances and a decided leer of invitation, I had like Sacripante's +steed more need of "_riposo e d'esca che di nuova giostra_." The usual +Italian supper was put before us, and very good it was, viz., _Imprimis: A +minestra_ (soup), generally made of beef or veal with vermicelli or +macaroni in it and its never failing accompaniment in Italy, grated +Parmesan cheese. Then a _lesso_ (bouilli) of beef, veal or mutton, or all +three; next an _umido_ (fricassee) of cocks' combs and livers, a favourite +Italian dish; then a _frittura_ of chickens' livers, fish or vegetables +fried. Then an _umido_ or ragout of veal, fish with sauce; and lastly, an +arrosto (roast) of fowls, veal, game, or all three. The _arrosto_ is +generally very dry and done to cinders almost. Vegetables are served up +With the _umidi_, but plain boiled, leaving it optional to you to use +melted butter or oil with them. A salad is a constant concomitant of the +_arrosto_. A desert or fruit concludes the repast. Wine is drank at +discretion. The wine of Lombardy is light and not ill flavored; it is far +weaker than any wine I know of, but it has an excellent quality, that of +facilitating digestion. A cup of strong coffee is generally made for you in +the morning, for which you pay three or four _soldi_ (sous), and in giving +five or six _soldi_ to the waiter, all your expenses are paid supposing you +are _spesato_, i.e., that the _vetturino_ pays for your supper and bed; if +not, your charges are left to the conscience of the aubergiste, which in +Italy is in general of prodigious width. I therefore advise every traveller +who goes with a _vetturino_ to be a spesato, otherwise he will have to pay +four or five times as much and not be a whit better regaled. The +_vetturini_ generally pay from three to three and a half francs for the +supper and bed of their passengers. As the _vetturini_ invariably make a +halt of an hour and half or two hours at mid-day in some town or village, +this halt enables you to take your _dejeuner a la fourchette_, which you +pay for yourself, unless you stipulate for the payment of that also with +the _vetturino_ by paying something more, say one a half franc per diem for +that. In this part, and indeed in the whole of the north of Italy not a +female servant is to be seen at the inns and men make the beds. It is +otherwise, I understand, in Tuscany. + +The whole appearance of the country from Asti to Alexandria presents an +immense plain extremely fertile, but the crops of corn being off the +ground, the landscape would not be pleasing to the eye, were it not +relieved by the frequency of mulberry trees and the vines hung in festoons +from tree to tree. The villages and farmhouses on this road are extremely +solid and well built. We arrived at Alexandria about twelve o'clock, and +after breakfast I hired a horse to visit the field of battle of Marengo, +which is in the neighbourhood of this city, Marengo itself being a village +five miles distant from Alexandria. Arrived on the plain, I was conducted +to the spot where the first Consul stood at the time that he perceived the +approach of Desaix's division. I figured to myself the first Consul on his +white charger, halting his army, then in some confusion, riding along the +line exposed to a heavy fire from the Austrians, who cannonaded the whole +length of the line; aides-de-camp and orderlies falling around him, himself +calm and collected, "spying 'vantage," and observing that the Austrian +deployment was too extended, and their centre thereby weakened, suddenly +profiting of this circumstance to order Desaix's division to advance and +lead the charge which decided the victory on that memorable day, which, +according to Mascheroni: + + _splende + Nell' abisso de' secoli, qual Sole_. + +The whole field of battle is an extensive plain, with but few trees, and to +use Campbell's lines: + + every turf beneath the feet + Marks out a soldier's sepulchre. + +The Column, erected to commemorate this glorious victory, has been thrown +down by order of the Austrian government--a poor piece of puerile spite, +but worthy of legitimacy. Alexandria is, or rather _was_, for the +fortifications no longer exist, more remarkable for being an important +military post than for the beauty of the city itself. There is, however, a +fine and spacious _Place_, which serves as a parade for the garrison, and +being planted with trees by the French when they held it, forms an +agreeable promenade. The fortifications were blown up by the Austrians +before the place was given over to the Sardinian authorities, a flagrant +breach of faith and contract, since by the treaty of 1814 they were bound +to give up all the fortified places that were restored or ceded to the King +of Sardinia in the same state in which they were found when the French +evacuated them, and the Austrians took possession provisorily. The French +regarding (and with reason) this fortress as the key of Lombardy always +kept the fortifications in good repair and well provided with cannon. But +the Austrian government, knowing itself to be unpopular in Italy and +trembling for the safety of her dominions, being always fearful that the +Piedmontese Government might one day be induced to favour an +insurrectionary or national movement in the north of Italy, determined, +finding that it could not keep the fortress for itself, which it strove +hard to do under divers pretexts, to render it of as little use as they +possibly could do to the King of Sardinia; so they blew up the +fortifications and carried off the cannon, leaving the King without a +single fortified place in the whole of his Italian dominions to defend +himself, in case of attack, against an Austrian invasion. + +On the morning of the 15th August we passed thro' Tortona, now no longer a +fortress of consequence. All this country may be considered as classic +ground, immortalized by the campaigns of Napoleon, when commander in chief +of the army of the French Republic in Italy, a far greater and more +illustrious _role_ than when he assumed the Imperial bauble and +condescended to mix with the vulgar herd of Kings. + +We arrived at Voghera to breakfast and at Casteggio at night. The country +is much the same as that which we have already passed thro', being a plain, +with a rich alluvial soil, mulberry trees and a number of solidly built +stone farmhouses. The next morning at eleven o'clock we arrived at Piacenza +on the Po, and were detained a quarter of an hour at the _Douane_ of Her +Majesty the Archduchess, as Maria Louisa, the present Duchess of Parma, is +stiled, we being now arrived in her dominions. We drove to the _Hotel di +San Marco_, which is close to the _Piazza Grande_, and alighted there. On +the Piazza stands the _Hotel de Ville_, and in front of it are two +equestrian statues in bronze of the Princes Farnesi; the statues, however, +of the riders appear much too small in proportion with the horses, and they +resemble two little boys mounted on Lincolnshire carthorses. + +I did not visit the churches and palaces in this city from not having time +and, besides, I did not feel myself inclined or _bound_ (as some travellers +think themselves) to visit every church and every town in Italy. I really +believe the _ciceroni_ think that we _Ultramontani_ live in mud hovels in +our own country, and that we have never seen a stone edifice, till our +arrival in Italy, for every town house which is not a shop is termed a +_palazzo_, and they would conduct you to see all of them if you would be +guided by them. I had an opportunity, during the two hours we halted here, +of walking over the greater part of the city, after a hasty breakfast. +Piacenza is a large handsome city; among the females that I saw in the +streets the Spanish costume seems very prevalent, no doubt from being so +long governed by a Spanish family. + +On leaving Piacenza we passed thro' a rich meadow country and met with an +immense quantity of cattle grazing. The road is a fine broad _chaussee_ +considerably elevated above the level of the fields and is lined with +poplars. Where this land is not in pasture, cornfields and mulberry trees, +with vines in festoons, vary the landscape, which is additionally enlivened +by frequent _maisons de plaisance_ and excellently built farmhouses. We +passed thro' Firenzuola, a long well-built village, or rather _bourg_, and +we brought to the night at Borgo San Donino. At this place I found the +first bad inn I have met with in Italy, that is, the house, tho' large, was +so out of repair as to be almost a _masure_; we however met with tolerably +good fare for supper. We fell in with a traveller at Borgo San Donino, who +related to us an account of an extraordinary robbery that had been +committed a few months before near this place, in which the _then_ host was +implicated, or rather was the author and planner of the robbery. It +happened as follows. A Swiss merchant, one of those men who cannot keep +their own counsel, a _bavard_ in short, was travelling from Milan to +Bologna with his cabriolet, horse and a large portmanteau. He put up at +this inn. At supper he entered into conversation with mine host, and asked +if there was any danger of robbers on the road, for that he should be sorry +(he said) to fall into their hands, inasmuch as he had with him in his +portmanteau 24,000 franks in gold and several valuable articles of +jewellery. Mine host assured him that there was not the slightest danger. +The merchant went to bed, directing that he should be awakened at daybreak +in order to proceed on his journey. Mine host, however, took care to have +him called full an hour and half before daybreak, assuring him that light +would soon dawn. The merchant set out, but he had hardly journeyed two +miles when a shot from behind a hedge by the road side brought his horse to +the ground. Four men in masks rushed up, seized him and bound him to a +tree; they then rifled his portmanteau, took out his money and jewels and +wished him good morning. + +Before we arrived at Borgo San Donino we crossed the Trebbia, one of the +many tributary streams of the Po, and which is famous for two celebrated +battles, one in ancient, the other in modern tunes (and probably many +others which I do not recollect); but here it was that Hannibal gained his +second victory over the Romans; and here, in 1799, the Russians under +Souvoroff defeated the French under Macdonald after an obstinate and +sanguinary conflict; but they could not prevent Macdonald from effecting +his junction with Massena, to hinder which was Souvoroff's object. In fact, +in this country, to what reflections doth every spot of ground we pass, +over, give rise! Every field, every river has been the theatre of some +battle or other memorable event either in ancient or modern times. + + _Quis gurges aut quae flumina lugubris + Ignara belli?[81]_ + +We started from Borgo San Donino next morning; about ten miles further on +the right hand side of the road stands an ancient Gothic fortress called +Castel Guelfo. Between this place and Parma there is a very troublesome +river to pass called the Taro, which at times is nearly dry and at other +times, so deep as to render it hazardous for a carriage to pass, and it is +at all times requisite to send on a man to ford and sound it before a +carriage passes. This river fills a variety of separate beds, as it +meanders very much, and it extends to such a breadth in its _debordements_, +as to render it impossible to construct a bridge long enough to be of any +use. + +This, however, being the dry season, we passed it without difficulty. Two +or three other streams on this route, _seguaci del Po_, are crossed in the +same manner. + +The road to Parma, after passing the Taro, lies nearly in a right line and +is bordered with poplars. If I am not mistaken, it was somewhere in this +neighbourhood that the Carthaginians under Hannibal suffered a great loss +in elephants, who died from cold, being incamped during the winter. I am +told there is not a colder country in Europe than Lombardy during the +winter season, which arises no doubt from its vicinity to the Alps. + +Opulence seems to prevail in all the villages in the vicinity of Parma, and +an immense quantity of cattle is seen grazing in the meadows on each side +of the road. The female peasantry wear the Spanish costume and are +remarkably well dressed. + +We arrived at Parma at twelve o'clock and stopped there three hours. + + +PARMA. + +After a hasty breakfast, Mr G-- and myself sallied forth to see what was +possible during the time we stopped in this city, leaving the Captain, who +refused to accompany us, to smoke his pipe. This city is very large and +there is a very fine _Piazza._ The streets are broad, the buildings +handsome and imposing, and there is a general appearance of opulence. We +first proceeded to visit the celebrated amphitheatre, called _l'Amfiteatro +Farnese_ in honour of the former sovereigns of the Duchy. It is a vast +building and unites the conveniences both of the ancient and modern +theatres. It has a roof like a modern theatre, and the seats in the +_parterre_ are arranged like the seats in an ancient Greek theatre. Above +this are what we should call boxes, and above them again what we usually +term a gallery. A vast and deep arena lies between the _parterre_ and the +orchestra and fills up the space between the audience and the _proscenium_. +It is admirably adapted both for spectators and hearers; when a tragedy, +comedy or opera is acted, a scaffolding is erected and seats placed in the +arena. At other times the arena is made use of for equestrian exercises and +chariot races in the style of the ancients, combats with wild beasts, etc., +or it may be filled with water for the representation of naval fights +(_naumachia_); in this case you have a vast oval lake between the +spectators and the stage. It is a great pity that this superb and +interesting building is not kept in good repair; the fact is it is seldom +or ever made use of except on very particular occasions: it is almost +useless in a place like Parma, "so fallen from its high estate," but were +such an amphitheatre in Paris, London, or any great city, it might be used +for all kinds of _spectacles_ and amusements. A small theatre from the +design of Bernino stands close to this amphitheatre, and is built in a +light tasteful manner. If fresh painted and lighted up it would make a very +brilliant appearance. This may be considered as the Court theatre. At a +short distance from the theatres is the Museum of Parma, in which there is +a well chosen gallery of pictures. Among the most striking pictures of the +old school is without doubt that of St Jerome by Correggio; but I was full +as much, dare I be so heretical as to say more pleased, with the +productions of the modern school of Parma. A distribution of prizes had +lately been made by the Empress Maria Louisa, and there were many +paintings, models of sculpture and architectural designs, that did infinite +credit to the young artists. I remarked one painting in particular which is +worthy of a Fuseli. It represented the battle of the river God Scamander +with Achilles. The subjects of most of the paintings I saw here were taken +from the mythology or from ancient and modern history; and this is perhaps +the reason that they pleased me more than those of the ancient masters. Why +in the name of the [Greek: to kalon] did these painters confine +themselves so much to Madonnas, Crucifixions, and Martyrdoms, when their +own poets, Ariosto and Tasso, present so many subjects infinitely more +pleasing? Then, again, in many of these crucifixions and martyrdoms, the +gross anachronisms, such as introducing monks and soldiers with match-locks +and women in Gothic costume at the crucifixion, totally destroy the +seriousness and interest of the subject by annihilating all illusion and +exciting risibility. + +Parma will ever be renowned in history as the birthplace of Caius Cassius, +the Mend and colleague of Brutus. + +The Empress Maria Louisa lives here in the Ducal Palace, which is a +spacious but ornamental edifice. She lives, 'tis said, without any +ostentation. Out of her own states, her presence in Italy would be attended +with unpleasant consequences to the powers that be, on account of the +attachment borne to Napoleon by all classes of society; and it is on this +account that on her last visit to Bologna she received an intimation from +the papal authorities to quit the Roman territory in twenty-four hours. We +next passed thro' St Hilario and Reggio and brought to the evening at the +village of Rubbiera. At St Hilario is the entrance into the Duke of +Modena's territory, and here we underwent again &n examination of trunks, +as we did both on entering and leaving the territory of Maria Louisa. + +Reggio is a large walled city, but I had only time to visit the Cathedral +and to remark therein a fine picture of the Virgin and the Chapel called +"Capella della Morte." Reggio pretends to the honour of having given birth +to the Divine Ariosto: + + Quel grande che canto l'armi e gli amorl, + +as Guarini describes him, I believe. The face of the country from Parma to +Reggio is exactly the same as what we have passed thro' already. + +The next day (20 August) we passed thro' Modena, where we stopped to +breakfast and refresh horses. It is a large and handsome city, the Ducal +Palace is striking and in the Cathedral is presented the famous bucket +which gave rise to the poem of Tassoni called _La Secchia rapita._ An air +of opulence and grandeur seems to prevail in Modena. + +At Samoggia we entered the Papal territory and again underwent a search of +trunks. Within three miles of Bologna a number of villas and several +tanneries, which send forth a most intolerable odour, announce the approach +to that celebrated and venerable city. On the left hand side, before +entering the town, is a superb portico with arcades, about one and a half +miles in length, which leads from the city to the church of San Luca. On +the right are the Appennines, towering gradually above you. Bologna lies at +the foot of these mountains on the eastern side and here the plain ends for +those who are bound to Florence, which lies on the western side of the vast +ridge which divides Italy. We arrived at Bologna at half-past seven in the +evening, and here we intend to repose a day or two; I shall then cross the +Appennines for the first time in my life. A reinforcement of mules or oxen +is required for every carriage; from the ascent the whole way you can +travel, I understand, very little quicker _en poste_ than with a +_vetturino_. We are lodged at Bologna in a very comfortable inn called +_Locanda d'Inghilterra_. + + +BOLOGNA, 22d August. + +The great popularity of Bologna, which is a very large and handsomely built +city, lies in the colonnaded porticos and arcades on each side of the +streets throughout the whole city. These arcades are mightily convenient +against sun and rain, and contradict the assertion of Rousseau, who +asserted that England was the only country in the world where the safety of +foot passengers is consulted, whereas here in Bologna not only are +_trottoirs_ broader than those of London in general, but you are +effectually protected against sun and rain, and are not obliged to carry an +umbrella about with you perpetually as in London. This arcade system, is, +however, rather a take off from the beauty of the city, and gives it a +gloomy heavy appearance, which is not diminished by the sight of friars and +mendicants with which this place swarms, and announce to you that you are +in the holy land. At Bologna it is necessary to have a sharp eye on your +baggage, on account of the crowds of ragged _faineans_ that surround your +carriage while it is unloading. + +The first thing that the _ciceroni_ generally take you to see in Italy are +the churches, and mine would not probably have spared me one, but I was +more anxious to see the University. I however allowed him to lead me into +two of the principal churches, viz., the _Duomo_ or Cathedral, and the +church of San Petronio, both magnificent Gothic temples and worth the +attention of the traveller. On the _Piazza del Gigante_ is a fine bronze +statue of Neptune. The _Piazza_ takes its name from this statue, as at one +time in Italy, after the introduction of Christianity and when the ancient +mythology was totally forgotten, the statues of the Gods were called Giants +or named after Devils and their prototypes believed to be such. + +In the Museum at the University is an admirable collection of fossils, +minerals, and machines in every branch of science. There are some excellent +pictures also; the University of Bologna was, you know, at all times famous +and its celebrity, is not at all diminished, for I believe Bologna boasts +more scientific men, and particularly in the sciences _positives_, than any +other city in Italy. + +In the _Palazzo pubblico_ (_Hotel de Ville_) is a Christ and a Samson by +Guido Reni; but what pleased me most in the way of painting was the +collection in the gallery of Count Marescalchi. The Count has been at great +pains to form it and has shown great taste and discernment. It is a small +but unique collection. Here is to be seen a head of Christ, the colouring +of which is so brilliant as to illuminate the room in which it is appended, +when the shutters are closed, and in the absence of all other light except +what appears thro' the crevices of the window shutters. This head, however, +does not seem characteristic of Christ; it wants the gravity, the soft +melancholy and unassuming meekness of the _great Reformer_: in short, from +the vivid fire of the eyes and the too great self-complacency of the +countenance, it gave me rather the idea + + Del biondo Dio che in Tessalia si adora. + +I passed two hours in this cabinet. I next repaired to the centre of the +city with the intention of ascending one at least of the two square towers +or _campanili_ which stand close together, one of which is _strait_, the +other a leaning one. _Garisendi_ is the name of the leaning tower, and it +forms a parallelipipedon of 140 feet in height and about twenty feet in +breath and length. It leans so much as to form an angle of seventy-five +degrees with the ground on which it stands. The other tower, the strait +one, is called _Asinelli_ and is a parallelipipedon of 310 feet in height +and about twenty-five feet in length and breadth. I ascended the leaning +tower, but I found the fatigue so great that I was scarcely repaid by the +fine view of the surrounding country, which presents on one side an immense +plain covered with towns, villages and villas, and on the other the +Appennines towering one above another. When on the top of _Garisendi_, +_Asinelli_ appears to be four times higher than its neighbour, and the bare +aspect of its enormous height deterred me from even making the attempt of +ascending it. When viewed or rather looked down upon from _Garisendi_, +Bologna, from its being of an elliptical form and surrounded by a wall and +from having these two enormous towers in the centre, resembles a boat with +masts. + +From the great celebrity of its University and the eminent men it has +produced, Bologna is considered as the most litterary city of Italy. +Galvani was born in Bologna and studied at this University, and among the +modern prodigies is a young lady who is professor of Greek and who is by +all accounts the most amiable _Bas bleu_ that ever existed.[82] The +Bolognese are a remarkably fine, intelligent and robust race of people, and +are renowned for their republican spirit, and the energy with which they at +all times resisted the encroachments of the Holy See. Bologna was at one +time a Republic, and on their coins is the word Libertas. The Bolognese +never liked the Papal government and were much exasperated at returning +under the domination of the Holy Father. In the time of Napoleon, Bologna +formed part of the _Regno d'ltalia_ and partook of all its advantages. +Napoleon is much regretted by them; and so impatiently did the inhabitants +bear the change, on the dismemberment of the kingdom of Italy, and their +transfer to the pontifical sceptre, that on Murat's entry in their city in +1815 the students and other young men of the town flew to arms and in a few +hours organised three battalions. Had the other cities shown equal energy +and republican spirit, the revolution would have been completed and Italy +free; but the fact is that the Italians in general, tho' discontented, had +no very high opinion of Murat's talents as a political character, and he +besides _committed_ a great fault in not entering Rome on his march and +revolutionising it. Murat, like most men, was ruined by half-measures. The +last tune that Maria Louisa was here the people surrounded the inn where +she resided and hailed her with cries of _Viva I'Imperatrice!_ The Pope's +legate in consequence intimated to her the expediency of her immediate +departure from the city, with a request that she would not repeat her +visit. Bologna is considered by the Ultras, _Obscuranten,_ and _Eteignoirs_ +as the focus and headquarters of Carbonarism. + +In the evening I visited the theatre built by Bibbiena and had the pleasure +of hearing for the first time an Italian tragedy, which, however, are now +rarely represented and scarcely ever well acted. This night's performance +formed an exception and was satisfactory. The piece was _Romeo and +Giulietta_. The actress who did the part of Giulietta performed it with +great effect, particularly in the tomb scene. In this scene she reminded me +forcibly of our own excellent actress, Miss O'Neill. This was the only part +of the play that had any resemblance to the tragedy of Shakespeare. All the +rest was on the French model. I saw a number of beautiful women in the +boxes. The Bolognese women are remarkable for their fine complexions; those +that I saw were much inclined to _embonpoint_. + + +[79] And also to Napoleon, after the battle at Eylau.--ED. + +[80] Joseph Forsyth (1763-1815), author of _Remarks on antiquities, arts + and letters in Italy_, London, 1813.--ED. + +[81] Horace, _Carm._, II, I, 33.--ED. + +[82] The young woman in question was Clotilda Tambroni (1768-1818). She + taught Greek at the University of Bologna and was in correspondence + with the great French scholar Ansse de Villoison.--ED. + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +Journey across the Appennines to Florence--Tuscan idioms and +customs--Monuments and galleries at Florence--The Cascino--Churches-- +Theatres--Popularity of the Grand Duke--Napoleon's downfall not +regretted--Academies in Florence. + + +FLORENCE, 26th August. + +The moment you leave Bologna to go to Florence you enter the gorges of the +Appennines, and after journeying seven miles, begin to ascend the ridge. +The ascent begins at Pianoro. Among these mountains the scenery is wild and +romantic, and tho' not so grandiose and sublime as that of the Alps, is +nevertheless extremely picturesque. One meets occasionally with the ruins +of old castles on some of the heights, and I was strongly reminded, at the +sight of these antique edifices, of the mysteries of Udolpho and the times +of the Condottieri. The silence that reigns here is only interrupted by the +noise of the waterfall and the occasional scream of the eagle. The wild +abrupt transition of landscape would suggest the idea of haunting places +for robbers, yet one seldom or never hears of any, on this road. In Tuscany +there is, I understand, so much industry and morality, that a robbery is a +thing unknown; but in his Holiness's dominions, from the idleness and +poverty that prevails, they are said to be frequent. Why it does not occur +in these mountains, in that part of them, at least, which belongs to the +Papal Government, I am at a loss to conceive. + +Here the chesnut and olive trees salute the Ultramontane traveller for the +first time. The olive tree, tho' a most useful, is not an ornamental one, +as it resembles a willow or osier in its trunk and in the colour of its +leaves. The chesnut tree is a glorious plant for an indolent people, since +it furnishes food without labour, as the Xaca or Jack fruit tree does +to the Cingalese in Ceylon. On one of the heights between Pianoro and +Lojano you have in very clear weather a view of both the Adriatic and +Tyrrhene seas. We brought to the night at Scarica l'Asino and the next +morning early we entered the Tuscan territory at Pietra Mala, where there +is a _Douane_ and consequently an examination of trunks. At one o'clock we +arrived at an inn called _Le Maschere_, about fifteen miles distance from +Florence; it is a large mansion and being situated on an eminence commands +an extensive view. One becomes soon aware of being in the Tuscan territory +from the number of cultivated spots to be seen in this part of the +Appennines: for such is the industry of the inhabitants that they do +wonders on their naturally sterile soil. One sees a number of farms. Every +spot of ground is in cultivation, between _Le Maschere_ and Florence in +particular; these spots of ground, gardens, orchards and villas forming a +striking and pleasing contrast with the wild and dreary scenery of the +Appennines. Another thing that indicates one's arrival among the Tuscans is +their aspiration of the letter _c_ before _a_, _o_ and _u_, which is at +first extremely puzzling to a foreigner accustomed only to the Roman +pronunciation. For instance, instead of _camera_, _cotto_, _curvo_, they +pronounce these words _hamera_, _hotto_, and _hurvo_ with an exceeding +strong aspiration of the _h_. It is the same too with the _ch_ which they +aspirate, _ex gr._ instead of _pochino_, _chiave_, they say _pohino_, +_hiave_. The language however which is spoken is the most classical and +pure Italian and except the above mentioned aspiration it is delightful to +the ear; peculiarly so to those who come from the north of Italy, and have +only hitherto heard the unpleasing nasal twang of the Milanese and the +exceeding uncouth barbarous dialect of Bologna. Another striking +peculiarity is the smart appearance of the Tuscan peasantry. They are a +remarkably handsome race of men; the females unite with their natural +beauty a grace and elegance that one is quite astonished to find among +peasants. They express themselves in the most correct and classical +language and they have a great deal of repartee. As the peasantry of +Tuscany enjoy a greater share of _aisance_ than falls to the lot of those +of any other country, and as the females dress with taste and take great +pains to appear smart on all occasions, they resemble rather the +shepherdesses on the Opera stage or those of the fabled Arcadia than +anything in real life. The females too are remarkably industrious and will +work like horses all the week to gain wherewithal to appear smart on +holidays. Their dress is very becoming, and they wear sometimes jewellery +to a large amount on their persons; a very common ornament among them is a +collar of gold around their necks. Their usual head-dress is either a white +straw hat, or a black round beaver hat, with black ostrich feathers. I +prefer the straw hat; it is more tasteful than the round hat which always +seems to me too masculine for a woman. At the inn at _Le Maschere_ we were +waited on by three smart females. The whole road from _Le Maschere_ to +Florence is very beautiful and diversified. Vineyards, gardens, farm houses +and villas thicken as one approaches and when arrived within three miles of +Florence, which lies in a basin surrounded by mountains, one is quite +bewildered at the sight of the quantity of beautiful villas and _maisons de +plaisance_ in every direction. + +Every thing indicates life, industry and comfort in this charming country. +We stopped at a villa belonging to the Grand Duke called _II Pratolino_, +seven miles distant from Florence. Here is to be seen the famous statue +representing the genius of the Appennines. The Villa is unfurnished and out +of repair and the garden and grounds are neglected: it is a great pity, for +it is a fine building and in a beautiful position. The celebrated Bianca +Capello, a Venetian by birth, and mistress of Francesco II de' Medici, +Grand Duke of Tuscany, used to reside here. + + +FLORENCE, 27th August. + +I am extremely well pleased with my accommodations at the hotel where I am +lodged. Mme Hembert, the proprietor, was once _femme de chambre_ to the +Empress Josephine; she is an excellent woman and a very attentive hostess, +and I recommend her hotel to all those travellers who visit Florence and do +not care to incur the expence of Schneider's. There is an excellent and +well served _table d'hote_ at two o'clock, wine at discretion, for which, +and for my bedroom, I pay seven _paoli_ per day. This hotel has the +advantage of being in a very central situation. It is close to the _Piazza +del Gran Duca_, the post-office, the _Palazzo Vecchio_, the Bureaux of +Government, the celebrated Gallery of Sculpture and Painting and to the +Arno. It is only 300 yards from the _Piazza del Duomo_, where the Cathedral +stands, and 600 yards from the principal theatre _Della Pergola_ on the one +side; while on the other side, after crossing the _Ponte Vecchio_, stands +the _Palazzo Pitti_, the residence of the Grand Duke, at a distance of +seven or 800 yards. + +The _Piazza del Gran Duca_ is very striking to the eye of the northern +traveller; the statues of the Gods in white marble in the open air would +make him fancy himself in Athens in the olden time. The following statues +in bronze and white marble are to be seen on this _Piazza_. In bronze are: +a statue of Perseus by Cellini; Judith with the head of Holofernes by +Donatello; David and Goliath; Samson. In white marble are the following +beautiful statues: a group representing Hercules and Cacus; another +representing a Roman carrying off a Sabine woman. The Hercules, who is in +the act of strangling Cacus, rests on one leg. Nearly in the centre of the +_Piazza_, opposite to the post office and in front of the _Palazzo +Vecchio_, is the principal ornament of the _Piazza_, which consists of a +group representing Neptune in his car or conch (or shell) drawn by +sea-horses and accompanied by Tritons. The statue of Neptune is of colossal +size, the whole group is in marble and the conch of Egyptian granite. This +group forms a fountain. There is likewise on this _Piazza_ an immense +equestrian statue in bronze of Cosmo the First by John of Bologna. The +_Palazzo Vecchio_ is a large Gothic building by Arnulpho and has a very +lofty square tower or _campanile_. + +The Gallery of Florence being so close to my abode demanded next my +attention. The building in which this invaluable Museum is preserved forms +three sides of a parallelogram, two long ones and one short one, of which +the side towards the south of the quai of the Arno is the short one. + +On the north is an open space communicating with the _Piazza del Gran +Duca_. The Gallery occupies the whole first floor of this vast building. +The _rez de chaussee_ is occupied, on the west side, by the bureaux of +Government, and on the south and east sides by shopkeepers, in whose shops +is always to be seen a brilliant display of merchandize. As there are +arcades on the three sides of this parallelogram, they form the favorite +meridian promenade of the _belles_ and _beaux_ of Florence, particularly on +Sundays and holidays, after coming out of Church. I ascended the steps from +a door on the east side of the building, to visit the Gallery. + +The quantity and variety of objects of art, of the greatest value, baffle +all description, and it would require months and years to attempt an +analysis of all it contains. I shall therefore content myself with pointing +out those objects which imprinted themselves the most forcibly on my +imagination and recollection. In a chamber on the left hand of one wing of +the Gallery stands the Venus de' Medici, sent back last year from France. +In the same chamber with her are the following statues: the extremely +beautiful _Apollino_; the spotted Faun; the _Remouleur_ or figure which is +in the act of whetting a sickle. All these were in Paris, and are now +restored to this Gallery. In this chamber two pictures struck me in +particular: the one the Venus of Titian, a most voluptuous figure; the +other a portrait of the mistress of Rafaello, called "_La Fornarina_," from +her being a baker's daughter. + +Returning to the Gallery I was quite bewildered at the immense number of +statues, pictures, sarcophagi, busts, altars, etc. Among the pieces of +sculpture those that most caught my attention were: the _Venus genetrix_ +(which I had seen before at Paris); the _Venus victrix_; the _Venus +Anadyomene_; Hercules and Nessus, a superb groupe; a young Bacchus; and an +exquisitely chiselled group representing Pan teaching Olympus to play the +syrinx, tho' the attitude of the former is rather indecorous from not being +in a very quiescent state; a fine statue of Leda with the swan; a Mercury, +both worthy of great attention. I remarked also in particular a statue of +Marsyas attached to a tree and flayed. It is of a pale reddish marble, and +tho' I perfectly agree with Forsyth, that colored marble is not at all +adapted to statuary, yet in this instance it gives a wonderful effect and +is strikingly suitable, as the slight reddish colour gives a full idea of +the flesh after the skin is torn off. It makes one shudder to look at it. +In one of the halls are the statues of Niobe and her daughters, a beautiful +group. Then there is the celebrated copy of the group of the Laocoon by +Bandinelli, which none but the most perfect and skilful connoisseur could +distinguish from the original. But it is totally impossible for me to +describe the immense variety of paintings, historical, portrait and +landscape; the statues single or in groups; the sarcophagi, altars, +bas-reliefs, inscriptions, bronzes, medals, vases, baths, candelabra, +cameos, Etruscan and Egyptian idols with which this admirable Museum is +filled. In a line on each side of the Gallery near the ceiling is a +succession of portraits in chronological order of the Grand Dukes of +Tuscany, the Germanic Emperors, the Kings of France, of England, of Spain, +of Portugal, of the Popes and of the Ottoman Emperors. Among the +antiquities I particularly noticed a large steel mirror and a Roman Eagle +in bronze of the 24th Legion. + +Having passed full four hours in this Museum, I descended the steps, +crossed the Arno and repaired to the building in which is preserved the +_Cabinet d'Histoire Naturelle_. In this Museum what is most remarkable are +the imitations in wax of the whole anatomy of the human body. It is the +first collection of its kind; indeed it is unique in Europe. These +imitations are kept in glass cases and are so true and so perfectly correct +as to leave nothing to desire to the student in anatomy. These imitations +in wax not only include all the details of anatomy, but also the progress +of generation, gestation, and of almost every malady to which the human +body is liable. They are of a frightful exactitude. There are likewise in +this Museum imitations in wax of various plants and shrubs exotic as well +as indigenous and the collection of stuffed birds, beasts and fishes and +that of insects, mineralogy and conchology scarcely yields to the +collection at the _Jardin des Plantes_ at Paris. Neither here nor at the +Florentine gallery are fees allowed to be taken; on the contrary a strict +prohibition of them is posted up in the French, Italian, German and English +languages. + +On the _Ponte Vecchio_ on each side are jewellers' shops, who sell besides +jewellery, cameos and works in mosaic. The Quais on each side of the Arno +are very broad and spacious and form agreeable promenades in the winter +season. The buildings on the banks of the Arno are magnificent. The streets +of Florence have this peculiarity that they are all paved with large flag +stones, which makes them mightily pleasant for pedestrians, but dangerous +at times for horses who are apt to slip. Most of the houses in Florence +have walls of prodigious thickness; one would suppose each house was meant +to be a fortress in case of necessity. + + +FLORENCE, 29th August. + +On the other side of the Arno, a little beyond the _Cabinet Physique_ and +Museum of Natural History stands the _Palazzo Pitti_, the residence of the +Grand Duke. It is a vast building and has a large and choice collection of +pictures; but its finest ornament in my opinion is the statue of Venus by +Canova, which to me at least appears to equal the Medicean Venus in beauty +and in grace. The magnificent and spacious garden belonging to the Palace +is called the garden of Boboli. These gardens form the grand promenade of +the Florentines on Sundays and holidays. The alleys are well shaded by +trees, which effectually protect the promenaders from the rays of the sun. +There are a great many statues in this garden, but the most striking is a +group which lies nearly in the centre of the garden. It is environed by a +large circular basin or lake lined with stone and planted with orange trees +on the whole circumference. In the centre of the lake is a rock and on this +rock is a colossal statue in white marble of Neptune in his car. The car is +in the shape of a marine conch and serves as a basin and fountain at the +same time. There are several other fountains and _jets d'eau_, among which +is a group representing Adam and Eve and the statue of a man pouring out +water from a vase which he has on his shoulder. + +The _Corso_ or grand evening promenade for carriages and equestrians is on +a place called the Cascino, pronounced by the Florentines _Hascino_. The +Cascino consists of pleasure grounds on the banks of the Arno outside the +town, laid out in roads, alleys and walks for carriages, equestrians and +pedestrians. There is a very brilliant display of carriages every evening. +There are _restaurants_ on the Cascino and supper parties are often formed +here. This place is often the scene of curious adventures. Cicisbeism is +universal at Florence, tho' far from being always criminal, as is generally +supposed by foreigners. I find the Florentine women very graceful and many +very handsome; but in point of beauty the female peasantry far exceed the +_noblesse_ and burghers. All of them however dress with taste. The +handsomest woman in Florence is the wife of an apothecary who lives in the +_Piazza del Duomo_ and she has a host of admirers. + +On the promenade _lungo l'Arno_ near the Cascino is a fountain with a +statue of Pegasus, with an inscription in Italian verse purporting that +Pegasus having stopped there one day to refresh himself at this fountain, +found the place so pleasant that he remained there ever since. This is a +poetic nation _par excellence_. _Affiches_ are announced in sonnets and +other metres; and tho' in other countries the votaries of the Muses are but +too apt to neglect the ordinary and vulgar concerns of life, yet here it by +no means diminishes industry, and the nine Ladies are on the best possible +terms with Mr Mercury. + +I shall not attempt a description of the various _palazzi_ and churches of +Florence, tho' I have visited, thanks to the zeal and importunity of my +_cicerone_, nearly all, except to remark that no one church in Florence, +the Cathedral and Baptistery on the _Piazza del Duomo_ excepted, has its +facade finished, and they will remain probably for ever unfinished, as the +completion of them would cost very large sums of money, and the restored +Government, however anxious to resuscitate the _ancient faith_, are not +inclined to make large disbursements from their own resources for that +purpose. I wish however they would finish the facade of two of these +churches, viz., that of _Santa Maria Novella_ and that of _Santa Croce_. +_Santa Maria Novella_ stands in the Piazza of that name which is very +large. It is a beautiful edifice, and can boast in the interior of it +several columns and pilasters of _jaune antique_ and of white marble. But +they have a most barbarous custom in Florence of covering these columns +with red cloth on _jours de Fete_, which spoils the elegant simplicity of +the columns and makes the church itself resemble a _theatre des +Marionnettes_. But the Italians are dreadfully fond of gaudy colours. In +the church of _Santa Croce_ what most engaged my attention was the monument +erected to Vittorio Alfieri, sculptured by Canova. It is a most beautiful +piece of sculpture. A figure of Italy crowned with turrets seems fully +sensible of the great loss she has sustained in one who was so ardent a +patriot, as well as an excellent tragic poet. This monument was erected at +the expence of the Countess of Albany (Queen of England, had _legitimacy_ +always prevailed, or been as much in fashion as it now is) as a mark of +esteem and affection towards one who was so tenderly attached to her, and +of whom in his writings Alfieri speaks with the endearing and affectionate +appellation of _mia Donna_. The beautiful sonnet to her, which accompanies +the dedication of his tragedy of _Mirra_, well deserves the monument; there +is so much feeling in it that I cannot retrain from transcribing it: + + Vergognando talor, che ancor si taccia, + Donna, per me l'almo tuo nome in fronte + Di queste omai gla troppe a te ben conte + Tragedie, ond'io di folle avrommi taccia; + + Or vo' qual d'esse meno a te dispiaccia + Di te fregiar; benche di tutte il fonte + Tu sola fosti, e'l viver mio non conte + Se non dal Di, ch'al viver tuo si allaccia. + + Della figlia di Ciniro infelice + L'orrendo a un tempo ed innocente amore + Sempre da' tuoi begli occhi il planto elice; + + Prova emmi questo, ch'al mio dubbio core + Tacitamente imperiosa dice, + Ch'io di Mirra consacri a te il dolore. + +In this sanctuary (church of the _Santa Croce_) are likewise the tombs and +monuments of other great men which Italy has produced. There is the +monument erected to Galileo which represents the earth turning round the +sun with the emphatic words: _Eppur si muove._ Here too repose the ashes of +Machiavelli and Michel Angelo. This church is in fact the Westminster Abbey +of Florence. + +To go from the _Piazza del gran Duca_ to the _Piazza del Duomo_, where +stands the Cathedral, you have only to pass thro' a long narrow street or +rather alley (for it is impervious to carriages) with shops on each side +and always filled with people going to or returning from the Duomo. This +Cathedral is of immense size. The architecture is singular from its being a +mixture of the Gothic and Greek. It appears the most ponderous load that +ever was laid on the shoulders of poor mother earth. There is nothing light +in its structure to relieve the massiveness of the building, and in this +respect it forms a striking contrast to the Cathedral of Milan which +appears the work of Sylphs. The outside of this Duomo of Florence is +decorated and incrusted with black and white marble, which increases the +massiveness of its appearance. The steeple or Campanile stands by itself, +altogether separate from the Cathedral, and this is the case with most of +the Churches in Italy that are not of pure Gothic architecture. This +_Campanile_ is curiously inlaid and incrusted on its outside with red, +white and black marble. The Baptistery is another building on the same +_Piazza_. It is in the same stile of building as the Duomo, but incloses +much less space, and was formerly a separate church, called the church of +St John the Baptist. The immense bronze doors or rather gates, both of the +Duomo and Battisterio, attracted my peculiar notice. On them are figured +bas-reliefs of exquisite and admirable workmanship, representing Scripture +histories. It was the symmetry and perfection of these gates that induced +Michel Angelo to call them in a fit of enthusiasm _The Gates of Paradise_. +At the door of the Battisterio are the columns in red granite, which once +adorned the gates of the city at Pisa, and were carried off by the +Florentines in one of their wars. Chains are fastened round these columns, +as a memorial of the conquest. The cupolas both of the Duomo and +Battisterio are octangular. There is a stone seat on the _Piazza del Duomo_ +where they pretend that Dante used occasionally to sit; hence it is called +to this day _Il Sasso di Dante_. + +You will now no doubt expect me to give some account of the theatres. At +the _Pergola_, which is a large and splendid theatre, I have seen two +operas; the one, _L'Italiana in Algieri_, which I saw before at Milan last +year; the other, the _Barbieri di Seviglia_ by Rossini, which afforded to +my ears the most delightful musical feast they ever enjoyed. The cavatina +_Una voce poco fa_ gave me inconceivable delight. The _Ballo_ was of a very +splendid description and from a subject taken from the Oriental history +entitled _Macbet Sultan of Delhi_. How the Mogul Sultan came to have the +name of Macbet I know not. On the _plafond_ of the _Pergola_ is an +allegorical painting representing the restored Kings of Europe replaced on +their thrones by Valor and Justice. The decorations at this theatre are not +quite so splendid as those of the _Scala_ at Milan, but living horses and +military evolutions seem to be annexed to every historical _Ballo_. Horses +indeed appear to be an indispensable ingredient in the _Balli_ in the large +cities of Italy. + +In the _Teatro Cocomera_, comedies are performed, and very generally those +of the inexhaustible Goldoni. I saw the _Bugiardo_ very fairly performed at +this theatre. The story is nearly the same as that of our piece, _The +Liar_, which is I believe imitated from _Le Menteur_ of Corneille. The +actor who did the Liar was a very good one. The actresses screamed too much +and were rather coarse. Another night at the theatre I saw a piece call'd +_II furioso_, a _comedie larmoyante_ which was interesting and well given; +but the voice of the prompter was occasionally too loud. Tragedies are very +seldom played; the language of Alfieri could never, I will not say be given +with effect, but even conceived by the modern actors. It would be like a +tragedy of Sophocles performed by boys at school. There is another reason +too why these tragedies are not given; they abound too much in republican +and patriotic sentiments to be grateful to the ears of the Princes who +reign in Italy, all of whom being of foreign extraction and unshackled by +constitutions, come under the denomination of those beings called by Greeks +[Greek: Turannoi], I use this word in its Greek sense. Of the Tuscan +Government it is but justice to say that from the days of Leopold to the +present day it was and is a mild, just and paternal government, more so +perhaps than any in Europe; and the only one that can any way reconcile one +altogether to those lines of Pope: + + For forms of Government let fools contest; + Whate'er is best administer'd is best.[83] + +In the time of Leopold the factious nobility were kept in check, and the +industrious classes, mercantile and agricultural, encouraged. The peasantry +were, and are, the most affluent in Europe; and this is no small incitement +to the industry that prevails. On the elevation of Leopold to the throne of +the Caesars, the present Grand Duke succeeded in Tuscany; and he followed +the same system that Leopold did, and was equally beloved by his subjects. +Tuscany was the only country in Italy that did not desire a change at the +period of the French conquest, and the only state wherein the French were +not hailed as deliverers. The Tuscans exhibited a very honorable spirit on +the occasion of Buonaparte's visit to the Grand Duke in 1797. They went +together to the Theatre della Pergola, and on their entering into the Grand +Ducal box, the Grand Duke was hailed with cries of _Viva il Nostro +Sovrano_: now this proof of attachment at a period when Buonaparte was +all-mighty in Italy, when the Grand Duke was but an inferior personage, at +a time too when it was doubtful whether or not he would be dethroned, and +in the very presence of the mighty conqueror, reflects great honor and +credit on the Tuscan character. Buonaparte was much struck at this proof of +disinterested attachment on the part of the Florentines towards their +Sovereign, and told the Grand Duke very ingenuously that he had received +orders to revolutionize the country, from the French Directory; but that as +he perceived the people were so happy, and the Prince so beloved, he could +not and would not attempt to make any change. + +The applause given to the Grand Duke at this critical period is so much the +more creditable to the Florentines as they in general receive their Prince, +on his presenting himself at the theatre, with no other ceremonial than +rising once and bowing. There is no fulsome _God save the King_ repeated +even to nausea, as at the English theatres. In fact none of the Italians +pay that servile adulation to their Sovereigns that the French and English +do. + +The changes projected in Italy at the treaty of Luneville by Napoleon then +first Consul, and his further views on Italy, induced him at length to +eject an Austrian Prince from the sovereignty of a country which he +intended to annex to the French Empire. The Grand Duke was indemnified with +a principality in Germany, where he remained until the downfall of Napoleon +in 1814; subsequent arrangements again restored him to the sway of the land +he loved so well, and he returned to Florence as if he had only been absent +on a tour, finding scarcely any change in the laws and customs and habits +of the country; for tho' Tuscany was first erected into a Kingdom by the +title of Etruria, and afterwards annexed to the French Empire, the +institutions and laws laid down by Leopold and followed strictly by his +successor were preserved; very little innovation took place, and the few +innovations that were effected were decided ameliorations; for the Emperor +Napoleon had too much tact not to preserve and protect the good he found, +tho' he abolished all old abuses. The improvements introduced by the French +have been preserved and confirmed by the Grand Duke on his return, for he +is a man of too much good sense, and has too much love of justice, to think +of abolishing the good that has been done, merely because it was done by +the French. Tuscany has now a respectable military force of 8,000 men well +armed, clothed and equipped in the French manner. + +Tuscany is the only part of Italy where the downfall of Napoleon was not +regretted; the inhabitants of Leghorn indeed rejoiced at it, for the +commerce of Tuscany being chiefly maritime, Leghorn suffered a good deal +from the continental system. Leghorn in fact decayed in the same proportion +that Milan and other inland cities rose into opulence. + +The character of the Tuscan people is so amiable and pacific that crime is +very rare indeed. Murder is almost unknown and the punishment of death is +banished from the penal code. Where the government is good, the people are +or soon become good. I know of no country in the world more agreeable for a +foreigner to settle in than Tuscany. + +I omitted to remark that in the street called _Borgo d'Ognissanti_ is a +large house or _palazzo_ which belonged to Americo Vespucci. His bust is to +be seen in the Florentine Gallery. It is curious to remark the different +appellations given to the word _street_ in the different cities of Italy. +In Milan a street is called _vico_ and in Turin, _contrada_; in Florence +_strada_ and in Rome, I understand, _via_. + + +FLORENCE, 1st Sept. + +I shall start in a day or two for Rome, being very impatient to behold the +Eternal City, a plan which I have had in view from my earliest days and +which I have not been able hitherto to effect; for like the Abbe Delille I +had sworn to visit the sacred spot where so many illustrious men had spoke +and acted, and to do hommage in person to their Manes. I was always a great +admirer of the "_Popolo Re_." + +In Florence there are a great many literary societies such as the +_Infuocati, Immobili_, and the far renowned _La Crusca_. + +Frequent _Academies_, for so a sitting of a litterary society in Italy is +termed, are held in Florence. There are likewise two Casinos, one for the +nobility and the other for the merchants and burghers; the wives and +daughters of the members attend occasionally; and cards, music and dancing +are the amusements. Florence abounds in artists in alabaster whose +workmanship is beautiful. They make models in alabaster of the most +celebrated pieces of sculpture and architecture, on any scale you chuse: +they fabricate busts too and vases in alabaster. The vases made in +imitation of the ancient Greek vases are magnificent, and some of them are +of immense size. Foreigners generally chuse to have their busts taken; for +almost all foreigners who arrive here are or pretend to be smitten with an +ardent love for the fine arts, and every one wishes to take with him models +of the fine things he has seen in Italy, on his return to his native +country. Here are English travellers who at home would scarcely be able to +distinguish the finest piece of ancient sculpture--the Mercury, for +instance, in the Florentine Gallery, from a Mercury in a citizen's garden +at Highgate--who here affect to be in extacies at the sight of the Venus, +Apollino, &c., and they are fond of retailing on all occasions the terms of +art and connoisseurship they have learned by rote, in the use of which they +make sometimes ridiculous mistakes. For instance I heard an Englishman one +day holding forth on the merits of the Vierge _quisouse_, as he called it. +I could not for some time divine what he meant by the word _quisouse_, but +after some explanation I found that he meant the celebrated painting of the +_Vierge qui coud_, or _Vierge couseuse_, as it is sometimes called, which +latter word he had transformed into _quisouse_. This affectation, however, +of passion for the _belle arti_, tho' sometimes open to ridicule, is very +useful. It generates taste, encourages artists, and is surely a more +innocent as well as more rational mode of spending money and passing time +than in encouraging pugilism or in racing, coach driving and cock fighting. + + +[83] Pope, _Essay on Man_, ep. III, 303-4.