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diff --git a/old/55017-0.txt b/old/55017-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 15f5ce3..0000000 --- a/old/55017-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,6360 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Diary of Dr. John William Polidori, by -John William Polidori - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world 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. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: The Diary of Dr. John William Polidori - 1816, Relating to Byron, Shelley, etc. - -Author: John William Polidori - -Editor: William Michael Rossetti - -Release Date: July 1, 2017 [EBook #55017] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DIARY OF DR. JOHN POLIDORI *** - - - - -Produced by Rachael Schultz, readbueno and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive) - - - - - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - The Diary of - Dr. John William Polidori - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - The Diary of - Dr. John William Polidori - - 1816 - - Relating to Byron, Shelley, etc. - - - Edited and Elucidated by - - William Michael Rossetti - - "Mi fur mostrati gli spiriti magni - Che del vederli in me stesso n'esalto."—DANTE. - - LONDON - - ELKIN MATHEWS - - VIGO STREET - - MCMXI - - - - - RICHARD CLAY & SONS, LIMITED, - BREAD STREET HILL, E.C., AND - BUNGAY, SUFFOLK. - - - - - DEDICATED - - TO MY TWO DAUGHTERS - - HELEN AND MARY - - WHO WITH MY LITTLE GRAND-DAUGHTER IMOGENE - KEEP THE HOME OF MY CLOSING YEARS - STILL IN GOOD CHEER - - - - - The Diary of - Dr. John William Polidori - - - - - INTRODUCTION - - -A person whose name finds mention in the books about Byron, and to some -extent in those about Shelley, was John William Polidori, M.D.; he was -Lord Byron's travelling physician in 1816, when his Lordship quitted -England soon after the separation from his wife. I, who now act as -Editor of his Diary, am a nephew of his, born after his death. Dr. -Polidori figures not very advantageously in the books concerning Byron -and Shelley. He is exhibited as overweening and petulant, too fond of -putting himself forward face to face with those two heroes of our -poetical literature, and too touchy when either of them declined to take -him at his own estimation. I will allow that this judgment of Polidori -is, so far as it goes, substantially just; and that some of the recorded -anecdotes of him prove him deficient in self-knowledge, lacking prudence -and reserve, and ignoring the distinction between a dignified and a -quarrelsome attitude of mind. He was, in fact, extremely young when he -went abroad in April 1816 with Byron, to whom he had been recommended by -Sir Henry Halford; he was then only twenty years of age (born on -September 7, 1795), Byron being twenty-eight, and Shelley twenty-three. -The recommendation given to so very young a man is a little surprising. -It would be a mistake, however, to suppose that Polidori was without -some solid attainments, and some considerable share of talent. He was -the son of Gaetano Polidori, a Tuscan man of letters who, after being -secretary to the celebrated dramatist Alfieri, had settled in London as -a teacher of Italian, and of his English wife, a Miss Pierce; the -parents (my maternal grand-parents) survived to a great age, only dying -in 1853. John Polidori, after receiving his education in the Roman -Catholic College of Ampleforth (Yorkshire), studied medicine in -Edinburgh, and took his doctor's degree at a singularly early age—I -believe almost unexampled—the age of nineteen. His ambition was fully as -much for literary as for professional distinction; and he published, -besides _The Vampyre_ to which I shall have to recur, a prose tale named -_Ernestus Berchtold_, a volume of verse containing a drama entitled -_Ximenes_, and some other writings. - -One of these writings is the text to a volume, published in 1821, -entitled _Sketches Illustrative of the Manners and Costumes of France, -Switzerland, and Italy_, by R. Bridgens. The name of Polidori is not -indeed recorded in this book, but I know as a certainty that he was the -writer. One of the designs in the volume shows the costume of women at -Lerici just about the time when Shelley was staying there, in the -closing months of his life, and a noticeable costume it was. Polidori -himself—though I am not aware that he ever received any instruction in -drawing worth speaking of—had some considerable native gift in sketching -faces and figures with lifelike expression; I possess a few examples to -prove as much. The Diary shows that he took some serious and intelligent -interest in works of art, as well as in literature; and he was clearly a -rapid and somewhat caustic judge of character—perhaps a correct one. He -was a fine, rather romantic-looking young man, as evidenced by his -portrait in the National Portrait Gallery, accepted from me by that -Institution in 1895. - -Dr. Polidori's life was a short one. Not long after quitting Lord Byron -in 1816 he returned to London, and in Norwich continued his medical -career, but eventually relinquished this, and began studying for the -Bar. It is said that Miss Harriett Martineau was rather in love with him -in Norwich. In August 1821 he committed suicide with poison—having, -through losses in gambling, incurred a debt of honour which he had no -present means of clearing off. That he did take poison, prussic acid, -was a fact perfectly well known in his family; but it is curious to note -that the easy-going and good-naturedly disposed coroner's jury were -content to return a verdict without eliciting any distinct evidence as -to the cause of death, and they simply pronounced that he had "died by -the visitation of God." - -The matter was reported in two papers, _The Traveller_ and _The New -Times_. I possess a copy, made by my mother at the time, of the reports; -and it may perhaps be as well inserted here. - - - _Copied from The Traveller._ - - Monday Evening [_August 27th, 1821_]. - -Melancholy Event.—Mr. Polidori, residing in Great Pulteney Street, -retired to rest about his usual time on Thursday night; the servant, not -finding him rise at the usual hour yesterday, went to his room between -eleven and twelve o'clock, and found him groaning, and apparently in the -last agonies of death. An alarm was given and medical aid was -immediately called, but before the arrival of Surgeons Copeland and -Davies, he was no more. His father was at the time on his journey to -London to see his son, and arrived about three hours after the event. We -understand the deceased was about twenty-six years of age, and had for -some time accompanied Lord Byron in Italy. A Coroner's Inquest will sit -this day to ascertain the cause of his death. - - - _Copied from The New Times._ - - Tuesday [_September 11th, 1821_]. - -Coroner's Inquest on John Polidori, Esquire.—An Inquisition has been -taken before T. Higgs, Esquire, Deputy Coroner, at the residence of the -father of the above unfortunate gentleman, in Great Pulteney Street, -Golden Square, who was discovered lying on his bed in a state nearly -approaching to death, and soon afterwards expired. - -Charlotte Reed, the servant to Mr. Gaetano Polidori, the father of the -deceased, said her master's son lived in the house, and for some time -had been indisposed. On Monday the 20th of August last he returned from -Brighton, since which his conduct manifested strong symptoms of -incoherence, and he gave his order for dinner in a very strange manner. -On the Thursday following the deceased dined with a gentleman residing -in the same house, and on that occasion he appeared very much depressed -in his spirits. About nine o'clock the same evening he ordered witness -to leave a glass (tumbler) in his room; this was unusual, but one was -placed as he desired. Deceased told her he was unwell; if therefore he -did not get up by twelve o'clock the next day, not to disturb him. -Witness, however, a few minutes before twelve, went into his room to -open the shutters, and on her return saw the deceased lying in bed; he -was not in any unusual position, but seemed extremely ill. Witness -immediately left the room, went upstairs, and communicated what she had -observed to a gentleman, who instantly came down. Witness then went for -medical assistance. The deceased was about twenty-six years of age.—Mr. -John Deagostini, the gentleman alluded to by the last witness, -corroborated her statement on his giving him the invitation to dine, -which he accepted in a way quite different from his usual conduct. -Witness also observed that, some time since, the deceased had met with -an accident—was thrown out of his gig, and seriously hurt in the head. -On Thursday at dinner he spoke in half sentences; the conversation was -on politics and a future state. The deceased observed rather harshly -that witness would see more than him; he appeared to be deranged in his -mind, and his countenance was haggard. At dinner he ate very little: -soon after left the room, but joined again at tea; hardly spoke a word, -and retired at nine o'clock. After breakfast next morning, witness -inquired of the servant whether Mr. Polidori had gone out. She replied -no, and that he had desired her not to disturb him. About twelve o'clock -the servant came to him very much alarmed. Witness went immediately to -the apartment of the deceased, and observed a tumbler on the chair, -which contained nothing but water, and did not perceive any deleterious -substance that the deceased might have taken; he was senseless, and -apparently in a dying state.—Mr. Thomas Copeland, a surgeon residing in -Golden Square, was sent for suddenly to attend the deceased, and -attempted to discharge the contents of the stomach without effect. He -lingered for about ten minutes, and expired. Another medical gentleman -soon after arrived, but his assistance was also unavailing.—There being -no further evidence adduced to prove how the deceased came to his death, -the jury, under these circumstances, returned a verdict of—Died by the -visitation of God. - -Medwin, in his _Conversations with Lord Byron_, gives the following -account of how the poet received the news of Dr. Polidori's death. "I -was convinced" (said Byron) "something very unpleasant hung over me last -night: I expected to hear that somebody I knew was dead. So it turns -out—poor Polidori is gone. When he was my physician he was always -talking of prussic acid, oil of amber, blowing into veins, suffocating -by charcoal, and compounding poisons; but for a different purpose to -what the Pontic monarch did, for he has prescribed a dose for himself -that would have killed fifty Mithridates—a dose whose effect, Murray -says, was so instantaneous that he went off without a spasm or struggle. -It seems that disappointment was the cause of this rash act."—The -evidence of the servant at the inquest shows that death did not come so -very suddenly; and in my own family I always heard the poison spoken of -as simply prussic acid. - -This is all that I need say at present to explain who Dr. Polidori was; -but I must add a few words regarding his Diary. - -The day when the young doctor obtained the post of travelling physician -to the famous poet and man of fashion, Lord Byron, about to leave -England for the Continent, must, no doubt, have been regarded by him and -by some of his family as a supremely auspicious one, although in fact it -turned out the reverse. The article on Polidori written in _The -Dictionary of National Biography_ by my valued friend, the late Dr. -Garnett, speaks of him as "physician and _secretary_ to Lord Byron"; but -I never heard that he undertook or performed any secretarial work worth -speaking of, and I decidedly believe that he did not. The same statement -occurs in the inscription on his likeness in the National Portrait -Gallery. Polidori's father had foreseen, in the Byronic scheme, -disappointment as only too likely, and he opposed the project, but -without success. To be the daily companion and intimate of so great a -man as Byron, to visit foreign scenes in his society, to travel into his -own father's native land, which he regarded with a feeling of -enthusiasm, and with whose language he was naturally well acquainted, to -be thus launched upon a career promising the utmost development and -satisfaction to his literary as well as professional enterprise—all this -may have seemed like the realization of a dream almost too good to be -true. To crown all, Mr. Murray, Byron's publisher, had offered Polidori -no less a sum than £500 (or 500 guineas) for an account of his -forthcoming tour. Polidori therefore began to keep a Diary, heading it -_Journal of a Journey through Flanders etc., from April 24, 1816, -to_______; and the blank was eventually filled in with the date -"December 28, 1816"; it should rather stand "December 30." Portions of -the Diary are written with some detail, and a perceptible aim at -literary effect—Murray's £500 being manifestly in view; in other -instances the jottings are slight, and merely enough for guiding the -memory. On this footing the Journal goes on up to June 30, 1816. It was -then dropped, as Polidori notes "through neglect and dissipation," for -he saw a great deal of company. On September 5 he wrote up some -summarized reminiscences; and from September 16, the day when he parted -company with Byron at Cologny, near Geneva, and proceeded to journey -through Italy on his own account, he continued with some regularity up -to December 30, when he was sojourning in Pisa. That is the latest day -of which any record remains; but it is known from other evidence that -Dr. Polidori continued in Italy up to April 14, 1817: he then left -Venice in company with the new Earl of Guilford and his mother—being -their travelling physician. Whether the Journal is in any fair degree -interesting or brightly written is a question which the reader will -settle for himself; as a document relevant to the life of two -illustrious poets, it certainly merits some degree of attention. - -My own first acquaintance with the Diary of Dr. Polidori dates back to -1869, when I was preparing the Memoir of Shelley which preludes my -edition of his poems, published in 1870; I then availed myself of the -Shelleian information contained in the Diary, and even gave two or three -verbatim extracts from it. The MS. book was at that time the property of -a sister of his, Miss Charlotte Lydia Polidori, a lady of advanced age. -I regret to say that my aunt, on receiving the MS. back from me, took it -into her head to read it through—a thing which I fancy she had never -before done, or certainly had not done for very many years, and that she -found in it some few passages which she held to be "improper," and, with -the severe virtue so characteristic of an English maiden aunt, she -determined that those passages should no longer exist. I can remember -one about Byron and a chambermaid at Ostend, and another, later on, -about Polidori himself. My aunt therefore took the trouble of copying -out the whole Diary, minus the peccant passages, and she then ruthlessly -destroyed the original MS. After her death—which occurred in January -1890, when she had attained the age of eighty-seven years—her transcript -came into my possession. Its authority is only a shade less safe than -that of the original, and it is from the transcript that I have had to -work in compiling my present volume. - -I will now refer in some detail to the matter of Dr. Polidori's romantic -tale, _The Vampyre_; not only because this matter is of some literary -interest in itself, but more especially because the account of it given -in _The Dictionary of National Biography_ treats Polidori, in this -regard, with no indulgence, and I believe (however unintentionally on -the part of the late Dr. Garnett) with less than justice. He says: "In -April 1819 he [Polidori] published in _The New Monthly Magazine_, and -also in pamphlet-form, the celebrated story of _The Vampyre_, which he -attributed to Byron. The ascription was fictitious. Byron had in fact, -in June 1816, begun to write at Geneva a story with this title, in -emulation of Mrs. Shelley's _Frankenstein_; but dropped it before -reaching the superstition which it was to have illustrated. He sent the -fragment to Murray upon the appearance of Polidori's fabrication, and it -is inserted in his works. He further protested in a carelessly -good-natured disclaimer addressed to _Galignani's Messenger_." - -The facts of the case appear to be as follows. As we shall see in the -Diary, Polidori began, near Geneva, a tale which (according to Mrs. -Shelley) was about a "skull-headed lady," and he was clearly aware that -Byron had commenced a story about a vampyre. After quitting Byron, -Polidori, in conversation with the Countess of Breuss, mentioned in his -Journal, spoke (unless we are to discredit his own account) of the -subject of the great poet's tale; the Countess questioned whether -anything could be made of such a theme, and Polidori then tried his hand -at carrying it out. He left the MS. with the Countess, and thought -little or no more about it. After his departure from that neighbourhood -some person who was travelling there (one might perhaps infer a lady) -obtained the MS. either from the Countess of Breuss or from some person -acquainted with the Countess: this would, I suppose, be the Madame -Gatelier who is named in the Journal along with the Countess. The -traveller then forwarded the tale to the Publisher, Colburn, telling -him—and this statement was printed by Colburn as an _Extract of a Letter -from Geneva_—that certain tales were "undertaken by Lord B[yron], the -physician [Polidori], and Miss M. W. Godwin," and that the writer -received from her female friend "the outline of each of these stories." -She did not say that the completed _Vampyre_ was the production of -Byron; but Colburn inferred this, and in the magazine he attributed it -to Byron, printing his name as author. - -Among the papers which were left by Dr. Polidori at the time of his -death, and which have come into my possession, are the drafts of two -letters of his—one addressed to Mr. Henry Colburn, and the other to the -Editor of _The Morning Chronicle_. These letters were actually -dispatched, and (having no sort of reason to suspect the contrary) I -assume that they contain a truthful account of the facts. If so, they -exonerate Polidori from the imputation of having planned or connived at -a literary imposture. In his letter to Mr. Colburn he affirms (as will -be seen) that the following incidents in his tale were borrowed from -Byron's project: the departure of two friends from England, one of them -dying in Greece [but it is in fact near Ephesus] after exacting from his -companion an oath not to mention his death; the revival of the dead man, -and his then making love to the sister of his late companion. The story -begun by Byron and published along with _Mazeppa_ contains the incidents -above named, except only the important incident of the dead man's -revival and his subsequent love-making. Byron's extant writing, which is -a mere fragment, affords no trace of that upshot; but Polidori must have -known that such was the intended sequel. It may be added that the -resemblance between these productions of Byron and of Polidori extends -only to incidents: the form of narrative is different. - -I proceed to give the letter of Dr. Polidori to Mr. Colburn, followed by -the letter to the Editor of _The Morning Chronicle_. This latter goes -over a good deal of the same ground as the letter to Colburn, so I -shorten it very considerably. - - - JOHN POLIDORI TO HENRY COLBURN. - - [London], _April 2_ (1819). - -SIR, - - I received a copy of the magazine of last April (the present -month), and am sorry to find that your Genevan correspondent has led you -into a mistake with regard to the tale of _The Vampyre_—which is _not_ -Lord Byron's, but was written _entirely_ by me at the request of a lady, -who (upon my mentioning that his Lordship had said that it was his -intention of writing a ghost story, depending for interest upon the -circumstances of two friends leaving England, and one dying in Greece, -the other finding him alive, upon his return, and making love to his -sister) saying that she thought it impossible to work up such materials, -desired I would write it for her, which I did in two idle mornings by -her side. These circumstances above mentioned, and the one of the dying -man having obtained an oath that the survivor should not in any way -disclose his decease, are the only parts of the tale belonging to his -Lordship. I desire, therefore, that you will positively contradict your -statement in the next number, by the insertion of this note. - -With regard to my own tale, it is imperfect and unfinished. I had rather -therefore it should not appear in the magazine; and, if the Editor had -sent his communication, as he mentions, he would have been spared this -mistake. - -But, sir, there is one circumstance of which I must request a further -explanation. I observe upon the back of your publication the -announcement of a separate edition. Now, upon buying this, I find that -it states in the title-page that it was entered into Stationers' Hall -upon March 27, consequently before your magazine was published. I wish -therefore to ask for information how this tale passed from the hands of -your Editor into those of a publisher. - -As it is a mere trifle, I should have had no objection to its appearing -in your magazine, as I could, in common with any other, have extracted -it thence, and republished it. But I shall not sit patiently by and see -it taken without my consent, and appropriated by any person. As -therefore it must have passed through your hands (as stated in the -magazine) from a correspondent, I shall expect that you will account to -me for the publishers, Messrs. Sherwood and Neely, having possession of -it and appropriating it to themselves; and demand either that a -compensation be made me, or that its separate publication be instantly -suppressed. - -Hoping for an immediate answer, which will save me the trouble of -obtaining an injunction, I remain, - - Sir, - - Your obedient servant, - JOHN POLIDORI. - - - TO THE EDITOR OF _THE MORNING CHRONICLE_. - -SIR, - - As you were the first person to whom I wrote to state that the -tale of _The Vampyre_ was not Lord Byron's, I beg you to insert the -following statement in your paper.... The tale, as I stated to you in my -letter, was written upon the foundation of a purposed and begun story of -Lord Byron's.... Lord Byron, in a letter dated Venice, stated that he -knew nothing of the Vampyre story, and hated vampyres; but, while this -letter was busily circulating in all the London and provincial papers, -the fragment at the end of _Mazeppa_ was in the hands of his publishers -in Albemarle Street, with the date of June 17, 1816, attached to it, -being the beginning of his tale upon this very foundation. My -development was written on the Continent, and left with a lady at whose -request it was undertaken; in the course of three mornings by her side -it was produced, and left with her. From her hands, by means of a -correspondent, without my knowledge, it came into those of the Editor of -_The New Monthly_, with a letter stating it to be an _ébauche_ of Lord -Byron's. Mr. Watts, as Editor of that magazine, stated in _his_ notice -that the tale which accompanies the letters "we also present to our -readers without pledging ourselves for its authenticity as the -production of Lord Byron"; and he continues, "We should suppose it to -have been committed to paper rather from the recital of a third person." -This, however, after the publication of 700 copies, was cancelled by the -_publisher_, and another notice inserted stating it to be decidedly his -Lordship's, in direct opposition (as I am informed) to the Editor's -will—who has since retired from the conduct of the magazine. - -Immediately it was published I procured a copy; and, upon finding that -it was an almost forgotten trifle of my own, instantly wrote to you as -Editor of _The Morning Chronicle_, stating the little share Lord Byron -had in the work. This was upon the Friday evening after its publication. -I at the same time wrote to the publishers of the tale in its separate -form, and to those of the magazine, to stop its sale under his -Lordship's name. On Monday the publishers of the magazine called upon -me, and promised it should be instantly announced as mine.... When I -came to claim my share in the profits, I was offered £30, instead of -nearly £300.... - - Your obedient servant, - - JOHN POLIDORI. - - * * * * * - -The prefatory note to _The Vampyre_, in _The New Monthly Magazine_, runs -thus: "We received several private letters in the course of last autumn -from a friend travelling on the Continent, and among others the -following, which we give to the public on account of its containing -anecdotes of an individual concerning whom the most trifling -circumstances, if they tend to mark even the minor features of his mind, -cannot fail of being considered important and valuable by those who know -how to appreciate his erratic but transcendent genius. The tale which -accompanied the letter we have also much pleasure in presenting to our -readers.—Ed." There is also a final note thus: "We have in our -possession the tale of Dr. ——, as well as the outline of that of Miss -Godwin. The latter has already appeared under the title of -_Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus_. The former, however, upon -consulting with its author, we may probably hereafter give to our -readers.—Ed." - -Two questions arise as to that prefatory note: (1) Did the Editor really -write it, or did the Publisher Colburn write it? (2) Is the averment -true or false that the Editor (or the Publisher) had received in the -course of the preceding autumn "several private letters" from the same -person who had now forwarded a letter enclosing _The Vampyre_? - -Murray wrote to Lord Byron on April 27, 1819. He speaks of the -publication of _The Vampyre_ in _The New Monthly Magazine_, and -afterwards in book-form, and proceeds: "The Editor of that journal has -quarrelled with the Publisher, and has called this morning to exculpate -himself from the baseness of the transaction. He says that he received -it from Dr. Polidori for a small sum; Polidori averring that the whole -plan of it was yours, and that it was merely written out by him. The -Editor inserted it with a short statement to this effect; but, to his -astonishment, Colburn cancelled the leaf.... He informs me that -Polidori, finding that the sale exceeded his expectation and that he had -sold it too cheap, went to the Editor and declared that he would deny -it." - -This statement by Murray makes it probable that the paragraph purporting -to come from the Editor, or some substantial part of it, really emanated -from the Publisher, and the same is definitely asserted in Polidori's -letter to _The Morning Chronicle_; but Murray's letter does not settle -the question whether the allegation about a traveller at Geneva was true -or false. The Editor's assertion that "he received it from Dr. Polidori -for a small sum" does not by any means clear up all the facts. It seems -quite possible that there really was a correspondent at Geneva who sent -to the Editor the MS. of _The Vampyre_, along with that of Polidori's -other tale, and an outline of Mary Shelley's _Frankenstein_, as -expressly affirmed in the final note signed "Ed."; and that the Editor, -having no right to publish _The Vampyre_ unless by authority of its -writer, spoke to Polidori about it. How could Polidori dispose of it -"for a small sum" if he alleged that it was written by Byron, or by any -one other than himself? He averred "that the whole plan of it was" -Byron's—and this is apparently true; adding "that it was merely written -out by" himself—in the sense not of having written from Byron's -dictation, but of having composed a story founded upon Byron's intended -incidents. Murray's final phrase—that Polidori "went to the Editor, and -declared that he would deny it"—is loosely expressed, but seems to mean -that he would deny Byron's authorship of _The Vampyre_—and so in fact he -did. - -If we suppose (as did Murray apparently) that Polidori had in the first -instance planned a deliberate imposture, and had palmed off upon the -Editor _The Vampyre_ as being virtually the writing of Byron, we are -encountered by three difficulties left unexplained: (1) What plea could -Polidori advance for having the MS. and the right of publishing it? (2) -Why did he sell for "a _small_ sum" a work which, if written by the -world-famous Lord Byron, would be worth a very considerable sum? (3) Why -did the Editor pay to Polidori a sum, whether small or large, for a book -which, according to this assumption, was avowedly not the writing of -himself, but the writing and property of Byron? All these difficulties -are avoided, and no other serious difficulties arise, if we assume that -the account given by Polidori is the true one, viz. that he offered the -tale to the Editor as being his own composition, strictly modelled upon -a series of incidents invented by Byron. - -Polidori's letter, addressed to the Editor of _The Morning Chronicle_, -was, as I have already said, delivered to the office of that paper. It -was not however published there, as Messrs. Sherwood, Neely, and Jones, -the publishers of _The Vampyre_ in its book-form, represented to -Polidori that the appearance of such a letter would tend to compromise -them, and he therefore, out of consideration for this firm, withdrew the -letter unprinted. This is Polidori's own statement, contained in the -Introduction to another romantic tale of his, _Ernestus Berchtold_, -published in 1819; being the tale by Polidori which, as stated by the -Editor of _The New Monthly Magazine_, had been sent to him along with -_The Vampyre_ and the outline of _Frankenstein_. Besides all this, the -Doctor wrote a brief letter, published in _The Courier_ on May 5, 1819, -saying—what was clearly the fact—"Though the groundwork is certainly -Lord Byron's, its development is mine." - -I must now revert for a moment to the "skull-headed lady." In the -Introduction above named, Polidori asserts that that tale, _Ernestus -Berchtold_, was the one which he began at Cologny. It does not contain -any sort of mention of any skull-headed lady. There is some supernatural -machinery in the story, of a rather futile kind; it could be excluded -without affecting the real basis of the narrative, which relates the -love-affair and marriage of a young Swiss patriot with a lady who is -ultimately identified as his sister. As to Mrs. Shelley's allegation -that the (non-existent) skull-headed lady was punished for "peeping -through a keyhole," no such incident exists in _Ernestus Berchtold_; -there is, however, a passage where a certain Julia seeks to solve a -mystery by looking "through the wainscot of a closet for wood." Her -head, after this inspection, remains exactly what it was before. - -_The Vampyre_ was in its way a great success. As stated in _The -Dictionary of National Biography_, Byron's name gave Polidori's -production great celebrity on the Continent, where _The Vampyre_ was -held to be quite the thing which it behoved Byron to have written. It -formed the groundwork of Marschner's opera, and nearly half a volume of -Dumas's _Memoirs_ is occupied by an account of the representation of a -French play founded upon it. - - - - - THE DIARY - - -1816. _April 24._—I left London at 10 in the morning, with Lord Byron, -Scrope Davies, Esq., and J. Hobhouse, Esq. - -[Mr. Scrope Berdmore Davies had been one of Byron's fellow-students and -intimates at Cambridge University, and had continued familiar with him -at Newstead Abbey and elsewhere. He has been described as "no less -remarkable for elegance of taste than for a generous high-mindedness." -Mr. John Cam Hobhouse (afterwards Sir J. C. Hobhouse, and ultimately -Lord Broughton de Gifford) was, it need hardly be said, a peculiarly -close friend of Byron. He had accompanied him in his travels in Greece -prior to the commencement of _Childe Harold_, wrote notes to that poem, -and to the last upheld the essential fineness of his Lordship's -character. Byron's intention to travel along with Hobhouse in the spring -of 1816 was not a new project conceived in consequence of his -separation, only completed on April 22, from his wife. He had -entertained this scheme before his daughter Ada was born on December 10, -1815, and had announced it to his wife, to whom the notion was not -agreeable.] - -The view from Shooter's Hill was extensive and beautiful, being on a -much larger scale than the view from Stirling. - -[Polidori mentions Stirling, as being no doubt a reminiscence of his -own, from the days when he had been in Edinburgh to take his medical -degree.] - -The plain, enamelled with various colours according to the different -growth of the corn, spread far before our sight, was divided irregularly -by the river. The Thames next, with its majestic waves, flowed in the -plain below, bearing numerous fleets upon its flood. Its banks in many -parts were beautiful. The chalky banks were alternated with the swelling -hills, rising from the waves, of the pleasing green-brown, the effect of -the first dawn of spring on the vegetable creation. - -At Canterbury we saw the Cathedral. I know not how it was, whether my -mind had been prepared by the previous sight of glorious nature to -receive pleasing impressions, but the spot where the high altar and -Thomas à Becket's tomb stood seemed to me one of the most beautiful -effects that I had ever seen arising from Saxo-Gothic architecture; for, -though it had not all the airiness and awe-inspiring height that I had -seen in other cathedrals, yet its simple beauty pleased me more than -anything I had yet seen. - -Remounting, we soon arrived at Dover, where we slept, when the -packet-boat captain had sufficiently disturbed us. - -_April 25._—This day was spent at Dover. The greater part was occupied -in procuring what had been neglected in London, and in seeing the -carriage well packed up. After dinner, however, we went in search of -Churchill's tomb, raised, we had learned, to his memory by his friend -Wilkes. Arrived at the house of the sexton, he led us to a ruined -church, passing through which we came into a churchyard, where children, -heedless and unconscious of what they trampled on, sportively ran amid -the raised turf graves. He pointed out to us a tombstone, -undistinguished from those of the tradesmen near him, having merely, -like them, a square tablet stuck into the ground, whereon was written, -"Here lie the remains of the celebrated Churchill. - - "Life to the last enjoyed, here Churchill lies. - - _Candidate._" - -[By Churchill.] The green turf was beginning already to decay upon his -tomb, which when the sexton heard us lamenting he assured us that his -grave, as well as the rest, would be newly decked as soon as Nature had -vested its fullest green—for that was an old custom. Churchill owed, -then, only to a common hand what the pride of a friend refused—the -safety of his burial-place. Wilkes only sought the gratification of his -vanity. While he consigned his friend's last relics to the keeping of a -tablet, he consigned his own pride in such a friend to the keeping of a -column in his own grounds. Yet I do not know whether the scene was not -more moving, though no vainly pompous inscription pointed out the spot -where this poet was buried. - -There were two authors; one, the most distinguished of his age; another, -whose name is rising rapidly; (and a third, ambitious for literary -distinction). What a lesson it was for them when, having asked the -sexton if he knew why so many came to see this tomb, he said: "I cannot -tell; I had not the burying of him." - -[Byron, after settling in the Villa Diodati near Geneva, recorded this -same incident in a composition entitled _Churchill's Grave, a Fact -Literally Rendered_. He wrote a memorandum to say that in this poem he -had intentionally imitated the style of Wordsworth, "its beauties and -its defects." The composition therefore is essentially un-Byronic in -method, and perhaps Wordsworth would not have recognized in it many of -his own "beauties." The lines are as follows— - - "I stood beside the grave of him who blazed - The comet of a season, and I saw - The humblest of all sepulchres, and gazed - With not the less of sorrow and of awe - On that neglected turf and quiet stone, - With name no clearer than the names unknown - Which lay unread around it. And I ask'd - The gardener of that ground why it might be - That for this plant strangers his memory task'd, - Through the thick deaths of half a century. - And thus he answered: 'Well, I do not know - Why frequent travellers turn to pilgrims so: - He died before my day of sextonship, - And I had not the digging of this grave.' - And is this all? I thought; and do we rip - The veil of immortality, and crave - I know not what of honour and of light - Through unborn ages, to endure this blight - So soon and so successless? As I said, - The architect of all on which we tread - (For earth is but a tombstone) did essay - To extricate remembrance from the clay - Whose minglings might confuse a Newton's thought, - Were it not that all life must end in one, - Of which we are but dreamers. As he caught - As 'twere the twilight of a former sun, - Thus spoke he: 'I believe the man of whom - You wot, who lies in this selected tomb, - Was a most famous writer in his day; - And therefore travellers step from out their way - To pay him honour;—and myself whate'er - Your honour pleases.' Then most pleased I shook - From out my pocket's avaricious nook - Some certain coins of silver, which (as 'twere - Perforce) I gave this man—though I could spare - So much but inconveniently. Ye smile - (I see ye, ye