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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Dreams, Waking Thoughts, and Incidents
+by William Beckford
+
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+Title: Dreams, Waking Thoughts, and Incidents
+
+Author: William Beckford
+
+Release Date: January, 2005  [EBook #7258]
+[This file was first posted on April 2, 2003]
+
+Edition: 10
+
+Language: English
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+Character set encoding: US-ASCII
+
+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK, DREAMS, WAKING THOUGHTS, ETC. ***
+
+
+
+
+Transcribed from the 1891 Ward, Lock and Co. edition by David Price,
+email ccx074@coventry.ac.uk
+
+
+
+
+Dreams, Waking Thoughts, and Incidents; in a Series of Letters from
+Various Parts of Europe
+
+
+
+LETTER I
+
+
+
+June 19th, 1780.--Shall I tell you my dreams?--To give an account of
+my time is doing, I assure you, but little better.  Never did there
+exist a more ideal being.  A frequent mist hovers before my eyes,
+and, through its medium, I see objects so faint and hazy, that both
+their colours and forms are apt to delude me.  This is a rare
+confession, say the wise, for a traveller to make:  pretty accounts
+will such a one give of outlandish countries:  his correspondents
+must reap great benefit, no doubt, from such purblind observations.
+But stop, my good friends; patience a moment!--I really have not the
+vanity of pretending to make a single remark, during the whole of my
+journey:  if--be contented with my visionary way of gazing, I am
+perfectly pleased; and shall write away as freely as Mr. A., Mr. B.,
+Mr. C., and a million others whose letters are the admiration of the
+politest circles.
+
+All through Kent did I doze as usual; now and then I opened my eyes
+to take in an idea or two of the green, woody country through which I
+was passing; then closed them again; transported myself back to my
+native hills; thought I led a choir of those I loved best through
+their shades; and was happy in the arms of illusion.  The sun set
+before I recovered my senses enough to discover plainly the
+variegated slopes near Canterbury, waving with slender birch-trees,
+and gilt with a profusion of broom.  I thought myself still in my
+beloved solitude, but missed the companions of my slumbers.  Where
+are they?--Behind yon blue hills, perhaps, or t'other side of that
+thick forest.  My fancy was travelling after these deserters, till we
+reached the town; vile enough o' conscience, and fit only to be
+passed in one's sleep.  The moment after I got out of the carriage,
+brought me to the cathedral; an old haunt of mine.  I had always
+venerated its lofty pillars, dim aisles, and mysterious arches.  Last
+night they were more solemn than ever, and echoed no other sound than
+my steps.  I strayed about the choir and chapels, till they grew so
+dark and dismal, that I was half inclined to be frightened; looked
+over my shoulder; thought of spectres that have an awkward trick of
+syllabling men's names in dreary places; and fancied a sepulchral
+voice exclaiming:  "Worship my toe at Ghent; my ribs at Florence; my
+skull at Bologna, Sienna, and Rome.  Beware how you neglect this
+order; for my bones, as well as my spirit, have the miraculous
+property of being here, there, and everywhere."  These injunctions,
+you may suppose, were received in a becoming manner, and noted all
+down in my pocket-book by inspiration (for I could not see), and
+hurrying into the open air, I was whirled away in the dark to
+Margate.  Don't ask what were my dreams thither: --nothing but
+horrors, deep-vaulted tombs, and pale, though lovely figures,
+extended upon them; shrill blasts that sung in my ears, and filled me
+with sadness, and the recollection of happy hours, fleeting away,
+perhaps for ever!  I was not sorry, when the bustle of our coming-in
+dispelled these phantoms.  The change, however, in point of scenery
+was not calculated to dissipate my gloom; for the first object in
+this world that presented itself, was a vast expanse of sea, just
+visible by the gleamings of the moon, bathed in watery clouds; a
+chill air ruffled the waves.  I went to shiver a few melancholy
+moments on the shore.  How often did I try to wish away the reality
+of my separation from those I love, and attempt to persuade myself it
+was but a dream!
+
+This morning I found myself more cheerfully disposed, by the queer
+Dutch faces with short pipes and ginger-bread complexions that came
+smirking and scraping to get us on board their respective vessels;
+but, as I had a ship engaged for me before, their invitations were
+all in vain.  The wind blows fair; and, should it continue of the
+same mind a few hours longer, we shall have no cause to complain of
+our passage.  Adieu!  Think of me sometimes.  If you write
+immediately, I shall receive your letter at the Hague.
+
+It is a bright sunny evening:  the sea reflects a thousand glowing
+colours, and, in a minute or two, I shall be gliding on its surface.
+
+
+
+LETTER II
+
+
+
+OSTEND, June 21st.
+
+T'other minute I was in Greece, gathering the bloom of Hymettus, but
+now I am landed in Flanders, smoked with tobacco, and half poisoned
+with garlic.  Were I to remain ten days at Ostend, I should scarcely
+have one delightful vision; 'tis so unclassic a place--nothing but
+preposterous Flemish roofs disgust your eyes when you cast them
+upwards; swaggering Dutchmen and mongrel barbers are the principal
+objects they meet with below.  I should esteem myself in luck, were
+the nuisances of this seaport confined only to two senses; but, alas!
+the apartment above my head proves a squalling brattery, and the
+sounds which proceed from it are so loud and frequent, that a person
+might think himself in limbo, without any extravagance.
+
+Am I not an object of pity, when I tell you that I was tormented
+yesterday by a similar cause?  But I know not how it is; your violent
+complainers are the least apt to excite compassion.  I believe,
+notwithstanding, if another rising generation should lodge above me
+at the next inn, I shall grow as scurrilous as Dr. Smollett, and be
+dignified with the appellation of the Younger Smelfungus.  Well, let
+those make out my diploma that will, I am determined to vent my
+spleen, and like Lucifer, unable to enjoy comfort myself, tease
+others with the details of my vexatious.  You must know, then, since
+I am resolved to grumble, that, tired with my passage, I went to the
+Capuchin church, a large solemn building, in search of silence and
+solitude; but here again was I disappointed.  Half-a-dozen squeaking
+fiddles fugued and flourished away in the galleries, and as many
+paralytic monks gabbled before the altars, while a whole posse of
+devotees, in long white hoods and flannels, were sweltering on either
+side.
+
+Such piety, in warm weather, was no very fragrant circumstance; so I
+sought the open air again as fast as I was able.  The serenity of the
+evening, joined to the desire I had of casting another glance over
+the ocean, tempted me to the ramparts.  There, at least, thought I to
+myself, I may range undisturbed, and talk with my old friends the
+breezes, and address my discourse to the waves, and be as romantic
+and whimsical as I please; but it happened that I had scarcely begun
+my apostrophe, before out flaunted a whole rank of officers, with
+ladies and abbes and puppy dogs, singing, and flirting, and making
+such a hubbub, that I had not one peaceful moment to observe the
+bright tints of the western horizon, or enjoy the series of antique
+ideas with which a calm sunset never fails to inspire me.
+
+Finding, therefore, no quiet abroad, I returned to my inn, and should
+have gone immediately to bed, in hopes of relapsing into the bosom of
+dreams and delusions; but the limbo I mentioned before grew so very
+outrageous, that I was obliged to postpone my rest till sugar-plums
+and nursery eloquence had hushed it to repose.  At length peace was
+restored, and about eleven o'clock I fell into a slumber, during
+which the most lovely Sicilian prospects filled the eye of my fancy.
+I anticipated the classic scenes of that famous island, and forgot
+every sorrow in the meadows of Enna.
+
+Next morning, awakened by the sunbeams, I arose quite refreshed by
+the agreeable impressions of my dream, and filled with presages of
+future happiness in the climes which had inspired them.  No other
+idea but such as Trinacria and Naples suggested, haunted me whilst
+travelling to Ghent.  I neither heard the vile Flemish dialect which
+was talking around me, nor noticed formal avenues and marshy country
+which we passed.  When we stopped to change horses, I closed my eyes
+upon the whole scene, and was transported immediately to some Grecian
+solitude, where Theocritus and his shepherds were filling the air
+with melody.  To one so far gone in poetic antiquity, Ghent is not
+the most likely place to recall his attention; and I know nothing
+more about it, than that it is a large, ill-paved, dismal-looking
+city, with a decent proportion of convents and chapels, stuffed with
+monuments, brazen gates, and glittering marbles.  In the great church
+were two or three pictures by Rubens, mechanically excellent, but
+these realities were not designed in so graceful a manner as to
+divert my attention from the mere descriptions Pausanias gives us of
+the works of Grecian artists, and I would at any time fall asleep in
+a Flemish cathedral, for a vision of the temple of Olympian Jupiter.
+But I think I hear, at this moment, some grave and respectable
+personage chiding me for such levities, and saying, "Really, Sir, you
+had better stay at home, and dream in your great chair, than give
+yourself the trouble of going post through Europe, in search of
+inspiring places to fall asleep.  If Flanders and Holland are to be
+dreamed over at this rate, you had better take ship at once, and doze
+all the way to Italy."  Upon my word, I should not have much
+objection to that scheme; and, if some cabalist would but transport
+me in an instant to the summit of AEtna, any body might slop through
+the Low Countries that pleased.
+
+Being, however, so far advanced, there was no retracting; and as it
+is now three or four years since I have almost abandoned the hopes of
+discovering a necromancer, I resolved to journey along with Quiet and
+Content for my companions.  These two comfortable deities have, I
+believe, taken Flanders under their especial protection; every step
+one advances discovering some new proof of their influence.  The
+neatness of the houses, and the universal cleanliness of the
+villages, show plainly that their inhabitants live in ease and good
+humour.  All is still and peaceful in these fertile lowlands:  the
+eye meets nothing but round, unmeaning faces at every door, and
+harmless stupidity smiling at every window.  The beasts, as placid as
+their masters, graze on without any disturbance; and I scarcely
+recollect to have heard one grunting swine or snarling mastiff during
+my whole progress.  Before every village is a wealthy dunghill, not
+at all offensive, because but seldom disturbed; and there they bask
+in the sun, and wallow at their ease, till the hour of death and
+bacon arrives, when capacious paunches await them.  If I may judge
+from the healthy looks and reposed complexions of the Flemings, they
+have every reason to expect a peaceful tomb.