--ED. + + + + +CHAPTER X + +Journey from Florence to Rome--Sienna--Radicofani--Bolsena--Montefiascone +wine--Viterbo--Baccano--The Roman Campagna--The papal _douane_--Monuments +and Museums in Rome--Intolerance of the Catholic Christians--The Tiber and +the bridges--Character of the Romans--The _Palassi_ and _Ville_--Canova's +atelier--Theatricals--An execution in Rome. + + +September----, 1816. + +I made an agreement with a _vetturino_ to take me to Rome for three _louis +d'or_ and to be _spesato_. In the carriage were two other passengers, viz., +a Neapolitan lady, the wife of a Colonel in the Neapolitan service, and a +young Roman, the son of the _Barigello_ or _Capo degli Sbirri_ at Rome. We +issued from the _Porta Romana_ at 6 o'clock a.m. the 3d September. + +The road winds thro' a valley, and has a gentle ascent nearly the whole way +to Poggibonsi, where we brought to the first night. The soil hereabouts is +far from fertile, but every inch of it is put to profit. The olive tree is +very frequent and several farms and villages are to be met with. The next +day we arrived at 12 o'clock at Sienna. The approach to Sienna is announced +by a quantity of olive trees. The situation of this city being on an +elevation, makes it cold and bleak. We remained here three hours, so that I +had time to visit some of the places worthy of remark in this venerable +city, which is handsome and very solidly built, but has rather a sombre +appearance. The _Piazza Grande_ lies in a bottom to which you descend from +the environing streets. It is in the shape of a mussel shell and of very +large size. The Cathedral is Gothic and is a very majestic and venerable +building. Inside it is of black and yellow marble. The pavement of this +church contains Scripture histories in mosaic. A library is annexed to the +church. The librarian pointed out to me 80 folio volumes of church music +with illuminated plates; likewise an ancient piece of sculpture much +mutilated, viz., a group of the three Graces. In one of the chapels of this +Cathedral are eight columns of _verd-antique_. I observed a monument of the +Piccolomini family who belong to this city; one of which family figured a +good deal in the Thirty Years' War in Germany. I saw several women in the +Cathedral and at the windows of the houses. The greater part of them were +handsome. The Italian language is spoken here in its greatest purity; it is +the pure Tuscan dialect without the Tuscan aspiration. The Siennese +language is in fact the identical _lingua Toscana in bocca Romana_. + +We arrived the same evening at Buon Convento, an old dismal dirty-looking +town formerly fortified; but the country in the environs is pleasing +enough. The inn here is very bad. On the road between Sienna and this place +I observed a number of mulberry trees. + +The next morning, the 5th Sept., we arrived at Radicofani or rather at an +inn or post house facing Radicofani. This is a very ancient city, and from +its being on an eminence it has an imposing appearance. Above it towers an +immense conical shaped mountain, evidently a volcano in former times. In +fact, the whole country hereabouts is volcanic, which is plainly seen from +the immense masses of calcined stones, the exhalations of sulphur and the +dreary wild appearance of the country, where scarce a tree is to be seen. I +never in my life saw so many calcined rocks and stones of great magnitude +heaped together as at Radicofani. It gave the idea as if it were the +identical field of battle between Jupiter and the Titans, and as if the +masses of rock that everywhere meet the eye had been hurled at the Empyreum +by the Titans and had fallen back on the spot from whence they were torn +up. It is indeed very probable that this volcano which vomited forth rocks +and stones in a very remote age, gave rise to the Fable of the war between +Jupiter and the Giants; just as the volcanos in Sicily and Stromboli gave +rise to the story of the Cyclops with one eye (the crater) in their +forehead. But the mountain of Radicofani must have been a volcano anterior +even to Aetna; it presents the image of an ancient world destroyed by fire. + +At Ponte Centino the next morning we took our leave of + + _La patria bella + Di vaghe Donne e di dolce favella;_ + +in plain prose, we left the Tuscan territory, and re-entered the dominions +of His Holiness. After being detained half an hour at the _Douane_, we +proceeded to Acquapendente to breakfast. The country between Radicofani and +Acquapendente is dreary, thinly populated, little cultivated, and volcanic +steams of sulphur assail the nostrils. Before we arrived at Acquapendente +we had a troublesome river to cross, which at times is nearly dry, and at +other times the water comes down in torrents from the surrounding mountains +and precipices, so as to render its passage extremely dangerous. It is +always necessary previous to the passage of a carriage, to send on a man to +ford and sound it, from its meandering and forming different beds crossed +seven times, twice less than Styx _novies interfusa_, and it is a very slow +operation from the number of rocks and quicksands; so that, should the +torrent come down while you are in the act of crossing, you and your whole +equipage would be swept away by the stream and drowned or dashed to pieces. +Travellers going to and returning from Rome are frequently detained for a +day or two at Ponte Centino or Acquapendente during the rainy season; for +immediately after heavy rains, there is always a great risk and it is +better to halt for several hours to allow the waters to pass off. The +extent of ground that this river covers by its meandering and forming so +many beds nearly parallel to each other renders it impossible to construct +a bridge long enough; and it would be always liable to be swept away by the +torrent. Nobody ever thinks of crossing the river in the dark. There having +no rain fallen for several days we passed it without difficulty. + +Within a mile of Acquapendente the landscape varies and the approach to +this town is exceedingly picturesque. Acquapendente is situated on a lofty +eminence from which several magnificent cascades descend into the ravine +below and which give the name to the town. There are a great number of +trees about this town and they afford a great relief to the eye of the +traveller after so many hours' journey thro' volcanic wastes. The town of +Acquapendente is very ancient; it is very large, but ill-paved and dirty; +the best buildings in it are, however, modern. The inhabitants appear lazy +and dirty. On entering into conversation with some soldiers belonging to +the Papal army, who were stationed at this place, I found that most of them +had served under Napoleon. They spoke of him with tears of affection in +their eyes, and I pleased them much by reciprocating their opinions of that +great man. To speak well of Napoleon is the surest passport to civility and +good treatment on the part of the soldiers and _douaniers_. + +In the evening we arrived at Bolsena, the ancient Volsinium, a city of the +Volscians. It is an ancient looking town, not very clean, and inhabited by +indolent people. It is situated on the banks of a large lake, on which +there are three small islands. It is very aguish and unhealthy, and the +inhabitants appear sickly, with marvellous sallow complexions. The inn +where we put up was a pretty good one, and as this lake abounds in fish, we +had some excellent trout and pike for supper; among other dishes there was +one that was very gratifying to me, an old East and West Indian; and that +was the _Peveroni_ or large red and green peppers or capsicums fried in +oil. Some excellent Orvieto wine crowned our repast, and helped to restore +us from our fatigues. + +On leaving Bolsena the next morning, the 7th, and within a very short +distance from that town we entered a thick and venerable forest, thro' +which the road runs for several miles. Fine old trees of immense height +covered with foliage and thickly studded together give to this forest an +aweful and romantic appearance. It is quite a _lucus opaca ingens_. This +forest has been held sacred since the earliest times and is even now held +in such superstitious veneration by the people that they do not allow it to +be cut. The Dryads and Hamadryads have no doubt long ago taken their +flight, but the wood, from its length and opaqueness, inspired me with some +apprehension lest it might be the abode of some modern votaries of Mercury, +people having confused ideas of _meum_ and _tuum_, and the _appropriative +faculty_ too strongly developed in their organization, and I expected every +moment to hear a shot and the terrible cry of _ferma_; but we met with no +accident nor did we fall in with a living soul. On issuing from this forest +we perceived on an eminence before us, at a short distance, the town of +Montefiascone. We stopped there as almost all travellers do to taste the +famous Montefiascone wine or _Est_ wine, as it is frequently called. This +wine is fine flavored, _petillant_ and wonderfully exhilarating. It is +renowned for having occasioned the death of a German prelate in the +sixteenth century, who was travelling in Italy and who was remarkably fond +of good wine. The story is as follows. He was accustomed to send on his +servant to the different towns thro' which he was to pass with directions, +to taste and report on the quality of the different wines to be found +there, and if they were good to mark the word _Est_ on the casks from which +he tasted them. The servant, on arrival at Montefiascone, was highly +pleased with the flavour of the wine, of which there were three casks at +the inn where they put up. He accordingly wrote the word _Est_ on each of +the casks. The Bishop arrived soon after and took such a liking to this +wine that he died in a few days of a fever brought on by continual +intoxication. He was buried in one of the churches at Montefiascone and the +monks of the Convent there, themselves _bons-vivans_, determined to give +him a suitable epitaph. They accordingly caused to be engraved on his tomb +the following Latin inscription commemorative of the event: _Est, Est, Est, +propter nimium Est, Dominus Episcopus mortuus_ EST. From the above +circumstance this wine is called _Vino d'Est_, and it affords no small +revenue to the proprietor of the _cabaret_ on the road side who sells it. + +We arrived at Viterbo to breakfast and at Ronciglione in the evening. +Viterbo is a large and handsome city and contains several striking +buildings. It is paved with lava and contains a great variety of fountains. +There is some appearance of commerce and industry in this town and there +are several _maisons de plaisance_ in the neighbourhood. From Viterbo, +thro' Monterosi, to Ronciglione the road lies over a mountain of steep +ascent; here and there are patches of forest. There is not a house to be +seen on this route and from there being a good deal of wood, and no +appearance of cultivation, one fancies oneself rather in the wilds of a new +country like America, than in so old a one as Italy. + +Ronciglione is an old rubbishing town half in ruins and contains no one +thing remarkable. + +The next morning at four o'clock we started from Ronciglione and reached +Baccano to breakfast. + +Baccano contains only two buildings; but they are both very large and +roomy; the one is the inn, and the other serves as a barrack for the +Military. There is always a strong military detachment here for the +security of the road against robbers, who occasionally infest this +neighbourhood. The inn is of immense size. Travellers, who arrive here +late, would do well to halt here the whole night, as not only the road is +dangerous on account of robbers, but because if they arrive at Rome after +five o'clock p.m., they cannot release their baggage and carriage from the +Custom house till next day. Every carriage public or private that arrives +in Rome is bound, unless a special permission to the contrary be obtained +from the Government, to drive direct to the Custom house (_Dogana_). In the +like manner, on travelling from Rome to Florence, people generally prefer +to start from Rome at twelve o'clock and bring to the night at Baccano, so +as to avoid the bad inn at Ronciglione and sleep in preference at Viterbo. +I here speak only of those who travel by short stages as the _vetturini_ +do. + +Ariosto has given a celebrity to this wretched place Baccano in his poem of +the _Orlando Furioso_, in the story of Giocondo in the 28th Canto, as being +the identical place where Fausto, the brother of Giocondo, remained to +await the return of his brother from Rome, to which place he had gone back, +when half way between Baccano and Rome, to fetch the _monile_ which he had +left behind him, and found his wife not _alone_ and _dying with grief_ as +he apprehended, but _sotto la coltre_ with a servant of the family. + +The country between Baccano and Rome is as unpleasing and even worse than +that between the former place and Ronciglione. It is hilly, but not a tree, +nor a house, nor a sign of cultivation to be seen except the two or three +wretched hovels at La Storta. There is nothing at all that announces the +approach to a capital city; and in addition to the dismal landscape there +is a sight still more dismal that salutes the eye of the traveller at +intervals of two or three miles and which does not tend to inspire pleasing +ideas; and this is the sight of arms and legs of malefactors and murderers +suspended on large poles on the road side; for it is the custom here to cut +off the arms and legs of murderers after decapitation, and to suspend them +_in terrorem_ on poles, erected on the very spot where they committed the +murder. The sight of these limbs dangling in the wind is not a very +comfortable one towards the close of the evening. + +We left the _Sepolero di Nerone_, an ancient tomb so called, on the right +of our road and half a mile beyond it crossed the Tiber at the _Ponte Molle +(Pons Milvius)_, where there is a gate, bridge and military post. From this +post to the _Porta del Popolo_, the entrance into the city for those coming +from the North, the distance is one mile; there is a white wall on each +side of the road the whole way, and some farm houses and villas. Near the +_Ponte Molle_ is the field of battle where Maxentius was defeated by +Constantine. + +We entered the _Porta del Popolo_, crossed the _Piazza_ of the same name, +where three streets present themselves to view. In the centre is the street +called the _Corso_, running in a direct line from the _Porta_ across the +_Piazza_. We drove along the _Corso_ till we arrived at a _Piazza_ on our +right hand, which _Piazza_ is called _della Colonna_ from the Column of +Antoninus, which stands on it. We then crossed the _Piazza_ which is very +large and soon reached the _Dogana_ or Custom house, formerly the temple of +Antoninus Pius, where vile modern walls are built to fill up the intervals +between eleven columns of Grecian marble. Here our baggage underwent a +rigorous research; this rigour is not so much directed against the +fraudulent introduction of contraband or duty-bearing merchandise, as +against _books_, which undergo a severe scrutiny. Against Voltaire and +Rousseau implacable war is waged, and their works are immediately +confiscated. Other authors too are sometimes examined, to see whether they +contain anything against Mother Church. As the people employed in +inspecting books are not much versed in any litterature or language but +their own, except perhaps a little French, it is not easy for them to find +out the contents of books in other languages. I had Schiller's works with +me, a volume of which one of the _douaniers_ took up and looked at; on +seeing the Gothic letter he seemed as much astonished as if he had got hold +of a book of _Cabbala_ or _Magic_. He detained the whole work, but it was +sent to me the next day, on my declaring that there was nothing damnable or +heretical in it; for there was no person belonging to the department who +could read German. When the _douaniers_ proceeded to the examination of the +books belonging to one of my fellow travellers, the Neapolitan lady, she +expressed great repugnance to the procedure; the _douaniers_ however +insisted and, behold! there were several _livres galants_ with plates +somewhat _lubriques_, the discovery of which excited blushes on her part +and considerable laughter on the part of the byestanders. These books, +however, not being contraband, were immediately returned to her, as was an +edition of Baffo, belonging to my other fellow traveller, returned to him. +Now this Baffo was a Venetian poet and his works are the most profligate +that ever were penned or imagined by mortal man. Martial and Petronius +Arbiter must hide their diminished heads before Baffo. The owner of this +book chose to read out loud, quite unsolicited, several _choice_ sonnets of +this poet for our edification during the journey; and this branch of +litterature seemed to be the only one with which he was acquainted. + +When the examination was over I took leave of my fellow travellers, and +repaired to the _German Hotel_ in the _Via de' Condotti_, where I engaged +an apartment, and sat down to dinner at an excellent _table d'hote_ at five +o'clock. There was a profusion of everything, particularly of fish and +game. Mullets and wild boar are constant dishes at a Roman table. The +mullets at Rome are small but delicious, and this was a fish highly prized +by the ancient Romans. Game of all kinds is very cheap here, from the +abundance of it that is to be met with in wild uninhabited wastes of Latium +and in the Pontine marshes. Every peasant is a sportsman and goes +constantly armed with fire-arms, not only to kill game, but to defend +himself against robbers, who infest the environs of Rome, and who sometimes +carry their audacity so far as to push their _reconnaissances_ close to the +very walls of the city. At the _German Hotel_ the price of the dinner at +_table d'hote_, including wine at discretion, is six _paoli_, about three +franks. I pay for an excellent room about three _paoli_ per diem and my +breakfast at a neighbouring _Caffe_ costs me one _paolo_. A _paolo_ is +worth about five pence English. There are ten _paoli_ to a _scudo Romano_ +and ten _bafocchi_ to a _paolo_, The _bafocco_ is a copper coin. + + +ROME, 12th Sept. + +A great number of Germans dine at the _table d'hote_ of Franz's hotel. +Among them I distinguished one day a very intelligent Bavarian Jew. I +proposed to him a walk to the Coliseum the following morning, as +independent of the benefit I derived from his conversation I was curious to +see whether it was true or not that the Jews always avoided walking under +the Arch of Titus, which was erected in commemoration of the capture of +Jerusalem by the Romans under Titus, in the reign of Vespasian. On stepping +out of the _Hotel Allemand_, the first thing that met my eye was the +identical beggar described by Kotzebue in his travels in Italy, and he +gives the very same answer now as then to those who give him nothing, viz., +_Pazienza_. + +We crossed the _Piazza di Spagna_, ascended the superb flight of steps of +the _Trinita de' Monti_, where there is a French church called the Church +of St Louis: near it is the _Villa Medici_, which is the seat of the French +Academy of the fine arts at Rome. We then filed along the _Strada Felice_ +till we arrived at the church of _Santa Maria maggiore_, a superb edifice, +the third church in Rome in celebrity, and the second in magnificence. An +immense Egyptian Obelisk stands before it. We then, turning a little to the +right, made the best of our way to the Coliseum where we remained nearly +two hours. I had figured to myself the grandest ideas of this stupendous +building, but the aspect of it far exceeded the sketch even of my +imagination. In Egypt I have seen the Pyramids, but even these vast masses +did not make such an impression on me as the Coliseum has done. I am so +unequal to the task of description that I shall not attempt it; I will give +you however its dimensions which my friend the Jew measured. It is an +ellipse of which the transverse axis is 580 feet in length and its +conjugate diameter 480; but it is not so much the length and breadth as the +solidity of this building that strikes the traveller with astonishment. The +arcaded passage or gallery (on the _rez de chaussee_ between the interior +and the exterior wall), which has a vaulted roof over which the seats are +built, is broad enough to admit three carriages abreast: and the walls on +each side of this gallery are at least twenty feet thick. What a +magnificent spectacle it must have been in the time of the ancient Romans, +when it was ornamented, gilded, and full of spectators, of which it could +contain, it is said, 86,000! The Coliseum has been despoiled by various +Popes and Cardinals to furnish stone and marble to build their palaces; +otherwise, so solid is the building, Time alone would never suffice to +destroy it. At present strict orders are given and sentries are posted to +prevent all further dilapidations, and buttresses have been made to prop up +those parts which had given way. What a pity it is that the Arena has not +been left empty, instead of being fitted up with tawdry niches and images +representing the different stations of the Crucifixion! In the centre is an +immense Cross, which whoever kisses is entitled to one hundred days +indulgence. To what reflections the sight of this vast edifice leads! What +combats of gladiators and wild beasts! What blood has been spilled! Was it +not here that the tyrannical and cowardly Domitian ordered Ulpius Glabrio, +of consular dignity, to descend into the arena and fight with a lion? The +Christian writers mention that many of their sect suffered martyrdom here +by being compelled to fight with wild beasts; but even this was not half so +bad as the conduct of the Christians, when they obtained possession of +political power and dominion, in burning alive poor Jews, Moors and +heretics some centuries afterwards. Indeed the cruelty of the Pagans was +much exaggerated by the above writers and were it even true to its full +extent, their severity was far more excusable than that of the Christians +in later times, for the efforts of the Christian sect in the times of +Paganism were unceasingly directed towards the destruction of the whole +fabric of polytheism, on which was based the entire, social and political +order of the Empire; and they thus brought on themselves perhaps merited +persecution, by their own intolerance; whereas, when they got the upper +hand, they showed no mercy to those of a different religion, and Orthodoxy +has wallowed successively in the blood of Arians, Jews, Moors and +Protestants. + +How many a poor Jew or Moor in Spain and Portugal has been burned alive for +no other reason than + + _Pour n'avoir point quitte la foi de leurs ancetres._ + +No, no; no sect or religion was ever so persecuting as the Catholic +Christians! The Polytheists of all times, both ancient and modern, were +tolerant to all religions and so far from striving to make proselytes, +often adopted the ceremonies of other worships in addition to their own; +witness the Egyptians, Greeks and Romans of old, and the Hindoos and +Chinese of the present day. The Jews, ferocious and prejudiced as they +were, never persecuted other nations on the ground of religion, and if they +held these nations in abhorrence as idolaters, and considered themselves +alone as the holy people, the people of God (Yahoudi), they never dreamed +of making converts. The Mussulmans tho' they hold it as a sacred precept of +their religion to endeavour to make converts to Islam, do not use violent +means and only compel those of a different faith to pay a higher tribute. +At any rate, they never have or do put people to death merely for the +difference of religious opinions. Such were the reflections I made on +walking about the Arena of this colossal edifice so worthy of the _popolo +Re_. + +On leaving the Coliseum the first thing that meets the eye is the Arch of +Constantine, under which the Roman triumphal and ovationary processions +moved towards the Capitol. The Arch of Constantine stands just outside the +Coliseum. It is of immense size and extremely well preserved. The ground on +which it stands being much filled up and only half of the Arch appearing, +the rest remaining buried in the earth, it was judged adviseable to +excavate all around it in order to come to the pedestal; so that now there +is a walled enclosure all around it and into this enclosure it is a descent +of at least eighteen feet from the ground outside. Several statues of +captive Kings and bas-reliefs representing the victories of Constantine +adorn the facade of this triumphal arch. The inscriptions are perfect, and +the letters were formerly filled up with bronze; but these have been taken +out at the repeated sackings that poor Rome has undergone from friend and +foe. At a short distance from the Arch of Constantine is the Arch of Titus, +under which we moved along on our road towards the Capitol and my friend +the Jew was too much of a cosmopolite to feel the smallest repugnance at +walking under the Arch. Our conversation then turned on the absurd hatred +and prejudice that existed between Christians and Jews; he was very liberal +on this subject and in speaking of Jesus Christ he said: "Jesus Christ was +a Jew and a real philosopher and was therefore persecuted, for his +philosophy interfered too much with, and tended to shake the political +fabric of the Jewish constitution and to subvert our old customs and +usages: for this reason he was put to death. I seek not to defend or +palliate the injustice of the act or the barbarity with which he was +treated; but our nation did surely no more than any other nation ancient or +modern has done or would still do against reformers and innovators." + +The Arch of Titus is completely defaced outside, but in the interior of the +Arch, on each side, is a bas relief: the one representing Vespasian's +triumph over the Jews, and the Emperor himself in a car drawn by six +horses; the other represents the soldiers and followers of the triumph, +bearing the spoils of the conquered nation, and among them the famous +candlesticks that adorned the temple of Jerusalem are very conspicuous. +These figures are in tolerable preservation, only that the Emperor has lost +his head and one of the soldiers has absconded. + +On issuing from the Arch of Titus we found ourselves in the Forum, now the +_Campo Vaccino_: so that cattle now low where statesmen and orators +harangued, and lazy priests in procession tread on the sacred dust of +heroes. + + Ou des pretres heureux foulent d'un pied tranquille + Les tombeaux des Catons et les cendres d'Emile. + +So sings Voltaire, I believe, or if they are not his lines, they are the +Abbe Delille's.[84] + +The imagination is quite bewildered here from the variety of ancient +monuments that meet the eye in every direction. What vast souvenirs crowd +all at once on the mind! Look all around! the _Via Sacra_, the Arch of +Severus, and the Capitol in front; on one side of you, the temple of Peace, +that of Faustina and that of the Sun and Moon: on the other the remaining +three columns of the temple of Jupiter Stator; the three also of the temple +of Jupiter Tonans; the eight columns of the temple of Concord; and the +solitary column of Phocas. At a short distance the temple of Castor and +Pollux and that of Romulus and Remus, which is a round building of great +antiquity, whose rusticity forms a striking contrast with the elegance of +the colonnaded temples, and which was evidently built before the conquest +of Greece by the Romans and the consequent introduction of the fine arts +and of the Grecian orders of architecture. + +You may wish to know my sensations on traversing this sacred ground. The +_Via Sacra_ recalled to me Horace meeting the _bavard_ who addresses him: +_Quid agis, dulcissime rerum_?[85] I then thought of the Sabine rape; of +Brutus' speech over the body of Lucretia; then I almost fancied I could see +the spot where stood the butcher's shop, from whence Virginius snatched the +knife to immolate his daughter at the shrine of Honor; next the shade of +Regulus flitted before my imagination, refusing to be exchanged; then I +figured to myself Cicero thundering against Catiline; or the same with +delicate irony ridiculing the ultra-rigor of the Stoics, so as to force +even the gravity of Cato to relax into a smile; then the grand, the heroic +act of Marcus Brutus in immolating the great Caesar at the altar of +liberty. All these recollections and ideas crowded on my imagination +without regard to order or chronology, and I remained for some time in a +state of the most profound reverie, from which I was only roused by my +friend the Jew reminding me that we had a quantity of other things to see. + +The first object that engaged my attention on being roused from my reverie, +was the Arch of Severus at the foot of the Capitol which towers above it. +Excavations have been made around this Arch (for otherwise only half of it +could be seen) and a stone wall built around the excavated ground in the +same manner as at the Arch of Constantine. Round several of the columns of +the temples I have above enumerated, excavations have been also made; +otherwise the lower half of them would remain buried in the earth and give +to the monuments the appearance of a city which had been half swallowed up +by an earthquake. By dint of digging round the column of Phocas, the +ancient paved road which led to the Capitol has been discovered and is now +open to view. This ancient road is at least thirty feet below the surface +of the present road and the ground about it. This shows how the ground must +have been filled up by the destruction of buildings at the different +sackings of Rome and the consequent accumulation of rubbish. The French +when they were here began these excavations and the Duchess of Devonshire +continues them.[86] It is useful in every way; it employs a number of poor +people and may be the means of discovering some valuable remains of +antiquity and objects of art. At any rate it is highly gratifying to have +discovered the identical road to the Capitol on which so many Consuls, +Dictators and Emperors moved in triumph, and so many captive Kings wept in +chains. + +We then ascended the steps that lead to the modern Capitol and mounted on +the _Campanile_ of the same, from whence there is a superb panoramic view +of Rome. On descending from the _Campanile_, we visited the Tarpeian rock, +which is now of inconsiderable height, the ground about it and heaps of +rubbish having filled up the abyss below. We then entered the court yard of +the Capitol. The Capitol and building annexed to it form three sides of a +rectangle, the centre or _corps de logis_ lying North and South, and the +wings East and West, the whole inclosing a court yard open on the South +side of the rectangle, from whence you descend into the street on the plain +below, by a most magnificent escalier or flight of steps. Of the Capitol, +the _corps de logis_ or central building to which the _Campanile_ belongs, +is reserved for the occupation and habitation of the _Senator Romano_, a +civil magistrate, corresponding something to the mayor in France or +_Oberbuergermeister_ in the German towns, and who is chosen from among the +nobility and nominated by the Pope. The wings contain the _Museum +Capitolinum_ of painting and sculpture. There is a great deal to call forth +the admiration of the traveller in the court yard of the Capitol. The most +prominent object is the famous bronze equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius, +which cannot fail to rivet the attention of the least enthusiastic +spectator. I observed at each angle of the facade of the Capitol a colossal +statue of a captive King in a Phrygian dress; but still more striking than +these are the colossal statues of Castor and Pollux leading horses, which +stand a little in front of the equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius, and +nearer the _escalier_, the one on the right the other on the left. Two +lions in basalt on each side of the _escalier_ are very striking objects, +and the _escalier_ itself is the most superb thing of the kind perhaps in +the world. This _escalier_ and the Marcus Aurelius, unique also in its +kind, are both the workmanship of Michael Angelo.[87] We descended this +_escalier_ and then fronted it to take a view of the Capitol from the +bottom; but the statue of Marcus Aurelius is so prominent and so grand that +it absorbed all my attention. + +After dinner I walked a little in the gardens on the Pincian hill, and then +visited some friends belonging to the French Academy of Painting and +Sculpture, who were so good as to shew me their productions, and also a +copy of the superb folio edition of Denon's work on Egypt which to me, who +had been in that country, was highly gratifying. Oh! what a pity that the +French could not keep that country! What a paradise they would have made of +it! As it is (and to their credit be it said) they did more good for the +country during three years only, than we have done for our possessions in +India for fifty years. + + +ROME, 15th Septr. + +The next morning, after an early breakfast, I repaired to the Pantheon, now +called _Santa Maria della Rotonda_, and appropriated to the Catholic +worship. It is easily recognizable by its rotundity and by the simple +grandeur of its facade and portico. The bronze has been taken out of the +letters of the inscription. This beautiful specimen of ancient architecture +is situated in a small _piazza_ or square called _Piazza della Rotonda_, +where a market of poultry, game, and vegetables is held. There are only now +three or four steps on the _escalier_ to ascend, in order to enter into the +portico; but as it is known that according to the descriptions of the +Pantheon in ancient times there was an immense flight of steps to ascend, +it is an additional proof how much the ground on which modern Rome stands +has been filled up, and consequently it is evident that the greater part of +this flight of steps remains still buried in the earth. + +If I was so struck with the appearance of this interesting edifice outside, +how much more so should I have been on seeing the inside, were not the +niches, where formerly stood the statues of the Gods, filled with tawdry +dolls representing the Virgin Mary and _he_ and _she_ saints. The columns +and pilasters in the interior of this temple are beautiful, all of _jaune +antique_ and one entire stone each. How much better would it have been to +replace the statues of the _Dii Majorum Gentium_ which occupied the niches, +by statues in marble of the Apostles, instead of the dolls dressed in +tawdry colors, and the frippery gilding of the altars on which they stand, +which disfigure this noble building. The Pantheon was built by Agrippa as +the inscription shews. In the interior are sixteen columns of _jaune +antique_. The bronze that formerly ornamented this temple was made use of +to fabricate the baldachin of St Peter's. Of late years it has been the +fashion to erect monuments affixed to the walls of the interior of the +Pantheon to the memory of the great men and heroes of poetry, painting, +sculpture and music who were natives of Italy, or for foreigners, +celebrated for their excellence in those arts, who have died in Rome. Here +are for instance, tablets to the memory of Metastasio, Rafael Mengs, +Sacchini, Poussin, Winckelmann; the Phidias of modern days, the illustrious +Canova, has recommended the placing in the Pantheon of the busts in marble +of all the great men who have flourished in Italy, as the most appropriate +ornament to this temple. He himself with a princely liberality has made a +present to it of the busts of Dante, Petrarca, Ariosto, Tasso, Guarini, +Alfieri, Michel Angelo, Rafaello, Metastasio and various other worthies. +These busts are all the production either of Canova himself, or made by his +pupils under his direction; they are not the least remarkable ornament of +the place. In the centre of the _Piazza della Rotonda_ stands an obelisk +brought from Egypt, which belonged to a temple sacred to Isis in that +country. + +I next repaired to the _Piazza di Navona_, a large and spacious square, +where there is a superb fountain representing a vast rock with four +colossal figures, one of which reclines at the foot of the rock, at each +angle of the pedestal that supports it, and it is surmounted by an Obelisk +which was brought from Egypt and was found in the gardens of Sallust. The +four colossal figures represent the four river Gods of the four great +rivers in Europe, Asia, Africa and America, viz., the Danube, the Ganges, +the Nile, and the Plata. The statue of the Nile has his head half-concealed +by a cloak, emblematical of the source of that river not being discovered. +In the _Piazza_ are frequently held fairs, shews of wild beasts, theatrical +exhibitions and sometimes combats of wild beasts. + +I crossed the Tiber on my way to St Peter's at the _Ponte di Sant' Angelo_; +directly on the other side of the river stands the castle of that name, an +immense edifice formerly the _Moles Adriana_ or Mausoleum of the Emperor +Adrian. It is of a circular form and is a remarkably striking object. From +here there is a spacious street as broad as Portland place, which leads to +the magnificent _Piazza_, where stands the Metropolitan Church of the +Christian world, the pride of Christendom, the triumph of modern +architecture, flanked on each side by a semi-circular colonnaded portico, +which constitutes one of its greatest beauties and distinguishes it from +all the other temples in the world. On the Piazza, considerably in front of +this wonderful edifice and nearly in the centre, stands an immense Egyptian +Obelisk, and at a short distance on each side of the Obelisk two +magnificent fountains which spout water to a great height and which +contribute greatly to the ornament of the _Piazza_. + +Now you must not expect me to give you a description of this glorious +temple. I never in my life possessed descriptive powers, even for objects +of no great importance: how then could I attempt to delineate the +innumerable beauties of this edifice? Yet, vast as it is, the proportions +of the facade are so correct, that they, together with the semi-circular +colonnaded portico, serve to diminish its apparent size and to render its +mass less imposing, but perhaps more beautiful. On this account it appears +at first sight of less size than the Church of St Paul's in London. The +beauty of the architecture, viz., of the facade and of the colonnaded +portico would require days to examine and admire. What shall I say then of +the wonders of the interior, crowded and charged as it is with the finest +pieces of sculpture, columns of the most beautiful _verd antique_ and of +_jaune antique_; the masterpieces of painting copied in mosaic; the +precious, stones and marbles of all sorts that adorn the variety of +magnificent chapels and altars; the immense baldachin with its twisted +columns of bronze (the spoils of the Pantheon and of the temple of +Jerusalem); the profusion of gilding and ornament of all sorts and where in +spite of this profusion there seems _rien de trop_. At first entrance the +eye is so dazzled with the magnificent _tout ensemble_ as to be incapable +for a long time of examining any thing in detail. Each chapel abounds in +the choicest marbles and precious stones: in a word it would seem as if the +whole wealth of the Earth were concentrated here. Without impiety or +exaggeration, I felt on entering this majestic temple for the first time +just as I conceive a resuscitated mortal would feel on being ushered into +the scene of the glories of Heaven. The masterpieces of painting are here +perpetuated in mosaic, and so correctly and beautifully done, that unless +you approach exceedingly close indeed, it is impossible to distinguish them +from paintings. What an useful as well as ornamental art is the mosaic! +There are a great variety of confessionals where penitents and pilgrims may +confess, each in his own tongue, for there is a confessional for the use of +almost every native tongue and language in the Catholic world. The cupola! +What an astonishing sight when you look up at it from below! How can I +better describe it than by relating the anecdote of Michel Angelo its +constructor, who when some one made a remark on the impossibility of making +a finer Cupola than that of the Pantheon, burst out into the following +exclamation: "Do you think so? Then I will throw it in the air," and he +fulfilled his word; for the cupola of St Peter's is exactly of the size of +that of the Pantheon, tho' at such an elevation as to give it only the +appearance of one fourth of its real size, or even less. The sublimity of +the design can only be equalled by the boldness and success of its +execution. Till it was done, it was thought by every artist impossible to +be done. What an extraordinary genius was this Michel Angelo! Ariosto has +hot at all exaggerated in his praise when he speaks of him in punning on +his name: + + _Michel_ piu che mortal, _Angel_ divino.[88] + + Michael, less man than Angel and divine. + + --Trans, W.S. ROSE. + +Among the various splendid marble monuments with which this temple abounds +is one erected to the memory of Pope Rezzonico, constructed by Canova and +reckoned one of his masterpieces. The Pope is represented in his +canonicals. Behind and above him is a colossal statue of Religion with a +cross in one hand and rays in form of spikes issuing from her head. I do +not like these spikes. On the dexter side of this monument, is a beautiful +male youthful figure representing a funereal genius with an inverted torch. +The signal delicacy, beauty and symmetry of this statue forms a striking +contrast with the figure of an immense lion sleeping on the sinister side; +and this lion is an irrefragable proof that Canova excels in the +delineation of the terrible as well as the beautiful, for it is admirably +executed. + +At another monument is a superb female figure of colossal size representing +Truth. It was formerly naked, but they have contrived to execute in +coloured marble a vestment to cover her loins and veil her secret beauties. +The reason of which is, that this beautiful statue made such an impression +once upon a traveller (some say he was an Englishman, others a Spaniard) +that it inspired him with a sort of Pygmalionic passion which he attempted +to gratify one night; he was discovered in the attempt, and since that +time, to prevent further scandal or attempts of the sort and to conceal +from profane eyes the charms of the too alluring Goddess, this colored +marble vestment was imagined and executed. This story is borrowed from +Lucian.[89] + +There is also here a fine statue of Pope Gregory XIII and a magnificent +bas-relief, the subject of which is the reform of the calendar by that +Pope. Here too is a monument to Christina Queen of Sweden, and a bas-relief +representing her abjuration of the Lutheran Faith. + +But why should I attempt to detail all these monuments, while it would +require folios for the purpose; let me rather introduce you to the hero and +tutelary saint of this sanctuary. St Peter, a superb bronze statue +something above the usual size of men, is seated on a curule chair in the +nave of the church on the right hand side as you approach the baldachin. He +holds in his hands the keys of Heaven. He receives the adoration of all the +faithful who enter into this temple, and this adoration is performed by +kissing his foot which, from the repeated kissings, is become of a bright +polish and is visibly wearing away. The statue was formerly a statue of +Jupiter Capitolinus, but on the grand revolution among the inhabitants of +Olympus and the downfall of Jupiter, it was broken to pieces, melted down +and fabricated into an image of St Peter, so that this statue has lost +little of its former sovereignty and still rules Heaven and Earth if not +with regal, with at least vice-regal power, tho' under a different name. + +In the Sistine Chapel is the celebrated painting al fresco of the day of +Judgment by Michel Angelo, an aweful subject and nobly and awefully +executed. + +In the porch under the facade of St Peter's are two marble statues on +horseback, one at each end of the porch: they represent Constantine the +Great and Charlemagne, the two great benefactors of the holy Catholic +Church; the one, in fact, its founder, the other its preserver. + +As the Palace of the Vatican stands close to the Church of St Peter's and +communicates with it by an _escalier_, I ascended the _escalier_ in order +to behold and examine the famous Museum of the Vatican, the first in the +world, and unique for the vast treasures of the fine arts that it contains; +treasures which the united wealth of all Europe and India to boot could not +purchase at their just price. Here in fact it may be said are preserved the +riches and plunder of the whole world, which was stripped of all its +valuables by those illustrious brigands the ancient Romans. And mark in +this point the good fortune of Rome; instead of losing them again as other +nations have lost their trophies, Superstition came to her aid and caused +them to be respected and preserved, 'till an enlightened age arose which +guided by Philosophy, Humanity and Science will for ever preserve them +secure against all attacks of barbarians in a sanctuary so worthy of them. + + +_Museum Vaticanum_[90] + +A superb flight of steps leads into a hall of immense length filled on each +side with statues, busts, sarcophagi, altars, urns, vases and candelabra, +all monuments of antiquity and of the most exquisite workmanship. The walls +on each side of this hall are inlaid with tablets bearing inscriptions in +Greek, Latin and Etruscan. One is quite bewildered amongst such a profusion +of Gods, Semi-Gods, Heroes. I must single out a few of the most remarkable +for their workmanship. Here is a group representing the sacrifice of +Mithras. On ascending a few steps at the other end of this hall, in a small +octangular room, are the statue of Meleager; the famous Torso; the tomb of +Scipio with bas-reliefs. On leaving the chamber you come into an octangular +gallery, issuing from which are four circular chambers; each chamber +contains a masterpiece of art. In one is the Apollo Belvedere, in another +the Laocoon (both safely arrived from Paris); in the third Antinous; in the +fourth the Perseus of Canova, with Medusa's head and his famous group of +the two pugilists. Descriptions of the three first would be superfluous-- +for of them + + Mills altri han detto e con via miglior plettro, + +and even with respect to the Perseus of Canova, I shall content myself with +remarking that the sculptor had evidently the Apollo Belvedere in his +ideal, and if he has not quite equalled that celebrated statue, it is +because it is impossible; but he certainly has given the nearest possible +approximation to its excellence. + +In another hall and just at its entrance are the statues of Menander and +Posidippus in a sitting posture, one on either side. In this hall are +innumerable fine statues, but the further end of it, fronting you as you +enter, is a statue which at once engages and rivets your undivided +attention; it at once induces you to approach and to take no notice of the +statues on the right and left of the hall. And how should it be otherwise, +since it is the identical statue of the father of the Gods and men, the +famous Jupiter Capitolinus which adorned the Capitol in ancient Rome. He is +sitting on a throne with a sceptre in one hand and the thunderbolts in the +other, at his feet an eagle. It is a glorious statue and in every respect +characteristic; such grandeur, such majesty in the countenance! It is +impossible not to feel awe and reverence on beholding it. It was on +contemplating this venerable statue that an Englishman who was at Rome some +sixty years ago, stood wrapt for a time in silent veneration; then suddenly +breaking silence he made a profound obeisance before the statue and +exclaimed: "Recollect, O father of the Gods and men, that I have paid my +hommage to you in your adversity and do not forget me, should you ever +raise your head above water again!" + +In the hall of the Muses are the statues of the tuneful Nine which were +found underground among the ruins of Hadrian's villa at Tivoli. + +In the centre of a circular chamber of vast dimensions, is an enormous +circular basin of porphyry, of forty-one feet in diameter. A superb mosaic +adorns the floor of the centre of this chamber, and is inclosed. +Appropriate ornaments to this immense chamber are the colossal statues of +the _Dii majorum Gentium_. Here are Juno, Minerva, Cybele, Jupiter, +Serapis, Mars, Ceres, and others. + +In another hall are two enormous Egyptian Gods in yellow granite; two +superb sarcophagi in red marble and two immense Sphinxes in granite. In +another chamber is an antique car drawn by two horses: the near one is +modern, the off one ancient. The wheels of this car are modern; both car +and horses are of exquisite workmanship. Several fine statues adorn this +chamber, among which the most remarkable are a Phocion, a Paris, an +Antinous, and a Triton carrying off a Nereid. + +I must not omit to mention that in one of the halls is the famous group of +the Nile, represented by an enormous colossal River God, surrounded by +fourteen children playing with young crocodiles. Opposite to this group is +another equally celebrated, viz., the colossal statue of the Tiber, with +the she-wolf giving suck to Romulus and Remus by his side. The mosaic +pavements in this Museum surpass in richness any in the world. In one of +the halls, among the works of modern times, are two beautiful marble tables +richly inlaid with all sorts of stones of value, with bas-reliefs on them; +the one representing the visit of the Emperor Joseph II, and the other that +of Gustavus III of Sweden to Rome, and their reception by the Pope. + +One of the halls of sculpture is appropriated to the figures of animals of +all kinds, from the lion and eagle down to the rat and crawfish in marbles +of all colors, and of all sizes; the best executed among them appeared to +me a group representing a greyhound bitch giving suck to her young. As for +the valuable cameos, coins, medals, and smaller remnants of antiquity in +this Museum, they are innumerable. + +With regard to the paintings that belong to this Museum, there is only a +small, collection but it is unique. Here is the Transfiguration and some +other masterpieces of Rafaello. + +In the _Stanze di Rafaello_ (so they are called) are several large fresco +paintings, viz., one representing the battle of Maxentius and Constantine; +another, the school of Athens and Socrates sitting among the other +philosophers; a third representing a fire; besides others. + +In one of these _stanze_ is a work in tapestry representing Jesus Christ +bursting forth from the sepulchre, but he has a visage far too rubicund and +wanting in dignity; he looks like a person flushed with wine issuing from a +tavern; in the countenance there is depicted (so it appears to me) a +vulgar, not a dignified triumph. + +The Palace of the Vatican is of immense size and is said to cover as much +ground as the city of Turin; and I am inclined to think that there is not a +great deal of exaggeration in this statement, for the vista along the +corridors and galleries appears to be endless. The Library of the Vatican +is of course very extensive and of immense value; but the books, as well as +the manuscripts, are kept in presses which are locked, and it is rather +awkward to be continually applying to the _custode_ to take out and put +back a book. + +The Museum of the Vatican is open twice a week to the public, viz. +Thursdays and Sundays; but foreigners, on shewing their passports, may +obtain admission at any time. + + +ROME, 17th Sept. + +My next visit was to the Capitol in order to inspect the _Museum +Capitolinum_. This time I ascended the magnificent _escalier_ of Michel +Angelo, having the equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius in front. On +arriving at the courtyard, I entered the building on my left (which is on +the right of the facade). Under the colonnaded portico of this wing are the +statues of Caesar and Augustus; here too is the naval column of the consul +Duilius, in commemoration of the first naval victory gained over the +Carthaginians; also a colossal statue of the Rhine called Marforio. In one +of the halls two large statues of the Egyptian Goddess Isis and various +other Egyptian divinities. In this Museum among other things is an altar +representing Claudia drawing to the land the Ship of Cybele; a magnificent +sarcophagus with a bas relief on its side representing the progress of +life; Amalthea giving suck to Jupiter; the God Anubis found among the ruins +of Adrian's palace at Tivoli. On ascending the staircase, I observed on the +right hand fixed in the wall a tablet with a plan of ancient Rome carved on +it. In one of the halls above stairs the most remarkable statue is that of +the dying gladiator (brought back from Paris); this is certainly a noble +piece of sculpture; the bodily pain and mental anguish are singularly well +expressed in the countenance; a superb bronze statue of Hercules; a Centaur +in black marble; a Faun in _rosso antico_; a group of Cupid and Psyche; a +Venus in Parian marble rather larger than the common size. One of the halls +in this museum contains the busts of all the philosophers; another those of +all the Roman emperors; there is also a colossal statue of Pyrrhus; a +superb Agrippina and the celebrated mosaic of the four pigeons. In +enumerating the above I have only to observe that they only constitute a +thousandth part of what is to be seen here. After passing three hours in +this wing of the building, I went over across the courtyard to the other +wing. Under the portico of this wing the following are the most remarkable +among the statues: a Roman _triumphans_, two Phrygian kings in black +marble. In one of the rooms above stairs is a very remarkable piece of +antiquity, viz., the bronze wolf giving suck to Romulus and Remus, which +was found in the temple of Romulus and which was struck by lightning during +the consulate of Julius: the marks made by the lightning are quite +distinct. There is in this wing a small but excellent collection of +paintings, and a great variety of statues, busts, sarcophagi, candelabra, +and antiquities of all sorts. + +The front part, or _corps de logis_ of the Capitol is called _Il Palazzo +del Senato conservatore_, and is the residence of the _Senator Romano_ who +is chosen by the Pope. By the bye, I understand this dignity is generally +given to a foreigner, the Pontiffs being, rather jealous of the Roman +nobility. + +This wing of the Capitol employed me two hours; but I must visit this +Museum as well as that of the Vatican often again; for it would require +months and years to examine them duly. + + +ROME, 18th Sept. + +On this side of the river which is called _Transtevere_, I had an +opportunity of observing the inhabitants, who are called _Transteverini_, +the most of whom pretend to be the descendants of the ancient Romans, +unmixed with any foreign blood. They certainly have very much of that +physiognomy that is attributed to the ancient Romans, for they are a tall, +very robust race of men having something of a ferocious dignity in their +countenance which, however, is full of expression, and the aquiline nose is +a prominent feature among them. They are exceedingly jealous of their +women, whom they keep within doors as much as they can, and if a stranger +on passing by their doors should chance to observe their wives or daughters +who may be standing there and should stop to admire them (for many of them +have an air of antique beauty and majesty of countenance which is +remarkably striking), they will instantly order the females to retire, with +an air of asperity. + +Whether they really be the pure descendants of the ancient Romans is +difficult to say: but it is by no means improbable, since even to this day +they intermarry solely with one another, and refuse to give their daughters +in marriage to foreigners or to those of mixed blood. + +Instances have been known of these families, who are for the most part very +poor, refusing the most advantageous offers of marriage made to their +daughters by rich foreign merchants and artists, on the ground merely that +the suitors were not _Romani_ but _Barbari._ + +As for the _bourgeoisie_ of Rome in general, they _have been_ for some +centuries back and _are_ a very mixed race, composed of all the nations of +Europe. Most of the foreign artists who come here to study the fine arts, +viz., Belgians, Dutch, German, French, English, Swedes, Danes, Poles and +Russians, as well as those from other parts of Italy, struck with the +beauty of the women, and pleased with the tranquility and agreeable society +that prevails in this metropolis, and the total freedom from all _gene_ and +etiquette, marry Roman women and fix here for life: so that among this +class you meet with more foreign names than Roman; and it is this sort of +colonisation which keeps up the population of Rome, which would otherwise +greatly decrease as well from the celibacy of the number that become +priests, as from the malaria that prevails in and about the city in July +and August. + + +ROME, 19th Sept. + +I have been employed for the last two days in visiting some of the +churches, _palazzi_ and villas of modern Rome; but the number is so +prodigious and there are such a variety of things to be seen in each that I +shall only make mention of a few; indeed there are many that I have not +seen and probably shall not have time to see. As sacred things should +precede profane, let us begin with the churches. + +The first that claims the attention of the traveller after St Peter's, is +the church of St John Lateran which is the oldest church in Christendom, +and was the metropolitan of Rome and of the Christian world before the +building of St Peter's. It lies very nearly in a right line with the +_Piazza di Spagna_, and on a prolonged line, forming an obtuse angle with +the church of Santa Maria Maggiore, which, as I first visited, I shall +first describe and afterwards resume what I have to remark on the subject +of St John Lateran. + +Santa Maria Maggiore is the third church in importance, but the second in +magnificence in Rome. Before its facade stands a single column of granite +of the Corinthian order. The facade of this church is beautiful but it +would be far better without the _campanile_, which I think always +disfigures a church of Grecian architecture; besides it is not in the +centre of the building. The church is richly adorned with mosaics and its +several chapels are admirable from the execution of their architecture and +sculpture and the value of the different rich marbles and precious stones +with which the monuments therein are made and incrusted. Among these +Chapels are those of Sixtus V, Paul V. The grand altar is of porphyry. But +the most striking beauty of this church and which eclipses all its other +ornaments, are the forty columns of beautiful Grecian marble on each side +of the nave. The ceiling, too, is superb and richly gilt; the gilding must +have cost an immense sum and was done, it is said, with the first gold that +was brought from America. Nothing can be more rich than this plafond. The +above forty columns belonged formerly to the temple of Juno Lucina. It is +singular that the ceremony of the _accouchement_ of the Virgin and the +birth of Christ should be performed here. On the 24th December this +pantomime is regularly acted, and crowds of all sorts of people attend, +particularly women. At the moment that the Virgin is supposed to be +delivered a salve of artillery announces the good tidings. This is +singular, I say, when one recollects the peculiar attributes of Juno Lucina +and the assistance she was supposed to give to persons in the same +situation. + +You cannot expect me to detail to you all the riches in precious stones and +gifts of pious princes that adorn the several chapels of this and other +churches; but they appear to contain every stone and jewel mentioned in the +Arabian Nights as being to be found in the cave where Aladdin was left by +the magician; and it must be allowed that the Popes have been remarkably +adroit inchanters in conjuring to Rome all the riches of the Earth. + +The church of St John Lateran is larger and more striking as to its +exterior and as to its architecture than that of Santa Maria Maggiore, but +it is not so charged with ornament and there is scarce any gilding. There +is a simple elegance about it that I think far more pleasing than the +magnificence of Santa Maria. + +St John Lateran contains several beautiful pieces of sculpture in white +marble, rather larger than the usual size of man, of the twelve Apostles, +six on one side of the nave and six on the other; and above them are +bas-reliefs, also in marble, representing the various scenes from the +history of the Old and New Testament. These twelve statues are admirably +well executed and they give to this temple an air of simple grandeur. In +this church are very few paintings on mosaics, but little gilding and no +superfluous ornaments. Sculpture is, in my opinion, far more appropriate to +a place of worship than paintings or dazzling ornaments. Another very +striking beauty of this noble and venerable temple are the columns it +contains some of which are in granite and others of the most beautiful +_verd-antique_. There are besides two superb Corinthian columns of bronze +which adorn one of the altars. Among the chapels of this Cathedral is one +belonging to the Corsini family, which is probably the richest in Europe, +and contains more precious stones and marbles than any other. Yet as this +and the other chapels are in recesses and separated from the aisles of the +church by large bronze gates, you cannot see their contents till you enter +the said chapels; and thus your attention is not diverted by them from the +contemplation of the simple grandeur of the columns and statues which adorn +the body of the temple. + +The bronze columns above mentioned were taken from the temple of Jupiter +Capitolinus. On one side in front of the church of St John Lateran stands +an immense Egyptian Obelisk 115 feet in height, brought from Egypt to Rome +in the time of Constantine. + +I think the placing of these Obelisks in front of the facade of the most +remarkable edifices is an excellent arrangement, as they are never-failing +landmarks to distinguish from afar off the edifices to which they belong. +This Obelisk was found in the _Circus Maximus_, from which it was removed +and placed on this spot by Sixtus V. A large Orphan establishment is close +to this church; and close to it also the _Battisterio_ of Constantine, +which rests on forty-eight columns of porphyry, said to be the finest in +Europe. Another church in the vicinity contains _La Scala Santa_ or holy +staircase of marble which, according to the tradition, adorned Pontius +Pilate's palace at Jerusalem, and on which identical staircase Jesus Christ +ascended to be interrogated by Pilate. The tradition further says that it +was transported to Rome by Angels. This staircase has twenty-eight steps, +and no one is allowed to mount it except on his knees. Nobody ever descends +it, but there are two other _escaliers_ parallel to it, one on the right +hand, the other on the left, by which you descend in the usual manner. Not +being aware of this ceremony, I, on entering the edifice, began to ascend +the _escalier_ which was nearest to me, which proved to be the _Scala +Santa_, for no sooner had I begun to ascend it as I would any other flight +of steps than two or three voices screamed out: "_Signore! O signore! a +ginocchia; o'e la scala santa_!" I asked what was meant and was then told +the whole story, and that it was necessary to mount this staircase on one's +knees or not at all. This I did not think worth the trouble, being quite +contented with beholding it. The marble of this staircase is much worn by +the number of devout people who ascend it in this manner, and this +ceremony, aided by a _quantum suff_ of faith is no doubt of great efficacy. + +The fourth church in estimation, and I believe the next ancient in Rome to +St John Lateran, is the church of _San Paolo fuor della mura_, so called +from its being situated outside the gates of the city. It is of immense +size, but out of repair and neglected. The most striking object of its +architectural contents are the 120 columns of Parian marble which support +its nave. + +_St Pietro in Vincoli_ is chiefly remarkable for its being built near the +dungeon where, according to the tradition, St Peter was confined and from +whence he was released by Angels; its chief ornament is the colossal statue +of Moses. Somewhere close to this place are shewn the ruins of the +Mamertine prison where Jugurtha was incarcerated and died. + +There are in Rome about three hundred other churches, all of which can +boast of very interesting and valuable contents. One in particular called +the Portuguese Church is uncommonly beautiful tho' small; another, that of +St Ignazio, or the Jesuits' church, is vast and imposing, and very fine +singing is occasionally to be heard there. + + +ROME, 21st Sept. + +The Palace occupied by the Pope is that of the Quirinal, standing on the +Quirinal Hill, which is commonly called _Monte Cavallo_ from the statues of +the two _Hippodamoi_ or tamers of horses, thought to be meant for Castor +and Pollux which stand on this hill; this group is surmounted by an +Egyptian obelisk. These statues are said to be the work of Phidias; but +there is a terrible disproportion between the men and the horses they are +leading; they give you the idea of Brobdignagians leading Shetland ponies. +The Quirinal palace is every way magnificent and worthy of the Sovereign +Pontiff; there are large grounds annexed to it; it stands nearly in the +centre of Rome and from this palace are dated the Papal edicts. The Pope +resides here during the whole year, with the exception of three or four +months in the hot season, when he repairs to Castel Gandolfo near la +Riccia. + +Of the fountains the grandest and most striking is that of Trevi, which +lies at the foot of Quirinal Hill. Here is a magnificent group in marble of +Neptune, in his car in the shape of a mussel-shell drawn by Sea-horses and +surrounded by Nymphs and Tritons. An immense basin of white marble, as +large as a moderate sized pond, receives the water which gushes from the +nostrils of the Sea-horses and from the mouths of the Tritons. There is a +very good and just remark made on the subject of this group by Stolberg, +viz. the attention of Neptune seems too much directed towards one of his +horses, a piece of minutiae more worthy of a charioteer endeavouring to +turn a difficult corner, than of the God who at a word could control the +winds and tranquillize the Ocean. + +The fountain Termina, so called from its vicinity to the Thermes of +Diocletian, is the next remarkable fountain. Here is a colossal statue of +Moses striking the rock and causing the water to gush forth. The grandeur +and majesty of this statue would be more striking but for the incongruity +of the arcades on each side of the rock, and the two lions in black basalt +who spout water. Moses and the rock would have been sufficient. Simplicity +is, in my opinion, the soul of architecture, and where is there in all +history a subject more peculiarly adapted to a fountain than this part of +the history of Moses? + +The Fountain Paolina is a fountain that springs from under a beautiful +arcade, but there are no statues nor bas-reliefs. It is a plain neat +fountain and the water is esteemed the best in Rome. This fountain is +situated on the Janicule Hill, from which you have perhaps the best view of +Rome; as it re-unites more than any other position, at one _coup d'oeil_, +both the modern and debris of the ancient city, without the view of the one +interfering with or being intercepted by the other. From here you can +distinguish rums of triumphal arches, broken columns, aqueducts, etc., as +far as the eye can reach. It demonstrates what an immense extent of ground +ancient Rome must have covered. Near the fountain is the church where St +Peter is said to have suffered martyrdom with his head downwards. + +The Column of Trajan is near the fountain Trevi, and it stands in an +inclosure, the pavement of which is seven feet lower than the _piazza_ on +which it stands. The inclosure is walled round. Had not this excavation +been made, one third of the column (lower part) would not be seen. The +_Piazza_, on which this column stands is called _Il foro Trajano_. The +column represents Trajan's triumphs over the Daci, Quadi and Marcomanni, +and is the model from whence Napoleon's column of the Grand Army in the +_Place Vendome_ at Paris is taken. A statue of St Peter stands on this +column. + +The Column of Antoninus stands on the _Piazza Colonna_; on it are +sculptured the victories gained by that Emperor. Round this column it has +not been necessary to make excavations. On this column stands the statue of +St Paul. + +Amongst the immense variety of edifices and ruins of edifices which most +interest the antiquarian are the Thermes of Diocletian. Here are four +different semi-circular halls, two of which were destined for philosophers, +one for poets and one for orators; baths; a building for tennis or rackets; +three open courts, one for the exercise of the discus, one for athletes and +one for hurling the javelin. Of this vast building part is now a +manufactory, and the hall of the wrestlers is a Carthusian church. + +I have now, I believe, visited most, if not all that is to be seen in Rome. +I have visited the Pyramid of Cestius, the tomb of Metella, I have +consulted, the nymph Egeria, smelled at the _Cloaca Maxima_; in fine, I +have given in to all the _singeries_ of _pedantry_ and _virtu_ with as much +ardour as Martinus Scriblerus himself would have done. But it yet remains +for me to speak of the most interesting exhibition that modern Rome can +boast, and of the most interesting person in it and in all Italy, and that +is the atelier of Canova and Canova himself, the greatest sculptor, +perhaps, either of ancient or modern times, except the mighty unknown who +conceived and executed the Apollo of the Vatican. + +In the atelier of Canova the most remarkable statues I observed are: a +group of Hector and Ajax of colossal size, not quite finished; a Centaur, +also colossal; a Hebe; two Ballerine or dancing girls, one of which +rivetted my attention most particularly. She is reclining against a tree +with her cheek _appuyed_ on one hand; one of her feet is uplifted and laid +along the other leg as if she were reposing from a dance. The extreme +beauty of the leg and foot, the pulpiness of the arms, the expressive +sweetness of the face, and the resemblance of the marble to wax in point of +mellowness, gives to this beautiful statue the appearance of a living +female _brunette_. It was a long time before I could withdraw my eyes from +that lovely statue. + +The next object that engaged my attention was a group representing a Nymph +reclining on a couch _semi-supine_, and a Cupid at her feet. The luxurious +contour of the form of this Nymph is beyond expression and reminded me of +the description of Olympia: + + Le parti che solea coprir la stola + Fur di tanta eccellenza, ch'anteporse + A quante n'avea il mondo potean forse.