profane ones, all the while) - Because my homely phrase the truth would tell. - You are the fools, not I; for I did dwell - With a deep thought and with a softened eye - On that old sexton's natural homily, - In which there was obscurity and fame— - The glory and the nothing of a name." - -Charles Churchill the satirist, a clergyman who had given up his -standing in the Church, had died in 1764 at Boulogne, aged only -thirty-three. It is clear that his renown was still considerable in -1816; it is now barely more than a literary reminiscence.] - -We then returned home, where, having delivered my play into their hands, -I had to hear it laughed at—(an author has always a salvo) partly, I -think, from the way in which it was read. One of the party, however—to -smoothe, I suppose, my ruffled spirits—took up my play, and apparently -read part with great attention, drawing applause from those who before -had laughed. He read on with so much attention that the others declared -he had never been so attentive before. - -[Further on it would appear that this play was named _Cajetan_. I know -nothing about it. The name Cajetan is in Italian Gaetano, which was the -Christian name of Polidori's father.] - -I afterwards went out, and did a very absurd thing, which I told; and -found I had not only hurt myself but might possibly hurt others for whom -I cared much more. - -_April 26._—We embarked at 9 o'clock, much hurried, with three servants. - -[This means, to judge from a published letter by Byron, 9 o'clock on the -evening of April 25. The three servants were Berger (a Swiss), William -Fletcher, and Robert Rushton. Mr. Davies and Mr. Hobhouse, it will be -understood, remained ashore.] - -When at a distance, we waved our hands and hats, bidding adieu. The wind -was completely in our teeth, but we made the passage in sixteen hours. -The coast of Dover is very striking, though miserably barren-looking. -The cliff is steep, though not such as Shakespear paints. The castle—at -a distance, which is the only way I viewed it—is miserable. Sailing from -England, I for a long time kept my eye upon its stern white cliffs, -thinking on her who bade me join her remembrance with the last sight of -my native soil. - -[This points pretty clearly to a love-passage, perhaps a matrimonial -engagement. As a fact Polidori never married. The lady may possibly have -been Eliza Arrow, a relative in India, with whom he, at a rather earlier -date, had interchanged various letters.] - -They at last faded from my sight, and all on board looked dreary; the -sea dashed over us, and all wore an aspect of grief. Towards night a -most beautiful spectacle was seen by myself, who alone remained on deck. -The stars shedding merely a twilight enabled me to see the phosphoric -light of the broken foam in all its splendour. But the most beautiful -moment was that of its first appearance: no sound around save the sullen -rushing of the vessel, and the hoarse cries of the heaving sailor; no -light save a melancholy twilight, which soothed the mind into -forgetfulness of its grief for a while—a beautiful streak following the -lead through the waves. We arrived at Ostend at 2 o'clock in the -morning. - -[Polidori's chronology is a little confusing here. If the party left -Dover at 9 p.m. on April 25, and took sixteen hours in the sea-passage, -they must have reached Ostend at 1 in the _afternoon_. There is also a -confusion immediately afterwards, for he repeats the date for which he -has already accounted, viz.] - -_April 26._—We passed through the gates, paying a franc a head, and went -to the Cour Impériale. We were astonished at the excellent inn and good -treatment, except that I got a dreadful headache from the smell of paint -in my bedroom, and that the tea was perfumed. - -[It was, I believe, at this point of the narrative that my aunt -Charlotte Polidori cut out a peccant passage. I seem to remember the -precise diction of it, which was this: "As soon as he reached his room, -Lord Byron fell like a thunderbolt upon the chambermaid." Such at any -rate was the substance of the statement. The other statement which my -aunt excluded came somewhat further on, when Dr. Polidori was staying -near Geneva. He gave some account of a visit of his to some haunt of the -local Venus Pandemos. I think the police took some notice of it. The -performance was not decorous, but was related without any verbal -impropriety.] - -Arising in the morning, I went upon a stroll round the town. Saw little -girls of all ages with head-dresses; books in every bookseller's window -of the most obscene nature; women with wooden shoes; men of low rank -basking in the sun as if that would evaporate their idleness. The houses -generally good old style, very like a Scotch town, only not quite so -filthy. Very polite custom-house officers, and very civil waiters. Fine -room painted as a panorama, all French-attitudinized. Went into a shop -where no one spoke French. Tried German; half-a-dozen women burst out -laughing at me. Luckily for myself, in a good humour; laughed with them. -Obliged to buy two books I did not want, because I let a quarto fall -upon a fine girl's head while looking at her eyes. Coaches of the most -horrid construction; apparently some fine horses, others small. -Fortifications look miserable. Once stood a fine siege, when 40,000 on -one side and 80 on the other fed fowls and manured the fields. What for? -For religion? No—for money. _There_ was the spring of all. As long as -only religion and rights were affected, bigoted religionists and wild -republicans were alone concerned; but a step too far, and all was -ruined. - -[The allusion here is to the great siege of Ostend, 1601 to 1604.] - -We set off at 3, with four horses. Postillion with boots to his hips, -nankeens, leather hat with quaker brim, only neatly rounded with black -riband; a blue and red coat, joined to which a most rascally face, with -lips that went a few lines beyond the brim of his hat. A dreadful -smacker of his whip, and a driver of four horses from the back of one of -the hindermost. We were obliged to hire a calèche to send with our -luggage. The rascal made us pay three times too much at each of his -barriers; but, after having (on account of the horses not being ready at -the next post) gone beyond his beat, he allowed the toll-keepers to be -honest, and only take a few centimes instead of a franc. The country -very flat, highly cultivated; sand, no waste. Roads paved in the middle, -with trees on each side. Country, from the interspersion of houses, -spires, cottages, etc., delightful; everything comfortable, no -appearance of discontent. - -We got out of our carriage at a place where the horses ate bread and -hay, and walked on to a church-yard, where we found no tombstones, no -funeral-pomp, no flattering eulogy, but simply a wooden cross at each -grave's head and foot. On the side of the church-steeple, at a little -height, was made a niche wherein statues formed a crucifixion, as an -object to excite reverence and adoration of God in every passenger. We -passed on, and arrived at Bruges at the fall of the evening. Our -passports were dispensed with on our mentioning that we were not -stopping. We entered one of the most beautiful towns I ever saw; every -house seemed substantial—had some ornament either of fretwork or -lines—all seem clean and neat. We stopped at the post. We were shown -into the postmaster's parlour on our asking for something to eat—well -furnished—better even than a common middleman's house in London. -N.B.—Everywhere 6 francs for a bottle of Rhenish. Women generally -pretty. Flemish face has no divinity—all pleasing more than beautiful—a -sparkling eye in a full round. Their pictures of every age have the mark -of their country. - -As we went from Bruges, twilight softened all the beauty, and I do not -know how to describe the feeling of pleasure we felt in going through -its long roof-fretted streets, bursting on to spots where people were -promenading amidst short avenues of trees. We passed on. At the gates I -saw a boy with sand in his hand let it through his fingers laughingly, -heedless of the myriads whose life hung upon each sand. We passed on at -10. We came to a village where we heard the sound of music. The -innkeeper, on our enquiring what it was, asked us politely in to hear a -concert of amateurs. We descended, and were gratified and surprised at -hearing, in a village of 5000 souls, a full band playing difficult -though beautiful music. One march particularly struck us. But what was -our surprise, when the door opened, to view the group: none apparently -above the rank of labourers, yet they met three times a week. In our -country the amusement is to reel drunk as many. There was one figure -manifestly consumptive, yet he was blowing an enormous trombone. - -Within a few miles of Gand, I was wakened from a pleasant fireside in -England by my companion saying "They have lost their way"; and, seeing a -house near me, I jumped out to enquire, when to my great fear I saw it -was deserted. I immediately suspected something, and went back for a -pistol, and then thundered at the door; no one came. Looking round, I -saw other houses; towards which upon my moving the postillion got off, -and, telling me in French, as a consolation, that he could not -understand it, went with me towards a house where there was light, and -suddenly ran off. I immediately went to the carriage, and we gave sabres -to the servants; when he ran back from out of sight, and knocked again -at the door and roused two, who told us the way. By the by, we had -crossed several times the bridge, and from the road and back again, -whereas we had nothing to do but to go straight on, instead of which he -crossed over and was going back in the direction of Bruges, when our -servant stopped him. I cannot explain his conduct; he was dreadfully -frightened. - -We arrived at Ghent at 3 in the morning, and knocked some time at the -gates, but at last, by means of a few francs, got through—passports not -asked for. Got to the Hôtel des Pays Bas, where Count Artois resided -while at Ghent. We were ushered into a splendid room, got excellent -Rhenish, butter, cheese, etc., and went to bed. - -_April 27._—At Gand Charles the Ist of Spain was born. It was here he -really showed the insufficiency of ambition and all the joys of manhood. -After having at Brussels resigned to Philip his extensive dominions, he -came here, and enjoyed many days while passing over the scenes of his -youth, which neither the splendour attached to a European or an Indian -crown nor to the conquests of his powerful and noble views could efface. -He did not seek Pavia; no, it was at Gand that he sought for his last -draught of worldly joy. The town was worthy of it, if beauty and -antiquity, if riches and liberty with all their train, could render it -worthy of him. This town has all the beauty of Bruges, but more -extensive: finer houses perhaps, fine cathedral, fine paintings, fine -streets, fine canal. The streets are perhaps the finest I have seen; not -so unpleasantly regular as London, not so high, but more rich in -outside. - -We visited the Cathedral; and, after having been accustomed to the -tinselly ornaments of our Catholic chapels, and the complete want of any -in the Scotch and English churches, we were much pleased with the -Cathedral's inside dress: paintings that were by the hand of masters; -the fortune of a bishop expended in building the part near the altar in -marble and statues not contemptible, united with the airy, high fretted -roof and little light, impressive of awe. Under this Cathedral is the -first Belgian church that was built in the reign of Charlemagne, 800 -years, I think, after Christ. It is low-roofed, but so strong it bears -the weight of the Cathedral upon it. There were several paintings -preserved in it (before the date of oil-painting), where the colours are -mixed with white of egg. Some curious tombs, where the different styles -are evident. In the earliest tomb some of the draperies on the relief -are in a bold fine style. One of the earliest has a bishop, where all -his robes are carved out, with almost the threads of his vest. Others, -however, are for general effect. We mounted 450 steps to the top of the -steeple; whence we saw a complete horizon of plain, canals, intersecting -trees, and houses and steeples thrown here and there, with Gand below at -our feet. The sea at a distance, bound by the hands of man, which -pointed "So far shall ye go and no farther." Bruges held in the horizon -its steeples to our view, and many hamlets raised from out their -surrounding wood their single spires to sight. - -Treading again the iron-plated 450 stairs, we came into the street; and, -mounting into a fiacre, we went to the Ecole de Dessin, where we found a -well-provided gallery of paintings, with two students, unmoved by the -visitors around, painting with the patience if not the genius of Dutch -masters. They were rather a nuisance on the present occasion, as one -covered with his machine a _chef d'œuvre_ of Rubens, the _St. Roch -amongst the Sick of the Plague_. There were two more by the same, of St. -Roch and his Dog, etc. They were in a different style of -colouring—sombre and grey; none of his gay draperies that I, no -connoisseur, thought were constituents of Rubens. I saw—I do not -remember whose, but—a picture that struck me much, _The Beheading of St. -Jean_, where all the interest and beauty consisted in a dog smelling the -dead body. There were two of Van Eyck, the first (according to the -Flemish) who invented painting in oil; where the colouring was splendid -and very like the stiffness of glass, but the faces were very good. -Kruger had many here in honour of Charles the Vth. Amongst the others, -one rather (though probably not meant as such) satirical: Charles, -landing, takes hold of Dame Africa, who quietly points to a lion at her -feet. Query—to drive him away? There was a _Judgment of Solomon_ by the -same, where the child was painted dead with most perfect nature; so much -so that my companion, who is a father, could not bear its sight. Teniers -has here a _Temptation of St. Anthony_: strange caricature—what a -satire! If mere deceit is the acme of perfection, some Dutchmen may -snatch the palm from either Apelles or Parrhasius. They paint boards -with an engraving upon them, or a door,[1] or aught else, so inimitably -that it deceived my friend. We went into the Academy of Casts, of -Design, etc. There are generally 400 pupils in this town: many fall off -annually without great advancement, and are trod on the heels by others. - -We thence proceeded to another (we might say) cathedral. The steeple is -not yet finished: the model is exhibited, with the curses of the Flemish -exhibitors upon the "grande nation" for having taken the funds for its -finishing. There are more good pictures than even in the Cathedral: the -columns also please me more, being round, with a Gothic approach to -Corinthian capital. The most beautiful painting I have yet seen is here -(though I probably shall not be held out in my opinion by -connoisseurs)—by Pollent, representing the trial of the true Cross upon -a sick lady. The harmony of colouring, the soberness (without the -commonly accompanying dulness) of the colouring, the good design and -grouping, are, in my opinion, beautiful. Not even the splendid colouring -of Rubens can make his pictures, in my eyes, equal to it. - -[I do not know who is the painter termed Pollent by Polidori: on p. 50 -there is the name Polenck, which may designate the same painter. Neither -of these names can be traced by me in a catalogue of pictures in the -Museum of Antwerp.] - -There is one standing by it, of Vandyck, which has some sublimity in it, -perhaps arising from indistinctness. It represents the effect of -Christ's last sigh. By this altar stood twelve small pictures, hung out -at this time for people to tread the "way of Calvary," representing the -different stages of our Saviour's sufferings. There were many more -pictures, but I cannot remember; seeing so many crowded in the Gallery -put others out of my head. But there were painted in the Cathedral of -St. Bavon, on the marble in the style of reliefs, different subjects of -Scripture in a most masterly style; and so well were the shades managed -that we could hardly believe the cicerone when he assured us they were -paintings. - -In the Gallery of Casts there were the statues of two English ladies of -London by an artist who resided thirty years there, and upon his return -bestowed these as his finest works. The faces, though not perfect or -Grecian, I must say for my countrywomen, pleased me almost as much as -any Venus de' Medici. - -I have found the people polite, so far as showing the way and then not -waiting for a reward—taking off their hats as if _you_ had done them the -favour. - -_April 28._—We set off at 8 this morning to go to Anvers; but, after -having proceeded some way, one of the wheels refused to turn, and, after -at the next village hammering a long while, I rode off in a passing -calèche to Ghent, where I put a maréchal with his assistant into a -voiture, and, mounting myself on horseback, returned to the coach. My -horse was particularly fond of the shade; and, a house being near one of -the barriers, he kindly stopped there to cool me. I, after waiting some -time, began to press him to go forward, when he kicked etc. We went, -while the carriage was being repaired, into a cottage, where all was -extremely neat, and we saw two pictures in it that certainly would not -shame the collection of many of our _soi-disant_ cognoscenti. The old -man was sick of a fever; and, upon giving him medicine, his kind half -sympathetically fell ill of a toothache. Never did I see such chips of -the old block as his two daughters. They were very kind. It being -Sunday, we saw all the women of the village—all ugly: indeed, I have not -seen a pretty woman since I left Ostend. - -[This reference to April 28 as being a Sunday puts a stop to any -preceding question as to the right day of the month, for in fact April -28, 1816, _was_ a Sunday.] - -On proceeding on our journey, we were stopped for our passports, and the -fellow began bullying us, thinking we were French; but, when he heard we -were English, he became cap in hand, and let us go: indeed, we have not -yet shown our passports. - -Having eaten, I issued forth in search of the Promenade, and found the -canal with walks called La Copeure. Many ladies, all ugly without -exception—the only pretty woman being fat and sixty. It very much -resembled the Green Basin, where our West-end cits trot on one another's -heels with all possible care: not quite so crowded. Coming back, I -tourized to the Roi d'Espagne, where, as in a coffeehouse, I found a -room full of disreputable women and card-tables. This, instead of the -streets, is the lounge for such women. I went to the Café Grand, where -by means of mirrors some excellent effects are produced. There also were -billiards, cards, dice, etc. A cup of coffee, some centimes; a glass of -lemonade, two sous: a woman presides at the end of the room. - -"Lord Byron" was in the _Ghent Gazette_. Lord Byron encouraged me to -write _Cajetan_, and to continue being a tragedian. Murray offered £150 -for two plays, and £500 for my tour. - -_April 29._—Looking from my window, I saw a native dashing about in a -barouche and four. There is in the town a society of nobles, and another -of literati. Mr. Scamp has a fine collection of pictures, which I did -not see. In Ghent, as well as in all other places where I have been, the -barber's sign is Mambrino's helm. On the Sunday mornings there is a -market for flowers in pot in the Place des Armes. - -We set off at 11 in the morning, and passed through some fine villages: -one of which, St. Nicholas, the mistress of the inn told me Buonaparte -made into a town—"mais il n'y a pas des postes." The country is -tiresomely beautiful. Fine avenues, which make us yawn with admiration; -not a single variation; no rising ground—yes, one spot raised for a -windmill. The landscape is as unchangeable as the Flemish face. The -houses white-washed, with a row of trees before them; the roofs tiled, -and the windows large. Indeed, the appearance of comfort in the places -we have passed through is much greater than any I have seen in England. -We have only seen one country-villa, and that very English: its pasture -had the only firs we have yet seen. The avenues are sometimes terminated -by a church or a house—the church very ugly; and both very tiresome, as -they always prove much farther off than is at first expected. The ground -cultivated, and without a weed—no waste ground. The plough moves as if -cutting water, the soil is so light a sand. Women work in the fields as -well as men. No more difference is found in the face of the inhabitants -than in the face of the country. Nothing striking, all evenness, no -genius, much stupidity. They seemed to spend all their fund of -cleanliness upon their fields and houses, for they carry none about -them. - -An oldish man wears a three-cornered cocked hat, capacious breeches, -black or blue stockings, buckles, and a great-coat; young, fancy -travelling-caps. The women wear enormous gold earrings, large wooden -shoes. Their dress is a kind of bed-gown, like the Scotch. Young girls -of eight in town have their hair dressed with a net or cap. In towns and -villages the better peasant-women wear a black silk mantle with a hood, -that looks well. Multitudes of children everywhere, who tumble and run -by the side of the carriage to gain a few centimes. In the larger -villages the market-places are splendidly large, with a little square -place in the middle, with pollards and a statue. The houses seem -comfortable everywhere. Going into the house of a postmaster, we saw -some English prints. At another, our servants having got down and -comfortably seated themselves to a bottle of wine etc., the -postmistress, on our getting out, took _us_ for the servants, and told -us "the messieurs Anglais were in yon room"—and then made us a thousand -apologies. At every posthorse place there is kept a book of the posts: -many barriers—every 1-1/2 mile. - -At Gand they had told us we could not reach Anvers without passing the -Scheldt at 2 o'clock—we passed it at 6-1/2. - -The town of Antwerp makes a good figure at a distance, chiefly on -account of its Cathedral, which has a very airy appearance, the steeple -showing the sky between its meeting arches. About five steeples. The -fortifications, which enabled Carnot to make such a defence, produce no -great effect on the sight. - -[The defence by Carnot was, when Polidori wrote, a quite recent event, -1814.] - -The Scheldt is a fine river, not so large as our Thames, and covered -with ugly Dutch vessels. We passed our coach in a boat. - -[This coach was a formidable affair. According to Mr. Pryse Lockhart -Gordon, it was "copied from the celebrated one of Napoleon taken at -Genappe, with additions. Besides a _lit de repos_, it contained a -library, a plate-chest, and every apparatus for dining."] - -On landing, twenty porters ran off with our things to a cart. As they -were passing, one in all the pomp of office stopped us, and asked for -our passports, which (on handing to him) he detained, giving his -directions to the police. - -The older parts of Antwerp have a novel and strange effect by the -gable-ends being all to the street, ornamented—very acute angles. The -Place de Meer is fine. The old street, the finest I ever saw, has some -fine houses. Many of the houses have English labels on them. In our -sitting-room are two beds. Indeed, the towns are beautiful: their long -streets, their houses all clean-stuccoed or white-washed, with strange -old-fashioned fronts, the frequent canals, the large places and -venerable cathedrals. Their places are much finer than our squares, for -they contain trees, and are open without railing. - -Went to the café, and saw all playing at dominoes. Read _The Times_ till -the 23rd. Fine furniture, everywhere of cherry-tree. - -At Gand in the Cathedral the cicerone laid great stress on the -choir-seats being all made of solid acajou. The master of the inn at -Ghent assures me the carriage of Buonaparte was made in Paris—the -body-carriage at Brussels: no English work. Plenty of Americans in the -town. - -_April 30._—Got up late, and went to look at the carriage, and found -that the back had been not of the best-made. Called a maréchal, who -assured me it could not be better. Breakfasted. Then looked at an old -calèche, for which asked 60 naps. Refused it. - -Got, with a guide, a calèche to see the lions. The town is large: -apparently, not a proportionable quantity of misery. Women -better-looking. At all the fountains, Madonnas—and upon all the corners -of the streets, with lamps before them. Lamps with reverberators strung -on ropes into the middle of the streets. Went to the Cathedral. -Everywhere we have been, dreadful complaints of French vandalism. In -this chapel it has been shameless: once crowded with altars of marble, -now there are about five—only two marble, the others painted in -imitation. Pictures were stolen—altars sold by auction—only one saved, -bought by a barber for a louis. The others, with all the tombs, -monuments, everything, broken by these encouragers of the fine arts. So -great was the ruin that there were five feet of fragments over the -church—even the columns that support the roof were so much defaced that -they were obliged, in restoring it, to pare them all much thinner. Some -pictures were carried to Paris, of which some are now about to be -replaced. It was the feast of St. Anthony, and many candles were burning -about, and some relics were fixed above the doors. In many parts of the -chapel were frames containing silver representations, very small, of bad -limbs etc., offered by the devout. Many images over altars, dressed out -in silk and taffeta: most common one, the Virgin Mary. Though the French -acted with all the spirit of Vandals and true Gauls, yet to their very -mischief is owing the greatest beauty of the Cathedral, the choir not -being divided from the church, so that from one end to the other there -is a complete perspective and one of the finest effects I have seen, the -airiness and length being now proportionate. There is one great defect -in the internal decorations—that they are Greek. What bad taste it is to -ornament Gothic with Corinthian columns must be evident: to make it also -more glaring, the marble is all coloured. There is here a fine marble -altar-railing. Indeed, in all the churches we have here seen they are -beautiful—especially where boys, called in Italian "puttini," are -sculptured. The confessionals are of wood, with evangelical figures, -nearly as large as life, between each box—not badly carved. - -We went to see another church, wherein is the tomb of Rubens. - -[This is the Church of St. Jâques.] - -It is in a chapel by itself, where annually a mass is said for his soul. -It is worthy of him: ornamented by a painting, by himself, of St. -George, and a statue he brought with him from Rome of the Holy Virgin. -The church in which he is buried was saved from pillage by the priests -belonging to it revolutionizing. It is crowded with altars and -pictures—some Rubens, some Polenck, and others. There is a painting by -Metsys, who originally was a maréchal, and who with his mere hammer -formed the decorations to a pump, which are not bad. The Latin -inscription on his monumental stone refers to a story related of him: -that, upon courting the daughter of Francis Floris, the artist with -indignation talked about the dirty rascal's impudence, he being merely a -blacksmith; on which Metsys set off for Rome, and upon his return asked -the daughter to introduce him to her father's room of painting: where, -finding a picture not finished, he painted a bee—that excited the -indignation of Floris's pocket-handkerchief, and gained him his -daughter. I have seen the picture, and it might be true. The pump is not -bad, being merely beaten into shape. On the top is a giant who used to -cut off merchants' gains by means of tolls, and their hands by means of -axes. He used to throw an iron band into the scales of his tradesmen; -and from thence, 'tis said, Antwerp got its name. - -[This may be "said": but a less legendary derivation of the Flemish name -Antwerpen is "aent werf," or "on the wharf."] - -The sides of this church all along are lined with confessionals. - -In the Church des Augustins we saw Rubens's _Assembly of the Saints_, -from Paris; where he has shown how weak he could be in composition, and -in vanity—for it is the third picture in which he has put himself in St. -George's armour. The composition is confused, without an object to fix -the attention. A Vandyck near him is much superior. - -[Polidori's observations about Flemish paintings are generally -indicative of liking, more or less: but Byron went dead against them. In -a letter of his to his half-sister, Mrs. Leigh, written from Brussels on -May 1, 1816, we find: "As for churches and pictures, I have stared at -them till my brains are like a guide-book: the last (though it is heresy -to say so) don't please me at all. I think Rubens a very great dauber, -and prefer Vandyck a hundred times over—but then I know nothing about -the matter. Rubens's women have all red gowns and red shoulders; to say -nothing of necks, of which they are more liberal than charming. It may -all be very fine, and I suppose it may be art, for 'tis not nature." -Again, in a letter to John Murray from Milan, October 15, 1816: "The -Flemish school, such as I saw it in Flanders, I utterly detested, -despised, and abhorred."] - -Here is also the famous picture of Jordaens, of _The Martyrdom of -St. Apollonia_. Colouring approaches Rubens; but abominable -composition—crowded, large, numerous figures in a small space. -There were some modern paintings of existing artists—meagre -statue-compositions. - -In the Musée we saw many Rubenses. The famous _Descent from the Cross_: -the effect of the white sheet is wonderfully beautiful. Picture's -drawing I do not like. The Christ seems not dead, as there is certainly -action; but the colouring is splendidly rich. The _Crucifixion_ near it, -inferior in all. In a sketch near it he has not succeeded so well in the -white sheet, it being not so splendidly white. We could only see the -side-pieces of the great _Crucifixion_, as the large piece was being -framed. In these there is much caricature drawing: a woman rising from -the dead—surely a woman large as Guy Warwick giant's wife, if ever he -had one: caricature physiognomies, and most hellish egregious breasts, -which a child refuses, with horror in its face. His horses have much -spirit—true Flemish size. Indeed, divest Rubens of his rich apparel, and -he is a mere dauber in design. There is a _Mary going to Elizabeth_, -looking more like a cardinal: indeed, my companion, Lord Byron, took her -for one of the red-vested nobles. No divinity about his Christs; -putrefaction upon his Gods; exaggerated passion about his men and women, -painted not all-concealing. In his picture of _The Adoration of the -Magi_, query did he not intend to play upon the people by passing off a -caricature for a religious painting? The royal personage in green seems -as if his eyes had grown big after dinner. He has no costume properly -applied: the Virgin in the manger is dressed meretriciously in silks and -lace. Then look at our blessed Saviour showing His wounds. His finest -painting is his _Crucifixion_ in which is the white sheet: but there are -defects. What then must be the power of colouring which causes you to -view his paintings with pleasure! It is like melodious music which makes -you forget the absurd words of an old English song. - -Vandyck, in my opinion, was much superior to Rubens. His colouring, near -his, is sombre; but then his design is more perfect, his impressions -remain longer in the mind distinct, and do not fade away into ideas of -red and blue round white. A little _Crucifix_ of his is worth his -rival's largest paintings. His _Christ Dead_ is beautiful, wherein are -contained the Blessed Virgin, St. Mary Magdalene, and St. John weeping: -the different expressions of grief, the unison of colouring with the -subject, the composition, all excellent. - -From the Cathedral we went to see the works of Napoleon. We first saw -the Basins. They are not so large as our West India Docks—square—but are -capable of holding ships of the line; there are two. Between them is -what was formerly the Hanseatic Hall, now magazines. When the English -were last here they threw bombs, but this was of no avail; dung was put -upon the ships, and men were at hand in case of fire. From the Basins we -went along the quays—very long, along the labouring Scheldt; then into -the places for marine arsenals, where the vessels were on the stocks—the -finest works I ever saw, now useless through our jealousy. The -rope-house, quite finished, is enormously long, and is to be pulled -down. The timbers for the ship were numbered, and carried to Amsterdam. -The citadel was mean-looking, though so strong. The chief batteries are -as old as Alva's time—there was one pointed out as erected by Colonel -Crawford. Before Napoleon's time there was little done towards the -formation of these basins and others; but, said our guide, "he decreed -they should be made, and they appeared." They are all surrounded with -high walls to hinder the escape of the employed. Carnot has commanded -here twice. He was rather disliked, yet they had rather have him than -any other. They all agree in his genius. In the time of the Walcheren -business the English were expected with open arms: only three hundred -soldiers—Bernadotte was general. The siege was not very strict on the -last occasion, and no mischief was done on either side. In the Basins -there have been twenty-six line. In the dread of a siege all the suburbs -were destroyed and all the trees around. The suburbs rose immediately, -the trees in years. In the citadel there are 1500 forçats. Sometimes the -number exceeds 2000. - -Having seen thus much, we returned, lunched, and rode off. Hardly gone a -little way when our carriage broke down. The trees are more -various—vegetation more advanced—more inequality of ground—more -pollards—more apparent misery—more villas, some pretty—more clipped -hedges—more like England—fine, large, town-like villages. Carriage broke -again—walked to Malines—arrived there at ten. Women improve. - -At Antwerp, in one church on the outside, saw a supposed exact imitation -of the Sepulchre, though I do not know how it came seated "in -purgatory"; as there certainly is a place so called round it, full of -the damned and flames. The place is grotto-work. Within there is a -representation of our Lord swathed in linen. All over there are statues, -so so. David is at a respectable distance from purgatory: this makes it -the more remarkable that the Sepulchre is seated in purgatory. Indeed, -indeed, there is much absurdity. - -There is an academy for drawing and painting, with a museum. The Place -is in a garden. - -On arriving at Malines we found Mr. Pradt gone from his bishopric -amongst his brethren; and we are assured he was a "vraiment français," -and that he was not a "Catholique," and that this town wanted a -"vraiment Catholique." - -[The Abbé de Pradt, born in Auvergne in 1759, had been a champion of the -monarchy in the Constituent Assembly of 1789-91. Napoleon made him -Archbishop of Malines towards 1809, but afterwards viewed him with -disfavour. He resigned the Archbishopric in 1816, receiving a pension. -He wrote a number of books on political and public matters, and died in -1837.] - -The country from Antwerp to Malines becomes more and more like England: -trees more various, not the same dead flat but varied with gentle -swells, many pollards, and more miserable cottages. - -There is in the Cathedral [in Antwerp] a painting by Floris—the one on -which is the bee—where he has shown great imagination and fire in the -devils. It is the victory of the angels when fighting against the -devils. - -_May 1._—As soon as up, I went to the Cathedral, which has a fine tower. -On entering I saw many pictures. None that I saw seemed particularly -good. The church was pretty full of people, who really seemed devout. -They were not the old and weak, but there was of every age. The young -maiden was seen by the side of decrepit age, beauty by deformity, -childhood by manhood. The effect on the mind is contagious. Many masses -were going on at the same time. A woman went round for money for the -chairs. Here I saw the first Christian caryatides. - -We soon set off for Brussels. Between V. and that town the road is -beautiful; a canal on one side, fine trees forming a long avenue -diversified with glimpses of a rich country. We passed the Castle of -Lac, the former residence of Buonaparte. It has a fine front upon an -eminence, but the dome stands forth in glaring ugliness. We entered -Brussels by the Allée Verte, a fine promenade. - -Brussels, the old town, is not so fine as Antwerp, Ghent, or Bruges. The -Grand Marché is very beautiful, only the buildings seem to be neglected. -Fine public offices, with a tall spire, on one side—the Mairie opposite. -The Place Royale is very fine; the fronts of the houses and hotels -around seeming together to form parts of one great palace; and the -church on one side, with the housy wings, has a fine effect in spite of -the ugly tower at the top. The gardens are beautiful with green, and -well laid out in walks, with groups and termites—the Palace opposite. -The entrance from the Place Royale presents a fine front, and the -suburbs round it are also good. We are at the Hôtel d'Angleterre. Saw -_Morning Chronicles_, which are again dutysied. - -Brussels was not at all fortified in the Waterloo time. The Germans at -one time had retreated as far as the gates, which were