+
+But it is high time to leave our swinish moralities behind us, and to
+jog on towards Antwerp.  More rich pastures, more ample fields of
+grain, more flourishing willows!--a boundless plain before this city,
+dotted with cows and flowers, from whence its spires and quaint roofs
+are seen to advantage.  The pale colours of the sky, and a few gleams
+of watery sunshine, gave a true Flemish cast to the scenery, and
+everything appeared so consistent, that I had not a shadow of
+pretence to think myself asleep.
+
+After crossing a broad, noble river, edged on one side by beds of
+osiers beautifully green, and on the other by gates and turrets
+preposterously ugly, we came through several streets of lofty houses
+to our inn.  Its situation in the "Place de Mer," a vast open space
+surrounded by buildings above buildings, and roof above roof, has
+something striking and singular.  A tall gilt crucifix of bronze,
+sculptured by some famous artist, adds to its splendour; and the tops
+of some tufted trees, seen above a line of magnificent hotels, have
+no bad effect in the perspective.
+
+It was almost dusk when we arrived; and as I am very partial to new
+objects discovered by this dubious visionary light, I went
+immediately a-rambling.  Not a sound disturbed my meditations; there
+were no groups of squabbling children or talkative old women.  The
+whole town seemed retired into their inmost chambers; and I kept
+winding and turning about, from street to street, and from alley to
+alley, without meeting a single inhabitant.  Now and then, indeed,
+one or two women in long cloaks and mantles glided about at a
+distance; but their dress was so shroud-like, and their whole
+appearance so ghostly, that I was more than half afraid to accost
+them.  As the night approached, the ranges of buildings grew more and
+more dim, and the silence which reigned amongst them more awful.  The
+canals, which in some places intersect the streets, were likewise in
+perfect solitude, and there was just light sufficient for me to
+observe on the still waters the reflection of the structures above
+them.  Except two or three tapers glimmering through the casements,
+no one circumstance indicated human existence.  I might, without
+being thought very romantic, have imagined myself in the city of
+petrified people, which Arabian fabulists are so fond of describing.
+Were any one to ask my advice upon the subject of retirement, I
+should tell him,--By all means repair to Antwerp.  No village amongst
+the Alps, or hermitage upon Mount Lebanon, is less disturbed:  you
+may pass your days in this great city without being the least
+conscious of its sixty thousand inhabitants, unless you visit the
+churches.  There, indeed, are to be heard a few devout whispers, and
+sometimes, to be sure, the bells make a little chiming; but walk
+about, as I do, in the twilights of midsummer, and be assured your
+ears will be free from all molestation.
+
+You can have no idea how many strange, amusing fancies played around
+me whilst I wandered along; nor how delighted I was with the novelty
+of my situation.  But a few days ago, thought I within myself, I was
+in the midst of all the tumult and uproar of London:  now, as if by
+some magic influence, I am transported to a city equally remarkable
+for streets and edifices, but whose inhabitants seem cast into a
+profound repose.  What a pity that we cannot borrow some small share
+of this soporific disposition!  It would temper that restless spirit
+which throws us sometimes into such dreadful convulsions.  However,
+let us not be too precipitate in desiring so dead a calm; the time
+may arrive when, like Antwerp, we may sink into the arms of
+forgetfulness; when a fine verdure may carpet our Exchange, and
+passengers traverse the Strand, without any danger of being smothered
+in crowds, or lost in the confusion of carriages.
+
+Reflecting, in this manner, upon the silence of the place, contrasted
+with the important bustle which formerly rendered it so famous, I
+insensibly drew near to the cathedral, and found myself, before I was
+aware, under its stupendous tower.  It is difficult to conceive an
+object more solemn or imposing than this edifice at the hour I first
+beheld it.  Dark shades hindered my examining the lower galleries or
+windows; their elaborate carved work was invisible; nothing but huge
+masses of building met my sight, and the tower, shooting up four
+hundred and sixty-six feet into the air, received an additional
+importance from the gloom which prevailed below.  The sky being
+perfectly clear, several stars twinkled through the mosaic of the
+spire, and added not a little to its enchanted effect.  I longed to
+ascend it that instant, to stretch myself out upon its very summit,
+and calculate from so sublime an elevation the influence of the
+planets.
+
+Whilst I was indulging my astrological reveries, a ponderous bell
+struck ten, and such a peal of chimes succeeded, as shook the whole
+edifice, notwithstanding its bulk, and drove me away in a hurry.  No
+mob obstructed my passage, and I ran through a succession of streets,
+free and unmolested, as if I had been skimming along over the downs
+of Wiltshire.  My servants conversing before the hotel were the only
+sounds which the great "Place de Mer" echoed.
+
+This universal stillness was the more pleasing, when I looked back
+upon those scenes of horror and outcry which filled London but a week
+or two ago, when danger was not confined to night only, and the
+environs of the capital, but haunted our streets at midday.  Here, I
+could wander over an entire city; stray by the port, and venture
+through the most obscure alleys, without a single apprehension;
+without beholding a sky red and portentous with the light of fires,
+or hearing the confused and terrifying murmurs of shouts and groans,
+mingled with the reports of artillery.  I can assure you, I think
+myself very fortunate to have escaped the possibility of another such
+week of desolation, and to be peaceably roosted at Antwerp.  Were I
+not still fatigued with my heavy progress through sands and
+quagmires, I should descant a little longer upon the blessings of so
+quiet a metropolis, but it is growing late, and I must retire to
+enjoy it.
+
+
+
+LETTER III
+
+
+
+ANTWERP, June 23rd.
+
+My windows look full upon the Place de Mer, and the sun, beaming
+through their white curtains, awoke me from a dream of Arabian
+happiness.  Imagination had procured herself a tent on the mountains
+of Sanaa, covered with coffee-trees in bloom.  She was presenting me
+the essence of their flowers, and was just telling me that you
+possessed a pavilion on a neighbouring hill, when the sunshine
+dispelled the vision; and opening my eyes, I found myself pent in by
+Flemish spires and buildings:  no hills, no verdure, no aromatic
+breezes, no hope of being in your vicinity:  all were vanished with
+the shadows of fancy, and I was left alone to deplore your absence.
+But I think it rather selfish to wish you here, for what pleasure
+could pacing from one dull church to another, afford a person of your
+turn?  I don't believe you would catch a taste for blubbering
+Magdalens and coarse Madonnas, by lolling in Rubens' chair; nor do I
+believe a view of the Ostades and Snyders, so liberally scattered in
+every collection, would greatly improve your pencil.
+
+After breakfast this morning I began my pilgrimage to all those
+illustrious cabinets.  First, I went to Monsieur Van Lencren's, who
+possesses a suite of apartments, lined, from the base to the cornice,
+with the rarest productions of the Flemish school.  Heavens forbid I
+should enter into a detail of their niceties!  I might as well count
+the dew-drops upon any of Van Huysem's flower-pieces, or the pimples
+on their possessor's countenance; a very good sort of man, indeed;
+but from whom I was not at all sorry to be delivered.
+
+My joy was, however, of short duration, as a few minutes brought me
+into the courtyard of the Chanoin Knyfe's habitation; a snug abode,
+well furnished with easy chairs and orthodox couches.  After viewing
+the rooms on the first floor, we mounted a gentle staircase, and
+entered an ante-chamber, which those who delight in the imitations of
+art rather than of nature, in the likenesses of joint stools and the
+portraits of tankards, would esteem most capitally adorned:  but it
+must be confessed, that, amongst these uninteresting performances,
+are dispersed a few striking Berghems and agreeable Polemburgs.  In
+the gallery adjoining, two or three Rosa de Tivolis merit
+observation; and a large Teniers, representing a St. Anthony
+surrounded by a malicious fry of imps and leering devilesses, is well
+calculated to display the whimsical buffoonery of a Dutch
+imagination.
+
+I was observing this strange medley, when the Canon made his
+appearance; and a most prepossessing figure he has, according to
+Flemish ideas.  In my humble opinion his Reverence looked a little
+muddled or so; and, to be sure, the description I afterwards heard of
+his style of living, favours not a little my surmises.  This worthy
+dignitary, what with his private fortune and the good things of the
+church, enjoys a revenue of about five thousand pounds sterling,
+which he contrives to get rid of in the joys of the table and the
+encouragement of the pencil.
+
+His servants, perhaps, assist not a little in the expenditure of so
+comfortable an income; the Canon being upon a very social footing
+with them all.  At four o'clock in the afternoon, a select party
+attend him in his coach to an alehouse about a league from the city;
+where a table, well spread with jugs of beer and handsome cheeses,
+waits their arrival.  After enjoying this rural fare, the same
+equipage conducts them back again, by all accounts, much faster than
+they came; which may well be conceived, as the coachman is one of the
+brightest wits of the entertainment.
+
+My compliments, alas! were not much relished, you may suppose, by
+this jovial personage.  I said a few favourable words of Polemburg,
+and offered up a small tribute of praise to the memory of Berghem;
+but, as I could not prevail upon Mynheer Knyfe to expand, I made one
+of my best bows, and left him to the enjoyment of his domestic
+felicity.
+
+In my way home, I looked into another cabinet, the greatest ornament
+of which was a most sublime thistle by Snyders, of the heroic size,
+and so faithfully imitated that I dare say no ass could see it
+unmoved.  At length, it was lawful to return home; and as I
+positively refused visiting any more cabinets in the afternoon, I
+sent for a harpsichord of Rucker, and played myself quite out of the
+Netherlands.
+
+It was late before I finished my musical excursion, and I took
+advantage of this dusky moment to revisit the cathedral.  A flight of
+starlings was fluttering about one of the pinnacles of the tower;
+their faint chirpings were the only sounds that broke the stillness
+of the air.  Not a human form appeared at any of the windows around;
+no footsteps were audible in the opening before the grand entrance;
+and, during the half hour I spent in walking to and fro beneath the
+spire, one solitary Franciscan was the only creature that accosted
+me.  From him I learnt that a grand service was to be performed next
+day in honour of St. John the Baptist, and the best music in Flanders
+would be called forth on the occasion.  As I had seen cabinets enough
+to form some slight judgment of Flemish painting, I determined to
+stay one day longer at Antwerp to hear a little how its inhabitants
+were disposed to harmony.