[91] + + Parts which are wont to be concealed by gown + Are such, as haply should be placed before + Whate'er this ample world contains in store. + + --Trans. W.S. ROSE + +This group is destined for the Prince Regent of England. Another beautiful +group represents the three Graces; this is intended for the Duke of +Bedford. Were it given to me to chuse for myself among all the statues in +the atelier of Canova, I should chuse these three, viz., the Ballerina, the +Nymph reclining, and this group of the Graces. + +Canova certainly is inimitable in depicting feminine beauty, grace and +delicacy. Among the other statues in this atelier the most prominent are: a +statue of the Princess Leopoldina Esterhazy in the attitude of drawing on a +tablet with this inscription: + + _Anch'io voglio tentar l'arte del bello._ + +This lady is, it seems, a great proficient in painting. + +Here too are the moulds of the different statues made by Canova, the +statues themselves having been finished long ago and disposed of; viz., of +the Empress Maria Louisa of France; of the mother of Napoleon (_Madame +Mere_ as she is always called) in the costume and attitude of Agrippina; of +a colossal statue of Napoleon (the statue itself is, I believe, in the +possession of Wellington.[92]) Here too is the bust of Canova by Canova +himself, besides a great variety of bas-reliefs and busts of individuals, +models of monuments, etc. + +And now, my friend, I have given you a _precis_ not of all that I have +seen, but of what has most interested me and made on my mind impressions +that can never be effaced. I trust entirely to my memory, for I made no +notes on the spot. Many of the things I have seen too much in a hurry to +form accurate ideas and judgment thereon; most of what we see here is shewn +to us like the figures in a _lanterna magica_, for in the various _palazzi_ +and villas the servants who exhibit them hurry you from room to room, +impatient to receive your fee and to get rid of you. I am about to depart +for Naples. On my return to Rome I shall not think of revisiting the +greater number of the _palazzi_, villas and churches; but there are some +things I shall very frequently revisit and these are the two Museums of the +Vatican and of the Capitol, St Peter's, the Coliseum and antiquities in its +neighbourhood, the Pantheon, and last but not least the atelier of the +incomparable Canova. + +You may perhaps be unwilling to let me depart from Rome without some +information as to theatricals. With regard to these, Rome must hang down +her head, for the pettiest town in all the rest of Italy or France is +better provided with this sort of amusement than Rome. There is a theatre +called _Teatro della Valle_, where there is a very indifferent set of +actors, and this is the only theatre which is open throughout the year. +Comedies only and farces are given. The theatres Aliberti and Argentino are +open during the Carnaval only. Operas are given at the Argentino, and +masquerades at the Aliberti. But in fact the lovers of Operas and of the +Drama must not come to Rome for gratification. It is not considered +conformable to the dignity and sanctity of an ecclesiastical government to +patronize them; and it is not the custom or etiquette for the Pope, +Cardinals or higher Clergy ever to visit them. The consequence is that no +performer of any consideration or talent is engaged to sing at Rome, except +one or two by chance at the time of the Carnaval. In amends for this you +have a good deal of music at the houses of individuals who hold +_conversazioni_ or assemblies; in which society would flag very much but +for the music, which prevents many a yawn, and which is useful and +indispensable in Italy to make the evening pass, as cards are in England. + +I intend to stop several days here on my return from Naples, for which +place I shall start the day after to-morrow having engaged a place in a +_vettura_ for two and half _louis d'or_ and to be _spesato_. I am not to be +deterred from my journey by the many stories of robberies and +assassinations which are said to occur so frequently on that road. + +By the bye, talking of robberies and murders, a man was executed the day +before yesterday on the _Piazza del Popolo_ for a triple murder. I saw the +guillotine, which is now the usual mode of punishment, fixed on the centre +of the _Piazza_ and the criminal escorted there by a body of troops; but I +did not stop to witness the decapitation, having no taste for that sort of +_pleasuring_. This man richly deserved his punishment. + + +[84] These lines are from Voltaire's _Henriade_, a poem which no Frenchman + reads nowadays, but that Major Frye could quote from memory. The + correct reading of the first verse is: _Des pretres fortunes_, etc. + (_Henriade_, canto iv. ed. Kehl, vol. x, p. 97.)--ED. + +[85] Horace, _Sat_., 1, 9, 4.--ED. + +[86] Lady Elizabeth Hervey, second wife of William, fifth Duke of + Devonshire (1809); died March, 1824.--ED. + +[87] A singular slip of the pen; Frye must have known that the equestrian + statue is a Roman work--ED. + +[88] Ariosto, Orlando Furioso, xxxiii, 2, 4.--ED. + +[89] See Lucian, _Imag._, iv; _Amores_, xv, xvi.--ED. + +[90] Major Frye's description is incorrect in many particulars, on which it + seemed unnecessary to draw attention.--ED. + +[91] Ariosto, _Orlando Furioso_, XI, 67, 6. + +[92] That colossal marble statue was given to the Duke of Wellington by + Louis XVIII, and is still to be seen in London, at Apsley House.--ED. + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +From Rome to Naples--Albano--Velletri--The Marshes--Terracina--Mola di +Gaeta--Capua--The streets of Naples--Monuments and Museums--Visit to +Pompeii and ascent to Vesuvius--Dangerous ventures--Puzzuoli and +Baiae--Theatres at Naples--Pulcinello--Return to Rome--Tivoli. + +I started from Rome on the 26th September; in the same _vettura_ I found an +intelligent young Frenchman of the name of R---- D----, a magistrate in +Corsica, who was travelling in Italy for his amusement. There were besides +a Roman lawyer and not a very bright one by the bye; and a fat woman who +was going to Naples to visit her lover, a Captain in the Austrian service, +a large body of Austrian troops being still at Naples. We issued from Rome +by the _Porta Latina_ and reached Albano (the ancient Alba) sixteen miles +distant at twelve o'clock. We reposed there two hours which gave me an +opportunity of visiting the _Villa Doria_ where there are magnificent +gardens. These gardens form the promenade of the families who come to +Albano to pass the heat of the summer and to avoid the effect of the +exhalations of the marshy country about Rome. + +As Albano is situated on an eminence, you have a fine view of the whole +plain of Latium and Rome in perspective. The country of Latium however is +flat, dreary and monotonous; it affords pasture to an immense quantity of +black cattle, such as buffaloes, etc. + +Just outside of Albano, on the route to Naples, is a curious ancient +monument called _Il sepolcro degli Orazj e Curiazj._ It is built of brick, +is extremely solid, of singular appearance, from its being a square +monument, flanked at each angle by a tower in the shape of a cone. It is of +an uncouth rustic appearance and must certainly have been built before + + _Grecia capia ferum victorem cepit et artes + Intulit agresti Latio....._[93] + +and I see no reason against its being the sepulchre of the Horatii and +Curiatii, particularly as it stands so near Alba where the battle was +fought; but be this as it may there is nothing like faith in matters of +antiquity; the sceptic can have little pleasure. + +The country on leaving Albano becomes diversified, woody and picturesque. +Near Gensano is the beautiful lake of Nemi, and it is the spot feigned by +the poets as the scene of the amours of Mars and Rhea Silvia. Near Gensano +also is the country residence of the Sovereign Pontiffs called Castel +Gandolfo. La Riccia, the next place we passed thro', is the ancient Aricia, +mentioned in Horace's journey to Brundusium. We arrived in the evening at +Velletri. + +Velletri is a large town or rather city situated on a mountain, to which +you ascend by a winding road skirting a beautiful forest. From the terrace +of one of the _Palazzi_ here, you have a superb view of all the plain below +as far as the rock of Circe, comprehending the Pontine marshes. There are +several very fine buildings at Velletri, and it is remarkable as being the +birthplace of Augustus Caesar. There is a spacious _Piazza_ too on which +stands a bronze statue of Pope Urban VIII. Velletri is twenty-eight miles +from Rome. + +The next morning, the 27th, we started early so as to arrive by six o'clock +in the evening at Terracina. At Cisterna is a post-house and at Torre tre +Ponti is a convent, a beautiful building, but now delapidated and +neglected. Near it is a wretched inn, where however you are always sure to +find plenty of game to eat. Here begin the Pontine marshes and the famous +Appian road which runs in a right line for twenty-five miles across the +marshes. It was repaired and perfectly reconstructed by Pius VI, and from +him it bears its present appellation of _Linea Pia_. This convent and +church were also constructed by Pius VI with a view to facilitate the +draining and cultivating of the marshes by affording shelter to the +workmen. The _Linea Pia_ is a very fine _chaussee_ considerably raised +above the level of the marsh, well paved, lined with trees and a canal sunk +on one side to carry off the waters. The Pontine marshes extend all the way +from Torre tre Ponti to Terracina. On the left hand side, on travelling +from Rome to Naples, you have two miles or thereabouts of plain bounded by +lofty mountains; on the right a vast marshy plain bounded by the sea at a +distance of seven or eight miles. Nothing can be more monotonous than this +strait road twenty-five miles in length, and the same landscape the whole +way. The air is extremely damp, aguish and unhealthy. Those who travel late +in the evening or early in the morning are recommended not to let down the +glasses of the carriage, in order to avoid inhaling the pestilential miasma +from the marshes, which even the canal has not been able to drain +sufficiently. + +No one can find amusement in this desolate region but the sportsman; and he +may live in continual enjoyment, and slay wild ducks and snipes in +abundance; a number of buffaloes are to be seen grazing on the marshes. +They are not to be met with to the North of Rome. They resemble entirely +the buffaloes of Egypt and India, being black, and they are very terrific +looking animals to the northern traveller, who beholds them here for the +first time. + +These marshes supply Rome abundantly with waterfowl and other game of all +kinds. Every _vetturino_ who is returning to Rome, on passing by, buys a +quantity, for a mere trifle, from the peasantry, who employ themselves much +_a la chasse_, and he is certain to sell them again at Rome for three or +four times the price he paid, and even then it appears marvellous cheap to +an Englishman, accustomed as he is to pay a high price for game in his own +country. + +We arrived a little before six at Terracina, which is on the banks of the +Mediterranean and may be distinguished at a great distance by its white +buildings. The chain of mountains on the left of our road hither form a +sort of arch to the chord of the _linea Pia_ and terminates one end of the +arch by meeting the _linea Pia_ at Terracina, which forms what the sailors +call a bluff point. Terracina stands on the situation of the ancient Anxur +and the description of it by Horace in his Brundusian journey; + + Impositum saxis late candentibus Anxur[94] + +is perfectly applicable even now. It is a handsome looking city and is the +last town in the Pope's territory: part of it is situated on the mountain +and part on the plain at its foot close to the sea. + +The fine white buildings on the heights, the temple of Jupiter Anxurus (of +which the facade and many columns remain entire) towering above them, the +orange trees and the sea, afford a view doubly pleasing and grateful to the +traveller after the dreary landscape of the Pontine Marshes. There is but +one inn at Terracina but that is a very large one; there is, however, but +very indifferent fare and bad attendance. The innkeeper is a sad +over-reaching rascal, who fleeces in the most unmerciful manner the +traveller who is not _spesato_. He is obliged to furnish those who are +_spesati_ with supper and lodging at the _vetturino's_ price; but he always +grumbles at it, gives the worst supper he can and bestows it as if he were +giving alms. As the road between Terracina and Fondi (the first Neapolitan +town) is said to be at times infested by robbers, few travellers care to +start till broad daylight. We did so accordingly the following morning. On +arriving at a place called the _Epitafio_, from there being an ancient tomb +there, we took leave of the last Roman post. At one mile and half beyond +the _Epitafio_ is the first Neapolitan post at a place called _Torre de' +Confini_, where we were detained half an hour to have our passports +examined and our portmanteaus searched. Three miles beyond this post is the +miserable and dirty town of Fondi, wherein our baggage again underwent a +strict search. On leaving Terracina the road strikes inland and has +mountains covered with wood to the right and to the left, nor do we behold +the sea again till just before we arrive at Mola di Gaeta, which is an +exceeding long straggling town on its banks; several fishing vessels lie +here and it is here that part of the Bay of Naples begins to open. The +country from Terracina to Fondi is uncultivated and very mountainous; +between Fondi and Mola di Gaeta it is pretty well cultivated; Itri, thro' +which we passed, is a long, dirty, wretched looking village. + +The next day at twelve o'clock we arrived and stopped to dine at St Agatha, +a miserable village, with a very bad tho' spacious inn the half of which is +unroofed. We arrived at Capua the same evening having passed the rivers +Garigliano and Volturno, and leaving the Falernian Hills on our left during +part of the road. The landscape is very varied on this route, sometimes +mountainous, sometimes thro' a rich plain in full cultivation. + +Capua is a fortified town situated in a flat country and marshy withal. It +is a gloomy, dirty looking city and whatever may have been its splendour +and allurements in ancient times, it at present offers nothing inviting or +remarkable. The lower classes of the people of this town are such thieves +that our _vetturino_ recommended us to remove every thing from the carriage +into our bed rooms, so that we had the trouble of repacking every thing +next morning. Capua is the only place on the whole route where it is +necessary to take the trunks from the carriage. From Capua to Naples is +twenty miles; a little beyond Capua are the remains of a large Amphitheatre +and this is all that exists to attest the splendour of ancient Capua. The +road between Capua and Naples presents on each side one of the richest and +most fruitful countries I ever beheld. It is a perfect garden the whole +way. The _chaussee_ is lined with fruit trees. Halfway is the town or +_borgo_ of Aversa which is large, well-built, opulent and populous. We +entered Naples at one o'clock, drove thro' the _strada di Toledo_ and from +thence to the _largo di Medina_ where we put up at the inn called the +_Aquila nera_. A cordon of Austrian troops lines the whole high road from +Fondi to the gates of Naples; and there are double sentries at a distance +of one mile from each other the whole way. + + +NAPLES, Octr. 5th. + +In Naples the squares or _Piazze_ are called _Larghi_; they are exceedingly +irregular as to shape; a trapezium would be the most appropriate +denomination for them. The _Largo di Medina_ is situated close to the Mole +and light house and is not far from the _Largo del Palazzo_ where the Royal +Palace stands, nor from the _Strada di Toledo_, which is the most bustling +part of the town. On the Mole and sometimes in the _Largo di Medini_ +Pulcinello holds forth all day long, quacks scream out the efficacy of +their nostrums and _improvisatori_ recite battles of Paladins. Here and in +the _Strada di Toledo_ the noise made by the vendors of vegetables, fruit, +lemonade, iced water and water-melons, who on holding out their wares to +view, scream out "_O che bella cosa_!"--the noise and bustle of the cooks' +shops in the open air and the cries of "_Lavora_!" made by the drivers of +_calessini_ (sort of carriage) makes such a deafening _tintamarre_ that you +can scarcely hear the voice of your companion who walks by your side. In +the _Largo del Palazzo_ there is always a large assembly of officers and +others, besides a tolerable quantity of _ruffiani_, who fasten upon +strangers in order to recommend to them their female acquaintances. A +little further is the Quai of St Lucia, where the fish market is held, and +here the cries increase. The quantity of fish of all sorts caught in the +bay and exposed for sale in the market is immense and so much more than can +be sold, that the rest is generally given away to the _Lazzaroni_. Here are +delicious mullets, oysters, whitings, soles, prawns, etc. There is on the +Quai of St Lucia a _restaurant_ where naught but fish is served, but that +is so well dressed and in such variety that amateurs frequently come to +dine here on _maigre_ days; for two _carlini_[95] you may eat fish of all +sorts and bread at discretion. The wine is paid for extra. On the Quai of +St Lucia is a fountain of mineral water which possesses the most admirable +qualities for opening the _primae viae_ and purifying the blood. It is an +excellent drink for bilious people or for those afflicted with abdominal +obstructions and diseases of the liver. It has a slight sulfurous mixed +with a ferruginous taste, and is impregnated with a good deal of fixed air, +which makes it a pleasant beverage. It should be taken every morning +fasting. The presidency over this fountain is generally monopolized by a +piscatory nymph who expects a _grano_ for the trouble of filling you a +glass or two. In reaching it to you she never fails to exclaim _"Buono per +le natiche,"_ and it certainly has a very rapid effect; I look upon it as +more efficacious than the Cheltenham waters and it is certainly much more +agreeable in taste. At the end of the Quai of St Lucia is the _Castello +dell 'Uovo,_ a Gothic fortress, before the inner gate of which hangs an +immense stuffed crocodile. This crocodile is said to have been found alive +in the _fosse_ of the castle, but how he came there has never been +explained; there is an old woman's story that he came every day to the +dungeon where prisoners were confined, and took out one for his dinner. The +_Castello dell 'Uovo_ stands on the extremity of a tongue of land which +runs into the sea. After passing the _Castello dell 'Uovo_ I came to the +_Chiaia_ or Quai properly so called, which is the most agreeable part of +Naples and the favorite promenade of the _beau-monde._ The finest buildings +and _Palazzi_ line the _Chiaia_ on the land side and above them all tower +the Castle of St Elmo and the _Chartreuse_ with several villas intervening. +The garden of the _Chiaia_ contains gravel walks, grass plots, alleys of +trees, fountains, plantations of orange, myrtle and laurel trees which give +a delightful fragrance to the air; and besides several other statues, it +boasts of one of the finest groups in Europe, called the _Toro Farnese._ It +is a magnificent piece of sculpture and represents three men endeavouring +to hold a ferocious bull. It is a pity, however, that so valuable a piece +of sculpture should be exposed to the vicissitudes of the season in the +open air. The marble has evidently suffered much by it. Why is such a +valuable piece of sculpture not preserved in the Museum? + +On the _Chiaia_ are _restaurants_ and _cafes_. 'Tis here also that the +nobility display their carriages and horses, it being the fashionable drive +in the afternoon: and certainly, except in London, I have never seen such a +brilliant display of carriages as at Naples. + +The principal street at Naples is the _Strada di Toledo_. It resembles the +_Rue St Honore_ and can boast of as much wealth in its shops. The houses +are good, solid and extremely lofty, and the streets are paved with lava. +There are two excellent _restaurants_ at Naples, one in the _Largo del +Palazzo_, nearly opposite the Royal Palace, called the _Villa di Napoli_; +the other not far from it in the _Strada di Toledo_, called _La Corona di +Ferro_. Naples is renowned for the excellency of its ices. You have them in +the shape of all kinds of fruit and wonderfully cheap. Many of the ice +houses and _caffes_ remain open day and night; as do some of the gaming +tables, which are much frequented by the upper classes. The theatre of St +Carlo, which was consumed last year by fire, is rising rapidly from its +ashes and will soon be finished. In the mean time Operas are performed at +the _Teatro Fondi_, a moderate sized theatre. I here saw performed the +opera of _Don Giovanni_ of Mozart, with the _ballo_ of _La pazza per +amore_. Mme Colbran, a Spanish lady, is the _Prima Donna_ and an excellent +singer. + +In all the private societies at Naples a great deal of gaming goes on, and +at some houses those visitors, who do not play, are coolly received. The +following may be considered as a very fair specimen of the life of a young +man of rank and fashion at Naples. He rises about two p.m., takes his +chocolate, saunters about in the _Strada di Toledo_ or in the _Largo del +Palazzo_ for an hour or two, then takes a _promenade a cheval_ on the +_Chiaia_; dines between six and seven; goes to the Opera where he remains +till eleven or half-past eleven; he then saunters about in the different +Cafes for an hour or two; and then repairs to the gaming table at the +_Ridotto_, which he does not quit till broad daylight. The ladies find a +great resource in going to church, which serves to pass away the time that +is not spent in bed, or at the Opera, or at the _promenade en voiture_. The +ladies seldom take exercise on foot at Naples. There being very little +taste for litterature in this vast metropolis, the most pleasant society is +among the foreign families who inhabit Naples or at the houses of the +_Corps diplomatique_. There is, however, a good _cabinet litteraire_ and +library in the _Strada di San Giacomo_, where various French and Italian +newspapers may be read. The Austrians occupy the greater part of the +military posts at Naples; at the Royal Palace however the Sicilian guards +do duty; they are clothed in scarlet and _a anglaise_. + + +NAPLES, 8th Octr. + +One day I went to visit the Museum or _Studii_, as it is called, which is +situated at the extremity of the _Strada di Toledo_ on the land side. Here +is a superb collection of sculpture and painting; and this building +contains likewise the national library, and a choice and unique collection +of Etruscan vases. A large hall contains these vases, which were found at +Pompeii[96]; they are much admired for their beauty and simplicity; each +vase has a mythological or historical painting on it. In this Museum I was +shewn the rolls of papyrus found in Pompeii and Herculaneum and the method +of unrolling them. The work to unroll which they are now employed at this +Museum is a Greek treatise on philosophy by Epicurus. It is a most delicate +operation to unroll these leaves, and with the utmost possible care it is +impossible to avoid effacing many of the letters, and even sentences, in +the act of unrolling. It must require also considerable learning and skill +in the Greek language, combined with a good deal of practise, to supply the +deficiency of the words effaced. When these manuscripts are put in print, +the letters that remain on the papyrus are put in black type, and the words +guessed at are supplied in red; so that you see at one glance what letters +have been preserved, and what are supplied to replace those effaced by the +operation of unrolling; and in this manner are all the papyrus manuscripts' +printed. + + +_Visit to Pompeii and Ascent of Vesuvius_. + +_11th Oct_. + +We returned, Mr R---- D---- and I, from our visit to Vesuvius, half dead +with fatigue from having had little or no rest the whole night, about three +o'clock to Naples. + +We left Naples in a _caleche_ yesterday after breakfast and drove to +Portici. Portici, Resina, and Torre del Greco are beautiful little towns on +the sea-shore of the bay of Naples or rather they may be termed a +continuation of the city, as they are close together in succession, and the +interval filled up with villas. The distance from the gates of Naples to +Portici is three miles. The road runs through the court yard of the Royal +Palace at Portici which has a large archway at its entrance and sortie. We +proceeded to Resina and alighted in order to descend under ground to +Herculaneum, Resina being built on the spot where Herculaneum stood. There +are always guides on this road on the look out for travellers; one +addressed us, and conducted us to a house where we alighted and entered. +Our guide then prepared a flambeau, and having unlocked and lifted up a +trap door invited us to descend. A winding _rampe_ under ground leads to +Herculaneum. We discovered a large theatre with its proscenium, seats, +corridors, vomitories, etc., and we were enabled, having two lighted +torches with us, to read the inscriptions. Some statues that were found +here have been removed to the Museum at Portici. This is the only part of +Herculaneum that has been excavated; for if any further excavations were +attempted, the whole town of Resina, which is built over it, would fall in. +Herculaneum no doubt contains many things of value, but it would be rather +too desperate a stake to expose the town of Resina to certain ruin, for the +sake of what _might_ be found. At Pompeii the case is very different, there +being nothing built over its site. + +After having satisfied our curiosity here, we regained the light of heaven +in Resina, and proceeded to Pompeii, which is seven miles further, the +total distance from Naples to Pompeii being ten miles. The part of Pompeii +already discovered looks like a town with the houses unroofed situated in a +deep gravel or sand pit, the depth of which is considerably greater than +the height of the buildings standing in it. You descend into it from the +brink, which is on a level with the rest of the country; Pompeii is +consequently exposed to the open air, and you have neither to go under +ground, nor to use _flambeaux_ as at Herculaneum, but simply to descend as +into a pit. There is always a guard stationed at Pompeii to protect the +place from delapidation and thefts of antiquarians. From its resembling, as +I have already said, a town in the centre of a deep gravel pit, you come +upon it abruptly and on looking down you are surprized to see a city newly +brought to day. The streets and houses here remain entire, the roofs of the +houses excepted, which fell in by the effect of the excavation; so that you +here behold a Roman city nearly in the exact state it was hi when it was +buried under the ashes of Vesuvius, during its first eruption in the year +79 of the Christian era. It does not appear to me that the catastrophe of +Pompeii could have been occasioned by an earthquake, for if so the streets +and houses would not be found upright and entire: it appears rather to have +been caused by the showers of ashes and _ecroulement_ of the mountain, +which covered it up and buried it for ever from the sight of day. The first +place our guide took us to see was a superb Amphitheatre about half as +large as the Coliseum: the arena and seats are perfect, and all the +interior is perfectly cleared out: so are the dens where the wild beasts +were kept; so that you look down into this amphitheatre as into a vast +basin standing on its brink, which is on a level with the rest of the +ground around it, and by means of the seats and passages you may descend +into the _arena_. This Amphitheatre is at a short distance from the rest of +the town. What is at present discovered of this city consists of a long +street with several off-sets of streets issuing from it: a temple, two +theatres, a praetorium, a large barrack, and a peculiarly large house or +villa belonging probably to some eminent person, but no doubt when the +excavation shall be recommenced many more streets will be discovered, as +from the circumstance of there being an amphitheatre, two other theatres +and a number of sepulchral monuments outside the gates, it must have been a +city of great consequence. Most of the houses seem to have had two stories; +the roofs fell in of course by the act of excavation, but the columns +remain entire. I observe that the general style of building in Pompeii in +most of the houses is as follows: that in each building there is a court +yard in the centre, something like the court yard of a convent, which is +sometimes paved in mosaic, and generally surrounded by columns; in the +middle of this court is a fountain or basin: the court has no roof and the +wings of the house form a quadrangle environing it. The windows and doors +of the rooms are made in the interior sides of the quadrangle looking into +the court yard; on the exterior there appears to be only a small latticed +window near the top of the room to admit light. I have seen in Egypt and in +India similarly built houses, and it is the general style of building in +Andalusia and Barbary. In the rooms are niches in the walls for lamps, +precisely in the style of the Moorish buildings in India. + +In many of the chambers of the houses at Pompeii are paintings _al fresco_ +and arabesques on the walls which on being washed with water appear +perfectly fresh. The subjects of these paintings are generally from the +mythology. In some of the rooms are paintings _al fresco_ of fish, flesh, +fowl and fruit; in others Venus and the Graces at their toilette, from +which we may infer that the former were dining rooms and the latter +boudoirs. A large villa (so I deem it as it stands without the gates) has a +number of rooms, two stories entire and three court yards with fountains, +many beautiful fresco paintings on the walls of the chambers. Annexed to +this villa is a garden arranged in terraces and a fish pond. A covered +gallery supported by pillars on one of the sides of the garden served +probably as a promenade in wet weather. In the cellars of this villa are a +number of _amphorae_ with narrow necks. Had the ancients used corks instead +of oil to stop their _amphorae_, wine eighteen hundred years old might have +been found here. It is not the custom even of the modern Italians to use +corks for the wine they keep for their own use: a spoonful of oil is poured +on the top of the wine in the flask and when they mean to drink it they +extract the oil by means of a lump of cotton fastened to a stick or long +pin which enters the neck of the flask and absorbs and extracts the oil. + +Among the buildings discovered in Pompeii is a large Temple of Isis; here +you behold the altar and the pillar to which the beasts of sacrifice were +fastened. In this temple at the time of the first excavation were found all +the instruments of sacrifice and other things appertaining to the worship +of that Goddess. These and other valuables such as statues, coins, utensils +of all sorts were removed to Portici, where they are now to be seen in the +Museum of that place. The _Praetorium_ at Pompeii is the next remarkable +thing; it is a vast enclosure: a great number of columns are standing +upright here and the most of them entire; the steps forming the ascent to +the elevated seat where the Praetor usually sat, remain entire. There is a +large building and court yard near one of the gates of the city supposed to +have been a barrack for soldiers; three skeletons were found here with +their legs in a machine similar to our stocks. The scribbling and +caricatures on the walls of this barrack are perfectly visible and legible. +When one wanders thro' the streets of this singularly interesting city, one +is tempted to think that the inhabitants have just walked out. What a +dreadful lingering death must have befallen these inhabitants who could not +escape from Pompeii at the time of the eruption of Vesuvius which covered +it with ashes. The air could only be exhausted by degrees, so that a +prolonged suffocation or a death by hunger must have been their lot. + +Four skeletons were found upright in the streets, having in their hands +boxes containing jewellery and things of value, as if in the act of +endeavouring to make their escape: these must soon have perished, but the +skeleton of a woman found in one of the rooms of the houses close to a bath +shews that her death must have been one of prolonged suffering. + +What a fine subject Pompeii would furnish for the pen of a Byron! As I have +before remarked, all the valuables and utensils of all sorts found here +have been removed to Portici; it is a great pity that everything could not +be left in Pompeii in the exact situation in which it was found on its +first discovery at the excavation. What a light it would have thrown (which +no description can give) on the melancholy catastrophe as well as on the +private life and manners of the ancients! But if they had been left here, +they would, even tho' a guard of soldiers were stationed here to protect +them, have been by degrees all stolen. + +There were some magnificent tombs just outside the gates which must have +been no small ornament to the city. + +We returned to Resina to dinner at six o'clock. + +We had made an arrangement with one of the guides of Vesuvius called +Salvatore that he should be ready for us at Resina at seven o'clock with a +mule and driver for each of us to ascend the mountain, and we found him +very punctual at the door of the inn at that hour. The terms of the journey +were as follows. One _scudo_ for Salvatore and one _scudo_ for each mule +and driver for which they were to forward us to the mountain, remain the +whole night and reconduct us to Resina the following morning. The object in +ascending at night and remaining until morning is to combine the night view +of the eruption with the visit (if possible) to the crater, which cannot +with safety be undertaken by night, and to enjoy likewise the noble view at +sunrise of the whole bay and city of Naples and the adjacent islands. We +started therefore at a quarter past seven and arrived at half past nine at +a small house and chapel, called the hermitage of Vesuvius, which is +generally considered as half-way up the mountain. In this house dwells an +old ecclesiastic who receives travellers and furnishes them with a couch +and frugal repast. We dismounted here and our worthy host provided us with +some mortadella and an omelette; and we did not fail to do justice to his +excellent _lacrima Christi_, of which he has always a large provision. We +then betook ourselves to rest, leaving orders to be awakened at two o'clock +in order to proceed further up the mountain. There was a pretty decent +eruption of the mountain, which vomited fire, stones and ashes at an +interval of twenty-five minutes, so that we enjoyed this spectacle during +our ascent. A violent noise, like thunder, accompanies each eruption, which +increases the awefulness and grandeur of the sight. At two o'clock our +guide and muleteers being very punctual, we bade adieu to the hermit, +promising him to come to breakfast with him the next morning; we then +mounted our mules and after an hour's march arrived at the spot where the +ashes and cinders, combined with the steepness of the mountain, prevent the +possibility of going any further except on foot. We dismounted therefore at +this place, and sent back our mules to the hermitage to wait for us there. +We now began to climb among the ashes, and tho' the ascent to the position +of the ancient crater is not more than probably eighty yards in height, we +were at least one hour before we reached it, from its excessive steepness +and from gliding back two feet out of three at every step we made. We at +length reached the old crater and sat ourselves down to repose till +day-break. Tho' it was exceeding cold, the exhalation from the veins of +fire and hot ashes kept us as warm as we could wish: for here every step is +literally + + _per ignes + Suppositos cineri doloso_.[97] + +We remained on this spot till broad daylight and witnessed several +eruptions at an interval of twenty or twenty-five minutes. I remarked that +the mountain toward the summit forms two cones, one of which vomited fire +and smoke, and the other calcined stones and ashes, accompanied by a +rumbling noise like thunder. The stones came clattering down the flanks of +the mountain and some of them rolled very near us; had we been within the +radius formed by the erupted stones we probably should have been killed. + +At daylight Mr R---- D---- proposed to ascend the two cones in spite of the +remonstrances of our guide Salvatore, who told us that no person had yet +been there and that we must expect to be crushed to death by the stones, +should an eruption take place, and that it was almost as much madness to +attempt it, as it would be to walk before a battery of cannon in the act of +being fired. Tho' I did not admit all the force of this comparison, yet I +began to think there was a little too much risk in the attempt; my French +friend however was deaf to all remonstrance and said to me, "_As-tu peur_?" +I replied: "No! that I was at all times very indifferent as to life or +death, but that I did not like pain, and was not at all desirous to have an +arm or leg broken, the former accident having happened to a German a few +days before; nevertheless, I added, if you persist in going, I will +accompany you." We accordingly started to ascend the cone, which vomited +fire and smoke, taking care to place ourselves on the windward side in +ascending, and after much fatigue we arrived in about fifteen minutes close +to the apex of the cone, after groping amidst the ashes and stumbling on a +vein of red hot cinders. My shoes were sadly burnt, my stockings singed and +my feet scorched; my friend was less fortunate, for he tumbled down with +his hands on a vein of red hot cinders and burned them terribly. My great +and principal apprehension in making this ascent was of stumbling upon +holes slightly encrusted with ashes and that the whole might give way and +precipitate me into some _gouffre._ On arrival at the summit of the cone we +had just time to look down and perceive that there was a hole or _gouffre,_ +but whether it were very deep or not we could not ascertain, for a blast of +fire and smoke issuing from it at this moment nearly suffocated us; we +immediately lost no time in gliding down the ashes on the side of the cone +on our breech, and reached its base in a few seconds, where we waited till +an eruption took place from the other cone, in order to profit of the +interval to ascend it also. It required four minutes' walk to reach the +base of the other cone and about twelve to ascend to its apex; on arrival +at the brink, where we remained about two minutes, we had just sufficient +time to observe that there was no deep hole or bottomless _gouffre_ as we +expected, but that it formed a crater with a sort of slant and not +exceeding thirty feet in depth to the bottom, which looked exactly like a +lime-kiln, being of a dirty white appearance, and in continual agitation, +as it were of limestones boiling; so that a person descending to the bottom +of this crater would probably be scorched to death or suffocated in a few +minutes, but would infallibly be ejected and thrown into the air at the +first eruption. I mean by this that he would not disappear or fall into a +bottomless pit (as I should have supposed before I viewed the crater), but +that his friends would be sure of finding his body either yet living or +dead, outside the brink of the crater, within the radius made by the +erupted stones and ashes. + +Our guide now begged us for God's sake to descend, as an eruption might be +expected every minute. We accordingly glided down the exterior surface of +the cone among the ashes, on our breech, for it is impossible to descend in +any other way and in a few seconds we reached its base. Finding ourselves +on a little level ground we began to run or rather wade thro' the ashes in +order to get out of reach of the eruption, but we had not gone thirty yards +when one took place. The stones clattered down with a frightful noise and +we received a shower of ashes on our heads, the dust of which got into our +eyes and nearly blinded us. On reaching the brink of the old crater we +stopped half an hour to enjoy the fine view of Parthenope in all her glory +at sunrise. We then descended rapidly, sometimes plunging down the ashes on +our feet and sometimes gliding on our breech till we arrived at the place +where we had descended from our mules, and this distance, which required +one hour to ascend, cost us in its descent not more than seven minutes. + +We then walked to the hermitage in about an hour and a quarter, and arrived +there with no other accident than having our shoes and stockings totally +spoiled, our feet a little singed, the hands of Mr. R.D. severely burned +and both begrimed with ashes like blacksmiths. The ecclesiastic gave us a +breakfast of coffee and eggs and a glass of Maraschino, and we gave him two +_scudi_ each. Before we departed he presented to us his Album, which he +usually does to all travellers, inviting them to write something. I took up +the pen and feeling a little inspiration wrote the following lines: + + Anch'io salito son sul gran Vesuvio, + Mentre cadsa di cineri un diluvio; + Questo cammin mi piace d'aver fatto, + Ma plu mi piace il ritornare intatto. + +which pleased the old man very much to see a foreigner write Italian verse. +I pleased him still more by letting him know that I was an enthusiastic +admirer and humble cultivator of the Tuscan Muse, and that having read and +studied most of their poets, particularly _il divino Ariosto_, I now and +then caught a _scintilletta_ from his verse. We now took a cordial farewell +of our worthy old host, mounted our mules and descended the mountain. On +arrival at Portici we dismissed our guide Salvatore with a _scudo pour +boire_, besides the stipulated price. Salvatore asked me to give him a +written certificate of his services, which he generally sollicits from all +those whom he conducts to the Volcano. I asked him for his certificate +book, and begged to know whether he would have it in prose or verse. He +laughed and said: _Vostra Excellenza e padrone_. I took out my pencil and +wrote the following quatrain: + + Dal monte ignivomo tornati siam stanchissimi, + E del buon Salvator siam tutti contentissimi; + Felice il pellogrin che a Salvator si fida, + Che di lui non si puo trovare un miglior guida. + +I never saw any body so delighted as Salvatore appeared when I read to him +what I had written in his book. + +I have another observation to make before I take leave of this celebrated +mountain, which is, that the liquid lava which it ejects is far more +dangerous and destructive than the eruption of stones and ashes; the lava +flows from the flanks of the mountain in a liquid stream. Sometimes there +will be an eruption and no lava flowing: at other tunes the lava flows from +the flanks of the mountain, without any eruption from the crater; at other +times, and then it is most alarming, the eruption takes place accompanied +by the flowing of the lava. All this demonstrates that the volcano is the +effect of the efforts of the subterraneous fire to get some vent and escape +from its confinement. This time I did not observe any lava flowing, except +a slight vein of it on the spot where Mr R.D. fell down and burned his +hands; but it is easy to observe on the side of the mountain the course and +route taken at different times by the lava, which has become hardened and +is very plainly to be distinguished, as it resembles a _river_ (if I may +use the word) of slate meandering between the green sward of the mountain +and descending toward the sea. You can plainly distinguish the course and +direction of the lava which destroyed part of Torre del Greco and swept it +into the sea. + +At Portici, having washed ourselves at the inn from head to foot in order +to get rid of our blacksmith's appearance, and having purchased a new pair +of shoes and stockings each, we visited the Royal Palace and Museum with a +view principally of examining the objects of art and valuables discovered +in Pompeii. The Royal Palace is called _la Favorita_, its architecture is +beautiful; the garden or rather lawn which is ornamented by statues and +enriched by orange groves extends to the sea. The first thing that presents +itself to the view of the visitor at the Museum of Portici are the two +equestrian statues of Marcus Balbus proconsul and procurator and of his +son, which statues were found in Herculaneum. I forgot to mention that +there is an inscription with that name on the side of the proscenium of the +theatre easily legible by the light of _flambeaux_. + +To return to the Museum at Portici, we were then shewn into a room +containing curious _morceaux_ of antiquity discovered at Pompeii: a tripod +in bronze and various other articles of the same metal; tables, various +lamps in bronze, resembling exactly those used in Hindostan, wooden pens, +dice, grains of corn quite black and scorched, a skeleton of a woman with +the ashes incrusted round it (the form of her breast is seen on the crust +of ashes; golden armlets were found on her which were shewn to us), steel +mirrors, combs, utensils for culinary purposes, such as _casseroles_, +frying pans, spoons, forks, pestles and mortars, instruments of sacrifice, +weights and measures, coins, a _carcan_ or _stock_, &c. + +In the upper rooms are to be seen the paintings and _fresques_ found in the +same place. The paintings are poor things, and in their landscapes the +Romans seem to have had little more idea of perspective than the Chinese; +but the _fresques_ are beautiful: the female figures belonging thereto are +delineated with the utmost grace and delicacy. They consist of subjects +chiefly from the mythology. I noticed the following in particular, viz., +Chiron teaching the young Achilles to draw the bow; the discovery of +Orestes; Theseus and the Minotaur (he has just slain the Minotaur and a boy +is in the act of kissing his hand as if to thank him for his deliverance; +the Minotaur is here represented as a monster with the body of a man and +the head of a bull); a Centaur carrying off a nymph; a car drawn by a +parrot and driven by a cricket: a woman offering to another little Loves +for sale (she is pulling out the little Cupids from a basket and holding +them by their wings as if they were fowls); a beautiful female figure +seated on a monster something like the Chimaera of the ancients and holding +a cup before the monster's mouth (emblematical of Hope nourishing a +Chimaera). The arabesques taken from Pompeii and preserved here are very +beautiful. Here also are two statues found in Pompeii: the one representing +a drunken Faun, the other a sitting Mercury. We met two Polish ladies here, +who were amusing themselves in copying the _fresques_. We returned to +Naples at five o'clock, and dined at the _Villa di Napoli_. In the evening +we went to the _Teatro de' Fiorentini_. The piece performed was Pamela or +_La virtu premiata,_ which I understand is quite a stock piece in Italy. It +is written by Goldoni. It was very badly performed; the actors were not +perfect in their parts, and the prompter's voice was as loud as usual. The +costume was appropriate enough, which is far from being always the case at +this theatre. + + +NAPLES, 13 Octr. + +We started on the 12th at six o'clock in the morning (Mr R----- D. and +myself) in a _caleche_ in order to visit Puzzuoli, Baii and all the +classical ground in that direction. We of course passed through the grotto +of Pausilippo. This grotto is thirty feet high and about five hundred feet +long. In fact, it is a vast rock undermined and a high road running thro' +it, the breadth of which is sufficient for three carriages to go abreast. +From its great length it is of course exceeding dark; in order therefore to +obviate this inconvenience lamps constantly lighted are suspended from the +roof and on the sides of the grotto, and holes pierced towards the top to +admit a little daylight. The road pierced thro' this rock and called the +grotto of Pausilippo abridges the journey to Puzzuoli very considerably, as +otherwise you would be obliged to go round by Cape Margelina, which would +increase the distance ten miles. On issuing from the grotto on the other +side, you arrive in a few minutes on the seashore, on the bay formed +between Cape Margelina and Puzzuoli. We stopped at the lake Agnano which is +strongly impregnated with sulfur. On the banks of this lake are the +_Thermae_ or vapour baths, and here is also the famous _Grotto del Cane_, +the pestilential vapour arising from which rises about three inches from +the ground and has the appearance of a spider's web. An unfortunate dog +performs the miracle of the resurrection to all those who visit this +natural curiosity; and we also were curious to see its effect. The guardian +of the Thermes seized the poor animal and held his nose close to the place +from whence the vapour exhales. The dog was seized with strong convulsions +and in two minutes he was perfectly senseless and to all appearance dead; +but on being placed in the open air, he soon recovers. The poor beast shews +evident repugnance to the experiment, and I wonder he does not endeavor to +make his escape, for he has sometimes to perform this feat four or five +times a day. I should suppose that he will not be very long lived, for the +repeated doses of this mephitic vapour must surely accelerate his +dissolution. The heat of the _Thermae_ and steam of the sulphur is almost +insupportable; but it has a most beneficial effect on maladies of the +nerves and cutaneous complaints. + +We then proceeded on our journey to Puzzuoli, the ancient Puteoli, where +are the remains of the famous mole (or bridge as others call it) of +Caligula, intended to embrace or unite the two extremes of the bay of Baiae +formed on one side by Puzzuoli and on the other by cape Misenus. We +alighted to take a _dejeuner a la fourchette_ at Puzzuoli, and then went to +visit the temple of Jupiter Serapis, which is a vast edifice and tho' in +ruins very imposing. On wandering thro' the enceinte of this famous temple, +I thought of Apollonius of Tyana and his sudden appearance to his friend +Damis at the porch of this very temple, when he escaped from the fangs of +Domitian and when it was believed that, by means of magic art, he had been +able at once to transport himself from the Praetorium at Rome to Puteoli. +As I said before, the bay included by cape Misenus and Puzzuoli is what is +called Baiae. The land is low and marshy from Puzzuoli to a little beyond +the lake Avernus; but from Monte Nuovo it begins to rise and form high +cliffs nearly all way to Cape Misenus. It was on these high cliffs that the +opulent Romans built their villas and they must have been as much crowded +together as the villas at Ramsgate and Broadstairs. We embarked in a boat +at Puzzuoli to cross over to Baiae (i.e., the place where the villas +begin), but we stopped on our way thither at a landing place nearly in the +centre of the bay in order to visit the lake Avernus and the Cave of the +Cumaean Sybil, described by Virgil, as the entrance into the realm of +Pluto. The lake Avernus, in spite of its being invested by the poets with +all that is terrible in the mythology as a river of Hell, looks very like +any other lake, and tho' it is impregnated with sulphur, and emits a most +unpleasant smell, birds do not drop down dead on flying over it as +formerly. The ground about it is marshy and unwholesome. The silence and +melancholy appearance of this lake and its environing groves of wood are +not calculated to inspire exhilarating ideas. Full of classic souvenirs we +went to descend into the Cave of the Sybil, and as we descended I could not +refrain from repeating aloud Virgil's lines: + + _Di quibus imperium est animarum umbrasque silentes_,[98] etc. + +This descent really is fitted to give one an idea of the descent to the +shades below, and what added to the illusion was that when we arrived at +the bottom of the descent and just at the entrance of the cave where the +Sybil held her oracles, we discovered four fierce looking fellows with +lighted torches in their hands standing at the entrance. My friend cried +out _Voila les Furies_, and these proved to be our boatmen who, while we +were contemplating the _bolge d'Averno_, had run on before to provide +torches to shew us the interior of the grotto of the Sybil. As this grotto +is nearly knee-deep filled with water we got on the backs of the boatmen to +enter it. It is about twenty-five feet long, fifteen broad and the height +about thirteen feet. As we were neither devoured by Cerberus nor hustled by +old Charon into his boat, we returned from the _Shades below_ to the light +of heaven, triumphant like Ulysses or Aeneas, considering ourselves now +among the _Pauci quos aequus amavit Jupiter_.[99] + +Acheron, the dreadful Acheron, is not far from Avernus and is likewise a +lake, tho' call'd a river in the mythology. It is also sulfuric and the +ground about it is woody, low, marshy and consequently aguish. + +We next ascended the cliffs of Baiae and we were shown the remains of the +villas of Cicero, Caesar, Sylla and other great names. We then went to the +baths of Nero (so called). Here it is the fashion to descend under ground +in order to feel the effect of the sulfuric heat, which is intense, and my +friend who descended soon returned dripping with perspiration and calling +out: _Qui n'a pas vu cela n'a rien vu!_ but I did not chuse to descend, as +I could feel no pleasure in being half stifled and the _grotto del Cane_ +had already given me a full idea of the force of the vapour of the +_Thermes_. + +We then descended from the cliffs of Baiae on the other side, and visited +the remains of three celebrated temples of antiquity situated on the beach +nearly and very close to each other, viz., the temples of Diana, of Venus +and of Mercury; all striking objects and majestic, tho' in a state of +dilapidation. Each of these temples has cupolas. We then ascended the slope +of ground leading towards cape Misensus, to visit the _Cento Camarelle_ and +_Piscina mirabile_, both vast edifices under ground, serving as cellars or +appendages to a Palace that stood on this spot. We then visited the lake +called the _Mare Morto_ or Styx; and then went round to the other side of +it, to visit those beautiful _coteaux_ planted in vines and their summits +crowned with groves which have obtained the name of the Elysian fields. +This Styx and these Elysian fields look like any other lake and _coteaux_ +and are entirely indebted to the lyre of Maro for their celebrity. + +From thence we went to the extremity of cape Misenus and embarked in our +boat (which we had sent on there to wait for us) to return to Puzzuoli by +crossing the bay at once. In this bay and near cape Misenus a Roman fleet +was usually stationed and Pliny's uncle, I believe, commanded one there at +the time of the first eruption of Vesuvius which cost him his life. + +There is a singular phenomenon in this bay of a mountain that in one of the +later eruptions and earthquakes was formed in twenty-four hours near the +seashore and was named _Monte Nuovo._ + +The small salt water lake called _Lacus Lucrinus_ is also on this bay. It +appears to me to be an artificial lake, made probably by the opulent Romans +who resided at Baiae to hold their mullets and other sea fish which they +wished to fatten. + +Near Puzzuoli likewise is the famous _Solfaterra,_ the bed of an ancient +volcano. It is well worth examining. It has been long since extinguished, +but you meet with vast beds of sulphur and calcined stones, and the smell +is at times almost insupportable. We returned to Naples by half-past seven +o'clock, not a little tired but highly gratified by our excursion. + + +NAPLES, 14th Oct. + +At the _Teatro Nuovo_ I have seen another Italian tragedy performed. The +piece was _Tito Manlio Torquato_, taken from the well known anecdote in the +Roman history. The scenery, decorations and _costume_ were good and +appropriate, not so the acting; for the actors as usual were imperfect in +their parts. I fully agree with Alfieri that Italy must be united and enjoy +a free popular government before one can expect to see tragedies well +performed. It is very diverting to see the puppet shows at Naples and to +hear the witticisms and various artifices of the showman of Pulcinello to +secure payment in advance from his audience, who would otherwise go away +without paying as soon as the performance was over. + +This performance is much attended by the _lazzaroni_ and _faineans_ of the +lower orders of Naples and the puppet showman is obliged to have recourse +to various stratagems and ingenious sallies to induce a handsome +contribution to be made. Sometimes he will say with a very grave face (the +curtain being drawn up and no Pulcinello appearing) that he is very sorry +there can be no performance this day; for that poor Signor Pulcinello is +sick and has no money to pay the Doctor: but that if a _quete_ be made for +him, he will get himself cured and make his appearance as usual. All the +while that one of the showmen goes about collecting the _grani_, the other +holds a dialogue with Pulcinello (still invisible). Pulcinello groans and +is very miserable. At length the collection is made. Pulcinello takes +medicine, says he is well again, makes his appearance and begins. At +another time the audience is informed that there can be no performance as +Pulcinello is arrested for debt and put in prison, where he must remain +unless a subscription of money be made for him to pay his debts and take +him out of gaol. Then follows an absurd dialogue between Pulcinello +(supposed to answer from the prison) and the showman. The showman scolds +him for being a spendthrift and leading a profligate life, calls him a +_briccone_, a _birbante_, and Pulcinello only groans out in reply, _Povero +me, Povero Pulcinello, che disgrazia! sventurato di me! di non aver +denari!