obliged to be -shut against them. In case of a retreat there would have been a pleasant -rush, almost as great as at a fashionable rout, as they must all have -passed through Brussels. The carriage was put under hand. Crowds of -English. - -_May 2._—We have seen many, many soldiers. No wonder they were light of -foot when not more heavy of age, for none have beards yet except some -few cavalry. - -The English women are the only good-looking women in Brussels; though, -with true English Bullism, they vest _here_ a complete Anglomanian -costume, preserving their French fashions for the English winds to waft. -The women of Brabant and the Netherlands are all ugly to the eye after -the piquant begins to pall, for there are no regular beauties or beauty -of expression, except that levity which tells of lightness of cares and -youth. - -It is not for a foreigner to call a thing absurd because it does not -tally with his ideas, or the ladies' costume, except the black mantle, -should be put down as such by me. The men also are short and -bad-looking, either consummate impudence or complete insignificance—no -individuality. The indelicacy of these Belgians is gross; all kinds of -disgusting books publicly sold, and exposed to the eyes of all young -damsels—beastliness publicly exhibited on the public monuments—fountains -with men vomiting with effort a stream of water—and still worse. The -town (Brussels) is situated on an eminence, and is really poor in -comparison of the other Belgic towns by us seen. - -After dinner, having dressed, I went, having written two letters, to the -theatre. Mounting a voiture, I was soon there. Ascending some stairs, I -came to a door where, after some knocking, a man took my money, and gave -me tickets, which, changed twice, brought me to the first row of boxes. -The first look at the lobbies was sufficient to give me an idea of all -the rest—misery, misery, misery, wherever one turned—to the floor, to -the ceiling, to the wall, to the box-wall, all garret of the St. Giles -style. Most of the doors had _Abonnement_ written on them. I got into -one, and what a sight! boxes dirty with filth. One chandelier was -sufficient for the pockets of a Brussels manager, hung from the middle. -Pit divided into two parts of different prices, boxes into three, and a -gallery. Chairs, not benches, in the boxes. Ladies came and sat and -talked, and talked and sat and stood, and went away. Many English -ladies. Orchestra began—all violins, seven in all. Curtain up—a farce: -no—it did not make me laugh. How call that a theatrical amusement which -only seems fitted to excite the pleasurable sensation of yawning? It was -French. An actress, the best amongst them, spoke French like a base pig; -another contorted the fine lady into one with a paralytic stroke after -sitting up at cards; the gentlemen like purlieu-bullies; and high life -was copied from the waiting-maids of butchers' ladies. I was a little -surprised at the applause that a lady actress gained. It moved me -astonishingly: not her acting, but the lookers-on acting pleasure. At -last came the wind whistling through the reeds, the thunder-hurling -cheeks, and lashing hands, to my great admiration. It moved phlegm. - -One who was to act Blondel was vomiting at home. I went behind the -scenes, and saw dismay in every face, and terror in every limb. The -curtain drew up, and the play began. Hisses, hisses, hisses. It fell, -and fear increased. Some time was spent in cogitation. The venturous -gold-decked hero advanced, retired, was rebuked by the police and forced -to advance. Hisses. He said to the audience he was forced to advance. -They listened, and quiproquos commenced between the players and the -audience, with the sonorous hiss of anger. The police saw all was in -vain, and ordered the actors off the boards. I in the meantime was -chatting with two apparent goddesses, who very concisely explained the -trembling of the actors, etc., by telling me of real showers of eggs, -etc. As I left the house I heard groans and hollow sounds, and cries of -"Give me back my money: I am an _abonné_, and have seen nothing." I -ran—I and the police pushing on, the mob pushing us back, etc. Going -along the lobbies, what was my wonder to stumble on a bookseller's shop, -where was an assemblage of delicacies fit for the modest, and wondrous -delicate! - -_May 3._—I saw in the street three dogs, of the bulldog race, dragging -up a hill at a good pace what I am sure two men would not have strength -to drag. I saw also a goat fastened to a child's car. I went all over -the town for a calèche—bought one for 75 louis. In the evening, having -procured redingotes (which I did not use), we mounted a coach and drove -to ——. Returned home, ate, and slept. - -_May 4._—Having risen, foolishly paid 40 naps. to the coachmaker. My -Lord and servant stepped into the calèche. I and a servant got on -horseback, and went to Waterloo. We soon entered Soignies, which on both -sides formed a beautiful wood (not forest, for it was not wild on either -side) for several miles. The avenue it formed varied in length: -sometimes the end was formed by a turn of the road, sometimes by the -mere perspective effect of narrowing. The trees are all young—none of -above thirty years' growth. We then reached Waterloo, where were the -head-quarters of Napoleon. An officious host pressed us to order dinner. -We ran from his pressing, and advancing came to St. Jean, where the boys -continued the offerings we first had at Waterloo of buttons, books, etc. -This was the village which gave the French name to the battle, I -believe, as it was the spot which Napoleon tried to gain. The view of -the plain, as we advanced to the right, struck us as fields formed -almost with the hopes that spirit and war would make their havoc here. -Gentle risings, sufficient to give advantage to the attacked—few -hedges—few trees. There was no sign of desolation to attract the -passer-by; if it were not for the importunity of boys, and the glitter -of buttons in their hands, there would be no sign of war. The peasant -whistled as blithely, the green of Nature was as deep, and the trees -waved their branches as softly, as before the battle. The houses were -repaired. Only a few spots with white plaster between the bricks pointed -out the cannon's ruin; and in ruins there was only Hougoumont, which was -attacked so bravely and defended so easily—at least so I should imagine -from the few killed in the garden and the appearance of the whole, while -so many French lay dead in the field. In the garden were only 25 English -killed, while in the field 1500; and on the other side 600 French, not -counting the wounded, were slain. Indeed, the gallantry, the resolution -and courage, which the French displayed in attacking this place, guarded -from the heights by our cannon, and by our soldiers through the -loop-holes, would alone ennoble the cause in which they fought. Before -arriving at Hougoumont, the spots where Hill, Picton, and the Scotch -Greys did their several deeds, were pointed out to us. The spot which -bore the dreadful charge of cavalry is only marked by a hedge. The -cuirassiers advancing, the Scots divided—showed a masked battery, which -fired grape into the adverse party's ranks—then it was the Scots -attacked. I do not now so much wonder at their victory. The cuirasses -which we saw were almost all marked with bullets, lance- and sabre-cuts. -Buonaparte and the French, our guide said, much admired the good -discipline and undaunted courage of the short-kilted Scot. Going -forward, the spot at which the Prussians, the lucky gainers of the -battle, emerged, was pointed out to us—and, a little farther on, we were -shown the spot where Colonel Howard, my friend's cousin, was buried -before being carried to England. Three trees, of which one is cut down, -mark the spot, now ploughed over. At Hougoumont we saw the untouched -chapel where our wounded lay, and where the fire consumed the toes of a -crucifix. We there inscribed our names amongst cits and lords. We found -here a gardener who pointed out the garden—the gate where the French -were all burnt—the gap in the hedge where the French attempted, after -the loss of 1500 men, to storm the place—the field, quarter of an acre, -in which were heaps of Gallic corpses. The gardener and the dog, which -we saw, had been detained at Hougoumont by General Maitland in case of a -retreat. The peasants declare that from 4 to 5 the affair was very, very -doubtful, and that at the last charge of the Imperial Guards Napoleon -was certain of being in Brussels in _quatre heures_. Wellington, after -the defeat of the Prussians etc., on the 17th went to Waterloo, and -determined where he would place each corps. This was a great advantage: -but, in spite of the excellence of his position, he would certainly have -been defeated had it not been for the fortunate advance of the -Prussians. From Hougoumont we went to the red-tiled house which is the -rebuilding of the house where was Buonaparte's last station and -head-quarters. It was from this spot that he viewed the arrival of the -Prussians, under the idea of their being the corps of Grouchy. It was -here he felt first the certainty of defeat, just after he had led the -old Imperial Guard, in the certainty of victory, to his last attack. La -Belle Alliance next appeared along the road, here where Wellington and -Blücher met. The name is derived from a marriage in the time of peace: -it is now applicable to a war-meeting. Thence we returned to St. Jean, -after going again to Hougoumont. There we were shown cuirasses, helms, -buttons, swords, eagles, and regiment-books. We bought the helms, -cuirasses, swords, etc., of an officer and soldier of cuirassiers, -besides eagles, cockades, etc. Beggars, the result of English profusion. -A dinner, measured by some hungry John Bull's hungry stomach. We rode -off the field, my companion singing a Turkish song—myself silent, full -gallop cantering over the field, the finest one imaginable for a battle. -The guide told us that the account Buonaparte's guide gave of him after -the battle was that he only asked the road to Paris, not saying anything -else. - -At Hougoumont various spots were pointed out: amongst the rest the one -where Maitland stood watching a telegraph on the neighbouring rise, -which told him what was going on on both sides. - -We rode home together through Soignies forest—black. The twilight made -the whole length of the road more pleasing. On reaching home, we found -the coach was jogged; so much so that it would not allow us to put -confidence in it, etc. At last we gave it into Mr. Gordon's hands. My -friend has written twenty-six stanzas (?) to-day—some on Waterloo. - -There are a few points in this narrative of May 4 which call for a -little comment. - -1. As to "the spot where Colonel Howard, my friend's cousin, was buried -before being carried to England." Few passages in the 3rd canto of -_Childe Harold_, which in its opening deals with Byron's experiences in -these days, are better known than the stanzas (29 to 31) where he -celebrates the death of "young gallant Howard." Stanza 30 is the one -most germane to our immediate purpose— - - "There have been tears and breaking hearts for thee, - And mine were nothing, had I such to give. - But, when I stood beneath the fresh green tree - Which living waves where thou didst cease to live, - And saw around me the wide field revive - With fruits and fertile promise, and the Spring - Come forth her work of gladness to contrive, - With all her reckless birds upon the wing, - I turn'd from all she brought to those she could not bring." - -2. The statement that "the coach was jogged" refers to that calèche -which had been just bought in Brussels for the servants—not to the -elaborate travelling-carriage. Some trouble ensued over the calèche. The -coachmaker who had sold it tried to make Lord Byron pay up the balance -of the price. Not carrying his point, he got a warrant-officer to seize -a different vehicle, a chaise, belonging to the poet. The latter, so far -as appears, took no further steps. - -3. To write twenty-six stanzas in one day is no small feat; especially -if these are the nine-line stanzas of _Childe Harold_, and if the -substantial work of the day consisted in riding from Brussels to -Waterloo and back, and deliberately inspecting the field of battle. The -entry, as written by Charlotte Polidori, stands thus—"26 st.," which I -apprehend can only mean "stanzas." If one were to suppose that the -stanzas thus written on May 4 were the first twenty-six stanzas of -_Childe Harold_, canto 3 (but this of course is not a necessary -inference), Byron now got up to the stanza which begins - - "And wild and high the 'Camerons' gathering' rose." - -I made up my accounts, and was not a little startled by a deficit of 10 -napoleons, which I at last found was a mere miscalculation. Rode about -thirty miles in all. - -Forgot to say I saw Sir Nath[aniel] Wraxall at Dover, who, having -introduced himself to Lord Byron as a friend _de famille_, began -talking, knocking his feet in rattattat, still all the while oppressed -by feeling very awkward. - -[I do not find in Byron's correspondence any reference to this -interview, on April 25 or 26, with Sir Nathaniel Wraxall. But, in his -letter of April 25 to his half-sister, he mentions that he met on the -24th with Colonel Wildman, an old school-fellow, and later on the -purchaser of Newstead Abbey, who gave him some details concerning the -death of Colonel Howard at Waterloo.] - -At Brussels, the people were in a great stew, the night of the battle of -Waterloo—their servants and others waking them every minute to tell them -the French were at the gates. Some Germans went there with mighty great -courage, in flight. Lord W[ellington?] sent to a colonel to enquire -whether he was going to fly from or to the battle, giving him his choice -to act in either way. On hearing this, the said colonel boldly faced -about, and trotted to Brussels with his troop. A supernumerary -aide-de-camp, the brother of N., with two others, was riding between the -ranks while the French were firing; when, ours crying out "They aim at -you," all three were struck in the jaw, much in the same place, dead. -After the battle, a friend asking what was become of N., the serjeant -pointed to his feet, saying "There," which was fact. Dacosta, the guide, -says that Buonaparte was cool and collected till the Prussians arrived; -that then he said to Bertrand, "That appears to be the Prussian eagle"; -and, upon Bertrand's assenting, his face became momentarily pale. He -says that, when he led up the Imperial Guard, on arriving at the -red-tiled house, he went behind a hillock, so as not to be seen, and so -gave them the slip. Wellington acted the soldier when he should have -acted the general, and the light-limbed dancer when he should have been -the soldier. I cannot, after viewing the ground, and bearing in mind the -men's superior courage, give Wellington the palm of generalship that has -been snatched for him by so many of his admirers. Napoleon only took one -glass of wine from the beginning of the battle to the end of his flight. - -_May 5._—Got up at ten from fatigue. Whilst at breakfast, there came a -Mr. Pryse Gordon for L[ord] B[yron]. I entertained him. He has been to -Italy, and travelled a great deal—a good-natured gentleman. Took him to -see the carriage: there he introduced me to his son by means of a -trumpet. After his departure we set off for the Château du Lac, where we -found the hind front much finer than the other for want of the startling -(?) dome and low windows. It has all its master-apartments on the -ground-floor: they are extremely well laid out both with regard to -comfort and magnificence—they were furnished by Nap[oleon]. We saw the -bed where Josephine, Marie Louise, and the Queen of Holland, have been -treading fast on one another's heels. The hall for concerts divides the -Emperor's from the Empress' rooms—it has a rich appearance, and is -Corinthian. The flooring of the Emperor's is all wood of different -colours—checked—having to my eye a more pleasing appearance than the -carpeted ones of the Empress. I sat down on two chairs on which had sat -he who ruled the world at one time. Some of his eagles were yet -remaining on the chairs. The servant seemed a little astonished at our -bowing before them. - -We returned, it raining all the while. After dinner Mr. G[ordon] came -for us to go to coffee. We went, and were graciously received; Lord -B[yron] as himself, I as a tassel to the purse of merit. I there saw a -painting of Rembrandt's wife or mother by himself, which was full of -life, and some verses by Walter Scott written in the hostess' album, -where he says Waterloo will last longer than Cressy and Agincourt. How -different! They only agree in one thing—that they were both in the cause -of injustice. The novels of Casti were presented to me by Mr. Gordon, -which I was rather surprised at. We came over. Scott writes in M[rs]. -G[ordon's] book— - - "For one brief hour of deathless fame" [Scott]. - - "Oh Walter Scott, for shame, for shame" [Byron]. - -[The novels of the Abate Casti (who died in 1803) are notoriously -licentious: hence, I suppose, Polidori's surprise at the presentation of -them by Mr. Gordon. Byron, it is stated by this gentleman, was asked by -Mrs. Gordon on May 5 to write some lines in her album. He took the -volume away with him, and on the following day brought it back, having -inserted in it the two opening stanzas on Waterloo forming part of canto -3 of _Childe Harold_—from - - "Stop, for thy tread is on an empire's dust," - -to - - "He wears the shattered links of the world's broken chain"] - -_May 6._—Mr. G[ordon] and son came while at breakfast; gave us letters, -etc. Saw the little child again; B[yron] gave it a doll. - -It may be excusable to suppose that this trifling incident is not wholly -foreign to a stanza, 54, in the 3rd canto of _Childe Harold_. This -stanza comes immediately after Byron has begun to speak of the Rhine, -and incidentally of the affection which his half-sister bore him. Then -he proceeds— - - "And he had learn'd to love—I know not why, - For this in such as him seems strange of mood— - The helpless looks of blooming infancy, - Even in its earliest nurture. What subdued, - To change like this, a mind so far imbued - With scorn of man, it little boots to know: - But thus it was; and, though in solitude - Small power the nipp'd affections have to grow, - In him this glow'd when all beside had ceased to glow." - -The _carrossier_ came. Set off at two, passing through a country -increasing in inequalities. We arrived first at Louvain, where we saw -the outside of a beautiful Town-hall, which is one of the prettiest -pieces of external fretwork I have seen. Thence we went to Tirlemont, -where was a Jubilee. Saints and sinners under the red canopy (the sky -dirty Indian-ink one) were alike in the streets. Every street had stuck -in it, at a few paces from the house-walls, fir-branches 16 or 17 feet -high, distant from one another 5 or 6 feet. Thence to St. Trond, where -we ate—and slept, I suppose. The country is highly cultivated, and the -trees older. The avenues have a more majestic appearance from the long -swells of ground and the straight roads, but there is more squalid -misery than I have seen anywhere. The houses are many of them mud, and -the only clean part about them is the white-wash on the external walls. -Dunghills before some must be trodden on before entering the houses. The -towns also fall off greatly in neat and comfortable looks. The walls -round them look ruined and desolate, and give a great idea of -insecurity. We put the servants on board-wages. - -_May 7._—Set off from St. Trond at 11. The country is highly cultivated; -continual hill and dale; lower orders miserable in perfection; houses -built of mud, the upper storeys of which are only built of beams, the -mud having fallen off. Bridges thrown over the dirt they were too idle -to remove. Dunghills at their doors, and ditches with black fetid water -before their first step. Liège has a pretty neighbourhood, but the town -itself is filthy and disagreeable. They visited our passports here at -three different places. The hill above the town is enormously steep; and -from some way beyond it has a beautiful view of Liège with its towers -and domes—of the country with its many cots and villas—and of the Meuse. -The road now lies through a scene where cottages are spread like trees, -and hedges like furrows of corn, the fields are so minutely divided. A -little farther still we had a most splendid view through many miles. -From a valley we could see everything clearly, crowded in a blue tint, -and in a river through it we could see the shadows of the trees. The -cottages are improving, and the roads becoming the worst ever seen; -paved still, but so horridly hilled and vallied that the rolling of the -carriage is like the rolling of a ship. - -We came at last to Battice; but before entering we passed by a village -where beggar little cherubs came to the carriage-side, and running cried -out, "Donnez-nous quelque chose, Monsieur le chef de bataillon"; -another, "Monsieur le général." And a third little urchin, who -gesticulated as well as cried, perceiving the others had exhausted the -army, cried, "Un sou, Messieurs les rois des Hanovériens!" We arrived at -Battice, where beggars, beggars. There we found horses just come in. - -After debate (wherein I was for Aix-la-Chapelle, L[ord] B[yron] for -stopping) we set off; and such a jolting, rolling, knocking, and -half-a-dozen etc., as our carriage went through, I never saw, which put -L[ord] B[yron] to accusing me of bad advice; clearing however as the -road mended. The rain fell into a pond, to be illuminated by sunshine -before we reached Aix-la-Chapelle at half-past twelve. - -_May 8._—Got up late. Went to see the Cathedral: full of people, lower -ranks, hearing mass. Miserable painting, architecture, etc. Saw also a -church wherein was no particular picture or anything. At Liège the -revolutionists had destroyed the fine Cathedral. - -A German boy who led me about Aix-la-Chapelle, on my asking him in -broken German about the baths, led me to a very different place. I was -astonished to find myself in certain company. The baths are hot -sulphuretted-hydrogen-impregnated water. The sulphur-beds are only shown -to dukes and kings: so a kingdom is good for something. I saw the baths -themselves: like others, not very clean-looking. - -We left Aix-la-Chapelle at twelve, going through a fine country, with no -hedges but fine woods in the distance. We arrived at St. Juliers, -strongly fortified, where they took our names at entering and at -exiting. It is a neat town, and was besieged last year. We were at the -post taken by a man for Frenchmen, and he told us we had been driven -from Russia by a band of the Emperor. He seemed to be very fond of them, -and gave as a reason that he had been employed by them for many years. -And, I forgetfully saying, "What! were they here?"—"Yes, and farther." I -answered, "Jusqu'à Moscou." "Oui, et presque plus loin." That "presque" -means much. The French were not generally liked, I believe. The lower -orders perhaps liked them, but the middle, I doubt. But I cannot say; I -may perhaps be influenced by the opinion of a beautiful face of this -town, who, on my asking her whether the _dames n'aimaient pas beaucoup -les Français_, answered, "_Oui, les dames publiques_." - -We find it a great inconvenience that the Poste is a separate concern, -and generally pretty distant from the inn. The women are many of them -very beautiful, and many of them, as well as the men, have fine dark -eyes and hair. The men wear ear-rings, and curl their hair; which, if I -remember rightly, was the custom in the time of Tacitus. Many of the -women wear their hair combed quite back, and upon it a little square -piece of linen. The French were particularly polite during the siege. - -We entered the dominions of the King of Prussia a little beyond Battice. -It causes a strange sensation to an Englishman to pass into one state -from another without crossing any visible line. Indeed, we should not -have perceived that we had, if we had not been stopped by a Belgian -guard who asked us if we had anything to declare. The difference is, -however, very striking. The men, the women, everything, improve—except -the cottages. The people look cleaner, though everything else is dirty; -contrary to the Belgians, they seem to collect their cleanliness upon -themselves, instead of throwing it upon their cots, tins, trees, and -shrubs. - -We arrived at Cologne after much bad, sandy, heavy road, at 11. The -pavement begins to be interrupted after Aix, but ends almost entirely -after St. Juliers. Cologne is upon a flat on the Rhine. We were groaning -at having no sight of far-famed Cologne, when we came suddenly under its -battlements and towers. We passed through its fortifications without -question. After having found the gates shut, and feed the porter, we -found inns full, and at last got into the Hôtel de Prague. - -_May 9._—Got up very bad.[2] Sat down to breakfast. Just done, we heard -some singing. Enquiry told us, buyable. Got them up. A harp played by a -dark-haired German, pretty, and two fiddlers. She played and sang _The -Troubadour_, which brought back a chain of Scotch recollections, and a -German song; then a beautiful march, in which the music died away and -then suddenly revived. After a waltz we dismissed them. We both mounted -a voiture, and drove through the town to the Cathedral. Great part -pulled down by the revolutionists, and the roof of the nave obliged to -be restored with plain board—a staring monument over Gallic ruin. There -is fine stained glass, and the effect of its being very high and -variegated in the choir is beautiful. We saw a fine painting here by -Kalf: vide _Taschbuch_. The tomb of the three kings said to be worth -three millions of francs, and an immensely rich treasury wherein was a -sacrament worth one million of francs. In falling down a step I broke a -glass, for which they at first would not take anything—which at last -cost me three francs. Kept countenance amazingly well. - -Went to see St. Ursula's Church, where we were shown virgins' skulls of -ninety years old, male and female, all jumbled into a mass of 11,000 -virgins' bones arranged all in order—some gilt, etc. A whole room -bedecked with them. All round, indeed, whatever we saw were relics, -skulls; some in the heads of silver-faced busts, some arranged in little -cells with velvet cases, wherein was worked the name of each. Paintings -of St. Ursula, etc. Asked for a piece out of the masses: only got a -smile, and a point of a finger to an interdiction in Latin, which I did -not read. - -We went to see a picture of Rubens, _The Nailing of St. Peter to a -Cross_; the best design, though not very good, I yet have seen of his. A -German artist copying it spoke English to us. - -Returned home. Sent my name to Professor Wallraf: got admission. Found a -venerable old man who has spent his life in making a collection of -paintings and other objects of vertù belonging to his country, Cologne, -which he intends leaving to his native town. - -[This is no doubt the Wallraf who was joint founder of the celebrated -Wallraf-Richartz Museum in Cologne. The statement which ensues as to an -early oil-painter named Kaft is noticeable; whether correct I am unable -to say. The Wallraf-Richartz Museum does not contain any painting by -Tintoretto to which the name _Campavella_ could apply: there is a fine -picture by him of _Ovid and Corinna_.] - -Many pictures were extremely good, especially painting of individuals. -Kaft was a native of this town, who painted in oil before oil-painting -was known. Saw some Poussins, Claude Lorraines. Some moderate. A -Tintoretto of _Campavella_ beautiful: colouring and drawing strong and -expressive. A Rembrandt and a Teniers, etc. A master of Rubens. A copy -in colours from the drawing of Raphael by one of his disciples. Cologne -has stamped more coins than some empires, and has coined twenty-six -kinds of gold. He had made drawings of them, but the revolution stopped -it. The revolutionary Gauls, he said with a tear in his eye, had -destroyed many very valuable relics of Cologne; and, pointing to a leaf -of a missal with another tear, he said: "Many like this once adorned our -churches: this is all." He had the original manuscript of Albert le -Grand, _History of Animals_; Titian's four designs of the Cæsars at -Polenham, with his own handwriting; the Albert Durer's sketch of -Christ's head which belonged to Charles II; and a painting of Albert -Durer's Master.[3] He wishes for a copy of any of Caxton's printing in -England. - -Went to buy some books. Found Miss Helmhoft, a fine woman. Had a long -confab. Bought more books than I wanted. Heard her spout German poetry -that I did not understand; and laughed at the oddity of her -gesticulation, which she took for laughter at the wit of a poet who was -describing the want of a shirt—and was highly pleased. - -The French destroyed convents, and made of them public places for -walking. - -Have been taken for servants, Frenchmen, merchants—never hardly for -English. Saw the Rhine last night—fine mass of water, wide as the Thames -some way below Blackwall; but no tide, and very deep. Town dirty, very -decayed, badly paved, worse lighted, and few marks of splendour and -comfort. - -_May 10._—We have seen crucifixes for these four days at every turn, -some made of wood, some of stone, etc. Set off, after having defeated -the imposition of a postman, to Bonn; the scenery not anything -particular till we see the Seven Hills, a large amphitheatre on the -right, glimpses on the left of the Rhine, and the Seven Hills. Bonn at -last appeared, with its steeples, and on the neighbouring hills castles -and cots, towers, and (not) towns.[4] - -I saw yesterday a picture of Rembrandt's with three lights in it very -well managed, at Wallraf's. - -Saw R. Simmons' writing in the police-book at Bonn, and wrote to Soane. - -[This was John, the son of Sir John Soane, founder of the Soane Museum -in Lincoln's Inn Fields.] - -The innkeeper makes you put your name—whence—whither—profession and -age—every night. Rogues all of them, charging much. - -_May 11._—We saw the first vines a little before entering Cologne some -days ago. We left Bonn at eleven, the town having nothing in particular. -The Seven Hills were the first that struck our sight on one of the -highest pinnacles in Drachenfels, now a mere ruin, formerly a castle of -which many a tale is told. There was by the roadside a monument raised -upon the spot where one noble brother killed another. Crucifixes all the -way. We had the river on one side, whence rose hills (not mountains) -cultivated halfway for vines—and the rest, nuts, shrubs, oak, etc. -Towers on pinnacles, in ruin; villages (with each its spire) built of -mud. - -Cultivation in a high degree; no hedges, ground minutely divided into -beds rather than fields; women working in the fields; ox and horse -ploughing; oxen draw by their heads alone. Peasantry happy-looking and -content. Two points particularly struck us—the Drachenfels, and the view -at a distance before coming to Videnhar when the distant hills were -black with the rain. But the whole way it is one of the finest scenes, I -imagine, in the world. The large river with its massy swells and varied -towered banks. - -We changed horses at Bemagne, and passed over a road first cut by -Aurelius, Theodoric, and Buonaparte. B[uonaparte]'s name is everywhere. -Who did this? N[apoleon] B[uonaparte].—Who that?—He. There is an -inscription to record this. Andernach—a fine entrance from Bemagne, with -its massy towers and square-spired church. From Andernach we passed on. -Saw on the other side Neuwied, a town owing its existence to the mere -toleration of religion. It is the finest and [most] flourishing we have -seen since Ghent and Antwerp. We saw the tomb of Hoche at a distance; -went to it. There was inscribed "The army of the Sambre and the Moselle -to its general-in-chief Hoche." The reliefs are torn off, the marble -slabs broken, and it is falling. But— - - "Glory of the fallen brave - Shall men remember though forgot their grave," - -and the enemies may launch malicious darts against it. After Andernach -the Rhine loses much. The valley is wider, and the beautiful, after the -almost sublime, palls, and man is fastidious. - -[The celebrated lyric by Byron introduced into _Childe Harold_, an -address to his half-sister, is stated farther on to have been written on -this very day. I cite the first stanza— - - "The castled crag of Drachenfels - Frowns o'er the wide and winding Rhine, - Whose breast of waters broadly swells - Between the banks which bear the vine; - And hills all rich with blossom'd trees, - And fields which promise corn and wine, - And scatter'd cities crowning these, - Whose far white walls along them shine, - Have strew'd a scene which I should see - With double joy wert thou with me."] - -About a mile from Coblentz we saw Marceau's tomb—too dark. Crossed the -bridge over the Moselle, entered Coblentz; asked of military, no pass; -went to inns, rascals. Went to the Trois Suisses—well served; fine view -of Ehrenbreitstein fortress in sight. When French besieged it, Marceau -was here at this inn, and the cannon-ball pierced it several -times.—There were 84 French officers here, when they would not believe -the Cossacks would pass; they had to fly as quick as horses could convey -them, for the C[ossacks], getting into boats, made their horses swim -across. C[ossack]s rascals—ate and drank and never paid. The general of -them mean into the bargain; for he sent the waiter in search of a louis -he had never dropped, and went off.—A flying bridge in face of me. - -[Marceau died in 1796 of a wound received near Altenkirchen, at the age -of only twenty-seven. High honours were paid to his remains both by his -own army and by the Austrians whom he had been combating. Polidori -passes rapidly from the affair of Marceau to that of eighty-four French -officers and a body of Cossacks: but it is clear that these two matters -have no real connexion: the latter must relate to 1815 or 1814. Byron -devotes to Marceau two stanzas of _Childe Harold_— - - "By Coblentz, on a rise of gentle ground, - There is a small and simple pyramid - Crowning the summit of the verdant mound. - Beneath its base are heroes' ashes hid, - Our enemy's: but let not that forbid - Honour to Marceau; o'er whose early tomb - Tears, big tears, gush'd from the rough soldier's lid, - Lamenting and yet envying such a doom, - Falling for France, whose rights he battled to resume. - - "Brief, brave, and glorious, was his young career," etc. - -General Hoche, although a separate monument to him was observed by Byron -and Polidori, was in fact buried in the same tomb with Marceau. He died -at Wetzlar in 1797, aged twenty-nine. It may be noticed that Byron (line -4) writes "heroes'," plural, followed by "enemy's," singular. "Heroes'" -must be intended for both Marceau and Hoche, and I suspect that -"enemy's" is a misprint for "enemies'."] - -_May 12._—Got up. Looked at the fine view, and went to the bath, -which was at a maltster's—30 sous. Thence entered a Catholic -church—organ—children singing, which had a fine effect. A copy of -Rubens—lineal. Breakfasted. - -Mounted a calèche, and went to Marceau's monument. The tomb of heroes -made into a certain place very much expressed the flickering flame of -fame. Thence to the Chartreuse: deserted, ruined, windowless, roofless, -and tenantless—with another in sight in the same state. Plenty of -reliefs on the roadside belonging to the Road to Calvary, an oratory on -the hillside, where were many peasants bowing in reverence. Thence to -the flying bridge managed by boats fastened in the stream with a rope, -and by the rudder. - -Saw a motley group of peasants with their head-dresses of gold and -crimson or green with the steel pin. Cocked hat, blue coat and -stockinged heroes with a fork. Officers, artillery-men, etc.; crosses -given apparently with as profuse a hand to the soldiers as to the -roadside. - -Went to Ehrenbreitstein. Everything broken by gunpowder; immense masses -of solid stone and mortar thrown fifty yards from their original -situation; ruined walls, gateways, and halls—nothing perfect. Splendid -views thence—Coblentz, Rhine, Moselle with its bridge, mountains, -cultivation, vines, wilderness, everything below my feet. Mounted again. -Passed the Rhine in a boat (rowed), looking very like the Otaheitan -canoes. Into the carriage—set off. Scenes increasing in sublimity. The -road raised from the side of the river without parapet: two precipices -coming to the road headlong. Indeed the river reaches foot to -foot—splendid, splendid, splendid. Saw the fort belonging once to -Muhrfrey, where he raised customs, and resisted in consequence sixty -cities. Arrived at St. Goar. At the first post saw the people in church; -went to hear them sing—fine. - -_May 13._—Left St. Goar. Found scenery sublime to Bingen. Men with -cocked hats and great buckles hacking at the vines. The scenery after -Bingen gains in beauty what it loses in sublimity. Immense plain to the -mounts, with the Rhine _in medio_, covered with trees, woods, and -forests. Fine road to Mayence made by Nap[oleon]; his name has been -erased from the inscription on the column commemorative of the work. -Insolence of power! - -Mayence a fine town, with a cathedral raised above it of red sandstone. -Bavarians, Austrians, and Prussians, all in the town—belonging to all. -The best town we have seen since Ghent. - -[Mayence was at this date, locally, in the Grand Duchy of Hesse: but as -a fortress it appertained to the German Confederation, and was -garrisoned by Austrians, Prussians, and Hessians (hardly perhaps -Bavarians)]. - -One of our postillions blew a horn. Saw yesterday a beautiful -appearance—two rainbows, one on the top of trees where the colours of -the foliage pierced the rainbow-hues. - -Arrived at Mayence at 6-1/2. Saw along the Rhine many fine old castles. -This below is what L[ord] B[yron] wrote to Mrs. L[eigh] some days ago: -written May 11 on Rhine-banks. See _Childe Harold_, from "The Castled -Crag of Drachenfels" to "Still sweeten more these Banks of Rhine."