+
+Having taken this resolution, I formed an acquaintance with Mynheer
+Vander Bosch, the first organist of the place, who very kindly
+permitted me to sit next him in his gallery during the celebration of
+high mass.  The service ended, I strayed about the aisles, and
+examined the innumerable chapels which decorate them, whilst Mynheer
+Vander Bosch thundered and lightened away upon his huge organ with
+fifty stops.
+
+When the first flashes of execution were a little subsided, I took an
+opportunity of surveying the celebrated "Descent from the Cross,"
+which has ever been esteemed one of Rubens's chef d'oeuvres, and for
+which they say old Lewis Baboon offered no less a sum than forty
+thousand florins.  The principal figure has, doubtless, a very
+meritorious paleness, and looks as dead as an artist could desire;
+the rest of the group have been so liberally praised, that there is
+no occasion to add another tittle of commendation.  A swinging St.
+Christopher, fording a brook with a child on his shoulders, cannot
+fail of attracting your attention.  This colossal personage is
+painted on the folding-doors which defend the capital performance
+just mentioned from vulgar eyes; and here Rubens has selected a very
+proper subject to display the gigantic coarseness of his pencil.
+
+Had this powerful artist confined his strength to the representation
+of agonizing thieves and sturdy Barabbases, nobody would have been
+readier than your humble servant to offer incense at his shrine, but
+when I find him lost in the flounces of the Virgin's drapery, or
+bewildered in the graces of St. Catherine's smile, pardon me if I
+withhold my adoration.  After I had most dutifully observed all the
+Rubenses in the church, I walked half over Antwerp in search of St.
+John's relics, which were moving about in procession, but an
+heretical wind having extinguished all their tapers, and discomposed
+the canopy over the Bon Dieu, I cannot say much for the grandeur of
+the spectacle.  If my eyes were not greatly regaled by the Saint's
+magnificence, my ears were greatly affected in the evening by the
+music which sang forth his praises.  The cathedral was crowded with
+devotees and perfumed with incense.  Several of its marble altars
+gleamed with the reflection of lamps, and, altogether, the spectacle
+was new and imposing.  I knelt very piously in one of the aisles
+while a symphony in the best style of Corelli, performed with taste
+and feeling, transported me to Italian climates, and I was quite
+vexed, when a cessation dissolved the charm, to think that I had
+still so many tramontane regions to pass, before I could in effect
+reach that classic country, where my spirit had so long taken up its
+abode.  Finding it was in vain to wish or expect any preternatural
+interposition, and perceiving no conscious angel, or Loretto-vehicle,
+waiting in some dark consecrated corner to bear me away, I humbly
+returned to my hotel in the Place de Mer, and soothed myself with
+some terrestrial harmony; till, my eyes growing heavy, I fell fast
+asleep, and entered the empire of dreams, according to custom, by its
+ivory portal.  What passed in those shadowy realms is too thin and
+unsubstantial to be committed to paper.  The very breath of waking
+mortals would dissipate all the train, and drive them eternally away;
+give me leave, therefore, to omit the relation of my visionary
+travels, and have the patience to pursue a sketch of my real ones
+from Antwerp to the Hague.
+
+Monday, June 26th, we were again upon the pave, rattling and jumbling
+along between clipped hedges and blighted avenues.  The plagues of
+Egypt have been renewed, one might almost imagine, in this country,
+by the appearance of the oak-trees:  not a leaf have the insects
+spared.  After having had the displeasure of seeing no other objects
+for several hours, but these blasted rows, the scene changed to vast
+tracts of level country, buried in sand, and smothered with heath;
+the particular character of which I had but too good an opportunity
+of intimately knowing, as a tortoise might have kept pace with us
+without being once out of breath.
+
+Towards evening, we entered the dominions of the United Provinces,
+and had all their glory of canals, track-shuyts, and windmills before
+us.  The minute neatness of the villages, their red roofs, and the
+lively green of the willows which shade them, corresponded with the
+ideas I had formed of Chinese prospects; a resemblance which was not
+diminished upon viewing on every side the level scenery of enamelled
+meadows, with stripes of clear water across them, and innumerable
+barges gliding busily along.  Nothing could be finer than the
+weather; it improved each moment, as if propitious to my exotic
+fancies; and, at sunset, not one single cloud obscured the horizon.
+Several storks were parading by the water-side, amongst flags and
+osiers; and, as far as the eye could reach, large herds of
+beautifully spotted cattle were enjoying the plenty of their
+pastures.  I was perfectly in the environs of Canton, or Ning Po,
+till we reached Meerdyke.  You know fumigations are always the
+current recipe in romance to break an enchantment; as soon,
+therefore, as I left my carriage, and entered my inn, the clouds of
+tobacco which filled every one of its apartments dispersed my Chinese
+imaginations, and reduced me in an instant to Holland.
+
+Why should I enlarge upon my adventures at Meerdyke?  To tell you
+that its inhabitants are the most uncouth bipeds in the universe
+would be nothing very new or entertaining; so let me at once pass
+over the village, leave Rotterdam, and even Delft, that great parent
+of pottery, and transport you with a wave of my pen to the Hague.
+
+As the evening was rather warm, I immediately walked out to enjoy the
+shade of the long avenue which leads to Scheveling.  It was fresh and
+pleasant enough, but I breathed none of those genuine woody perfumes,
+which exhale from the depths of forests, and which allure my
+imagination at once to the haunts of Pan and the good old Sylvanus.
+However, I was far from displeased with my ramble; and, consoling
+myself with the hopes of shortly reposing in the sylvan labyrinths of
+Nemi, I proceeded to the village on the sea-coast, which terminates
+the perspective.  Almost every cottage door being open to catch the
+air, I had an opportunity of looking into their neat apartments.
+Tables, shelves, earthenware, all glisten with cleanliness; the
+country people were drinking tea, after the fatigues of the day, and
+talking over its bargains and contrivances.
+
+I left them, to walk on the beach, and was so charmed with the vast
+azure expanse of ocean, which opened suddenly upon me, that I
+remained there a full half hour.  More than two hundred vessels of
+different sizes were in sight, the last sunbeams purpling their
+sails, and casting a path of innumerable brilliants athwart the
+waves.  What would I not have given to follow this shining track!  It
+might have conducted me straight to those fortunate western climates,
+those happy isles which you are so fond of painting, and I of
+dreaming about.  But, unluckily, this passage was the only one my
+neighbours the Dutch were ignorant of.  To be sure they have islands
+rich in spices, and blessed with the sun's particular attention, but
+which their government, I am apt to imagine, renders by no means
+fortunate.
+
+Abandoning therefore all hopes at present of this adventurous voyage,
+I returned towards the Hague, and, in my way home, looked into a
+country-house of the late Count Bentinck, with parterres and bosquets
+by no means resembling (one should conjecture) the gardens of the
+Hesperides.  But, considering that the whole group of trees,
+terraces, and verdure were in a manner created out of hills of sand,
+the place may claim some portion of merit.  The walks and alleys have
+all the stiffness and formality our ancestors admired; but the
+intermediate spaces, being dotted with clumps and sprinkled with
+flowers, are imagined in Holland to be in the English style.  An
+Englishman ought certainly to behold it with partial eyes, since
+every possible attempt has been made to twist it into the taste of
+his country.
+
+I need not say how liberally I bestowed my encomiums on Count B.'s
+tasteful intentions; nor how happy I was, when I had duly serpentized
+over his garden, to find myself once more in the grand avenue.  All
+the way home, I reflected upon the economical disposition of the
+Dutch, who raise gardens from heaps of sand, and cities out of the
+bosom of the waters.  I had still a further proof of this thrifty
+turn, since the first object I met was an unwieldy fellow (not able,
+or unwilling, perhaps, to afford horses) airing his carcass in a one-
+dog chair.  The poor animal puffed and panted,--Mynheer smoked, and
+gaped around him with the most blessed indifference.
+
+
+
+LETTER IV
+
+
+
+June 30th.
+
+I dedicated the morning to the Prince of Orange's cabinet of
+paintings and curiosities both natural and artificial.  Amongst the
+pictures which amused me the most is a St. Anthony, by Hell-fire
+Brughel, who has shown himself right worthy of the title; for a more
+diabolical variety of imps never entered the human imagination.
+Brughel has made his saint take refuge in a ditch filled with harpies
+and creeping things innumerable, whose malice, one should think,
+would have lost Job himself the reputation of patience.  Castles of
+steel and fiery turrets glare on every side, from whence issue a band
+of junior devils.  These seem highly entertained with pinking poor
+St. Anthony, and whispering, I warrant ye, filthy tales in his ear.
+Nothing can be more rueful than the patient's countenance; more
+forlorn than his beard; more pious than his eye, which forms a strong
+contrast to the pert winks and insidious glances of his persecutors;
+some of whom; I need not mention, are evidently of the female kind.
+
+But really I am quite ashamed of having detained you in such bad
+company so long; and, had I a moment to spare, you should be
+introduced to a better set in this gallery, where some of the most
+exquisite Berghems and Wouvermans I ever beheld would delight you for
+hours.  I do not think you would look much at the Polemburgs; there
+are but two, and one of them is very far from capital; in short I am
+in a great hurry; so pardon me, Carlo Cignani! if I don't do justice
+to your merit; and excuse me, Potter! if I pass by your herds without
+leaving a tribute of admiration.
+
+Mynheer Van Something is as eager to precipitate my motions as I was
+to get out of the damps and perplexities of Soorflect yesterday
+evening; so mounting a very indifferent staircase, he led me to a
+suite of garret-like apartments; which, considering the meanness of
+their exterior, I was much surprised to find stored with some of the
+most valuable productions of the Indies.  Gold cups enriched with
+gems, models of Chinese palaces in ivory, glittering armour of
+Hindostan, and Japan caskets, filled every corner of this awkward
+treasury.  What of all its baubles pleased me most was a large coffer
+of some precious wood, containing enamelled flasks of oriental
+essences, enough to perfume a zenana, and so fragrant that I thought
+the Mogul himself a Dutchman, for lavishing them upon this inelegant
+nation.  If disagreeable fumes, as I mentioned before, dissolve
+enchantments, such aromatic oils have doubtless the power of raising
+them; for, whilst I scented their fragrance, scarcely could anything
+have persuaded me that I was not in the wardrobe of Hecuba, -
+
+
+"Where treasur'd odours breath'd a costly scent."