_ These strokes of wit never fail to bring in many a _grano_. + +At another time the curtain is drawn up and discovers a gibbet and +Pulcinello standing on a ladder affixed to it with a rope round his neck. +The showman with the utmost gravity and assumed melancholy informs the +audience that a most serious calamity is about to happen to Naples: that +Signor Pulcinello is condemned to be hanged for a robbery, and that unless +he can procure _molti denari_ to bribe the officers of justice to let him +escape, he will inevitably be hanged and the people will never more behold +their unhappy friend Pulcinello. The showman now implores the commiseration +of the audience, and now reproaches Pulcinello with his profligacy and +nefarious pranks which have brought him to an untimely end. Pulcinello +sobs, cries, promises to reform and to attend mass regularly in future. +What Neapolitan heart can resist such an appeal? The _grani_ are collected. +Pulcinello gives money to the puppet representing the executioner; down +goes the gibbet, and Pulcinello is himself again. + +I shall return in a day or two to Rome, having seen nearly all that Naples +affords. I have now full liberty to die when I chuse according to the +proverb: _Veder Napoli e poi morire_. + +Naples certainly is, taking it all in all, the most interesting city in +Europe, for it unites every thing that is conducive to the _agremens_ of +life. A beautiful city, a noble bay, a vast commerce, provisions of the +best sort, abundant and cheap, a pleasant society, a delicious climate, +music, Operas, _Balli,_ Libraries, Museums of Painting and Sculpture; in +its neighbourhood two subterraneous cities, a volcano in full play, and +every spot of ground conveying the most interesting _souvenirs_ and +immortalized in prose and verse. Add thereto the vapour baths of sulphur +for stringing anew the nerves of those debilitated by a too ardent pursuit +of pleasure, and the Fountain of St Lucia for those suffering from a +redundancy of bile. Now tell me of any other residence which can equal +this? Adieu. + + +ROME, 22nd Octr. + +Nothing material occurred on my return from Naples to Rome; but on the 2d +day after my arrival I made an excursion to Tivoli, which is about eighteen +miles distant from Rome. I passed the night at the only inn at Tivoli. The +next morning I walked to the _Villa d'Este_ in this neighbourhood, which is +a vast edifice with extensive grounds. Here on a terrace in front of the +villa are models in marble of all the principal edifices and monuments, +ancient and modern, of Rome, very ingeniously executed. From the _Villa +d'Este_ is a noble view of the whole plain of Latium and of the "Eternal +City." + +From hence I walked about two miles further to visit the greatest antiquity +and curiosity of the place, which is the Villa or rather the ruins of the +celebrated Villa built by Adrian, which must have been of immense size from +the vast space of ground it occupies. It was intended to unite everything +that the magnificent ideas of a Prince could devise who wished to combine +every sort of recreation, sensual as well as intellectual, within the +precincts of his Palace; columns, friezes, capitals, entablatures and +various other spoils of rich architecture cover the ground in profusion: +many of the walls and archways are entire and almost an entire cupola +remains standing. Besides the buildings above ground, here are cellars +under ground intended as quarters for the guards and capable of holding +three thousand men, as well as stabling for horses. In the inclosure of and +forming part of this Villa, which covers a circumference of seven miles, +were a gymnasium, baths, temples, a school of philosophers, tanks, a +theatre, &c. The greatest part of these buildings are choaked up and +covered with earth, since it is by excavation alone that what does appear +was brought to light. It was by excavation that a man discovered a large +hall wherein he found the nine beautiful statues of the Muses, which now +adorn the Museum of the Vatican; and no doubt if the Roman government would +recommence the excavations many more valuables might be found. Hadrian's +villa has already furnished many a statue, column and pilaster to the +Museums, churches and Palaces of Rome. + +I was much more gratified in beholding the remains of this Villa than in +visiting Tivoli and I remained here several hours. At four o'clock in the +afternoon I started on my return to Rome; it was imprudent not to have +started sooner, as it is always dangerous to be outside the walls of Rome +after dark, in consequence of the brigands who infest the environs and +sometimes come close to the walls of the city. + +I reached my hotel in Rome at nine o'clock, one hour and half after dark, +but had the good fortune to meet nobody. The Roman peasantry generally go +armed and those who feed cattle in the fields of the Campagna or have any +labour to perform there never sleep there on account of the _mal'aria._ + + +[93] Horace, _Epist.,_ II, 1, 156.--ED. + +[94] Horace, Sat., i, 5, 26.--ED. + +[95] A _carlino_ is of the value of half a franc or five pence English. The + accounts in Naples are kept in _ducati_, _carlini_ and _grani_. Ten + _carlini_ make a ducat and ten _grani_ (a copper coin) make a carlino. + A grano is a _sou_ French in value. The _ducato_ is an imaginary coin. + The _soudo Napoletano_, a handsome silver coin of the size of an _ecu + de six francs_, is equal to twelve carlini. + +[96] Not one of these vases was found at Pompeii.--ED. + +[97] Horace, _Carm_., II, 1, 7.--ED. + +[98] Virgil, _Aen_., VI, 264.--ED. + +[99] Virgil, _Aen_., VI, 129.--ED. + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +NOVEMBER-DECEMBER, 1816 + +From Rome to Florence--Sismondi the historian--Reminiscences of +India--Lucca--Princess Elisa Baciocchi--Pisa--The Campo Santo--Leghorn-- +Hebrews in Leghorn--Lord Dillon--The story of a lost glove--From Florence +to Lausanne by Milan, Turin and across Mont Cenis--Lombardy in winter--The +Hospice of Mont Cenis. + + +FLORENCE, Novr. 20th. + +I bade adieu to Rome on the 28th October and returned here by the same road +I went, viz., by Radicofani and Sienna. I arrived here after a journey of +six days, having been detained one day at Aquapendente on account of the +swelling of the waters. The day after my arrival here I despatched a letter +to Pescia to Mr Sismondi de' Sismondi, the celebrated author of the history +of the Italian Republics, to inform him of my intended visit to him, and I +forwarded to him at the same time two letters of introduction, one from +Colonel Wardle and the other from Mr Piton, banker at Geneva, who mentioned +me in his letter to Sismondi as having _des idees parfaitement analogues +aux siennes_. I received a most friendly answer inviting me to come to +Pescia and to pass a few days with him at his villa. Pescia is thirty miles +distant from Florence and the same from Leghorn. I was delighted with the +opportunity of seeing a man whom I esteemed so much as an author and as a +citizen, and of visiting at the same time the different cities of Tuscany, +particularly Lucca and Pisa. I accordingly hired a cabriolet and on the +morning of the 6th Novr drove to Prato, a good-sized handsome town, solidly +built, ten miles distant from Florence. The country on each side of the +road appears highly cultivated, and the road is lined with villas and farm +houses with gardens nearly the whole way. Changing horses at Prato, I +proceeded ten miles further to Pistoia, a large elegant and well-built town +on the banks of the Ombrone. + +The streets in Pistoia are broad and well paved and the _Palazzo pubblico_ +is a striking building; so is the _Seminario_ or College. Here I changed +horses again and proceeded to Pescia, where I alighted at the villa of M. +Sismondi. The distance between Pistoia and Pescia is about ten or eleven +miles. + +Pescia is a beautiful little town, very clean and solidly built, lying in a +valley surrounded nearly on all sides by mountains. Its situation is +extremely romantic and picturesque, and there are several handsome villas +on the slopes and summits of these mountains. On market days Pescia is +crowded with the country people who flock hither from all parts, and one is +astonished to see such a number of beautiful and well dressed country +girls. Industry and comfort are prevalent here, as is the case indeed all +over Tuscany; I mean agricultural industry, for commerce is just now at a +stand. + +I passed three most delightful days and which will live for ever in my +recollection, with Mr Sismondi, in whom I found an inexhaustible fund of +talent and information, combined with such an unassuming simplicity of +character and manner that he appeared to me by far the most agreeable +litterary man that I ever met with. His mother, who is a lady of great +talent and perfectly conversant in English litterature, resides with him. +His sister also is settled at Pescia, being married to a Tuscan gentleman +of the name of Forti. The sister has a full share of the talents and +amiable qualities of her mother and brother. With a family of such +resources as this, you may suppose our conversation did not flag for a +moment, nor do I recollect in the course of my whole life having passed +such a pleasant time; and I only wished that the three days could be +prolonged to three years. Politics, the occurrences of the day, living +characters, classical reminiscences, French, English, Italian and German +litterature, afforded us an inexhaustible variety of topics for +conversation: and the profound local knowledge that Mr Sismondi possesses +of Italy, of its history and antiquities, renders his communications of the +utmost value to the traveller. Our supper was prolonged to a late hour and +I question if the suppers and conversations of Scipio and Atticus, those +_nodes caenaeque Deum_[100] were more piquant or afforded more variety than +ours. Shakespeare, Schiller, Voltaire, Ariosto, Dante, Filangieri, Michel +Angelo, Washington, Napoleon, all furnished anecdotes and reflexions in +abundance. + +The last evening that I passed here, two families of Pescia came in. One of +the gentlemen was a great reader of voyages and travels, and India suddenly +became the subject of discourse. As I had passed six years in that country, +during which time I had visited the three Presidencies of Calcutta, Madras, +and Bombay, having ascended the Ganges as far as Benares, having visited +the Mysore country and Nizam's territory, having sojourned three weeks +among the splendid and magnificent ruins of Bijanagur or Bisnagar, having +travelled thro' the whole of the Deccan from Pondicherry to cape Comorin, +besides having traversed on horseback the whole circumference of Ceylon and +across the whole island from East to West by the Wanny, I was enabled to +furnish them with many an anecdote from the Eastern world, which to them +was a great treat, and I dare say at times my narration appeared almost as +marvellous as a story in the Arabian Nights, particularly when I related +the various religious ceremonies, the grim Idol of Juggernaut, the swinging +to _recover cast_, the exposure of old people to the holy death in the +Ganges by stopping up their nose, mouth and ears with mud, and placing them +on the water's edge at low tide in order that they should be swept off at +the high water; the holy city of Benares; the magnificent remains of +Bisnagar; the splendid Pagodas of Ramisseram; the policy of the Bramins; +the appalling voluntary penances of the _Joguis_ or _Fakirs_ as the +Europeans call them; the bed of spikes; the arm held up in the air for +fifteen years; the tiger hunt; the method of catching the elephant in +Ceylon; the pearl fishery; Sepoy establishment; in short I must have +appeared to them a Ulysses or a Sindbad, and I dare say that they thought I +added from time to time a little embellishment from my imagination, tho' I +can safely and solemnly aver that I did not extenuate nor exaggerate any +thing, but simply related what I had myself seen and witnessed. + +Mr Sismondi is under a sort of banishment from his native country Geneva in +consequence of the side of the question he took in his writings on the +return of the Emperor Napoleon from Elba. It was indeed natural for the +restored government (the Bourbons) to desire the removal from France of a +man of talent who had exposed their past and might scrutinize their future +conduct and wilful faults; but why the Government of Geneva should espouse +their quarrel and visit one of their most estimable citizens with +banishment for opinions not at all connected with nor influential upon +Geneva, appears to me not only absurd and anomalous, but unjust in the +highest degree. But such is the state of degradation to which Europe is +reduced by the triumph of the old _regime_; and the Swiss Governments are +compelled to become the instruments of the vengeance of the coalition. But +I shall dwell no more on this subject at present. Let us hope that in a +short time a more liberal spirit will arise, and the Genevese will be eager +to recall in triumph the illustrious citizen of whom they have so much +reason to be proud. + +We spent our mornings, Mr Sismondi and I, in promenades towards the most +striking points of the country immediately environing Pescia, and as I had +at this time some idea of coming to settle in Tuscany, he was so kind as to +conduct me to look at several villas that were to let; and I inspected +three very beautiful ones well furnished and each capable of holding a +large family, that were to be let for 18, 20, and 24 _louis d'or_ per +annum. + +Wine and every article of life is of prodigious cheapness here, and the +inhabitants are so respectable, and there is such an absence of all crime, +that Pescia must be a very desirable and economical residence for any +foreign family possessing a sufficient knowledge of Italian to mix with the +society of the natives. There are several ancient and noble families in the +neighbourhood, highly respectable in point of moral character and manners, +but rather in _decadence_ in point of fortune. + +It was with the greatest regret that I bade adieu to the amiable Sismondi, +his mother and sister; but I hope for a time only, as I have some idea of +removing my domicile from Lausanne to this part of the world. + +I started at 10 o'clock a.m. on the 11th of November and after two hours' +journey in a cabriolet arrived at Lucca, a distance of ten miles, and put +up at the _Hotel del Pelicano._ The road runs thro' a highly cultivated +country. + +Lucca is a large fortified city, situated hi a beautifully luxuriant plain +or basin surrounded on all sides by hills and mountains of various slopes, +contours and heights, and abounding in villas, vineyards, mulberry and +olive plantations. Every spot of ground is in cultivation and the industry +of the inhabitants of Lucca is proverbial. Indeed the whole territory of +this little _ci-devant_ Republic is a perfect paradise. + +The city itself, from the massiveness and solidity of the edifices, has +more of a solemn than a lively appearance; but there is a delightful walk +on the ramparts which are lined with trees. The streets are well paved. The +extreme antiquity of the city and style of its edifices make it appear less +_riani_ than the other cities in Tuscany. The Cathedral is Gothic and there +are in it the statues of the four Evangelists. This and the _Palazzo +Pubblico_ are the most conspicuous edifices. Tho' the Republic is +annihilated, the word _Libertas_ still remains on an escutcheon on the +gates of the city. Lucca, tho' no longer a Republic and enclavee in +Tuscany, is for the present an independent state and belongs to an Infanta +of Spain (formerly Princess of Parma) who takes the title of Duchess of +Lucca. It is generally supposed however that on the demise of Maria Louisa, +ex-Empress of the French and now Duchess of Parma, this family, viz., the +Duchess of Lucca and her son will resume their ancient possessions in the +Parmesan, and that Lucca will then be incorporated with Tuscany. + +Before the fall of Napoleon the Princess Elisa Baciocchi his sister was +sovereign of Lucca, and she it was who has embellished the outside of the +city with some beautiful promenades. She devoted her whole time, talents +and resources to the good of her subjects and is highly esteemed and much +regretted by them. The present Duchess of Lucca has no other character but +that which seems common to the Royal families of France, Spain and Naples; +viz., of being very weak and priest-ridden. Lucca furnishes excellent +female servants who are remarkable for their industry and probity. Their +only solace is their lover or _amoroso_, as they term him; and when they +enter into the service of any family, they always stipulate for one day in +the week on which they must have liberty to visit their _amoroso_, or the +_amoroso_ must be allowed to come to the house to visit them. This is an +ancient custom among them and has no pernicious consequences, nor does it +interfere with their other good qualities. At the back of Lucca is an +immense mountain which stands between it and Pisa, and intercepts the +reciprocal view of the two cities which are only ten miles distant from +each other. This mountain and its peculiarity is the very one mentioned by +Dante in his _Inferno_ in the _episode_ of Ugolino: + + _Cacciando il lupo e i lupicini_ AL MONTE, + PER CHE i Pisan veder Lucca NON ponno.[101] + +I started from Lucca in a cabriolet and in two hours arrived at Pisa, +putting up at the _Tre Donzelle_ on the Quai of the Arno. Between Lucca and +Pisa are the _Bagni di Lucca_, a favorite resort for the purpose of bathing +and drinking the mineral waters. + +Pisa is one of the most beautiful cities I have seen in Italy. The extreme +elegance and comfort of the houses, the spacious Quai on the Arno which +furnishes a most agreeable promenade, the splendid style of architecture of +the _Palazzi_ and public buildings, the cleanliness of the streets, the +salubrity of the climate, the mildness of the winter, the profusion and +cheapness of all the necessaries of life, and above all the amenity and +simplicity of the inhabitants, combine to make Pisa an agreeable and +favorite residence. Yet the population having much decreased there appears +an air of melancholy stillness about the city and grass may be seen in some +of the streets. This decay in population causes lodgings to be very cheap. + +The most striking object in Pisa is the leaning tower _(Torre cadente)_ and +after that the Cathedral, Baptistery, and _Campo Santo_ which are all close +to the tower and to each other. Imagine two fine Gothic Churches in a +square or place like Lincoln's Inn Fields; a large oblong building nearly +at right angles with the churches and inclosing a green grass plot in its +quadrangle and a leaning tower of cylindrical form facing the churches: and +then you will have a complete idea of this part of Pisa. + +I must not omit to mention that there is a breed of camels here belonging +to the Grand Duke; I believe it is the only part of Europe except Turkey +where the breed of camels is attempted to be propagated. + + +LEGHORN, 17 Novr. + +I left Pisa for Leghorn on the morning of the 15th November, and after a +drive of two hours in a cabriolet I arrived at the latter place and put up +at the _Aquila Nera._ The distance between Pisa and Leghorn is only 10 or +11 miles and a plain with few trees, either planted in corn or in +pasturage, forms the landscape between the two cities. + +Leghorn (Livorno), being a modern city, does not offer anything remarkably +interesting to the classical traveller either from its locality or its +history. Founded under the auspices of the Medici it has risen rapidly to +grandeur and opulence, and has eclipsed Genoa in commerce. It is a +remarkably handsome city, the streets being all broad and at right angles; +the _Piazze_ are large and the _Piazza Grande_ in particular is +magnificent. There is a fine broad street leading from the _Piazza Grande_ +to the Port. The Port and Mole are striking objects and considerable +commercial bustle prevails there. + +Among the few things worthy of particular notice is the Jewish Synagogue, +decorated with costly lamps and inscriptions in gold in the Hebrew and +Spanish languages, many of which allude to the hospitality and protection +afforded to the Hebrew nation by the Sovereigns of Tuscany. There are a +great number of Hebrew families here: they all speak Spanish, being the +descendants of those unfortunate Jews who were expelled from Spain at the +time of the expulsion of the Moors in the reign of Don Felipe III surnamed +_el Discreto_, who was determined not to suffer either a Jew, Mahometan or +heretic in all his dominions. This barbarous decree was the ruin and +destruction of a number of industrious families, thousands of whom died of +despair at being exiled from their native land. In return for this what has +Spain gained? The Inquisition--despotism in its worst form--poverty--rags +--lice--an overbearing insolent and sanguinary priesthood of whom the +monarch is either the puppet or the slave; a degraded nobility; a half +savage, grossly ignorant, lazy and brutal people. A proper judgment on the +Spanish nation for its cruelty and fanaticism! My guide at Leghorn +conducted me to see the burying ground belonging to the English factory, +which is interesting enough from the variety of tombs, monuments and +inscriptions. Here all Protestants, to whatever nation they belong, are +buried. I noticed Smollett's tomb. It is on the whole an interesting spot, +tho' not quite so much so as the cemetery of Pere La Chaise at Paris. + +I returned to Florence from Leghorn _tout d'une traite_ in the diligence. +We stopped at Fornacetti (half way) to dine. There is a good _table d'Hote +(ordinario)_ there. + + +FLORENCE, 22nd Novr. + +I have become acquainted with Lord Dillon[102] and his family, who are +residing here and from whom I have received much civility. I met at his +house the Marchese Giuliani, one of the adherents of King Joachim, a very +amiable and clever man who speaks English fluently. Lord Dillon is a man of +much reading and information and his conversation is at all times a great +treat. His lady too is very amiable and accomplished. I went one day with a +friend of mine to a _pique-nique_ party at the Cascino, where a laughable +adventure occurred perfectly in the stile of the _novelle_ of Boccacio. As +it is not the custom in Florence that husbands and wives should go together +to places of public amusement, the lady is generally accompanied by her +_cavalier servente:_ but it by no means follows that the _cavalier +servente_ is the favored lover: one is often adopted as a cover to another +who enjoys the peculiar favors of the lady. A gentleman who arrived at the +hall where the supper table was laid out, somewhat earlier than the rest of +the company and before the chamber was lighted, observed a gentleman and +lady ascend the staircase, turn aside by a corridor and enter a chamber +together. It was dark and he could not distinguish their persons. He waited +fifteen or twenty minutes and observed them leave the chamber together, +pass along the corridor and disappear. He had the curiosity to go into the +chamber they had just left and found on the bed a lady's glove. He took up +the glove and put it in his pocket, determined that this incident should +afford him some amusement at supper and the company also by putting some +fair one to the blush. Accordingly, when the supper was nearly over, he +held up the glove and asked with a loud voice if any lady had lost a glove; +when his own wife who was sitting at the same table at some distance from +him called out with the utmost _sangfroid: E il mio! dammelo: l'ho lasciato +cadere._ You may conceive what a laugh there was against him, for he had +related the circumstances of his finding it to several of the company +before they sat down to supper. This reminded me of an anecdote mentioned +by Brantome as having occurred at Milan in his time, a glove being in this +case also the cause of the _desagrement_. A married lady had been much +courted by a Spanish Cavalier of the name of Leon: one day, thinking he had +made sure of her, he followed her into her bedroom, but met with a severe +and decided repulse and was compelled to leave her _re infecta_. In his +confusion he left one of his gloves on the bed which remained there +unperceived by the lady. The husband of the lady arrived shortly afterwards +and as he was aware of the attentions of the Spaniard to his wife and had +noticed his going into the house, he went directly to his wife's chamber, +where the first thing that captivated his attention was a man's military +glove on the bed. He, however, said nothing, but from that moment abstained +from all conjugal duty. The lady finding herself thus neglected by a +husband who had been formerly tender and attentive, was at a loss to know +the reason, and determined to come to an _eclaircissement_ with him in as +delicate a manner as she could. She therefore took a slip of paper, wrote +the following lines thereon and placed it on his table: + + _Vigna era, vigna son; + Era podada, or piu non son; + E non so per qual cagion + Non mi poda il mio patron._[103] + +The husband, on reading these lines, wrote the following in answer: + + _Vigna eri, vigna sei; + Eri podada, e piu non sei; + Per la gran fa del Leon + Non ti poda il tuo patron._ + +The lady on reading these lines perceived at once the cause of her +husband's estrangement and succeeded in explaining the matter +satisfactorily to him, which was facilitated by the ingenuous declaration +of Leon himself that he had tried to succeed but had been repulsed. The +husband and wife being perfectly reconciled lived happily and no doubt the +vine was cultivated as usual. + +I left Florence the 27th November, and arrived at Turin 5th December. In an +evil hour I engaged myself to accompany an old Swiss Baroness with whom I +became acquainted at the Hotel of Mine Hembert to accompany her to Turin. +She had with her her son, a fine boy of thirteen years of age but very much +spoiled. We engaged a _vetturino_ to conduct us to Turin, stopping one day +at Milan. The Baroness did not speak Italian and generally sent for me to +interpret for her when any disputes occurred between her and the people at +the inns, and these disputes were tolerably frequent, as she always gave +the servants wherever she stopped a good deal of trouble and on departing +generally forgot to give them the _buona grazia._ I sometimes paid them for +her myself in order to avoid noise and tumult; at other times we departed +under vollies of abuse and imprecations such as _brutta vecchia, maladetta +carogna,_ and so forth. The Baroness had strong aristocratic prejudices and +was a bitter enemy of the French Revolution to which she attributed +collectively all the _desagremens_ she had experienced during life and all +the inconveniences she met with during our present journey. The negligence +and impertinence of the servants in Italy were invariably attributed by her +to the revolutionary principle and she told me that the servants in her +native canton Bern were the best in the world, but that even in them the +French Revolution had made a great deal of difference and that they were +not so submissive as they used to be. As she sent for me to be her dragoman +in all her disputes on the road, you may conceive how glad I was to arrive +at Turin to be rid of her. She put me in mind of Gabrina in the _Orlando +Furioso._ We stopped one day at Milan but we were very near being detained +two or three days at Fiacenza owing to an informality in the Baroness's +passport, which had not been vise by the Austrian Legation at Florence. In +vain she pleaded that she was told at the inn at Florence that such _visa_ +was not necessary; the police officer at the Austrian _Douane_, at a short +distance beyond Piacenza, was inexorable and refused to _viser_ her +passport to allow her to proceed. She was in a sad dilemma and it was +thought we should be obliged to remain at Piacenza. I however recommended +her to be guided by me and not to talk with or scold anybody, and that I +would ensure her arrival at Milan without difficulty, for I had observed +that her scolding the officer at the _Douane_ only served to make him more +obstinate. I recommended her therefore that when we should arrive within +sixty or seventy paces of the gate at Milan, she should get out of the +carriage with her son and walk thro' the gate on foot with the utmost +unconcern as if she belonged to the town and was returning from a +promenade; and that while they stopped us who were in the carriage to +examine our passports, she should walk direct to the inn where we were to +lodge, then write to the Consul of her nation to explain the business. She +followed my advice and passed unobserved and unmolested into Milan. On the +preceding evening at Castel-puster-lengo at supper I asked whether she +thought the rigour of the Austrian government was also the offspring of the +French Revolution. The Baroness had brought up her son in all these +feelings and particularly in a determined hatred of the Canton de Vaud; for +in the evening when we arrived at the inn and were sitting round the fire, +he would shake the burning faggots about and say: _Voila la ville de +Lausanne en cendres!_ If he grows up with these ideas and acts upon them, +he stands a good chance of being shot in a duel by some Vaudois. It is a +pity to see a child so spoiled, for he was a very fine boy, tho' very +violent in his temper which probably he inherited from his mother. Somebody +at the _pension Surpe_ at Milan who knew her told me that the Baroness was +of an aristocratic family and had married a rich _bourgeois_ of Bern whom +she treated rather too much _de haut en bas;_ in short that it was a +marriage quite _a la George Dandin_, till the poor man took it into his +head to die one day. At Turin we parted company, she for Genoa and I for +Lausanne. + + +_From Turin to Lausanne_. + +I felt the cold very sensibly in the journey from Florence to Milan and +Turin. There is not a colder country in Europe than Lombardy in the winter. +The vicinity of the Alps contributes much to this; and the houses being +exceedingly large and having no stoves it is quite impossible that the +fireplaces can give heat sufficient to warm the rooms. I started from Turin +on the morning of the 9th December in the French diligence bound to Lyon, +but taking my place only as far as Chambery. In the diligence were a +Piedmontese Colonel who had served under Napoleon, and a young Scotchman, a +relation of Lord Minto. The latter was fond of excursions in ice and snow +and on our arrival at Suza he proposed to me to start from there two or +three hours before the diligence and to ascend Mont Cenis on foot as far as +the _Hospice_ and I was mad enough to accede to the proposal, for it +certainly was little less than madness in a person of my chilly habits and +susceptibility of cold and who had passed several years within the tropics +to scale the Alps on foot in the middle of December and to walk 24 miles in +snow and ice at one o'clock in the morning, which was the hour at which we +started. I was well clad in flannel and I went thro' the journey valiantly +and in high spirits and without suffering much from the cold till within +five miles of the Hospice, when a heavy snow storm came on; it then began +to look a little ugly and but for Napoleon's grand _chausses_ we were lost. +We struggled on three miles further in the snow before we fell in with a +_maison de refuge_. We knocked there and nobody answered. We then +determined _coute que coute_ to push on to the _Hospice_ which we knew +could not be more than two miles distant; indeed it was much more advisable +so to do than to run the risk of being frozen by remaining two or three +hours in the cold air till the diligence should come up. In standing still +I began to feel the cold bitterly; so in spite of the snow storm, we pushed +on and arrived at the inn at Mont-Cenis at five in the morning. We rubbed +our hands and faces well with snow and took care not to approach the fire +for several minutes, fortifying ourselves in the interim with a glass of +brandy. We then had some coffee made and laid ourselves down to sleep by +the side of an enormous fire until the diligence arrived, which made its +appearance at eight o'clock. The passengers stopped to breakfast and the +Scotchman proposed to me to make the descent of Lans-le-Bourg also on foot; +but I was quite satisfied with the prowess I had already exhibited and +declined the challenge. He however set off alone and thus performed the +entire passage of Mont Cenis on foot. As for the rest of us we were carried +down on a _traineau_; that is to say the diligence was unloaded and its +wheels taken off; the baggage and wheels were put on one _traineau_ and the +diligence with the passengers in it on another, and in this manner we +descended to Lans-le-Bourg. Nothing remarkable occurred on this journey and +we arrived at Chambery in good case. I hired a _caleche_ to go to Geneva, +remained there three days and arrived at Lausanne on the 18th December. + + +[100] Horace, _Sat_., II, 6, 65.--ED. + +[101] Dante, _Inferno_, I, 33,29.--ED. + +[102] Henry Augustus, thirteenth Viscount Dillon (1777-1832), married + (1807) to Henrietta Browne (died 1862).--ED. + +[103] Quoted from memory, with mistakes. The text has been corrected as it + stands in Brantome, _Les Dames galantes_, ed. Chasles, vol. I, p. + 351.--ED. + + + + + + + + +AFTER +WATERLOO + + + + + + +PART III. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +MARCH-SEPTEMBER, 1817 + +Journey from Lausanne to Clermont-Ferrand--A wretched conveyance--The +first dish of frogs--Society in Clermont-Ferrand--General de +Vergeunes--Cleansing the town--Return to Lausanne--A zealous +priest--Journey to Bern and back to Lausanne--Avenches--Lake Morat--Lake +Neufchatel--The Diet in Bern--Character of the Bernois--A beautiful +Milanese lady. + +I started from Lausanne on the 4th March 1817, and arrived on the same day +at 4 o'clock at Geneva. On my arrival at Geneva, my banker informed me that +I had been denounced to the police, for some political opinions I had +spoken at the _Hotel de l'Ecu de Geneve_, previous to my journey into +Italy, and that I had been traced as far as Turin. I went directly on +hearing this to the police, and desired to know who my accusers were, and +that the accusation against me might be investigated immediately. Both +these propositions were however declined, and I was told it was an _affaire +passee_, and of no sort of consequence; so that from that day to this I +have never been able to ascertain who my friends were. + +I left Lausanne with the intention of paying a visit to my friend Col. +Wardle and his family at Clermont-Ferrand, in the Department of the Puy de +Dome, in Auvergne, where they are residing. I staid three days at Geneva, +and then set off at 7 in the evening on the 8th March with the Courier for +Lyons. + +I never regretted any thing so much, and was near paying severely for my +rashness in putting myself into such a wretched conveyance, at such a +season of the year; but I had made the agreement with the Courier without +inspecting his carriage, and was obliged to adhere to the bargain. It was a +vehicle entirely open before; it was a bitter cold, rainy, snowy night; and +I had the rain and snow in my face the whole way, and on crossing the +Cerdon I was seized with a violent ague fit, and suffered so much from it +that on arrival at a village beyond Nantua where we stopped for supper, I +determined to proceed no further, but to rest there that night; and I asked +the innkeeper if he could furnish me with a bed for the night. He however +made so many objections and seemed so unwilling that I should remain, that +I was obliged to make up my mind to proceed. I allayed the _frissonnement_ +by a large glass of brandy and water, made fiery hot. At eight o'clock next +morning I arrived at Lyons, more dead than alive. A warm bath, however, +remaining in bed the whole day, buried in blankets, abstaining from all +food, a few grains of calomel at night and copious libations of rice gruel +the next day restored me completely to health; and after a _sejour_ of four +days at Lyons, I was enabled to proceed on my journey to Clermont on the +14th March. We arrived at Roanne in the evening and I stopped there the +whole night. + +Between Lyons and Roanne is the mountain of Tarare where the road is cut +right athwart the mountain and is consequently terribly steep; indeed it is +the steepest ascent for a carriage I ever beheld. All the passengers were +obliged to _bundle out_ and ascend on foot; and even then it is a most +arduous _montee_ for such a cumbrous machine as a French diligence. + +The country between Lyons and Roanne appears diversified; but this is not +the season for enjoying the beauties of nature. Roanne consists of one +immensely long street, but it is broad, and contains excellently built +houses and shops. There is a theatre also and baths. It is situated on the +Loire which I now salute for the first time. + +The following morning at nine o'clock a _patache_ (a sort of two wheeled +carriage) was in waiting to convey me the remainder of my journey; and I +arrived at night at a large village or town called Thiers. Halfway between +Roanne and Thiers, on stopping at a small village to dine, I observed a +dish of frogs at the kitchen fire at the inn; and as it was the first time +I had observed them as an article of food in France, I was desirous to +taste them. They were dressed in a _fricassee_ of white sauce, and I found +them excellent. The legs only are used. They would be delicious as a curry. +The next morning we continued our journey; and crossing the river Allier at +twelve o'clock, arrived at Clermont-Ferrand at 2 p.m., and dined with Col. +Wardle. Clermont and Ferrand are two towns within a mile and half distant +from each other and this Clermont is generally called Clermont-Ferrand to +distinguish it from other towns of the same name. + + +CLERMONT, March 26th. + +I have taken lodgings for a month, and board with a French family for 90 +franks per month. On the road hither the immense mountain called the Puy de +Dome is discernible at a great distance; it is said to have been a volcano. + +Clermont is a very ancient city and has an air of dullness; but the _Place_ +and promenades round the town are excellent. It is the capital of this +department (Puy de Dome). There is a terrible custom here of emptying the +_aguas mayores y menores_ (as the Spaniards term those secretions) into the +small streets that lie at the back of the houses. The consequence is that +they are clogged up with filth and there is always a most abominable +stench. One must be careful how one walks thro' these streets at night, +from the liability of being saluted by a golden shower. The lower classes +of the Auvergnats have the reputation of being dirty, slovenly and idle. + +Here is a church built by the English in the time of Edward III, when the +Black Prince commanded in this country; and it was in a chapel in this +city, the remains of which still exist, that Peter the Hermit preached the +first crusade. These are almost the only things worthy of remark in the +town itself, except that there is a good deal of commerce carried on, +manufactures of crockery, cloth and silk stockings. But in the natural +curiosities of the environs of Clermont there is a great deal to interest +the botanist and mineralogist and above all there is a remarkable +petrifying well, very near the town, where by leaving pieces of wood, +shell-fish and other articles exposed to the dropping of the water, they +become petrified in a short time. This water has the same effect on dead +animals and rapidly converts them into stone. I have myself seen a small +basket filled with plovers' eggs become in eight days a perfect +petrifaction. + + +CLERMONT, April 2d. + +I am arrived here at rather a dull season: the Carnaval is just over and +all the young ladies are taking to their _Livres d'Heures_ to atone for any +levity or indiscretion they may have been guilty of during the hey day of +the Carnaval. The Wardle family have a very pleasant acquaintance here, +chiefly among the _liberaux_, or moderate royalists, but there are some +most inveterate _Ultras_ in this city, who keep aloof from any person of +liberal principles, as they would of a person infected with the plague. The +noblesse of Auvergne have the reputation of being in general ignorant and +despotic. There is but little _agrement_ or instruction to be derived from +their society, for they have not the ideas of the age. In general the +nobles of Auvergne, tho' great sticklers for feudality and for their +privileges, and tho' they disliked the Revolution, had the good sense not +to emigrate. + +There is a Swiss regiment of two battalions quartered here. It bears the +name of its Colonel, De Salis. As there are a number of officers of the old +army here, on half pay, about three hundred in number, it is said, frequent +disputes occur between them and the Swiss officers. The Swiss are looked +upon by the people at large as the satellites of despotism and not without +reason. It is, I think, degrading for any country to have foreign troops in +pay in time of peace. Several attempts have been made in the Chamber of +Deputies to obtain their removal or _licenciement_, but without success. As +it is supposed that the song of the _Ranz des Vaches_ affects the +sensibility of the Swiss very much, and makes them long to return to their +native mountains, a wag has recommended to all the young ladies in France +who are musicians to play and sing the _Ranz des Vaches_ with all their +might, in order to induce the Swiss to betake themselves to their native +country. + +There has been a great deal of denunciation going forward here; but the +General de V----[104] who commands the troops in Clermont, determined to +put a stop to it. He had the good sense to see that such a system, if +encouraged, would be destructive of all society, prejudicial to the +Government, and vexatious to himself; as he would be thereby kept +continually in hot water. Accordingly, on a delator presenting himself and +accusing another of not being well affected to the present order of things, +and of having spoken disrespectfully of the King, M. de V---- said to him: +"I have no doubt, Sir, that your denunciation proceeds from pure motives, +and I give you full credit for your zeal and attachment to the royal cause; +but I cannot take any steps against the person whom you accuse, unless you +are willing to give me leave to publish your name and consent to be +confronted with him, so that I may examine fairly the state of the case, +and render justice to both parties." The accuser declined acceding to this +proposition. The General desired him to withdraw, and shortly after +intimated publicly that he would listen to no denunciation, unless the +denouncer gave up his name and consented to be confronted with the accused. +The consequence of this intimation was that all denunciations ceased. The +late Prefect however was not so prudent, and chose rather to encourage +delation; but mark the consequence! He arrested several persons wrongfully, +was obliged to release them afterwards, was in continual hot water and it +ended by the Government being obliged to displace him. To avoid the merited +vengeance of many individuals whom he had ill-treated, he was obliged, on +giving up his prefecture, to make a precipitate retreat from Clermont. The +delators attempted the same system with the new Prefect and Col. Wardle, +having invited some of the Swiss officers to a ball, to which were likewise +invited people of all opinions, an information was lodged against him, +purporting that he wanted to corrupt the Swiss officers from their +allegiance. The Prefect sent the letter to Col. Wardle and said that it had +not made the slightest impression on his mind, and that he treated it as a +malicious report. The new Prefect adopted the same system as the General +and tranquillity is since perfectly restored. + +Things have been taking a better turn since the dissolution of the _Chambre +introuvable_. Decazes, the present minister, is an able man, and if he is +not _contrarie_ by the _Liberaux_, he will keep the fanatical _Ultras_ in +good order. The Bishop of Clermont is a liberal man also, and as it seems +the wish of the present public functionaries here to conciliate, it is to +be hoped that their example will not be lost on the _bons vieux +gentilshommes_ of Auvergne. + +I find an inexhaustible fund of entertainment from the conversation of M. +C----. He has so many interesting anecdotes to relate respecting the French +Revolution. With regard to his present occupations, which are directed +towards rural economy, he tells me that he has succeeded in a plan of +cleansing the town from its Augean filth, and making it very profitable to +himself; and that he calculates to obtain a revenue thereby of twenty +thousand franks annually. He has, in short, undertaken to be the grand +_scavenger_ of the town, and the Government, in addition to a salary of +2,500 francs per annum, which they give him for his trouble, give to him +the exclusive privilege of removing all the dung he can collect in the +precincts of the city, and of converting it to his own advantage. He began +by fitting up a large enclosure, walled on each side, and in which he +deposits all the filth he can collect in the stables, yards and streets of +Clermont. He sends his carts round the town every morning to get them +loaded. All their contents are brought to this repository, and shot out +there. Straw is then placed over this dung, and then earth or soil +collected from gullies and ravines, and this arranged _stratum super +stratum_, till it forms an immense compact cake of rich compost; and when +it has filled one of the yards and has completed a thickness of five feet, +he sells it to the farmers, who send their carts to carry it off. He has +divided this enclosure or repository into three or four compartments. The +compost therefore is prepared, and ready to be carried off in one yard, +while the others are filling. In this he has rendered a great benefit to +the public, for the Auvergnats are incurable in their custom of emptying +their _pots de chambre_ out of the windows; so that the streets every +morning are in a terrible state: but thanks to the industry of C---- his +cars go round to collect the precious material, and all is cleared away by +twelve o'clock. He collects bones too, and offal to add to the compost. He +conducted me to see his premises; but the odour was too strong.... + +I returned to Lausanne by the same route, leaving Clermont on the 6th +April, staying four days at Lyons and as many at Geneva. Young Wardle +accompanied me. We met with no other adventure on the road than having a +young Catholic priest, fresh from the seminary, for our travelling +companion, from Thiers to Roanne. This young man wished to convert Wardle +and myself to Catholicism. + +Among many arguments that he made use of was that most silly one, which has +been so often sported by the Catholic theologians, viz.: that it is much +safer to be a Catholic than a Protestant, inasmuch as the Catholics do not +allow that any person can be saved out of the pale of their church, whereas +the Protestants do allow that a Catholic may be saved. I answered him that +this very argument made more against Catholicism than any other, and that +this intolerant spirit would ever prevent me (even had such an idea entered +into my head) of embracing such a religion. I then told him that, once for +all, I did not wish to enter into any theological disputes; that I had +fully made up my mind on these subjects; and that I would rather take the +opinion of a Voltaire or a Franklin on these matters than all the opinions +of all the theologians and churchmen that ever sat in council from the +Council of Nicsea to the present day. This silenced him effectually. Such +is the absurd line of conduct pursued by the Catholic priests of the +present day in France. Instead of reforming the discipline and dogmas of +their church and adapting it to the enlightened ideas of the present age, +they are sedulously employd in preaching intolerant doctrines, and reviving +absurd legends, and pretended miracles, which have been long ago consigned +to contempt and oblivion by all rational Catholics; and by this they hope +to re-establish the ecclesiastical power in its former glory and +preponderance. Vain hope! By the American and French Revolutions a great +light is gone up to the _Gentiles_. Catholicism is on its last legs, and +they might as soon attempt to replace our old friend and school +acquaintance Jupiter on the throne of heaven, as to re-establish the Papal +power in its pristine splendour; to borrow the language of the _Pilgrim's +Progress_, the Giant _Pope_ will be soon as dead as the Giant _Pagan_. + +On arrival at Lyons we put up at the _Hotel du Parc_, where I found cheaper +and better entertainment than at the _Hotel du Nord_. + +My friend young Wardle has fallen in love with a very beautiful _cafetiere_ +at Lyons', and spends a great part of his time in the _cafe_, at which this +nymph administers, and looks at her, _sighs, looks and sighs again_. It is +not probable however that he will succeed in his suit, for she has been +courted by very many others and no one has succeeded. She remains constant +to her _good man_, and the breath of calumny has never ventured to assail +her. I met one day at Lyons with my old friend W----s of Strassburg, who +was a Lieutenant in the 25th Regiment in the French service and served in +the battle of Waterloo.[105] He is now here and being on _demi-solde_, +employs himself in a mercantile house here as principal commis. He dined +with us and we passed a most pleasant day together. + +I arrived on the 20th April at Lausanne. + + * * * * * + +After remaining some weeks, at Lausanne on my return from Clermont, I +determind on making a pedestrian trip as far as Bern and Neufchatel +previous to returning into Italy, which it is my intention to do in +September. I sent on my portmanteau accordingly to Payerne near Avenches, +intending to pay a visit and pass three days with my friend, the Revd. Mr. +J[omini],[106] the rector of the parish there, from whom I had received a +pressing invitation. I was acquainted at Lausanne with his daughter, Mme +C----, and was much pleased in her society. She had great talent of +conversation, and I never in my life met with a lady possessed of so much +historical knowledge. I started on the 27th June from Lausanne, passed the +first night at Mondon and the next afternoon arrived at Avenches, the +_Aventicum_ of the ancient Romans. Payerne is only a mile distant from +Avenches, and I was received with the utmost cordiality by the worthy +pastor and his daughter. The scenery on the road to Avenches is very like +the scenery in all the rest of the Canton de Vaud, viz., alternate mountain +and valley, lofty trees, and every spot capable of cultivation bearing some +kind of produce; corn just ready for the sickle and fruit such as cherries +and strawberries in full bloom. Avenches has an air of great antiquity and +looks very gloomy withal, which forms a striking contrast to the neat, well +built towns and villages of this Canton on the banks of the lake Leman +where everything appears so stirring and cheerful. Avenches, on the +contrary, is very dull, and there is little society. + +At Mr. J[omini] there were, besides his daughter, his son and his son's +wife. All the _ministres_ (for such is the word in use to designate +Protestant clergymen and you would give great offence were you to call them +_pretres_) have a fixed salary of 100L sterling per annum, with a house and +ground attached to the cure; so that by farming a little they can maintain +then? families creditably. M. Jomini lost his wife some time ago, and still +remains a widower. + +I left Payerne on the fifth of July and walked to the _campagne_ of M. de +T[reytorre]us,[107] situated on the banks of the lake Morat. It is a very +pretty country house, spacious and roomy, and I was received with the +utmost cordiality by M. de T[reytorrens] and his amiable family. He is a +very opulent proprietor in this part of the country, and has spent part of +his life in England. He is a dignified looking man, a little too much +perhaps of the old school and no friend to the innovations and changes +arising from the French Revolution. Having lived much among the Tory +nobility of England, he has imbibed their ideas and views of things. His +son is now employed in one of the public offices in London. His wife and +three daughters, one of whom is married to a _ministre_, dwell with him. +With this family I passed three days in the most agreeable manner. I find +the style and manner of living of the _noblesse_ (or country gentlemen, as +we should style them) of Switzerland very comfortable, in every sense of +the word. I wish my friends the French would take more to a country life, +it would essentially benefit the nation. The way of living in M. de +T[reytorre]us family is as follows. A breakfast of coffee and bread and +butter is served up to each person separately in their own room, or in the +_Salle a manger_, Before dinner every one follows his own avocation or +amusement. At one, the family assemble to dinner which generally consist of +soup, _bouilli, entrees_ of fish, flesh and fowl, _entremets_ of +vegetables, a _roti_ of butcher's meat, fowl or game, pastry and desert. +The wine of the country is drunk at dinner as a table wine, and _old_ wines +of the country or wines of foreign growth are handed round to each guest +during the desert. After dinner coffee and liqueurs are served. After an +hour's conversation or repose, promenades are proposed which occupy the +time till dusk. Music, cards or reading plays fill up the rest of the +evening, till supper is announced at nine o'clock, which is generally as +substantial as the dinner. + +On taking leave of Mr. de T[reytorre]ns' family I walked to the banks of +the lake Neufchatel, having a stout fellow with me to carry my _sac-de +nuit_. On arrival at the lake I crossed over in a boat to Neufchatel, which +lies on the other side. I remained there the whole of the day. It is a very +pretty neat little city, in a romantic position. Its government is a +complete anomaly. Neufchatel forms a component part of the Helvetic +confederacy, and yet the inhabitants are vassals of the King of Prussia, +and the aristocracy are proud of this badge of servitude. The King of +Prussia however does not at all interfere with its internal government, and +his supremacy is in no other respects useful to him than in giving him a +slight revenue. French is the language spoken in the canton. There is a +marked distinction of rank all over Switzerland, except in Geneva, Vaud and +the small democratic cantons such as Zug and Schwytz, where it is merely +nominal. In short, tranquillity is the order of the day. Each rank respects +the privileges of the other and the peasant, however rich, is not at all +disposed to vary from his usual mode of life or to ape the noble; and +hence, tho' sumptuary laws are no longer in force, they continue so +virtually and the peasantry in all the German cantons adhere strictly to +the national costume. + + +BERN, 14 July. + +I put myself in the diligence that plies between Neufchatel and Bern at +nine p.m., on the 12 July, and the following morning put up at the _Crown +Inn_ in the city of Bern, in the _Pays Allemand_, whereas the French +cantons are termed the _Pays Romand_. Bern is a remarkably elegant city as +much so as any in Italy, and much cleaner withal. The streets are broad, +and in most of them are _trottoirs_ under arcades. There are a great number +of book-sellers here, and the best editions of the German authors are to be +procured very cheap. Bern is situated on an eminence forming almost an +island as it were in the middle of the river Aar; steep ravines are on all +sides of it; and there is a bridge over the Aar to keep up the +communication; and as the borders of the island, on which the city stands, +are very steep, a zig-zag road, winding along the ravines, brings you to +the city gates. These gates are very superb. On each side of the gates are +two enormous white stone bears, the emblems of the tutelary genius of this +city. The houses are very lofty and solidly built. The promenades in the +environs of Bern are the finest I have seen anywhere, and the grounds +allotted to this purpose are very tastefully laid out. These promenades are +paved with gravel and cut thro' the forests, that lie on the _coteaux_ and +ravines on the other side of the Aar. There are several neat villas in the +neighbourhood of these promenades, and there are _cafes_ and _restaurants_ +for those who chuse to refresh themselves. Such is the beauty of these +walks, that one feels inclined to pass the whole day among them. They are +laid out in such variety, and are so multiplied, that you often lose your +way; you are sure however to be brought up by a _point de vue_ at one or +other of the angles of the zig-zag; and this serves as a guide _pour vous +orienter_, as the French say. Another favorite promenade is a garden, in +the town itself, that environs the whole city from which and from the +superb terrace of the Cathedral you have a magnificent view of the glaciers +that tower above the Grindelwald and Lauterbrunn. The immense forests that +are in the neighbourhood of Bern form a striking contrast with the +cornfields in the vallies and on the _coteaw._ There are but few vineyards +in the neighbourhood of Bern. + + +BERN, 16 July. + +The Diet is held this year in Bern and it is now sitting. I have met with +the two Deputies of the Canton de Vaud, MM. P----- and M-----. I am glad to +hear from them that the animosity existing between the two cantons of Bern +and Vaud is beginning to subside. M. P------ has made a most able and +conciliating speech at the Diet. Still there is a good deal of jealousy +rankling in the breast of the Bern _noblesse_ and the _avulsumimperium_ is +a very sore subject with them. I recollect once at Lausanne meeting with a +young man of one of the principal families of Bern, who had been hi the +English service. The conversation happened to turn on the emancipation of +the Canton de Vaud from the domination of Bern, when the young man became +perfectly furious and insisted that the Vaudois had no right whatever to +their liberty, for that the Canton of Bern had purchased the province of +Vaud from the Dukes of Savoy. _"En un mot" (said he), "ils sont nos +esclaves, nos ilotes et ils sont aussi clairement notre propriete que les +negres de la Jamaique le sont de leurs maitres"_ + +A very harsh measure has lately been passed in the Diet, evidently +suggested by the aristocracy of Bern, which tended to fine and punish those +Swiss officers who remained in Prance to serve under Napoleon after his +return from Elba, and who did not obey the order of the Diet which recalled +them. A very able objection has been made to this measure in a _brochure,_ +wherein it is stated that many of these officers had no means of living +out of France and that, on a former occasion, when a number of Swiss +officers were serving the English Government and were employed in America +in the war against the United States in 1812 and 1818, the Diet, then under +Napoleon's influence, issued a decree recalling them and commanding them to +quit the English service forthwith. This they refused to do and continued +to serve. No notice whatever was taken of this act of disobedience, when +they returned to their native country on being disbanded in 1814, and they +were very favourably received. Why then, says the author of this pamphlet, +is a similar act of disobedience to pass unnoticed in one instance and to +be so severely punished in another? Or do you wish to prove that your +vengeance is directed only against those who remained in France, to fight +for its liberties, when invaded by a foreign foe, while those who remained +in America to fight against the liberties and existence of the American +Republic you have received with applause and congratulation? Is such +conduct worthy of Republicans? O, fie! + +Such an argument is in my opinion convincing for all the world except for +an English Tory, a French _Ultra_ or a Bern Oligarch. + +The Arsenal here is well worth seeing; here is a superb collection of +ancient armour, much of which were the spoils of the Austrian and +Burgundian chivalry, who fell in their attempts to crush Helvetic liberty. + +By way of shewing how fond the Bernois are of old institutions and customs, +they have been at the trouble to catch three or four bears and keep them in +a walled pit in the city, where they are well fed and taken care of. The +popular superstition is that the bears entertained in this manner +contribute to the safety of the commonwealth; and this establishment +continued ever in full force, until the dissolution of the old Confederacy +took place and the establishment in its place of the Helvetic Republic +under the influence of the French directorial government. The custom, then, +appearing absurd and useless, was abolished, and the bears were sold. But +since the peace of 1814 other bears have been caught and are nourishd, as +the former ones were, at the expence of the state. + +Bern derives its name from _Bueren_, the German word for _Bears_ (plural +number). Only the French spell _Berne_, with an _e_ at the end of it. + +There are no theatrical amusements going forward here. Cards and now and +then a little music form the evening recreations. + +In the inn at Bern I became acquainted with a most delightful Milanese lady +and her son. Her name is L------; she is the widow of an opulent banker at +Milan and has a large family of children. She was about thirty-eight years +of age and is still a remarkably handsome woman. Time has made very little +impression on her and she unites very pleasing manners with a great taste +for litterature. She is greatly proficient in the English language and +litterature, which she understands thoroughly, tho' she speaks it with +difficulty. She is an enthusiastic admirer of Shakespeare, Milton and +Byron. She had been to Zurich for her son, who was employed in a commercial +house there, in order to take him back with her into Italy. She spoke +French as well as Italian, and her son had a very good knowledge of German. +She offered me a seat in her carriage, on the understanding that I was +going to Lausanne, where she intended to stop a day or two. An offer of the +kind made by so elegant and fascinating a woman you may be assured I did +not scruple to accept, and I was in hopes of improving on this acquaintance +and renewing it at Milan. Indeed, did not business oblige me to remain some +weeks at Lausanne, I should certainly offer my services to escort her all +the way to Milan. She had letters of introduction for Lausanne, and during +her stay there I acted as her _cicerone_, to point out the most interesting +objects and points of view, which the place affords. + + +[104] Louis Charles Joseph Gravier, vicomte de Vergennes d'Alonne, was the + son of the Comte de Vergennes, who was minister under the reign of + Louisi XVI. Born at Constantinople in 1766, he took service at the + early age of thirteen, was promoted captain in 1782 and colonel in + 1788. Having emigrated in 1791, he served in Conde's army, then took + service in England from 1795 to 1797. On the 3rd March, 1815, he + re-entered the army as "marechal de camp," and, on the 2nd November of + that same year, was promoted general commander of the department of + Puy de Dome. He retired on the 8th March, 1817, and seems to have been + much regretted at Clermont. Died 1821.