[5] - -_May 14._—From Mayence, where I saw the spot where they said lately -stood the house where printing was invented; it had been pulled down by -the French. The gallery I could not see, because the keeper had taken it -into his head to make a promenade. Saw the cathedral, pierced at the -roof by bombs in the last siege the town underwent. The reliefs—some of -which were in a good style—many decapitated. There was a German marshal -who was represented as gravely putting forth his powdered head from -under a tombstone he has just lifted up—with an inscription saying "I am -here." - -From Mayence we went to Mannheim through a fine country. Crossed the -Rhine on a bridge of boats. Taken very ill with a fever at -Mannheim—could not write my Journal. - -_May 15._—Being a little recovered, set off. Fine alleys of -Lombardy-poplars and horse-chestnuts—neat villages. Entered Carlsruhe -through a grove of Scotch firs and other trees that had a fine effect. -Saw the Palace. - -Entered the inn, and was very ill. Took ipecac and op. gr. 15. Headache, -vertigo, tendency to fainting, etc. Magnesia and lemon acid—a little -better, no effect. - -Went a drive about the town. Saw the neatest town we have yet met with: -the only objection is the houses stuccoed white—bad for the eyes. Saw -the outside of the Palace, and went into the garden laid out in the -English manner. - -Went home: dreadful headaches: ate some stewed apples; took some more -magn[esia] and acid; had no effect; lay down; got up after two hours. -Was just going out when L[ord] B[yron] came to take from my hand a -plated candlestick, to give me a brass one. Got on a few steps; fainted. -My fall brought the servants to me. Took 4 pills; going out again, when -L[ord] B[yron] made the servant put down the plated candlestick, to take -up a brass one; went to bed. - -[This, as Polidori evidently thought, was an odd incident, not easily -accounted for. One cannot suppose that Byron simply aimed at humiliating -or mortifying his physician. There must have been a candle in each -candlestick; and it is conceivable that the candle in the brass one was -the longer, and therefore the more suitable for an invalid who might -have needed it throughout the night.] - -Medicine had violent effect: better on the whole, though weak. - -Just as we were going out I met Sir C. Hunter at my chamber-door, who -told me he had heard so bad an account of my positively dying that he -came to enquire how I found myself. I asked him in. He took care to tell -us he was a great friend of the Grand Duke, who had sent his groom of -the stole (he called it stool) in search of lodgings for the worthy -Mayor;[6] gave us a long sermon about rheumatism, routes, etc.; left us. -In the evening he sent in the _Guide du Voyageur en les pays de -l'Europe_, begging in return some of L[ord] B[yron's] poems. - -Went out. Saw a church. Columns like firs—Corinthian, golden capitals: -loaded everywhere with gilt, perhaps tawdry, but fine-tawdry. The -environs are beautiful. Drove a great deal about: fine trees and fine -cultivation. - -_May 18._—From Carlsruhe to Offenberg; much better. Slept halfway: -blinds down the other, so nothing to mention except fine trees, fine -cocked hats, fine women, and yellow-coated postillions. - -_May 19._—Set off from Offenberg; saw some scenes that pleased me much; -hills and clouds upon them; woods with mists. Passed through Freiburg, -where we saw the steeple pervious to the top with trellis-work showing -the light, which had to my eyes a beautiful appearance. - -I think Charles, when he said, "The German for his horse," remembered -the G[erman] postillions; for they talk to theirs, and the horses on -their part listen and seem to understand. The greater part of to-day I -have found the ladies in a strange costume of short wide red petticoats -with many folds, and a hat of straw as wide as a wheel. Arrived at -Krolzingen to sleep. Left Krolzingen: got to a hill. Fine view thence: -the Alps, the Rhine, the Jura mountains, and a fine plain before us—fine -country. Crossed the Rhine, and were in Switzerland. The town upon -unequal ground—some parts very high, and some low; the greater part very -narrow streets. After tea went to take a walk: went upon the Rhine -bridge—upon a hill in the town [Bâle presumably]. - -_May 21._—Went to see a panorama of Thun, the first Swiss one: crowded -foolishly with people, and too small. Saw a gallery that the artist had -formed. A fine Raphael, not his; a good Rembrandt, the first I saw -historical; a _Circumcision_; a head of the caricaturist David; two -heads of Divinity; a _Christ and Virgin_—mere pieces of flesh and -drapery. Went to a marchand d'estampes. Saw there _Nelson's Death_, -Chatham's ditto, and other pictures of England. _The Dance of Death_ has -been destroyed: but it was not Holbein's, but his restorer's. The -collection is dispersed, that once was here, of his paintings. - -Agreed with a voiturier to take our carriages to Geneva in five days. -Set off. Country increases from hills to mountains with great beauty. -Passed through Lipstadt and came to ——. Went before supper to climb a -hill where we found a goatherd who could not understand the French that -asked for milk till it had the commentary, "We will pay for it." The -scene was very fine: to the right, beautiful; to the left, it had a -tendency to sublimity; on one side, hills covered to the top with trees; -on the other, mountains with bald pates. Came down. Found the servants -playing at bowls. They were obliged to run the bowls along a narrow -board to the men. Supper: read _Arabian Nights_; went to bed. - -_May 22._—Left —— at 9; passed the Jura mountains, where we saw some -fine castellated scenery, and women ornamented strangely—amazingly short -petticoats, not below the knee, with black crape rays round their heads -that make them look very spidery. Soleure is a neat town with stone -fortifications, and a clean church with fountains before it. The houses -in this neighbourhood have a pleasing strange appearance on account of -the roofs, which slant out on every side a great way. Immense number of -Scotch firs—roads fine. Voituriers slow, and have eight francs of -drink-money a day, being two; which being too much according to the -_Guide du Voyageur en Europe_, where it is said 1-1/2 fr., we showed it -to our courier, who was in a passion. Came to ——, where we slept. - -_May 23._—Left ——: got a sight of some fine Alpine snow-capped -mountains. Came to Berne; delightfully situated; beautiful streets with -arcades all their length. Dined there. Saw a splendidly beautiful view -coming down a hill, with hills covered with fir, ash, beech, and all the -catalogue of trees; Morat at the bottom, and the Jura mounts behind, -with snowy hair and cloudy night-caps. Arrived at Morat; neat with -arcades. Stopped at the Crown inn. All the way had debates whether -clouds were mountains, or mountains clouds. - -_May 24._—The innkeeper at Morat, being a little tipsy, and thinking -every Englishman (being a philosophe) must be a philosophe like himself, -favoured us with some of his infidel notions while serving us at supper. -Near Morat was fought the battle wherein the Burgundians were so -completely thrashed. Their bones, of which we took pieces, are now very -few; once they formed a mighty heap in the chapel, but both were -destroyed by the Burgundian division when in Switzerland, and a tree of -liberty was planted over it, which yet flourishes in all its verdure—the -liberty has flown from the planters' grasp. Saw Aventicum; there remains -sufficient of the walls to trace the boundaries of the ancient town; but -of all the buildings, both for Gods and men, nothing but a column -remains, and that the only remnant for more than a hundred years. There -are mosaic pavements, and even the streets may be perceived in a dry -summer by the grass being thinner. The mosaic in a barn, probably once -of a temple, was pretty perfect till the Gallic cavalry came and turned -it into a stable. It is formed of little pieces of black, white, and red -bricks; little now remains. There was also a copper vessel in the -middle; that too has disappeared. The town is shamefully negligent of -the antiquities of their fathers, for there is another more beautiful -and perfect mosaic pavement discovered, but which they have allowed the -proprietor to cover again with mould rather than buy it. We found in a -barn heads, plinths, capitals, and shafts, heaped promiscuously. The -Corinthian-column capital is deeply, sharply, and beautifully cut. A -head of Apollo in all the rudeness of first art—a capital of a strange -mixed order. There is the Amphitheatre, hollow yet pretty perfect, but -no stonework visible; overgrown with trees; the size, my companion told -me, was larger than common. In the town there were some beautiful -fragments of ornament-sculpture incorporated in the walls; all marble. -In the walls of the church we sought in vain for the inscription that -Mathison mentions to Julia Alpinula. - -[Both to Morat and to Aventicum (Avenches) Byron devotes some stanzas in -_Childe Harold_, 63 to 67, and notes to correspond. Morat he terms "the -proud, the patriot field." He speaks of the hoard of bones, and says: "I -ventured to bring away as much as may have made a quarter of a hero," -for "careful preservation." His reference to Aventicum and the -inscription to Julia Alpinula reads rather curiously in the light of -Polidori's avowal that "we sought in vain for the inscription." Byron's -readers must always, I apprehend, have inferred the contrary. - - "By a lone wall a lonelier column rears - A grey and grief-worn aspect of old days. - 'Tis the last remnant of the wreck of years, - And looks as with the wild bewildered gaze - Of one to stone converted by amaze, - Yet still with consciousness: and there it stands, - Making a marvel that it not decays, - When the coeval pride of human hands, - Levell'd Aventicum, hath strew'd her subject lands. - - "And there—oh sweet and sacred be the name!— - Julia, the daughter, the devoted, gave - Her youth to Heaven: her heart, beneath a claim - Nearest to Heaven's, broke o'er a father's grave. - Justice is sworn 'gainst tears; and hers would crave - The life she lived in; but the judge was just,— - And then she died on him she could not save. - Their tomb was simple, and without a bust, - And held within their urn one mind, one heart, one dust." - -Byron's note runs thus: "Julia Alpinula, a young Aventian priestess, -died soon after a vain endeavour to save her father, condemned to death -as a traitor by Aulus Cæcina. Her epitaph was discovered many years ago. -It is thus: 'Julia Alpinula hic jaceo. Infelicis patris infelix proles. -Deæ Aventiæ Sacerdos. Exorare patris necem non potui: Male mori in fatis -illi erat. Vixi annos XXIII.' I know of no human composition so -affecting as this, nor a history of greater interest. These are the -names and actions," etc.] - -I copied the one below on account of its medical tendency. The letters -in this as well as in all the other inscriptions are formed like our -Roman print, not in the least imperfect: "Nvminib. Avg. et Genio Col. I. -El. Apollini Sagr. 9. Postum Hermes lib. Medicis et Professorib, D.S.D." - -From Aventicum or Avenches we went to Payerne. We have seen in many -places boys leading goats just in the antique style. Thence we went to -Moudon—dirty town. Stopped for refreshments. One fine view we have had -all the way, but nothing equal to the view descending to Morat. - -Darkness came on. We saw the Castle wherein —— defended himself against -the French who besieged it for a month: looks so weak, it seems a -wonder. The Swiss castles are not nearly so interesting as the Rhine -ones. They are very conical-roofed and no battlements. We saw the lake, -but for a long time doubted whether it was a cloud below, a mist before, -or water beneath us. Entered Lausanne. - -_May 25._—Left Lausanne, after having looked at a bookseller's, who -showed me a fine collection of bad books for four louis. Enquired for -Dewar: name not known. We went along the lake, that a little -disappointed me, as it does not seem so broad as it really is, and the -mountains near it, though covered with snow, have not a great appearance -on account of the height [of the] lake itself. We saw Mont Blanc in the -distance; ethereal in appearance, mingling with the clouds; it is more -than 60 miles from where we saw it. It is a classic ground we go over. -Buonaparte, Joseph, Bonnet, Necker, Staël, Voltaire, Rousseau, all have -their villas (except Rousseau). Genthoud, Ferney, Coppet, are close to -the road. - -[Perhaps some readers may need to be reminded who Bonnet was. He was a -great physicist, both practical and speculative, Charles Bonnet, author -of a _Traité d'Insectologie_, a _Traité de l'usage des Feuilles_, -_Contemplations de la Nature_, _Palingénésie Philosophique_, and other -works. Born in Geneva in 1720, he died in 1793.] - -We arrived at Sécheron—where Lord Byron, having put his age down as 100, -received a letter half-an-hour after from Inn Keeper?—a thing that seems -worthy of a novel. It begins again to be the land of the vine. Women, -who till the Pays de Vaud were ugly, improving greatly. - -_May 26._—After breakfast, and having made up the accounts to to-day, -and having heard that the voituriers made a claim of drink-money all the -way back, we ordered a calèche; but, happening to go into the garden, we -saw a boat, into which entering, we pushed out upon the Leman Lake. -After rowing some time, happening to come to the ferry, we found the -waiter with a direful look to tell us that it was _pris pour un monsieur -Anglais_, who happened to be ——.[7] We got another, and went out to -bathe. I _rode_ first with L[ord] B[yron] upon the field of Waterloo; -_walked_ first to see Churchill's tomb; _bathed and rowed_ first on the -Leman Lake.—It did us much good. Dined; entered the calèche; drove -through Geneva, where I saw an effect of building that pleased me: it -was porticoes from the very roof of the high houses to the bottom. - -Went to the house beyond Cologny that belonged to Diodati. They ask -five-and-twenty louis for it a month. Narrow, not true. The view from -his house is very fine; beautiful lake; at the bottom of the crescent is -Geneva. Returned. Pictet called, but L[ord] B[yron] said "not at home." - -[There were two Genevan Pictets at this date, both public men of some -mark. One was Jean Marc Jules Pictet de Sergy, 1768 to 1828; the other, -the Chevalier Marc Auguste Pictet, 1752 to 1825. As Polidori speaks -farther on of Pictet as being aged about forty-six, the former would -appear to be meant. He had been in Napoleon's legislative chamber from -1800 to 1815, and was afterwards a member of the representative council -of Geneva.—The Villa Diodati was the house where Milton, in 1639, had -visited Dr. John Diodati, a Genevese Professor of Theology. Polidori's -compact phrase, "narrow, not true," is by no means clear; perhaps he -means that some one had warned him that the Villa Diodati (called also -the Villa Belle Rive) was inconveniently narrow, but, on inspecting the -premises, he found the statement incorrect.] - -_May 27._—Got up; went about a boat; got one for 3 fr. a day; rowed to -Sécheron. Breakfasted. Got into a carriage. Went to Banker's, who -changed our money, and afterwards left his card. To Pictet—not at home. -Home, and looked at accounts: bad temper on my side. Went into the boat, -rowed across to Diodati; cannot have it for three years; English family. -Crossed again; I went; L[ord] B[yron] back. Getting out, L[ord] B[yron] -met M[ary] Wollstonecraft Godwin, her sister, and Percy Shelley. I got -into the boat into the middle of Leman Lake, and there lay my length, -letting the boat go its way. - -[Here I find it difficult to understand the phrase—"Cannot have it -(Villa Diodati) for three years—English family." It must apparently mean -either that an English family were occupying or had bespoken Villa -Diodati, and would remain there for three years to come (which is in -conflict with the fact that Byron soon afterwards became the tenant); or -else that Byron thought of renting it for a term as long as three years, -which was barred by the previous claim of some English family. On the -whole, the latter supposition seems to me the more feasible; but one is -surprised to think that Byron had any—even remote—idea of remaining near -Geneva for any such great length of time. This sets one's mind -speculating about Miss Clairmont, with whom (as is well known) Byron's -amour had begun before he left London, and who had now just arrived to -join him at Sécheron; had he at this time any notion of settling down -with her in the neighbourhood for three years, more or less? It is a -curious point to consider for us who know how rapidly he discarded her, -and how harshly he treated her ever afterwards. Miss Clairmont, we see, -was now already on the spot, along with Percy and Mary Shelley; in fact, -as we learn from other sources, they had arrived at Sécheron, Dejean's -Hôtel de l'Angleterre, as far back as May 18, or perhaps May 15—and -Byron now for the first time encountered the three. It appears that he -must have met Mary Godwin in London, probably only once—not to speak of -Clare. Shelley, to the best of our information, he had never till now -seen at all. Polidori here terms Clare Clairmont the "sister" of "M. -Wollstonecraft Godwin"; and in the entry for May 29 he even applies the -name Wollstonecraft Godwin to Clare; and it will be found as we proceed -that for some little while he really supposed the two ladies to be -sisters in the right sense of the term, both of them bearing the surname -of Godwin. In point of fact, there was no blood-relationship—Mary being -the daughter of Mr. and the first Mrs. Godwin, and Clare the daughter of -Mr. and Mrs. Clairmont. It may be as well to add that the letters -addressed by Miss Clairmont to Byron, before they actually met in -London, have now (1904) been published in _The Works of Lord Byron, -Letters and Journals_, vol. iii, pp. 429-437; and they certainly exhibit -a degree of forwardness and importunity which accounts in some measure -for his eventual antipathy to her.] - -Found letter from De Roche inviting me to breakfast to-morrow; curious -with regard to L[ord] B[yron]. Dined; P[ercy] S[helley], the author of -_Queen Mab_, came; bashful, shy, consumptive; twenty-six; separated from -his wife; keeps the two daughters of Godwin, who practise his theories; -one L[ord] B[yron]'s. - -[This is a very noticeable jotting. Shelley appears to have come in -alone on this occasion, and we may infer that some very confidential -talk ensued between him and Byron, in the presence of Polidori. He was -not at this date really twenty-six years of age, but only twenty-three. -"Bashful, shy," is an amusingly simple description of him. As to -"consumptive," we know that Shelley left England under the impression -that consumption had him in its grip, but this hardly appears to have -been truly the case. Polidori, as a medical man, might have been -expected to express some doubt on the subject, unless the poet's outward -appearance looked consumptive. Next we hear that Shelley "keeps the two -daughters of Godwin, who practise his theories"—_i.e._ set the -marriage-laws at defiance, or act upon the principle of free love. One -might suppose, from this phrase, that Polidori believed Shelley to be -the accepted lover of Miss Clairmont as well as of Mary Godwin; but the -addition of those very significant words—"One, Lord Byron's"—tells in -the opposite direction. These words can only mean (what was the fact) -that one of these ladies, viz. Miss Clairmont, was Lord Byron's -mistress. Therefore Polidori, in saying that Shelley "kept the two -daughters of Godwin," may presumably have meant that he housed and -maintained Clare, while he was the _quasi_-husband of Mary. Whether -Polidori now for the first time learned, from the conversation of Byron -and Shelley, what was the relation subsisting between Clare and Byron, -or whether Byron had at some earlier date imparted the facts to him, is -a question which must remain unsolved. The latter appears to me -extremely probable; for Byron had certainly arranged to meet Clare near -Geneva, and he may very likely have given the requisite notice -beforehand to his travelling physician and daily associate. My aunt -Charlotte Polidori was not an adept in Shelleian detail: if she had -been, I fear that these sentences would have shocked her sense of -propriety, and they would have been left uncopied. They form the only -passage in her transcript which bears in any way upon the amour between -Lord Byron and Miss Clairmont; to the best of my recollection and belief -there was not in the original Diary any other passage pointing in the -same direction.—I may observe here that there is nothing in Polidori's -Journal to show that the Shelley party were staying in the same Sécheron -hotel with Lord Byron. Professor Dowden says that they were—I suppose -with some sufficient authority; and I think other biographers in general -have assumed the same.] - -Into the calèche; horloger's at Geneva; L[ord] B[yron] paid 15 nap. -towards a watch; I, 13: repeater and minute-hand; foolish watch. - -[This means (as one of Polidori's letters shows) that Byron made him a -present of £15 towards the price of the watch.] - -Went to see the house of Madame Necker, 100 a half-year; came home, etc. - -_May 28._—Went to Geneva, to breakfast with Dr. De Roche; acute, -sensible, a listener to himself; good clear head. Told me that armies on -their march induce a fever (by their accumulation of animal dirt, -irregular regimen) of the most malignant typhoid kind; it is epidemic. -There was a whole feverish line from Moscow to Metz, and it spread at -Geneva the only almost epidemic typhus for many years. He is occupied in -the erection of Lancaster schools, which he says succeed well. He is a -Louis Bourbonist. He told me my fever was not an uncommon one among -travellers. He came home with me, and we had a chat with L[ord] B[yron]; -chiefly politics, where of course we differed. He had a system well -worked out, but I hope only hypothetical, about liberty of the French -being Machiavellianly not desirable by Europe. He pointed out Dumont in -the court, the rédacteur of Bentham. - -Found a letter from Necker to the hotel-master, asking 100 nap. for -three months; and another from Pictet inviting L[ord] B[yron] and any -friend to go with him at 8 to Madame Einard, a connection of his. We -then, ascending our car, went to see some other houses, none suiting. - -When we returned home, Mr. Percy Shelley came in to ask us to dinner; -declined; engaged for tomorrow. We walked with him, and got into his -boat, though the wind raised a little sea upon the lake. Dined at four. -Mr. Hentsch, the banker, came in; very polite; told L[ord] B[yron] that, -when he saw him yesterday, he had not an idea that he was speaking to -one of the most famous lords of England. - -Dressed and went to Pictet's: an oldish man, about forty-six, tall, -well-looking, speaks English well. His daughter showed us a picture, by -a young female artist, of Madame Lavallière in the chapel; well executed -in pencil—good lights and a lusciously grieving expression. - -Went to Madame Einard. Introduced to a room where about 8 (afterwards -20), 2 ladies (1 more). L[ord] B[yron]'s name was alone mentioned; mine, -like a star in the halo of the moon, invisible. L[ord] B[yron] not -speaking French, M. Einard spoke bad Italian. A Signor Rossi came in, -who had joined Murat at Bologna. Manly in thought; admired Dante as a -poet more than Ariosto, and a discussion about manliness in a language. -Told me Geneva women amazingly chaste even in thoughts. Saw the -Lavallière artist. A bonny, rosy, seventy-yeared man, called Bonstetten, -the beloved of Gray and the correspondent of Mathison. - -[I find "40" in the MS.: apparently it ought to be "70," for Bonstetten -was born in 1745. He lived on till 1832. Charles Victor de Bonstetten -was a Bernese nobleman who had gone through various vicissitudes of -opinion and adventure, travelling in England and elsewhere. To -Englishmen (as indicated in Polidori's remark) he is best known as a -friend of the poet Thomas Gray, whom he met in 1769. He said: "Jamais je -n'ai vu personne qui donnât autant que Gray l'idée d'un gentleman -accompli." Among the chief writings of Bonstetten are _Recherches sur la -Nature et les Lois de l'Imagination_; _Etudes d'Hommes_; _L'Homme du -Midi et l'Homme du Nord_.] - -Madame Einard made tea, and left all to take sugar with the fingers. -Madame Einard showed some historical pieces of her doing in acquerella, -really good, a little too French-gracish. Obliged to leave before ten -for the gates shut. Came home, went to bed. - -Was introduced by Shelley to Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin, called here -Mrs. Shelley. Saw picture by Madame Einard of a cave in the Jura where -in winter there is no ice, in summer plenty. No names announced, no -ceremony—each speaks to whom he pleases. Saw the bust of Jean Jacques -erected upon the spot where the Geneva magistrates were shot. L[ord] -B[yron] said it was probably built of some of the stones with which they -pelted him.[8] The walk is deserted. They are now mending their roads. -Formerly they could not, because the municipal money always went to the -public box. - -_May 29._—Went with Mr. Hentsch to see some houses along the valley in -which runs the Rhone: nothing. Dined with Mr. and Mrs. Percy Shelley and -Wollstonecraft Godwin. Hentsch told us that the English last year -exported corn to Italy to a great amount. - -_May 30._—Got up late. Went to Mr. and Mrs. Shelley; breakfasted with -them; rowed out to see a house together. S[helley] went from Lucerne -with the two, with merely £26, to England along the Rhine in bateaux. -Gone through much misery, thinking he was dying; married a girl for the -mere sake of letting her have the jointure that would accrue to her; -recovered; found he could not agree; separated; paid Godwin's debts, and -seduced his daughter; then wondered that he would not see him. The -sister left the father to go with the other. Got a child. All clever, -and no meretricious appearance. He is very clever; the more I read his -_Queen Mab_, the more beauties I find. Published at fourteen a novel; -got £30 for it; by his second work £100. _Mab_ not published.—Went in -calèche with L[ord] B[yron] to see a house; again after dinner to leave -cards; then on lake with L[ord] B[yron]. I, Mrs. S[helley], and Miss -G[odwin], on to the lake till nine. Drank tea, and came away at 11 after -confabbing. The batelier went to Shelley, and asked him as a favour not -to tell L[ord] B[yron] what he gave for his boat, as he thought it quite -fit that Milord's payment be double; we sent Berger to say we did not -wish for the boat. - -[The statement that "Shelley went from Lucerne with the two, with merely -£26, to England, along the Rhine in bateaux," refers of course to what -had taken place in 1814, on the occasion of Shelley's elopement with -Mary Godwin, and has no bearing on the transactions of 1816; it must be -cited by Polidori as showing how inexpensively three persons could, if -so minded, travel from Switzerland to England. The other references to -Shelley's domestic affairs etc. are very curious. Except as to his own -personal admiration for _Queen Mab_, Polidori is here evidently putting -down (but not in the words of Shelley himself, who would assuredly not -have said that he had "seduced" Mary Godwin) such details as the poet -imparted to him. They are far from accurate. To some extent, Polidori -may have remembered imperfectly what Shelley told him, but I think the -latter must have been responsible for most of the fables; and generally -it would appear that Shelley gave free rein to his inclination for -romancing or for over-stating matters, possibly perceiving that Polidori -was credulous, and capable of swallowing whatever he was told, the more -eccentric the better. To say that Shelley, before he, at the age of -barely 19, married Harriet Westbrook in 1811, thought that he was dying, -and that his only practical motive for marrying her was that she might -come in for a jointure after his decease, is no doubt highly fallacious, -and even absurd. We have other sources of information as to these -occurrences, especially the letters of Shelley addressed at the time to -Jefferson Hogg, and they tell a very different tale. As to his reason -for separating from Harriet, Shelley, we perceive, simply told Polidori -that he "found he could not agree" with her; he said nothing as to his -knowing or supposing that she had been unfaithful to him. Again, Shelley -was not so boyish as 14 when he published a novel—his first novel, the -egregious _Zastrozzi_; the publication took place in 1810, when he was -eighteen, or at lowest seventeen. The statement that he got £100 by "his -second work" is worth considering. If "his second work" means, as one -might naturally suppose in this connexion, the romance of _St. Irvyne_, -the suggestion that he got anything at all by it, except a state of -indebtedness, is a novelty. But our mind recurs to that rumoured and -apparently really published though wholly untraced work of his, _A -Poetical Essay on the Existing State of Things_. This poem was -published, we are told, for the benefit of an Irish agitator or patriot, -Peter Finnerty, and it has been elsewhere averred that the publication -produced a sum of nearly £100. The mention by Polidori of £100 may be -surmised to refer to the same matter, and it tends so far to confirm the -idea that the book really existed, and even secured a fair measure of -success.—Berger (who is named in connexion with Byron and the hire for -the boat) was, as already noted, the Swiss servant of Byron, brought -from London.] - -_May 31._—Breakfasted with Shelley; read Italian with Mrs. S[helley]; -dined; went into a boat with Mrs. S[helley], and rowed all night till 9; -tea'd together; chatted, etc. - -_June 1._—Breakfasted with S[helley]; entered a calèche; took Necker's -house for 100 louis for 8 or 365 days. Saw several houses for Shelley; -one good. Dined; went in the boat; all tea'd together. - -[Necker's house, here mentioned, would apparently be the same as the -Villa Diodati, or Villa Belle Rive—for that is the house which Byron did -in fact rent. "Necker" may be understood as meaning (rather than the -famous Minister of Finance in France) his widow, since Necker himself -had died a dozen years before. The sum of 100 louis seems to be -specified here as the rent for a year, and the phrase about 8 days must -indicate that the house could be tenanted for that short space of -time—or let us say a week—at a proportionate payment. This rate of -rental appears low, and it differs both from what was said under the -date of May 26, and from what we shall find noted shortly afterwards, -June 6. Thus I feel a little doubt whether "Necker's house" is not in -reality something quite different from the Villa Diodati. Byron's -proposed tenancy of the former might possibly have been cancelled.] - -Rogers the subject: L[or]d B[yron] thinks good poet; malicious. Marquis -of Lansdowne being praised by a whole company as a happy man, having all -good, R[ogers] said, "But how horridly he carves turbot!" Ward having -reviewed his poems in the _Quarterly_, having a bad heart and being -accused of learning his speeches, L[ord] B[yron], upon malignantly -hinting to him [Rogers] how he had been carved, heard him say: "I -stopped his speaking though by my epigram, which is— - - "'Ward has no heart, they say, but I deny it; - He has a heart, and gets his speeches by it.'" - -[This must be the Honourable John William Ward, who was created Earl of -Dudley in 1827, and died in 1833. Miss Berry, the _quasi_-adopted -daughter of Horace Walpole, told Madame de Staël in 1813 that the latter -had "undertaken two miracles—to make Ward _poli envers les femmes et -pieux envers Dieu_."] - -On L[ord] B[yron's] writing a poem to his sister wherein he says, "And -when friends e'en paused and love," etc., Rogers, going to some one, -said: "I don't know what L[ord] B[yron] means by _pausing_; I called -upon him every day." He did this regularly, telling L[ord] B[yron] all -the bad news with a malignant grin. When L[ord] B[yron] wrote "Weep, -daughter of a royal line," Rogers came to him one day, and, taking up -the _Courier_, said: "I am sure now you're attacked there; now don't -mind them"; and began reading, looking every now and then at L[ord] -B[yron] with an anxious searching eye, till he came to "that little poet -and disagreeable person, Mr. Samuel—" when he tore the paper, and said: -"Now this must be that fellow Croker," and wished L[ord] B[yron] to -challenge him. He talked of going to Cumberland with L[ord] B[yron], -and, asking him how he meant to travel, L[ord] B[yron] said "With four -horses." Rogers went to company, and said: "It is strange to hear a man -talking of four horses who seals his letters with a tallow candle." - -Shelley is another instance of wealth inducing relations to confine for -madness, and was only saved by his physician being honest. He was -betrothed from a boy to his cousin, for age; another came who had as -much as he _would_ have, and she left him "because he was an atheist." -When starving, a friend to whom he had given £2000, though he knew it, -would not come near him. Heard Mrs. Shelley repeat Coleridge on Pitt, -which persuades me he is a poet. - -[Here we see that Shelley must have repeated to Polidori that famous -story of his about the attempt of his father to consign him, when he was -an Eton student, to a madhouse, and about the zealous and ultimately -successful effort of Dr. Lind, the Eton physicist, to save him from that -disastrous fate. Next comes the statement that Shelley was betrothed -from boyhood to his beautiful cousin Miss Harriet Grove—the marriage to -take effect when he should attain his majority; an account which we know -to be substantially true. The conduct of Miss Grove—or perhaps we should -rather say of her parents as dictating her action—is placed in an -unfavourable light; for it is plainly suggested that she abandoned -Shelley for another bridegroom on the ground of a more immediate -advantage in worldly position—the allegation of Percy's atheism being -more a pretext than a genuine motive. The passage about a friend to whom -Shelley had given £2000 must (I suppose beyond a doubt) refer to Godwin; -but it is evident that Shelley, in speaking to Polidori, a comparative -stranger, and this in the presence of Mary, had the delicacy to suppress -the name. The charge thus alleged against Godwin is not, I conceive, -accurate, although it approximated towards accuracy. I am not clear that -Shelley, up to the time when he thus spoke in June 1816, had given -Godwin money amounting to quite so large a total as £2000; but at any -rate he cannot have done so up to the time when he was himself -"starving"—or, in milder terms, when he was in very great and harassing -straits for money and daily subsistence. That time was late in 1814, and -in the first days of 1815. It is true that, even before this date, he -had done something to relieve Godwin; but it was only, I think, in April -1816 that he gave the philosopher a really very considerable sum—£1000 -in a lump. I say all this for the sake of biographical truth, and not -with a view to vindicating Godwin—whose policy of bleeding Shelley in -purse while he cut him in person has in some recent years been denounced -with increasing vehemence, and it was indeed wholly indefensible. But -human nature—and especially the human nature of an abstract speculator -like Godwin—is capable of very odd self-deceptions; and I dare say -Godwin thought he was equally and strictly right in both his -proceedings—right in getting large sums of money out of Shelley, for a -reforming sage ought to be subsidized by his neophytes—and right in -repudiating and abusing Shelley, for the latter had applied Godwin's own -anti-matrimonial theories to that one instance of practice which the -philosopher did not at all relish.—To proceed to another point. The -lines of Coleridge on Pitt which Polidori heard recited by Mrs. Shelley -are to be sought for in his early poem entitled _Fire, Famine, and -Slaughter_. In that poem (need I say it?) those three Infernal Deities -are represented as meeting in "a desolated tract in La Vendée"; and on -mutual enquiry they learn that one and the same person has sent them -thither all three. - - "Letters four do form his name"— - -the name Pitt. Famine and Slaughter finally agree that the multitude, -exasperated by their sufferings, shall turn upon Pitt and rend him— - - "They shall tear him limb from limb!" - -Fire, who has just come from doing Pitt's errands in Ireland, thinks -this ungrateful: she concludes the poem with the memorable words— - - "Ninety months he, by my troth, - Hath richly catered for you both: - And in an hour would you repay - An eight years' work?—Away, away! - I alone am faithful—_I - Cling to him everlastingly_." - -The poem would be well worth quoting here in full, but is somewhat too -long for such a purpose.] - -A young girl of eighteen, handsome, died within half-an-hour yesterday: -buried to-day. Geneva is fortified—legumes growing in the fosses.