+
+
+I saw, or seemed to see, the arched apartments, the procession of
+venerable matrons, the consecrated vestments:  the very temple began
+to rise upon my sight, when a Dutch porpoise approaching to make me a
+low bow; his complaisance was full as notorious as Satan's, when,
+according to Catholic legends, he took leave of Calvin or Dr.
+Faustus.  No spell can resist a fumigation of this nature; away fled
+palace, Hecuba, matrons, temple, etc.  I looked up, and lo!  I was in
+a garret.  As poetry is but too often connected with this lofty
+situation, you won't wonder much at my flight.  Being a little
+recovered from it, I tottered down the staircase, entered the
+cabinets of natural history, and was soon restored to my sober
+senses.  A grave hippopotamus contributed a great deal to their
+reestablishment.
+
+The butterflies, I must needs confess, were very near leading me
+another dance:  I thought of their native hills and beloved flowers,
+of Haynang and Nan-Hoa; {110} but the jargon which was prating all
+around me prevented the excursion, and I summoned a decent share of
+attention for that ample chamber which has been appropriated to
+bottled snakes and pickled foetuses.
+
+After having enjoyed the same spectacle in the British Museum, no
+very new or singular objects can be selected in this.  One of the
+rarest articles it contains is the representation in wax of a human
+head, most dexterously flayed indeed!  Rapturous encomiums have been
+bestowed by amateurs on this performance.  A German professor could
+hardly believe it artificial; and, prompted by the love of truth, set
+his teeth in this delicious morsel to be convinced of its reality.
+My faith was less hazardously established; and I moved off, under the
+conviction that art had never produced anything more horridly
+natural.
+
+It was one o'clock before I got through the mineral kingdom; and
+another hour passed before I could quit with decorum the regions of
+stuffed birds and marine productions.  At length my departure was
+allowable; and I went to dine at Sir Joseph Yorke's, with all nations
+and languages.  The Hague is the place in the world for a motley
+assembly, and, in some humours, I think such the most agreeable.
+
+After coffee I strayed to the great wood, which, considering that it
+almost touches the town with its boughs, is wonderfully forest-like.
+Not a branch being ever permitted to be lopped, the oaks and beeches
+retain their natural luxuriance, and form some of the most
+picturesque groups conceivable.  In some places their straight boles
+rise sixty feet without a bough; in others, they are bent
+fantastically over the alleys, which turn and wind about just as a
+painter would desire.  I followed them with eagerness and curiosity,
+sometimes deviating from my path amongst tufts of fern and herbage.
+
+In these cool retreats I could not believe myself near canals and
+windmills; the Dutch formalities were all forgotten whilst
+contemplating the broad masses of foliage above, and the wild flowers
+and grasses below.  Several hares and rabbits scudded by me while I
+sat; and the birds were chirping their evening song.  Their
+preservation does credit to the police of the country, which is so
+exact and well regulated as to suffer no outrage within the precincts
+of this extensive wood, the depth and thickness of which seem
+calculated to favour half the sins of a capital.
+
+Relying upon this comfortable security, I lingered unmolested amongst
+the beeches till the ruddy gold of the setting sun ceased to glow on
+their foliage; then taking the nearest path, I suffered myself,
+though not without regret, to be conducted out of this fresh sylvan
+scene to the dusty, pompous parterres of the Greffier Fagel.  Every
+flower that wealth can purchase diffuses its perfume on one side;
+whilst every stench a canal can exhale, poisons the air on the other.
+These sluggish puddles defy all the power of the United Provinces,
+and retain the freedom of stinking in spite of their endeavours:  but
+perhaps I am too bold in my assertion; for I have no authority to
+mention any attempts to purify these noxious pools.  Who knows but
+their odour is congenial to a Dutch constitution?  One should be
+inclined to this supposition by the numerous banqueting-rooms and
+pleasure-houses which hang directly above their surface, and seem
+calculated on purpose to enjoy them.  If frogs were not excluded from
+the magistrature of their country (and I cannot but think it a little
+hard that they are), one should not wonder at this choice.  Such
+burgomasters might erect their pavilions in such situations.  But,
+after all, I am not greatly surprised at the fishiness of their site,
+since very slight authority would persuade me there was a period when
+Holland was all water, and the ancestors of the present inhabitants
+fish.  A certain oysterishness of eye and flabbiness of complexion
+are almost proofs sufficient of this aquatic descent:  and pray tell
+me for what purpose are such galligaskins as the Dutch burthen
+themselves with contrived, but to tuck up a flouncing tail, and thus
+cloak the deformity of their dolphin-like terminations?
+
+Having done penance for some time in the damp alleys which line the
+borders of these lazy waters, I was led through corkscrew sand-walks
+to a vast flat, sparingly scattered over with vegetation.  To puzzle
+myself in such a labyrinth there was no temptation, so taking
+advantage of the lateness of the hour, and muttering a few
+complimentary promises of returning at the first opportunity, I
+escaped the ennui of this endless scrubbery, and got home, with the
+determination of being wiser and less curious if ever my stars should
+bring me again to the Hague.  To-morrow I bid it adieu, and if the
+horses but second my endeavours, shall be delivered in a few days
+from the complicated plagues of the United Provinces.
+
+
+
+LETTER V
+
+
+
+HAERLEM, July 1st.
+
+The sky was clear and blue when we left the Hague, and we travelled
+along a shady road for about an hour, then down sunk the carriage
+into a sand-bed, and we were dragged along so slowly that I fell into
+a profound repose.  How long it lasted is not material; but when I
+awoke, we were rumbling through Leyden.  There is no need to write a
+syllable in honour of this illustrious city:  its praises have
+already been sung and said by fifty professors, who have declaimed in
+its university, and smoked in its gardens.  So let us get out of it
+as fast as we can, and breathe the cool air of the wood near Haerlem,
+where we arrived just as day declined.  Hay was making in the fields,
+and perfumed the country far and wide with its reviving fragrance.  I
+promised myself a pleasant walk in the groves, took up Gesner, and
+began to have pretty pastoral ideas; but when I approached the nymphs
+that were dispersed on the meads, and saw faces that would have
+dishonoured a flounder, and heard accents that would have confounded
+a hog, all my dislike to the walking filth of the Low Countries
+returned.  I let fall the garlands I had wreathed for the shepherds;
+we jumped into the carriage, and were driven off to the town.  Every
+avenue to it swarmed with people, whose bustle and agitation seemed
+to announce that something extraordinary was going forward.  Upon
+inquiry I found it was the great fair at Haerlem; and before we had
+advanced much farther, our carriage was surrounded by idlers and
+gingerbread-eaters of all denominations.  Passing the gate, we came
+to a cluster of little illuminated booths beneath a grove, glittering
+with toys and looking-glasses.  It was not without difficulty that we
+reached our inn, and then the plague was to procure chambers; at last
+we were accommodated, and the first moment I could call my own has
+been dedicated to you.
+
+You won't be surprised at the nonsense I have written, since I tell
+you the scene of the riot and uproar from whence it bears date.  At
+this very moment the confused murmur of voices and music stops all
+regular proceedings:  old women and children tattling; apes, bears,
+and show-boxes under the windows; French rattling, English swearing,
+outrageous Italians, frisking minstrels; tambours de basque at every
+corner; myself distracted; a confounded squabble of cooks and
+haranguing German couriers just arrived, their masters following
+open-mouthed; nothing to eat, the steam of ham and flesh-pots all the
+while provoking their appetite; Mynheers very busy with the
+realities, and smoking as deliberately as if in a solitary lusthuys
+over the laziest canal in the Netherlands; squeaking chambermaids in
+the galleries above, and prudish dames below, half inclined to
+receive the golden solicitations of certain beauties for admittance,
+but positively refusing them the moment some creditable personage
+appears; eleven o'clock strikes; half the lights in the fair are
+extinguished; scruples grow less and less delicate; Mammon prevails,
+darkness and complaisance succeed.  Good-night; may you sleep better
+than I shall.
+
+
+
+LETTER VI
+
+
+
+UTRECHT, July 2nd.
+
+Well, thank Heaven, Amsterdam is behind us!  How I got thither
+signifies not one farthing; it was all along a canal, as usual.  The
+weather was hot enough to broil an inhabitant of Bengal; and the
+odours, exhaling from every quarter, sufficiently powerful to regale
+the nose of a Hottentot.
+
+Under these agreeable circumstances we entered the great city.  The
+Stadt-huys being the only cool place it contained, I repaired thither
+as fast as the heat permitted, and walked in a lofty marble hall,
+magnificently covered, till the dinner was ready at the inn.  That
+despatched, we set off for Utrecht.  Both sides of the way are lined
+with the country-houses and gardens of opulent citizens, as fine as
+gilt statues and clipped hedges can make them.  Their number is quite
+astonishing:  from Amsterdam to Utrecht, full thirty miles, we beheld
+no other objects than endless avenues and stiff parterres scrawled
+and flourished in patterns like the embroidery of an old maid's work-
+bag.  Notwithstanding this formal taste, I could not help admiring
+the neatness and arrangement of every inclosure, enlivened by a
+profusion of flowers, and decked with arbours, beneath which a vast
+number of round unmeaning faces were solacing themselves after the
+heat of the day.  Each lusthuys we passed contained some comfortable
+party dozing over their pipes, or angling in the muddy fish-ponds
+below.  Scarce an avenue but swarmed with female josses; little squat
+pug-dogs waddling at their sides, the attributes, I suppose, of these
+fair divinities.
+
+But let us leave them to loiter thus amiably in their Elysian groves,
+and arrive at Utrecht; which, as nothing very remarkable claimed my
+attention, I hastily quitted to visit a Moravian establishment at
+Siest, in its neighbourhood.  The chapel, a large house, late the
+habitation of Count Zinzendorf, and a range of apartments filled with
+the holy fraternity, are totally wrapped in dark groves, overgrown
+with weeds, amongst which some damsels were straggling, under the
+immediate protection of their pious brethren.