--ED. + +[105] Jean Francois Wlnkens, born at Aix-la-Chapelle In 1790, is mentioned + in the records of the French War Office as having served in the 25th + Regiment at Waterloo. His family may have belonged to Strassburg.--ED. + +[106] Pierre Jacques Jomini, Protestant minister at Avenches from 1808 to + 1819.--ED. + +[107] The Treytorrens family, of old nobility and fame, now extinct, + possessed a large estate at Guevaux, on the borders of the lake of + Morat.--ED. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV + +SEPTEMBER 1817-APRIL 1818 + +Journey from Lausanne to Milan, Florence, Rome and Naples--Residence at +Naples--The theatre of San Carlo--Rossini's operas--Gaming in Naples--The +_Lazzaroni_--Public writers--Carbonarism--Return to Rome--Christmas eve at +Santa Maria Maggiore--Mme Dionigi--Theatricals--Society in Rome--The papal +government--Lucien Bonaparte, prince of Canino--Louis Napoleon, ex-King of +Holland--Pope Pius VII--Thorwaldsen--Granet--The Holy Week in Rome--The +Duchess of Devonshire--From Rome to Florence by the Perugia road. + +I started from Lausanne with a party of two ladies in a Milanese _vettura_ +on the morning of the 20th September. We arrived at Milan on the 25th late +in the evening. On passing the Simplon we met with three or four men who +had the appearance of soldiers, and asked for alms something in the style +of the old Spanish soldier who accosted Gil Blas on his first journey. Our +ladies were a little alarmed. On travelling over the plains of Lombardy, +one of these ladies, who had never before been out of her country +(Switzerland) and was consequently accustomed to see the horizon bounded at +a very short distance by immense mountains on all sides, was much alarmed, +on arrival at the plain, at seeing no bounds to the horizon; she was +apprehensive of _falling down_ and _rolling over_. Her remark reminded me +of one of the objections made to the project of Columbus's voyage in +discovery of a western passage to India; it was said that in consequence of +the rotundity of the earth they would roll down and never be able to get up +again. The sensation experienced by my fellow traveller, however, may be +well accounted for and explained by any one who from a plain surface +situated on a great height looks down without a railing or balcony. + +These ladies were quite delighted with the splendour and bustle of Milan +and particularly when I took them to the _Scala_ theatre, where a very +splendid _Ballo_ was given, intitled _Sammi Re d'Egitto_. The scenery and +decorations were magnificent, being taken from Denon's drawings of Egyptian +views, and the costume was exceedingly appropriate. My fellow travellers +were much struck at the appearance of the horses on the stage and the +grotesque dancing. The last scene was the most magnificent. It represented +the great Pyramids, on the angles of which stood a line of soldiers from +the _base_ to the _apex_ holding lighted torches. The _coup d'oeil_ was +enchanting. I took the ladies to see my old friend Girolamo and in fine was +their _cicerone_ every where. We remained only four days at Milan and then +proceeded to Florence, where we arrived on the 7th October. We employed six +days for our journey and one day we halted at Bologna. After remaining four +days at Florence and taking the Radicofani road we arrived at Rome the 18th +October. + +At Rome I met my friend P.G. and his wife who were travelling towards +Naples and I likewise made two very pleasant acquaintances, the one a +Portuguese, the other a Milanese. The Milanese is a cousin of the +Neapolitan minister Di M------; and the Portuguese (M. de N------) had been +employed by his Government in a diplomatic capacity at Vienna. At Rome I +engaged appartments from the 20th of December for three months and then +started for Naples, with the intention of passing two months there, and +returning to Rome, to be in time to witness the fete at Christmas Eve. At +Velletri I met with a Jamaica family, Mr and Mrs O------, with their +daughter and daughter-in-law; and we were strongly advised to take an +escort as far as _Torre tre ponti_, being obliged to start very early from +Velletri in order to reach Terracina before night-fall. Nothing however +occurred and we arrived at Terracina without accident. The rascally +innkeeper there made Mr O------ pay forty franks for each miserable room +that he occupied, and fifteen franks a head for his supper; he was very +insolent with all. I was rejoiced to find that in one instance he failed in +his hopes of extortion. As he is obliged by law to furnish supper and beds +at a fixed price to those who travel with _vetturini_ and are _spesati_, +he, whenever a _vetturino_ arrives locks up all his decent chambers and +says that they are engaged, in order to keep them for those travellers who +may arrive in their own carriages and whom he can fleece _ad libitum_. A +friend of mine and his lady, who were travelling in their own carriage, +had, in order to avoid this extortion, engaged with a _vetturino_ to +conduct them from Naples to Rome with _his horses_, but their own carriage, +and, had stipulated to be _spesati_. Mine host of Terracina, seeing a smart +carriage drive up, ordered one of his best rooms to be got ready, ushered +them in himself and returnd in half an hour to ask what they would have for +supper; when to his great astonishment and mortification, they referred him +for the arrangement of the supper to the _vetturino_, saying that they were +_spesati_. He then began to curse and swear, said that they should not have +that room, and wanted to turn them out of it forcibly; but my friend Major +G---- took up one of his pistols, which were lying on the table, and told +the innkeeper that if he did not cease to molest them and instantly quit +the room, he would blow out his brains. This threat had the desired effect, +and he withdrew. It appears that this fellow has in the end outwitted +himself, for most people now, who travel on this road in their own +carriage, chuse to travel with a _vetturino_ and his horses and are +_spesati_, solely in order to avoid the extortion practised upon them. + +We arrived at Naples on the 29th October without accident. A _buona grazia_ +of a _scudo_ at the frontier obviated the delay which would otherwise have +occurred in examining our baggage by the _douaniers_. I put up at No 1 +_Largo St Anna di Palazzo_, near the _Strada di Toledo_, at the house of +one Berlier, who had been a domestic of poor Murat's. The Austrian troops +being now withdrawn, the military cordon of sentinels from the frontier to +Naples is kept up by the Neapolitan troops; but what a contrast between the +vigilance of the Austrian sentinels, and the negligence of the Neapolitans! +The last time I travelled on this road, I never failed, after dusk, to hear +the shout of _Wer da?_ of the Austrian sentries, long before I came up to +them, and I always found them alert. Now that the cordon was Neapolitan, I +always found the sentries either asleep, or playing at cards with their +companion (the sentries being double), both having left their arms at the +place where they were posted. At night I have no doubt they all fall +asleep, so that three or four active _banditti_ might come and cut the +throats of the whole chain of sentries in detail. + + +30th October, 1818. + +I have begun my course of water drinking at the fountain of Sta Lucia. +Since I was here the last time, the theatre of St Carlo has been finished +and I went to visit it the second night after my arrival. It is a noble +theatre and of immense size, larger it is said than the _Scala_ at Milan, +tho' it does not appear so. The profusion of ornament and gilding serves to +diminish the appearance of its magnitude. It is probably now the most +magnificent theatre in Europe. The performance was _Il Babiere di Siviglia_ +by Rossini, and afterwards a superb _Ballo_ taken closely from Coleman's +_Blue-Beard_ and arranged as a _Ballo_ by Vestris. The only difference lies +in the costume and the scenery; for here the _Barbe Bleue,_ instead of +being a Turkish Pacha, as in Coleman's piece, is a Chinese Mandarin, and +the decorations are all Chinese. A great deal of Scotch music is introduced +in this _Ballo,_ and seems to give great satisfaction. At the little +theatre of San Carlino I witnessed the representation of Rossini's +_Cenerentola,_ a most delightful piece. The young actress who did the part +of Cenerentola acted it to perfection and sung so sweetly and correctly, +that it would seem as if the _role_ were composed on purpose for her. The +part of Don Magnifico was extremely well played, and those of the sisters +very fairly and appropriately. The three actresses who did the part of +Cenerentola and her sisters, were all handsome, but she who did Cenerentola +surpassed them all; she was a perfect beauty and a grace. I think the music +of this opera would please the public taste in England. Rossini seems to +have banished every other musical composer from the stage. + +I have seen, at the Theatre of San Carlo, the _Don Giovanni_ of Mozart; but +certainly, after being accustomed to the extreme vivacity of Rossini's +style, the music, even of the divine Mozart, appears to go off heavily. +There is too much of what the French call _musique de fanfares_ in the +opera of _Don Giovanni_ and I believe most of the Italians are of my way of +thinking. + +We have just heard of the death of the poor Princess Charlotte. I am no +great admirer of Kings and Queens; and yet I must own, I could not help +feeling regret for the death of this princess. I had formed a very high +opinion of her, from many traits in her character; and I fancied and hoped +that she was destined to redeem England from the degradation and bad odour +into which she had been plunged by the borough-mongers and bureaucrats, +engendered by the Pitt system. She had liberal ideas and an independent +spirit. I really almost caught myself shedding tears at this event, and had +she been buried here, I should have gone to scatter flowers upon her tomb: + + His saltem accumulem donis, et fungar inani + Munere.[108] + +Has no royalist or ministerial poet been found to do hommage to her +_manes_? Had she lived to be Queen of England she would have found a +thousand venal pens to give her every virtue under heaven. + +There is a professor of natural philosophy now at Naples, of the name of +Amici, from Modena, who has invented a microscope of immense power. The +circulation of the blood in the thigh of a frog (the coldest animal in +nature), when viewed thro' this microscope, appears to take place with the +rapidity of a Swiss torrent. + +Since I have been here, I have once more ascended Vesuvius; there was no +eruption at all this time, but I witnessed the sight of a stream of red-hot +liquid lava flowing slowly down the flank of the mountain. It was about two +and a half feet broad. + +In my letters from Naples, the last time I was there, I gave you some idea +of the state of society. Among the upper classes gaming is reduced to a +science and is almost exclusively the order of the day. There is little or +no taste for litterature among any part of the native society. The upper +classes are sensualists; the middling ignorant and superstitious. With +regard to the _Lazzaroni_, I do not think that they at all deserve the ill +name that has been given to them. They always seem good humoured and +willing to work, when employment is given to them; and they do not appear +at all disposed to disturb the public peace, which, from their being so +numerous and formidable a body, they could easily do. The Neapolitan +dialect has a far greater affinity to the Spanish than to the Tuscan, and +there are likewise, a great many Greek words in it. When one takes into +consideration the extreme ignorance that prevails among the Neapolitans in +general, one is astonished that such a prodigy of genius as Filangieri +could have sprung up among them. What talent, application, deep research +and judgment were united in that illustrious man! And yet there are many +Neapolitans of rank who have never heard of him. Would you believe that on +my asking one of the principal booksellers in Naples for Filangieri's work +on legislation (an immortal work which has called forth the admiration and +eulogy of the greatest geniuses of the age, of which Benjamin Franklin and +Sir Wm Jones spoke in the most unqualified terms of approbation; a work +which has been translated into all the languages of Europe), I was told by +the bookseller that he had never heard either of the author or of his work. + +A very curious thing at Naples is the number of public writers; who compose +letters and memorials in booths, fitted up in the streets. As the great +majority of the people are so ignorant as to be unable to read or write, it +follows that when they receive letters, they must find somebody to read +them for them and to write the answers required. They accordingly, on the +receipt of a letter, bring it to one of these public scribes, ask him to +read it for them and to write an answer, for which trouble he receives a +fixed pay. These writers are thus let into the secrets of family affairs of +more than half of the city; and as some-of them are in the pay of the +Government for communicating intelligence, you may guess how formidable +they may become to liberty and how dangerous an engine in the hands of a +despotic Government. + +It appears that the theatre of San Carlo is principally kept up by gaming; +that is to say, the managers and proprietors would not undertake the +direction of it without the Gaming Bank being annexed to it; for otherwise +they would lose money, the expence of the Opera on account of the +magnificent decorations of the Ballets being very great, which the receipts +of the theatre are insufficient to meet; but the profits of the Casino +cover all and amply reimburse the proprietors. + +With regard to political opinions here there is a great stagnation. It +costs the Neapolitans too much trouble to think and reflect. M-----, the +principal minister, is however no favourite; neither is N-----, who has +quitted the Austrian service, and is nominated Captain-General of the +Neapolitan army.[109] + +There is a great talk about the increase of Carbonarism. You will probably +ask me what Carbonarism means. I am not initiated in the secret of the +Carbonari; but as far as I can understand, this sect or secret society has +its mysteries like modern Free-masonry or like the Orphics of old, and +several progressive degrees of initiation are required. Its secret object +is said to be the emancipation of Italy from a foreign despotism and the +forming of a government purely national. This is the reason why this sect +is regarded with as much jealousy by the different governments of Italy as +the early Christians used to be by the Pagan Emperors. Great proofs of +courage, constancy and self denial are required from the initiated; and +very many fail, or do not rise beyond the lower degrees of initiation, for +it is very difficult for an Italian to withstand sensuality. But the +leaders of this sect are perfectly in the right to require such proofs, for +no man is fit to be trusted with any political design whatever, who has not +obtained the greatest mastery over his passions. The word _Carbonari_, I +need not tell you, means _Coalmen_; the Italian history presents many +examples of secret societies taking their appellation from some mechanical +profession. + +I have now been nearly two months in Naples, and the _zampogne_ or +bag-pipes, which play about the streets at night, announce the speedy +approach of Christmas, so that I shall soon take my departure for Rome. + + * * * * * + +I left Naples on the 18th of December and arrived at Rome on the 22d. I am +settled in my old lodgings, No. 29 _Piazza di Spagna_. Nothing worth +mentioning occurred during the journey. + +The fete, of the birth of Christ held at Santa Maria Maggiore on the +evening of the 24th December is of the most splendid description, and +attended by an immense crowd of women. Guns are fired on the moment that +the birth of the Saviour is announced, and this event occurs precisely at +midnight. The Romans seem to rejoice as much at the anniversary of this +event, as if it happened for the first time, and as if immediate temporal +advantage were to be derived from it. + +I have mixed a good deal in society in Rome since my return from Naples. +Among other acquaintance I must particularly distinguish Mme Dionigi, a +very celebrated lady, possessing universality of talent.[110] She is well +known all over Italy, for the extent of her litterary attainments, but more +particularly for her proficiency in the fine arts, above all in painting, +of which she is an adept. She also possesses the most amiable qualities of +the heart, and is universally beloved and respected for the worth of her +private character, and for her generous disposition. She has all the +vivacity of intellect belonging to youth, tho' now nearly eighty-six years +of age,[111] and of a very delicate physical constitution; in short she +affords, and I often tell her so, the most striking proof of the +immortality of the soul. There is a _conversazione_ at her house twice a +week, where you meet with foreign as well as Italian _litterati_, and +persons of distinction of all nations, tongues and languages. Her eldest +daughter, Mme D'Orfei, is an excellent _improvisatrice_, and has frequently +given us very favourable specimens of the inspiration which breathes itself +in her soul. I have likewise witnessed the talent of two very extraordinary +_improvisatori_, the one a young girl of eighteen years of age, by name +Rosa Taddei. She is the daughter of the proprietor of the _Teatro della +Valle_ at Rome, and sometimes performs herself in dramatic pieces; yet, +strange to say, tho' she is an admirable _improvisatrice_ and possesses a +thorough classic and historical knowledge, she is but an indifferent +actress. + +It is a great shame that her father obliges her to act on the stage in very +inferior parts, when she ought only to exhibit on the tripod. I assisted at +an _Accademia_ given by her one evening at the _Teatro della Valle_, when +she improvised on the following subjects, which were proposed by various +members of the audience: 1st, _La morte d'Egeo_; 2dy, _La Madre Ebrea_; +3rd, _Coriolano alle mura di Roma_; 4th, _Ugolino_; 5th, _Saffo e Faone_; +6th, in the Carnaval with the following _intercalario: "Maschera ti +conosco, tieni la benda al cor_!" which _intercalario_ compels a rhyme in +_osco_, a most difficult one. The _Madre Ebrea_ and _Coriolano_ were given +in _ottava rima_ with a _rima obbligata_ for each stanza. The _Morte +d'Egeo_ was given in _terza rima_. Her versification appeared to be +excellent, nor could I detect the absence or superabundance, of a single +syllable. She requires the aid of music, chuses the melody; the audience +propose the subject, and _rima obbligata_, and the _intercalario_, where it +is required. In her gestures, particularly before she begins to recite, she +reminded me of the description given of the priestess of. Delphi. She walks +along the stage for four or five minutes in silent meditation on the +subject proposed, then suddenly stops, calls to the musicians to play a +certain symphony and then begins as if inspired. Among the different rhimes +in _osco_, a gentleman who sat next to me proposed to her _Cimosco_. I +asked him what _Cimosco_ he meant; he replied a Tuscan poet of that name. +For my part, I had never heard of any other of that name than the King +_Cimosco_ in the _Orlando Furioso_, who makes use of fire-arms; and Rosa +Taddei was, it appears, of my opinion, since this was the _Cimosco_ she +chose to characterise; and she made thereby a very neat and happy +comparison between the gun of Cimosco and the arrow of Cupid. This talent +of the _improvisatori_ is certainly wonderful, and one for which there is +no accounting. It appears peculiar to the Italian nation alone among the +moderns, but probably was in vogue among the ancient Greeks also. It is +certain that Rosa Taddei gives as fine thoughts as are to be met with in +most poets, and I am very much tempted to incline to Forsyth's opinion that +Homer himself was neither more nor less than an _improvisatore_, the Greek +language affording nearly as many poetic licences as the Italian, and the +faculty of heaping epithet on epithet being common in both languages. + +The other genius in this wonderful art is Signer Sgricci. He is so far +superior to Rosa Taddei in being five or six years older, in being a very +good Latinist and hi _improvising_ whole tragedies on any subject, chosen +by the audience. When the subject is chosen, he develops his plan, fixes +his _dramatis personae_ and then strikes off in _versi sciolti_. He at +times introduces a chorus with lyric poetry. I was present one evening at +an _Accademia_ given by him in the Palazzo Chigi. The subject chosen was +_Sophonisba_ and it was wonderful the manner in which he varied his plot +from that of every other dramatic author on the same subject. He _acted_ +the drama, as well as composed it, and pourtrayed the different characters +with the happiest effect. The ardent passion and impetuosity of Massinissa, +the studied calm philosophy and stoicism of Scipio, the romantic yet +dignified attachment of Sophonisba, and the plain soldierlike honorable +behaviour of Syphax were given in a very superior style. I recollect +particularly a line he puts in the mouth of Scipio, when he is endeavouring +to persuade Massinissa to resist the allurements and blandishments of love: + + Che cor di donne e laberinto, in quale + Facil si perde l'intelletto umano. + +This drama he divided into three acts, and on its termination he improvised +a poem in _terza rima_ on the subject of the contest of Ajax and Ulysses +for the armour of Achilles. + +Wonderful, however, as this act of improvising may appear, it is not +perhaps so much so as the mathematical faculty of a youth of eight years of +age, Yorkshireman by birth, who has lately exhibited his talent for +arithmetical calculation _improvised_ in England and who in a few seconds, +from mental calculation, could give the cube root of a number containing +fifteen or sixteen figures. + +Is not all this a confirmation of Doctor Gall's theory on craniology? viz., +that our faculties depend on the organisation of the scull. I think I have +seen this frequently exemplified at Eton. I have known a boy who could not +compose a verse, make a considerable figure in arithmetic and geometry; and +another, who could write Latin verse with almost Ovidian elegance, and yet +could not work the simplest question in vulgar fractions. Indeed, I think +there seems little doubt that we are born with dispositions and +propensities, which may be developed and encouraged, or damped and checked +altogether by education. + +I have become acquainted with several families at Rome, so that I am at no +loss where to spend my evenings. Music is the never failing resource for +those with whom the spirit of conversation fails. The society at Rome is +perfectly free from etiquette or _gene_. When once presented to a family +you may enter their house every evening without invitation, make your bow +to the master and mistress of the house, enter into conversation or not as +you please. You may absent yourself for weeks together from these +_conversazioni_, and nobody will on your re-appearance enquire where you +have been or what you have been doing. In short, in the intercourse with +Roman society, you meet with great affability, sometimes a little _ennui_, +but no _commerage_. The _avvocati_ may be said to form almost exclusively +the middling class in Rome, and they educate their families very +respectably. This class was much caressed by the French Government during +the time that Rome was annexed to the French Empire, and most of the +employes of the Government at that time were taken from this class. I have +met with several sensible well-informed people, who have been accurate +observers of the times, and had derived profit in point of instruction from +the scenes they had witnessed. + +The Papal Government began, as most of the restored governments did, by +displacing many of these gentlemen, for no other fault than because they +had served under the Ex-government, and replaced them by ecclesiastics, as +in the olden time. But the Papal Government very soon discovered that the +whole political machine would be very soon at a stand, by such an +_epuration_; and the most of them have been since reinstated. Consalvi, the +Secretary of State, is a very sensible man; he has hard battles to fight +with the _Ultras_ of Rome in order to maintain in force the useful +regulations introduced by the French Government, particularly the +organisation of a vigilant police, and the putting a stop to the murders +and robberies, which used formerly to be committed with impunity. The +French checked the system of granting asylum to these vagabonds altogether. +But on the restoration of the Papal Government a strong interest was made +to allow asylums, as formerly, to criminals. Many of these gentry began to +think that the good old times were come again, wherein they could commit +with impunity the most atrocious crimes; and no less than eighty persons +were in prison at one time for murder. This opened the eyes of the +Government, and Consalvi insisted on the execution of these men and carried +his point of establishing a vigilant police. The Army too has been put on a +better footing. The Papal troops are now clothed and disciplined in the +French manner, and make a most respectable appearance. The infantry is +clothed in white; the cavalry in green. The cockade is white and yellow. No +greater proof can be given of the merit and utility of the French +institutions in Italy, than the circumstance of all the restored +Governments being obliged by their interests (tho' contrary to their wishes +and prejudices), to adopt and enforce them. There is still required, +however, a severer law for the punishment of post office defalcations. +Simple dismissal is by no means adequate, when it is considered how much +mischief may ensue from such offences. A very serious offence of this +nature and which has made a great sensation, has lately occurred. As all +foreign letters must be franked, and as the postage to England is very +high, one of the clerks at the Post office had been in the habit of +receiving money for the franking of letters, appropriated it to his own +use, and never forwarded the letters. This created great inconvenience; a +number of families having never received answers to their letters and being +without the expected remittances, began to be uneasy and to complain. An +enquiry was instituted, and it was discovered that the clerk above +mentioned had been carrying on this game to a great extent. He used to tear +the letters and throw the fragments into a closet. Several scraps of +letters were thus discovered and, on being examined, he made an ample +confession of his practises. He was merely discharged, and no other +punishment was indicted on him. I am no advocate for the punishment of +death for any other crime but wilful murder; but surely this fellow was +worse than a robber, and deserved a greater severity of punishment. + + +ROME, 10th February, 1818. + +The Carnaval has long since begun, and this is the heaven of the Roman +ladies. On my remarking to a lady that I was soon tired of it and after a +day or two found it very childish, she replied: "_Bisogna esser donna e +donna Italiana per ben godere de' piaceri del Carnevale_." + +When I speak of the Carnaval, I speak of the last ten days of it which +precede Lent. The following is the detail of the day's amusement during the +season. + +After dinner, which is always early, the masks sally out and repair to the +_Corso_. The windows and balconies of the houses are filled with +spectators, in and out of masks. A scaffolding containing an immense number +of seats is constructed in the shape of a rectangle, beginning at the +_Piazza del Popolo_, running parallel to the _Corso_ on each side, and +terminating near the _Piazza di Venezia_; close to which is the goal of the +horse race that takes place in this enclosure. Carriages, with persons in +them, generally masked, parade up and down this space in two currents, the +one ascending, the other descending the _Corso_. They are saluted as they +pass with showers of white comfits from the spectators on the seats of the +scaffolding, or from the balconies and windows on each side of the street. +These comfits break into a white powder and bespatter the clothes of the +person on whom they fall as if hair-powder had been thrown on them. This +seems to be the grand joke of this part of the Carnival. After the +carriages have paraded about an hour, a signal is given by the firing of a +gun that the horse race is about to begin. The carriages, on the gun being +fired, must immediately evacuate the _Corso_ in order to leave it clear for +the race; some move off and _rendezvous_ on the _Piazza del Popolo_ just +behind the scaffolding, from the foot of which the horses start; others +file off by the _Via Ripetta_ and take their stand on the _Piazza Colonna_. +The horse-race is performed by horses without riders, generally five or six +at a time. They are each held with a bridle or halter by a man who stands +by them, in order to prevent their starting before the signal is given; and +this requires no small degree of force and dexterity, as the horses are +exceedingly impatient to set off. The manes of the horses are dressed in +ribbands of different colours to distinguish them. Pieces of tin, small +bells and other noisy materials are fastened to their manes and tails, in +order by frightening the poor animals, to make them run the faster, and +with this view also squibs and crackers are discharged at them as they pass +along. A second gun is the signal for starting; the keepers loose their +hold, and off go the horses. The horse that arrives the first at the goal +wins the grand prize; and there are smaller ones for the two next. This +race is repeated four or five times till dusk, and then the company +separate and return home to dress. They then repair to the balls at the +different casinos, and at the conclusion of the ball, supper parties are +formed either at _restaurants_ or at each other's houses. During the time +occupied in the balls and promenades, as every body goes masked either in +character or in _domino_, there is a fine opportunity for pairing off, and +it is no doubt turned to account. This is a pretty accurate account of a +Roman Carnaval. A great deal of wit and repartee takes place among the +masks and they are in general extremely well supported, and indeed they +ought to be, for there is a great sameness of character assumed at every +masquerade, and very little novelty is struck out, except perhaps by some +foreigner, who chuses to introduce a national character of his own, which +is probably but little, or not at all, understood by the natives, and very +often not at all well supported by the foreigner himself. An American +gentleman once made his appearance as an Indian warrior with his +war-hatchet and calumet; he danced the war dance, which excited great +astonishment. He then presented his calumet to a mask, who not knowing what +the ceremony meant, declined it, when the Mohawk flourished his hatchet and +gave such a dreadful shriek as to set the whole company in alarm.[112] On +the whole this character was so little understood that it was looked upon +as a _mauvaise plaisanterie_. + +The usual characters are Pulcinelli, Arlecchini, Spanish Grandees, Turks, +fortune tellers, flower girls and Devils; sometimes too they go in the +costume of the Gods and Goddesses of the ancient mythology. I observe that +the English ladies here prefer to appear without masks in the costume of +the Swiss and Italian peasantry. + +There is a very large English society at Rome, and at some of the parties +here, you could suppose yourself in Grosvenor Square. + +The late political changes have brought together in Rome many persons of +the most opposite parties and sentiments, who have fallen from the height +of political power and influence into a private station, but who enjoy +themselves here unmolested, and even protected by the Government, and are +much courted by foreigners. I have seen at the same masquerade, in the +_Teatro Aliberti_, in boxes close to each other, the Queen of Spam (mother +of Ferdinand VII), and the Princess Borghese, Napoleon's sister. In a box +at a short distance from them were Lucian Buonaparte, his wife and +daughters. Besides these, the following ex-Sovereigns and persons of +distinction, fallen from their high estate, reside in Rome, viz., King +Charles IV of Spain; the ex-King of Holland, Louis Buonaparte; the +abdicated King of Sardinia, Victor Emanuel; Don Manuel Godoy, the Prince of +Peace; Cardinal Fesch, and Madame Letitia, the mother of Napoleon. + +I had an opportunity of being presented to Lucian, who bears the title of +Prince of Canino, before I left Rome for Naples, as on leaving the Pays de +Vaud I was charged by a Swiss gentleman to deliver a letter to him, the +purport of which was to state that he had rendered services to Joseph +Napoleon, when he was resident in that Canton, in consequence of which he +had been persecuted and deprived of his employment at Lausanne, which was +that of Captain of the Gendarmerie; and in the letter he sollicited +pecuniary assistance from the Prince of Canino. I rode out one morning to +the Villa of Ruffinella where the Prince resides and was very politely +received; it appeared however that the Prince was totally unacquainted with +the person who wrote the letter, nor was he at all aware of the +circumstances therein mentioned. I told him that I was but little +acquainted with the writer of the letter, but that he, on hearing of my +intention of going to Rome, asked me to deliver it personally. The Prince +told me he would write himself to the applicant on the subject. Here the +negotiation ended; but on my taking leave the Prince said he should be +happy to see me whenever I chose to call. The Prince has the character of +being an excellent father and husband, and seems entirely and almost +exclusively devoted to his family. He has a remarkably fine collection of +pictures and statues in his house at Rome. + +I had an opportunity likewise of seeing the ex-King of Holland, Louis +Napoleon, who seems to be a most excellent and amiable man, and in fact +everybody agrees in speaking of him with eulogy. + +With regard to the present Pontiff Pius VII, from the excellence of his +private character and virtues, and from his unassuming manners and goodness +of heart, there is but one opinion respecting him. Even those who do not +like the ecclesiastical Government, and behold in it the degradation of +Italy, render justice to the good qualities of Pius VII. He always +displayed the greatest moderation and humanity in prosperity, and in +adversity he was firm and dignified. In his morals and habits he is quite a +primitive Christian, and if he does not possess that great political talent +which has distinguished some of his predecessors, he has been particularly +fortunate and discriminating in the choice of his minister, in whom are +united ability, firmness, suavity of manner and unimpeachable character. I +think I have thus given a faithful delineation of Cardinal Consalvi. + + +ROME, March 12th. + +I have made a very valuable acquaintance in M. K[oelle][113] the envoy of +the King of Wuertemberg, to the Holy See. He is an enthusiastic admirer of +his countryman the poet Schiller, and thro' his means of procuring German +books, I am enabled to prosecute my studies in that noble language. An +Italian lady there having heard much of Schiller and Buerger, and not being +acquainted with the German language, requested me to make an Italian +translation of some of the pieces of those poets; chusing the _Leonora_ of +Buerger as one, and leaving to myself the choice of one from Schiller, I +represented the extreme difficulty of the task, but as she had read a +sonnet of mine on Lord Guildford's project of establishing an University in +the Italian language, she would not hear of any excuse. To work then I set, +and completed the translation of _Leonora_, together with one of Schiller's +_Feast of Eleusis_. These and my sonnet were the cause of my being +recommended for admission as a member of the Academy _degli Arcadi_ in Rome +and I received the pastoral name of _Galeso Itaoense_. + +The Carnaval is now over and the ladies are all at their _Livres d'Heures_, +posting masses and prayers to the credit side, to counterbalance the sins +and frailties committed during the carnaval in the account which they keep +in the Ledger of Heaven. Dancing and masquerading are now over and +_Requiems_ and the _Miserere_ the order of the day at the _conversazioni_. + +At Mr K[oelle]'s house I have become acquainted with Thorwaldsen, the famous +Danish sculptor, who is by many considered as the successful rival of +Canova; but their respective styles are so different, that a comparison can +scarce be made between them. Canova excels in the soft and graceful, in the +figures of youthful females and young men; Thorwaldsen in the grave, stern +and terrible. In a word, did I wish to have made a Hebe, a Venus, an +Antinoues, an Apollo, I should charge Canova with their execution. Did I +wish for an Ajax, an Hercules, a Neptune, a Jupiter, I should give the +preference to Thorwaldsen. + +In their private characters they much resemble each other, being both +honorable, generous, unassuming, and enthusiastic lovers of their +profession and of the fine arts hi general. + +I have been to see a remarkably fine picture, by a modern French artist, of +the name of Granet. It may be considered as the _chef d'oeuvre_ of the +perspective or dioramic art. This picture represents the ulterior of the +convent of the Capuchins, near the Barberini Palace. The picture is by no +means a very large one; but the optical deception is astonishing. You fancy +you are standing at the entrance of a long hall and ready to enter it; on +looking at it, thro' a piece of paper rolled hi form of a speaking +trumpet--which by hiding from the sight the frame of the picture, prevents +the illusion from being dissipated--you suppose you could walk into the +hall; and each figure of a monk therein appears a real human creature, seen +from a long distance, so skilfully has the artist disposed his light and +shade. This picture has excited the admiration of connoisseurs, as well as +others, and it is universally proclaimed a masterpiece. M. Granet's house +is filled every day with persons coming to see this picture, and many +repeat their visits several tunes in the week. He has received several +orders for copies of this picture, and I fancy he begins to be tired of +eternally copying the same thing; for he told me that he wished that the +gentlemen who employed him would vary their subjects, and either chuse some +other themselves, or let him chuse for them. But no! such is the effect of +vogue and fashion, and such the despotic influence they exercise even over +the polite arts, that everybody must have a copy of Granet's picture of the +interior of the Convent of Capuchins _coute que coute_; so that poor Granet +seems bound to this Convent for life; except in the intervals of his +labours, he should hit off another subject, with equal felicity, and this +alone may perhaps serve to diminish the universal desire of possessing a +copy of the Convent. The original picture is destined for the King of +France.[114] + +I remarked, in the collection of the works of this artist, a small picture +representing Galileo in prison, and a monk descending the steps of the +dungeon bringing him his scanty meal. A lamp hangs suspended from the roof, +in the centre of the dungeon, and the artist has made a very happy hit in +throwing the whole glare of the lamp on the countenance of Galileo, who is +seated reading a book, while the gaoler monk is left completely in the +shade. On seeing this I exclaimed: _Veramente, Signor Granet, e buonissimo +quel vostro concetto!_ + + +Easter Tuesday. + +I have at length seen all the fine sights that Rome affords during the Holy +Week, and have witnessed most of the religious ceremonies, viz., the +illuminated cross hi St Peter's on Good Friday; the high mass celebrated by +the Pope in person on Easter Sunday; the Papal benediction from a window of +the church above the facade on the same day; the illumination of the facade +of St Peter's on Easter Monday, and the _Girandola_ or grand firework at +the Castle of St Angelo on the same evening. The ceremony of the Pope +washing the feet of twelve poor men I did not see, for I could not get into +the Sistine Chapel, where the ceremony was performed: and at the mass +performed by the Pope in the Sistine Chapel I did contrive to enter, but +was so oppressed by the crowd and heat, that I almost fainted away, and was +very glad to get out of the Chapel again, before the ceremony commenced. +Why in the name of commonsense do they perform these ceremonies in the +Sistine Chapel which is small, instead of doing them in the church of St +Peter's, which would contain so many people and produce a much grander +effect? + +A great many people are deprived of seeing the ceremonies in the Sistine +Chapel from the difficulty of getting in. The Pope's Swiss Guard attend on +that day in their ancient _costume_, with helmets, cuirasses and halberds; +these guard the entrance of the staircase leading to the Chapel, and they +have no small trouble and difficulty in maintaining order, as there is +always a great scuffle to get in, and they are particularly importuned by +German visitors, who thinking to be favored by them, in speaking to them in +their own language, vociferate; _Ich bin Ihr Landsmann!_ and hope by this +to obtain a preference. + +On Friday evening a large Cross is erected before the grand altar; every +part of this Cross is filled with lamps, and at seven in the evening the +whole is illuminated. It has a most brilliant appearance and gives the +happiest _chiaro-oscuro_ effect to the statues, columns and pilasters which +abound in this vast temple. There is no other light on this occasion than +that reflected from the Cross. On Easter Sunday, when the Pope celebrates +high mass in the church of St Peter's, the Papal noble Guard, composed of +young men from the principal families in Rome, form a hedge on each side of +the nave of the church, from the entrance of the facade to the grand altar. +The street or interval formed between this double line may be about thirty +feet broad, and behind this guard or in any other part of the church, the +spectators may stand; but as these guards wear very large feathers in their +hats, they intercept very much the sight of those who stand behind them. +The uniform of the Papal Noble Guard is very splendid, being a scarlet +coat, covered with gold lace, white feathers, white breeches and long +military boots. The approach of the Pope is announced by the thunder of +cannon, and he is brought into the Church dressed in full pontificals, with +the triple Crown on his head, on a chair borne by men, _palanquin_ fashion; +he is conducted thro' the lane formed by the Papal Guard, and as he passes +he makes the sign of the cross several times with his finger, repeating the +words: _Urbi et Orbi_. He is then set down, with his face fronting the +baldachin, when he immediately takes off the tiara, and begins the +ceremony. That ended, he leaves the church in the same state, and then +ascends the staircase, in order to prepare to give the benediction, which +is usually given from a window above the facade of the church. The Pope is +there seated on a chair with the triple Crown on his head. Troops of +cavalry and infantry are drawn up in a semi-circle before the facade of the +church, and the whole vast _arena_ of the _Piazza di San Pietro_ is covered +with spectators. On a sudden his Holiness rises, extends his hands towards +heaven, then spreads them open, and seems as if he scattered something he +held in them on the crowd below; a silly young Frenchman who was standing +next to me said: _Le voila! Le voila qui arrache la benediction au ciel, et +qui la repand sur tout le monde!_ I could not refrain from laughing at this +sally, tho' I was much impressed with the solemnity of the scene, which I +think one of the grandest and most sublime I ever beheld. This ceremony +concluded, salves of ordnance were fired. The Pope retires amidst clouds of +smoke, and seems to vanish from the Earth. The troops then fire a _feu de +joie_ and move off, playing a march in quick time, and the company +disperse. + +It is the etiquette on these occasions that no person be admitted either +into the church of St Peter or into the Sistine Chapel except in full +toilette. The ladies dress generally in black with caps and feathers; the +gentlemen either in black full dress or in military uniform. From the +variety of foreigners of all nations that are here, most of whom are +military men, or intitled to wear military uniforms, much is added to the +splendour of the spectacle. + +On the evening of Easter Monday, I was present at the illumination of the +facade of St Peter's. Rows of lamps are suspended the whole length of the +columns and pilasters and all over the cupola, so that, when illuminated, +the style of the architecture is perceptible. The illumination takes place +almost at once. How it is managed I cannot say; but a splendid illuminated +temple seems at once to drop from the clouds, like the work of an +enchanter; I say _drop from the clouds_, because the illumination begins +from the cross and cupola and is communicated with the rapidity of +lightning to every other part of the edifice. About ten o'clock the same +evening the most magnificent firework perhaps in the world begins to play +from the castle of St Angelo. All kinds of shapes are assumed by these +fireworks: here are castles, pagodas, dragons, griffins, etc. These last +about an hour and then conclude, and with them conclude all the ceremonies +used in commemoration of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ. + +Among the sights of Rome I must not omit that of a famous robber of the +name of Barbone, who was the terror of the whole surrounding country from +the depredations he committed. Having capitulated, and surrendered himself +to the Papal Government, he is now confined in the Castle of St Angelo as a +state prisoner. His wife, or a woman calling herself so, is confined there +with him, and she is said to be a woman of uncommon beauty. It is quite the +rage among the English here to go to see these _illustrious_ captives, and +Madame Barbone, superbly dressed, receives the hommage of the visitors. The +Duchess of D[evonshire] is said to have visited her, and made her a present +of a pearl necklace. I hope this is not true. Surely the Duchess, who is a +woman of talent and an encourager of the fine arts, might have found some +other object worthier of her munificence. What claims the mistress, or even +the wife, of a public robber can have on the generosity of travellers, I am +at a loss to conceive; but such is the _bizarrerie_ and _inconsequence_ of +the English, and no doubt, be this story of her Grace of D[evonshire] +having given a present true or not, it will occasion many other presents +being made to the captive Princess by a host of silly lord-aping English +men and women. Barbone has, it is said, made an excellent capitulation. He +has stipulated to be released from prison after a year and a day's +confinement, and no doubt he will then resume his old trade of brigandage. +In the meantime he has disbanded his troops, as he calls them; but will his +troops obey him, now that he is a captive? will they not rather chuse +another leader? + +In the time of the French occupation, nothing of this kind took place; but +the present Government is weak and timid. I have not been myself to see +either Barbone or his wife, but I have heard quite enough about them; they +form one of the principal sights in Rome, and I am quite _unfashionable_ in +not having gone to visit them; for according to the opinion of my English +acquaintance, he who has not seen Barbone and his wife has seen nothing. + + * * * * * + +I started from Rome on the second of April with a _vetturino_, and on +arrival at Baccano, we struck off into a road on the right hand, and +arrived at Civita Castellana at a late hour. Civita Castellana merits no +further attention, except that it is supposed to stand on the site of the +ancient city of Veii. The following day at ten o'clock we reached the small +town of Narni. Here are the remains of a beautiful bridge, constructed over +the ravine, thro' which flows the river Nera, and which was built in the +time of Augustus. It affords a very favorable specimen of the Roman bridge +architecture. There is a small chapel here, and it contains, engraved on a +stone, a description of a miracle wrought here about four years ago by the +Virgin Mary, who saved the life of a postillion. He went into the river to +water his horses, when he was carried off by the torrent and would have +been drowned, had not the Virgin, on her aid being invoked, dashed into the +river and haled him out by the hair of his head. Of this story, to use a +phrase of old Josephus,[115] every one may believe as much as he thinks +proper; but certain it is that the postillion made oath (which oath is +registered) that his life was saved by the Virgin Mary in this manner, and +he has put up a votive tablet at her shrine, which remains to this day, +commemorative of the event. There is also a Roman aqueduct in the +neighbourhood, eleven Italian miles in length. + +We arrived at Terni at three o'clock and immediately hired a _caleche_ (the +other travellers and myself) to visit the famous cascade of the Velino, +about three miles distant from the town of Terni. The road thither is very +rugged, and is a continual ascent on the flank of a ravine. For a long time +before you arrive on the brink of the cascade, you hear the roaring of the +waters; and it certainly is the most magnificent and awe-inspiring sight of +the kind I ever beheld. It is far more stupendous than any cascade in +Switzerland. That of Tivoli compared to it is as an infant six months old +to a Goliath. The Velino forms three successive falls, and the last is +tremendous, since it falls from a height of 1,068 feet into the abyss +below. The foam and the froth it occasions is terrific; and the spray +ascends so high that in standing at the distance of fifty yards from the +fall you become as wet as if you had been standing in a shower of rain. The +first fall it forms is of 800 feet; the second little less; the third I +have stated already. No painting can possibly give a faithful delineation +of this, and very possibly no poetic description can give an adequate idea +thereof. We passed the whole night at Terni and the next morning we stopped +to dine at Spoleto. The same evening we arrived at Foligno. Spoleto is a +neat town and well paved. Several ruins of ancient buildings are in its +vicinity. Before you arrive there, on the left of the road, is an immensely +high two-arched bridge. There is an aqueduct likewise just outside the +town. We did not omit to read the inscription on the gate of the town, in +commemoration of the repulse of Hannibal, who failed in his attempt to make +himself master of this city, after having beat the Romans near the lake +Trasymene. The gate is called in consequence _Porta Fugae_, and this gate +constitutes the principal glory of Spoleto. We were shown the rums of a +Palace built by Theodoric. On leaving the town, just outside the gate, we +were shewn a bridge which had laid underground for many centuries and had +been lately discovered. A bridge was known to have been built here in the +time of Augustus, and it is very probably the identical one; we could only +see the top and part of the parapet. + +Foligno is a large, well built city, neatly paved, populous and commercial, +renowned for manufactories of paper, wax, and confectionary. + +The whole road between Spoleto and Foligno is thro' a beautiful valley in +high cultivation. There is a good deal of rich pasture ground, and it is +watered by the river called in ancient tunes Clitumnus. Here are to be seen +a fine breed of white cattle for which this part of the country has been +long renowned, which cattle were used, in preference, for sacrifices +(_Albi, Clitumne, greges_).[116] A similar breed is to be found in India +and Egypt. + +The streets in Foligno are broad. I remarked the _Palazzo Pubblico_ and +Cathedral as very fine buildings. Our next day's journey brought us to +Perugia, after passing by Assisi, the birth place of the famous St Francis, +founder of the order of Franciscans. It is situated on an eminence: +convents and churches abound therein. + +Perugia is a large and opulent city, standing like a fortress on a +mountain, and towering over the plain below. It is of steep ascent from the +plain, and there are various terraces along the ramparts, commanding +several fine points of view of the rich and fertile plains all round. These +terraces are planted with trees and form the promenades appertaining to the +city. The architecture of the various churches and Palaces is very +superior. The streets are broad and every building has an air of +magnificence. The Cathedral, dedicated to St Laurence, is well worth +visiting; it stands on the _Piazza del Duomo_, where there is a fine +fountain ornamented with statues. In the church of St Peter's there are +some fine columns of marble and some pictures of Perugino and Raffaello. + + +[108] Virgil, _Aen_., VI, 886.--ED. + +[109] Of the two persons here mentioned, by their initials only, the first, + Luigi de' Medici, was chosen as Chancellor of the Exchequer by King + Ferdinando in June, 1815. The second was Nugent, an Austrian + _marescallo_, who became _capitano generale_ of the Neapolitan army, + August, 1816, and _capo del supremo comando_, February, 1817.--ED. + +[110] This most distinguished lady, Marianna Candidi, was born in Rome in + 1756; her mother, Magdalena Scilla, was the daughter of a well known + antiquary of Messina, Agostino Scilla. Marianna learned Latin, drawing + and music; she achieved a reputation as landscape painter, and was + elected a member of the Academies of St Luke in Rome, of Bologna, Pisa + and Philadelphia. She married the lawyer Domenico Dionigi, and gave him + seven children, one of whom, Henrietta, became Madame Orfei, and was + much esteemed as "improvisatrice." Madame Dionigi herself published + several works, among which a _Storia de' tempi presenti_, written in + view of the education of her children. Her _salon_ in Rome was + frequented by many men of distinction, such as Visconti, d'Agincourt, + Erskine, etc. She died on the 10th June, 1826, at the age of seventy. + --ED. + +[111] She was no more than sixty-two at that time.--ED. + +[112] To present the calumet is an offer of peace and amity among the + aborigines of North America and to refuse it is regarded as the + greatest insult. + +[113] Frye gives only the initial of the name, which I have completed from + the _Almanach de Gotha_, 1818.--ED. + +[114] The Interior of the Convent of the Capucini was first painted by + Granet in the year 1811. None of the numerous replicas are in the + Louvre, but there is one in London (Buckingham Palace) and one at + Chatsworth.--ED. + +[115] The author may have meant "old Herodotus."--ED. + +[116] Virgil, _Georg._, II, 146.--ED. + + + + +CHAPTER XV + +APRIL-JULY, 1818 + +Journey from Florence to Pisa and from thence by the Appennines to +Genoa--Massa-Carrara--Genoa--Monuments and works of art--The +Genoese--Return to Florence--Journey from Florence through Bologna and +Ferrara to Venice--Monument to Ariosto in Ferrara--A description of +Venice--Padua--Vicenza--Verona--Cremona--Return to Milan--The Scala +theatre--Verona again--From Verona to Innspruck. + +It is the custom for most travellers going to Genoa to embark on board of a +_felucca_ at Spezia, which lies on the sea coast, not far from Sarzana: but +I preferred to go by land, and I cannot conceive why anyone should expose +himself to the risks, inconveniences and delays of a sea passage, when it +is so easy to go by land thro' the Appennines. I started accordingly the +following morning, mounted on a mule, and attended by a muleteer with +another mule to convey my portmanteau. I found this journey neither +dangerous nor difficult, but on the contrary agreeable and romantic. The +road is only a bridle road. I paid forty-eight franks for my two mules and +driver, and started at seven in the morning from Sarzana. The wild +appearance of the Appennines, the aweful solitudes and the highly +picturesque points of view that present themselves at the various +sinuosities of the mountains and valleys; the view of the sea from the +heights that tower above the towns of Oneglia and Sestri Levante, rendered +this journey one of the most interesting I have ever made. I stopped to +dine at Borghetto and brought to the night at Sestri Levante, breakfasted +the next morning at Rapallo, and arrived the same evening at four o'clock +in Genoa. Borghetto is a little insignificant town situate in a narrow +valley surrounded on all sides by the lofty crags of the Appennines. Sestri +Levante is a long and very straggling town, part of it being situated on +the sea shore, and the other part on the gorge of the mountain descending +towards the sea beach; so that the former part of the town lies nearly at +right angles with the latter, with a considerable space intervening. The +road for the last four miles between Borghetto and Sestri Levante is a +continual descent. The inn was very comfortable and good at Sestri Levante. +The beginning of the road between Sestri and Rapallo is on the beach till +near Rapallo, when it strikes again into the mountains and is of +considerable ascent. Rapallo is a very neat pretty place, situate on an +eminence commanding a fine view of the sea. The greater part of the road +between Rapallo and Genoa is on the sea-coast, but cut along the mountains +which here form a bluff with the sea. Villas, gardens and vineyards line +the whole of this route and nothing can be more beautiful. The neatness of +the villas and the abundance of the population form a striking contrast to +the wild solitudes between Sarzana and Sesto, where (except at Borghetto) +there is not a house to be seen and scarce a human creature to be met, and +where the eagle seems to reign alone the uncontrolled lord of the creation. + + +GENOA, 23rd April. + +The view of Genoa from the sea is indisputably the best; for on entering by +land from the eastern side, the ramparts are so lofty as to intercept the +fine view the city would otherwise afford. From the sea side it rises in +the shape of an amphitheatre; a view therefore taken from the sea gives the +best idea of its grandeur and of the magnificence of its buildings, for +everybody on beholding this grand spectacle must allow that this city well +deserves its epithet of _Superba_. + +I observe in my daily walks on the _Esplanade_ a number of beautiful women. +The Genoese women are remarkable for their beauty and fine complexions. +They dress generally in white, and their style of dress is Spanish; they +wear the _mezzara_ or veil, in the management of which they display much +grace and not a little coquetry. Instead of the fan exercise recommended to +women by the _Spectator_, the art of handling the _mezzara_ might be +reduced to a manual and taught to the ladies by word of command. + +I put up at the house of a Spanish lady on the _Piazza St Siro_, and here +for four _livres_ a day I am sumptuously boarded and lodged. There are +three principal streets in Genoa, viz., _Strada Nuova_, _Balbi_, and +_Nuovissima_. Yet these three streets may be properly said to form but one, +inasmuch as they lie very nearly in a right line. These streets are broad +and aligned with the finest buildings in Genoa. This street or streets are +the only ones that can be properly called so, according to the idea we +usually attach to the word. The others deserve rather the names of lanes +and alleys, tho' exceedingly well paved and aligned with excellent houses +and shops. In fact the streets _Nuova_, _Nuovissima_ and _Balbi_ are the +only ones thro' which carriages can pass. The others are far too narrow to +admit of the passage of carriages. The houses on each side of them are of +immense height, being of six or seven stories, which form such a shade as +effectually to protect those who walk thro' these alleys from the rays of +the sun. The houses diminish in height in proportion as they are built on +the slant of the mountain from the bottom to the top, those at the bottom +being the loftiest. Carriages are scarcely of any use in the city of Genoa, +except to drive from one end of the town to another thro' the streets +_Nuova_, _Balbi_ and _Nuovissima_; and accordingly a carriage with four +wheels, or even with two, is a rare conveyance in Genoa. The general mode +of conveyance is on a sedan chair, carried by porters, or on the backs of +mules or asses. Genoa is distinguished by the beauty of the Palaces of its +patricians, which are more numerous and more magnificent than those of any +other city, probably, in the world. + +The Ducal Palace or Palace of Government, where the Doge used to reside, +claimed my first attention; yet, tho' much larger, it is far less splendid +than many of the Palaces of individual patricians. In fact, the Ducal +Palace is built in the Gothic taste and resembles a Gothic fortress, having +round towers at each angle. The Hall, where the Grand Council used to sit, +is superb, and is adorned with columns of _jaune antique_. On the _plafond_ +is a painting representing the discovery of America by Columbus; for the +Genoese duly appreciate, and never can forget their illustrious countryman. +The lines of Tasso, "_Un uom della Liguria avra ardimento_," etc., and the +following stanza, _Tu spiegherai Colombo a urn nuovo polo_, etc. are in the +mouth of everyone.