—Went -about linen and plate. - -_June 2._—Breakfasted with Shelley. Read Tasso with Mrs. Shelley. Took -child for vaccination. - -[The child in question must seemingly have been the beloved infant -William Shelley, born in January of this same year. Polidori does not -appear to have vaccinated the boy with his own hand; for I find in a -letter of his written to his family towards June 20: "Got a gold chain -and a seal as a fee from an Englishman here for having his child -inoculated." As Polidori speaks only of "an Englishman here," not naming -Shelley, it looks as if he purposely withheld from his family the -knowledge that he had come into contact with that wicked and dangerous -character. I wish I knew what has become of the "gold chain and seal," -the gift of Shelley: but I could not on enquiry find that anything -whatever was known about them by my then surviving relatives. I possess -a letter on the subject, November 4, 1890, from my sister Christina.] - -Found gates shut because of church-service. Went in search of Rossi. Saw -a village where lads and lasses, soubrettes and soldiers, were dancing, -to a tabor and drum, waltzes, cotillions, etc. Dr. R[ossi] not at home. - -Dined with S[helley]; went to the lake with them and L[ord] B[yron]. Saw -their house; fine. Coming back, the sunset, the mountains on one side, a -dark mass of outline on the other, trees, houses hardly visible, just -distinguishable; a white light mist, resting on the hills around, formed -the blue into a circular dome bespangled with stars only and lighted by -the moon which gilt the lake. The dome of heaven seemed oval. At 10 -landed and drank tea. Madness, Grattan, Curran, etc., subjects. - -[The "house" of Shelley and his party which is here mentioned is the -Campagne Chapuis, or Campagne Mont Alègre, near Cologny—distant from the -Villa Diodati only about 8 minutes' walk. Shelley and the two ladies had -entered this house towards the end of May, prior to the actual -settlement of Lord Byron in the Villa Diodati. The Shelleys, as we have -more than once heard from this Diary, kept up the practice of drinking -tea—a beverage always cherished by Percy Bysshe. The topics of -conversation, we observe, were madness—probably following on from what -Shelley had on the previous day said about his own supposed madness -while at Eton; also Curran, whom Shelley had seen a little, but without -any sympathy, in Dublin—and Grattan, who, so far as I am aware was not -personally known to the poet.] - -_June 3._—Went to Pictet's on English day. - -_June 4._—Went about Diodati's house. Then to see Shelley, who, with -Mrs. Shelley, came over. Went in the evening to a musical society of -about ten members at M. Odier's; who read a very interesting memoir upon -the subject of whether a physician should in any case tell a lover the -health [of the lady of his affections], or anything that, from being her -physician, comes to his knowledge. Afterwards had tea and politics. Saw -there a Dr. Gardner, whom I carried home in the calèche. Odier invited -me for every Wednesday. - -Came home. Went on the lake with Shelley and Lord Byron, who quarrelled -with me. - -[This might seem to be the matter to which Professor Dowden in his _Life -of Shelley_ (following Moore's _Life of Byron_ and some other -authorities) thus briefly refers. "Towards Shelley the Doctor's feeling -was a constantly self-vexing jealousy [I cannot say that the Diary of -Polidori has up to this point borne the least trace of any such -soreness]; and on one occasion, suffering from the cruel wrong of having -been a loser in a sailing-match, he went so far as to send Shelley a -challenge, which was received with a fit of becoming laughter. -'Recollect,' said Byron, 'that, though Shelley has some scruples about -duelling, I have none and shall be at all times ready to take his -place.'" Professor Dowden does not define the date when this squabble -occurred; but the context in which he sets it suggests a date anterior -to June 22, when Byron and Shelley started off on their week's excursion -upon the Lake of Geneva. The very curt narrative of Polidori does not -however indicate any sailing-match, nor any challenge, whether "sent" or -verbally delivered at the moment; and perhaps it may be more reasonable -to suppose that this present quarrel with Byron was a different affair -altogether—an instance when Polidori happened to strike Byron's knee -with an oar. I shall recur to the duelling matter farther on.] - -_June 5._—At 12 went to Hentsch about Diodati; thence to Shelley's. Read -Tasso. Home in calèche. Dined with them in the public room: walked in -the garden. Then dressed, and to Odier's, who talked with me about -somnambulism. Was at last seated, and conversed with some Génevoises: so -so—too fine. Quantities of English; speaking amongst themselves, arms by -their sides, mouths open and eyes glowing; might as well make a tour of -the Isle of Dogs. Odier gave me yesterday many articles of -_Bibliothèque_—translated and _rédigés_ by himself, and to-day a -manuscript on somnambulism. - -[After the word _Bibliothèque_ Charlotte Polidori has put some other -word, evidently intended to imitate the _look_ of the word written by -Dr. Polidori: it cannot be read. The subject of somnambulism was one -which had engaged Polidori's attention at an early age: he printed in -1815 a _Disputatio Medica Inauguralis de Oneirodyniâ_, as a thesis for -the medical degree which he then obtained in Edinburgh.] - -_June 6._—At 1 up—breakfasted. With Lord Byron in the calèche to -Hentsch, where we got the paper making us masters of Diodati for six -months to November 1 for 125 louis. - -[See my remarks under June 1 as to "Necker's house," and the rent to be -paid. Up to November 1 would be barely five months, not six.] - -Thence to Shelley: back: dinner. To Shelley in boat: driven on shore: -home. Looked over inventory and Berger's accounts. Bed. - -_June 7._—Up at ——. Pains in my loins and languor in my bones. -Breakfasted—looked over inventory. - -Saw L[ord] B[yron] at dinner; wrote to my father and Shelley; went in -the boat with L[ord] B[yron]; agreed with boatman for English boat. Told -us Napoleon had caused him to get his children. Saw Shelley over again. - -[It seems rather curious that Polidori, living so near Shelley, should -now have had occasion to write to him; ought we to infer that the -challenge was now at last sent? Perhaps so; and perhaps, when Polidori -"saw Shelley over again," the poet laughed the whole foolish matter -off.—The boatman's statement that "Napoleon had caused him to get his -children" means, I suppose, that he wanted to rear children, to meet -Napoleon's conscriptions for soldiers.] - -_June 8._—Up at 9; went to Geneva on horseback, and then to Diodati to -see Shelley; back; dined; into the new boat—Shelley's,—and talked, till -the ladies' brains whizzed with giddiness, about idealism. Back; rain; -puffs of wind. Mistake. - -_June 9._—Up by 1: breakfasted. Read Lucian. Dined. Did the same: tea'd. -Went to Hentsch: came home. Looked at the moon, and ordered packing-up. - -_June 10._—Up at 9. Got things ready for going to Diodati; settled -accounts, etc. Left at 3; went to Diodati; went back to dinner, and then -returned. Shelley etc. came to tea, and we sat talking till 11. My rooms -are so: - - +-----------------------+ - | Picture-gallery. | - |-----------------------| - | | | - | Bedroom |-----------| - | | | - +-----------------------+ - -_June 11._—Wrote home and to Pryse Gordon. Read Lucian. Went to -Shelley's; dined; Shelley in the evening with us. - -_June 12._—Rode to town. Subscribed to a circulating library, and went -in the evening to Madame Odier. Found no one. Miss O[dier], to make time -pass, played the Ranz des Vaches—plaintive and war-like. People arrived. -Had a confab with Dr. O. about perpanism,[9] etc. Began dancing: -waltzes, cotillons, French country-dances and English ones: first time I -shook my feet to French measure. Ladies all waltzed except the English: -_they_ looked on frowning. Introduced to Mrs. Slaney: invited me for -next night. You ask without introduction; the girls refuse those they -dislike. Till 12. Went and slept at the Balance. - -_June 13._—Rode home, and to town again. Went to Mrs. Slaney: a ball. -Danced and played at chess. Walked home in thunder and lightning: lost -my way. Went back in search of some one—fell upon the police. Slept at -the Balance. - -_June 14._—Rode home—rode almost all day. Dined with Rossi, who came to -us; shrewd, quick, manly-minded fellow; like him very much. Shelley etc. -fell in in the evening. - -_June 15._—Up late; began my letters. Went to Shelley's. After dinner, -jumping a wall my foot slipped and I strained my left ankle. Shelley -etc. came in the evening; talked of my play etc., which all agreed was -worth nothing. Afterwards Shelley and I had a conversation about -principles,—whether man was to be thought merely an instrument. - -[The accident to Polidori's ankle was related thus by Byron in a letter -addressed from Ouchy to John Murray. "Dr. Polidori is not here, but at -Diodati; left behind in hospital with a sprained ankle, acquired in -tumbling from a wall—he can't jump." Thomas Moore, in his _Life of -Byron_, supplies some details. "Mrs. Shelley was, after a shower of -rain, walking up the hill to Diodati; when Byron, who saw her from his -balcony where he was standing with Polidori, said to the latter: 'Now -you who wish to be gallant ought to jump down this small height, and -offer your arm.' Polidori tried to do so; but, the ground being wet, his -foot slipped and he sprained his ankle. Byron helped to carry him in, -and, after he was laid on the sofa, went up-stairs to fetch a pillow for -him. 'Well, I did not believe you had so much feeling,' was Polidori's -ungracious remark." - -The play written by Polidori, which received so little commendation, -was, I suppose, the _Cajetan_ which is mentioned at an early point in -the Journal. There was another named _Boadicea_, in prose; very poor -stuff, and I suppose written at an early date. A different drama named -_Ximenes_ was afterwards published: certainly its merit—whether as a -drama or as a specimen of poetic writing—is slender. The conversation -between Shelley and Polidori about "principles"and "whether man was to -be thought merely an instrument" appears to have some considerable -analogy with a conversation to which Mary Shelley and Professor Dowden -refer, and which raised in her mind a train of thought conducing to her -invention of Frankenstein and his Man-monster. Mary, however, speaks of -Byron (not Polidori) as the person who conversed with Shelley on that -occasion. Professor Dowden, paraphrasing some remarks made by Mary, -says: "One night she sat listening to a conversation between the two -poets at Diodati. What was the nature, they questioned, of the principle -of life? Would it ever be discovered, and the power of communicating -life be acquired? Perhaps a corpse would be reanimated; galvanism had -given token of such things. That night Mary lay sleepless," etc.] - -_June 16._—Laid up. Shelley came, and dined and slept here, with Mrs. -S[helley] and Miss Clare Clairmont. Wrote another letter. - -[This is the first instance in which the name of Miss Clairmont is given -correctly by Polidori; but it may be presumed that he had, several days -back, found out that she was not properly to be termed "Miss Godwin."] - -_June 17._—Went into the town; dined with Shelley etc. here. Went after -dinner to a ball at Madame Odier's; where I was introduced to Princess -Something and Countess Potocka, Poles, and had with them a long confab. -Attempted to dance, but felt such horrid pain was forced to stop. The -ghost-stories are begun by all but me. - -[This date serves to rectify a small point in literary history. We all -know that the party at Cologny—consisting of Byron and Polidori on the -one hand, and of Shelley and Mrs. Shelley and Miss Clairmont on the -other—undertook to write each of them an independent ghost-story, or -story of the supernatural; the result being Byron's fragment of _The -Vampyre_, Polidori's complete story of _The Vampyre_, and Mrs. -Shelley's renowned _Frankenstein_. Shelley and Miss Clairmont proved -defaulters. It used to be said that Matthew Gregory Lewis, author of -_The Monk_, had been mixed up in the same project; but this is a -mistake, for Lewis only reached the Villa Diodati towards the middle -of August. Professor Dowden states as follows: "During a few days of -ungenial weather which confined them to the house [by "them" Shelley -and the two ladies are evidently meant, and perhaps also Byron and -Polidori] some volumes of ghost-stories, _Fantasmagoriana, ou Recueil -d'Histoires d'Apparitions, de Spectres, Revenans_, etc. (a collection -translated into French from the German) fell into their hands, and its -perusal probably excited and overstrained Shelley's imagination." -Professor Dowden then proceeds to narrate an incident connected with -Coleridge's _Christabel_, of which more anon; and he says that -immediately _after_ that incident Byron proposed, "We will each write -a ghost-story"—a suggestion to which the others assented. It is only -fair to observe that Professor Dowden's account corresponds with that -which Polidori himself supplied in the proem to his tale of _The -Vampyre_. But Polidori's Diary proves that this is not absolutely -correct. The ghost-stories (prompted by the _Fantasmagoriana_, a poor -sort of book) had already been begun by Byron, Shelley, Mrs. Shelley, -and Miss Clairmont, not later than June 17, whereas the _Christabel_ -incident happened on June 18. Byron's story, as I have already said, -was _The Vampyre_, left a fragment; Shelley's is stated to have been -some tale founded on his own early experiences—nothing farther is -known of it; Mrs. Shelley's was eventually _Frankenstein_, but, from -the details which have been published as to the first conception of -this work, we must assume that what she had begun by June 17 was -something different: of Miss Clairmont's story no sort of record -remains. - -The Countess Potocka, whom Polidori mentions, was a lady belonging to -the highest Polish nobility, grand-niece of Stanislaus Augustus -Poniatowski, who had been King of Poland up to 1798. She was daughter of -Count Tyszkiewicz, and married Count Potocki, and afterwards Count -Wonsowicz. Born in 1776, she lived on to 1867, when she died in Paris, a -leader of society under the Second Empire. Thus she was forty years old -when Polidori saw her. She wrote memoirs of her life, going up to 1820: -a rather entertaining book, dealing with many important transactions, -especially of the period of Napoleon I: she gives one to understand that -this supreme potentate was rather susceptible to her charms, but a rival -compatriot, the Countess Walewska, was then in the ascendant. I have -seen reproductions from two portraits of the Countess Potocka, both of -them ascribed to Angelica Kauffman: one of these shows a strikingly -handsome young woman, with dark eyes of singular brilliancy and -sentiment. Its date cannot be later than 1807, when the painter died, -and may probably be as early as 1800.] - -_June 18._—My leg much worse. Shelley and party here. Mrs. S[helley] -called me her brother (younger). Began my ghost-story[10] after tea. -Twelve o'clock, really began to talk ghostly. L[ord] B[yron] repeated -some verses of Coleridge's _Christabel_, of the witch's breast; when -silence ensued, and Shelley, suddenly shrieking and putting his hands to -his head, ran out of the room with a candle. Threw water in his face, -and after gave him ether. He was looking at Mrs. S[helley], and suddenly -thought of a woman he had heard of who had eyes instead of nipples, -which, taking hold of his mind, horrified him.—He married; and, a friend -of his liking his wife, he tried all he could to induce her to love him -in turn. He is surrounded by friends who feed upon him, and draw upon -him as their banker. Once, having hired a house, a man wanted to make -him pay more, and came trying to bully him, and at last challenged him. -Shelley refused, and was knocked down; coolly said that would not gain -him his object, and was knocked down again.—Slaney called. - -[Some of these statements are passing strange, and most of them call for -a little comment. First we hear that Mrs. Shelley called Polidori her -younger brother—a designation which may have been endearing but was not -accurate; for, whereas the doctor was aged 20 at this date, Mrs. Shelley -was aged only 18. Next, Polidori, after tea, began his ghost-story. -This, according to Mrs. Shelley, was a tale about "a skull-headed lady, -who was so punished for peeping through a keyhole—what to see, I forget; -something very shocking and wrong, of course." So says Mrs. Shelley: but -Polidori's own statement is that the tale which he at first began was -the one published under the title of _Ernestus Berchtold_, which -contains nothing about a skull-headed lady: some details are given in my -Introduction. Afterwards he took up the notion of a vampyre, when -relinquished by Byron. The original story, _Ernestus Berchtold_, may -possibly have been completed in 1816: at any rate it was completed at -some time, and published in 1819, soon after _The Vampyre_. Then comes -the incident (first published in my edition of Shelley's poems in 1870) -of Byron repeating some lines from _Christabel_, and Shelley, who mixed -them up with some fantastic idea already present to his mind, decamping -with a shriek. The lines from _Christabel_ are these— - - "Then drawing in her breath aloud, - Like one that shuddered, she unbound - The cincture from beneath her breast: - Her silken robe and inner vest - Dropped to her feet, and full in view - Behold! her bosom and half her side, - Hideous, deformed, and pale of hue— - A sight to dream of, not to tell! - And she is to sleep by Christabel!" - -From this incident Polidori proceeds to three statements regarding -occurrences in Shelley's life; it may be presumed that he had heard them -from the poet in the course of this same evening. "A friend of his -liking his wife, he tried all he could to induce her to love him in -turn." Nothing of this sort appears in the authenticated facts of -Shelley's life. It is certain that, very soon after he had married -Harriet Westbrook in 1811, he saw reason for thinking that his friend -Hogg "liked his wife," both of them being then in York; but, so far from -"trying all he could to induce her to love him in turn," he at once took -her away from York to Keswick, and he addressed letters of grave -remonstrance and sad reproach to Hogg, and then for a time broke off all -intercourse with him. The only other matter one knows of at all relevant -to this issue is that Shelley alleged that afterwards a certain Major -Ryan carried on an intrigue with Harriet. He blamed and resented her -imputed frailty, and put it forward as a principal motive for his -separating from her. It is certainly possible that, after the -separation, he told Harriet that she might as well "make the best of a -bad job," and adhere to Ryan, since she would not adhere to her wedded -husband: but no indication of any such advice on his part appears -anywhere else. Be it understood that I do not at all affirm that this -suspicion or statement of Shelley's about Harriet and Ryan was correct. -I doubt it extremely, though not venturing summarily to reject it. The -next point is that Shelley was "surrounded by friends who feed upon him, -and draw upon him as their banker." This probably glances at Godwin, and -perhaps also at Charles Clairmont, the brother of Clare. Thomas Love -Peacock may likewise be in question: not Leigh Hunt, for, though the cap -might have fitted him in and after the year 1817, it did not so in the -present year 1816, since Hunt was as yet all but unknown to our poet. -Last comes the funny statement about a hectoring landlord who twice -knocked down the non-duelling author of _Queen Mab_. It is difficult to -guess what this allegation may refer to. Shelley had by this time had -several landlords in different parts of the United Kingdom; and quite -possibly some of them thought his rent unduly low, or more especially -his quarterly or other instalments irregularly paid, but who can have -been the landlord who took the law so decisively into his own hands, and -found so meekly unresisting a tenant, I have no idea. There was an odd -incident on January 19, 1812, when Shelley, then living at Keswick, was -(or was said to have been) struck down senseless on the threshold of his -door—seemingly by a couple of robbers. On that occasion, however, his -landlord, Mr. Dare, appeared in the character of a guardian angel: so we -must dismiss any notion that this incident, the one which in some of its -features seems to come nearest the mark, is that which Shelley so -ingenuously imparted to Polidori.] - -_June 19._—Leg worse; began my ghost-story. Mr. S[helley?] etc. forth -here. Bonstetten and Rossi called. B[onstetten] told me a story of the -religious feuds in Appenzel; a civil war between Catholics and -Protestants. Battle arranged; chief advances; calls the other. Calls -himself and other fools, for battles will not persuade of his being -wrong. Other agreed, and persuaded them to take the boundary rivulet; -they did. Bed at 3 as usual. - -_June 20._—My leg kept me at home. Shelley etc. here. - -_June 21._—Same. - -_June 22._—L[ord] B[yron] and Shelley went to Vevay; Mrs. S[helley] and -Miss Clare Clairmont to town. Went to Rossi's—had tired his patience. -Called on Odier; Miss reading Byron. - -[The expedition of Byron and Shelley to Vevay was that same Lake-voyage -which forms so prominent an incident in their Swiss experiences. Their -starting upon this expedition had hitherto been dated June 23. Professor -Dowden has expressed a doubt whether June 22 would not be the correct -date, and here we find that so it is.] - -_June 23._—Went to town; apologized to Rossi. Called on Dr. Slaney etc. -Walked to Mrs. Shelley. Pictet, Odier, Slaney, dined with me. Went down -to Mrs. S[helley?] for the evening. Odier mentioned the cases of two -gentlemen who, on taking the nitrate of silver, some time after had a -blacker face. Pictet confirmed it. - -_June 24._—Up at 12. Dined down with Mrs. S[helley] and Miss C[lare] -C[lairmont]. - -[The dates hereabouts become somewhat embarrassing. For the day which I -am calling June 24 Polidori repeats June 23; and he continues with the -like sequence of days up to June 29, when, as he notes, he "found Lord -Byron and Shelley returned." It seems to be an established fact that the -day when Shelley got back to Montalègre was July 1: he has stated so, -and a note to the _Letters of Lord Byron_ states the same. Thus Polidori -seems to have dropped two days. One is accounted for by substituting -June 24 for June 23; and I shall call the next day June 26, though -uncertain as to where the second error occurs.] - -_June 26._—Up. Mounted on horseback: went to town. Saw Mrs. Shelley: -dined. To Dr. Rossi's party of physicians: after at Mrs. S[helley's?]. - -_June 27._—Up at Mrs. Shelley's: dined. No calèche arrived: walked to -G[eneva]. No horses: ordered saddle-horse. Walked to Rossi's—gone. Went -to the gate: found him. Obliged to break off the appointment. Went to -Odier's. Met with Mr. ——, a friend of Lord Byron's father. Invited me to -his house: been a long time on the Continent. Music, ranz des vaches, -beautiful. Rode two hours; went to Mrs. S[helley]; Miss C[lairmont] -talked of a soliloquy. - -[This last phrase is not clear: does it mean that Miss Clairmont talked -_in_ a soliloquy—talked to herself, in such a way as to excite -observation?] - -_June 28._—All day at Mrs. S[helley's]. - -_June 29._—Up at 1; studied; down at Mrs. S[helley's]. - -_June 30._—Same. - -_July 1._—Went in calèche to town with Mrs. S[helley] and C[lare] for a -ride, and to mass (which we did not go to, being begun). Dined at 1. -Went to town to Rossi. Introduced to Marchese Saporati; together to Mr. -Saladin of Vaugeron, Countess Breuss, Calpnafur; and then to a party of -ladies. - -[The word which I give as Calpnafur is dubious in Charlotte Polidori's -transcript: it is evidently one of those words as to which she felt -uncertain, and she wrote it as near to Dr. Polidori's script as she -could manage. The other three names—Saporati, Saladin, and Breuss—are -not elucidated in any book I have consulted. Perhaps Saporati ought to -be Saporiti—see p. 149. There were two Saladins of some note in France -in the days of the Revolution and Empire—one of them lived on to 1832; -but I can scarcely think that this Saladin in Geneva was of the same -race. He may be the "Syndic Saladin" mentioned farther on.] - -Found Lord Byron and Shelley returned. - -_July 2._—Rain all day. In the evening to Mrs. S[helley]. - -_September 5._—Not written my Journal till now through neglect and -dissipation. Had a long explanation with S[helley] and L[ord] B[yron] -about my conduct to L[ord] B[yron]; threatened to shoot S[helley] one -day on the water. Horses been a subject of quarrel twice, Berger having -accused me of laming one. - -[Before this date, September 5, Shelley, with Mary and Miss Clairmont, -had finally left the neighbourhood of Geneva; they started on August 29 -upon their return journey to England. The statement that Polidori -"threatened to shoot Shelley one day on the water" brings us back again -to that question, of which I spoke under the date of June 4, about some -hare-brained quarrel with Shelley leading to a challenge for a duel. The -natural inference from the position which this entry occupies in -Polidori's Diary certainly is that the threat to Shelley occurred at -some date between July 2 and August 28—not at the earlier date of June -4; and so I presume it more probably did. We find also that Polidori's -conduct in relation to Byron was considered not to be correct; and this -formed the subject of "a long explanation" not only with Byron himself -but likewise with Shelley.] - -L[ord] B[yron] went to town in pursuit of thieves who came to steal the -anchors after having stolen my sail. Was refused permission to go out. I -went to the Syndic Saladin, and told him I begged his pardon for our -servants, who must have said something insulting, or else he could not -have refused permission to leave the port. Thieves attempted to break -into the house. - -An apothecary sold some bad magnesia to L[ord] B[yron]. Found it bad by -experiment of sulphuric acid colouring it red rose-colour. Servants -spoke about it. Appointed Castan to see experiment; came; impudent; -refused to go out; collared him, sent him out, broke spectacles. Laid -himself on a wall for three hours; refused to see experiments. Saw -L[ord] B[yron], told him his tale before two physicians. Brought me to -trial before five judges; had an advocate to plead. I pleaded for -myself; laughed at the advocate. Lost his cause on the plea of calumny; -made me pay 12 florins for the broken spectacles and costs. Magnesia -chiefly alumina, as proved by succenate[11] and carbonate of ammonia. - -Dined twice at Madame de Staël's; visited there also; met Madame de -Broglie and M[onsieur?]; Miss Randall; two Roccas; Schlegel; Monsignor -Brema; Dumont; Bonstetten; Madame Bottini; Madame Mongelas; young de -Staël. - -[It will be observed that Dr. Polidori, although he details these -various circumstances likely to create some soreness between Lord Byron -and himself, does not here state in express terms that the poet had -parted with him. At the end of this entry for September 5 he does, -however, give a few words to the subject, confirmatory of Lord Byron's -ensuing remarks. Byron, in a good-humoured spirit, gave a general -explanation in a letter addressed to John Murray on January 24, 1817. He -understood that Polidori was "about to return to England, to go to the -Brazils on a medical speculation with the Danish Consul" (which, -however, he did not actually do); and Byron asked Murray to get the -Doctor any letters of recommendation. Then he adds: "He understands his -profession well, and has no want of general talent: his faults are the -faults of a pardonable vanity and youth. His remaining with me was out -of the question. I have enough to do to manage my own scrapes; and, as -precepts without example are not the most gracious homilies, I thought -it better to give him his _congé_: but I know no great harm of him, and -some good. He is clever and accomplished; knows his profession, by all -accounts, well; and is honourable in his dealings, and not at all -malevolent." In March 1820 Byron made a few other observations -applicable to his intercourse with Polidori: "The sole companion of my -journey was a young physician who had to make his way in the world, and, -having seen very little of it, was naturally and laudably desirous of -seeing more society than suited my present habits or my past experience. -I therefore presented him to those gentlemen of Geneva for whom I had -letters of introduction; and, having thus seen him in a situation to -make his own way, retired for my own part entirely from society, with -the exception of one English family"—_i.e._ Shelley and his two ladies. -At times, however, Byron was less lenient to the Doctor. On June 17, -1817, he wrote to Murray: "I never was much more disgusted with any -human production than with the eternal nonsense and _tracasseries_ and -emptiness and ill-humour and vanity of that young person: but he has -some talent, and is a man of honour, and has dispositions of amendment -in which he has been aided by a little subsequent experience, and may -turn out well." - -It may be hardly needful to state that "Madame de Broglie and Monsieur" -(_i.e._ the Duc Victor de Broglie) were the daughter and son-in-law of -Madame de Staël: they were now but very recently wedded, February 20, -1816. Byron thought the youthful wife devoted to her husband, and said -"Nothing was more pleasing than to see the development of the domestic -affections in a very young woman." Of the two Roccas, one is remembered -as Madame de Staël's second husband. He was a very handsome officer of -Swiss origin. They married privately in 1811, she being then aged about -forty-five, and he twenty-two. He only survived his wife about six -months, dying in 1818. August Wilhelm von Schlegel was at this date -about forty-nine years old, celebrated as a translator of Shakespear and -Calderon, and as a scholar of extensive range. He had travelled much -with Madame de Staël, who drew on him for some of the ideas set forth in -her book _De l'Allemagne_. Monsignor Brema is a good deal mentioned -farther on: he was a son of the Marchese di Brema (or Brême), who had -been a valuable Minister of the Interior under the Napoleonic _régime_ -in Italy. Dumont, who has been previously named by Polidori as the -translator of Bentham, was also closely associated with the great -Mirabeau.] - -At Vaugeron, the Saladins, Auguste Mathould, Rossi, Jacques Naple [?], -Brelaz, Clemann, Countess Mouskinpouskin, Breuss, Abate Gatelier, -Toffettheim e figlio, Foncet, Saussure, Lord Breadalbane and family, a -ball; Saladin of Maligny, Slaneys, two balls; Dr. and Mrs. Freckton -White, Galstons (Miss etc. sisters), a ball; Lord Bingham, Lord F. -Cunningham, Lord Belgray, a ball; Mr. Tillotson St. Aubyn, Mrs. -Trevanion, Valence Meers, R. Simmons, Lloyd, Princess Jablonski, Lady -Hamilton Dalrymple, Odiers, Lord Kinnoul, Somers, Lord Glenorchy, Mr. -Evans, Coda (songstress), M. G. Lewis, Mrs. Davies, Mr. Pictet, Mr. -Hobhouse, Dr. Gardner, Caravella, Shelleys, Sir John St. Aubyn. - -[Most of these numerous names must be left to themselves: several of -them are hereafter commented, often caustically, by Polidori himself. -Saussure is not the more celebrated naturalist and traveller, Horace -Benedict, who died in 1799; but is his son, Nicolas Théodore, who -coöperated largely with the father, and produced an important book of -his own, _Recherches sur la Végétation_. Born in 1767, he lived on to -1845. Mrs. Trevanion may be supposed to have belonged to the same family -as a certain Mr. Trevanion who figured very discreditably in the history -of that Medora Leigh who was the daughter of the Honourable Mrs. Leigh -(Byron's half sister) and ostensibly of her husband, but who is now said -to have been in fact the daughter of Byron himself. Lady Hamilton -Dalrymple ought seemingly to be Lady Dalrymple Hamilton: she was a -daughter of Viscount Duncan, and wife of Sir Hew D. Hamilton. Somers is -mentioned on p. 150: this is probably the correct spelling, not (as -here) Summers. Matthew Gregory Lewis (whom I had occasion to name -before) was the author of _The Monk_, which he wrote at the early age of -nineteen, of the musical drama _The Castle Spectre_, and of other works -whose celebrity has not survived into the present day. He was now near -the end of his brief career, for he died in 1818, aged forty-two.] - -The society I have been in may be divided into three sets: the canton of -Genthoud, Coppet, and Geneva. The canton is an assemblage of a -neighbourhood of about seven or eight families, meeting alternately on -Sundays at each other's houses, and every Thursday at the Countess -Breuss's. The Countess Breuss lives at Genthoud in a villa she has -bought. She has two husbands, one in Russia, one at Venice; she acted -plays at the Hermitage under Catherine. Not being able to get a divorce, -she left Russia, went to Venice for six days, stayed as many years, -married (it is said), bought villas etc. in the Venetian's name, and -separated. Her family consists of Madame Gatelier, a humble friend, a -great lover of medicaments etc., Abate ——, her Almoner, an excellent -Brescian, great lover of religionists. A mania in the family for -building summer-houses, porticoes, and baths; neatly planned; an island -with a ditch round it; a Tower of Babel round the trunk of a chestnut; a -summer-house by the roadside of a Moorish construction. The Countess is -very good-natured, laughs where others calumniate and talk scandal with -prudish airs, kind to all. The society is extremely pleasant; generally -dancing or music. It was the birthday of Charles Saladin, who, having -been four years in Nap[oleon]'s army, knew nothing of the matter. She -asked to have the fêting of him. They acted first a charade on the -canton of Genthoud. She acted with Mr. Massey junior, with others, and -myself as a woman—the words to blind.[12] Then came a kind of farce, in -which Charles was dressed as the C. B. [Countess Breuss?], Gatelier as -the Abbé, and Miss Saladin as Gatelier: each took one another off. -Written by C. B. When at last another of the society brought a letter -announcing it to be Charles' birthday. Then they, while he was in his -amazement, sang a song to him, presented him with a bouquet and purse. -Then an elegant supper, and afterwards a ball on the arrival of Madame -Toffettheim with her son. A great party was invited; and after tea two -plays were acted—_Le Pachà de_ _Suresne_ and _Les Ricochets_. There was -an immense number of spectators. The actors were, in _Le Pachà de -Suresne_, Madame Dorsan, la Comtesse Breuss; Laure, Madlle. Brelaz; -Aglaé, Clemann; Nathalie, M.; Madlle. Remy, Madame Gatelier; Perceval, -Alexis Saladin; Flicflac, Polidori; Joseph, C. Saladin.—_Les -Ricochets_—I do not remember the characters. The actors were Alexis, -Charles, Auguste Saladin, Massey le jeune, La Comtesse Breuss, Madame -Mathilde Saladin. The rehearsals before were frequent. - -I got a discretion from the Countess, which I took in the shape of a -Swiss,[13] in consequence of a wager that I could not go straight home. - -La Toffettheim is a nice, unpretending, lady-like woman, pleasing and -affectionate. Her son full of liberty-ideas. It was here, in consequence -of Massey junior dancing extremely well, that, being defied, I danced a -pantaloon-dance, by which I made enemies; for, upon my refusing it at -the Saladins', they thought it was a personal refusal. Saladins of -Vaugeron, father and mother. Father deaf, good-natured: said to me upon -reading my thesis, "Mais, Monsieur, il n'y a pas de paradoxe." The -mother pretended to play shy on account of Madame B. - -[By Madame B. it would appear, from a statement farther on, that -Polidori means Madame Brelaz.] - -The daughter—because, the first night I saw her, knowing her by -particular introduction, I stuck to her—thought me in love, and said -so,—fool! Madame Mathilde [Saladin] pretended prude in mine and Madame -B.'s case, while she herself has got Mr. Massey junior dangling, not -unheard, after her. Charles a good boisterous soldier, at Leipzig, -Nassau, and 13 ingwen [?][14] Waterloo business. Makes up for wit by -noise, for affection by slaps on the back. On his birthday I addressed -him with (after supper)— - - "Jeune guerrier dans l'armée du premier des héros, - Dans la cause de la France dédaignant le repos, - Que la chute de vos ans soit tranquille et heureuse, - Comme fut l'aube de vos jours éclatante et glorieuse." - -[This little specimen suffices to show that Polidori had no true idea of -French versification: he was evidently unaware that a final _e_ mute -coming before a consonant counts as a syllable.] - -Auguste, a simple neat fool, despising learning because he is noble and -has enough to live upon; content to dangle, with a compliment and a -sentiment, after a woman's tail. Alexis, so so, good-naturedly ignorant -husband to Mathilde. Massey senior, active pleasant man, excellent -fencer and dancer—been secretary to Bertrand. Massey junior, confident, -impudent, insolent, ignorant puppy. Saladins of Maligny, neither good -nor bad, rich: to gain a little more, let their villa to Lord -Breadalbane, and retired to a cottage, though both old and only one ugly -vain daughter. Lord Breadalbane, an excellent, good-sensed though not -quick man: answered—when the Duke of Bedford said to him, "What would -you give to have the Breadalbane estate in Bedfordshire?"