+
+Traversing the woods, we found ourselves in a large court, built
+round with brick edifices, the grass-plats in a deplorable way, and
+one ragged goat, their only inhabitant, on a little expiatory scheme,
+perhaps, for the failings of the fraternity.  I left this poor animal
+to ruminate in solitude, and followed my guide into a series of shops
+furnished with gew-gaws and trinkets, said to be manufactured by the
+female part of the society.  Much cannot be boasted of their
+handiworks:  I expressed a wish to see some of these industrious fair
+ones; but, upon receiving no answer, found this was a subject OF
+WHICH THERE WAS NO DISCOURSE.
+
+Consoling myself as well as I was able, I put myself under the
+guidance of another slovenly disciple, who showed me the chapel, and
+harangued very pathetically upon celestial love.  In my way thither,
+I caught a glimpse of some pretty sempstresses, warbling melodious
+hymns as they sat needling and thimbling at their windows above.  I
+had a great inclination to have approached this busy group, but the
+roll of the brother's eye corrected me.
+
+Reflecting upon my unworthiness, I retired from the consecrated
+buildings, and was driven back to Utrecht, not a little amused with
+my expedition.  If you are as well disposed to be pleased as I was, I
+shall esteem myself very lucky, and not repent sending you so
+incorrect a narrative.  I really have not time to look it over, and
+am growing so drowsy, that you will, I hope, pardon all its errors,
+when you consider that my pen writes in its sleep.
+
+
+
+LETTER VII
+
+
+
+SPA, July 6th.
+
+From Utrecht to Bois le Duc nothing but sand and heath; no
+inspiration, no whispering foliage, not even a grasshopper, to put
+one in mind of Eclogues and Theocritus.  "But why did you not fall
+into one of your beloved slumbers, and dream of poetic mountains?
+This was the very country to shut one's eyes upon without
+disparagement."  Why so I did, but the postillions and boatmen
+obliged me to open them, as soon as they were closed.  Four times was
+I shoved, out of my visions, into leaky boats, and towed across as
+many idle rivers.  I thought there was no end of these tiresome
+transits; and, when I reached my journey's end, was so completely
+jaded that I almost believed Charon would be the next aquatic I
+should have to deal with.  The fair light of the morning (Tuesday,
+July 4th) was scarcely sufficient to raise my spirits, and I had left
+Bois le Duc a good way in arrears before I was thoroughly convinced
+of my existence; when I looked through the blinds of the carriage,
+and saw nothing but barren plains and mournful willows, banks clad
+with rushes, and heifers so black and dismal that Proserpine herself
+would have given them up to Hecate.  I was near believing myself in
+the neighbourhood of a certain evil place, where I should be punished
+for all my croakings.  We travelled at this rate, I dare say, fifteen
+miles, without seeing a single shed:  at last, one or two miserable
+cottages appeared, darkened by heath, and stuck in a sand-pit; from
+whence issued a half-starved generation, that pursued us a long while
+with their piteous wailings.  The heavy roads and ugly prospects,
+together with the petulant clamours of my petitioners, made me quite
+uncharitable.  I was in a dark, remorseless mood, which lasted me
+till we reached Bree, a shabby decayed town, encompassed by walls and
+ruined turrets.  Having nothing to do, I straggled about them, till
+night shaded the dreary prospects, and gave me an opportunity of
+imagining them, if I pleased, noble and majestic.  Several of these
+waning edifices were invested with thick ivy:  the evening was chill,
+and I crept under their covert.  Two or three brother owls were
+before me, but politely gave up their pretensions to the spot, and,
+as soon as I appeared, with a rueful whoop flitted away to some
+deeper retirement.  I had scarcely begun to mope in tranquillity,
+before a rapid shower trickled amongst the clusters above me, and
+forced me to abandon my haunt.  Returning in the midst of it to my
+inn, I hurried to bed, and was soon lulled asleep by the storm.  A
+dream bore me off to Persepolis; and led me thro' vast subterraneous
+treasures to a hall, where Solomon, methought, was holding forth upon
+their vanity.  I was upon the very point of securing a part of this
+immense wealth, and fancied myself writing down the sage prophet's
+advice how to make use of it, when a loud vociferation in the street,
+and the bell of a neighbouring chapel, dispersed the vision.
+Starting up, I threw open the windows, and found it was eight o'clock
+(Wednesday, July 5th), and had hardly rubbed my eyes, before beggars
+came limping from every quarter.  I knew their plaguy voices but too
+well; and that the same hubbub had broken my slumbers, and driven me
+from wisdom and riches to the regions of ignorance and poverty.  The
+halt, the lame, and the blind, being restored, by the miracle of a
+few stivers, to their functions, we breakfasted in peace, and,
+gaining the carriage, waded through sandy deserts to Maestricht:  our
+view, however, was considerably improved, for a league round the
+town, and presented some hills and pleasant valleys, smiling with
+crops of grain:  here and there, green meadows, spread over with hay,
+varied the prospect, which the chirping of birds (the first I had
+heard for many a tedious day) amongst the barley, rendered so
+cheerful, that I began, like them, my exultations, and was equally
+thoughtless and serene.  I need scarcely tell you, that, leaving the
+coach, I pursued a deep furrow between two extensive corn-fields, and
+reposed upon a bank of flowers, the golden ears waving above my head,
+and entirely bounding my prospect.  Here I lay, in peace and
+sunshine, a few happy moments; contemplating the blue sky, and
+fancying myself restored to the valley at F., where I have passed so
+many happy hours, shut out from the world, and concealed in the bosom
+of harvests.  It was then I first grew so fond of dreaming; and no
+wonder, since I have frequently imagined that Ceres did not disdain
+to inspire my slumbers; but, half concealed, half visible, would tell
+me amusing stories of her reapers; and, sometimes more seriously
+inclined, recite the affecting tale of her misfortunes.  At midday,
+when all was still, and a warm haze seemed to repose on the face of
+the landscape, I have often fancied this celestial voice bewailing
+Proserpine, in the most pathetic accents.  From these sacred moments
+I resolved to offer sacrifice in the fields of Enna; to explore their
+fragrant recesses, and experience whether the Divinity would not
+manifest herself to me in her favourite domain.  It was this vow,
+which tempted me from my native valleys.  Its execution, therefore,
+being my principal aim, I deserted my solitary bank and proceeded on
+my journey.  Maestricht abounds in Gothic churches, but contains no
+temple to Ceres.  I was not sorry to quit it, after spending an hour
+unavoidably within its walls.  Our road was conducted up a
+considerable eminence, from the summit of which we discovered a range
+of woody steeps, extending for leagues; beneath lay a winding valley,
+richly variegated and lighted up by the Maese.  The evening sun,
+scarcely gleaming through hazy clouds, cast a pale, tender hue upon
+the landscape, and the copses, still dewy with a shower that had
+lately fallen, diffused the most grateful fragrance.  Flocks of sheep
+hung browsing on the acclivities, whilst a numerous herd were
+dispersed along the river's side.  I stayed so long, enjoying this
+pastoral scene, that we did not arrive at Liege till the night was
+advanced, and the moon risen.  Her interesting gleams were thrown
+away upon this ill-built, crowded city; and I grieved that gates and
+fortifications prevented my breathing the fresh air of the
+surrounding mountains.
+
+Next morning (July 6th) a zigzag road brought us, after many descents
+and rises, to Spa.  The approach, through a rocky vale, is not
+totally devoid of picturesque merit, and as I met no cabriolets or
+tituppings on the chaufee, I concluded that the waters were not as
+yet much visited; and that I should have their romantic environs
+pretty much to myself.  But, alas, how rudely was I deceived!  The
+moment we entered up flew a dozen sashes.  Chevaliers de St. Louis,
+meagre Marquises, and ladies of the scarlet order of Babylon, all
+poked their heads out.  In a few minutes half the town was in motion;
+tailors, confectioners, and barbers thrusting bills into our hands
+with manifold grimaces and contortions.  Then succeeded a grand entre
+of valets de place, who were hardly dismissed before the lodging
+letters arrived, followed by somebody with a list of les seigneurs
+and dames as long as a Welsh pedigree.  Half-an-hour was wasted in
+speeches and recommendations; another passed before we could snatch a
+morsel of refreshment; they then finding I was neither inclined to go
+to the ball, nor enter the land where Pharaoh reigneth, peace was
+restored, a few feeble bows were scraped, and I found myself in
+perfect solitude.  Taking advantage of this quiet moment, I stole out
+of town, and followed a path cut in the rocks, which brought me to a
+young wood of oaks on their summits.  Luckily I met no saunterer:
+the gay vagabonds, it seemed, were all at the assembly, as happy as
+billiards and chit-chat could make them.  It was not an evening to
+tempt such folks abroad.  The air was cool, and the sky lowering; a
+melancholy cloud shaded the wild hills and irregular woods at a
+distance.  There was something so importunate in their appearance,
+that I could not help asking their name, and was told they were
+skirts of the forest of Ardenne, amongst whose enchanted labyrinths
+the heroes of Boyardo and Ariosto roved formerly in quest of
+adventures.  I felt myself singularly affected whilst gazing upon a
+wood so celebrated in romance for feats of the highest chivalry; and,
+Don Quixote-like, would have explored its recesses in search of that
+memorable fountain of hatred, which (if you recollect the story) was
+raised by Merlin to free illustrious knights and damsels from the
+torments of rejected love.  So far was I advanced in these romantic
+fancies, that, forgetting the lateness of the hour, I wandered on,
+expecting to reach the fountain at every step; but at length it grew
+so dusky that, unable to trace back my way amongst the thickets, in
+vain I strayed through intricate copses, till the clouds began to
+disperse and the moon appeared.  Being so placed as to receive the
+full play of silver radiance, to my no small surprise, I beheld a
+precipice immediately beneath my feet.  The chasm was deep and awful;
+something like the entrance to a grot discovered itself below, and if
+I had not already been disappointed on the score of the fount, I
+won't answer but that I should have flung myself adventurously down,
+and tried whether I might not have seen such wonders as appeared to
+Bradamante, when cast by Pinnabel, rather impolitely, into Merlin's
+cave.  But no propitious light beaming from the cavity, I concluded
+times were changed; and searching about me, found at last a shelving
+steep, which it was just possible to descend without goat's heels,
+and that's all.
+
+In my way home, I passed the redoute, and seeing a vast glare of
+lustres in its apartments, I ran upstairs and found the gamblers all
+eager in storming the Pharaoh Bank:  a young Englishman of
+distinction seemed the most likely to raise the siege, which
+increased every instant in turbulence; but not feeling the least
+inclination to protract or to shorten its fate, I left the knights to
+their adventures, and returned ingloriously to my inn.