[117] The Hall of the Petty Council is neat, but it is +the recollection of the history of this once famous Republic that renders +the examination of this Palace so interesting. But now Genoa's glory is +gone; she has been basely betrayed into the hands of a Government she most +detested. The King of Sardinia is nowhere; and he is not a little proud of +being the possessor of such a noble sea port, which enables him to rank as +a maritime power. + +The Genoese are laborious and make excellent sailors; but now there is +nothing to animate them; and they will never exert themselves in the +service of a domination which is so little congenial to them. They sigh for +their ancient Government, of whose glories they had so often heard and +whose brilliant exploits have been handed down to the present day not +merely by historical writers and poets, but by _improvisatori_ from mouth +to mouth. The Genoese nobles, those merchant Kings, whose riches exceeded +at one time those of the most powerful monarchs of Europe, who were the +pawn-brokers to those Sovereigns, are now in a state of decay. Commerce can +only flourish on the soil of liberty, and takes wing at the sight of +military and sacerdotal chains; and tho' the present Sovereign affects to +caress the Genoese _noblesse_, they return his civilities with sullen +indifference, and half concealed contempt and aversion. The commerce of +Genoa is transferred to Leghorn, which increases in prosperity as the +former decays. + +The climate of Genoa is said to be exceedingly mild during the winter, +being protected on the north by the Appennines, which tower above it to an +immense height. Beautiful villas and grounds tastefully laid out in +plantations of orange trees, pomegranates, etc., abound in the environs of +this city, and everything announces the extreme industry of the +inhabitants, for the soil is proverbially barren. This shews what they have +done and what they could still do were they free; but now they have nothing +to animate their exertions. The public promenades are on the bastions and +curtains of the fortifications, on the _Esplanade_ and in the streets +_Balbi_, _Nuova_ and _Nuovissima_. There is also another very delightful +promenade, tho' not much used by the ladies, viz., on the Mola or Pier +enveloping the harbour. + +One of the most remarkable constructions in Genoa is the bridge of +Carignano, which is built over an immense ravine and unites the hills +Fengano and Carignano. It is so high that houses of six stories stand under +its arches in the valley below. No water except in times of flood runs +under this bridge and it much resembles, tho' somewhat larger, the bridge +at Edinburgh which unites the old and new towns. The principal churches +are: first, the Cathedral, which is not far from the Ducal Palace; it is +richly ornamented and incrusted with black marble; the church of the +Annunziata and that of St Sire. They are all in the Gothic style of +architecture and loaded with that variety of ornament and diversity of +beautiful marbles which distinguish the churches of Italy from those of any +other country. Near the bridge of Carignano is a church of the same name, +wherein are four marble colossal statues. + +On the west of the city and running two miles along the sea-beach is the +_faubourg_ of St Pietro d'Arena, which presents a front of well built +houses the whole way; these houses are principally used as magazines and +store houses. + + +FLORENCE, 5 May. + +I left Genoa on the 30th April, returned on mule-back from Genoa to +Sarzana, stopping the first night at Sestri. The second evening when near +Sarzana, it being very dark, I somehow or other got out of the road and my +mule fell with me into a very deep ditch; but I was only slightly bruised +by the fall; my clothes however were covered with dirt and wet. The road +from Genoa to Sarzana might with very little expense be made fit for +carriages by widening it. At present it is only a bridle road, and on some +parts of it, on the sides of ravines, it is I think a little ticklish to +trust entirely to the discretion of one's _monture_; at least I thought so +and dismounted twice to pass such places on foot. A winding stream is to be +forded in two or three places, but it is not deep except after rains; and +then I think it must be sometimes dangerous to pass, till the waters run +off. Those, who are fond of mountain scenery will, like myself, be highly +gratified in making this journey; for it is thro' the loftiest, wildest and +most romantic part of the Appennines. From Sarzana I hired a cabriolet to +return to Pisa and from thence I took the diligence to Florence. + + +FERRARA. + +On the 9th of May I set out from Florence on my journey hither. Two days' +journey brought me to Bologna where I stopped one day; and the following +day I reached this place (Ferrara), six miles distant from Bologna. The +country between these two cities is a perfect plain and very fertile. At +Malalbergo (half-way) We crossed the Reno in a boat. I put up at the _Tre +Mori_ in Ferrara. Having remained two and half days here I have had time to +inspect and examine almost everything of consequence that the city affords. +The city itself has an imposing, venerable appearance and can boast of some +fine buildings; yet with all this there is an air of melancholy about it. +It is not peopled in proportion to its size and grass is seen growing in +several of the streets. I believe the unhealthiness of the environing +country is the cause of the decrease of population, for Ferrara lies on a +marshy plain, very liable to inundation In the centre of the city stands +the ancient Palace of the Dukes of Ferrara, a vast Gothic edifice, square, +and flanked with round towers, and a large court-yard in the centre. It was +in this court-yard that Hugo and Parisina were decapitated. From the top of +this palace a noble view of the plain of the Po represents itself, and you +see the meanderings of that King of Rivers, as the Italian poets term it. +As the Po runs thro' a perfectly flat country, and is encreased and swollen +by the torrents from the Alps and Appennines that fall into the smaller +rivers, which unite their tributary streams with the Po and accompany him +as his _seguaci_ to the Adriatic, this country is liable to the most +dreadful inundations: flocks and herds, farm-houses and sometimes whole +villages are swept away. Dykes, dams and canals innumerable are in +consequence constructed throughout this part of the country, to preserve it +as much as possible from such calamities. Ariosto's description of an +over-flowing of this river is very striking, and I here transcribe it: + + Con quel furor che il Re de' fiumi altero, + Quando rompe tal volta argine e sponda, + E che ne' campi Ocnei si apre il sentiero, + E i grassi solchi e le biade feconde, + E con le sue capanne il gregge intero, + E co' cani i pastor porta neil' onde, etc.[118] + + Even with that rage wherewith the stream that reigns, + The king of rivers--when he breaks his mound. + And makes himself a way through Mantuan plains-- + The greasy furrows and glad harvests, round, + And, with the sheepcotes, nock, and dogs and swains + Bears off, in his o'erwhelming waters drowned. + + --Trans. W.S. ROSE. + +The next place I went to see was the Lyceum or University, where there is a +very fair cabinet of natural history in all its branches. The Library is +very remarkable, and possesses a great number of valuable manuscripts. But +my principal object in visiting this Museum was to see the monument erected +in honour of Ariosto, which has been transferred here from the Benedictine +church. The inkstand and chair of this illustrious bard are carefully +preserved and exhibited. They exactly resemble the print of them that +accompanies the first edition of Hoole's translation of the _Orlando +Furioso_. Among the manuscripts what gratified me most was the manuscript +of the _Gerusalemme liberata_ of Tasso. But few corrections appear in this +manuscript; tho from the extreme polish and harmony of the versification +one would expect a great many. It is written in an extremely legible hand. + +I also inspected the original manuscripts of the _Pastor Fido_ of Guarini +and of the _Suppositi_ of Ariosto. + +I then went to visit the Hospital of St Anna, for the sake of seeing the +dungeon where poor Tasso was confined and treated as mad for several years. +When one beholds this wretched place, where a man can scarce stand upright, +one only wonders how he could survive such treatment; or how he could +escape becoming insane altogether. The old wooden door of this cell will +soon be entirely cut away by amateurs, as almost everyone who visits the +dungeon chops off a piece of wood from the door to keep as a relic. The +door is in consequence pieced and repaired with new wood, and in a short +time will be in the state of Sir John Cutter's worsted stockings which were +darned so often with silk that they became finally all silk. + +Ferrara has a strong citadel which is still garrisoned by Austrian troops; +and they will probably not easily be induced to evacuate it. The Austrian +Eagle seldom looses his hold. + + +VENICE, 18th May. + +On the 16th May at six o'clock in the morning I left Ferrara in a +_cabriolet_ to go to the _Ponte di Lago oscuro_, which is a large village +on the south bank of the Po, three miles distant from Ferrara. A flying +bridge wafted me across the river, which is exceedingly broad and rapid to +the north bank, where a barge was in waiting to receive passengers for +Venice. This barge is well fitted up and supplied with _comestibles_ of all +sorts and couches to recline on. The price is twelve francs for the +passage, and you pay extra for refreshments. The bark got under weigh at +seven o'clock and descended rapidly this majestic river, which however, +from its great breadth, and from the country on each side of it being +perfectly flat, did not offer any interesting points of view. Plains and +cattle grazing thereon were the only objects, for they take care to build +the farms and houses at a considerable distance from the banks, on account +of the inundations. After having descended the Po for a considerable +distance, we entered a canal which unites the Po with the Adige. We then +descended the Adige for a short distance, and entered another canal which +unites the Adige with the Brenta. Here we stopped to change barges, and it +required an hour and half to unload and reload the baggage. We then entered +the Brenta and from thence into the Lagoons, and passing by the islands of +Malamocco and Chiozzo entered Venice by the _Canale grande_ at three +o'clock in the morning. The whole night was so dark as totally to deprive +us of the view of the approach of Venice. The barge anchored near the Post +office and I hired a gondola to convey me to the inn called _Le Regina +d'Ungheria_. + + +VENICE, 26th May. + +I was much struck, as everyone must be who sees it for the first time, at +the singular appearance of Venice. An immense city in the midst of the +Ocean, five miles distant from any land; canals instead of streets; +gondolas in lieu of carriages and horses! Yet it must not be inferred from +this that you are necessarily obliged to use a gondola in order to visit +the various parts of the city; for its structure is as follows. It is built +in compartments on piles on various mud banks, always covered indeed by +water, but very shallow and separated from each other (the mud banks I +mean) by deep water. On each of these compartments are built rows of +houses, each row giving front to a canal. The space between the backs of +the rows of houses forms a narrow street or alley paved with flag stones, +very like Cranborn Alley for instance; and these compartments are united to +each other (at the crossings as we should say) by means of stone bridges; +so that there is a series of alleys connected by a series of bridges which +form the _tout ensemble_ of this city; and you may thus go on foot thro' +every part of it. To go on horseback would be dangerous and almost +impracticable, for each bridge has a flight of steps for ascent and +descent. All this forms such a perfect labyrinth from the multiplicity and +similarity of the alleys and bridges, that it is impossible for any +stranger to find his way without a guide. I lost my way regularly every +time that I went from my inn to the _Piazza di San Marco_, which forms the +general rendezvous of the promenaders and is the fashionable lounge of +Venice; and every time I was obliged to hire a boy to reconduct me to my +inn. On this account, in order to avoid this perplexity and the expence of +hiring a gondola every time I wished to go to the _Piazza di San Marco_ I +removed to another inn, close to it, called _L'Osteria della Luna_, which +stands on the banks of the _Canale grande_ and is not twenty yards from the +_Piazza_. + +I then hired a gondola for four days successively and visited every canal +and every part of the city. Almost every family of respectability keeps a +gondola, which is anchored at the steps of the front door of the house. +After the _Piazza di San Marco_, of which I shall speak presently, the +finest buildings and Palaces of the nobility are on the banks of the +_Canale grande_, which, from its winding in the shape of an S, has all the +appearance of a river. The _Rialto_ is the only bridge which connects the +opposite banks of the _Canale grande_; but there are four hundred smaller +bridges in Venice to connect the other canals. + +The _Rialto_, the resort of the money changers and Jews, is a very singular +and picturesque construction, being of one arch, a very bold one. On each +side of this bridge is a range of jewellers' shops. A narrow Quai runs +along the banks of the _Canale grande_. + +I have visited several of the _Palazzi_, particularly those of the families +Morosini, Cornaro, Pisani, Grimani, which are very rich in marbles of +_vert_ and _jaune antique_; but they are now nearly stripped of all their +furniture, uninhabited by their owners, or let to individuals, mostly +shopkeepers; for since the extinction of the Venetian Republic almost all +the nobility have retired to their estates on the _terra firma_, or to +their villas on the banks of the Brenta; so that Venice is now inhabited +chiefly by merchants, shopkeepers, chiefly jewellers and silk mercers, +seafaring people, the constituted authorities, and the garrison of the +place. + +Tho' Venice has fallen very much into decay, since the subversion of the +Republic, as might naturally be expected, and still more so since it has +been under the Austrian domination, yet it is still a place of great +wealth, particularly in jewellery, silks and all articles of dress and +luxury. In the _Merceria_ you may see as much wealth displayed as in +Cheapside or in the Rue St Honore. + +I have had the pleasure of witnessing a superb regatta or water _fete_, +given in honour of the visit of the Archduke Rainier to this city, in his +quality of Viceroy of the Lombardo-Venetian kingdom. There were about one +hundred and fifty barges, each fitted up by some department of trade and +commerce, with allegorical devices and statues richly ornamented, +emblematical of the trade or professions to which the barge belonged. Each +barge bore an appropriate ensign, and the dresses of the crew were all +tasteful, and thoroughly analogous to the profession they represented. +These barges are richly gilded, and from the variety of the costumes and +streamers, I thought it one of the most beautiful sights I ever beheld. +Here were the bankers' barge, the jewellers', the mercers', the tailors', +the shoe-makers', and, to crown all, the printers' barge, which showered +down from the masthead sonnets in honor of the _fete_, printed on board of +the barge itself. Every trade or profession, in short, had a barge and +appropriate flag and costumes. A quantity of private barges and gondolas +followed this procession. The Archduke and his staff occupied the +Government barge, which is very magnificent and made in imitation of the +Bucentaur. Musicians were on board of many of the barges, and the houses on +both banks of the _Canale Grande_ were filled with beautiful women and +other spectators waving their handkerchiefs. Guns were fired on the +embarkation of the Viceroy from the _Piazzetta di San Marco_, and on his +return. The _Piazza_ itself was splendidly illuminated, and the _cafes_ +which abound there, and which constitute one half of the whole quadrangle, +were superbly and tastefully decorated. + +The _Piazza di San Marco_ is certainly the most beautiful thing of the kind +in the world. It is a good deal in the style of the _Palais Royal_ at +Paris, and tho' not so large, is far more striking, from the very tasteful +and even sumptuous manner in which the _cafes_ are fitted up, both +internally and externally; they have spacious rooms with mirrors on all +sides, some in the shape of Turkish tents, others in that of Egyptian +temples. The _Piazza_, forming an oblong rectangle, is arcaded on the two +long sides, and of the two short ones, one presents a superb modern palace +built by Napoleon, and richly adorned with the statues of all the heathen +Gods on the top, which Palace was usually occupied by Eugene Napoleon; the +other presents the church of St Marco and the old palace of Government, +where in the time of the Republic the Doge used to reside. The church of St +Mark is unique as a temple in Europe, for it is neither Grecian nor Gothic, +but in a style completely Oriental, from the singularity of its structure, +its many gilded cupolas and the variety of its exterior ornaments. At +_first sight_ it appears a more striking object than either St Peter's in +Rome or St Paul's in London. On the top of the facade, which is singularly +picturesque, stand the four bronze horses which have been brought back from +Paris to their old residence. + +I ascended the top of the facade in order to examine them. They are +beautifully formed, in very good cast and have not at all been damaged by +the journey. The _Piazza_ is paved with broad flagged stones. The Doge's +palace is a vast building, very picturesque withal, and seems a _melange_ +of Gothic and Moorish architecture. At right angles to it and facing the +_Piazzetta_, which issues from the _Piazza_ and forms a quai to the _Canale +Grande_, stands the famous state prison and _Ponte de 'Sospiri_. On the +_Piazzetta_ and fronting the landing place stand two columns of white +marble, on one of which stands the winged Lion of St Marco and on the other +a crocodile, emblematical of the foreign commerce and possessions of the +Republic. The space between these two columns was allotted for the +execution of State criminals. Not far from the church of St Marco, and near +to that angle of the _Piazza_ which connects it with the _Piazzetta_, +stands the famous _Campanile_ or Steeple of San Marco. It is a square +building 800 feet in height, from the top of which one has the best view of +Venice and its adjacent isles, the distant Alps and the _marina dove il Po +discende_. A Quai, if Quai it may be called, which has a row of houses on +each side, one row of which is on the water's edge, leads from the +_Piazzetta_ to some gardens, which terminate on a point of land. This Quai +is very broad and well paved, and is the only thing that can be called a +street in all Venice. The _Piazza di San Marco_, therefore, this Quai and +the garden before mentioned form the only promenades in Venice. This garden +moreover has trees, and these are the only trees that are to be met with in +this city. In this garden are two _Cafes_. + +The variety of costume is another very agreeable spectacle at Venice. Here +you meet with Albanians, Greeks, Turks, Moors, Sclavonians and Armenians, +all in their respective national costumes. The first Armenian I met with +here was sitting on a stone bench on the _Piazza di San Marco_, and this +brought forcibly to my recollection the Armenian in Schiller's +_Ghost-seer_. + +These _Cafes_ and _Casinos_ on the _Piazza_ are open day and night. Ices +and coffee superiorly made and other refreshments of all kinds at very low +prices are to be had. Some of these _casinos_ are devoted to gaming. The +first families in Venice repair to the _Piazza_ in the evening after the +Opera, female as well as male. They promenade up and down the _Piazza_ or +sit down and converse in the _Cafes_ and _Casinos_ till a late hour. Few go +to bed in Venice in the summer time before six In the morning, so that +sleep seems for ever banished from the _Piazza_. Music and singing goes +forward in these _casinos_, and the ear is often charmed with the sound of +those delightful Venetian airs, whose simple melody ravishes the soul. The +Venetian dialect is very pleasing, and scarcely yields in harmony to the +Tuscan. It contains a great many Sclavonic words. It is the only dialect of +Italy that is at all pleasing to my ear, for I do not at all relish the +nasal twang and truncated terminations of the Piedmontese and Lombard +dialects, nor the semi-barbarous jargon of the Genoese and the Neapolitan +and, least of all, the execrable cacophony of the Bolognese. + +I visited of course the Arsenal and the Doge's Palace. The apartments in +the latter are very spacious and ornamented in the Gothic taste of +grandeur. The chamber of the Council is peculiarly magnificent. There is a +good deal of tapestry and some fine paintings and statues: among the former +I particularly noticed an allegorical picture, representing the triumph of +Venice over the league of Cambray. Venice is represented by the winged +Lion, and the powers of the Coalition are pourtrayed by various other +beasts. Among the latter is a beautiful group in marble representing +Ganymede and the Eagle. The terror depicted in the countenance of the +beautiful boy, and the passion that seems to agitate the Eagle, are +surprizingly well pourtrayed. + +The principal theatre at Venice, the _Teatro Fenice_, is not open; but I +have visited the other theatres, and among other things witnessed the +representation of a new opera, call'd _Il Lupo d'Ostende_. The piece itself +was rather interesting; but the music was feeble and did not seem to give +general satisfaction. The singing is in general very good at Venice, but in +scenery, dresses and decorations the theatres here are far inferior to +those of Milan and Naples. + +I find the air of Venice very hot and unpleasant, arising from the +exhalation from the canals; and it appears to me as if I were on board of +an enormous ship. I begin to pant for _terra firma_ and green fields. + +I have visited in a gondola some of the islands, viz., Malamocco and St +Lazare, where there is a convent of Armenian monks. + +Why are the gondolas hung with black? it gives to them such a dismal +funereal appearance. They always resemble the bodies of hearses placed on +boats. I am not fond of gaudy colours in general, yet I do think a gondola +should have a somewhat livelier color than black. + + +PADUA, 8th June. + +Padua is not above ten miles distant from Fusina. As I started from Venice +at six in the morning I had a fine receding view of the Ocean Queen, with +her steeples and turrets rising from the sea. Venice has no fortifications +and needs them not. Her insular position protects her from land attacks, +and the shoals prevent the approach of ships of war. Floating batteries +therefore and gunboats are her best defence. The road from Fusina to Padua +is on the banks of the Brenta the whole way, and is lined with trees. There +are a great number of villas on the banks of the Brenta, well built in the +best style of architecture, the most of them after the designs of Palladio, +the Prince of modern architects. + +Padua is an exceedingly large city: but its arcades and the narrowness of +the streets give it a gloomy appearance. There are however some beautiful +promenades in the suburbs. There are also the remains of an ancient Arena. +Padua is famous for its Seminario or University, which is a superb edifice. +The Church of St Anthony of Padua is of vast size, having six cupolas. +There are four organs in this church. In the chapel of the Saint himself +are a great many ornaments, among which are a crucifix in bronze and +fresques representing the different actions and miracles of this patron +Saint of the Padovani. Probably as this city was founded by the Trojan +Antenor they have transformed his name into that of a Christian Saint and +called him St Anthony, just as Virgil has been transformed into a magician +at Naples. There is a fine view from the steeple of this immense edifice. +There is another magnificent church also in this city, that of St Justine, +built after the designs of Palladio, the principal ornament of which is a +painting of the martyrdom of the Saint by Paul Veronese. But one of the +greatest curiosities in this ancient city is the immense Saloon in the +_Palazzo della Giustizia_. It is, I presume, the loftiest and largest hall +in the world that is supported by nothing but its walls, it being three +hundred feet long, one hundred feet broad and one hundred feet high. In +the Saloon is the tomb of Livy, the Historian, who was a native of Padua. +The inhabitants of Padua dress much in black, seem a quiet, staid sort of +people, and are very industrious. I put up at the _Stella d'Oro_, a good +inn. + + +VICENZA, 10th June. + +I arrived at this beautiful _bijou_ of a town on the morning of the 9th +June at eight o'clock. I call it a _bijou_ from its exceeding neatness, and +the extreme beauty of the architecture of its edifices, which are almost +all after the designs of Palladio, of white stone and in the Greek taste. +Palladio was a native of Vicenza. The _Piazza_ and _Palazzo Pubblico_ +perfectly correspond with the beauty of the rest of the city, and the +promenades about it are tastefully laid out. But the two most striking +objects in point of edifices in Vicenza and both constructed by Palladio +are the covered portico and the _Teatro Olimpico_. The covered portico is +two miles in length and leads to the chapel of the _Madonna del Monte_, +situated on an eminence, at that distance from the city. A magnificent +triumphal arch stands before it, and there is an extensive view of the +surrounding country. The _Teatro Olimpico_ is a small, but beautiful +theatre, built strictly after the model of the ancient Greek theatres. It +is peculiarly precious as being the only one of the kind in Europe. How +admirably adapted both for seeing and hearing are such theatres! It has, +for scenery, the model of a Palace, curiously carved in wood, which +represents a Royal Palace, for the ancients never shifted their scenes, and +this may account for their adhering so strictly to the unities. Statues and +bas-reliefs adorn this beautiful little theatre. Many years ago, on +particular occasions, it was the custom to act plays here, either +translated from the Greek, or taken strictly from the Greek model. This +theatre is esteemed Palladio's _chef d'oeuvre_. + +The _Campo di Marie_ is a vast _Place_ outside the town. The Place and its +gate are well worth inspecting, so is the famous villa with the Rotonda, +belonging to the Marchese di Capra, the original after which the villa +belonging to the Duke of Devonshire at Chiswick is built. The environs of +this interesting city are very beautiful and present an exceeding rich +soil, highly cultivated in corn, mulberry trees and vines hanging from them +in festoons. + + +VERONA, 12th June. + +I started yesterday morning from Vicenza and arrived here in about three +hours, the distance being nearly the same as between Vicenza and Padua. We +crossed the Adige which divides the city into two unequal parts and drove +to the _Due Torri_, a large and comfortable inn with excellent rooms and +accommodations. Verona is a very handsome city, for here also Palladio was +the designer or builder of many edifices. It has a very cheerful and gay +appearance, tho' not quite so much so as Vicenza. The reason of this +difference is that in Verona the greater part of the buildings are in the +Gothic style, which always appears heavy and melancholy, whereas in Vicenza +all is Grecian. The Amphitheatre of course claimed my first notice. It +yields only to the Coliseum in size and grandeur and is in much better +preservation, the whole of the ellipse and its walls being entire, whereas +in the Coliseum part of the walls have been pulled down. Indeed the +Amphitheatre of Verona may be said to be almost perfectly entire. _Tempus +edax rerum_ has been its only enemy; whereas avarice and religious +fanaticism have contributed, much more than time, to the dilapidation of +the Coliseum. The Amphitheatre of Verona can contain 24,000 persons. In it +is constructed a temporary theatre of wood, where they perform plays and +farces in the open air. Verona is much embellished by several _Palazzi_ +built by Palladio, which form a curious contrast with the other buildings +and churches which are in the Gothic style. Verona can boast among its +antiquities of three triumphal arches, the first, _Porta de' Bursari_, +erected in the year 252 in the reign of the Emperor Gallienus; the second, +called _Porta del Foro_; and the third, built by Vitruvius himself, in +honour of the family Gavia. + +The churches here are richly ornamented and the _Palazzo del Consiglio_ has +many fine marble and bronze statues. In this city also are the tombs and +monuments of the Scala family, who were at one time Sovereigns of Verona. +They are in the Gothic style and of curious execution. The Cathedral has an +immense _campanile_ (steeple), from which is a fine view of the surrounding +country, and the progressive risings of the Alps, the lower parts of which +lie close upon Verona. Beautiful villas and farmhouses abound in the +neighbourhood of this city. The favourite promenades are the _Corso_ and +the _Bra_. On the _Bra_ I saw a very brilliant display of carriages, and +some very pretty women in them. The theatre is by Palladio, is exquisitely +beautiful, and very tastefully fitted up. I assisted at the representation +of _La Gazza Ladra_, one of Rossini's best operas. + +I should think Verona would be a very delightful sejour; everything is very +cheap; a fine country highly cultivated; a remarkably healthy climate; a +society which unites much urbanity and a love of amusement with a taste for +the fine arts and for the graver sciences, and a general appearance of +opulence and comfort. The shops in Verona appear very splendid, and the +_Bra_, when lighted up in the evening, is a very lively and animating +scene. + + +MANTUA, 15 June. + +I could not go to Milan without stepping a little out of my road to visit +this ancient and redoubtable fortress, so celebrated in the early campaigns +of Buonaparte, besides the other claims it has on the traveller's attention +as the birth place of Virgil. This place is of immense strength, as a +military post; being situated on a small isthmus of land, separating two +lakes, and communicating with the rest of the country by an exceeding +narrow causeway. This position, added to the strength of the +fortifications, render the fortress impregnable, if well garrisoned and +provisioned. The city is, however, unhealthy from the lake and marshy land +about it, and there is but a scanty population. Grass grows in the streets +and it is the dullest and indeed the only dull town in all Italy. +Everything in this city announces decay and melancholy, and I met with +several men looking full as halfstarved and deplorable as Shakespeare's +Apothecary in Romeo and Juliet. Yet the city is by no means an ugly one. +The buildings are imposing, the streets broad and well paved, and there is +a fine circular promenade in the centre of which is a Monument erected in +honor of Virgil by the French general Miollis, who had a great veneration +for all poets. The _Palazzo pubblico_ and the Cathedral are the most +striking buildings. The latter contains the tombs and monuments of the +Gonzaga family, the whilom Sovereigns of Mantua. There are also several +monuments in honor of some French officers, who were killed in the +campaigns of Italy under Buonaparte and erected to their memory by his +direction. + +Outside the town, at a short distance from the causeway and _tete de pont_, +is the celebrated palace called the T, from its being in the form of that +letter, which was the usual residence of the Dukes of Mantua. It is a noble +edifice and its gardens are well laid out. These gardens have this +peculiarity, that at the entrance of each of the grand avenues is a figure +of a man on horseback caparizoned in armour, like the Knights of old. This +is all I have to say about Mantua. The Mincio beset with "osiers dank" +flows into the lake. + + +CREMONA, 16th June. + +From Mantua I directed my course to this city, which is large and +fortified, situated on the Po which forms many little islands in the +environs. This city is of great antiquity, and has a number of Gothic +buildings. You do not find here the specimens and imitations of Grecian +architecture as at Vicenza and Verona. The _campanile_ of the Cathedral is +of immense height, but one is repaid for the fatigue of ascending by the +extensive view from its summit. There are 498 steps. I put up at the +_Colombina_, a very good inn. The Cremonese seem to be an industrious +people. There is a great deal of pasture land in the environs of this city +and much cheese is made here and in the Lodesan. Several ricefields are +also to be met with between this place and Lodi. + + +MILAN, 25 June. + +I have been on a visit to the ancient and venerable city of Pavia, which is +about eighteen miles distant from Milan, thro' a rich highly cultivated +plain. The road lies in a right line the whole way. About three miles +distant from Pavia on the Milan side stands the celebrated _Certosa_, which +we stopped to visit. The church of the _Certosa_ contains the greatest +quantity of riches in marbles, and precious stones, of any building in the +world, probably. The architecture is Gothic, and the workmanship of the +exterior exquisite; but the ulterior is most dazzling; and at the sight of +the rich marbles and innumerable precious stones of all kinds with which it +abounds, I was reminded of Aladdin and began to fancy myself in the cavern +of the Wonderful Lamp. This church was built by Galeazzo Visconti, whose +coffin is here, and his statue also, in white marble. There are several +bas-reliefs of exquisite workmanship. There are no fewer than seventeen +altars here and of the most beautiful structure you can conceive, being +inlaid in mosaic with jasper, onyx and lapis-lazuli. Besides these precious +marbles of every colour and quantity under heaven, here are abundance of +rubies, emeralds, amethysts, aquamarines and topazes, incrusted in the +different chapels and altars. Here again is a proof of the falsehood and +injustice of the aspersions cast on the French army, as being the +plunderers of churches; for if they were so, how comes it that the +_Certosa_ the richest of all, was spared? Mr Eustace[119] in his admiration +of Church splendour, should at least have given the French no small degree +of credit for their abstinence from so rich a prize. A canal runs parallel +to the road the whole way from Milan to Pavia, where it joins the Tessino. +The banks of the Canal and each side of the road are lined with poplars. +Pavia is one of the most ancient cities in Italy and has something very +antique and solemn in its appearance. It is quite Gothic and was the +capital city of the Lombard Kings. The streets are broad and the _Piazza_ +is large. I could not find any traces of the ancient palace of the Lombard +Kings, which I should like much to have done; for then I should have +endeavoured to make out the chamber into which Jocondo peeped and +discovered what cured him of his melancholy, and where the impatient Queen +received the petulant answer from her beloved Nano, conveyed by one of her +waiting maids who told her: + + E per non stare in perdita d'un soldo, + A voi nega venire fl manigoldo.[120] + + Nor, lest he lose a doit, his paltry stake, + Will that discourteous churl his game forsake + + --_Trans._ W.S. ROSE. + + +MILAN, 28th June. + +I have been to the _Scala_ theatre, to see the _Ballet of the Vestal_, one +of the most interesting Ballets I ever beheld. Oh! what a mighty magician +is the ballet master Vigano, and as for the prima ballerina, Pallerini, +what praises can equal her merit? then, the delightful soul soothing music, +so harmonious, so pathetic, and the decorations so truly tasteful and +classical! I can never forget the impression this fascinating Ballet made +on me. It is called _La Vestale_. It opens with a view of the Circus in +ancient Rome, and various gymnastic exercises, combats of gladiators, of +athletes, and ends with a chariot race with real horses. The Roman Consuls +are present in all their pomp, surrounded by Lictors with axes and fasces. +The Vestal virgins assist at this spectacle, and from one of them the +victor in the games receives a garland, as the recompense of his prowess. +The victor is the son of one of the Consuls and the hero of the piece; the +heroine is the Vestal Virgin who crowns him with the garland. The young +victor becomes desperately enamored of the Vestale, and she appears also to +feel an incipient flame. After the games are over, the victor returns to +his father's house, and meeting there one of his friends, discloses to him +his love for the Vestale and his idea of entering by stealth into the +temple of Vesta, where his beloved was appointed to watch the sacred fire. +His friend endeavors, but in vain, to dissuade him from so rash an attempt, +which can only end in the destruction, both of his beloved and himself. All +the remonstrances, however, of the friend are vain; and the hero fixed in +his resolve watches for the opportunity, when it is the turn of his beloved +to officiate in the temple of Vesta, and enters therein. The Vestale is +terrified and supplicates him to retire: in vain; and after a long but +ineffectual struggle she sinks into his arms at the foot of the altar. +Suddenly the sacred flame becomes extinguished; a noise is heard; the +Vestals enter; the unfortunate fair is roused from her stupor by the noise +of footsteps and has just time to oblige her lover to retire, which he +reluctantly does, but not unperceived by the Vestals. The Matron of the +Vestals reproaches her with the crime she has committed and orders her to +be placed in a dungeon. She is brought out to be examined by the High +Priest, found guilty and condemned by him to the usual punishment of the +Vestals for a breach of their vow, viz., the being buried alive outside the +gates of Rome. The moment the sentence is pronounced a black veil is thrown +over her. The scene then changes to the place of execution; the funeral +procession takes place; the vault is dug and a man stands by with a pitcher +of water and loaf of bread, to deliver to her when she should descend. The +Consuls are present, attended by the Lictors and Aediles. All the other +vestals are present, of whom the culprit takes an affectionate leave and is +about to descend into the vault. Suddenly a noise of arms and shouts are +heard. It is her lover who having collected a few followers come rushing +forward with arms in their hands to arrest the execution. He forces his way +into the presence of the Consuls, but the sight of his father inspires him +with awe; he staggers back; at this moment a Lictor at the command of the +other Consul plunges a spear into his breast. The Vestal is hurried to the +brink of the vault, into which she is forced to descend to the +accompaniment of mournful music, while her dying lover vainly endeavours to +crawl towards her. The curtain falls. + +The exquisite acting of La Pallerini drew tears from my eyes: it was indeed +too horrible a subject for a _Ballo_, which in my opinion ought to end +happily. The scenery was the finest of the kind I think I ever witnessed. +The first scene represents the _Circus maximus_; the interior of the temple +of Vesta and the place of execution outside the walls of Rome were most +classically correct and appropriate: the music was beyond all praise and +singularly affecting. This Ballet has excited such an enthusiastic +approbation that Vigano the Ballet master, Pallerini who acts the Vestal +and the young man who performs the hero of the piece were summoned every +evening after the termination of the Ballet, to appear on the stage, and +receive applauses, which seemed to increase at every representation. I have +been to see this ballet six or seven times, and always with increased +delight. I was there on the last night of its representation, when some +amateurs and people connected with the theatre put in practice what +appeared to mean ill-judged _concetto_, however well merited the compliment +it meant to convey. When the Vestal was about to descend into the vault, a +genius with wings rose from it and repeated a few lines beginning _Tu non +morrai_ and telling her that the suffrages of the Insubrian people had +decreed to her immortality, and printed sonnets were showered down on the +stage from all parts of the house. I think it would have been much better +to let the piece finish in the usual way, and then at its termination call +for La Pallerini to advance and receive the garlands and hommage so justly +her due. + +I was in the _loge_ belonging to my friend Mme L-----; there were three or +four _litterati_ with her, and they were all unanimous that it was an +absurd and pedantic _concetto_. + +In a day or two I shall start from Milan for Munich thro' Brescia and +Verona and the Tyrol. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI + +JULY-SEPTEMBER 1818 + +Innspruck--Tyrol and the Tyrolese--From Innspruck to Munich--Monuments and +churches--Theatricals--Journey from Munich to Vienna on a floss--Trouble +with a passport--Complicated system of Austrian money--Description of +Vienna--The Prater--The theatres--Schiller's _Joan of Arc_--A +_Kinderballet_--The young Napoleon at Schoenbrunn--Journey from Vienna to +Prague. + + +INNSPRUCK, 15th July. + +I had engaged with a _vetturino_ to convey me from Verona to Innspruck for +four _louis d'or_ and to be _spesato_. A Roman gentleman and his lady were +my fellow travellers; they were going to pass the summer months at a small +_campagne_ they possess in the Tyrol. We stopped the first night at +Roveredo. The road from Verona to Roveredo is on the banks of the Adige +(called in German the Etsch) in a narrow and deep valley, shut up on both +sides by mountains, almost immediately on leaving Verona. We found the +weather extremely hot in this valley. Roveredo seems to be a very neat +clean little city, and the Adige flows with astonishing rapidity along this +narrow valley. The women of Roveredo have the reputation of being very +beautiful; and I recollect having seen two Roveredo girls at Venice, who +were models of female beauty. They have a happy mixture of German and +Italian blood and manners, but Italian is the language of the country. The +second morning of our journey we arrived and stopped to dinner at the +venerable and celebrated city of Trent. The country we passed thro' is much +the same as that between Verona and Roveredo, the Adige being on our left. +Trent lies also in the valley of the Adige, shut up between the Alps. The +whole valley appears in high cultivation. The streets of Trent are broad; +the Cathedral is a remarkably fine Gothic building. In the church of Sta +Maria Maggiore was held the famous council of Trent. There are a great many +silk mills in Trent. German as well as Italian is spoken; indeed the two +languages are equally familiar to most of the inhabitants. In the evening +we arrived at Sabern after passing thro' Lavis. One description will serve +for these towns and indeed for most of the towns in the Tyrol, viz., that +of being neat, clean and solidly built. The inns are excellent and the +inhabitants very civil. The Adige runs close to the road and parallel to +it, nearly the whole way to Bolsano or Botzen, where Italian ceases to be +spoken and German is the national tongue. Botzen is a large and flourishing +place. + +One general description will serve for the Tyrol, regarding the towns, +adjacent country, customs, inns, inhabitants, dress and manners. + +First the towns are fully as neat, clean and well built as those in +Switzerland; the country too is very similar, tho' not quite on so grand a +scale of sublimity; but you have fully as much variety in mountain and +valley, glacier and cascade. The climate is exactly the same as that of +Switzerland, being very hot in the valleys in summer. The inns are clean +and good, the provisions excellent and well cooked, the wines much better +than those of Switzerland; there is good attendance by females and all at a +far cheaper rate than in Switzerland. The Tyroleans are much more courteous +in their manners than the Swiss; they have not that boorishness and are of +more elegant figure than their Helvetic neighbours. The women of the Tyrol +are in general remarkably beautiful, exceedingly well shaped and of fine +complexions. + +In the towns the bourgeoises dress well, something in the French style, and +it is their custom to salute travellers who pass by kissing their hands to +them. The dress of the female peasantry, however, is unpleasing to the eye +and so uncouth, that it would make the most beautiful women appear homely. +In the first place I will speak of their head dress, of which there are +three different kinds, two of which are as _bizarre_ as can be imagined. +The first sort is a cap of sheepskin, the fleece of which is as white as +snow, and the cap is of conical shape, the base being exceeding large in +proportion to its height, and resembles much the sugar loaves made in +Egypt. The second is a black scull cap, with the three pieces of stiff +black _gaze_, sticking out like the vanes of a windmill; so that when put +on the head, one vane stands upright from the forehead and the other two +from each ear. The third head dress is a broad straw hat, and I wish they +would stick to this coiffure, and discard the two others. Then the waist of +their dress is as long as + + ...du pole antarctique an detroit de Davis.[121] + +Their petticoats are exceedingly short, scarcely reaching the calf of the +legs, which are enveloped in a pair of flaming red stockings. Who the devil +could invent such an ungraceful dress for a female? + +The costume of the men on the contrary is becoming and graceful. It +resembles very much the costume of the Andalusians. The hat is exactly the +same, the crown being small and the rim very broad. + +The Tyroleans are a fine gallant race of men and are excellent marksmen. +They were formerly much attached to the House of Austria; but that +attachment is now entirely changed to dislike, from the ingratitude they +have met with, since they have been replaced under that scepter. + +The only fault I find in the Tyroleans, is that they are rather too devout +and consequently too much under the influence of the clergy. Yet in their +devotion there is not the smallest tinge of hypocrisy and they are esteemed +a highly moral people. + +If you arrive at an inn in the evening, while the family are at prayer, +neither master nor servants will come to wait on you, till prayers are +over; and then you will be served with sufficient alacrity; but the prayers +are rather long. + +I believe the priests extort a good deal of money from these good people. +The road thro' the Tyrol was made by the Romans, in the time of Septimus +Severus. An immense number of Crucifixes on the road attest and command the +devotion of the people. + +How Kotzebue can call Innspruck a dirty town I am at a loss to conceive. He +must have visited it during very rainy weather; for to me it appears one of +the cleanest and most chearful towns I have ever seen. There are several +very fine buildings, for instance the Jesuits' College, and the Franciscan +monastery; Nothing can be more picturesque than the situation of this city +in the valley of the Inn and its romantic windings. The suburbs are very +extensive and can boast several fine houses. The cupola of the Government +House is gilded, which gives it a splendid appearance. In the _Hofkirche_ +or church of the court there are a number of statues, large as life, in +bronze; among which my guide pointed out to me those of Clovis, Godfrey of +Bouillon, Albert the Wise, Charles V, Philip II of Spain, Rudolph of +Hapsburgh, and to my great astonishment the British King Arthur; there were +twenty-eight statues altogether. But on my return to my inn, I found that +my guide had made a great error respecting King Arthur, and that the said +statue represented Prince Arthur, son of Henry VII, King of England, and +not the old Hero of Romance; and my hostess' book further informed me that +these statues were those of the Kings and Princes belonging to families +connected by descent and blood with Maximilian I. In the same _Hofkirche_ +is a fine monument erected to Maximilian and a statue of bronze of this +Emperor is figured kneeling between four bronze figures representing four +Virtues. In the gardens of the Palace of the Archduke Ferdinand in this +city is a fine equestrian statue which rests entirely on the hind feet of +the horse. From Innspruck there is a water passage by the river Inn all the +way to Vienna, as the Inn flows into the Danube at Passau. The banks of the +Inn are so romantic and picturesque that I would willingly prolong my +_sejour_ at Innspruck, but as I mean to take the journey from Mittenwald to +Munich by the river Isar, I must take advantage of the raft which starts +from that place the day after to-morrow. + + +MUNICH, 20th July. + +I left Innspruck in a _chaise de poste_ on the 16th, and arrived the same +evening at five o'clock at Mittenwald. At a short distance before I arrived +at Mittenwald, I entered the Bavarian territory, which announces itself by +a turnpike gate painted white and blue, the colours and _Feldzeichen_ of +Bavaria. In the Austrian territory the barriers are painted black and +yellow, these being the characteristic colors of Austria. + +Mittenwald is a small neat town, offering nothing remarkable but a church +yard or _Ruhe-garten_ (garden of repose) as it is called, where there are a +number of quaint inscriptions on the tombstones. At Mittenwald I had some +trouble about my passport, as it was not _vise_ by a Bavarian authority; +but I explained to the officer that I had never fallen in with any Bavarian +authority since I left Rome, and that, while at Rome, I had no intention of +going thro' Bavaria; that at Milan the Austrian authorities had _vise_ my +passport for Vienna and that I should only pass thro' Munich, without +making a longer stay than one week. He acquiesced in my argument, but +inserted my explanation on the passport. At half a quarter of a mile beyond +Mittenwald I met the raft just about to get under weigh at eleven o'clock +a.m. This raft is about as long as the length of a thirty-six gun frigate, +and formed of spars fastened together; on this is a platform about one and +a half feet high. The Isar begins its course close to Mittenwald, and the +place on which the raft stood, previous to departure, was very shallow; but +water was quickly let in from sluices to float the raft, and off we set +with a cargo of peasants, male and female, and merchandise bound for +Munich. As the river Isar rushes between immense mountains, and forms a +continual descent until the plains of Bavaria open to view, you may +conceive with what rapidity we went. We encountered several falls of water +of two, three, four and sometimes five feet which we had to _shoot_, which +no boat could possibly do without being upset. The lower part of the raft +was frequently under water in making these _shoots_ and we were obliged to +hold on fast to our seats to prevent being jerked off. Nothing can be more +romantic and picturesque than this journey, and there is something aweful +in _shooting_ these falls; these rafts are, however, so solidly constructed +that there is no danger whatever. They can neither sink nor upset. We +arrived and halted the evening at Toelz, a large village or town on the +right bank of the Isar. What gives to Toelz a remarkably singular appearance +is, that on a height at a short distance from the town, and hanging +abruptly over the river, you perceive several figures in wood, larger than +the life, which figures form groups, representing the whole history of the +passion of Jesus Christ. At a short distance, if you are not prepared for +this, you suppose that they are real men, and that a procession or +execution is going forward. On landing I immediately ascended this hill in +order to observe this curiosity, and there I beheld the following groups, +first: Christ in the midst of his disciples preaching; secondly: the +disciples asleep in a cave, and Christ watching and praying; next was Judas +betraying Christ to the soldiery; then the judgment of Christ before +Pilate; then Christ bearing his cross to the place of execution; and lastly +the crucifixion on Mount Calvary. The ground is curiously laid out so as to +represent, as much as possible, the ground in the environs of Jerusalem. +Toelz is a pretty village, but contains nothing more remarkable than the +above groups. + +The next day at twelve o'clock we perceived the spires of Munich, and at +two anchored close to one of the bridges from whence, having hired a +wheelbarrow to trundle my portmanteau, I repaired to the inn called the +Golden Cross--_Zum goldenen Kreutz_. At Toelz the Rhetian Alps recede from +the view; the landscape then presents a sloping plain which is perfectly +level within four miles of Munich. The river widens immediately on issuing +from the gorges of the Tyrol and for the last five miles we were followed +by boys on the banks of the river, begging for wood, with which our raft +was laden, and we threw to them many a faggot. Wood is the great export +from the Tyrol to Bavaria, as the latter is a flat country and has not much +wood, with which on the contrary the Tyrol abounds. A sensible difference +of climate is now felt and the air is keener than in the Tyrol. The price +of a place on the raft from Mittenwald to Munich cost only one florin, and +at Toelz an excellent supper, bed and coffee in the morning cost me only one +florin. + + +MUNICH, 23rd July. + +Munich, the capital of Bavaria, is an ancient Gothic city of venerable +appearance. The houses are very solid in structure, and the streets +sufficiently broad to give to the city a cheerful appearance. There are +some suburbs added to it, built in the modern taste, which embellish it +greatly. A large Place outside the old town, called the _Carolinen-Platz,_ +presents a number of villas disposed in the form of a circus. In these +suburbs the people assemble on holidays and Sundays, to smoke and drink +beer, of which a great quantity is consumed, it being the favorite and +national beverage. From the lively scene of the lower class of the +bourgeoisie, male and female, meeting here in the _Biersschanks_ and +_Tanzsaale_ I was reminded of the lines in Faust: + + Gewiss man findet hier + Die schoensten Maedchen, und das beste Bier, + +which may be thus rendered: + + Here let us halt! 'tis here we're sure to find + Beer of the best and maidens fair and kind! + +There are other very agreeable promenades outside the town, laid out as +_jardins anglais,_ the garden of Ostenwald for instance; and should you +wish to extend your walk further, there is Nymphenburg, a royal Palace and +gardens, just one league distant from the city. + +The _Residenz-schloss_ or Palace of the King is a solid building. The +interior is well worth seeing. There is a superb saloon with a vast number +of valuable miniatures appended to the wainscoating. An enormously heavy +bed, groaning with gold and silver embroidery and pearls and which is said +to weigh a ton, is to be seen here. There is a very good collection of +pictures, chiefly portraits, of the Electoral, now Royal family. There is a +fine chapel too belonging to this palace; a superb staircase of marble, and +some fine old tapestry representing the actions of Otto von Wittelsbach. +There is likewise a curious miniature copy of Trajan's column in gold and +incrusted with precious stones, besides a variety of other things of value. + +There are two theatres in Munich; one called the Hof or Court theatre, +where there is a company of comedians for tragedy and comedy, the expences +of which are defrayed principally by the King. The boxes are generally let +to the nobility and the _parterre_ is open to every body on payment. I +witnessed the representation of Mozart's _Nozze di Figaro._ The King was +present and was greeted with much affection. He has a very benignant +expression of countenance. He is much beloved by his subjects, for he has +governed them paternally. He has given to them a constitution _unasked;_ +for they were so contented with the old Government, that they desired no +change; but he, with his usual good sense, saw the propriety of consulting +and complying with the spirit of the age. A German writer of some eminence +at the time of the French Revolution, when the aristocrats and alarmists of +all countries were crying out against it, and proposing harsh measures to +arrest its progress, said: "Sovereigns of Europe, do you wish to set bounds +to the progress of French principles? Nothing can be more simple; you have +only to govern your people like Maximilian of Bavaria and Frederick of +Saxony, and your subjects will never desire a change." + +At the German (national) theatre which is a fair sized one, I saw a tragedy +performed called _Der Wald bey Herman-stadt_ (the Forest near +Hermanstadt),[122] It was an interesting piece taken from a feudal legend. +The part of Elisene was performed by Mlle Vohs, a very good actress. I +missed very much one thing in Munich, and that is the want of _cafes_ like +those in France and Italy, which have so brilliant an appearance. They make +coffee here at the inns; and there are two or three dull places up one pair +of stairs, where they play at billiards, and make as indifferent coffee as +is made in England. The hour of dining at Munich is in general one o'clock. +A slice of ham or sausage with beer form the _gouter,_ usually taken at +five or six o'clock; and at nine follows a supper as solid as the dinner. +The Germans are not loungers as the French and Italians, who, for the most +part, spend all their spare time in coffee-houses. When I mentioned to a +Bavarian that I could find no _cafes_ in Munich resembling those in France +and Italy, he said with emphasis! _Gott bewahre_ (God forbid)! I could not +help thinking he was in the right; for those splendid _cafes_ are very +seducing to young people and tend to encourage a life of idleness and to +keep them from their studies. The lower _bourgeoisie_ and _Stubenmaedchen_ +(_maidservants_) wear a singular head dress. It is made of stuff worked +with silver or gold and resembles two horns sticking out one at each ear. +This head dress must be costly. This class of women wear also on _fete_ +days gold crosses, collars and earrings. + +The Bavarians seem a frank, honest set of people, tho' sometimes a little +rough, in their exterior deportment. The character of Otto of Wittelsbach, +in the tragedy of that name, gives the best idea of the Bavarian character. + +I have made acquaintance here with a Mr F-----, an Austrian gentleman, and +two Polish gentlemen, the one an officer and the other a medical man. They +are brothers and had both served in the French army. We have agreed to +travel to Vienna together on board of the raft which starts every week from +Munich to Vienna. This raft brings to every day between twelve o'clock and +two near some town or village on the banks of the river, in order to allow +the passengers to dine, and anchors every evening at seven o'clock near +some town or village to sup and sleep. You have only to tell the +_Flossmeister_, or Master of the Raft, at what inn you mean to put up, or +if you have no preference, he will recommend you one; and at five the next +morning he goes his rounds to the different inns to collect his passengers, +and at six gets under weigh. + + +VIENNA, 2nd August. + +I left Munich on the 25th July and arrived on the 6th day of our journey, +30th July, at Vienna, The _Floss_, or raft, on board of which we embarked, +is about as long as the main deck of an eighty-four gun ship and about +forty feet in breadth. It is constructed of strong spars lashed together. +On the spars is constructed a large platform and on the platform several +cabins, containing tables and chairs. Mr F----, the Poles and myself hired +a cabin to ourselves. On the raft was a great deal of merchandize going to +Vienna. At Vienna the _Flossmeister_, after landing his passengers and +merchandize, sells his raft and returns on horseback to Munich. A raft is +constructed weekly at Munich from wood felled in the Tyrol and floated on +the Isar down to Munich. We arrived the first evening at Freysingen, but it +was nearly dark when we arrived; it seemed however as far as we could +observe to be a neat village; at any rate, we met with a very comfortable +inn there with good fare and good beds. We met with a very pleasant family +on board the raft, bound to Landshut; M. and Mme S. were extremely +well-informed people and their two daughters very fine girls. + +We arrived the following day at twelve o'clock at Landshut, which is a very +fine town. There is an immense Gothic tower or steeple to the Church of St +Martin, about 450 feet in height. At Deckendorf, where the Isar flows into +the Danube, I saluted for the first time that noble river. We stopped the +night at Pillshofen and arrived the following day at twelve o'clock at +Passau. Passau is a large, well built and handsome city, and is situated on +the confluent of three rivers, the Inn, the Illst and the Danube; for here +the two former flow into the latter, one on each side. Each of these rivers +just before the point of juncture seem to be of different colors; for +example the Danube appears blue, the Inn white, and the Illst black. At +Passau we put up at the Wild Man (_Zum Wilden Mann_), a favorite sign for +inns in these parts. + +The Cathedral and _Residenz-Schloss_ are striking buildings, and the city +has a lively and grand appearance. The women appear to be in general +handsome and well dressed. We brought to the evening at Engelhardtzell, +where the barrier, painted black and yellow, announced our return to the +Austrian territory. We underwent at the Customs house a rigid search for +tobacco: they even took away the tobacco that some passengers had in their +pouches. They were likewise very rigid about our passports. The English +passports do not please them at all, on account of the features of the +bearer not being specified therein, and as I answered their questions in +German, they supposed me to be a native of that country and asked me what +business I had with a British passport. I replied: _Weil ich ein Englaender +bin.