—"Why, your -Grace, I should be sorry if my estate would go in Bedfordshire." Gave a -very good ball at which I was. His son Lord Glenorchy, good, shy, not -brilliant young man. His lady not spoken to. His daughter excellent -dancer, rather haughty. Mr. Evans, a good sensible man, biassed in his -thoughts by his cassock. At the society he took up the immortality: Lord -Glenorchy gave a positive No. Saussure, Mrs., a wax talkative figure. -Mr., a would-be scientific gentleman: thought me a fool because I danced -pantaloon, and himself a wise man because he knows the names of his -father's stones. Jacquet, Madlle., got half in love with her,—no, her -8000 a year: her face and bad-singing exposures cured me. Foncet, -officer of the Piedmontese troops, jealous of him. - -Brelaz, Portuguese lady,—in love with her; I think fond of me too; -imprudent; her daughter also against me on account of it; shows it too -much publicly; very jealous; her daughters, sprightly good-looking -girls. Clemann—got half in love with her; nice daughter. The Cavalier -pleasing. Had a dispute in a public ball with her two fools. One of the -Saladins, Auguste, courts her, and she laughs; she excites love in every -young man's breast. Miss Harriet is rather too serious for her age, -pretty and well-informed in novels and romances, and rather too -sentimental. Cavalier's Marianne is a fine hoydenish creature: applies -when studying, and romps when playing. - -Madame de Staël I have dined with three times; she is better, those who -know her say, at home than abroad. She has married poor Rocca. She talks -much; would not believe me to be a physician; presented her my thesis, -which she told me she had read with pleasure. Talked about religion, and -puts down every [?] of Rocca. Ugly; good eyes. Writing on the French -Revolution; polite, affable; lectures, and tells all to L[ord] B[yron]. -Madame de Broglie, her daughter, a beautiful, dirty-skinned woman; -pleasant, soft-eyed speaker; dances well, waltzes. Schlegel, a -presumptuous literato, contradicting _à outrance_; a believer in -magnetism. Rocca, a talkative, good-natured, beautiful man, with a -desire for knowledge; the author of _Walcheren_ and _Espagne_; excellent -at naïve description. Rocca, the judge, very clever and quick, rising; -know little of him. Been seven years in the courtship of Miss Saladin; -she neither refuses nor accepts him, but keeps him in her train. Miss -Randall, sister to Mrs. Norgate. Monsignor Brema, friend of Ugo Foscolo, -enthusiastic for Italy, encomiast in all, Grand Almoner of Italy, hater -of Austrians. Dumont, a thick, heavy-thoughted body, editor of Bentham. -Bonstetten, friend of Gray. - -The first time L[ord] B[yron] went, there was Mrs. Hervey there; -talkative, sister and a great friend of the Noels; she thought proper to -faint out of the house, though her curiosity brought her back to speak -with him. - -Bonstetten told me that, upon his saying to Gray that he must be happy, -he took and read to him the criticism of Johnson, which happens to have -been written after Gray's death; he used to go in the evening to tea, -and remain all night reading the English authors with him. Gray -introduced him to society;[15] and, one of the professors having asked -him if he understood what he said, he replied he thought so, but very -diff[idently?]—"So you think so only!" Gray, hearing this, showed -B[onstetten] some passages to ask _him_, which B[onstetten] did in a -public company, complimenting him upon [his?] known knowledge; when all -the company, one after the other, began contradicting the Professor's -opinion. Then B[onstetten], turning to him, said, "You perhaps thought -_you_ understood Shakespear." Gray told him that there was none who -could _perfectly_ understand him. - -Rossi, an Italian of about thirty, pleasant, agreeable, and -good-natured, professor at Bologna, thence obliged to fly with two -others. One of his companions was beginning his lecture, when the -students called out, "No lecture, but an improvise upon the liberty of -Italy"; as he was an improvisatore. He objected, as, on account of -Murat's approach, it might be suspicious. They insisted, and the -professors at hand said, "No harm if not upon present circumstances." He -did it, and the students issued forth to join Murat; they had however -made up their minds to do so before. Rossi joined it more openly and -loudly, and was obliged to fly. He wrote a memoir to defend himself, in -which he said it was only to avoid the Roman dominion, and give it to -the Archduke; who told him that he had better write another, as Bologna -was already ceded to Pius. When he was ruined thus partially he wrote to -the father of his betrothed, to say that he must not (if he chose) think -himself bound by his promise, as he was not in the same circumstances as -when the promise was given. The father did retract. So far a man of -honour. Now how to reconcile his being with Calandion, a magistrate of -G[eneva] violent on the other side? who says he has made a good -profession to him, and at the same time professing other opinions to -others. - -Gave me a letter to Milan, and by him I have been introduced to -Saporiti, a good, enthusiastic, ignorant Italian. Talked of the English -landing 100,000 soldiers here and there, as if they were so many peas. - -Slaneys: the husband jealous of every one—Cambridge degree. When I -danced with his wife, he after, when walking with her, came up and gave -an arm too. The wife beautiful, but very simple. Galston, Miss, very -beautiful. - -"Genevan Liberal Society" is a muster of Englishmen for debate on -speculative questions. Twice there. Immortality, accomplice's evidence. -The members whom I knew were—Lord Kinnoul, a most tiresome, long-winded, -repeating, thick-headed would-be orator, Lord Conyngham. - -[The MS. gives "Cunningham," which must be a mistake. The Lord Conyngham -of this period began the year 1816 as an Earl, and ended it as a -Marquis. He was born in 1766, and lived on to 1832, and was husband of a -lady, Elizabeth Denison, whose name figures much in the gossip, not -excluding the scandal, of those years.] - -Mr. Somers, good head enough. Valence, whom I cried to hear; and, -meeting me after at Chamounix, the first thing he asked me was, "Why did -you laugh at me?" St. Aubyn, Lloyd, Slaney. - -Lloyd, of good Welsh blood, his original name Ap Griffith, rode out. We -went out visiting one day, and, in returning in his gig, he touched a -horse of a row of carts. The carter struck me upon my back with his -whip; I jumped down, and six jumped at me. I fortunately was between a -wheel and a hedge, so that they all could not reach. Lloyd, seeing this, -jumped down also; then three left me and went to him, and another untied -a piece of his wagon with which, while I defended myself from the two -(one with a whip), he struck me while fortunately my arm was striking a -blow, so that it did but just touch my face. He lifted again; I sprang -back, and with all the force of my leap struck him with my fist in his -face. His blow fell to the ground, and with his hand to his nose he -retreated. They then seized stones to throw, but we closed with them; -they could not throw above two, when we saw an English carriage we knew -coming. We called, they came, and immediately the boisterous [fellows?] -were calm. Some who tried to divide us got blows also. - -St. Aubyn, an excellent fellow, introduced me to his father at Genthoud: -is a natural son, studying for the Church. His father is a good polite -man, according to the "go" school.[16] Keeps a mistress now, though -sixty-five years: has many children by different mistresses. - -At Dr. Odier's—who is a good old, toothless, chatty, easy-believing -man—there was a society every Wednesday, where I went sometimes. They -danced, sang, ate cakes, and drank tea; English almost entirely, -changing every Wednesday.—Went to a concert of Madamigella Coda—the -theatre dirty. - -When Mr. Hobhouse and Davies arrived, we went to Chamounix. The first -day through Chesne, Annemasse, Vetra, Nangy, Contamine, Bonneville -(dinner), Cluses, Sallenches (slept). Next day by Chede in two -_char-à-bancs_, with each a guide; a fine pine-glen of the Arve, to -Chamounix. We went that evening over the Brisson, and to the source of -the Aveyron. Next day so bad we left, and returned to Sallenches, taking -the fall of Chede in our way; thence to Diodati. Mr. Scrope Davies -played against the marker at tennis: then went, taking Rushton with him. -[Rushton was one of the servants.] - -L[ord] B[yron] determined upon our parting,—not upon any quarrel, but on -account of our not suiting. Gave me £70; 50 for 3 months and 20 for -voyage. Paid away a great deal, and then thought of setting off: -determined for Italy. Madame de Staël gave me three letters. Madame -B[relaz?] wept, and most seemed sorry. - -[I suppose that most likely the "Madame B." here is Madame Brelaz, with -whom, as stated on p. 145, Polidori was "in love." Or it might perhaps -be the Comtesse de Breuss.] - -The night before I went, at Madame B[reuss?]'s, they acted _C'est le -Même_ extremely well; a Lausanne girl acting the lady very well. The -costumes also extremely good. Wished nobody good-bye: told them, though, -I was going. Set off with 47 louis, 112 naps. - -Le Valais from Schürer's book, _Description du Département du Simplon_, -1812, lent me by the Cav[aliere]. See elsewhere. - -_September 16._—Left Cologny and Lord Byron at six in the morning. -Breakfasted at Doraine, 3 leagues. Dined, Thouson, ditto. Evrein, 2. -Slept St. Gingoux, 4. Passed Meillerie. Saw Lausanne at a distance, -right through this part of Sardinian King's dominions. Read Madame -Brelaz's verses. Wept—not at them, but at the prose. - -_September 17._—Left St. Gingoux at 6. Walked to ——.[17] Took bread and -wine. Crossed to Chillon. Saw Bonivard's prison for six years; whence a -Frenchman had broken, and, passing through a window, swam to a boat. -Instruments of torture,—the pulley. Three soldiers there now: the Roman -arms already affixed. Large subterranean passes. Saw in passing the -three treed islands. The Rhone enters by two mouths, and keeps its -waters distinct for two stones' throw. - -From Chillon I went to Montreaux—breakfasted—leaving Charney on my left. -I began to mount towards the Dent de Jamanu. Before beginning to mount -Jamanu itself, one has a beautiful view, seeing only part of the lake, -bound by Meillerie, Roches, and the Rhone. Higher up the view is more -extensive, but not so beautiful—nothing being distinct; the water -looking merely as an inlet of sky, but one could see the Jura as far as -Genthoud. - -I entered a chalet, where they expressed great astonishment at my -drinking whey, which they give to their pigs only. Refused at first -money. - -Descended towards Mont Boyon. What owing to the fatigue and hardly -meeting any one, sick with grief. At Mont Boyon dined, and, finding they -would not dance, slept immediately after. - -_September 18._—Up at 4. Drank wine and bread. At 6 set off. Passed the -Château d'Ox where there was a fair. After that, hardly met a soul. -Always on the side of the mountains, each side of a river or torrent; -with torrent-beds, pine-forests, chalets, villages without a visible -soul—all at work—and ups and downs: so that this road, if I had not had -that of yesterday, I should have called the worst in the world. Passed -through Château d'Ox; Rougemont, breakfast; Zwezermann, dinner; -Gessenay; Lambeck; Reichenstein; Weissenbach; Bottingen, tea and night. -The French language leaves off at Gessenay (rather, patois), and they -begin their German: found it difficult to go on. - -_September 19._—Got up at 4-1/2. Set off from Bottingen. Went through -Obernoyle. Breakfasted at Wyssenbach: refused my money. Went to the -Doctor, who charged me a nap. Went through Erlenbach, Lauterbach, -Meiningen, to Thun. Splendid scenery; especially the first look at the -Lake by the river's mouth, and the pass into a great valley. Took -dinner, and then a warm bath. Arrived at 1 o'clock. All the houses are -of wood, the foundation only being stone: great cut ornaments between -the rows of windows: the wood, fir. Felt very miserable, especially -these two last days: only met two persons to whom I could speak—the -others all Germans. At Wyssenbach they all said grace before breakfast, -and then ate out of the same dish; remarking (as I understood them) that -I, not being a Catholic, would laugh. - -[It was a mistake to suppose that Dr. Polidori was "not a Catholic." He -was brought up as a Catholic, and never changed his religion, but may (I -suppose) have been something of a sceptic.] - -_September 20._—Got up at 6. Wrote to St. Aubyn, Brelaz, father, Vaccà, -and Zio, asking letters; to my father, to announce my parting. - -[Vaccà was a celebrated surgeon at Pisa, of whom we shall hear farther. -Zio is "my uncle"—_i.e._ Luigi Polidori, also at Pisa.] - -Bought fresh shoes and stockings; found no book-seller's shop. The man -at the post-office made a good reflection: that he was astonished so -many came to see what they who were so near never want to see, and that -he supposed that the English also leave much unseen in their own -country. - -Thun is a neat well-situated town, not large, with arcades—as apparently -all the Berne towns. Afraid all day my dog was poisoned; which grieved -me so, at seeing it vomit, that I wept. At 2 o'clock went in search of a -boat: none going immediately, I walked along the left bank of the lake -to Unterseen. The views the most beautiful I ever saw; through pines -over precipices, torrents, and sleepers [?][18] and the best-cultivated -fields I ever saw. The lake sometimes some hundred precipitous feet -below my feet; at other times quite close to its edge; boats coming from -the fair; picturesque towered villages; fine Alps on the other side, the -Jungfrau and others far off. The bottom of the lake is especially -magnificent. Lost my way, and had two little children as guides back -again. One small cascade of seven or eight fountains. - -Arrived at 7 at Unterseen: through Nilterfingen, Oberhofen, Rottingen, -Morlangen, Neuchaus, to Unterseen. Found two Englishmen at supper: sat -down with them. Very miserable all the morning. - -_September 21._—Got up at 6, having determined to go with the two to the -Grindenwald in a _char-à-banc_, on account of the state of my foot. I -went to the bridge at Interlachen to see the view coming between two -beautiful isolated crags. Going, met a man, a maréchal, who had been to -Vienna and Bohemia _en roulant_ after his apprenticeship, to see the -world—stopping a day at one place, a day at another. Returned, -breakfasted: and then, after growling at the innkeeper's wishing us to -take two horses, we went off through splendid pine-clad craggy valleys -through Zweihitschirne to Lauterbrunner; whence to the fall of the -Staubach, a bare cataract of 900 feet high, becoming vapour before it -arrives—appearing much, and ending in a little stream. The curate of -this village receives guests: there were the Prince Saxe-Gotha and -family. We lunched at the inn, and went back to Lauterbrunner after -having looked at the Jungfrau at a distance. - -Went from Zweihitschirne to the Grindenwald with the Saxe-Gotha before -us, through a more beautiful valley. Saw the glaciers come into it, with -the Eiger, Wetterhorn, and other mountains, most magnificent. Walking -about, found two girls who gave us cherries and chatted freely. Found -that mules were 18 francs a day. A party came in in the dark at 8 with -guides, hallooing and making a lively sound. Dined at 7, and talked -about mules, hoping to get return ones etc. - -_September 22._—Got up. Could not get mules under 18 francs: my foot too -bad to walk. Went with Captain Rice and others back to Interlachen. Got -into a boat rowed by two men and a boy. Went by Brientz, Calne, to the -Griesbach cascade, and then to Brientz—wilder, but not so beautiful as -the Lake of Thun. The cascade I did not mount to see on account of my -foot. At Brientz an old woman would give us her presence and -conversation till one of my companions courted the daughter. Met between -Grindenwald and Interlachen L[ord] B[yron] and Mr. H[obhouse]: we -saluted. - -_September 23._—Got up at 4. Tired of my company; and, finding the -expense more than I could afford, I went to their bedrooms to wish them -good-bye. Set off at 5-1/2; and through fine copse-wooded crags, along -the Aar, with cascades on every side, to Meyringen; where I breakfasted -with two Germans, an old and a young artist—the old, chatty. Bought a -pole. Went to see the Reichenbach, a fine cascade indeed. Thence through -the beautiful vale of Nach-im-Grunden, where for a moment I planned a -sovereignty; but, walking on, my plans faded before I arrived at -Guttannen, where I dined. - -Rode all the way to-day—horrible, only passable for men and mules: it is -the way to St. Gothard. The road is merely huge unequal masses of -granite thrown in a line not the straightest. From Guttannen the road -went through the wildest and most sublime scenery I ever read of: -vegetation less and less, so that, instead of grass, there was moss; -then nothing. Instead of trees, shrubs; then nothing—huge granite rocks -leaving hardly room for the road and river. The river's bed the most -magnificent imaginable, cut deep and narrow into the solid rock, -sinuous, and continually accompanied by cascades, and amazing bold and -high single-arched bridges. Snow covering in some parts the whole bed of -the river, and so thick and strong that even huge stones have fallen -without injuring its crust. There are only two houses between Guttannen -and the Hospital: one, a chalet wherein I entered; the other, a -cow-herd's. Arrived at 6 o'clock precisely, having walked in only 9-1/2 -hours 30 miles at least. - -[This is a little indistinct in connexion with what precedes. I suppose -that the phrase "rode all the way to-day" must be understood as meaning -"all the way up to Guttannen"; and that, after leaving Guttannen, there -were 30 miles of walking before the Hospital was reached. Yet this seems -an unreasonably heavy day's work in travelling. After "only 9-1/2" the -initial written is "m": but I presume it ought to be "h" (hours).] - -The Hospital is an old stone ugly building, consonant with the wild -scene, where the poor are lodged for nothing; others, us, [as?] an inn. - -_September 24._—On account of rain did not get up till 7. Set off across -the Grimsel, a dreary mountain with snow in every hollow—5000 feet above -the Four-canton Lake. Descended on the other side to Obergustellen, -where I breakfasted at 10. Thence through Verlican, Guesquerman, -Munster, Rexingen, Biel, Blizzen; where, out of the dead flat valley, I -began to mount, and the scenery began to increase in beauty. One bridge -especially over the Rhone, which fell between two clefts' sides, was -beautiful. Sinderwald, Viesch, pine-wood; sax (?) along the rocks, and -fine path along the mountain. Very fine, though continued hard rain, -which drenched me and hindered my seeing a great deal. To Morel, where I -went to bed, and ate a kind of dinner in bed at 7 o'clock. - -_September 25._—Up at 5; my foot, from having been obliged to walk with -the shoe down at heel, very much swelled and too painful to walk. -Breakfast. Two students from Brieg, of the Jesuits' College, came in, -who had during the vacations been beyond Constance with only two _écus -neufs_ in their pockets. It costs them ten batsches a year at College. -Impudent one: the other modest-looking, but, when I gave him six francs -because he had no more money, he asked me for more on other accounts. -The Jesuits been restored two years. - -At Brieg[19] I sent for the curate, a good old man of sixty. We -conversed together in Latin for two hours; not at all troublesome in -enquiries, but kind in answering them. The Valaisians resisted two years -against the French in 93. It was the only part of the country in which -they did so, except Unterwalden, and then it was only the peasants, and -in every village there was a French party. The cruelty of the French was -dreadful; they stuck their prisoners in a variety of ways like sheep. -One old man of eighty, who had never left his house but whom they found -eating, they strangled, and then put meat and bottles by him as if he -had died apoplectic. They fought very hard and bravely, but such was the -power of numbers united to the force of treachery that they were obliged -to yield. In 1813, after the French had quitted Brieg, they again -attempted to penetrate from Italy by the Simplon; when the Brieg, Kelor -[?], and other villagers, joined by only one company of Austrians, -surrounded them in the night, and took them prisoners. In Schwytz [?] -and Unterwalden the division was more strongly marked. In Unterwalden -(where was the scene) the men [?] divided and fought against each other, -some joining the French from Stanz [?] to Engelberg. They were for -freedom, and fought as the cause deserved. They killed 5000 French, more -than double their own number; women fought; they were in all 2100 Swiss. -One maid in the ranks, when her comrades were obliged to retreat, seeing -a cannon yet unfired, went with a rope-end and fired it, killing thirty -[?] French. She was taken; a pardon was offered. She said, "I do not -acknowledge any pardon; my action is not pardonable; a thief [one?] -pardons, not a just man." They killed her with swords. The hundred men -who came from the higher part of Schwytz, attempting to go to their -relief, were through their own countrymen forced to cut their way and -march by night; and, when in retreating they came to the other shore of -Lucerne Lake, they had again to cut through their own countrymen to -arrive at their homes, they refusing them permission to pass. The -Austrians, for the help the higher Valaisians gave them, from sovereigns -have made them subjects to the lower Valaisians. The curate came in -again, with a description of the Simplon; sat an hour and a half, then -left the book. When [he was] not here I have written the part of my -Journal I missed at the time, and the extract from his book. He came in -again about 6 with a basket of prunes for me, and offered to go with me -half-way, as he had to go to a church on the way. - -_September 26._—Got up at 5. The curate came, and, my foot being better, -I set off. He showed me the bridge over the Massa where was a battle, -and the ruins of a tyrant's tower. We came to his church, where he -showed me the miraculous figure that was found in the Rhone. He told me -the lower Valaisians were ready to join the French in '13, and that, in -spite of this, they [the Austrians?] had given them a majority of -voices. Left me in sight of Brieg, telling me he hoped to see me again -in heaven. I walked on to Brieg; breakfasted, and then set off along the -Simplon, a magnificent road indeed. It is cut in many places through the -rocks, in others built up to its side. It has caverns and bridges always -wide enough for four carriages; it ascends all the way to the new -Hospice, and again descends from it. At its side are houses of refuge -(as they are called) where many are kept by government, with privilege -of selling food to help the passers-by. There is in each a room with a -bed where one can go in case of rain, accident, etc.; and, when the time -for avalanches etc., these men are obliged to accompany the travellers -from house to house. Just where the rising ends the new Hospital was to -have been erected, and is half done, but stopped now. A little farther -on is the old one; whither I went, and got a dinner in the cell of one -of the monks; bread, wine, cold meat, and nuts. He seemed very _ennuyé_; -his words slowly fell; said they were St. Augustines, not St. -Bernardites. That St. Bernard was a mere reformer of the order. They -have been here since 1810 only, in an old castle for which they pay £20 -a year. The Simplon was a department of France, and rather well off on -account of the quantity of work and money, and not having the _droits_ -revenues. The Archduke Regnier was there a few days ago incog., and they -did not recognize him—which mortified them very much. It is six leagues -hither from Brieg, so that I had walked twenty-six miles. - -I set off at 2: passed through Sempeln[?], and through the most -magnificent scenery, through the granite galleries. The Italian part is -by far the most difficult and splendid. The first boy that I met before -coming to Isella, in answer to a question in German, answered "Non -capisco";[20] I could have hugged. I arrived after much difficulty at -Isella, knocked up. I was ruined in my feet, and it was not till near -here that the carriages which parted in the morning from Brieg overtook -me. Went to bed immediately in a room where the grease might be scraped -from the floor. - -_September 27._—Did not get up till 1 on account of fatigue. Breakfasted -most miserably, everything being bad; and then set off, but immensely -slowly till a cart overtook me. Entered; lay upon the logs of wood and -hay, and was driven to Domo d'Ossola. Is it imagination only that I find -the sky finer, the country where cultivated extremely rich, -green-looking? The dress of the women picturesque, blue with red stripes -here and there; the men more acute and quicker-eyed. Arrived at Domo -d'Ossola at 3; got into a clean though poor inn, and dined well. A -gendarme came in to ask how it was that my passport had not been viséd -yet; and then, seeing I was a physician, requested a cure for his -toothache. It is useless to describe the picturesque: the best page to -turn to for it is the memory. After one of the most comfortable -fireside-evenings I have had since I left Geneva I went to bed at 7-1/2. - -_September 28._—Set off at 6 o'clock through vine-country, with little -hills here and there starting out of the low Alps, highly cultivated, -with beautiful little white villas at their tops and sides. Asked a -woman what was a house whereon was painted a Democritus, Diogenes, etc. -Answered, "È roba antica"[21]—though evidently modern, but deserted. -Indeed, the whole of the houses seem too large for the inhabitants—much -falling to ruin. From Domo d'Ossola went to Vella; to Vagagna, where I -breakfasted and saw the first good-looking Italian girl. The children -are pretty, the women quite otherwise. There began to suffer from my -feet so much as that to go about six more miles took me five hours. No -car passed me, or anything. - -I arrived at last at Ornavasco. Could get no car, though they kept me -half-an-hour in the yard standing, in hopes of getting one. At last -agreed with a man that he should set off at 4 o'clock to-morrow to -Fariolo for 4 francs. Looked at a bedroom: shrugged up my shoulders, but -forced. Dinner: no meat, because "meagre." Ate the fruit. The Italian -grapes, nectarines, peaches, and pears, I got yesterday, excellent. Two -bunches of grapes half-a-franc: two at dinner. - -_Sunday, September 29._—Up at 5. Got into the char, or rather cart. -Passed through Gravellino to Fariolo. Asked 10 francs to take me to -Laveno: offered 4—accepted. Got into the boat. Rowed towards Isola -Madre; passed Isola Pescatori; and landed on Isola Bella. - -Went over the palace. Many of the floors miserable on account of their -being the mere rock. Some good pictures. A whole set of rooms below in -the style of grottoes, with windows looking on to beautiful views, close -to the lake for _il fresco_. Looked at the terrace: not pleasing the -style: and, thinking I should see it all in going round, did not go over -the gardens. Went round the island in the boat; magnificently paved, -like terrace on terrace. - -Thence towards Laveno, intending to go to Lugano and Como; but, hearing -that I could go all the way by water to Milan, I preferred this, and -accordingly turned round towards Belgirato. Breakfasted on _caffè al -latte_, _uve_, _and fichi_,[22] 4-1/2 francs. Boatman proposed my -joining a party to Sestri-Calende, which I did. Arona, with the -colossus, on my left, Anghera on my right; Monte Rosa; all the bottom -part of the lake richly magnificent. - -[The colossus is the celebrated gigantic statue of San Carlo Borromeo.] - -Arrived at an inn—taken for a servant. After some time things got round, -when in came two soldiers with swords by their sides, to desire me to -step to the police-inspector. I did, and found he could not read the -writing in my passport. The boatman came soon after, offering me a plan -for to-morrow for five francs, and showing me twelve naps. they got for -the boat—which cost only seventy francs. Agreed. - -_September 30._—Up at 5. Off at 6 in a large barge, with yesterday's -English party and two carriages, by the Tessino and canal to Milan: at -first through a fine hilly country, and rapidly by the Tessino flood. -After, slower, and through a flat plain with trees and neat villas and -hanging grapes, to Milan. Slept out of the town by the canal. - -_October 1._—Up at 7. - -[Polidori blunderingly calls this "September 31": he also calls the day -a Monday, but October 1, 1816, was a Tuesday. For the next following day -he rightly writes "October 2."] - -The boatman came as I had desired, to guide me. Entered Milan by a fine -gate with a kind of triumphal arch. The streets are clean but -narrow—fine houses. There are two strips of pavement for wheels, and -often two for pedestrians. Passed by Santa Maria—fine, all white marble, -with many fine statues on the outside. Many palaces. A bad taste shown -in plastering the columns and corner-stones of a lighter colour than the -body. - -Got a letter from Brelaz; well written in composition and in letters, -but badly spelled. Got my trunk, after some difficulty, passed. The -diligence-keepers asked if they could direct me to rooms: showed two -where a man was at that moment going. Got them for 40 lire il mese; a -bedroom and sitting-room, second storey, Contrado San Spirito. Sent to -the custom-house. Made the men wait—sent them away for two hours, again -away for one. More stoppages, and, in centimes, 3 francs to pay. They -would not at first let it (the trunk) go because it was the last day of -the month. - -[Did they share Polidori's blunder that the day was September 31?] - -Went to dine at a restaurateur's: 1-1/2-franc dinner. Afterwards put my -things into a little order, dressed, and went strolling towards Teatro -della Scala. Entered, two hours before beginning, alone. Immense -theatre: six rows of boxes, with, I think, thirty-six in a row. _La -Testa di Bronzo_, a ballet, and a comic ballet: the ballet the most -magnificent thing I ever saw—splendid indeed. - -_October 2._—Got up at 8. Breakfasted on grapes, bread and butter, wine, -and figs. Wrote to Lord Byron. Dressed. Went to Marchese Lapone—out of -town; Monsignor Brema—not at home. Walked about looking at booksellers' -shops. Entered the Duomo—invisible almost, so black and dark. They were -putting up drapery for Friday, which is the Emperor's birthday (probably -the same as for Napoleon). Returned home, arranged my papers. Took a -walk on the Corso; then to the Teatro Rè. The same price for all the -places. The piece _Il Sogno di Ariosto_ [Dream of Ariosto], where -Fortune, Merit, Orgoglio, with Mrs. Disinganno,[23] were all -personified. The dialogue abounded in truths, especially regarding -women, which they applauded. The theatre is very small, like the -Haymarket. Home to bed. - -_October 3._—Up at 8. Went to a circulating library: read Denina, -_Vicende_, all the part on Italy and preface. To the Teatro Scelto di -Milano. Enquired about Andricini etc. for my father—not found. - -["Andricini" is clearly written in the transcript before me. I am not -aware that there is any such Italian author as Andricini, and apprehend -that the name ought to be Andreini. This author wrote, early in the -seventeenth century, a dramatic poem entitled _Adamo_, which was -indisputably present to Milton's mind when he was writing _Paradise -Lost_. Dr. Polidori's father, who translated Milton, was probably -interested in this work of Andreini.] - -Went to the Teatro Rè;[24] a play of English people in which they kiss -the hand, and make more bows than were ever made in a century in -England. There were German soldiers in English uniforms present. Home, -to bed. - -_October 4._—Up at 8—breakfasted. Went to call on Monsignore Brême—found -him. Received me with two kisses and great apparent joy. About to learn -English: I promised my help. Walked with me, and invited me to his box. - -[Lord Byron, in two of his letters, October and November 1816, remarks -regarding Milan: "The society is very oddly carried on—at the theatre, -and the theatre only, which answers to our opera. People meet there as -at a rout, but in very small circles.... They have private boxes, where -they play at cards, or talk, or anything else; but, except at the -cassino, there are no open houses or balls etc. etc."] - -Left him—came home. Read Denina's _Ultime Vicende_, a poor book. Went to -Guyler. Met Caravella—walked with him. Went to dine: where I met his -brother, who told me the physician at Florence was dead, and promised to -come and take me to the hospital. Met after dinner Abate Berlezi the -Crabule.[25] Came home. Read the _Calandra_ of Bibiena, and _Sofonisba_ -of Trissino. Took an ice, and went to La Scala. Feast of St. Francis, -the Emperor's. When the Dukes went this morning to mass at the Duomo not -a hat moved, not a voice of applause: however, when Regnier entered, -there was a slight clapping of hands. The theatre was lighted up like an -English one, and was magnificent, but showed what the Italians -allege—that the scene does not improve by it, but the contrary. - -In Brema's loge there were Monti, Brema's brother, and others. Monti a -short man, round face, quick eye; pleasant in conversation, not haughty, -modest, unassuming; seemed to take great pleasure in parts of the music -and in the dancing. - -[It will be understood that this is the celebrated Vincenzo Monti, the -poet who was at one time acclaimed as the legitimate successor of Dante -in virtue of his poem _La Basvigliana_, upon a personage of the French -Revolution. In 1816 Monti was sixty-two years of age: he died in 1828. -Though sufficiently Italian in his tone of mind and sentiment, he was -not a consistent Italian patriot, but was eminently susceptible of -inflation by a series of conflicting winds—anti-revolution, revolution, -Napoleonism, and even Austrianism. Not indeed that he was sordidly -self-interested in his various gyrations. As Dr. Richard Garnett has -said: "He was no interpreter of his age, but a faithful mirror of its -successive phases, and endowed with the rare gift of sublimity to a -degree scarcely equalled by any contemporary except Goethe, Byron, and -Shelley."] - -Brema related that a friend of his, Porro, asked for a passport to Rome: -refused, and asked for documents to prove his business. Gave what proved -he had business at Maurata and relatives at Rome. Refused. Went to -Swarrow, who told him he could not give it. Porro said: "Why do the -Austrians think the Italians are always making conspiracies?" Swarrow -said that they did not know, but, now that they had the upper hand, they -cared not; and at last that, if Porro would give his word of honour not -to visit any of the foreign embassies, he should have a passport. He had -it. Porro was not a revolutionist but had always been against Napoleon, -and had belonged to a legislative body by him dissolved on account of -obstinacy. Brema and others accompanied me as far as the door, and I -went to bed. - -[It appears in the sequel that there were two Austrian governors in -Milan at this period—Swarrow and Bubna—one for civil and the other for -military affairs.] - -From that day I neglected my Journal till this day, - -_December 8._—My residence at Milan lasted till October 30. During that -time I had a most happy and pleasant life, Monsignor de Brême taking -great friendship for me. My friends and acquaintance were Brême, -Borsieri, Guasco, Cavalier Brême, Beyle, Negri, Byron, Hobhouse, Finch, -Caravellas, Locatelli, Monti, Monti's son-in-law, Lord Cowper, Lord -Jersey, etc.; Lloyd, Lee, Wotheron. - -[Beyle was the great romance-writer best known as De Stendhal. In 1816 -he was aged thirty-three, and had published only one book, entitled -_Lettres écrites de Vienne sur Haydn, suivies d'une Vie de Mozart, etc._ -He had seen some service under Napoleon, in Russia and elsewhere. His -passionate admiration of the now dethroned Emperor induced him to retire -from France towards 1814, and he resided in Milan up to 1821. He died in -Paris in 1842.—Hobhouse had rejoined Byron in mid-September, and they -had continued together since then.—Colonel Finch was the person through -whom Shelley, in 1821, heard of the death of John Keats.—The Lord Cowper -living in 1816 was the fifth Earl, born in 1778, and was married to a -daughter of the first Viscount Melbourne.—The Earl of Jersey, born in -1773, was married to a daughter of the Earl of Westmorland.—Mr. Wotheron -is spoken of later on under the name "Werthern." Neither of these -surnames has a very English aspect, and I cannot say which is correct.] - -De Brême and I became very intimate, and I believe he is really a good -friend. In the morning at 10 o'clock I went to him to help him in -English, and towards the end he corrected my Italian translation of -_Count Orlando_.