+
+All languages are chattering at the Table d'Hote, and all sorts of
+business transacted under my very windows.  The racket and perfume of
+this place make me resolve to get out of it to-morrow; as that is the
+case, you won't hear from me till I reach Munich.  Adieu!  May we
+meet in our dreams by the fountain of Merlin, and from thence take
+our flight with Astolpho to the moon; for I shrewdly suspect the best
+part of our senses are bottled up there; and then, you know, it will
+be a delightful novelty to wake up with a clear understanding.
+
+"Indeed, Sir, no Monsieur comme il faut, ever left Spa in such
+dudgeon before, unless jilted by a Polish princess, or stripped by an
+itinerant Count!  You have neither breakfasted at the Vauxhall, nor
+attended the Spectacle, nor tasted the waters.  Had you but taken one
+sip, your ill-humour would have all trickled away, and you would have
+felt both your heels and your elbows quite alive in the evening."--
+Granted; but pray tell your postillions to drive off as fast as their
+horses will carry them.
+
+Away we went to Aix-la-Chapelle about ten at night, and saw the
+mouldering turrets of that once illustrious capital by the help of a
+candle and lantern.  An old woman asked our names (for not a single
+soldier appeared); and traversing a number of superannuated streets
+without perceiving the least trace of Charlemagne or his Paladins, we
+procured comfortable though not magnificent apartments, and slept
+most unheroically sound, till it was time to set forward for
+Dusseldorf.
+
+July 8th.--As we were driven out of the town, I caught a glimpse of a
+grove, hemmed in by dingy buildings, where a few water-drinkers were
+sauntering along to the sound of some rueful French horns; the wan
+greenish light admitted through the foliage made them look like
+unhappy souls condemned to an eternal lounge for having trifled away
+their existence.  It was not with much regret that I left such a
+party behind; and, after experiencing the vicissitudes of good roads
+and rumbling pavements, found myself, towards the close of evening,
+upon the banks of the Rhine.
+
+Many wild ideas thronged into my mind, the moment I beheld this
+celebrated river.  I thought of the vast regions through which it
+flows, and suffered my imagination to expatiate as far as its source.
+A red, variegated sky, reflected from the stream, the woods trembling
+on its banks, and the spires of Nuys rising beyond them, helped to
+amuse my fancy.  Not being able to brook the confinement of the
+carriage, I left it to come over at its leisure; and, stepping into a
+boat, rowed along, at first, by the quivering osiers; then, launching
+out into the midst of the waters, I glided a few moments with the
+current, and resting on my oars, listened to the hum of voices afar
+off, while several little skiffs, like canoes, glanced before my
+sight, concerning which distance and the twilight allowed me to make
+a thousand fantastic conjectures.  When I had sufficiently indulged
+these extravagant reveries, I began to cross over the river in good
+earnest; and being landed on its opposite margin, travelled forwards
+to the town.
+
+Nothing but the famous gallery of paintings could invite strangers to
+stay a moment within its walls; more crooked streets, more
+indifferent houses, one seldom meets with; except soldiers, not a
+living creature moving about them; and at night a complete regiment
+of bugs "marked me for their own."  Thus I lay, at once both the seat
+of war and the victim of these detestable animals, till early in the
+morning (Sunday, July 9th), when Morpheus, compassionating my
+sufferings, opened the ivory gates of his empire, and freed his
+votary from the most unconscionable vermin that ever nastiness
+engendered.  In humble prose, I fell fast asleep; and remained quiet,
+in defiance of my adversaries, till it was time to survey the
+cabinet.
+
+This collection is displayed in five large galleries, and contains
+some valuable productions of the Italian school; but the room most
+boasted of is that which Rubens has filled with no less than three
+enormous representations of the last day, where an innumerable host
+of sinners are exhibited as striving in vain to avoid the tangles of
+the devil's tail.  The woes of several fat luxurious souls are
+rendered in the highest gusto.  Satan's dispute with some brawny
+concubines, whom he is lugging off in spite of all their resistance,
+cannot be too much admired by those who approve this class of
+subject, and think such strange imbroglios in the least calculated to
+raise a sublime or a religious idea.
+
+For my own part, I turned from them with disgust, and hastened to
+contemplate a Holy Family by Camillo Procaccini, in another
+apartment.  The brightest imagination can never conceive any figure
+more graceful than that of the young Jesus; and if ever I beheld an
+inspired countenance or celestial features, it was here:  but to
+attempt conveying in words what colours alone can express, would be
+only reversing the absurdity of many a master in the gallery, who
+aims to represent those ideas by colours which language alone is able
+to describe.  Should you admit this opinion, you won't be surprised
+at my passing such a multitude of renowned pictures unnoticed; nor at
+my bringing you out of the cabinet without deluging ten pages with
+criticisms in the style of the ingenious Lady M---.
+
+As I had spent so much time in gazing at Camillo's divinity, the day
+was too far advanced to think of travelling to Cologne; I was
+therefore obliged to put myself once more under the dominion of the
+most inveterate bugs in the universe.  This government, like many
+others, made but an indifferent use of its power, and the subject
+suffering accordingly was extremely rejoiced at flying from his
+persecutors to Cologne.
+
+July 10th.--Clouds of dust hindered my making any remarks on the
+exterior of this celebrated city; but if its appearance be not more
+beautiful from without than within, I defy Mr. Salmon himself to
+launch forth very warmly in its praise.  But of what avail are
+stately palaces, broad streets, or airy markets, to a town which can
+boast of such a treasure as the bodies of those three wise sovereigns
+who were star-led to Bethlehem?  Is not this circumstance enough to
+procure it every respect?  I really believe so, from the pious and
+dignified contentment of its inhabitants.  They care not a hair of an
+ass's ear whether their houses be gloomy and ill-contrived, their
+pavements overgrown with weeds, and their shops with filthiness,
+provided the carcasses of Gaspar, Melchior, and Balthazar might be
+preserved with proper decorum.  Nothing, to be sure, can be richer
+than the shrine which contains these precious relics.  I paid my
+devotions before it the moment I arrived; this step was inevitable:
+had I omitted it, not a soul in Cologne but would have cursed me for
+a Pagan.
+
+Do you not wonder at hearing of these venerable bodies so far from
+their native country?  I thought them snug in some Arabian pyramid
+ten feet deep in spice; but you see one can never tell what is to
+become of one a few ages hence.  Who knows but the Emperor of Morocco
+may be canonized some future day in Lapland?  I asked, of course, how
+in the name of miracles they came hither; but found no story of a
+supernatural conveyance.  It seems the holy Empress Helena, as great
+a collectress of relics as the D---s of P. is of profane curiosities,
+first routed them out:  then they were packed off to Rome.  King
+Alaric, having no grace, bundled them down to Milan; where they
+remained till it pleased God to inspire an ancient archbishop with
+the fervent wish of depositing them at Cologne.  There these
+skeletons were taken into the most especial consideration, crowned
+with jewels and filigreed with gold.  Never were skulls more
+elegantly mounted; and I doubt whether Odin's buffet could exhibit so
+fine an assortment.  The chapel containing these beatified bones is
+placed in a dark extremity of the cathedral.  Several golden lamps
+gleam along the polished marbles with which it is adorned, and afford
+just light enough to read the following monkish inscription:-
+
+
+"CORPORA SANCTORUM RECUBANT HIC TERNA MAGORUM;
+EX HIS SUBLATUM NIHIL EST ALIBIVE LOCATUM."
+
+
+After I had satisfied my curiosity with respect to the peregrinations
+of the consecrated skeletons, I examined their shrine; and was rather
+surprised to find it not only enriched with barbaric gold and pearl,
+but covered with cameos and intaglios of the best antique sculpture.
+Many an impious emperor and gross Silenus, many a wanton nymph and
+frantic bacchanal, figure in the same range with the statues of
+saints and evangelists.  How St. Helena could tolerate such a mixed
+assembly (for the shrine was formed under her auspices) surpasses my
+comprehension.  Perhaps you will say it is no great matter, and give
+me a hint to move out of the chapel, lest the three kings and their
+star should lead me quite out of my way.  Very well; I think I had
+better stop in time, to tell you, without further excursion, that we
+set off after dinner for Bonn.
+
+Our road-side was lined with beggarly children, high convent walls,
+and scarecrow crucifixes, lubberly monks, dejected peasants, and all
+the delights of Catholicism.  Such scenery not engaging a share of my
+attention, I kept gazing at the azure irregular mountains which
+bounded our view, and in thought was already transported to their
+summits.  Various are the prospects I surveyed from this imaginary
+exaltation, and innumerable the chimeras which trotted in my brain.
+Mounted on these fantastic quadrupeds, I shot swiftly from rock to
+rock, and built castles in the style of Piranesi upon most of their
+pinnacles.  The magnificence and variety of my aerial towers hindered
+my thinking the way long.  I was still walking with a crowd of
+phantoms upon their terraces, when the carriage made a halt.
+Immediately descending the innumerable flights of steps which divide
+such lofty edifices from the lower world, I entered the inn at Bonn,
+and was shown into an apartment which commands the chief front of the
+Elector's palace.  You may guess how contemptible it appeared to one
+just returned from the court of fancy.