--Sie ein Englaender? Sie 'sind gewiss aus Nord Deutschland. Sie +sprechen recht gut Deutsch.--Meine Herren, ich bin ein Englaender: viele +Englaender studieren und sprechen Deutsch, und wenn Siemit mir eine +langeUnterredung gehalten haetten, so haetten Sie bald ausgefunden durch +meine Sprachfehler, dass ich kein geborner Deutscher bin.--Aber Sie haben +unsere Fragen vollkommen gut beantwortet.--Warum nicht? man hat mir die +nehmlichen Fragen so wiederholten Malen gestellt, dass ich die dazu +gehoerigen Antworte auswendig habe, wie em Katechismus_.[123] The officer +laughed, took up a pen, _vised_ and gave me back my passport. + +The whole of the country on the banks of this noble river the Danube is +picturesque and presents much variety. There cannot be a more delightful +summer tour than a descent down this river. The next town of consequence +that we arrived at was Linz, a large, populous and beautifully built city +and capital of Upper Austria. The circumjacent country is in part +mountainous. The Danube is very broad here, and there is an immensely long +wooden bridge. We put up at the inn _Zum goldenen Kreutz_ (golden cross). +Here it became indispensably necessary to change our money for Austrian +paper, for that sort of it called _Wiener Waehrung_ (Vienna security), since +neither foreign coin nor another description of Austrian paper, called +_Conventions-Muenze_ (conventional currency), are current for ordinary +purposes; and it is necessary to get them changed for the current paper +_Wiener Waehrung._To explain this matter more fully and clearly: there are +two sorts of paper money in the Austrian Dominions. One is called +_Conventions-Muenze_ (conventional currency), which is fully equivalent to +gold and sliver and cannot be refused as such throughout the whole of the +Austrian dominions; the other, called _Wiener Waehrung_ (Vienna security) is +current and payable in Austria proper only, and bears a loss, out of the +Archduchy. The value of the _Wiener Waehrung_ fluctuates considerably, but +the usual par of exchange is as 2 to 1: that means, two hundred florins +_Wiener Waehrung_ are equal to one hundred _Convenzions-Muenze_ or gold and +silver money. Even the _Convenzions-Muenze_ bears a loss, tho' trifling, out +of the Imperial Dominions. The exchange has been known to have been at 400 +per cent; that is, four hundred florins _Wiener Waehrung_ were only worth +one hundred florins gold and silver; but just now it may be reckoned a +little beyond par, fluctuating from 200 to 220. In fact, the value of a +florin _Wiener Waehrung_ may be calculated at a frank in French money. All +this is exceedingly troublesome to travellers, particularly to those who do +not understand the German language; for as they cannot read the +inscription, it would be difficult for them to know the difference between +one sort of paper money and the other and they might be seriously imposed +upon. I advise therefore all travellers, before they arrive at the Austrian +frontier, whether coming from Bavaria, Saxony, or Italy, to buy up the +_Wiener Waehrung_ notes they may meet with, and which may be purchased at +great profit, probably, beyond the frontier, whereas if they defer +purchasing till they arrive within the Austrian frontier, they can only +procure the _Wiener Waehrung_ at the common rate of exchange current. + +At Linz we find ourselves again in a wine country. Linz is renowned for the +beauty of its women, and we had a most favorable specimen in our landlord's +daughter, one of the most beautiful girls I ever beheld. We talked to her a +great deal, and a scene ridiculous enough occurred. She has very beautiful +arms which we all seemed to admire; and all at once, by instinct as it +were, the two Poles lifted up one arm and I the other, and our respective +lips were fastened on either arm at the same moment as if by word of +command. We apologized for the liberty we took, saying that her arms were +perfectly irresistible and that we had never seen such fine ones before. +She accepted our excuse with the utmost good nature, and laughed very +heartily. Her father is a man of information and a good classical scholar, +a thing which is by no means uncommon among the inn-keepers of Germany. We +stopped here that night, and the ensuing forenoon. We had an excellent +supper, very good wine, and we drank to the health of the fair Amalia, the +host's daughter. Our host, who was a friend of Mr F----'s, gave us the +best of every thing, and our expences did not amount to more than seven +florins _Wiener Waehrung_, for supper, bed, breakfast and dinner. We passed +the forenoon in visiting the different parts of the city and we were struck +with the appearance of opulence and industry that prevails. + +Before we arrived at Moelk, which is the next important place, we passed the +town of Ens and beyond that the famous _Strudel_ or Whirlpool which is +dangerous at times for boats. Our raft was completely whirled round. This +whirlpool is caused by rocks rising abruptly out of the water. The popular +tradition is that this whirlpool is the abode of a very malicious and +spiteful _Wassernixe_, Undine or Water Goblin, who delighted in drowning +passengers. The scenery hereabouts is more wild and romantic than what we +have hitherto passed and bears a great resemblance to the landscape on the +Rhine between Mayence and Coblentz. Moelk is an Abbey and a very magnificent +edifice it is, situated on an eminence which forms the angle with the river +and rises quite _a pio_ from the water's edge; it lies quite _en face_ to +those who approach it, descending the stream, so that the river seems to be +terminated by it. It commands a noble prospect. I had only time to inspect +hastily the church. Beyond Moelk is a range of rocks that bear a great +resemblance to a wall, and jut out a great deal towards the river. It is +called the _Devil's wall_ from the tradition of the Devil having +endeavoured to make a wall to dam up the river. Above this wall is the +famous castle and vineyard called _Spitz am Platz_, and further on is the +castle of Dierenstein, situated on a mountain on the left bank of the +Danube. The ascent is very steep; this castle, now in ruins, was the place +where Richard Coeur de Lion was confined. The walls only of the castle and +part of the chapel are all that remain; we did not fail to visit a place of +such celebrity. A convent lies below it. + +We brought to the night at a large village where there is an excellent inn; +and the next day, the Leopoldsberg, bursting forth to view, announced to us +the approach to Vienna. We anchored at Nussdorf, where there is a Custom +house, and from whence the distance to Vienna is about one and half mile +English. After having my trunk examined, I hired a hackney coach and drove +into Vienna. The barriers beyond the suburb are called _Lines_, and between +the Suburbs and the old town is an Esplanade. We entered the Suburbs by the +_Waehringer Linie_, and the old town by the _Rothes Thor_ (Red gate); and +from thence I repaired to the inn _Zum weissen Wolf_ (white Wolf) in the +_Altem Fleischmarkt_ (old meat-market). + + +VIENNA, Augt. 4. + +The old town of Vienna is not very large, since you can walk round its +circumference on the ramparts in two hours. It was formerly fortified, but +the French blew up the fortifications, leaving only the rampart; and by so +doing they did a thing of great utility for the Viennese, and gave to the +Austrian government an excellent opportunity of joining the old town to the +magnificent faubourgs, by filling up the esplanade which separates them +with streets and squares, which would prevent the unpleasant effects of +dust in dry, and the mud in wet weather, for this dust and mud renders the +esplanade almost at all times a disagreeable promenade, there being a sharp +wind prevalent almost the whole year at Vienna, which blows about the dust +_en tourbillons_. Here then was an excellent opportunity, afforded by the +blowing up of the fortifications, of paving the whole of the esplanade and +filling it up with streets. But no! the Austrian government seem determined +upon restoring the fortifications, and a considerable number of workmen are +employed. This is very silly, for these fortifications are not of the least +use against a foreign enemy, inasmuch as the enemy can always erect his +batteries among the faubourgs and need only make one parallel, the +protection and cover afforded to him by the faubourgs rendering the other +two superfluous. The faubourgs are by far the finest part of the city, and +the garrison of the old town, in endeavouring to defend it, would destroy +by every shot they should fire the fine buildings on the faubourgs. Of the +folly of making such a defence they were made fully sensible in 1809. One +of the Archdukes threw himself into the old town of Vienna, with an +intention of defending it to the last and refused to surrender. Napoleon +caused batteries to be erected on the _Rennweg_ or _Corso_ covered by the +church of St Charles, the Manege and Palace of the Hungarian noble guard, +all magnificent buildings in the faubourgs. He then summoned the garrison +of the old town again to surrender saying: "Every shot fired against the +besiegers destroys your own most valuable property and finest edifices." +This argument, backed by the entreaties of the citizens, had its effect and +the capitulation was signed. This shows the perfect inutility of fortifying +the old town of Vienna against a foreign enemy. Indeed a capital city +should never be fortified; it generally contains too many things of value, +ever to be exposed to the risk of a bombardment. It would seem, however, +that the object of the Austrian government in reconstructing these works +were to keep its own subjects at Vienna in check. But in this case it would +be much more advisable to construct a fortress on the heights of Kahlenberg +or of Leopoldsberg, both of which command the city and the whole expanse +below. The Turks were encamped on the Kahlenberg at the famous siege of +Vienna. + +Vienna proper, the old town, is a Gothic city, but a very handsome one. The +streets are in general broad and well paved; but the _Places_ or Squares +are small. With the exception of the _Herrengasse_, where the nobility +reside, the rest of Vienna is inhabited by shopkeepers and wholesale +dealers; and the shops are brilliant and well fitted up. The _Kaernthner +Strasse_, a long and tolerably broad street, and the _Kohlmarkt_ present +the greatest display of wealth. Indeed the _Kaernthner Strasse_ may be +considered as the principal street; this street and the _Kohlmarkt_ have a +great resemblance to the finest parts of Holborn. The _Graben_ also present +a fine display of shops and may be termed the Bond Street of Vienna. The +_Sanct Stephans Platz_ where the Cathedral church of Vienna, called _St +Stephans Kirche_, stands, is the largest _Place_ in Vienna. The Cathedral +is a very ancient and curious Gothic edifice, and the steeple is nearly 450 +feet high. I happened to enter the Cathedral one day on the occasion of a +solemn requiem celebrated for the soul of Prince Metternich's father. Had +it been for the son, instead of the father, many an honorable man +persecuted at the instigation of that most machiavelic of all ministers, +might exclaim in making a slight alteration in a well known epitaph: + + Cy-git M---- ah! qu'il est bien + Pour son repos et pour le mien! + +Among the other striking buildings in the old town is the _Hofburg_ or +Imperial Palace, a very extensive quadrangular building, with a large court +in its centre. A Guard mounts here every day at eleven o'clock. It was in +one of the saloons of this palace that the celebrated Congress of Vienna +was held; a Congress whose labours will be long and severely felt by Europe +and duly appreciated by posterity, who will feel any other sentiment but +that of gratitude for the arrangements entered into there. The _Hofburg_ +was built by Leopold VII in 1200. This building, from its being extremely +irregular and from its having received additions at intervals in the +different styles of architecture, has been aptly enough considered as the +type of the Austrian monarchy, and of its growth from a Markgraviate to an +Empire; in _this_, by the continued acquisition of foreign territories +differing from each other in manners and hi speech; in _that_, by the +continued addition of various specimens of architecture and style of +building in its augmentation. + + +VIENNA, Aug. 8th. + +I am very well content with my abode at the _Weisser Wolf_, tho' it is not +a first-rate hotel. They are very civil people, and I have an excellent and +spacious room for two florins _Wiener Whaerung_ per diem. Lodgings are the +only things that are dear in Vienna, every other article is, however, +cheaper than in any other city I have yet been in. All kinds of Hungarian +wine may be had at the most reasonable prices. I generally breakfast at a +neighbouring _Cafe_ in the _Fleischmarkt_ for the sake of reading the +_Allgemeine Zeitung_ which is taken in there, and which is the only journal +having a shade of liberality which is permitted in the Austrian dominions. +From the hours of twelve to three, dinners _a la carte_ are served at the +_Weisser Wolf_. For two and half florins _W.W._, I get an excellent dinner +with a bottle of Offener wine. The wine of Offen resembles much that of +Bordeaux in its quality and flavor. The tariff however of the dinners and +wines varies daily a few kreutzers, in consequence of the eternal +fluctuation of the _W.W._, so that every morning a fresh tariff is affixed +to the wainscot of the saloon where the dinners are served. Supper, served +likewise _a la carte_, is at its full tide between the hours of eight and +ten o'clock; and as Vienna is renowned for the celebrity of its beefsteaks +and cutlets, called here _Rostbraten_, these and a salad seem to be the +favourite dish for supper. My mornings I have hitherto passed in lounging +about the _Kaernthner Gasse, St Stephen's Platz, Kohlmarkt_, etc. For an +hour before dinner the fashionable promenade is on the rampart in front of +the palace of Duke Albert of Saxe-Teschen; in the evening on the _Prater_, +in a carriage, on horseback, or on foot. The _Prater_ is of immense extent +and offers a great variety of amusements and sights. I generally return +home at night pretty well fatigued from my rambles. + +There is another great inconvenience at Vienna, resulting from the +fluctuation of the current money, and this is that a stranger, dwelling at +an inn, is sure to be disturbed five or six times in the morning, sometimes +as early as five or six o'clock, by Jews who rap at his door to enquire if +he wants to exchange gold and silver against currency or _vice versa_. I +used to lose all patience at being so disturbed in the morning, and was +obliged in self-defence to put an affiche on the door of my room to this +effect: "_Man kauft und verkauft hier nichts; kein Wechsler darf +hereintreten_." "Here there is no buying and selling; no money changer is +allowed to come in," and I hereby recommend to all strangers not to treat +with these Jews, but on their arrival, or at any time they think fit, to go +to a banking establishment in this city, where every day after eleven +o'clock you can exchange your gold and silver for paper at the just rate of +exchange, as published at the Bourse, paying only a very slight premium, +and on leaving Vienna to go to the same establishment to change your +superfluous _Wiener Waehrung_ for _Convenzions Muenze_ or gold and silver +money. For when the Jews tell you the rate of exchange is so and so, you +conclude probably your bargain with them, and on enquiring at the Bourse +you find that the Jew has made a percentage of six or eight per cent, out +of you. _Louis d'or_ are the best foreign coin to bring into the Austrian +Dominions. Next to them in utility are the Dutch ducats, or _Geharnischte +Maenner_ as they are termed, from the figure of the man in armour upon them. +All other corns suffer a loss in proportion. The bankers in Vienna pay the +foreign bill of exchange in _Convenzions Muenze_, which you must afterwards +change for _Wiener Waehrung_, the only current money in Vienna and Austria. +But what makes it additionally troublesome is that here in Vienna there are +particular payments, which must absolutely be paid in gold or silver or +_Convenzions Muenze_, and _not Wiener Waehrung_; for instance the franking of +foreign letters at the post office, where they do not take the _Wiener +Waehrung_. In vain you may intreat them to take the _Wiener Waehrung_ at any +rate they please; no! you must go elsewhere and buy from the first person +you can meet with as much gold and silver as is required for the franking +of the letters; so bigotted are they in the Austrian dominions to the +letter of the law! This happened to me: I wanted to frank three letters for +England and I went to the post office with _Wiener Waehrung_ paper, not +being aware of this regulation, and I was obliged to return to my Hotel, to +lay hold of a Jew, and to buy from him as much gold and silver as was +requisite for the franking of the letters. + +At the _Wechselbank_ or Bank of Exchange I have before mentioned, the crowd +that attends daily is immense; but the business is carried on without hurry +or confusion. You hand in your paper or your gold and silver coin, the +clerk who receives it gives you an order on paper for the amount specified, +which paper you take into another room and therein receive the amount. This +establishment, however, remains open only two hours every day, between +eleven and one I believe; so if you are too late for this interval of time, +you must apply to the brokers, Christian or Israelite. + + +VIENNA, August 11th. + +We left the old town by the _Burg-thor,_ and crossing the Esplanade, +directed our course to the _Rennweg,_ one of the suburbs, in order to view +the majestic edifice of St Charles, which is equal in the beauty of its +architecture to many of the finest churches in Rome. Its facade and cupola +render it one of the most striking buildings belonging to Vienna. We next +visited the _Manege_ and the Palace called the palace of the Hungarian +Noble Guard. They are both beautiful edifices. The faubourgs of Vienna are +built in the modern style and their buildings, both public and private, +excellent in their way and in the best state. The streets of the faubourgs +are broad but not paved. The most celebrated of these faubourgs are _Maria +Huelf_, _Leopold-stadt_, _Landstrasse_, the _Rennweg_, the _Wuehringer +Gasse_; and I am persuaded that if the old town were united to the faubourg +by means of streets and squares and the esplanade filled up with buildings, +Vienna would perhaps be the handsomest city in Europe and the fourth in +size, for the best buildings and palaces are in the faubourgs, viz., the +Military College, the Polytechnic School, St Charles' Church, the Porcelain +fabric, the Palaces of Esterhazy, Kaunitz, Stahremberg, Schwarzenberg, +Palfy, and the beautiful Palace and ground of Belvedere in which last is a +noble collection of pictures open to the public. At the Polytechnic school +one of the principal professors is a friend of Mr F------'s, and he +explained to us the nature of the establishment and the course of studies +pursued. The apparatus for every branch of science is on the grandest +scale. After dinner we repaired to the _Prater_, crossing a branch of the +Danube which here forms several islands. The _Prater_ requires and deserves +particular mention. Part of it is something in the style of the _Champs +Elysees_ at Paris, and it is fully equal to it in the variety of amusements +and enjoyments to be met with there; but it is far larger and more +beautiful on account of its landscape and the diversified manner in which +the grounds are laid out. The _Prater_, then, is an immense park, laid out +on an island of considerable extent on the Danube. The nearest faubourg to +it is the _Leopoldstadt_, which is also the most fashionable one, and a +bridge conducts you from that faubourg direct into the _Prater_. The +_Prater_ presents a mixture of garden, meadow, upland and forest; the lofty +trees arranged in avenues or in clumps give a delightful protecting shade. +On the road destined for the carriages there is every afternoon a most +brilliant display of carriages. Another avenue is destined for equestrians, +and two avenues, one on each side of these two, for pedestrians. There are +besides winding footpaths, that conduct you all over this vast extent of +ground, and circular grass plots surrounded by trees where the pedestrian +may repose and eat and drink if he will. Here are _restaurants_ in plenty, +_cafes_, Panoramas, exhibitions of wild beasts, swings, tennis courts, +places for running at the ring, do for burlesque dramatic performances, +_farceurs_, jugglers, De Bach's Equestrian Amphitheatre in the style of +Franconi, _Salles de Danse_, baths, billiard rooms, gaming tables, and even +houses appropriated to gallantry. In fact, the _Prater_ is quite the +Paradise of the bourgeoisie of Vienna, who are fond of the pleasures of the +table and take every opportunity of making dinner and supper parties. The +bourgeois of Vienna are far more sensual than spiritual and not at all +disposed to self-denial. + +Excellent hams and sausages are to be had here; and the Viennese who dines +and sups heartily at his own house never fails, during his evening +promenade, to take a tolerable good portion of ham or sausage, with a +proportion of Offen wine or Maylander Beer, by way of staying his stomach +during the tedious interval between dinner and supper. I need scarce add +that smoking is universal, as indeed it is all over Germany, for I scarcely +ever see a German without a pipe either in his mouth or fastened to his +coat and a bag or pouch of tobacco either in his pocket or attached to his +button hole. In the _Prater_ dances often take place in the open air +between the grisettes of Vienna, who are in general handsome and well made, +and who dress well, and their lovers and admirers. The _Prater_ was first +opened to the public by the Emperor Joseph II. The _Au-garten_ is another +place of recreation and amusement, but on a smaller and much more tranquil +and sober scale, than the _Prater_. None of the lower classes think of +coming here, tho' it is open to every body decently dressed: there is not +that profuse eating and drinking going forward. It is more properly +speaking a promenade, and forms a garden with alleys of trees where music +is often performed and there is a superb saloon where refreshments may be +had. The _Au-garten_ is frequented chiefly by the _Noblesse_ and _Haute +Bourgeoisie_. In the morning likewise it is a fashionable resort to drink +the mineral waters. It adjoins the _Prater_, being on the same island. It +was the favourite lounge of Joseph II, who opened it to the public by +affixing this inscription on one of the gates: + + Allen Menschen gewidmete Erlustigung von ihrem Schaetzer + + "Place of recreation open to all Men by their esteemer." + + +VIENNA, Aug. 13th. + +There are a great number of theatres at Vienna. Two are situated in the old +town, viz., the _Hof-theater_ and the _Burg-theater_. The _Hof-theater_ is +only open when the Court are at Vienna, and they are now at Baden, ten +leagues distant. The _Burg-theater_ is open all the year round, and may be +considered as the national theatre. It is much frequented by the +bourgeoisie and inhabitants of the old town, who do not chuse to take the +trouble to go to the _Wieden-theater_, which is situated in the faubourgs, +and which is more of a classical and fashionable theatre than the other, +inasmuch as it is more elegantly and classically built, better fitted up, +and has a far better company of comedians. At the _Burgtheater_ I saw +Kotzebue's _Edelsinn und Armuth_ performed. The Wieden theatre which is, as +I have said, in the faubourgs, is the handsomest theatre perhaps in Europe +for its size. It is not large, but it is fitted up with so much taste and +you see and hear so well; every ornament is so chaste and there is nothing +at all tawdry or superfluous. It is, I really think, a model of what every +theatre ought to be. There is a good deal of bronze about it which gives it +a classical appearance, and the boxes are supported by Caryatides in +bronze. There is a peculiarity in all the theatres at Vienna, which is, +that in the _parterre_ you must sit in the place the number of which is +marked on your ticket. These places are called _Gesperrte Sitze,_ and each +seat resembles an armchair. When not occupied, the seat is folded up and +locked to the back of the chair, until the person who holds the ticket +corresponding to its number comes to take it; so that no other but the +person holding the ticket corresponding to the number can take it, and you +are thus never likely to be shoved out of your place, as you are at most of +the theatres in Europe. There are men stationed at the doors who follow you +into the _parterre_ to unlock and let down a seat for you, and to them you +give your ticket with a slight gratification, which is however quite +optional; your ticket you previously pay for at the door. + + +VIENNA, Augt. 20th. + +I have been to see Schoenbrunn, the usual residence of the young Napoleon; +but he is now at Baden with the Imperial family, where his mother, who is +lately arrived from Italy, is also on a visit. The young Napoleon is said +to be a remarkable fine boy, and a great favorite with his grandfather the +Emperor. Many are the anecdotes related of him. I shall mention one. He had +heard so often talk of his father, that shortly after the arrival of his +mother, he wished to see his father also and asked his attendants +repeatedly and not in a very patient tone: _Wo ist denn mein Vater?_[124] +This was told to his grandfather the Emperor; and he gave directions that +the child should be brought to him, the very next time he should put the +question. He then said to him: _Du moechtestwissen wo dein Vater ist? Er ist +in Verhaft. Man hat es mit ihm gut gemeint; weil er aber unruhig war, so +hat man ihn in Verhaft gestellt, und Dich wird man auch verhaften, wenn Du +unruhig bist._[125] + +So much for this anecdote; but I did not hear what was the answer of the +young prince. The young Napoleon is, it appears, a great favorite of the +soldiers, who quite adore him, and he will sometimes go into the kitchen to +get bread and meat to give to the soldiers on Guard at the Palace. A +singular event happened lately to Maria Louisa. During her stay at +Schonbrunn, her _chatouille,_ with several things of value in it, +_bijouterie,_ etc., was stolen from her. She caused enquiries to be made, +and researches to be set on foot. Nobody has been able to find out who took +it; but it was put back in the precise place from whence it was taken, and +not a single article of the _bijouterie_ or things of value was missing. It +is supposed this theft was made for political purposes, in order to +discover the nature of her epistolary correspondence, if any existed. Had +it been taken by a vulgar thief, it is not probable that the articles of +value would have been restored. Such is the unhappy condition of that +Princess to be always an object of suspicion and espionnage. + + +_Journey to Prague_. + + +I left Vienna on the 28th August in a _Landkutsche_ and arrived at Prague +on the first of September. + +These _Landkutsche_ are on the same plan and footing with the _vetture_ in +Italy, and travel in the same manner, with this difference, however; that +the _Landkutscher_ do not usually, as the _vetturini_ do, undertake to +provide for the supper and bed of their passengers. In a word, you are not +_spesato;_ and in Germany there is not the least necessity for it, for +there is no such thing as extortion on the part of the German innkeepers, +who are by far the most respectable of that profession. Besides, in most +places, everything is _tariffed,_ and where it is not, the landlord never +makes an unreasonable demand, or attempts to make foreigners pay more than +natives; whereas in Italy if you are not _spesato_ there are no bounds to +the rapacity of the innkeepers, witness mine host of Terracina. Both Italy +and Germany present the greatest convenience for travellers, as the +_Landkutsche_ or _vetture_ are continually passing from town to town. There +is however this difference between them, that the Italian _vetturini_ will +abate their price, if their carriage is full excepting one place, and that +they must start, whereas the German _Landkutscher_ never abate their price. + +I paid for my journey from Vienna to Prague thirty-five florins _Wiener +Waehrung,_ and we made the journey in five days. Our first day's journey +brought us to Hoellabrunn, having stoppd to dinner at Stockeran. The road is +excellent and the several towns and villages we past thro' clean and well +built. The landscape was either a plain, or gently undulating and extremely +well cultivated. + +Bohemia resembles Moravia, being an exceedingly rich corn country, +generally open; not many trees about the country near the road side, except +at the _Chateau_ and farm houses. The language is a dialect of the +Sclavonic, mixed with some German; but at the inns there is always one or +two servants who speak German. In Bohemia a traveller not speaking German, +and who has no interpreter with him, would find himself greatly +embarrassed. The Bohemians call themselves in their own language +_Cherschky_, and the Hungarians call themselves _Magyar_. + + +[117] Tasso, _Gerusalemme liberata_, canto XV, ottave 31, 32: + + Un uom della Liguria avra ardimento + All' incognito corao esporsi in prima... + Tu spiegherai, Colombo, a un nuovo polo + Lontane si le fortunate antenne...--ED. + + +[118] Ariosto, Orlando Furioso, XL, 31, 1.--ED. + +[119] See reference to Eustace p. 131. + +[120] Ariosto, _Orlando Furioso_, XXVIII, 38, 7.--ED. + +[121] Boileau, _Satires_, XI, v. 117. + +[122] The drama, _Der Wold bei Hermannstadt,_ is the work of Johanna + Fraenul von Weissenthurn (1773-1847), a celebrated Viennese actress + and authoress. An opera was written on the same text by W. Westmeyer, + --ED. + +[123] Because I am an Englishman--You are an Englishman? you are certainly + a North-German; you speak very correct German.--Gentlemen, I tell you + I am an Englishman; many English study and speak the German language + and if you had held a long conversation with me, you would soon have + perceived from my faults in speaking, that I am not a German.--But you + have answered our questions so correctly.--Why not, the same questions + have been put to me so often that I have all the necessary answers by + heart like a catechism. + +[124] Where is my father? + +[125] "You wish to know where your father is? He is under arrest; people + were well disposed to him; but he is placed under arrest, because he + was unruly, and if you are unruly you will be placed under arrest + likewise." + + + + +CHAPTER XVII + +SEPTEMBER 1818-MARCH 1819 + +The splendid city of Prague--The German expression, "To give the +basket"--Journey from Prague to Dresden--Journey from Dresden to Berlin--A +description of Berlin--The Prussian Army--Theatricals--Peasants talk about +Napoleon--Prussians and French should be allies--Absurd policy of the +English Tories--Journey from Berlin to Dresden--A description of +Dresden--The battle of Dresden in 1813--Clubs at Dresden--Theatricals-- +German beds--Saxon scholars--The picture gallery--Tobacco an ally of +Legitimacy--Saxon women--Meissen--Unjust policy of Europe towards the King +of Saxony. + + +PRAGUE, 4 Sept. + +Prague is a far more striking and splendid city than Vienna, without its +faubourgs. The streets are broader; and it has a more cheerful and less +confined appearance than the old town of Vienna. The position of Prague too +is very romantic and picturesque, part of it lying on a mountain and part +on a plain; and it stands on the confluent of two rivers, the Mulda and the +Braun. The upper part of the city, called Oberburg, stands on a height +called Ratschin, and on this height stands a most magnificent palace and +other stately buildings. There is a beautiful panoramic view from this part +of Prague. In this part of the city too is the cathedral of St Wenzel or +Wenceslaus, who was its founder. His tomb and that of St John Nepomucene, a +favorite saint of the Bohemians, is in this church. The Cathedral is of +extreme solidity, but little ornamented, having been plundered by the +Swedes in 1648. The canopy over the shrine of St John Nepomucene has a +profusion of votive offerings appended to it. The lower part of Prague is +divided into two parts by the Mulda. The bridge across the Mulda is one of +the finest in Europe. It has twenty-four arches, its length is 1700 feet +and its breadth 35. Among several statues on this bridge is a very +remarkable one of Jesus Christ, made of bronze gilt, which cost a large sum +of money to its founder, a Jew! There is a Latin inscription on it which +explains the paradox. There stood on the same spot a wooden statue of +Christ in the XVI century. One day an opulent Jew, on passing by, made some +scoffing or contemptuous remark on it. He was overheard by some of the +people, accused of blasphemy and condemned to die; but on expressing great +contrition and offering to pay a fine to any amount, he was pardoned, on +the condition of his promising to erect a bronze statue gilt of Jesus +Christ on the same spot, at his own expense, with an inscription explaining +the reason of its construction; which promise he punctually performed. +Prague abounds in Jews. Two-thirds at least of its population are of that +persuasion. In the lower town the most striking edifices are the palace of +the Wallenstein family, descendants of the famous Wallenstein, so +distinguished in the Thirty Years war. Annexed to this Palace is a spacious +garden, which is open to the public as a promenade. It is well laid out. +There is a large aviary. This Palace covers a vast extent of ground. The +Colloredo family, who are descended from Wenceslaus, have a superb Palace +in this city; and there is a stable belonging to it, partly in marble and +of rich architecture, capable of containing thirty-six horses. No traveller +who comes to Prague should omit visiting these two Palaces of Wallenstein +and Colloredo. On the bridge over the Mulda before mentioned, is the statue +in bronze of St John Nepomucene, on the spot from whence he was thrown into +the river by his brother saint, King Wenceslaus, for refusing to divulge +the gallantries of his (Wenceslaus') wife, to whom he was confessor. A +favorite promenade on Sundays is on the _Faerber Insel_ or Dyers island, +which is a small island on the Mulda. Here the young men of the town come +to dance with the _grisettes_ and milliner girls of Prague, who are +renowned for their beauty and complaisance. + +The Jewish burying ground is a curiosity for a person who has never visited +the Oriental countries. The tombstones are stowed thick together. Everybody +recollects the anecdote of the ingenious method adopted by Joseph II for +squeezing a large sum of money from the Jews of Prague, by giving out that +he intended to claim this cemetery, in order to build therein a Palace. The +Jews who, like all the Orientals, have the most profound veneration for the +spot where their ancestors are buried, presented a large sum of money to +the Emperor, to induce him to renounce his design. + +The _Stadt-Haus_ (Hotel de Ville) is a fine building; and the _Marktplatz_ +(market square) is very spacious, and contributes much to the beauty of the +town. In the centre of it stands an ancient fountain of a dodecagonal form. +The basin is of red marble, and near it stands a large stone column, with a +statue of the Virgin, bronze gilt, on its summit. A well supplied market, +or rather fair, is carried on here every day in the week. The Theatre is a +fine building and is of immense size. I witnessd the representation of a +burlesque tragedy called _Die Belagerung von Ypsilon_ (the siege of +Ypsilon), but I could not at all comprehend the cream of the jest. Madame +Catalani, who is here, sang at this theatre one night. The theatre was +completely filled and the price of admission to the boxes and _parterre_ a +ducat. The street adjoining to the theatre was crowded by people +endeavoring to catch the sweet sounds. Immense hommage has been paid to +Catalani by the authorities here. + +The balls of the _bourgeoisie_ of Prague are splendid and well attended. +The _bourgeoisie_ is very opulent in this city. There are but few residents +_Noblesse_. The expences at the inns here are rather greater than those at +Vienna, wine being a foreign commodity and beer the national beverage. My +daily expences here for lodging, dinner, supper and breakfast amounted to +four florins _Convenzions Muenze_, about nine franks nearly, French money. +The country environing Prague is rich and abounding in corn; there are +likewise hops. The walls of Prague still bear the marks made by Frederic's +shot when he blockaded Prague. + + +PRAGUE, 7th Sept. + +To-morrow I shall start for Dresden, The diligence goes off only once a +week, but I have engaged a car or rather light basket waggon drawn by two +horses (a vehicle very common in Germany) to convey me to Dresden in two +days and half. I am to pay for half of the waggon, and another traveller +will pay for the remaining half. + +Before I leave Prague I must tell you that I have found out the origin of +the German phrases _Jemand den Korb zu geben (to give the basket)_, which +means a refusal of marriage. Thus when a young lady refuses an offer of +marriage on the part of her admirer, the phrase is: _Sie hat ihm den Korb +gegeben_ (_She has given him the basket_). Hitherto I have not met with any +one who could explain to me satisfactorily the origin of so singular a +phrase; but on reading lately a volume of the _Volksmaehrchen_ (_Popular +tales_) I found not only the derivation of this phrase, but also that of +the name of the city of Prague. Both are connected in the same story, and +both concern the history of Prague. The story is as follows. + +Libussa, Duchess of Bohemia, had three lovers, two of whom were not +remarkably intelligent, but the third possessed a great deal of talent and +was her favorite. She was much importuned by the rival suitors. She +appeared before them one day with a basket filled with plums in her hand; +and said she would give her hand in marriage to whoever of them should +guess the following arithmetical riddle. She said: "One of you shall take +half the plums that are in this basket, and one over: another shall take +half of what remains, and one over: the third shall take half of what still +remains and three over, and then all the plums will have been taken. Now +tell me how many plums there are in the basket." Her favorite was the only +one who could guess the number of plums which was _thirty_. To him +therefore she gave her hand and the plums, and to the other suitors the +empty basket. Hence the phrase. The solution of the question is as follows: + + A takes half of the plums in the basket (30) and one + over . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 + 1 = 16 + B half of what remained (14) and one over . . . . . 7 + 1 = 8 + C half of what remained (6) and three over . . . . . 3 + 3 = 6 + --- + Total 30 + +Now with regard to the origin of the city of Prague. The former residence +was much too small, and Libussa directed her workmen to build a town on the +spot, where they should find at midday a man making the _best use of his +teeth_. They began their research and one day at that hour discovered a +carpenter sawing a block of wood. It struck them that this laborious man +was making a better use of his teeth (viz., teeth of his saw) than the mere +feeder and they judged that this ought to be the place where the town +should be built. They therefore proceeded to trace with a plough the +circumference of the town. On asking the carpenter what he was about to +make with the block he was sawing, he said " A threshold for a door," which +is called _Prah_ or _Praha_ in the Bohemian language and Libussa gave to +the city the name of _Praha_ or _Prag_. + + +BERLIN, 24th Sept. + +Berlin has a splendid and cheerful appearance, with fine broad streets, +superb white buildings and Palaces, for the most part in the Grecian taste; +it has quite the appearance in short of an Italian city. Nearly all the +streets are at right angles; they are kept very clean and the shops make a +brilliant display. I felt so much pain in my legs, from the effect of my +pedestrian journey, that I was obliged to remain in my chamber one entire +day. There is a very good _table d'hote_ at my bin for twelve _Groschen_. +Wine is paid for extra, and at the rate of from 12 to 18 _Groschen_ the +bottle. The sort usually drunk here is the Medoc. The prices of articles of +prune necessity are dearer in Berlin than either at Dresden or Vienna; +particularly the article of washing, which is dearer than in any country I +have yet visited. + +The next morning I began my rambles, and directed my course to the favorite +and fashionable promenade of the _beau monde_, at all hours of the day, I +mean in the fine street or alley _Unter den Linden_, so called from it +being planted with lime trees. There is a range of elegant buildings on +each side, and at the end, near the _Thier Garten_ (Park), is a superb gate +called the _Brandenburger Thor_ in the shape of a triumphal arch ornamented +with a statue of Peace, with an olive branch in her hand, standing on a car +drawn by four horses abreast, the whole groupe being of bronze and of +exquisite workmanship. The four horses are imitated from the Corinthian +horses at Venice and yield to them in nothing but antiquity. Indeed they +have a much more pleasing and striking effect, in being thus attached to a +car, than standing by themselves, as the Venetian ones do, on the top of +the facade of a church. This _Brandenburger Thor_ is constructed after the +model of the Propylaeum of Athens. + +The Opera House, a building in the Grecian taste erected by Frederic the +Great with the inscription _Apollini et Musis_, and after that the Academy +of the Fine Arts engaged my attention. Both these buildings are remarkable, +and they are near the _Linden_. The old town is much intersected by canals +communicating with the Spree which divides it. I call it the old town, to +distinguish it from the quarter composed of streets of recent construction +between the former _enceinte_ of the town and the Brandenburger Thor. The +Hotel of the Invalides, a ponderous building, bears the following +inscription: _Laesis non victis_. The Bank and the Arsenal next engaged my +attention, as also a Guard House of recent construction in the shape of a +Doric temple. The Royal Palace is an immense building, partly in the Gothic +and partly in the Grecian style. It is very heavy but imposing. The +interior of this Palace is royally fitted up, except the little room +occupied by the great Frederic, which is left in the same state as when he +occupied it; and you know he was not fond of superfluous ornament. In the +green before the Palace stands the statue of the Prince of Anhalt Dessau, +the founder of the Prussian Infantry system, and at a short distance from +this, on the _Lange Bruecke,_ stands the colossal equestrian statue in +bronze of the Great Elector. + +The _Koenigstrasse_ is the principal street and a very fine one it is; next +to it in point of beauty is the _Franzoesische_ _Strasse_. The _Wilhelm +Platz_ is adorned with the statues in marble of Schwerin, Seidlitz, Keith, +Winterfeld, and Ziethen. But I cannot enumerate all the splendid public +establishments and fine things to be seen in this beautiful city. The most +striking church is that of St Hedwig. I call it the most striking from its +resemblance to the Pantheon at Rome. The Cathedral is perhaps a finer +building. 'Tis in this last that the Electoral and Royal remains are +deposited. + +The streets 'here swarm with military, and indeed the profession of arms +seems to have too much sway in the Prussian dominions. The subalterns and +young men of the Prussian Army are said to have republican sentiments, and +they, in common with all the burghers, desire a constitution. It galls them +to see one enjoyed by the Bavarians, whom they affect to look upon as +inferior to them in intelligence, and that it should be refused to them. +Most of the nobility and the greater part of the General and field officers +are however inveterate aristocrats. + +You have heard, I dare say, of the attempt made by some officers among the +nobility to exclude from the service, after the peace, those officers who +were not noble. When it is considered that their best and most zealous +officers sprung from the burghers, and that Prussia, when abandoned by her +King and nobles, was saved from permanent subjection only by the +unparalleled exertions of her burghers and peasantry, one is shocked at +such ingratitude and absurdity. But the officers of the Royal Guard went so +far as to draw up a petition to the King, requesting him to dismiss all the +officers of the corps who were not noble, and Blucher was applied to to +present this petition to the King. Blucher read the paper and ordered all +the officers to assemble on the parade and thus addressed them: "Gentlemen, +I have received your paper and read its contents with the utmost +astonishment. All the remarks that I shall permit myself to make on the +subject of this petition, are, that it makes me ashamed of being myself a +noble." He then tore the petition in pieces and dismissed them. + +I have been once at the theatre. _Lodoiska_ was performed. I saw a number +of fine women in the boxes. Formerly gallantry and pleasure were the order +of the day at Berlin; but now, the Court assuming the exterior of rigid +morality and strictly exercised religious devotion, mystic cant and +dullness is the order of the day. The death of the Queen of Prussia threw a +great damp over the amusements of the Court. At Charlottenburg, which is a +short distance from Berlin, in the grounds there, they point out to you her +favourite spots. She was a most amiable Princess, and united to great +personal beauty so much grace and fascination and so many good qualities +that she was beloved by all, and the breath of calumny never ventured to +assail her. + +The alley _Unter den Linden_ in the evening presents a great assemblage of +Cyprian nymphs, who promenade up and down; they dress well and are +perfectly well behaved. There is a superb establishment of this kind at +Berlin, which all strangers should visit out of curiosity. It is not +indispensably necessary to sacrifice to the Goddess whose worship is +carried on there; but you may limit yourself to admire the temple, call for +refreshments and contemplate the priestesses. + +There is the utmost moral and political freedom at Berlin, and tho' the +Government is despotic in form, freedom of speech is allowed. An army of +200,000 men admirably disciplined and armed, of these a garrison of 15,000 +men in Berlin and as many at Potsdam, are quite sufficient to keep in check +all attempts to put political theories and speculations into practice. +Indeed, it would be very difficult to excite a revolt; the various German +governments are carried on very paternally and the government is scarcely +felt; habits of obedience have taken deep root among the people, and a +German peasant as long as he gets enough to eat and drink, does not +conceive himself unhappy, or thinks of a change. I could not help laughing +the other day, at a little village near Berlin, when I heard some peasants +talking of Napoleon; one of them, who seemed to have some partiality for +him, exclaimed, meaning to blame him for leaving Elba: _Aber warum verliess +er seine Insel? Er hatte doch zu essen und trinken so viel er wolte_ (Why +did he leave Elba? He had surely plenty to eat and drink). This good +peasant could not conceive that a man blessed with these comforts should +like to change his situation or run any risks to do so. + +French as well as German is commonly spoken in Berlin, and I am glad to see +that the prejudice against the French is wearing off. If the French and +Prussians could understand one another, and knew their own interests, or if +the French had a liberal national Government, I mean, one more identified +with the interests of the people than the present one is, what advantage +might not rise therefrom? They are natural allies, and united they might be +able effectually to humble the overbearing insolence and political +coxcombry of the Czar, shake to its centre the systematic despotism and +light-fearing leader of Austria, and keep in check the commercial +greediness, monopolizing spirit and Tory arrogance of England. The German +political writers duly appreciate the illiberal policy of England towards +the continental nations, by which she invariably helps to crush liberty on +the Continent in the hopes of paralysing their energies and industry, in +order to compel them to buy English manufactures, and in fine to make them +dependent on England for every article of consumption. England, ever since +the beginning of the reign of George III to the present day, has been +always ready to lend a hand to crush liberty, to perpetuate abuses and to +rivet the fetters of monarchial, feudal and ecclesiastical tyranny. + +These are facts and cannot be denied. The English people have been taxed to +the last farthing to support a war of privileges against Freedom; and +Europe is in consequence prostrate at the feet of an unprincipled +coalition, thro' England's arms and England's gold; and then an English +minister, and his vile hireling journals, tell you that the continental +nations are not ripe for and do not deserve liberty. Even the Pope and +Grand Turk, both so much dreaded by our pious ancestors, have been +supported, caressed and subsidized, in order to help to put down all +efforts made to obtain rational liberty, which the courtiers always affect +to stigmatize with the name of "Jacobinism," while a number of needy +individual have enriched themselves by the public plunder and byaiding and +abetting the system, all _novi homines_, men who, had there been more to +gain on the other side than by espousing Toryism, would not have been +backward; men who are Jacobins in the real sense of the word, however they +cloak themselves under the specious names of Church and King men; upholders +of Pitt and his system, for which they affect a veneration they are far +from really feeling; men, in fact, whose political scruples of whatever +nature they be, would soon melt away. + + +DRESDEN, 5th October. + +I have been fortunate in getting into very comfortable lodgings, having two +rooms and as much firing as I chuse for eight _Reichsthalers_ per month. +Coffee is made for me at home in the morning, and I generally dine and sup +at a _restaurant_ close by near the bridge. The _Platz_ in the Neustadt is +close to my lodgings, and being very large and well paved and lined with +trees, it affords a very agreeable promenade. Rows of elegant houses line +the sides of this Plata, among which the _Stadthaus_ is particularly +remarkable. The famous _Japan Palace_, as it is called, is also in the +_Neustadt_, and but a short distance from the _Platz_. The gardens of Count +Marcolini afford also a pleasant promenade; but by far the most agreeable +walk, in my opinion, is on the _Zwinger_, a sort of terrace on the left +bank of the Elbe in the old town, adjoining the palace and gardens of Count +Bruhl. From this place you have a noble view of a long reach of the Elbe. +It is besides the favorite promenade of the ladies. On the _Zwinger_ too is +a building containing a fine collection of paintings. Here are _cafes_ +likewise and a _restaurant_. The evening promenades are in the gardens of +the _Linkischer Bad_ (Bath of Link) on the banks of the Elbe, where there +is a summer theatre. This is the favourite resort of the _bourgeoisie_ on +Sundays and _jours de fete; gouters_ and supper parties are formed here and +very good music is heard. The Elbe bridge is of beautiful structure, and +there is a good regulation with respect to those who pass over this bridge; +which is that one side of the bridge is reserved for those going from the +new to the old town, and the other side for those going from the old to the +new town, and if you attempt to go on the wrong side you are stopped by a +sentry, so that there is no jostling nor lounging on this bridge. An arch +of this bridge was blown up by Marshal Davoust in order to arrest the +progress of the Russians, and a great deal of management was necessary to +effectuate it, for the worthy Saxons have a great veneration for this +bridge, and in order to inforce the execution of this resolution on the +part of the Marshal, the personal order of the King and the employment of +Saxon troops were necessary. It has been rebuilt since, and no one would +know that the arch had ever been blown up, but from the extreme whiteness +of the new arch, contrasting with the darker color of the old ones. + +In the old town or Dresden proper, the finest buildings are: the Catholic +church, standing near the bridge, an edifice yielding in beauty but to few +in Italy and to none in other countries. Here you hear excellent music +during the church service; and the King and Royal family, all of whom are +Catholics, attend constantly. The Royal Palace is very near the church and +not far from it is the theatre. Saxony being a Lutheran country, the public +exercise of the Catholic religion was not permitted until Napoleon's time, +when he proposed an arrangement to permit to the King and all other +Catholics the public celebration of their religion, which proposition was +acceded to with universal approbation on the part of the Protestants, and +now the Host is frequently displayed in the streets. There are however but +few Catholics in Dresden among the natives. So great is the respect for +usages and customs in Germany, that the Electors of Saxony, on going over +to Catholicism, never thought even of requesting the indulgence of +exercising their religion publicly, and the granting it has produced no +evil consequence, liberalism and the most unreserved toleration in matters +of religion being the order of the day. + +The Royal Palace is a very fine and extensive building and the interior is +well worth seeing, particularly the superb _Riesen-Saal_ where Augustus II +used to give his magnificent _fetes_. One of the last and most brilliant +_fetes_ given here was that given by the King of Saxony to the Emperor +Napoleon just before the Russian campaign, at which the Emperor and Empress +of Austria and most of the Sovereigns of Germany assisted, to do hommage to +the great Conqueror. + +The _Schloss-gasse_ or Castle Street leads from the Palace into the _Markt +Platz_ where the markets and fairs are held. In this place, in the +_Schloss-gasse_ and in another street parallel to it, that leads from the +porcelain Manufactory to the _Grosser Platz_ (_Grande Place_), are the +finest shops and greatest display of wealth. On the _Grosser Platz_ stands +the _Frauen-Kirche_, a superb Protestant church, and which may be +considered as the cathedral church of Dresden. The _Platz_ is large. There +is great cleanliness in all the streets of Dresden, and the houses are well +built and uniform; but there are few other very prominent edifices except +those I have mentioned. On going outside the town by the gate of Pirna +stands, almost immediately on the right, on turning down a road, the +Gardens and Palace of Prince Anthony. Leaving this on your right and +proceeding along the _chaussee_ or high road which is nearly parallel to +the river, at the distance of three-quarters mile from the Gate, stands the +Palace and Gardens called _Der Grosse Garten_ (grand garden), which you +leave on your right, if you continue your route on the _chaussee_ towards +Pirna. I have not yet visited the _Grosse Garten_. There is likewise a fine +promenade on the banks of the Elbe, but quite in an opposite direction to +the Pirna gate, for to arrive at it from this gate, you must traverse the +Pirna street and _Grosser Platz_; and on arrival near the bridge direct +your course to the left, which will lead you out of one of the gates into +an immensely long avenue of elm trees parallel to the river which forms the +promenade. + + +DRESDEN, Oct. 10th. + +I have been to see the Palace and grounds of the _Grosser Garten_. The +garden and park, for it unites both, is of great extent, and beautifully +laid out; but a number of fine trees have been knocked down and mutilated +by cannon shot during the battle of Dresden in 1818, when this garden was +occupied by the Allied troops and exposed to a heavy fire of fifty pieces +of cannon, from a battery erected by Napoleon on the opposite side of the +river, which completely commanded and enfiladed the whole range of the +garden. How the Palace itself escaped being knocked to pieces is wonderful; +but I suppose Napoleon must have given orders to spare it as much as +possible. This Palace is of beautiful structure and in the style of an +Italian villa; statues of the twelve Caesars and bas-reliefs adorn the +exterior. The columns and pilasters are of the Corinthian order. As for the +interior, it is unfurnished, and has been so since the Seven Years' war, +when it was plundered by the enemy, and has never since been inhabited by +the Electoral family. There is a superb rectangular basin of water in this +garden. These gardens are delightfully laid out; why they are not more +frequented I cannot conceive, but I have hitherto met with very few people +there, tho' they are open to all the world. They will form my morning's +promenade, for I prefer solitude to a crowd in a morning walk. But one of +the gardeners here tells me that on Sunday evening there is generally a +good deal of company, who come to listen to the music which is played in a +building fitted up for the purpose at one side of the garden. Wine, coffee, +beer and other refreshments are to be had; but beer is the favorite +beverage. Smoking is universal among the young men; the most ardent +admirers of the fair sex never forget their pipe. During the courtship the +surest sign that the fair one does not intend to _give_ her lover _the +basket_ is when she presents him with a bag to hold his tobacco. Her +consent is implied thereby. + +During the battle of Dresden, the slaughter in this garden was immense, and +the Allies were finally driven out of it. The gardener related to me an +affecting story of a young lady of Dresden, whose lover was killed in this +battle and buried in the _Grosser Garten_. She has taken it so much to +heart that she comes here three or four times in the week to visit this +grave and strew flowers over it. She remains for some time absorbed in +silent meditation and then withdraws. She has a settled melancholy, but it +has not yet affected her understanding. + + +DRESDEN, Oct. 15th. + +I met with my old friend, Sir W.I., who was travelling to Berlin, with the +idea of passing the winter there and of proceeding in the summer to Moscow. +Thro' the interests of my friends, Col. D------ and Baron de F------ I have +been ballotted for and admitted a member of a club or society here called +the _Ressource_. It is held in a large house on the _Markt Platz_, and is +indeed a most agreeable resource to all foreigners; for 'tis in this +society that they are likely to meet and form acquaintance with the +_noblesse_, principal _bourgeoisie_ and _litterati_. It is conducted on the +most liberal scale and not confined to those of birth and fortune. Good +character, polite behaviour and litterary requirements will ensure +admittance to a candidate. This society consists of members and honorary +members; among the honorary members are foreigners and others whose stay in +Dresden is short; but whoever