[26] We afterwards met at his box every night in the -theatre of La Scala. He gave a dinner to Lord Byron, at which were a -good many or rather all my acquaintances—Monti, Finch, Hobhouse, two -Brêmes, Borsieri, Guasco (translator of Sophocles), Negri (author of -_Francesca of Rimini_, a play). The dinner was very elegant, and we were -very merry, talking chiefly of literature, Castlereagh, Burghersh, etc. -We got up immediately after dinner, and went to coffee; thence most to -the theatre. De Brême was Vicar Almoner under the French Government. A -priest came to him to ask leave to confess; Brême, knowing the subject, -refused. The Princess was put to move Beauharnais, who sent for Brême -and in a very angry mood asked him why he had refused leave. B[rême] -said that, as he was placed to give leave, he imagined it was that it -might not be granted indiscriminately, that he could not in his -conscience give it, but that he was not the chief, and the Almoner, -being applied to, might grant it. B[eauharnais] asked why, saying that -the Princess wished it, and it must be done. De B[rême] said he had -undertaken the office under the idea that his conscience was to be his -guide; if not, the office should be immediately vacant; that he put it -to Beauharnais himself whether a man who was buried in the vilest -dissoluteness was a proper person to be entrusted with the care of young -women's minds. Beauharnais said, "Right, right; you shall hear no more -of it." This, and another occasion of the same nature, were the only -occasions in which he saw Beauharnais privately; he avoided the court, -and did not seek preferment. He twice under that government refused a -bishopric, and under the new government; giving me as a reason that it -went against his conscience to inculcate what he did not believe, and to -add power to those who gave them, as he would be expected to side with -them. He is violently for the independence of Italy. Christianity he -believes not, and gives (I think) a new argument why we should not be -holden to believe it. Saul, who was contemporary, who beheld the -miracles etc., did not believe till a miracle was operated upon _him_; -we at this distance cannot believe with greater facility. He has -published an eulogium of Caluro, _Ingiustizia del Giudizio, etc._, -poems, etc. Has written several tragedies; _Ina_ made me weep like a -child. He is warm in his affections, and has never recovered the death -of one he loved—a young noble lady, of great accomplishments and beauty. -His friendship for me was warm: it gratifies me more than any -attentions, friendship, or any relation I had before, with my -fellow-companions. I cannot express what I feel for him. When parting -from him, I wept like a child in his arms. He maintains from principle, -not from belief, all the hardships imposed upon him by his tonsure. He -would have the world to see that his belief is not swayed by a wish to -escape from the bonds of the clerical state. He is charitable, giving -away great sums of money in charity; eats only once a day, and studies -all day till the hour of the theatre; kind to all who are recommended to -him; sacrificing whole days to show them what he has seen a thousand -times; a great admirer of English women; has an excellent library, of -which I had the use. A great friend of comic, good-natured mimicry. Has -an idea of writing _Ida_, a novel containing a picture of the most -promising movements of the Milan revolution, and I have promised to -translate it. He has two brothers; his father lives yet; his eldest -brother is Ambassador at Munich. The youngest is Cavalier Brême—been -officer in Spain; extremely pleasant and affectionate with me. Brême was -a great friend of Caluro's, and to him Caluro dedicated one of his -opuscules. - -Borsieri, a man of great mental digestive power and memory, -superficially read; author of _Il Giorno_, a work written with great -grace and lightness. He was very intimate with me, Guasco, and Brême. -Guasco, a Piedmontese; little reading, but great mental vision and -talents. He also was one who attached himself a good deal to me. De -Beyle, formerly Intendant des Marchés (I think) to Buonaparte, and his -secretary when in the country. A fat lascivious man. A great deal of -anecdote about Buonaparte: calls him an _inimitable et bon despote_. He -related many anecdotes—I don't remember them: amongst other things, he -said Buonaparte despised the Italians much. - -[This last detail is confirmed in Beyle's _Reminiscences of Napoleon_, -published not long ago.] - -These four were the usual attendants at De Brême's box. - -Monti is a short, roundish, quick-eyed, and rather rascally-faced man, -affable, easily fired; talks rather nonsense when off poetry, and even -upon that not good. Great imagination; very weak. Republican always in -conversation with us; but in the first month, after having declaimed -strongly in B[rême']s box about liberty and Germans, just as they were -going out he said, "But now let us talk no more of this, on account of -my pension." Under the French government he gained a great deal by his -various offices; by this one he has been abridged of half. He translated -the _Iliad_ of Homer without knowing a word of Greek; he had it -translated by his friends, word for word written under the Greek. Easily -influenced by the opinions of others; in fact, a complete weathercock. -He married the daughter of Pickler, the engraver; a fine woman, and they -say an exceedingly good reciter, as he is himself. She has acted in his -plays upon the Philodramatic stage. His daughter is married. - -Negri—Marchese Negri[27]—a Genoese, not an improvisatore—very chatty; -has at Genoa a most beautiful garden which all the English visit. -Related to me Gianni's beginning. Gianni was an apprentice to a -stay-maker, when one day an Abate, going into the shop, found him busily -engaged in reading. Looking at the book, he asked him if he understood -it. He said yes, and, on reading, showed it by his expression. The -Abate, who was an improvisatore, asked him to see him next morning; when -he improvised before him, and observed that the young Gianni seemed as -if his mind was full and wished to give forth. He had him sent to -school, and introduced him. Gianni in the Revolution, taking the Liberal -side, was obliged to leave Rome, and, going to Genoa, Negri heard by -letter of it, and went to seek him, inviting him to dine with him. He -refused; and Negri, who had promised his friends that he would be of the -party, at the hour of dinner went and found him with his nightcap on, -deeply reading his favourite Dante; and in a manner dragged him by force -to his house, where Gianni pleased much—and stayed a year at Negri's -house, teaching him the art of improvisation. Gianni's improvisations -were (many) improvised on the spot by an Abate into Latin verse.—Negri -came to Brême's box several times, and had the effect of making all -except Brême burst with laughter: me he sent to sleep. - -Lord Byron came to Milan, and I saw him there a good deal. He received -me kindly, and corrected the English of my essay in _The -Pamphleteer_.[28] He visited a good deal Brême's box. Mr. Hobhouse was -with him. - -Colonel Finch, an extremely pleasant, good-natured, well-informed, -clever gentleman; spoke Italian extremely well, and was very well read -in Italian literature. A ward of his gave a masquerade in London upon -her[29] coming of age. She gave to each a character in the reign of -Queen Elizabeth to support, without the knowledge of each other, and -received them in a saloon in proper style as Queen Elizabeth. He -mentioned to me that Nelli had written a Life of Galileo extremely fair, -which, if he had money by him, he would buy that it might be -published,—in Italy they dare not; and that Galileo's MSS. were in -dispute, so that the heirs will not part with them; they contain some -new and some various readings. Finch is a great admirer of architecture -and Italy.—Wotheron, Mr., a gentleman most peaceable and quiet I ever -saw, accompanying Finch; whose only occupation is, when he arrives at a -town or other place, to set about sketching and then colouring, so that -he has perhaps the most complete collection of sketches of his tour -possible. He invited me (taking me for an Italian), in case I went to -England, to see him; and, hearing I was English, he pressed me much -more.—Locatelli was the physician of the hospital, a good unimpostoring -physician. I saw under him a case of pemphizus, and had under my care an -hysterical woman. - -Jersey, Lady, promised to enquire of her mother, Lady Westmorland, if -she would employ me as her physician; but said she thought my having -been with Lord B[yron] a great objection. - -[I have an impression, not a secure one, that Dr. Polidori did act to -some extent as Lady Westmorland's medical adviser. It would here appear -that her Ladyship was not very partial to Byron; and Byron must have -repaid her dislike, for I find, in a letter of his to Murray, November -1817, that Polidori was in the way of receiving "the patronage of -Frederic North, the most illustrious humbug of his age and country, and -the blessing of Lady Westmorland, William Ward's mad woman." Joseph -Severn the painter (Keats's friend), who saw a good deal of Lady -Westmorland at one time, terms her "this impulsive, arrogant, -dictatorial, but witty and brilliant woman."] - -Lloyd;—as I was moving in the pit, found him, and never saw a person so -glad in my life. He offered me half of the money he had at his banker's, -as he thought I must be much embarrassed. Told me Brelaz and Bertolini -seemed to be together, and that the man seemed worked off his legs. - -My life at Milan was very methodical. I got up, went to the hospital, -breakfasted, came home, studied, dined, and then at 7 went to the -theatre. Between breakfast and study went to de Brême to help him in -English. It was proposed too, by him, to teach English, which I had -intended to do. - -I saw only the dome under which is the chapel of St. Borromeo—very rich -in silver, crystal, and jewels. The body is vested in pontificals, and -quite dry. The orbits seem only filled with a little heap of black dirt, -and the skull etc. is black. There is here the gnometer of Cassini. They -preserve here a nail of the cross of Christ.—St. Ambrose, the ancient -Cathedral. It was at the gates of this that Theodosius was refused -entrance.—The Brera library; and the Ambrosian, where I saw the Virgil -with marginal notes of Petrarch; some of the pieces of MSS. of the -Plautus and Terence, fragments edited by Mai.—Some of the paintings -there are beautiful. The Milanese Raphael has some heads expressing such -mild heavenly meekness as is scarcely imagined. - -[This Raphael is, as many readers will know, the _Sposalizio_, or -Espousal of the Virgin Mary and Joseph. Being an early work by the -master, it exhibits, in its "mild heavenly meekness," more of the style -of Perugino than of that which became distinctive of Raphael in his -maturity.] - -When at Milan, I spent almost all my money in books, buying nearly 300 -volumes, not being able to resist that thirst for printed sheets, many -of which I never shall read. - -Swarrow, the Governor of Milan, when the Emperor was there, accompanying -him to the theatre, saw that one poor man in the pit, leaning against a -box, had dared to keep his hat on. Violently enraged, he enters the box, -without leave or saying a word; and, leaning over the box with all his -orders dangling at his breast, applies two hearty slaps to the poor -man's cheeks, and then, rising majestically, leaves the box, and goes to -receive the despot's smile. This making a great hubbub, and exciting a -great deal of ridicule against the noble police-officer, he insisted -with the police-director that not a word more should be allowed to be -said. - -When at Milan, there came Sgricci, a Tuscan, under the patronage of -Monti, who puffed him most egregiously, especially his tragic -_improvisati_. I accompanied de Brême to Casa Crivelli, where I saw -Swarrow and a cardinal; a dried-up ganache[?] with a face of malice that -had dried up with the features of the face, but still remained sketched -there in pretty forcible lines. The improvisator entered; yellow boots -with trousers, blue coat, and a Flemish collar to his shirt. He began -_The Loves of Psyche and Cupid_; commonplace, unpoetic rhymes. -_Coriolanus_, a tragedy; such an abominable opiate that, in spite of my -pinching myself and Cavalier Brême rousing me every minute, I found -myself, when ended, roused by the applause from a pleasant nap. Heard -him again at the theatre; terza rima; _The Grief of Mausolea_.[30] The -only bearable parts were those about Aurora, night, etc., which he had -beforehand prepared, to clap-in at convenience, from the _Gradus ad -Parnassum_. The tragedy being drawn out, first came _The Death of -Socrates_. He came forward, saying that, this subject being -undramatizable, he would, if the public insisted, attempt it, but that -he had rather another might be drawn. _Montezuma_ came out. "Oh," says -he, "this will touch your passions too much, and offend many probably -personally." The public here stoutly hissed, and insisted he should -proceed; he as stoutly called on the boy to draw, which he did, and, -there coming forth _Eteocles and Polynices_, he was satisfied, making -_olla podrida scenica_ of French ragouts, Italian minestras, and Greek -black soup. It was reported that Monti's taking him up was by the -persuasion of his daughter. An epigram was written upon Sgricci, as -follows nearly— - - "In questi tempi senza onore e merto - Lavora Sgricci in vano, ha un altro il serto." - -[The translation of this couplet is—"In these times without honour and -merit Sgricci labours in vain—another man wears the wreath." It will be -seen that the epigram, if such it can be considered, runs in favour of -Sgricci. He was a native of Arezzo, and, as our text shows, a renowned -improvisatore. I happen to possess a printed tragedy of his, _Ettore_, -which is notified as having been improvised in the Teatro Carignano, -Turin, on June 13, 1823. Shelley in January 1821 attended one of -Sgricci's improvisations, and was deeply impressed by it as a wonderful -effort, and even, considered in itself, a fine poetic success. In 1869, -being entrusted with some MS. books by Shelley through the courtesy of -his son the late Baronet, I read a tribute of some length which the -great English poet had paid to the Italian improvisatore: it has not yet -been published, and is included, I suppose, among the Shelley MSS. -bequeathed to the Bodleian Library. The subject on which Shelley heard -Sgricci improvise was Hector (Ettore). One rather suspects that the -_Ettore_ improvised in 1823 may have been partly reminiscent of its -predecessor in 1821. The portrait of Sgricci, a man of some thirty-five -years of age, appears in the book which I possess: it shows a costume of -the fancy-kind that Polidori speaks of. I have looked through the -tragedy, and do not concur in the tone of ridicule in which Polidori -indulges. An improvise can only be criticized as an improvise, and this -appears to me a very fair specimen.—As I have had occasion here to -re-mention Shelley, I may as well add that Medwin (_Life of Shelley_, -vol. i, p. 250), says that the poet had no animosity against Polidori, -consequent upon any past collisions: "Shelley I have often heard speak -of Polidori, but without any feeling of ill-will."] - -Going one evening with L[ord] B[yron] and Mr. H[obhouse] to B[rême]'s -box, Mr. Hobhouse, Borsieri, and myself, went into the pit, standing to -look at the ballet. An officer in a great-coat came and placed himself -completely before me with his grenadier's hat on. I remarked it to my -companions: "Guarda a colui colla sua berretta in testa" (I believe -those were my words), waiting a few minutes to see if he would move. I -touched him, and said, "Vorrebbe farmi la grazia di levarsi il cappello -purch'io vegga?" He turning said "Lo vorreste?" with a smile of insult. -I answered: "Sì, lo voglio."[31] He then asked me if I would go out with -him. I, thinking he meant for a duel, said, "Yes, with pleasure"; and -called Mr. Hobhouse to accompany me. He did. When passing by the -guard-house he said, "Go in, go in there"; I said I would not, that it -was not there I thought of going with him. Then he swore in German, and -drew half his sabre with a threatening look, but Hobhouse held his hand. -The police on guard came, and he delivered me to their custody. I -entered the guard-house, and he began declaiming about the insult to one -like him. I said I was his equal, and, being in the theatre, to any one -there. "Equal to me?" he retorted; "you are not equal to the last of the -Austrian soldiers in the house"; and then began abusing me in all the -Billingsgate German he was master of—which I did not know till -afterwards. In the meanwhile the news had spread in the theatre, and -reached de Brême and L[ord] Byron, who came running down, and tried to -get me away, but could not on any plea. De Brême heard the secretary of -police say to the officer: "Don't you meddle with this, leave it to me." -De Brême said he would go to Bubna immediately, and get an order for my -dismission; on which the officer took Lord Byron's card, as bail that I -would appear to answer for my conduct on the morrow. Then I was -released. - -Next morning I received a printed order from the police to attend. As -soon as I saw the order I went to De Brême, who accompanied me to the -gate. I entered. - -"Where do you wish your passport viséd for?" - -"I am not thinking of going." - -"You must be off in four-and-twenty hours for Florence." - -"But I wish for more time." - -"You must be off in that time, or you will have something disagreeable -happen to you." - -Brême, upon hearing this, immediately set off to Bubna, and I to Lord -Byron, who sent Mr. Hobhouse in company of Colonel McSomething to -Swarrow to ask that I might not be obliged to go. They went. Swarrow -received them with a pen in his hand; said it was a bagatelle; that the -Secretary of Police had been there in the morning, and that he had told -him of it. That it was nothing, that I should find myself as well off in -any other city as there, and that, if I stayed, something worse might -happen. Hobhouse tried to speak. S[warrow] advanced a foot; "Give my -compliments to Lord Byron; am sorry I was not at home when he called." -"But if this is so mere a trifle ..."—"I hope Lord Byron is well"; -advancing another foot, and then little by little got them so near the -door that they saw it was useless, and left him. De Brême in the -meanwhile had been to Bubna. Bubna received him very politely, and said -he had already seen Colonel M., who had explained to him the whole; and -that for the mistake of speaking to the officer on guard he thought it -enough that I had been put under arrest. "I am much obliged to you, and -am glad then that my friend will not have to leave Milan." "What do you -mean?" Brême explained. "It is impossible, there must be some mistake, -for I have had no memorial of it. I will see Swarrow this evening about -it." De Brême mentioned with what idea I had left the theatre. Bubna -said that German soldiers had one prejudice less; and at the theatre in -the evening I heard many instances of the officers of the Austrian Army -acting meanly in this respect. Amongst others, Bubna's son, being -challenged for insulting a lady at a public ball, accepted the -challenge, but said there were several things he had to settle first, -and that he would appoint a day for the following week. He left Milan -the Saturday before. A young Italian had a dispute with a Hussar -officer, and challenged him, for which he was brought before the police -and reprimanded. Some days after, the officer, standing at a coffee-room -door, asked him if he wished to settle the affair with him. He said yes, -and they immediately entered. The officer spoke to several of his -companions in the room, and they all struck the young man, and pushed -him out. He could get no redress. - -[This affair of Dr. Polidori's shindy in the theatre excited some -remark. His feelings in favour of Italy and Italians were keen, as he -was himself half Italian by blood; and he was evidently not disinclined -to pick a quarrel with an Austrian military man. He was indiscreet, and -indeed wrong, in asking an Austrian officer on guard to take off his -cap; and, although he addressed the officer at first in courteous terms, -his expression "Lo voglio" was not to be brooked even by a civilian. -Lord Byron mentioned the matter in a letter to his sister, November 6, -1816, as follows: "Dr. Polidori, whom I parted with before I left Geneva -(not for any great harm, but because he was always in squabbles, and had -no sort of conduct), contrived at Milan, which he reached before me, to -get into a quarrel with an Austrian, and to be ordered out of the city -by the Government. I did not even see his adventure, nor had anything to -do with it, except getting him out of arrest, and trying to get him -altogether out of the scrape." And on the same day to Thomas Moore. "On -arriving at Milan I found this gentleman in very good society, where he -prospered for some weeks; but at length, in the theatre, he quarrelled -with an Austrian officer, and was sent out by the Government in -twenty-four hours. I could not prevent his being sent off; which, -indeed, he partly deserved, being quite in the wrong, and having begun a -row for row's sake. He is not a bad fellow, but young and hot-headed, -and more likely to incur diseases than to cure them." Beyle likewise has -left an account of the affair, translated thus. "One evening, in the -middle of a philosophical argument on the principle of utility, Silvio -Pellico, a delightful poet, came in breathless haste to apprise Lord -Byron that his friend and physician Polidori had been arrested. We -instantly ran to the guard-house. It turned out that Polidori had -fancied himself incommoded in the pit by the fur cap of the officer on -guard, and had requested him to take it off, alleging that it impeded -his view of the stage. The poet Monti had accompanied us, and, to the -number of fifteen or twenty, we surrounded the prisoner. Every one spoke -at once. Polidori was beside himself with passion, and his face red as a -burning coal. Byron, though he too was in a violent rage, was on the -contrary pale as ashes. His patrician blood boiled as he reflected on -the slight consideration in which he was held. The Austrian officer ran -from the guard-house to call his men, who seized their arms that had -been piled on the outside. Monti's idea was excellent: 'Sortiamo -tutti—restino solamente i titolati' (Let us all go out—only the men of -title to remain). De Brême remained, with the Marquis di Sartirana, his -brother, Count Confalonieri, and Lord Byron. These gentlemen having -written their names and titles, the list was handed to the officer on -guard, who instantly forgot the insult offered to his fur cap, and -allowed Polidori to leave the guard-house. In the evening, however, the -Doctor received an order to quit Milan within twenty-four hours. Foaming -with rage, he swore that he would one day return and bestow manual -castigation on the Governor who had treated him with so little -respect."—One other observation of Beyle, regarding Polidori and Byron, -may be introduced here. "Polidori informed us that Byron often composed -a hundred verses in the course of the morning. On his return from the -theatre in the evening, still under the charm of the music to which he -had listened, he would take up his papers, and reduce his hundred verses -to five-and-twenty or thirty. He often sat up all night in the ardour of -composition."—As Polidori's passport is prominently mentioned at this -point of the Diary, I may add a few particulars about it. It was granted -on April 17, 1816, by the Conte Ambrogio Cesare San Martino d'Aglia, -Minister of the King of Sardinia in London; and it authorized Polidori -to travel in Italy—no mention being made of Switzerland, nor yet of Lord -Byron. The latest visa on the passport is at Pisa, for going to -Florence. This is signed "Il Governatore, Viviani," whom we may safely -assume to have been a relative of Shelley's Emilia. The date of this -final visa is February 17, 1817.] - -_October 30._—Got up early next morning, packed up my books and things; -then went to seek for a coach that was parting for Lodi. Found one, and -fixed that a vetturino, who was going to set off next day for Florence, -should take me up at Lodi. Went to see de Brême. He told me he had been -to Bubna's, but that he had found him out at a council of war, and that -he had left an order none should follow him. I took leave of de Brême, -and wept in his arms like a child, for his kindness and friendship had -been dear to me. I took leave of L[ord] B[yron], H[obhouse], and Guasco. -The last offered me his services in any way, and said he should take it -as a favour the oftener he was applied to. I got into the coach with -only 5 louis in my pocket, leaving my books in the care of de Brême, and -left Milan with rage and grief so struggling in my breast that tears -often started in my eyes, and all I could think of was revenge against -Swarrow and the officer in particular, and a hope that before I left -Italy there might be a rising to which I might join myself. I arrived at -Lodi; wrote to Lloyd to ask him to lend me some money, and went to bed -exhausted. - -_October 31._—Up at 9: breakfasted. Went to see the Duomo and other -churches without feeling interest; the hospital, which is a magnificent -building. Returning to the inn, I met the vetturino. I found in the -coach a Prussian student of Heidelberg who had made the campaigns of '13 -and '14 with the rest of his companions, and who was banished Heidelberg -for slapping a Russian in the face. Growled against his king for not -keeping his promise; hated the French, and gave me an interesting -account of the way of spending the winter evenings in his part of -Germany, Pomerania; the young working at some pursuit of hand, the old -relating their tale of youth. A Milanese woman and son. We went that -evening to Casal Panterlungo. Supped and went to bed, I and the Prussian -in the same room. - -_November 2._—Up at 4. Across the Taro to Parma. Went, in spite of my -having so little money, in search of books—Boccaccio's _Fiammetta_. The -Cathedral and Baptistery. From Parma to Reggio, a beautiful town with -fine palaces and porticoes, though, on account of the few inhabitants, -appearing a huge sepulchre. To Rubiera: supped and slept. - -_November 3._—Up at 4. Through Modena, where I saw the Duomo, and the -Tower which contains the Lecchia porticoes—palaces of the Duke—four -orders heaped one on the other. Here they examined my box, and were -going to send it to the dogana on account of books; when, upon my saying -I was a physician, they let them pass. - -At Bologna supped with the Prussian. To the opera. Saw a ballet, -extremely ridiculous: barbarian dances with astonishing powers of limbs -forming in the air [postures] out and in on their feet. - -_November 4._—Up at 9. Went to see the churches and (a) private gallery. -After dinner roamed about the town in a most melancholy mood, entering -the churches and sitting in the dark for an hour, etc. Went to the -Theatre of Cento Cavalli: beautiful Greek architecture. To bed—a play. - -_November 5._—At 10, expecting to have been called before, the vetturino -came, saying he would not go, since I had hindered the Prussian from -setting off on Monday, without security; and that he would go to the -police to gain it from the Prussian that he should be paid at Florence. -After a good deal of disputing I gave it, in a promissory note that I -would pay if he could not. Found afterwards it was only to get time. - -Went to see the churches, the public place, San Prospero, the Neptune. -After dinner to Madonna Santa Lucia. Along the portico "Questo è da -vendere"[32] was written on portions of the wall. The public cemetery. -Saw a coffin, when dark, brought into the church with torches. The poor -are separated from the rich, and have only the turf upon them: the rich -groan under the weight of marble. The priests, monks, nuns, etc., all in -separate squares; a cardinal's hat covering a death's head. - -Returned to Bologna. Went to the theatre. Saw _Agnese_: wept like a -child: the acting of the madman inimitable. Went to bed. - -_November 6._—Up at 11. Set off with the Prussian and an Italian officer -across the Apennines. Oxen in continual use. Misty, so could not enjoy -the view. Dreadful winds to Pianoro. That evening the officer related -all the services he had been in; French liberty, Consulship, Emperor. -Refused by the Austrians; went to Murat, and now going to offer himself -to the Pope; if not accepted, to America. For which side? "Spanish or -Creole."[33] He had the unfeelingness to joke upon his father's being -killed in the time of the liberty-rows, saying he got that for not -changing; on which I felt so nettled that I spoke for half-an-hour upon -the ruin the fickleness of the Italians had brought upon themselves. He -felt, I think, ashamed; at least he gave up that kind of light talk. - -Forgot to say that at Modena I presented[34] my passport so that the "24 -hours" were invisible; and left at Modena one who had accompanied us -from Piacenza, telling the most barefaced lies about boars, dogs, and -thieves, that were ever heard. - -_November 7._—At 4 up. Arrived at night at Fortebuona. Dreadful wind and -rain. Supped and went to bed. - -_November 8._—At 5 walked a good part of the road. Arrived at Florence -by the Porta San Gallo, through the Arch. The custom-house officer, when -we told him, if he wanted to look, he might open, [replied]: "Che? Un -servo del sovrano? Ci sono dei facchini."[35] - -Florence, on entering, disappointed me, as we were obliged to go round -on account of the road being mended. Went to the inn. Dressed—not having -changed linen since Milan. Went to the post: no letters. In despair, -remaining with only four scudi. Walked about the town,—Arno: into the -Cathedral and Baptistery. - -Went to seek Cavalier Pontelli.[36] Knocked at his door, along Arno—both -before and behind. Could not make any one hear. One who lived near -(Lecchini), upon my asking how to get in, said he was thankful to say he -was not Pontelli, and did not know. Returned home. Gave the Prussian a -missal I had bought at Bologna. He broke my pipe. Went to bed. Wrote to -Pontelli and Brême. - -_November 9._—Got up; went to seek Pontelli. Found he had a villa at -Porta San Gallo. Went thither, knocked; saw his head pop out of the -window in a greasy night-cap. On my announcing myself, he descended, -opened the door, and received me with welcome. Found him at breakfast, -sausages, caviare, etc. Sat down; told me his housekeeper would not show -herself; invited me to come to his house instead of the inn. Went into -town; took a peep at the Gallery—at the precious vases, Venus, etc. Went -to the inn. Put up my things, paid; and, seeing the Prussian envied me -my desk, I gave it him, on condition that, if we ever met again, he -would paint me a picture he sketched in my album. Went to Pontelli; -dined; accompanied him to town. His servant took a porter to carry my -things to the Arno house, and then we went to pay visits. - -In the way he told me he lived very retired, and very economically that -he might not want; that the people now looked upon him with a good eye; -that the Government also did not prosecute him; and that he in fine -thought that a revolution would be general—trying to persuade me that -his avarice was mere policy. - -Went to pay a visit to Cavalier Tomasi, a Cortonian. Found many in the -room, who all sat upon me about English politics. Left them when they -were going to play. Thence to Abate Fontani, Librarian of the Riccardi -Library. Talked of Madame de Staël, Finch, etc. - -Returned home. Found I was in the house of the Capponis, Pontelli having -the lower storey. - -_November 10._—Up at 9. Dressed in black silk etc., the housekeeper -going to mass; and, Pontelli apparently not being willing that I should -accompany her, I went out a little after, and went to the same church, -where I spoke with her. Looked at the church; and then went to San -Lorenzo, Santo Spirito [Santa Croce],[37] where I saw the tomb of -Galileo, Machiavelli, Alfieri, Cosmo de' Medici, etc. - -Returned, and went with a letter from de Brême to the Countess of -Albany. Found there several. Presented my letter: "Very like your -father." - -[The Countess of Albany, it need hardly be said, was the widow of Prince -Charles Edward Stuart, the "Young Pretender." Born in 1752, Princess of -Stolberg-Gedern, she married the Prince in 1772. Being much ill-treated -by him, she left him, and maintained a practically conjugal relation -with Conte Vittorio Alfieri, the famous dramatic poet: they could have -married after a while, but no nuptial ceremony took place. Alfieri died -in 1803, and the Countess then became very intimate with a French -painter, much younger than herself, named Fabre. She died in Florence in -January 1824. If Dr. Polidori had been a Jacobite, he would have held -that, in waiting upon the Countess of Albany, he was in the presence of -the Queen Dowager of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It -will be observed that the Countess told Polidori that he was "very like -his father." The latter had, from 1787 to 1789, been secretary to the -Conte Alfieri, and had known the Countess in Colmar and Paris. In one of -his privately printed books he has left on record a little anecdote of -the royal dame, which, trifling as it is, may find a place here. "While -the Conte Alfieri was slowly recovering health I was invited to pass the -evenings with him and the Countess, so that on various occasions I '_fui -terzo tra cotanto senno_.'[38] But this honour did not last long. For -one time when I was with them the lady turned her eyes on me, and asked -Alfieri why my thighs were rounded while his were flat. 'Stuff and -nonsense,' he replied, wrinkling his nose, and he passed on to some -different talk. From that time I no more had the honour of being one of -the exalted party; neither could I complain of this, for I myself felt -that that question had been unseemly, and more in character for a drab -than for a discreet and modest lady."] - -Conversation became general. Republics being brought upon the tapis, I -took to defending them, especially against a gentleman near me. After -some time he went, and I gathered he was brother to the King of Prussia. - -Took my leave, and came to dinner, after going to the caffè to wait for -Pontelli. Rain hindered him from keeping his appointment, so that I went -at last alone to San Gallo, he having the custom of staying the Sundays -only in town. Was presented by him to Lecchini, the Inspector of Police, -who recognized me as a Tuscan, and the domiciliary communication was -made out as such. - -_November 11._—Tried to stay at home. Forced by Pontelli's long-in-vain -repeated hints to go out; jealous of his young housekeeper, though she -is hardly worth it. Roamed about, dined, and went to bed. - -_November 12._—Same. Dined with him at a restaurateur's. - -_November 13._—Got up at 7; tired of Pontelli, and set off for Arezzo, -with a shirt in my pocket and with my dog. When at Incisa it began to -rain; walked on through Feline, Monte Varchi, to Arezzo. Thunder and -lightning excessive, with violent rain. I was at last so numbed that -when roused I seemed to be wakened; my dog could not stand it, but at 7 -miles from Arezzo fell. I did not perceive it, but walked on. Arrived at -8, having walked 45 miles in 12 hours, having stopped once at Incisa to -eat and rest. Found my uncle's house; knocked. The servant, hearing I -was his nephew, flew up-stairs, and I met a tall, stout, slovenly woman, -my aunt. On the second storey, where they lodged, they made a fire. I -changed my things for my uncle's, and while changing he arrived—a tall, -stout, handsome, mild-looking man. Put myself to bed; ate, and they left -me to sleep. - -[This uncle, Luigi Polidori, was a physician, and had a considerable -reputation for the cure of the local typhoid fever (tifo).] - -_November 14._—Found myself well; no cold, only my left groin stiff from -a wound in my foot. Saw my two cousins, Pippo and Teresa; put myself to -study. After 6 went with my uncle to Signor Gori, where I heard music. -Four or five girls wanting husbands, two priests, whitewashed walls, and -several young men, were the entertainment. - -While at Arezzo, my life was quiet enough; study till I went out at 6, -when I went to play at cards and talk at Signor Gori's. Saw the prisons. -One of the descendants of a true Lombard family walking about in a dirty -sailor-looking jacket. Signora Onesti and daughter the most abominable -scandal-talkers I ever heard, though she was a Pitti. Library always -shut. The School of Ignatius a fine building. Churches fine: the Chapel -of St. Mary, the Cathedral with the basso-rilievo altars, the church -with the altar painted by Vasari, etc.