+
+In other respects, I saw it in a very favourable moment; for the
+twilight, shading the whole facade, concealed its plaistered walls
+and painted pillars; their pediments and capitals being tolerably
+well proportioned, and the range of windows beneath considerable, I
+gave the architect more credit than he deserved, and paced to and fro
+beneath the arcade, as pompously as if arrived at the Vatican; but
+the circumstance which rendered my walk in reality agreeable, was the
+prevalence of a delicious perfume.  It was so dusky, that I was a
+minute or two seeking in vain the entrance of an orangery, from
+whence this reviving scent proceeded.  At length I discovered it;
+and, passing under an arch, found myself in the midst of lemon and
+orange trees, now in the fullest blow, which form a continued grove
+before the palace, and extend, on each side of its grand portal, out
+of sight.  A few steps separate this extensive terrace from a lawn,
+bordered by stately rows of beeches.  Beyond, in the centre of this
+striking theatre, rises a romantic assemblage of distant mountains,
+crowned with the ruins of castles, whose turrets, but faintly seen,
+were just such as you have created to complete a prospect.  I was the
+only human being in the misty extent of the gardens, and was happier
+in my solitude than I can describe.  No noise disturbed its silence,
+except the flutter of moths and trickling of fountains.  These
+undecided sounds, corresponding with the dimness and haze of the
+scenery, threw me into a pensive state of mind, neither gay nor
+dismal.  I recapitulated the wayward adventures of my childhood, and
+traced back each moment of a period, which had seen me happy.  Then,
+turning my thoughts towards future days, my heart beat at the idea of
+that awful veil which covers the time to come.  One moment, 'twas the
+brightest hope that glittered behind it; the next, a series of
+melancholy images clouded the perspective.  Thus, alternately swayed
+by fears and exultation, I passed an interesting hour in the
+twilight, ranging amongst the orange trees, or reclined by the
+fountain.  I could not boast of being perfectly satisfied, since
+those were absent, without whom not even the fields of Enna could be
+charming.  However, I was far from displeased with the clear streams
+that bubbled around, and could willingly have dropped asleep by their
+margin.  Had I reposed in so romantic a situation, the murmurs of
+trees and waters would doubtless have invited "some strange
+mysterious dream" to hover over me, and perhaps futurity might have
+been unveiled.
+
+
+
+LETTER VIII
+
+
+
+July 11th.--Let those who delight in picturesque country repair to
+the borders of the Rhine, and follow the road which we took from Bonn
+to Coblentz.  In some places it is suspended like a cornice above the
+waters; in others, it winds behind lofty steeps and broken
+acclivities, shaded by woods and clothed with an endless variety of
+plants and flowers.  Several green paths lead amongst this vegetation
+to the summits of the rocks, which often serve as the foundation of
+abbeys and castles, whose lofty roofs and spires, rising above the
+cliffs, impress passengers with ideas of their grandeur, that might
+probably vanish upon a nearer approach.  Not choosing to lose any
+prejudice in their favour, I kept a respectful distance whenever I
+left my carriage, and walked on the banks of the river.
+
+Just before we came to Andernach, an antiquated town with strange
+morisco-looking towers, I spied a raft, at least three hundred feet
+in length, on which ten or twelve cottages were erected, and a great
+many people employed in sawing wood.  The women sat spinning at their
+doors, whilst their children played among the water-lilies that
+bloomed in abundance on the edge of the stream.  A smoke, rising from
+one of these aquatic habitations, partially obscured the mountains
+beyond, and added not a little, to their effect.
+
+Altogether, the scene was so novel and amusing, that I sat half an
+hour contemplating it from an eminence under the shade of some leafy
+walnuts; and should like extremely to build a moveable village,
+people it with my friends, and so go floating about from island to
+island, and from one woody coast of the Rhine to another.  Would you
+dislike such a party?  I am much deceived, or you would be the first
+to explore the shades and promontories beneath which we should be
+wafted along.
+
+But I don't think you would find Coblentz, where we were obliged to
+take up our night's lodging, much to your taste.  'Tis a mean, dirty
+assemblage of plastered houses, striped with paint, and set off with
+wooden galleries, in the beautiful taste of St. Giles's.  Above, on a
+rock, stands the palace of the Elector, which seems to be remarkable
+for nothing but situation.  I did not bestow many looks on this
+structure whilst ascending the mountain across which our road to
+Mayence conducted us.
+
+July 12th.--Having attained the summit, we discovered a vast,
+irregular range of country, and advancing, found ourselves amongst
+downs bounded by forests and purpled with thyme.  This sort of
+prospect extending for several leagues, I walked on the turf, and
+inhaled with avidity the fresh gales that blew over its herbage, till
+I came to a steep slope overgrown with privet and a variety of
+luxuriant shrubs in blossom; there reposing beneath its shade, I
+gathered flowers, listened to the bees, observed their industry, and
+idled away a few minutes with great fascination.  A cloudless sky and
+bright sunshine made me rather loth to move on; but the charms of the
+landscape, increasing every instant, drew me forward.
+
+I had not gone far, before a winding valley discovered itself, shut
+in by rocks and mountains clothed to their very summits with the
+thickest woods.  A broad river, flowing at the base of the cliffs,
+reflected the impending vegetation, and looked so calm and glassy
+that I was determined to be better acquainted with it.  For this
+purpose we descended by a zigzag path into the vale, and making the
+best of our way on the banks of the Lune (for so is the river
+called), came suddenly upon the town of Ems, famous in mineral story;
+where finding very good lodgings, we took up our abode, and led an
+Indian life amongst the wilds and mountains.
+
+After supper I walked on a smooth lawn by the river, to observe the
+moon journeying through a world of silver clouds that lay dispersed
+over the face of the heavens.  It was a mild genial evening; every
+mountain cast its broad shadow on the surface of the stream; lights
+twinkled afar off on the hills; they burnt in silence.  All were
+asleep, except a female figure in white, with glow-worms shining in
+her hair.  She kept moving disconsolately about; sometimes I heard
+her sigh; and if apparitions sigh, this must have been an apparition.
+Upon my return, I asked a thousand questions, but could never obtain
+any information of the figure and its luminaries.
+
+July 13th.--The pure air of the morning invited me early to the
+hills.  Hiring a skiff, I rowed about a mile down the stream, and
+landed on a sloping meadow, level with the waters, and newly mown.
+Heaps of hay still lay dispersed under the copses which hemmed in on
+every side this little sequestered paradise.  What a spot for a tent!
+I could encamp here for months, and never be tired.  Not a day would
+pass by without discovering some new promontory, some untrodden
+pasture, some unsuspected vale, where I might remain among woods and
+precipices lost and forgotten.  I would give you, and two or three
+more, the clue of my labyrinth:  nobody else should be conscious of
+its entrance.  Full of such agreeable dreams, I rambled about the
+meads, scarcely knowing which way I was going; sometimes a spangled
+fly led me astray, and, oftener, my own strange fancies.  Between
+both, I was perfectly bewildered, and should never have found my boat
+again, had not an old German naturalist, who was collecting fossils
+on the cliffs, directed me to it.
+
+When I got home it was growing late, and I now began to perceive that
+I had taken no refreshment, except the perfume of the hay and a few
+wood strawberries; airy diet, you will observe, for one not yet
+received into the realms of Ginnistan. {127}
+
+July 14th.--I have just made a discovery, that this place as full of
+idlers and water-drinkers as their Highnesses of Orange and Hesse
+Darmstadt can desire; for to them accrue all the profits of its
+salubrious fountains.  I protest, I knew nothing of all this
+yesterday, so entirely was I taken up with the rocks and meadows; no
+chance of meeting either card or billiard players in their solitudes.
+Both abound at Ems, where they hop and fidget from ball to ball,
+unconscious of the bold scenery in their neighbourhood, and totally
+insensible to its charms.  They had no notion, not they, of admiring
+barren crags and precipices, where even the Lord would lose his way,
+as a coarse lubber decorated with stars and orders very ingeniously
+observed to me; nor could they form the least conception of any
+pleasure there was in climbing like a goat amongst the cliffs, and
+then diving into woods and recesses where the sun had never
+penetrated; where there were neither card-tables prepared nor
+sideboards garnished; no jambon de Mayence in waiting; no supply of
+pipes, nor any of the commonest delights, to be met with in the
+commonest taverns.
+
+To all this I acquiesced with most perfect submission, but
+immediately left the orator to entertain a circle of antiquated dames
+and weather-beaten officers who were gathering around him.  Scarcely
+had I turned my back upon this polite assembly, when Monsieur
+l'Administrateur des bains, a fine pompous fellow, who had been
+maitre d'hotel in a great German family, came forward purposely to
+acquaint me, I suppose, that their baths had the honour of possessing
+Prince Orloff, "avec sa grande maitresse, son Chamberlain et quelques
+Dames d'Honneur:" moreover, that his Highness came hither to refresh
+himself after his laborious employments at the Court of Petersburg,
+and expected (grace aux eaux!) to return to the domains his august
+sovereign had lately bestowed upon him in perfect health, and to
+become the father of his people.
+
+Wishing Monsieur d'Orloff all possible success, I should have left
+the company at a great distance, had not a violent shower stopped my
+career, and obliged me to return to my apartment.  The rain growing
+heavier, intercepted the prospect of the mountains, and spread such a
+gloom over the vale as sank my spirits fifty degrees; to which a
+close foggy atmosphere not a little contributed.  Towards night the
+clouds assumed a more formidable aspect.  Thunder rolled awfully
+along the distant cliffs, and several rapid torrents began to run
+down the steeps.  Unable to stay within, I walked into an open
+portico, listening to the murmur of the river, mingled with the roar
+of falling waters.  At intervals a blue flash of lightning discovered
+their agitated surface, and two or three scared women rushing through
+the storm and calling all the saints in Paradise to their assistance.
+
+Things were in this state, when the orator who had harangued so
+brilliantly on the nothingness of ascending mountains, took shelter
+under the porch, and entering immediately into conversation, regaled
+my ears with a woful narration of murders which had happened the
+other day on the precise road I was to follow next morning.
+
+"Sir," said he, "your route is, to be sure, very perilous:  on the
+left you have a chasm, down which, should your horses take the
+smallest alarm, you are infallibly precipitated; to the right hangs
+an impervious wood, and there, sir, I can assure you, are wolves
+enough to devour a regiment; a little farther on, you cross a
+desolate tract of forest land, the roads so deep and broken, that if
+you go ten paces in as many minutes you may think yourself fortunate.
+There lurk the most savage banditti in Europe, lately irritated by
+the Prince of Orange's proscription; and so desperate, that if they
+once attack, you can expect no mercy.  Should you venture through
+this hazardous district to-morrow, you will, in all probability, meet
+a company of people who have just left the town to search for the
+mangled bodies of their relations; but, for Heaven's sake, sir, if
+you value your life, do not suffer an idle curiosity to lead you over
+such dangerous regions, however picturesque their appearance."