remains for more than one year must cease to +be an honorary member and must be ballotted for in order to become a +permanent member, and should he be blackballed he ceases to belong to the +society altogether. This is a very good regulation. A year is a sufficient +time of proof for the character and conduct of a person, and should he +during this interval prove himself obnoxious to the members of the society, +they can at its expiration exclude him for ever afterwards. + +No enquiry is made as to the character and conduct of a person who is +admitted as an honorary member: it is sufficient that he be recommended by +a permanent member, which is deemed a sufficient guarantee for his +respectability. In this society there are dining rooms, billiard rooms, +card rooms, a large reading room. Here too is a small but well chosen +library and three or four newspapers in every European language; all the +German newspapers and reviews and the principal periodical works in the +German, French, English and Italian languages. The English papers taken in +here are the _Times, Courier_ and _Chronicle_. Of the French, the +_Moniteur, Journal des Debats, Constitutionel, Journal du Commerce, Gazette +de France_ and _Gazette de Lausanne_, and of the Italian the _Gazette di +Milano, di Venezia, di Firenze_ and _di Lugano_. Every German newspaper is, +I believe, to be found here. The Society lay in their stock of wine, which +is of the best quality; good cooks and servants are kept. Dinners go +forward from one to three. You dine _a la carte_ and pay the amount of what +you call for to the waiters. Coffee, liqueurs and all sorts of refreshments +are likewise to be had. Supper, likewise _a la carte_, goes forward between +nine and eleven. The evening before supper may be employed, if you chuse, +in cards, billiards, or reading. Very pleasant and useful acquaintances are +made at the _Ressource_, since if a foreigner renders himself agreeable to +the gentlemen who frequent this society, they generally propose taking him +to their houses and introducing him to their families. After an +introduction, you may go at any hour of the evening you please: but morning +visits are not much in fashion, since the _toilette_ is seldom made till +after dinner, which is always early in Germany. There is no getting dinner +after three o'clock in any part of Dresden. Besides the _Ressource_ there +are several other Clubs here, such as the _Harmonic_ and others. The public +balls are given at the _Hotel de Pologne_ twice a week, viz., one for the +_Noblesse_ and one for the _Bourgeoisie_. None of the female _Bourgeoisie_ +are admitted to the balls and societies of the _Noblesse_, and only such of +the males as occupy posts or employments at Court or under Government such +as _Koenigs-rath_, _Hof-rath_, or officers of the Army. It is therefore +usual, when the Sovereign wishes to introduce a person of merit among the +_Bourgeoisie_ into the upper circles, that he gives him the title of _Rath_ +or Counsellor; but this priviledge of being presentable at Court does not +extend to their wives and daughters. All the Military officers, from +whatever class of life they spring, have introduction _de jure_ into the +balls and societies of the _Noblesse_, and are always in uniform. But when +they attend the balls of the _Bourgeoisie_, it is the etiquette for them to +wear plain clothes: at the balls of the _Bourgeoisie_, therefore, not an +uniform is to be seen. I observed by far the prettiest women at the balls +of the _Bourgeoisie_, and very many are to be found there who in education +and accomplishments fully equal those of the _Noblesse_, and this is no +small merit, for the women in Saxony of the higher classes are extremely +well educated; most of them are proficient in music and are versed in +French and Italian litterature. They seem amiable and goodnatured and by no +means _minaudieres_, as Lady Mary Wortley Montague has rather unjustly +termed them; for they appear to me to be the most frank, artless creatures +I ever beheld, and to have no sort of _minauderie_ or _coquetterie_ about +them. Beauty is the appanage of the Saxon women, hence the proverb in +rhyme: + + Darauf bin ich gegangen nach Sachsen, + Wo die schoenen Maedchen auf den Bauemen wachsen. + +In English: + + Behold me landed now on Saxon ground, + Where lovely damsels on the trees are found. + +A taste for litterature is indeed general throughout the whole nation; and +this city is considered as the Athens of Germany. + + +DRESDEN, Nov. 8th. + +I have been at the theatre and witnessed the representation of a tragedy +called _Die Schuld_, written by Adolphus Muellner. It is a most interesting +piece, and the novelty of it has made a striking impression on me. It is +written in the eight-footed trochaic metre, similar to that in which the +Spanish tragedies are written. It hinges on a prophecy made by a Gipsey, in +which the person to whom the prophecy is made, in endeavoring to avert it, +hastens its accomplishment. The piece is full of interest and the +versification harmonious. I have been twice at the Italian opera, where I +saw the _Gazza Ladra_ and _Il Matrimonio secreto_. I came here with the +idea of giving myself up entirely to the study of the German language; but +such is the beauty of the country environing Dresden that, though winter +has commenced I employ the greatest part of the day in long walks. For +instance I have been to Pillnitz, which is on the right bank of the Elbe +about seven miles from Dresden, ascending the river. The road is on the +bank of the river the whole way. The Palace at Pillnitz is vast and well +built. During a part of the year the Royal family reside there. Pillnitz +will remain "damn'd to everlasting fame" as the place where the famous +treaty was signed, the object of which was to put down the French +Revolution, which Mr Pitt and the British ministry knew of and sanctioned, +tho' they pretended ignorance of it and professed to have no desire to +interfere with the affairs of France. + +Every thing pleases me at Dresden except the beds. I wish it were the +fashion to use blankets and _edredons_ for the upper covering instead of +the _lits de plumes_; for they are too heavy and promote rather too intense +a perspiration, and if you become impatient of the heat, and throw them off +you catch an intense cold. You know how partial I am to the Germans, and +can even put up with their eternal smoking, tho' no smoker myself, but to +their beds I shall never be reconciled. A German bed is as follows: a +_paillasse_, over that a mattress, then a featherbed with a sheet fastened +to it, and over that again another featherbed with a sheet fastened to it; +and thus you lie between two featherbeds; but these are not always of +sufficient length, and you are often obliged to coil up your legs or be +exposed to have them frozen by their extending beyond the featherbeds; for +the cold is very great during the winter. + +The more I see of the people here, the more I like them. The national +character of the Germans is integrity, tho' sometimes cloaked under a rough +exterior as in Bavaria and Austria; but here in Saxony it is combined with +a suavity of manners that is very striking, for the Saxons are the Tuscans +of Germany in point of politeness, and they are far more accomplished +because they take more pains in cultivating their minds. + +A savant in Italy is a man who writes a volume about a coin, filled with +hypotheses, when, with all his learning forced into the service, he proves +nothing; and this very man is probably ignorant in the extreme of modern +political history, and that of his own times, and has more pedantry than +taste. Such a man is often however in Italy termed a _Portento_, but in +Dresden and in most of the capitals of Germany where there are so many of +science and deep research, a man must not only be well read in antiquities, +but also well versed in political economy and in analysis before he can +venture to give a work to the public. Latin quotations, unsupported by +reason and philosophical argument will avail him nothing, for the German is +a terrible _Erforscher_ and wishes to know the _what_, the _how_ and the +_when_ of every thing; besides an Italian _savant_ is seldom versed in any +other tongue than his own and the Latin, with perhaps a slight knowledge of +French; whereas in Germany it is not only very common to find a knowledge +of French, English, Italian, Latin and Greek united in the same person, but +very many add Hebrew, Arabic and even Sanscrit to their stock of Philology. +As a specimen for instance of German industry, I have seen, at the club of +the _Ressource_, odes on the Peace in thirty-six different languages, and +all of them written by native Saxons. This shows to what an extent +philology is cultivated in Germany; indeed, it is quite a passion and a +very useful one it is. I know that many people regard it as a loss of time, +and say that you acquire only new words, and no new ideas; but I deny this. +I maintain that every new language learned gives you new ideas, as it puts +you at once more _au fait_ of the manners and customs of the people, which +can only be thoroughly learned by reading popular authors in their original +language: for there are several authors of the merit of whose style it is +impossible to form an adequate idea in a translation, however correct and +excellent it be. Indeed I wonder that the study of the German language is +not more attended to in England, France, and Italy; but to the English, +methinks, it is indispensable. All the customs and manners of Europe are +taken from the German; all modern Europe bears the Teutonic stamp. We are +all the descendants of the Teutonic hordes who subjugated the Roman Empire +and changed the face of Europe; 'tis they who have given and laid down the +grand and distinguishing feature between modern Europe and ancient Europe +and Asia: I mean the respect paid to women. To what nation, I say, is due +the chivalrous respect to women which is the surest sign of civilization, +and which was unknown to the ancient Greeks and Romans, except to the +Germans, who even in their most uncivilized state paid such veneration to +their women as to consult them as oracles on all occasions and to admit +them to their councils? Tacitus particularly mentions this; and speaking of +the Germans of his time, he says, "They have an idea that there is +something divine about a woman."[126] It is this feeling, handed down to us +from our Teutonic ancestors, that contributes mainly to make the European +so superior to all the Asiatic nations, where woman still remains a +degraded being, and 'tis this feeling that gives to us the palm above all +Greek and Roman glory. What are the modern European nations, the English, +French, Italians, Switzers, even Spanish and Portuguese, but the +descendants of these warlike Teutonic tribes who swept away the effeminate +Romans from the face of the earth? and do we not see the Teutonic policy +and usages, defective and degenerated as they sometimes are, the best +safeguard of liberty against the insidious interpretation of the Roman law, +which is founded on the pretended superiority of one nation, the inferred +inferiority of all the rest? + +With regard to theatricals, I have witnessed the representation of a +tragedy, lately published, called _Sappho_, by a young poet of the name of +Grillparzer. This tragedy is strictly on the Greek model. Its versification +in iambics is so beautiful that it is regarded as the triumph of the +_Classics_ over the _Romantics_; and by this piece Grillparzer has proved +the universality of his genius; for he wrote a short time ago a dramatic +piece in the _romantic_ style and in the eight rhymed trochaic metre called +_die Anhfrau_ (the ancestress) where supernatural agency is introduced. +This I have read; it is a piece full of interest; still it was thought too +_outre_ by the _Classiker_. It was supposed that this was the peculiar +style of the author, and that he adopted it from inability to compose in +the classic taste, when behold! by way of proving the contrary, he has +given us a drama simple in its plot, where all the unities are preserved, +and where the subject one would think was too well known to produce much +interest; he has given, I say, to this piece (Sappho), from the extreme +harmony of its versification and the pathos of the sentiments expressed +therein, an effect which I doubt any tragedy of Euripides or Sophocles +surpasses. The character of Sappho and her passion for Phaon; his +indifference to her and attachment to the young Melitta, an attendant and +slave of Sappho's, and Sappho throwing herself into the sea after uniting +Phaon and Melitta, constitute the plot of the drama. But simple as the +plot, and old as the story is, it excites the greatest interest, and never +fails to draw tears from the audience. What can be more artless and +pathetic, for instance, than these lines of the young Melitta when she +regrets her expatriatioa: + + Kein Busen schlaegt mlr bier in diesem Lande, + Und meine Freunden wohnen weit von hier. + +In English: + + No bosom beats for me in this strange land, + And far from here my friends and parents dwell. + +I have no doubt that some of these days _Sappho_ will be translated into +the idiom of modern Greece and acted in that country. The actress, who did +the part of Sappho, gave it full effect, and the part of the young Melitta +was fairly performed; but I did not approve of the acting of the performer +who played Phaon. He overstepped the modesty of nature and the intention of +the author; for he was in his gesture and manner grossly rude and insolent +to poor Sappho, whereas, tho' his love to Melitta was paramount, he ought +to have shown no ordinary struggle in stifling his gratitude to his +benefactress Sappho. + +I admire the German word _Gebieterinn_ (mistress). It is majestic and +harmonious, and the only word, in any modern language that I know of, +poetic enough to render aptly the Greek word [Greek: Despoina]. + + +DRESDEN, Decr. 1st. + +I have been to visit the famous Gallery of paintings here; but you must not +expect from me a description. I shall send you a catalogue. It would be +endless to describe the various _chefs-d'oeuvre_ which are contained in +this valuable collection. Dresden has always been considered as the +Florence of Germany and has always been renowned for its Gallery of +paintings; hence the almost innate taste of the Saxons for the _Beaux Arts_ +and the great encouragement given to them at all tunes by this Government. +It is here and at Meissen that the best German is thought to be spoken, +tho' Hanover disputes this prerogative with Dresden. + +I have been to see the antiquities and curiosities of the _Japanischer +Palast_ (Palace of Japan), as it is called. In this Palace is a quantity of +ancient armour and the most superb collection of porcelain I believe in +Europe. The collection of precious stones is also immense; and I never in +my life saw such a profusion of diamonds, emeralds, turquoises, sapphirs, +amethysts and topazes. In this Museum are three statues found in +Herculaneum on its first discovery or excavation, viz., an Athlete, an +Esculapius, and a Venus. Here too, and from this circumstance, the Palace +takes its name, is a collection of Japanese antiquities and ornaments, +lacker work in gold and silver, which is unique in the world. From the +Royal Library, a foreigner, on being recommended, may have at his own house +all such books to read as can be replaced if lost or spoiled; but the +manuscripts and scarce and valuable editions are not permitted to be taken +out of the Library. Any person once admitted on recommendation may go to +read in this Library at stated hours and may consult any book or manuscript +he pleases on applying to the librarian. + +A person fond of music will be in a continual state of enjoyment at +Dresden. Besides the fine music in the Royal Chapel, the band of the King's +Guard is composed of first rate musicians, who attend regularly at Guard +mounting and play for an hour together. There is also a band of music every +evening during the summer months that plays in the gardens of the +_Linkischer Bad_. Then there are various other places of recreation and +amusement, at all of which musicians are in attendance; for a Saxon cannot +enjoy his repast or his pipe without music and good music too to facilitate +his digestion. There is a custom in Dresden that on the occasion of the +death of a person the young choristers of the Cathedral are sent for to +sing hymns, standing in a semi-circle round the door of the house of the +defunct. These choristers are all dressed in black and their style of +singing is melodious, solemn and impressive. + +Smoking is so prevalent here and in all parts of Germany that if you wish +to denote one of the male sex, _smoker_ would be quite a synonymous word. +Such is the passion for this enjoyment that even at the balls the young +men, the moment they have finished the waltz, quit the hands of their +partners and rush into another room in order to smoke; nor would the beauty +of Venus nor the wit of Minerva be powerful enough to restrain the young +German from giving way to his darling practise. Smoking tobacco has I think +this visible effect, that it serves to calm all tumultuous passions, and +what confirms me in this idea is, that most young Germans, in commencing +life as adults, are full of enthusiastic and even exaggerated notions of +liberty and equality. They are romantic to a degree that is difficult to be +conceived, and seem to be restrained by no selfish or worldly ideas. This +you would suppose would tend to render them rather turbulent subjects, +under an autocratical government; but all this _Schwaermerey_ evaporates +literally in smoke: they take to their pipe, and by degrees the fumes of +tobacco cause all these lofty ideas to dissipate: the pipe becomes more and +more necessary to their existence, and consoles them for their wrongs real +or imaginary; and in three or four years they sit down contentedly to their +several occupations, as strait-forward, painstaking, plodding men, quite +satisfied to follow the routine chalked out for them, and either totally +forget all ambitious views, or become too indolent to make any sacrifice to +obtain them, and this _virtue comes from tobacco_!! The German Hippogriff +becomes an Ox, dull and domestic, and treads out the corn placed before +him, content to have his share thereof in peace and quietness. + +The German Governments, which are mild and paternal, are fully aware of +this and allow the utmost liberty of speech; well knowing that, thanks to +that friend and ally of Legitimacy, tobacco, the romantic visionary and +somewhat refractory youth will subside into a tranquil _ganz alltaeglicher +Mann_ and become totally averse to any innovation which demands the +sacrifice of repose. + +The pipe which has this sedative effect on political effervescence, has a +still stronger similar effect, it is said, on the passion of love; hence +the German husbands are proverbially sluggish. But the ladies, none of whom +smoke, preserve their romanticity during their whole lives, and would, if +they had their choice, give their hands to foreigners, who are more +attentive to them than their own countrymen. + +The young ladies here are, 'tis said, extremely romantic in their ideas of +love and capable of the strongest attachment. They think that any thing +should be pardoned to sincere passion. It has been related to me that some +time ago a young man, who was devotedly attached to a girl, on the father +refusing his consent to the marriage, stabbed the girl and then himself. An +immense number of young ladies attended their funeral, to throw flowers +over the grave of the two lovers. Assuredly the young man was only a +noviciate in smoking. + +Everybody must, I think, admire the Saxon women. They are in general +handsome and have fine shapes; they are warm hearted and affectionate; and +they are almost universally well educated. Indeed the whole Saxon people +are so amiable that foreigners find themselves so happy here that they are +unwilling to quit the country. Very many form matrimonial attachments. In +short, this people fully merit the epithet a celebrated English traveller +(Sherlock)[127] has bestowed on them when he called them a _herrliches +Volk_. + + +DRESDEN, Jan. 8d, 1819. + +I have made an excursion to Meissen which lies on the same bank of the +river with the old town of Dresden at a distance of twelve miles. As there +is no road on the left bank of the river to Meissen, you must cross the +river twice to arrive at it, viz., once at Neustadt and once at Meissen, +the road being on the right bank. I put up at the _Hirsch_ (Stag), a very +comfortable inn. I went to Meissen with a view of seeing the Russian +contingent pass the Elbe on their return from France, which has been +evacuated in consequence of the arrangement at Aix-la-Chapelle. They +appeared a fine body of men, clothed _a la francaise_ and seemed in high +spirits. They seem to have imbibed liberal ideas during their residence in +France, for some of the officers who dined at the inn at Meissen spoke very +freely on passing events. + +The return of the Saxon contingent is expected in Dresden in a day or two, +and there will no doubt be a great deal of rejoicing among the military and +their relations to meet their old comrades and friends; and potent +libations of _Doppel Bier_ will no doubt be made. Meissen is said to be +famous for the beauty of its women and the few that I saw in the streets +did not contradict this reputation. + + +DRESDEN, Jany. 5th, 1819. + +We have had several balls here. Waltzing is the only sort of dance in +fashion at Dresden, excepting now and then a Polonaise. + +I have witnessed an interesting spectacle in the _Grosser Garten_. The pond +or basin is completely frozen over, and a Russian Prince, Gallitzin, who is +here, has fitted up a sort of _Montagnes Russes_ as they are called. Blocks +of ice are placed on an inclined plane to the top of which you mount by +means of a staircase; and then, seating yourself in a sort of sledge, you +slide down the inclined plane with immense velocity. The Prince often +persuades a lady to sit on this sleigh on his lap and descend together; and +this no doubt serves to _break the ice_ of many an amorous intrigue. This +construction of the Prince Gallitzin has contributed to fill the _Grosser +Garten_ with the _beau monde_, every day from twelve to two o'clock; so +that you see we are in no want of amusements at Dresden. + +The King frequently attends the theatre; he is a tall, fine looking man, +and is usually dressed in the uniform of his Foot-Guards, which is scarlet +faced with yellow. The poor King has taken much to heart the injustice with +which he has been treated by the coalition, and no doubt will not easily +forget the ill-bred and insolent letter of Castlereagh to the Congress, +wherein he said that the King of Saxony deserved to lose his dominions for +adhering to Napoleon. But how the King of Saxony could act otherwise I am +at a loss to find: so little could he possibly deserve this treatment for +adhering to Napoleon, that had his advice been taken in the year 1805, the +French would never have been able to extend their conquests so far, nor to +dictate laws to Germany. But Lord Castlereagh seems to have either never +known or wilfully forgotten the anterior political conduct of Saxony. Had +he been more versed in German affairs, or had studied with more accuracy +the events passing before his eyes, it would have been a check upon his +arrogance; but here was a genuine disciple of the Pitt school (that school +of ignorance and insolence), who sets himself up as the moral regenerator +of nations and as a distributor of provinces, while he is grossly ignorant +of the political system of the country on whose destinies he pretends to +decide so peremptorily. Had Castlereagh paid attention to what was going +forward in Germany in 1805, he would have seen too that of all powers +Prussia was the very _last_ who with any _shadow of justice_ could pretend +to an indemnification at the expense of Saxony. In the year 1805, the King, +then Elector of Saxony, strongly advised the Prussian Cabinet to forget its +ancient rivalry and jealousy of Austria and to coalesce with the latter +power, in resisting the encroachments of Napoleon, in order to prevent the +latter from attempting the overthrow of the whole fabric of the +constitution of the Holy Roman Empire, with the intricacy and fragility of +which no prince in Germany was better acquainted than the Elector of +Saxony. Prussia however was still reluctant to engage in the contest and +gave no support whatever to Austria. Napoleon defeats the Austrians at +Austerlitz and dictates peace. Six months after the Prussian Cabinet, +excited by a patriotic but rash and ill-calculating party, has recourse to +arms, not from any generous policy, but because she sees herself outwitted +by Napoleon, who refuses to cede to her Hanover in perpetuity. Prussia +begins the war and calls on Saxony, who always moved in her orbit, to join +her. To the Elector of Saxony this war (in 1806) appeared then ill-timed +and too late; but with that good faith, nevertheless, which invariably +characterized him, he remained faithful to his engagement and furnished his +quota of troops to Prussia. The Saxon troops fought nobly at the battle of +Jena. This battle annihilates all the power of Prussia, and lays Saxony +entirely at the mercy of the Conqueror; but Napoleon not only treats Saxony +with moderation, but with rare generosity; he does not take from her a +single village, but aggrandizes her and gives to her the Duchy of Warsaw +and to her Sovereign the title of King. Saxony becomes in consequence a +member of the confederation of the Rhine and is bound to support the +Protector in all his wars offensive and defensive. The Russian war in 1812 +begins: every German state, Austria and Prussia in the number, furnishes +its contingent of troops. The campaign is unsuccessful, the climate of +Russia having annihilated the French Army, and Napoleon returns to Paris. +Saxony is now exposed to invasion and harassed by the incursions of the +Cossacks. The King of Saxony is perplexed in what manner to act, so as to +ensure to his subjects that protection which was ever uppermost in his +thoughts; feeling however with his usual sagacity that every thing would +ultimately depend on the dispositions of Austria, he repairs himself to +Prague, in order to have an interview with one of the Austrian ministers, +and to sound that Cabinet. Austria however still vacillates and declines +stating what her intentions are. Napoleon returns from Paris, defeats the +Prussians and Russians at Bautzen and re-occupies all Saxony. He then +writes to the King of Saxony to desire him to return immediately to his +dominions and to fulfil his engagements. What was the King to do? Austria +still refusing to declare herself, was he to sacrifice his crown and +dominions uselessly to the vengeance of Napoleon, to please the Emperor of +Russia and King of Prussia, who for aught he knew might patch up a peace +the next day? and this was the more probable from their having been beaten +at Bautzen, which circumstance also might with equal probability induce +Austria to coalesce with, instead of against France. All the other members +of the Confederation of the Rhine remained staunch to Napoleon and poured +their contingents into Saxony; was he to be the only unfaithful ally and +towards a Monarch who had always treated him with the strongest marks of +attachment and regard? and when neither Russia nor Prussia were likely to +give him the least assistance? He therefore returned to Dresden; and +Napoleon took up his grand position the whole length of the Elbe, from the +mountains of Bohemia to Hamburgh, thus covering the whole of Saxony with +his army. Austria however at last comes forward to join the coalition. +Fortune changes; the Saxon troops, tired of beholding their country the +perpetual theatre of war and trusting to the generosity of the Allies, go +over to them in the middle of a battle, and decide, thereby, the fate of +the day at Leipzig. The King of Saxony is made a prisoner, and then he is +punished for what he could not help. Why was he to be punished more than +any other member of the Confederation of the Rhine? One would think that +the seasonable defection of his troops at Leipzig should have induced the +Allies to treat him with moderation. The other States of the Confederation +did not abandon Napoleon until after he was completely beaten at Leipzig; +and Austria refused to accede to the coalition until a _carte blanche_ was +given her to help herself in Italy. + +Let every impartial man therefore review the whole of this proceeding and +then say whether the King of Saxony, so proverbial for his probity, so +adored by his subjects, deserved to be insulted by such an unfeeling letter +as that of Castlereagh. No! the King of Saxony better deserves to reign +than any King of them all. Would they had even a small share of his +virtues! Another proof and a still stronger one of the great integrity and +honor of this excellent Prince, is, that when Napoleon offered to mediatize +in his favor the various ducal Houses in Saxony, such as Weimar, Gotha, +Cobourg, etc., and to annex these countries to his dominions, he declined +the offer. Would Prussia, Austria, or Hanover have been so scrupulous? + +The young ladies here, tho' well versed and delighting in various branches +of litterature, cannot overcome that strong national propensity to tales +and romances wherein the _terrific and supernatural_ abounds; in all their +romances accordingly this taste prevails strongly; nay, even in some of the +romances, where the scene is laid in later times, there is some such +anachronism as the story of a spectre. + +I recollect reading a novel, the scene of which is laid in Italy about the +time of the battle of Marengo, wherein a ghost is introduced who +contributes mainly to the unravelling of the piece. A young lady here of +considerable talent and of general information confessed to me, when I +asked her, what subjects pleased her most in the way of reading, that +nothing gave her so much delight as "_Geistergeschichten_." Lewis' romance +of "_The Monk_" is a great favorite in Germany.[128] By the bye, his +poetical tale of _Alonzo and Imogen_ is evidently taken from a similar +subject in the _Volks-maehrchen_. + +The weather has set in very cold and the Elbe is nearly frozen over. It is +impossible to go out of the house without a _Pelz_ or cloak lined with fur; +for otherwise, on leaving a room heated by a stove, the effect of the cold +is almost instantaneous and brings on an ague fit. This I attribute to the +excessive heat kept up in the rooms and houses by the stoves. As smoking is +so prevalent here, this contributes much also to keeping the body in a +praeternatural heat and rendering it still more obnoxious to cold on +removal from a room to the open air. It has been remarked by a medical +author, in the Russian campaign in 1812, that the soldiers of the southern +nations and provinces, viz., Provencaux, Gascons, Italians, Spaniards, and +Portuguese, endured the cold much better and suffered less from it than the +Germans and Hollanders. The reason is sufficiently obvious: the former live +in the open air even in the middle of winter and seldom make use of a fire +to warm themselves; whereas the Germans and Dutch live in an atmosphere of +stove-heat and smoke and seldom like to stir abroad in the open air during +winter, unless necessity obliges them. Hence they become half-baked, as it +were; their nerves are unstrung, their flesh flabby and they become so +chilly, as to suffer from the smallest exposure to the atmosphere. In the +houses in Germany, on account of the stoves, the cold is never felt, +whereas it is very severely in Italy and Spain where many of the houses +have no fireplaces. On this account I prefer Germany as a winter residence, +for I think there is no sensation so disagreeable as to feel cold in the +house. In the open air I do not care a fig for it, for my cloak lined with +bearskin protects me amply. The climate here in winter is a dry cold, which +is much more salubrious and agreeable to me than the changeable, humid +climate of Great Britain, where, though the cold is not so great, it is +much more severely felt. + + +[126] Tacitus, _Germania_, C, VIII.--ED. + +[127] Martin Sherlock (d. 1797), author of _Lettres d'un voyageur anglais_, + which were published in Paris 1779 and, the year after, in London. + +[128] Matthew Gregory Lewis, 1775-1818, published _Ambrosio or the Monk_ in + 1795.--ED. + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII + +MARCH-APRIL 1819 + +Journey from Dresden to Leipzig--The University of Leipzig--Liberal +spirit--The English disliked in Saxony--The English Government hostile to +liberty--Journey to Frankfort--From Frankfort to Metz and Paris--A.F. +Lemaitre--_Bon voyage_ to the Allies--Return to England. + +I left Dresden on the 2nd March, 1819. A _Landkutsche_ conveyed me as far +as Leipzig in a day and half, stopping the first night at Oschaly, where +there is a good inn. At Leipzig I put up at the _Hotel de Baviere_ and +remained five days. Leipzig is a fine old Gothic city. It is, as everybody +knows, famous for its University and its Fair, which is held twice a year, +in spring and in autumn, and which is the greatest mart for books perhaps +in the world. The University of Leipzig and indeed all the Universities of +Germany are in bad repute among the _Obscuranten_ and _eteignoirs_ of the +day, on account of the liberal ideas professed by the teachers and +scholars. In the University of Leipzig every thing may be learned by those +who chuse to apply, but those who prefer remaining idle may do so, as there +is less compulsion than at the English Universities. There is however such +a national enthusiasm for learning, in all parts of Germany, that the most +careless and ill-disposed youth would never be about to support the +ridicule of his fellow students were he backward in obtaining prizes, but +after all I have heard of the dissipation, lawlessness, and want of +discipline at Leipzig, I can safely affirm that all these stories are +grossly exaggerated: and I fancy there is little other dissipation going +forward than amours with _Stubenmaedchen_. I do not hear of any drunkenness, +gaming or horse racing; nor do the professors themselves, who ought to be +the best judges of what is going on, complain of the insubordination of +their pupils. But what I principally admire in this, and indeed in other +German Universities, is that there are no distinctions of rank, such as +gold tassels, etc., no servile attention paid to sprigs of nobility, as in +the Universities in England, where the Heads of Colleges and Fellows are +singularly condescending to the son of a Peer, a Minister, or a Bishop. +Perfect equality prevails in Leipzig and the son of the proudest +_Reichsgraf_ is allowed no more priviledges than the son of a barber; nor +do the professors make the least difference between them. In fact, in spite +of the vulgar belief in England respecting the _hauteur_ of the German +_noblesse_ and the vassalage of the other classes, I must say, from +experience, that the German nobility show far less _hauteur_ and have in +general more really liberal ideas than most part of our English +aristocracy, and a German burgher or shop-keeper would disdain to cringe +before a nobleman as many shopkeepers, aye, and even gentry, are sometimes +known to do in England. Another circumstance too proves on how much more +liberal a footing Leipzig and other German Universities are than our +English ones, which is, that in England none but those who profess the +religion of the Church of England, or conform to its ritual, are admitted; +but here all sects are tolerated and admitted, and all live in perfect +harmony with each other. The students are at liberty to chuse their place +of worship and the sermons that are preached in the Catholic as well as the +Protestant churches are such as sensible men of whatever opinion might +listen to with profit, and without being shocked by absurdities or +intolerant ideas. + +Mysteries, theologic sophistry and politics are carefully avoided, and a +pure morality, a simple theosophy, comprehensible to the meanest +understanding, pervades these simple discourses. The consequence of this +toleration and liberal spirit is that an union between the Lutheran and +Calvinistic churches has been effected. + +I met a number of mercantile people at the _table d'hote_ at Leipzig in the +_Hotel de Baviere_, and I entered a good deal into conversation with them; +but when they discovered I was an Englishman, I could see a sudden coldness +and restraint in their demeanour, for we are very unpopular in Germany, +owing to the conduct of our Cabinet, and they have a great distrust of us. +The Saxons complain terribly of our Government for sanctioning the +dismemberment of their country and of the insolent letter of Castlereagh. +It is singular enough that Saxony is the only country where English goods +are allowed to be imported free of duty; but our great and good ally the +King of Prussia (as these goods must pass thro' his territory) has imposed +a tolerably heavy transit duty. I am glad of it; this is as it should be. I +rejoice at any obstacles that are put to British commerce; I rejoice when I +hear of our merchants suffering and I quite delight to hear of a +bankruptcy. They, the English merchants, contributed with their gold to +uphold the corrupt system of Pitt and to carry on unjust, unreasonable and +liberticide wars. Yes! it is perfectly fit and proper that the despotic +governments they have contributed to restore should make them feel their +gratitude. If the French since their Revolution have not always fought for +liberty, they have done so invariably for science; and wherever they +carried their victorious arms, abuses were abolished, ameliorations of all +kinds followed, and the arts of life were improved. Our Government since +the accession of George III has never raised its arm except in favor of old +abuses, to uphold despotism and unfair privileges, or to establish +commercial monopoly. Our victories so far from being of beneficial effect +to the countries wherein we gained them, have been their curse. We can +interfere and be prodigal of money and blood to crush any attempt of the +continental nations towards obtaining their liberty; but when it is +necessary to intercede in favour of oppressed patriots, then we are told +that we have no right to interfere with the domestic policy of other +nations. We can send ships to protect and carry off in safety a worthless +Royal family, as at Naples in 1799, but we can view with heartless +indifference, and even complacency, the murders committed in Spain by the +infamous Ferdinand and his severities against those to whom he owes his +crown, all of whom had the strongest daim to our protection as having +fought with us in the same cause and contributed to our success. + +The _Platz_ at Leipzig is large and here it is that the fair is held. The +theatre is an elegant building and lies just outside one of the gates of +the city. Innumerable shops of booksellers are here and it is astonishing +at how cheap a rate printing in all languages is carried forward. + +There are some pleasant promenades in the environs of Leipzig; but this is +not a time of the year to judge of the beauty of the country. I went, +however, to view the house occupied by Napoleon on the eve of the battle of +Leipzig. A monument is to be erected to the memory of Poniatowsky in the +spot where he perished. + +I started from Leipzig on 7th March at eleven o'clock. I was five days en +route from Leipzig to Frankfort, tho' the distance does not exceed +forty-five German miles. I travelled in the diligence, but had I known that +the arrangements were so uncomfortable, I should have preferred going in a +_Landkutsche_, which would have made the journey in seven days and afforded +me an opportunity of stopping every night to repose; whereas in the +diligence, tho' they go _en poste_, they travel exceedingly slow and it is +impossible to persuade the postillion to accelerate his usual pace. He is +far more careful of his horses than of his passengers. This I however +excuse; but it is of the frequent stoppages and bad arrangement of them +that I complain. Instead of stopping at some town for one whole night or +two whole nights out of the five, they stop almost at every town for three, +four and five hours; so that these short stoppages do not give you time +enough to go to bed and they are besides generally made in the day time or +early in the morning and evening. We passed thro' the following cities and +places of eminence, viz., Lutzen; the spot where Gustavus Adolphus was +killed is close to the road on the left hand with a plain stone and the +initials G.A. inscribed on it. Weimar is a very neat city and where I +should like much to have staid; but I had only time to view the outside of +the Palace and the _Stadthaus_. Erfurt and Gotha are both fine looking +cities. In Gotha I had only time to see the outside of the _Residenz +Schloss_ or Ducal Palace, which is agreeably situated on an eminence, and +to remark in the _Neumarkt Kirche_ the portrait of Duke Bernard of Saxe +Weimar and the monuments of the princes of that family. At Erfurt there is +the tomb of a Count Gleichen who was made prisoner in the Holy Land, in the +time of the Crusades, and was released by a Mahometan Princess on condition +of his espousing her. The Count was already married in Germany and there he +had left his wife; but such was his gratitude to the fair Musulmane, that +he married her with the full consent of his German wife and they all three +lived happily together. Fulda, where we stopped four hours, appears a fine +city, and is situated on an eminence commanding a noble view of a very +fertile and extensive plain. The Episcopal Palace and the churches are +magnificent, and the general appearance of the town is striking. The +Bishopric of Fulda was formerly an independent ecclesiastical state, but +was secularised at the treaty of Luneville and now forms part of the +territory of Hesse-Cassel. + +The _Feld-zeichen_ of Hesse-Cassel is green and red. After passing thro' +Hanau, where we halted three hours, which gave me an opportunity of viewing +the field of battle there, we proceeded to Frankfort and arrived there at +twelve o'clock the 12th of March. I put up at the _Swan_ inn. In summer +time the country about Fulda and in general between Fulda and Frankfort +must be very pleasing from the variety of the features of the ground. We +lived very well and very cheap on the road. The price of the diligence from +Leipzig to Frankfort was eleven _Reichsthaler_. + +After remaining three days to repose at Frankfort I took my place to +Mayence and from thence to Metz and Paris. In the diligence from Mayence +and indeed all the way to Paris I found a very amusing society. There were +two physicians and M. L[emaitre], a most entertaining man and of +inexhaustible colloquial talent; for, except when he slept, he never ceased +to talk. His conversation was however always interesting and entertaining, +for he had figured in the early part of the French Revolution and was well +known in the political and litterary world as the editor of a famous +journal called _Le Bonhomme Richard_.[129] + +Metz is a large, well built and strongly fortified city. Verdun, thro' +which we passed, became quite an English colony during the war from the +number of _detenus_ of that nation who were compelled to reside there. At +Epernay we drank a few bottles of Champagne and a toast was given by one of +the company, which met with general applause. It was _Bon voyage_ to the +Allies who have now finally evacuated France to the great joy of the whole +nation, except of the towns where they were cantoned, where they +contributed much towards enriching the shopkeepers and inhabitants. + +I remained in Paris six days and then proceeded to England. + + +[129] _Le bonhomme Richard aux bonnes gens_ was not a "famous journal," as + only two numbers appeared in 1790 (M. Tourneux, _Bibliographie de + l'histoire de Paris pendant la Revolution_, vol. 11, p. 585, n. 10, + 511). The publisher, Antoine-Francois Lemaitre, whom Major Erye + mentions in this passage, was the author of some other revolutionary + pamphlets, e.g., _Lettres bougrement patriotiques_, etc.--ED. + + + + + + +INDEX + +Acheron, Lake. +Adam, Major-General commands Light Brigade of General + Sir H. Clinton's division. +Aix-la-Chapelle: + Hotel-de-Ville; + Cathedral; + relics of Charlemagne; + Napoleon's benefactions; + overbearing demeanour of Prussian soldiers; + Faro bank; + interesting Tyrolese girl; + baths. +Albanot Villa Doria, + ancient monument. +Albany, Countess of, + her claim to be the legitimate Queen of England; + Alfieri's attachment to. +Alexandria: Austrian Government destroys fortifications of +Alfieri: compared with Shakespeare, Schiller, and Voltaire, + monument erected to, by Canova; + his sonnet to Countess of Albany. +Alsace-Lorraine: severance of, from France anticipated by Prussian + officers. +Andernach: ruins of palace of Kings of Austrasia, + church containing embalmed body of Emperor Valentinian; + crossing of Rhine by Julius Caesar at. +Angouleme, Duchesse d': temperament and religious fanaticism of. +Antwerp: English families fly from Brussels to. +Archenholz: historian of the Seven Years' War. +Army of the Loire: exemplary conduct of, when disbanded. +Arona: colossal statue of St Charles Borromeus at. +Austria: fluctuations in the value of the paper currency of + Napoleon's policy as regarded. +Avernus, Lake. + +Baciocchi, Princess Elise: sister of Napoleon and Sovereign of Lucca. +Baffo, Venetian poet. +Baiae: baths of Nero, + ruins of temples; + the Styx; + Elysian Fields. +Belgium: + dislike to severance from France; + feeling towards Holland; + attachment to Napoleon; + preparations for the Campaign; + all inhabitants requisitioned for the repair of fortifications. +Berlin: occupation of, after Jena, + excellent conduct of French troops of occupation; + excesses committed by troops of Rhenish Confederation; + insolent conduct of troops raised by Prince of Isenburg; + art treasures of, respected by French Republican Armies; + Unter den Linden; + Brandenburger Thor; + public buildings; + streets; + statues of great men in the Wilhelm Platz; + Churches; + the officers of the Army; + anecdote of Blucher. +Bern: attempts in 1815 to regain possession of the Canton de Vaud. +Bigottini: fine performance at the Grand Opera, Paris. +Bingen: Mausethurm, + Bishop Hatto. +Blacas, Vicomte de: at Court of Louis XVIII at Ghent. +Blucher: popularity of, in London, + encourages the excesses of his soldiery; + nicknames of; + narrowly escapes capture at Ligny; + saves English at Hougoumont; + anecdote related of. +Bohemia: dialect of. +Bologna: arcades, + remarkable picture in gallery of Count Marescalchi; + leaning tower; + lady-professor of Greek; + Carbonari; + theatre; + women; + barbarous dialect. +Bonn: + Electoral palace; + Roman antiquity; + legends of the Sieben Gebirge; + Das Heimliche Gericht. +Bordas, M, politics of. +Borgo San Donino, remarkable highway robbery at. +Borromean Islands, splendid villa in Isola Bella. +Bourbons, the: want of patriotism of the Duc de Berri, + their injudicious conduct; + Louis XVIII and Monsieur at Ghent; + amusing nickname of Louis XVIII; + dislike of the French people to; + their atrocious policy; + send emissaries to South of France from Coblentz; + unpopularity of; + fulsome adulation of; + cause removal of Sismondi from Geneva; + character of royal families of France, Spain, and Naples. +Brussels: description of, + historical associations; + Place du Sablon, celebrated fountain; + theatres; + humanity of inhabitants of, to the wounded after Waterloo. + +Caffarelli, Statue of, in Palais du Luxembourg. +Canova, works of, in St Peter's, + master-pieces in his atelier in Rome; + character of his genius. +Capellen, Baron de, + proclamation of, to the inhabitants of Brussels. +Capua, + thievishness of lower classes of. +Carbonari, degrees and initiation, + object; + meaning of name. +Castlereagh, Lord: insolent letter of, respecting King of Saxony. +Catalani: singing of. +Ceylon: Frye's travels in. +Chalon: affection felt for Napoleon in, + Austrian officers in. +Charleroy: defeat of Prussian army at. +Chateaubriand: at the Court of Louis XVIII at Ghent. +Chatham, Earl of: indignation of, at employment of Indians in the War + of Independence. +Clermont: Peter the Hermit preaches First Crusade in, + petrifying well; + Swiss regiment; + anonymous denunciations; + method of cleansing town. +Coblentz: monument to Marceau, + Bourbon intrigues with Jacobins and Brissotins. +Code Napoleon: simplicity and advantages of, as compared with + English criminal law. +Cologne: Cathedral, + the three kings; + the eleven thousand virgins; + etymology of the name; + Jean-Marie Farina. +Cremona: Gothic buildings, + Campanile of Cathedral. +Consalvi, Cardinal: character and abilities of. +Campagna: limbs of quartered malefactors hung up on roadsides, + armed peasants; + the malaria. + +David: pictures by, in Palais du Luxembourg. +De l'Epee, Abbe: founder of the Institution of the _Sourds-Muets_. +Dessaix: Statue of, in Palais du Luxembourg. +De Watteville: disbands his army. +Delille, Abbe, his poetry. +De Boigne, General: his great services to Scindiah, + unjustly accused of treachery towards Tippoo Sahb. +Didier: handed over by the Sardinian Government to the French, + his execution at Grenoble. +Dijon: the town, + manufactories of. +Dionigi, Mme: literary and artistic attainments of. +D'Orfei, Mme. +Dresden: The Japanischer Palast, + music in; + Prince Galhitzin; + the King; + bridge over the Elbe; + Marshal Davoust; + Grosser Garten; + Ressource Club; + etiquette; + title of "Rath"; + theatres; + beds; + scholars. +Duchesnois, Mlle: fine acting of. + +Egypt: striking testimony to the good done by the French in. +Ehrenbreitstein: flying bridge, + great natural strength; + beauty of women of. +Ellis, Col. Sir H.: perishes at Waterloo. +Emigres, the: + incorrigibility of; + ingratitude to Napoleon; + their foolish expectations; + efforts to cause restoration of lands formerly theirs. +Ens: + whirlpool; + the Waternixie. +Erfurt: legend of Count Gleichen. +Espinassy, General: republican principles of. +Eton: principles instilled into boys at. +Eustace, Mr: examples of his credulity and bigotry. + +Ferrara: + Hugo and Parisina; + the Po; + relics of Ariosto; + MSS of Ariosto, Tasso, Guarini; + Hospital of St Anna. +Firmin: acting of. +Fleurus: Prussian army defeated at. +Florence: + the Duomo; + Battisterio; + il Sasso di Dante; + theatres; + public buildings; + statues; + Gallery; + Venus; + de Medici; + paintings and sculpture; + portraits of sovereigns; + Roman antiquities; + remarkable imitations in wax of human anatomy; + Ponte Vecchio; + street paving; + thickness of walls of houses; + Palazzo Pitti; + Canova's Venus; + Boboli Gardens; + Cascino; + beauty of the women; + Pegasus; + Italian fondness for gaudy colours; + Canova's monument to Alfieri; + Church of Santa Croce; + the Florentine Westminster Abbey; + academies; + La Crusca; + English travellers; + Lord Dillon; + story illustrating Florentine life. +Fouche: complains of the conduct of the Allies. +Frankfort: + Venus Vulgivaga; + Jews; + cathedral; + inauguration of Roman Caesars in the Roemer; + the Golden Bull; + portraits of the Emperors; + theatre; + adaptation of German language to music; + political opinion in; + dislike to Austria. +French Revolution: worst excesses of, surpassed. + +Galileo: monument erected to, in church of Santa Croce. +Gauthier, M.: exiled to Lausanne. +Geneva: scenery, + Fort de l'Ecluse; + arcades; + J.J. Rousseau; + Calvin; + Servetus; + sentiments of Genevese towards Napoleon and the Revolution; + literary aptitude of Genevese; + attachment to their country; + the women; + French refugees refused an asylum in; + admitted into Helvetic Confederation. +Genoa: the women of, + peculiarities of the streets; + ducal palace; + Columbus; + bridge of Carignano; + churches. +Georges, Mlle: fine acting of, + her rendering of "Agrippina"; + plays the part of "Clytemnestra," supported by her sister as "Iphigenie". +Ghent: Court of Louis XVIII at. +Girolamo, Signor: anecdote of. +Godesberg: interesting ruins near. +Granet: remarkable pictures by. +Grassini: singing of. +Grillparzer, author of the tragedy "Sappho". +Grotto of Pausilippo. +Grotto del Cane. +Guerin: pictures by, in Palais du Luxembourg. +Guillotine, the. + +Helvetic Confederation: guaranteed by the Allied Powers in 1814, + Geneva admitted into. +Herculaneum. +Hockheim; Rhenish wines. +Holland: feeling towards the House of Orange, + regret at loss of Cape of Good Hope and Ceylon. +Hougoumont: Bulow and Blucher march to the assistance of the English at + devastation of. +Hulin, General: cashiers a Prussian officer in the French service. + +India: Frye's travels in. +Innspruck: the Hofkirche, + statues of kings and princes connected with Maximilian I. + +Kleber: statue of, in Palais du Luxembourg. +Klingmann, Philipp: plot of his tragedy "Faust". + +Labedoyere: execution of. +Lacoste: acts as Napoleon's guide at Waterloo. +Lafayette: rebukes British Commissioner at the Conference. +Lafond: acting of. +Lafontaine, Augustus: comparison of works of, with the "Nouvelle Heloise" + of Rousseau. +La Harpe, General: influences Emperor of Russia in favour of the Vaudois. +Lamarque: sent by the Convention to arrest Dumouriez, + delivered over to the Austrians; + votes for Napoleon. +Landshut: Church of St Martin at. +Language: influence of, upon the poetry and plays of Italy, France, + England and Germany. +Lausanne: steep ascents, + beauty of environs; + Republican principles of; + intolerant discourse of minister. +Leipzig: Saxon troops go over to the Mies during the battle of, + the University; + unpopularity of the English in. +Leghorn: Hebrew families in, + Don Felipe III; + Smollett's tomb. +Liege: situation of, + coal-pits near; + commerce with Holland; + fortifications; + destroyed by Joseph II. +Linz: beauty of the women, + curious incident; + learned innkeepers. +Lodi: interesting model in the Hotel des Invalides of battle of. +Louvre: works of art in, + stripping of, by the Allies. +Lucca: female servants, + the amoroso; + Dante's mountain. +Lyons: buildings, + scenery; + feelings towards Napoleon; + character of inhabitants; + manufactures. + +Maastricht: situation, + Montagne de St Pierre. +Machiavelli: entombed in church of Santa Croce. +Macon: quai, + wine; + grisettes. +Maffei: his "Polyphonte" compared with that of Voltaire. +Maitland, Captain: Napolean surrenders to. +Mantua: situation, + Cathedral; + monuments of the Gonzagas; + the T palace and gardens. +Marengo: the Battle of, + Commemoration column thrown down. +Maria Louisa: ordered to quit papal territory, + enthusiastic reception of, at Bologna; + victim of a strange theft. +Mars, Mlle: graceful acting of. +Massieu: pupil of the Abbe Sicard. +Mayence: Cathedral, + Citadel. +Michel Angelo: anecdote of. +Milan: _Teatro della Scala_, + the _Duomo_; + the women of; + dialect; + the _Zecca_; + palace; + Ambrosian Library; + hospital; + _Teatro Olimpico_; + Porta del Sempione; + Italian comedy and audiences; + Teatro Girolamo; + Milanese twang; + ballet; + acting of La Pallerini. +Mittenwald: great raft, + interesting journey. +Moelk: tradition of the Devil's Wall, + ruins of Castle of Dierenstein; + Richard Coeur de Lion. +Mont Cenis: description of the Chaussee. +Mont St. Jean: dreadful sight on plateau of. +Montefiascone: story of the _Vino d'Est_. +Morice, Colonel: death at Waterloo. +Munich: the King, + national theatre; + social life in; + female head-dress. +Murat: Italian opinion of. + +Namur: situation of, + Citadel demolished by Joseph II; + complaints against. +Prussian soldiery. +Napoleon: takes tribute of works of art from vanquished Governments, + calumniated by the _emigres_; + unjust aspersions on; + narrow escape from capture; + confident of success before Waterloo; + constructs Chaussee of Mont Cenis. +Naples: + life of a man of fashion in; + Etruscan vases and papyri in museum; + theatres; + _Pulcinello_; + social advantages; + lazzaroni; + dialect; + effect of general ignorance. +Nelson, Lord: conduct towards Caraccioli, +Neuwied: University of. +Ney, Marshall: Wellington and Emperor of Russia refuse to interfere + in favour of + +Padua: + University; + Church of St Anthony; + Palazzo della Giustizia; + tomb of Livy. +Paris: Louis XVIII in, + Kotzebue on the _Palais Royal_; + Cafe Montausier; + the Louvre; + statues and paintings collected by the French Government; + productions at the Grand Opera; + Column of the _Place Vendome_; + Gardens of the Tuileries; + Chamber of Deputies; + the _Invalides_; + models of the fortresses of France; + Picture Gallery of the Palais du Luxembourg; + frequency of quarrels between French and Prussian officers in the; + _Palais Royal_; + behaviour of English officers in; + masterpieces performed in the _Theatre francais_; + Ney shot in the Gardens of the Luxembourg. +Parma: "L'Amfiteatro Farnese", + paintings; + birthplace of Cassius. +Passau: junction of the Danube, Inn and Illst. +Perugia. +Pescia, + advantages of living in. +Picton, Lieut-Genl Sir T.: perishes at Waterloo. +Piedmont: character of the lower classes of. +Pillnitz: + the palace; + Treaty of. +Pisa. +Pitt: credited with the invention of the sinking fund. +Pius VII: character and virtues of. +Pompeii: + amphitheatre; + houses; + Temple of Isis; + Praetorium; + antiquities removed to Museum of Portici. +Pontine Marshes. +Prague: situation, + bridge over the Mulda; + remarkable statue; + Jews; + palaces of the Wallensteins and Colloredos; + St John Nepomucene; + Joseph II's ingenious method of extorting money from the Jews; + Catalani; + story of the Duchess Libussa. + +Rafaelli: mosaic work of. +Rho: ancient tree. +Rome: censorship of books at the Dogana, + Coliseum; + Arch of Constantine; + _Via Sacra_--excavations; + Tarpeian Rock; + Capitol; + St Peter's; + anecdote of Michel Angelo; + statue of St Peter; + masterpieces of sculpture in Capitoline Museum; + Transteverini; + effect of the settling of foreign artists in; + Santa Maria Maggiore; + Church of St John Lateran; + Egyptian obelisk; + La Scala Santa; + Quirinal; + fountains; + Column of Trajan; + baths of Diocletian; + theatres; + masterpieces of art in the Vatican Museum; + statue of Jupiter Capitolinus; + stanze di Rafaello; + Appian Road; + social life in; + the _Avvocati_; + Papal Government; + post office defalcations; + the Carnival; + races in the Corso; + masquerades; + Sovereigns and persons of distinction living in Rome in 1818; + Easter in; + Swiss Guard; + Noble Guard; + papal benediction; + illumination of St Peter's; + fireworks from Castle of St Angelo; + the brigand Barbone; + his wife. + +Savoy: character of inhabitants of. +Schoenbrunn: anecdote of Napoleon's son. +Schuyler, General: his reproof of General Burgoyne. +Scindiah: career of. +Sgricci, Signor: his genius for improvisation. +Sicard, Abbee; director of the Institution of the _Sourds-Muets_, +eulogises Sir Sidney Smith. +Sienna: cathedral, + Piccolomini monument; + dialect. +Simplon: road over the, + Chaussee; + _maisons de refuge_. +Sismondi, + the historian banished from Geneva. +Smith, Lucius F.: friend of De Boigne. +Smith, Sir Sidney: his eulogy of the Abbe Sicard. +Spoleto: ruins of ancient buildings. +St Cloud: favourite residence of Napoleon. +St Eustatius: pillaged by Admiral Rodney. +St Germain: depot for articles plundered by Prussian officers. +St Helena: injustice of Napoleon's banishment to. +Stewart, Lord: conduct of, at Conference of French Commissioners + with the Allies. + +Taddei, Rosa: her talent for improvisation. +Talma, his ailing at the Theatre Francais. +Thorwaldsen: character of his genius. +Tivoli: the Villa d'Este, + Adrian's Villa. +Toelz: remarkable groups of figures in wood, representing + history of Christ. +Tournay, + citadel of. +Trevoux: scenery on the road between Macon and, + hotel-keeper's beautiful daughter. +Turin: Chapelle du Saint Suaire, + remarkable works of art in; + the King of Sardinia. +Tuscany: contrast with papal dominions, + pronunciation; + peasantry; + fondness of Tuscan women for dress; + feeling towards Napoleon in; + character of the people; + house of Americo Vespucci. +Tyrol, the: general description of, + dress of the peasant women. + +Valais: cretins of. +Vaud, Canton de: character of inhabitants of, + gratitude to France; + democratic spirit; + La Harpe; + defends its independence; + hatred of French Royalists to. +Velino: remarkable cascade. +Venice: Canale Grande, + Rialto; + palaces of great families; + the Merceria; + water-fete; + Piazza di San Marco; + Church of St Mark; + Campanile; + variety of costumes in; + dialect; + social life in; + Doge's palace; + theatres; + gondolas. +Verbruggen, H.: work of, in church of St Gudule, Brussels. +Verona: amphitheatre, + Palladio; + Scala family; + social advantages in. +Versailles: magnificence of. +"Vertraute Briefe" the. +Vesuvius: eruptions, + lava. +Vicenza. +Vienna: Art treasures of, respected by French Republican armies, + great raft; + streets; + Cathedral; + Hofburg; + Congress of; + Wechselbank; + Belvedere Palace; + Prater; + theatres. +Visconte, Galeazzo: builds church of the Certosa. +Volnais, Mlle: Acting of. +Voltaire: his play, "Merope", + his benefactions to Ferney; + relics of; + portraits of contemporaries in his chateau. + +Walker, Adam: his lectures to Etonians stopped. +Wardle, Col.: republican principles of, + anonymous denunciation of. +Waterloo: French officer's remarks on. +Wellington: his confidence in the result of the campaign, + gallantry of; + checks frequency of corporal punishment in the army. +Wilson, Maj.-Genl: accompanies Frye on a tour through the theatre of War. +Wilson, Sir R.: his charges against Napoleon. +Wirion: removed from office by Napoleon. + +York, Duke of, + opposes frequent corporal punishment in the Army. + +Zedera, Chevalier: political dispute with Genevese, + his journey with Frye to Italy; + his parting with Frye. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of After Waterloo: Reminiscences of +European Travel 1815-1819, by Major W. 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