—I recovered my dog. - -_November 21._—Set off to return to Florence with half-a-scudo in my -pocket; having refused to accept from my uncle, not being willing to let -him know how it stood. Frost on the ground: hurt my foot. Lost my dog -again at Montesarchi. At Feline got into a carriage, not being able to -do more on account of my foot. Met a physician, a cavaliere and his -wife. Arrived at 7; Pontelli lent me a scudo to pay. - -_November 22, 23, 24._—Stayed at Pontelli's on account of my foot, -though Pontelli tried to send me out under pretence that I should see -the town. But, not being able, he stayed at home till 6, when he told me -I had better go to bed—which I generally did to quiet him. No letters -according to servant. - -_November 25._—Tired of Pontelli. That I might go to Pisa, I issued out -intending to sell my watch-chain; but as a last chance looked at the -Post Office, and found two letters from Lloyd, who, as soon as he had -received my letter, set off from Venice to see me. On the road he lost -his purse with 36 louis, and, having no letters at Florence, he could -only give me 20 scudi. Received me with great kindness, and assured me -that, while he had money, I should never want. Dined with him and -Somers. They advised me to settle in Florence as physician to the -English. I however determined to see Vaccà first; wished him good-bye, -as he was obliged to go to Rome for money. - -[There were two brothers named Vaccà, or Vaccà Berlinghieri, who had -been known to Gaetano Polidori in Pisa before he left Italy with -Alfieri. Gaetano (who was a native of Bientina near Pisa, his family -belonging chiefly to Pontedera) also stayed in the same house with the -Vaccàs in Paris after leaving his secretaryship with the Count. They -were then both medical students. One of them, Leopoldo—who had been -intimate with Napoleon while the latter was in the Military -College—abandoned medicine, and served under the French empire in Spain, -dying not many years afterwards. The other brother, Andrea, attained an -European reputation in medicine, and especially surgery: Shelley, when -in Pisa, consulted him more than once.] - -_November 26._—Went to seek the Naviglio, to go by water to Pisa. At -going out, stopped by the gate-officer, who, on hearing me enquire where -the boat was, would not let me pass without proofs of my being -_originario Toscano_; so I went to Lecchini, and got him to write me a -declaration. The boat could not set off to-day, so returned to Pontelli -and went to bed. - -_November 27._—At 7 set off in the boat on the Arno for Pisa. - -_November 29, 30, December 1._—Stayed in my room, copying _Osteologia_ -of my grandfather. - -[This _Osteologia_ is a treatise on osteology written in verse—octave -stanzas. The author was Agostino Ansano Polidori, by profession a -surgeon, born in 1714 and deceased in 1778. In 1847 Gaetano Polidori -printed this poem at his private press. He had previously made a MS. -copy of it, with an introduction giving a few family-particulars. One -statement made in this introduction is that the mother of Agostino was a -Florentine lady named Folchi—"perhaps" (so says Gaetano Polidori) -"descended from an English family domiciled in Florence, which may have -changed its name Folks into Folchi."] - -_December 2._—Up at 9; went to see Vaccà; still at hospital. While -waiting for him, saw an Austrian colonel, who, in the excess of his -gratitude to Vaccà, called him the _Dio della Medicina_. Vaccà expressed -great joy to see me; told me to make his house my own; to dine there -when I chose, and often; to begin to-day; not to use ceremony. Left me, -and I returned home; went to dine at V[accà]'s. Introduced me to his -wife, a pleasing pretty Frenchwoman, the former wife of his brother; he -had just obtained the Pope's dispensation to marry her. Spent the -evening there. - -_December 3, 4, to 21._—Went to the hospital in the mornings when Vaccà -was not ill; three or four times to the Library. Studied in the -mornings; went to dine either at Vaccà's or at eating-house; always -evenings at Vaccà's. Corsi, a well-informed lawyer, cav[alier] -serv[ente] to V[accà?];[39] Mario ex cav[alier] serv[ente]. Cecco -Castanelli, Pachiani, etc.; chess with the English; with Vaccà. For the -various information I obtained there see notes. - -[The Pachiani (or Pacchiani) here mentioned must certainly be the same -Abate Pachiani who in 1820 introduced Shelley to the Contessina Emilia -Viviani, to whom the poet dedicated his _Epipsychidion_. Medwin, in his -_Life of Shelley_, a book which does not now obtain many readers, gives -a lively but partly very unfavourable account of Pachiani: I append a -few extracts from it, more as being relevant to Shelley than to -Polidori. "Pachiani was about fifty years of age, somewhat above the -common height, with a figure bony and angular. His face was dark as that -of a Moor. During the reign of Austrian despotism he was admirably -calculated for a spy. As to his religion, it was about on a par with -that of l'Abate Casti. At Pisa, il Signore Professore was the title by -which he was generally known. He lost [his professorship] by an -irresistible _bon mot_. During one of his midnight orgies, which he was -in the habit of celebrating with some of the most dissolute of the -students, he was interrogated, in the darkness, by the patrole in the -streets of Pisa as to who and what he was,—to which questioning he gave -the following reply: 'Son un uomo pubblico, in una strada pubblica, con -una donna pubblica.' His epigrams were _sanglants_, and he gave -sobriquets the most happy for those who offended him. His talent was -conversation—a conversation full of repartee and sparkling with wit; and -his information (he was a man of profound erudition, vast memory, and -first-rate talent) made him almost oracular. He was a mezzano, cicerone, -conoscitore, dilettante, and I might add ruffiano."[40]] - -_December 21._—Went in the evening to the Countess Mastrani's. Ices, -iced people, prepared poetry, music. Went to the theatre, in the days -past, several times. Saw Goldoni's _Bugiardo_, with Harlequin etc. - -_December 22._—As usual. - -_December 23._—Same. - -_December 24._—Ditto. - -_December 25._—Christmas-day. Walked along Arno. Spent the evening and -dined at Vaccà's. - -_December 26._—Up at 7. Went with Vaccà to Leghorn, a neat, regular, -well-built town. The first thing I went in search of was the sea, and I -stood gazing some time on the waves. The Public Place and Strada Maestra -fine. Saw Vescali's collection of alabasters. Returned by 3. Dined with -Vaccà. Went to the theatre with Mrs. Vaccà, who introduced me to Signora -Bettina Franciuoli. - -_December 27._—As usual. Up at 4—dined at Vaccà's—went to theatre, and -to B.'s box. - -_December 28._—Went to hear nella Chiesa dei Cavalieri (after a ride -with Mrs. Vaccà) Nicolini play a sonata upon the organ, which is perhaps -the finest in Italy. There were the Prince Villafranca, the Countess -Castelfiel, Princess della Pace, and other nobles. At Vaccà's and -theatre. - -_December 29._—Up at 3-1/2. Dined at Vaccà's: theatre. English etc. as -usual. - -_December 30._—Up at 1. Reading Sismondi. Got up—went to Vaccà to dine. -After English, to the Casa Mastrani: all evening with Sofia. The -others—Biribro, Dionigi. - -[According to a letter from Lord Byron, April 11, 1817, Dr. Polidori had -at least three patients at Pisa—Francis Horner, a child of Thomas Hope, -and Francis North, Lord Guilford. They all died—which may or may not -have been partly the Doctor's fault.] - -With this entry we come to the end of Dr. Polidori's Diary—although (as -I have before intimated) not by any means to the end of his sojourn in -Italy. He saw Byron again in April 1817 in Venice: Shelley, to the best -of my knowledge, he never re-beheld. - -I add here two letters which Polidori wrote to his sister Frances (my -mother, then a girl of only sixteen), and two to his father. The first -letter was written soon after beginning the journey with Byron; the last -not long after the date of parting from him. I also add a letter sent to -Mr. Hobhouse during Polidori's sojourn with Byron, and a note, of much -later date, written by Mrs. Shelley to my father, Gabriele Rossetti. - -The letter to Mr. Hobhouse, it will be observed, goes over some of the -same details which appear in the Diary. This letter has been copied by -me from the Broughton Papers, in the Manuscript Department of the -British Museum (Add. MSS. 36456 to 36483). I did my best to trace -whether these papers contain anything else relating to Polidori, and I -do not think they do. In fact, the affairs of Lord Byron, and the very -name of him, scarcely figure in those Broughton Papers at all: for -instance, I could not find anything relating to his death. - - - JOHN POLIDORI TO FRANCES POLIDORI. - -MY DEAR FANNY, - - I shall see Waterloo in a day or two—don't you wish to be with me? -but there are many more things that I have seen which would have given -you as much pleasure. Shakespear's Cliff at Dover, the French coast, the -phosphorescent sea, Bruges, Ghent, Antwerp, and Brussels, have all got -more than is in any of Feinaigh's plates to excite the memory to bring -forth its hidden stores. The people amongst whom we are at present -dwelling is one that has much distinguished itself in the noblest -career, the race for liberty; but that tends little to the ennobling of -a people without the sun of literature also deigns to shine upon them. - -It was not the warlike deeds, the noble actions, of the Greeks and -Romans or modern Italians, that has rescued these names from the -effacing daub of oblivion; if it had not been for their poets, their -historians, their philosophers, their heroes would in vain have -struggled for fame. Their actions would have been recorded in the dusty -legends of monks, and consequently have been forgotten, like those of -the Belgians, Carthaginians, and others. How many fine actions of modern -times will be buried in oblivion from the same want, and how many merely -secondary characters will be handed down with a halo round their deeds -reflected from the pages of historic genius! - -I am very pleased with Lord Byron. I am with him on the footing of an -equal, everything alike: at present here we have a suite of rooms -between us. I have my sitting-room at one end, he at the other. He has -not shown any passion; though we have had nothing but a series of -mishaps that have put _me_ out of temper though they have not ruffled -his. The carriage, the new carriage, has had three stoppages. We are at -present at Brussels merely to have the carriage-part well looked at and -repaired. - -The country till here has been one continued flat; and, except within -this neighbourhood, we have not seen a rising ground on which to feast -our eyes. Long avenues paved in the middle form the continued appearance -of our roads. The towns are magnificently old, such as England cannot -rival, and the state of cultivation is much greater than in England: -indeed we have not seen a weed or a foot of waste ground all our way. -The people in the country show no misery; the cottages comfortable, -whitewashed, large-windowed, shining with brass utensils internally, and -only having as many heaps of dirt as there are inhabitants—who certainly -throw away all their cleanliness upon the house, fields, roads, and -windows. But I will not fill my letter with this, as some time you will -either see my Journal in writing or print—Murray having offered me 500 -guineas for it through Lord Byron. L[ord] B[yron] is going to give me -the manuscript, when done printing, of his new cantos of _Childe -Harold_.[41] - -Have you seen Mrs. Soane and Mr. S[oane]? how are they? If you see them, -remember me to her and him. I shall write when I have seen the seat of -_his_ hero's glory, _mine's_ disgrace; no, not disgrace—misfortune. See -Mrs. S[oane], and write how she is. - -How are you all at home? Papa, Mamma, Meggy (have you heard from her?), -Charlotte, Bob, Henry, Eliza, and Mr. Deagostini. Remember me to all, -and to all who enquire about me not merely from curiosity—telling me in -your next whether they exceed the number 0. I am very well, and wrote -Mamma from Ostend. - - I remain, my dear Fanny, - - Your affect. Brother, - - J. POLIDORI. - -Brussels, _May 2, 1816_. - -Write to me—Dr. Polidori, à Genève, poste restante,—and soon, as I shall -be there in 12 days. - - - TO JOHN HOBHOUSE, WHITTON PARK, - NEAR HOUNSLOW. - - Coblentz, _May 11, 1816_. - -DEAR SIR, - - As we are at last some way on our journey, I take a sheet of paper -up, in despair of filling it, to tell you we are both well and hearty. -Lord Byron's health is greatly improved, his stomach returning rapidly -to its natural state. Exercise and peace of mind, making great advances -towards the amendment of his _corps délabré_, leave little for medicine -to patch up. His spirits, I think, are also much improved. He blithely -carols through the day, 'Here's to you, Tom Brown': and, when he has -done, says, 'That's as well as Hobhouse does it.' You and his other -friend, Scrope Davies, form a great subject of conversation. - -God! here I am at the end of all my thoughts. Oh no! Waterloo was ridden -over by my Lord on a Cossack horse, accompanied by myself on a Flemish -steed; Lord Byron singing Turkish or Arnaout riding-tunes, and your -h[umble] s[ervant] listening. We had a very good day of it. Lord Byron -visited Howard's (I think, Colonel) burying-place twice. We have had two -days by preëminence in our tour—to-day and Waterloo. To-day we came from -Bonn hither through the finest scenes I ever saw, modern and ancient; -the 13th and 18th century forming an _olla podrida_ with the bases given -in the year 1. Towers and towns and castles and cots were sprinkled on -the side of a.... But here I am on poetic stilts, cut short for prose -ones. - -They boast—the Ministerialists and others—of ours being the happy land. -I should like to carry John Bull to Flanders and the Rhine: happiness, -content, cleanliness (here and there), husbandry, plenty without luxury, -are here bestowed on all. War has had no effect upon the fields; and -even at Waterloo no one (except for the glittering button or less -brilliant cuirass in beggar's hand) would imagine two such myriaded -armies had met there. No sulkiness is seen upon the face here, and no -impudence. On the Rhine and in Flanders there are hardly any beggars. -To-day we had nosegays given us by little girls for centimes. But the -other day, coming to Battice, we met the best beggars: three little -girls, pretty though not well dressed, ran along our carriage, crying -out—"Donnez-nous un sou, Monsieur le Général en chef"; and another, -"Chef de bataillon." Having given these some, a boy followed, pulling -faces comic enough to make such grave dons laugh, and crying out, -"Vivent Messieurs les Rois des Hanovériens—donnez-moi un sou." - -As I fear I have tried your eyes, and lost my pains after all on account -of the illegibility of my accursed pen's scratches, I must end—assuring -you at the same time I am with esteem - - Yours etc., - - J. POLIDORI. - -We count upon being at Geneva in ten days at best. Excuse the bad -writing etc., for I am in a fever of digestion after my ride.—J. P. - - - TO GAETANO POLIDORI. - - _September 20, 1816._ - -MY DEAR FATHER, - - You judged right with regard to my writing. I had written twice -since your letter announcing _The Pamphleteer_, and was anxiously -waiting yours. Your letter gave me pleasure; and I was indeed in want of -some just then, for I was in agitation for my parting from Lord Byron. -We have parted, finding that our tempers did not agree. He proposed it, -and it was settled. There was no immediate cause, but a continued series -of slight quarrels. I believe the fault, if any, has been on my part; I -am not accustomed to have a master, and therefore my conduct was not -free and easy. I found on settling accounts that I had 70 napoleons; I -therefore determined to walk over Italy, and (seeing the medical -establishments) see if there proves a good opportunity to settle myself, -so that I hope I am still off your hands for nine months: perhaps Lady -Westmorland, who is at Rome, is desirous of having an English physician -for longer, I having a letter for her from Mme. de Staël. I shall write -to-day to Vaccà and Zio [uncle] for letters to Milan to physicians, in -your name; and at present, till I think they and my trunks can have -arrived, will wander amongst the Alps,—in which course I am now at Thun, -almost in the centre. I have seen Mont Blanc and its glaciers, and will -see the Jungfrau, Grindelwald, and Grimsel. Then I will go by the -Simplon to Milan, whither direct to me poste-restante, only putting my -Giovanni etc. names in full, as there are Polidoris there.[42] I am in -good health and spirits; I hope this won't hurt yours, for assure -yourself I will do all I can not to allow you to feel any inconvenience -on my account. - -Remember me to my mother, who I know will feel deeply this -disappointment; to Mary,[43] Fanny, and Charlotte, to Signor Deagostini -and Signor De Ocheda, and to all. - -If you could get me letters of introduction, they would be of great use. -In the meanwhile, my dear father, believe me - - Your affectionate son, - - JOHN POLIDORI. - - - JOHN POLIDORI TO GAETANO POLIDORI—TRANSLATION. - - Arezzo, _November 14, 1816_. - -DEAR FATHER, - - I fear you must be in much anxiety at not having heard from me for -so long; but the reason was that I did not wish to write before having -seen my uncle—to whom I went the day before yesterday, and who received -me with great affection and pleasure. I wrote to him from Thun. Thence I -went to Grindelwald and Lauterbrunner; thence to Interlachen, and, by -the Lake of Brientz, to Meyringen; by the Grimsel in the Valais to -Obergasteln; thence to Brieg; and then by the Simplon down to Farinoli -in the Borromean Islands. Thence I embarked to Sestri Calende; thence to -Milan—where, meeting the poet Monti, Lord Byron, Monsignor de Brême, and -others of my acquaintance, I remained some weeks. Thence I went to -Florence, by Bologna, Modena, Parma, and Piacenza, and crossing the -Apennines. In Florence I stayed two days, and saw Cavalier Pontelli, -Abate Fontani, Dr. Frosini, and others. Thence I went on foot to Arezzo, -where I found my uncle, my aunt, Pippo, and Teresa, all well; and they -received me with great cordiality into their house, where I now am. - -Seeing, by your letter to my uncle, in how much trouble you are on my -account, I have determined, after learning whether Lady Westmorland will -employ me or no—if yes, to go to Rome; if no, to go straight from -Leghorn to London, to the bosom of my family. I shall soon hear from -Lady Westmorland, as Lady Jersey undertook, at the instance of Monsignor -de Brême, to ask her mother whether she wants me or not, and she is now -in Florence, _en route_ for Rome. In case she should tell me yes, I -shall at once go to Rome: but meanwhile I don't proceed any farther than -Arezzo. If she says no, I shall be off to Leghorn, and return to London. - -I wish that in your next letter you would send me enough money, in a -bill on Florence, for paying the passage from Leghorn to London, for the -chance of my not having enough remaining.... - -When I see you again I shall have much to tell you about, but will not -put it into a letter. Suffice it that I have found that what you told me -about Italy is but too true. I am in good health.... - - Your affectionate son, - - JOHN POLIDORI. - -[To this letter the uncle Luigi Polidori added something. One point -regarding Lord Byron is of a certain interest.] - -I became indignant at some references [made by John Polidori] to the -strange conduct of that Lord with whom he was travelling: but _he_ kept -his temper well—I envy him for that. All these people are hard: Sævus -enim ferme sensus communis in illâ fortunâ.—Patience! - - * * * * * - -[My father, about the date of this ensuing letter, met Mrs. Shelley -several times, and he liked her well. He did not think her good-looking: -indeed I have heard him say "Era brutta" (she was ugly).—The letter is -written in fairly idiomatic, but by no means faultless, Italian.—I am -not aware whether Gaetano Polidori supplied Mrs. Shelley with -information, such as she asked for, for her Biography of Alfieri: -perhaps a minute inspection of the book might show.—_Cleopatra_, acted -in 1775, was Alfieri's first attempt at tragedy.] - - Harrow, _April 20, 1835_. - -COURTEOUS SIGNOR ROSSETTI, - - Thank you so much for your amiable reply, and the interest you -show in the undertaking of a pen but too unworthy of those great names -which give so much lustre to your country. Meanwhile I am about to make -a farther request: but am afraid of showing myself troublesome, and beg -you to tell me your opinion sincerely. I should not like to seem to take -impertinent liberties; and, if my idea appears to you impracticable, -don't say anything about it to any one. - -I am informed that your Father-in-law the celebrated Polidori can relate -many interesting circumstances regarding Alfieri. The Life which I am -writing will be printed in _Dr. Lardner's Cyclopædia_: therefore it is -very short, running perhaps to 70 pages—not more. Thus, if I could -introduce some details not yet known but worthy of publication, I should -be very pleased indeed. I don't know whether Polidori would be willing -to give me such details. For example, I should like to know whether -Alfieri was really so melancholy and taciturn as is said by Sir John -Hobhouse in his work, _Illustrations to the Fourth Canto of Childe -Harold_; whether he gave signs of attachment to his friends, and whether -he was warmly loved by them in return. Some anecdotes would be welcomed -by me; also some information about the Countess of Albany. There is an -affectation of silence, as to all that relates to her, in whatever has -yet been written concerning Alfieri. But, now that she is dead, this is -no longer necessary. Were they married? If not, nothing need be said -about it; but, if they were, it would be well to affirm as much. - -I shall be in London next Sunday, and shall be staying there several -days. But I am in a quarter so distant from yours (7 Upper Eaton Street, -Grosvenor Place) that it would be indiscreet to ask for a visit from -you—and much more indiscreet to say that, if Signor Polidori would visit -me, he could perhaps tell me some little things more easily than by -writing. As the Tuscans say, "Lascio far a lei."[44] You will do -whatever is most fitting, and will give me a reply at your convenience. - -Repeating the thanks so much due to your kindness, believe me - - Your much obliged servant, - - M. W. P. SHELLEY. - -I hear that Alfieri was intimate with Guiccioli of Ravenna, the latter -being then quite young; and they had a joint idea and project (which did -not turn out manageable) of establishing a national theatre in Italy. -Possibly Signor Polidori knows about this. Is there any historical work -containing particulars about the closing years of the royal husband of -the Countess of Albany? I don't know, and am in the dark. He (is it not -so?) was the last of the Stuarts, except his brother the Cardinal of -York. - -Oh what trouble I am giving you to reply! Really I now feel more than -ashamed of it. But you are so kind. And, besides, the grammar of this -letter must be like Alfieri's _Cleopatra_. - - - - - Footnotes. - - ------ - -Footnote 1: - - The word, as written by Charlotte Polidori, seems to be "dole" rather - than anything else. It looks as if she had copied the form of Dr. - Polidori's word without understanding what it was. I substitute - "door," but this is done _faute de mieux_. - -Footnote 2: - - Such is the word written by Charlotte Polidori. I fancy it ought to be - "late." - -Footnote 3: - - Only an initial is written, "M": but I suppose "Master"—_i.e._ Michael - Wohlgemuth—is meant. - -Footnote 4: - - It seems rather odd that Polidori should make this jotting, "and (not) - towns." Perhaps he aimed to controvert the phrase, "scattered cities - crowning these," in Byron's poem quoted further on. - -Footnote 5: - - These are the precise words as they stand in Charlotte Polidori's - transcript. It is to be presumed that Dr. Polidori wrote them some - while after May 13, 1816. - -Footnote 6: - - I don't understand "Mayor" in this context: should it be "Mylor"? - -Footnote 7: - - No name is given: should it be Shelley? Another Englishman who was in - this locality towards the same date was Robert Southey. - -Footnote 8: - - I don't think there was any such stone-pelting in Geneva: it took - place elsewhere in Switzerland. - -Footnote 9: - - The word written is perpanism, or possibly perhanism. Is there any - such word, medical or other? Should it perchance be pyrrhonism? - -Footnote 10: - - The "ghost-story" which Polidori _published_ was _The Vampyre_: see p. - 128 as to his having begun in the first instance some different story. - -Footnote 11: - - Word obscurely written. - -Footnote 12: - - "Blind" appears to be the word written. It seems an odd - expression—meaning, I suppose, "to blind (mislead or puzzle) the - auditors." - -Footnote 13: - - This, again, is not clear to me: something in the nature of a game of - forfeits may be indicated. - -Footnote 14: - - So written: should it be "Bingwen" or something of the kind? - -Footnote 15: - - The word "society" is perfectly clear in Charlotte Polidori's - transcript. From the context, I question whether it ought not to be - "Shakespear." As to "the criticism of Johnson" on Gray in the _Lives - of the Poets_, many of my readers will recollect that this criticism - is somewhat adverse, Gray being treated as a rather nebulous writer. - -Footnote 16: - - Seems rather an odd phrase, but I suppose correctly transcribed. - -Footnote 17: - - A name is written here, but so obscurely that I leave it out. It - somewhat resembles "Neravois," or "the ravois." - -Footnote 18: - - Should this be "glaciers"? - -Footnote 19: - - This name is illegibly written: I can only suppose that it must be - meant for Brieg. - -Footnote 20: - - "I don't understand." - -Footnote 21: - - "It's an old affair." - -Footnote 22: - - Coffee with milk, grapes, and figs. - -Footnote 23: - - Orgoglio is pride; disinganno is undeceiving, disillusion. - -Footnote 24: - - There is a word following "Rè," evidently the title of the play which - was acted. It looks something like "Amondre," but cannot be read. - -Footnote 25: - - The word is more like Crabule than anything else: I don't understand - it. - -Footnote 26: - - Presumably some English book, but I know not what. - -Footnote 27: - - I think the name would correctly be Marchese di Negro: my father had - some correspondence, towards 1850, with the then Marchese of that - family. - -Footnote 28: - - This essay was on the Punishment of Death. - -Footnote 29: - - The word written is "his"; but the context shows that this must be a - mistake. - -Footnote 30: - - _i.e._ Artemisia, who built the mausoleum of Halicarnassus. - -Footnote 31: - - The speeches run thus: (_a_) Look at that man, with his cap on his - head. (_b_) Would you do me the favour of taking off your hat, so that - I may see? (_c_) Would you wish for it? (_d_) Yes, I wish it. In - Italian, this last phrase has an imperative tone, "I will it."—It may - be added that the Austrian's phrase "Lo vorreste?" was itself not - civil: the civil form would have been "Lo vorrebbe ella?" - -Footnote 32: - - "To be sold." - -Footnote 33: - - These words form (I _suppose_) the answer of the Italian - officer—_i.e._ he would side with either party indifferently. - -Footnote 34: - - I presume that the word should be "presented": the writing looks like - "pented." - -Footnote 35: - - "What? A servant of the sovereign? There are porters." - -Footnote 36: - - I suppose that Pontelli was a person who had been more or less known - to Dr. Polidori's father before the latter left Italy in 1787, and - that the father had given his son some letter of introduction or the - like. Or possibly the introduction came from some acquaintance in - Geneva or in Milan. - -Footnote 37: - - The name of Santa Croce is not in the MS.: but it ought to be, as this - is the church containing the sepulchral monuments of Galileo, etc. - -Footnote 38: - - "Was third amid so much intellect." The phrase is adapted from a line - in Dante's _Inferno_. - -Footnote 39: - - Rather (it must be understood) to _Signora_ Vaccà. - -Footnote 40: - - Ruffiano does not correspond to our word "ruffian," but to "pimp" or - "go-between." - -Footnote 41: - - No doubt this intention was not carried into effect. - -Footnote 42: - - These Polidoris were not (so far as I know) members of the same family - as John Polidori. - -Footnote 43: - - This was Dr. Polidori's elder sister, Maria Margaret, who in my time - was invariably called "Margaret" in the family. - -Footnote 44: - - "I leave the question to you." - - - - - INDEX OF NAMES - - - A - - _Agnese_ (drama), 196 - - Aix-la-Chapelle, 74 - - Albany, Countess of, 199-202 - - Alfieri, Count, 200, 219-222 - - Andreini, 170 - - —— _Adamo_, by, 170 - - Antwerp, 46-51, 54, 55 - - Arezzo, 202, 218 - - Arrow, Eliza, 31 - - Avenches, 93, 94, 96 - - - B - - Bâle, 90, 91 - - Battice, 73, 74, 213 - - Beauharnais, Prince Eugène, 175 - - Berger, 31, 108, 110, 135 - - Berne, 92 - - Beyle, Henri, 173, 177, 190, 192 - - —— _Reminiscences of Napoleon_, by, 177 - - Bologna, 194, 195 - - Bonn, 80 - - Bonnet, Charles, 97 - - Bonstetten, C. V. de, 105, 132, 137, 147, 148 - - Borsieri, 173, 174, 177, 186 - - —— _Il Giorno_, by, 177 - - Breadalbane, Lord, 139, 145 - - Brelaz, Madame, 139, 143-146, 152, 153, 155, 168, 182 - - Brême, Cavalier de, 171, 173, 177 - - —— de (or Brema), Monsignor, 139, 147, 170, 172-177, 182, 183, 187-189, - 191, 193, 198, 218 - - Brême, de (or Brema), Monsignor _Ina_, by, 176 - - Breuss, Countess, 12, 13, 17, 134, 141-143, 152 - - Bridgens, R., 3 - - —— _Costumes of Italy, etc._, by, 3 - - Brieg, 160-163 - - Broglie, Duc Victor de, 137, 138 - - —— Duchesse Victor de, 137-9, 146 - - Bruges, 35 - - Brussels, 57-59, 61, 68, 211 - - Bubna, 173, 187-189, 193 - - —— Junior, 189 - - Byron, Lady, 26 - - —— Lord, 1, 7, 8, 11, 12, 15, 25, 28, 33, 40, 44, 51-53, 62, 67, 68, - 70, 71, 74, 88, 89, 97-105, 107, 111, 112, 117-120, 123-126, 128, - 132, 133, 135-140, 146, 147, 152, 158, 170, 173, 174, 179-181, - 186-188, 190-193, 209-211, 213, 215, 218, 219 - - —— —— _Childe Harold_, by, 25, 66, 67, 71, 80, 83, 84, 87, 94, 95, 212 - - —— —— _Churchill's Grave_, by, 28, 29 - - —— —— _Letters and Journals of_, 101, 133 - - —— —— _The Vampyre_ (fragment), by, 14-17, 125 - - —— —— _To Princess Charlotte_ by, 112 - - - C - - Caluro, 176, 177 - - Campagne Chapuis, 117 - - Canterbury, 26 - - Caravella, 140 - - Carlsruhe, 88, 90 - - Carnot, 46, 55 - - Castan, 136 - - Casti, Abate, 70 - - —— Novelle by, 70, 71 - - Chamounix, 151 - - Charles Edward, Prince, 199, 222 - - Charles V, 37, 90 - - Chillon, 153 - - Churchill, Rev. Charles, 27, 30 - - Clairmont, Clare, 99-103, 107, 108, 124-126, 133-135 - - Clemann, Harriet, 146 - - —— Madame, 139, 143, 146 - - Coblentz, 83, 85 - - Colburn, Henry, 13, 14, 18, 20 - - Coleridge, S. T., 113 - - —— _Christabel_, by, 126, 128, 129 - - —— _Fire, Famine, and Slaughter_, by, 113, 115 - - Cologne, 76-80 - - Cologny, 98 - - Conyngham, Lord, 149, 150 - - Copeland, Thomas, 7 - - Coppet, 141 - - Corsi, 206 - - _Courier, The_, 23, 112 - - Cowper, Lord, 173, 174 - - Curran, J. P., 117 - - - D - - Dacosta, 69 - - Davies, Scrope B., 25, 151, 152, 213 - - Deagostini, John A., 6, 7 - - Domo d'Ossola, 165 - - Dover, 27, 31 - - Dowden, Professor, 118 - - —— _Life of Shelley_, by, 118, 119, 124-126, 132 - - Drachenfels, the, 81 - - Dumont, Etienne, 104, 139, 147 - - - E - - Ehrenbreitstein, 85 - - Einard, Madame, 105, 106 - - Evans, Rev. Mr., 145 - - - F - - Fabre, 200 - - _Fantasmagoriana_, 125 - - Finch, Colonel, 173, 174, 180 - - Fletcher, William, 31 - - Florence, 197, 203, 218 - - Floris, Franz, 50 - - —— _Angels and Devils_, by, 50, 56 - - Folchi, Signorina, 205 - - Francis, Emperor, 183 - - Freiburg (Baden), 90 - - - G - - Galilei, Galileo, 180 - - Garnett, Dr., 8, 172 - - —— _Dictionary of National Biography_, article in, 8, 11 - - Gatelier, Abate, 139, 141 - - —— Madame, 13, 141 - - Geneva, 98, 104, 106, 141, 149 - - Genthoud, 141 - - Ghent, 37-39, 41, 42, 48 - - Gianni, 179 - - Glenorchy, Lord, 140, 145 - - Godwin, William, 107, 113-115, 131 - - Gordon, Mrs., 71 - - —— Pryse L., 47, 66, 69-71 - - Gori, 202, 203 - - Gray, Thomas, 106, 147, 148 - - Grove, Harriet, 113 - - Guasco, 173, 174, 177, 193 - - Guiccioli, Count, 221 - - Guilford, Lord (Francis), 10, 209 - - Guttannen, 138, 139 - - - H - - Hamilton, Lady Dalrymple, 140 - - Helmhoft, Miss, 80 - - Hentsch, 105, 107 - - Hervey, Mrs., 147 - - Hobhouse, Sir J. Cam, 25, 28, 140, 151, 158, 173, 174, 180, 186-188, - 193, 209, 213, 220 - - Hoche, General, 82, 84 - - Hogg, T. Jefferson, 130 - - Horner, Francis, 209 - - Hougoumont, 63-65 - - Howard, Colonel, 64, 66, 213 - - Hunt, Leigh, 131 - - Hunter, Sir C., 89 - - - I - - Isella, 164 - - Isola Bella, 166 - - Italy, 10 - - - J - - Jacquet, Madlle., 145 - - Jersey, Countess of, 181, 218 - - —— Earl of, 173, 174 - - Jordaens, 52 - - —— _St. Apollonia_, by, 52 - - Julia Alpinula, 94, 95 - - - K - - Kaft, 78, 79 - - Kalf, 77 - - Kauffman, Angelica, 127 - - Keats, John, 174 - - Keswick, 131 - - Kinnoul, Lord, 149 - - Kruger, 40 - - —— _Judgment of Solomon_, by, 40 - - - L - - Lac, Château du, 57, 69, 70 - - Lake Leman, 98, 99 - - Lausanne, 96 - - Lecchini, 197, 201, 205 - - Leghorn, 208 - - Leigh, Hon. Mrs., 51, 140 - - —— Medora, 140 - - Lewis, Matthew G., 125, 140, 141 - - Liège, 72 - - Lloyd, 140, 150, 173, 181, 182, 193, 204 - - Locatelli, Dr., 173, 181 - - Louvain, 72 - - - M - - Malines, 55, 57 - - Mannheim, 88 - - Marceau, General, 83-85 - - Marschner, 24 - - —— _The Vampyre_, opera, by, 24 - - Martineau, Harriett, 3 - - Massey, Junior, 143-145 - - —— Mr., 144 - - Mastrani, Countess, 207 - - Mayence, 86, 87 - - Medwin, Captain, 7 - - —— _Conversations with Byron_, by, 7 - - —— _Life of Shelley_, by, 186, 206 - - Metsys, Quintin, 50 - - Milan, 167-171, 173, 182, 183, 190, 193, 217 - - Milton, John, 99, 170 - - Modena, 194, 196 - - Monti, Signora, 178 - - Monti, Vincenzo, 171-174, 178, 183, 191, 218 - - —— Homer translated, by, 178 - - Moore, Thomas, 118 - - —— _Life of Byron_, by, 118, 123 - - Morat, 92-94 - - _Morning Chronicle, The_, 13, 14, 17, 18, 22 - - Murat, King Joachim, 148 - - Murray, John, 8, 9, 20, 21, 44, 212 - - - N - - Napoleon I., 47, 54, 55, 63-65, 69, 70, 82, 86, 127, 173, 177, 204 - - National Portrait Gallery, 3 - - Negri, Marchese, 173, 174, 178, 179 - - Nelli, 180 - - _New Monthly Magazine, The_, 13, 15, 18, 19 - - _New Times, The_, 4 - - North, Frederick, 181 - - Norwich, 3 - - - O - - Odier, Dr., 118, 119, 133, 151 - - Odier, Madlle., 122, 132 - - Onesti, Signora, 203 - - Ostend, 32, 34 - - - P - - Pachiani, Abate, 206, 207 - - Peacock, T. L., 131 - - Pellico, Silvio, 191 - - Pictet de Sergy, 104, 105, 140 - - Pisa, 192, 205, 209 - - Polidori, Agostino A., 205 - - —— —— _Osteologia_, by, 205 - - —— Charlotte, 11, 32, 103 - - —— Dr. John W., 2 - - —— —— _Cajetan_, by, 30, 44, 123 - - Polidori, Dr. John W., _Costumes of Italy, etc._, by, 3 - - —— —— _Ernestus Berchtold_, by, 2, 19, 22, 23, 127-129 - - —— —— _Oneirodynia_, by, 120 - - —— —— _Punishment of Death_, by, 180, 215 - - —— —— _The Vampyre_, by, 2, 11-18, 20-23, 125, 126 - - —— —— _Ximenes_, by, 2, 124 - - —— Gaetano, 2, 5, 9, 155, 170, 197, 200, 204, 205, 219-221 - - —— Luigi, 155, 202, 218, 219 - - —— Signora, 202 - - Pollent, 41 - - Pontelli, Cavalier, 197-199, 201, 203, 205, 218 - - Porro, 172, 173 - - Potocka, Countess, 125, 126 - - —— memoirs of, 127 - - Pradt, Abbé de, 56 - - - R - - Raphael, 182 - - —— _Lo Sposalizio_, by, 182, 183 - - Reed, Charlotte, 5-7 - - Régnier, Grand Duke, 164, 171 - - Rembrandt, 70, 81 - - Rhine, the, 80, 82, 86, 108 - - Rocca, 137, 139, 146 - - —— Judge, 137, 147 - - Roche, Dr. de, 101, 104 - - Rogers, Samuel, 111, 112 - - Rossetti, Frances, 209 - - —— Gabriele, 209, 219 - - —— Wm. M., 10 - - —— —— _Memoir of Shelley_, by, 10 - - Rossi, 105, 122, 132, 133, 139, 148, 149 - - Rousseau, 106 - - Rubens, 39, 51 - - Rubens, _Adoration of Magi_, by, 53 - - —— _Assembly of Saints_, by, 51 - - —— _Crucifixion_, by, 52 - - —— _Descent from the Cross_, by, 52, 53 - - —— _Martyrdom of St. Peter_, by, 78 - - —— _St. George, etc._, by, 51 - - —— _St. Roch and the Plague-stricken_, by, 39 - - —— _Visitation_, by, 53 - - Rushton, Robert, 31, 152 - - Ryan, Major, 130 - - - S - - Saint Aubyn, Sir John, 140, 151 - - —— Tillotson, 140, 151 - - Saint Gothard, Mount, 158, 159 - - Saladin, Alexis, 144 - - —— Auguste, 144, 146 - - —— Charles, 142, 144 - - —— Madlle., 144, 147 - - —— Mathilde, 144 - - —— of Vaugeron, 134-136, 139, 143 - - Saladins of Maligny, 140, 145 - - Saporati, Marchese, 134, 149 - - Saussure, Nicholas T., 139, 145 - - Scala, Teatro della, 169, 171, 174 - - Scheldt, the, 46 - - Schlegel, August W. von, 137, 139, 146 - - Scott, Sir Walter, 70 - - Sécheron, 99, 100, 103 - - Severn, Joseph, 181 - - Sgricci, 183-186 - - —— _Artemisia_, by, 184 - - —— _Eteocle e Polinice_, by, 184 - - —— _Ettore_, by, 185, 186 - - Shakespear, 147, 148 - - Shelley, Harriet, 109, 128, 130 - - —— Mary, 12, 23, 99-102, 106-108, 110, 113, 116, 118, 123-128, 133-135, - 209, 219 - - —— —— _Frankenstein_, by, 19, 125, 126 - - —— —— _Memoir of Alfieri_, by, 219, 220 - - —— Percy B., 1, 3, 98-102, 104, 106-110, 112-118, 120-133, 135, 136, - 138, 185, 186, 204 - - —— —— _Epipsychidion_, by, 206 - - —— —— _Poetical Essay_, etc., by, 110 - - —— —— _Queen Mab_, by, 107 - - —— —— _Zastrozzi_, by, 109 - - —— William, 116 - - Sherwood and Neely, 16, 22 - - Simplon, the, 163 - - Slaney, Mr., 149 - - —— Mrs., 122, 140, 149 - - Soane, John, 81, 212 - - —— Mrs., 212 - - Somers, Mr., 141, 150, 204 - - Staël, Madame de, 137, 139, 146, 152, 216 - - Swarrow, 172, 173, 183, 188 - - - T - - Tasso, 116, 119 - - Teniers, David, 40 - - —— _Temptation of St. Anthony_, by, 40 - - Thun, 154, 155 - - —— Lake of, 154 - - Tintoretto, 79 - - Toffettheim, 143 - - Toffettheim, Madame, 139, 143 - - _Traveller, The_ (magazine), 4 - - Trevanion, Mr., 140 - - —— Mrs., 140 - - - U - - Unterwalden, 161, 162 - - - V - - Vaccà, Antonio, 155, 204-206, 208 - - —— Leopoldo, 204 - - —— Madame, 206 - - Valence, 150 - - Vandyck, 41, 51, 53 - - —— _Crucifixion_, by, 41, 53 - - Van Eyck, 40 - - Villa Diodati, Cologny, 98-100, 110, 111, 120, 121, 125 - - Viviani, Conte, 192 - - Viviani, Emilia, 206 - - - W - - Wallraf, Professor, 78 - - Wallraf-Richartz Museum, 78 - - Ward, John W. (Lord Dudley), 111 - - Waterloo, 62-64, 213, 214 - - Watts, Mr., 18, 20 - - Wellington, Duke of, 68, 69 - - Westmorland, Countess of, 181, 216, 218 - - Wildman, Colonel, 68 - - Wordsworth, Wm., 28 - - Wotheron, Mr., 173, 174, 180, 181 - - Wraxall, Sir Nathaniel, 67, 68 - - - _Richard Clay & Sons, Limited, London and Bungay_ - - - - - Transcriber's Note - -The original spelling and punctuation have been retained. - -Variations in hyphenation and compound words have been preserved. - -Italicized words and phrases in the text version are presented by -surrounding the text with underscores. - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Diary of Dr. John William Polidori, by -John William Polidori - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DIARY OF DR. 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