+
+I own I felt rather intimidated by so formidable a prospect, and was
+very near abandoning my plan of crossing the mountains, and so go
+back again and round about, the Lord knows where; but considering
+this step would be quite unheroical, I resolved to attribute my fears
+to the gloom of the moment, and the dejection it occasioned.  It was
+almost nine o'clock before my kind adviser ceased inspiring me with
+terrors; then, finding myself at liberty, I retired to bed, not under
+the most agreeable impressions; and after tossing and tumbling in the
+agitation of tumultuous slumbers, I started up at seven in the
+morning of July 15th, ordered the horses, and set forward, without
+further dilemmas.  Though it had thundered almost the whole night,
+the air was still clogged with vapours, the mountains bathed in humid
+clouds, and the scene I had so warmly admired no longer discernible.
+Proceeding along the edge of the precipices I had been forewarned of,
+for about an hour, and escaping that peril at least, we traversed the
+slopes of a rude, heathy hill, in instantaneous expectation of foes
+and murderers.  A misty rain prevented us seeing above ten yards
+before us, and every uncouth oak or rocky fragment we approached
+seemed lurking spies or gigantic enemies.  One time the murmur of the
+wind among invisible woods of beech, sounded like the wail of
+distress; and at another the noise of a torrent we could not
+discover, counterfeited the report of musquetry.  In this suspicious
+manner we journeyed through the forest which had so recently been the
+scene of assaults and depredations.  At length, after winding several
+restless hours amongst its dreary avenues, we emerged into open
+daylight.  The sky cleared, a cultivated vale lay before us, and the
+evening sun, gleaming bright through the vapours, cast a cheerful
+look upon some corn-fields, and seemed to promise better times.  A
+few minutes more brought us safe to the village of Viesbaden, where
+we slept in peace and tranquillity.
+
+July 16th.--Our apprehensions entirely dispersed, we rose light and
+refreshed from our slumbers, and passing through Mayence, Oppenheim,
+and Worms, travelled gaily over the plain in which Mannheim is
+situated.  The sun set before we arrived there, and it was by the
+mild gleams of the rising moon, that I first beheld the vast
+electoral palace, and those long straight streets and neat white
+houses, which distinguish this elegant capital from almost every
+other.
+
+Numbers of well-dressed people were amusing themselves with music and
+fireworks in the squares and open spaces; other groups appeared
+conversing in circles before their doors, and enjoying the serenity
+of the evening.  Almost every window bloomed with carnations; and we
+could hardly cross a street without hearing the German flute.  A
+scene of such happiness and refinement contrasted in the most
+agreeable manner with the dismal prospects we had left behind.  No
+storms, no frightful chasms, were here to alarm us, no ruffians or
+lawless plunderers.  All around was peace, security, and contentment
+in their most engaging attire.
+
+July 17th.--Though all impatience to reach that delightful classic
+region which already possesses, as I have often said, the better half
+of my spirit, I could not think of leaving Mannheim unexplored; and
+therefore resolved to give up the day to the halls and galleries of
+the electoral palace.  Those, which contain the cabinet of paintings
+and sculptures in ivory, form a regular suite of nine immense
+apartments, about three hundred and seventy-two feet in length, well-
+proportioned and uniformly floored with inlaid wood.  Each room has
+ample folding-doors richly gilt and varnished.  When seen in
+perspective these entrances have the most magnificent effect
+imaginable.  Nothing can give nobler ideas of space than such an
+enfilade of saloons unencumbered by heavy furniture, where the eyes
+range without interruption:  I wandered alone from one to the other,
+and was never wearied with contemplating the variety of pictures
+which enliven the scene, and convey the highest idea of the
+collector's taste.  When my curiosity was a little satisfied, I left
+this amusing series of apartments with regret, visited the library
+which the present Elector Palatine has formed, upon the same great
+scale that characterizes his other collections, and, after viewing
+the rest of the palace, saw the opera house, which may boast of
+having contained one of the first bands in Europe:  from thence I
+returned home in a very musical humour.
+
+An excellent harpsichord seconded this disposition, which lasted me
+till late in the evening; when growing drowsy, I yielded to the
+influence of sleep, and was in an instant transported to a far more
+delightful palace than that of the elector; where I expatiated in
+perfumed apartments with yellow light, and conversed with none but
+Albano and Claude Lorrain, till the beams of the morning sun entered
+my chamber, and forced my visiting companions to fly murmuring to the
+shades.  I cannot say but I was sorry to leave Mannheim, though my
+acquaintance with it was entirely confined to inanimate objects.  The
+cheerful air and free range of the galleries would be sufficient, for
+several days, for my amusement; as you know I could people them with
+phantoms.  Not many leagues out of town, lie the famous gardens of
+Schweidsing.  The weather being extremely warm, we were glad to avail
+ourselves of their shades.  There are a great many fountains inclosed
+by thickets of shrubs, and cool alleys which lead to arbours of
+trellis-work, festooned with nasturtiums and convolvuluses.  Several
+catalpas and sumachs in full flower gave considerable richness to the
+scenery; and whilst we walked amongst them, a fresh breeze gently
+waved their summits.  The tall poplars and acacias, quivering with
+the air, cast innumerable shadows on the intervening plats of
+greensward, and, as they moved their branches, discovered other walks
+beyond, and distant jets of water rising above their foliage, and
+sparkling in the sun.  After passing a multitude of shady avenues,
+terminated by temples or groups of statues, we followed our guide
+through a kind of arched bower to a little opening in the wood,
+neatly paved with different coloured pebbles.  On one side, appeared
+niches and alcoves, ornamented with spars and polished marbles; on
+the other, an aviary; in front, a superb pavilion, with baths,
+porticos, and cabinets, fitted up in the most elegant and luxurious
+style.  The song of exotic birds; the freshness of the surrounding
+verdure heightened by falling streams; and that dubious poetic light
+admitted through thick foliage, so agreeable after the glare of a
+sultry day, detained me for some time in an alcove reading Spenser,
+and imagining myself but a few paces removed from the Idle Lake.  I
+would fain have loitered an hour more in this enchanted bower, had
+not the gardener, whose patience was quite exhausted, and who had
+never heard of the Red-Cross Knight and his achievements, dragged me
+away to a sunburnt, contemptible hillock, commanding the view of a
+serpentine ditch, and decorated with the title of Jardin Anglois.
+Some object like decayed limekilns and mouldering ovens, is disposed
+in an amphitheatrical form, on the declivity of this tremendous
+eminence:  and there is to be ivy, and a cascade, and what not, as my
+conductor observed.  A glance was all I bestowed on this caricature
+upon English gardens; I then went off in a huff at being chased from
+my bower, and grumbled all the road to Entsweigen; where, to our
+misfortune, we lay amidst hogs and vermin, who amply revenged my
+quarrels with their country.
+
+July 20th.--After travelling a post or two, we came in sight of a
+green moor, with many insulated woods and villages; the Danube
+sweeping majestically along, and the city of Ulm rising upon its
+banks.  The fields in its neighbourhood were overspread with cloths
+bleaching in the sun, and waiting for barks which convey them down
+the great river, in ten days, to Vienna, and from thence through
+Hungary, into the midst of the Turkish Empire.  I almost envied the
+merchants their voyage, and descending to the edge of the stream,
+proffered my orisons to Father Danube, beseeching him to remember me
+to the regions through which he flows.  I promised him an altar and
+solemn rites, should he grant my request, and was very idolatrous,
+until the shadows lengthening over the unlimited plains on his
+margin, reminded me that the sun would be shortly sunk, and that I
+had still above fifteen miles to go.  Gathering a purple iris that
+grew upon the bank, I wore it to his honour; and have reason to fancy
+my piety was rewarded, as not a fly or an insect dared to buzz about
+me the whole evening.
+
+You never saw a brighter sky nor more glowing clouds than gilded our
+horizon.  The air was impregnated with the perfume of clover, and for
+ten miles we beheld no other objects than smooth levels enamelled
+with flowers, and interspersed with thickets of oak, beyond which
+appeared a long series of mountains, that distance and the evening
+tinged with an interesting azure.  Such were the very spots for
+youthful games and exercises, open spaces for tilts, and spreading
+shades to screen the spectators.
+
+Father Lafiteau tells us, there are many such vast and flowery meads
+in the interior of America, to which the roving tribes of Indians
+repair once or twice in a century to settle the rights of the chase,
+and lead their solemn dances; and so deep an impression do these
+assemblies leave on the minds of the savages, that the highest ideas
+they entertain of future felicity consist in the perpetual enjoyment
+of songs and dances upon the green boundless lawns of their elysium.
+In the midst of these visionary plains rises the abode of Aneantsic,
+encircled by choirs of departed chieftains leaping in cadence to the
+mournful sound of spears as they ring on the shell of the tortoise.
+Their favourite attendants, long separated from them whilst on earth,
+are restored again in this ethereal region, and skim freely over the
+vast level space; now hailing one group of beloved friends, and now
+another.  Mortals newly ushered by death into this world of pure blue
+sky and boundless meads, see the long-lost objects of their affection
+advancing across the lawn to meet them.  Flights of familiar birds,
+the purveyors of many an earthly chase, once more attend their
+progress, whilst the shades of their faithful dogs seem coursing each
+other below.  Low murmurs and tinkling sounds fill the whole region,
+and, as its new denizens proceed, increase in melody, till, unable to
+resist the thrilling music, they spring forward in ecstasies to join
+the eternal round.
+
+A share of this celestial transport seemed communicated to me whilst
+my eyes wandered over the plain, which appeared to widen and extend
+in proportion as the twilight prevailed.
+
+The dusky hour, favourable to conjurations, allowed me to believe the
+spirits of departed friends not far removed from the clouds, which,
+to all appearance, reposed at the extremity of the prospect, and
+tinted the surface of the horizon with ruddy colours.  This glow
+still lingered upon the verge of the landscape, after the sun
+disappeared; and 'twas in those peaceful moments, when no sound but
+the browsing of cattle reached me, that I imagined benign looks were
+cast upon me from the golden vapours, and I seemed to catch glimpses
+of faint forms moving, amongst them, which were once so dear; and
+even thought my ears affected by well-known voices, long silent upon
+earth.  When the warm hues of the sky were gradually fading, and the
+distant thickets began to assume a deeper and more melancholy blue, I
+fancied a shape like Thisbe {133} shot swiftly along; and, sometimes
+halting afar off, cast an affectionate look upon her old master, that
+seemed to say, When you draw near the last inevitable hour, and the
+pale countries of Aneantsic are stretched out before you, I will
+precede your footsteps, and guide them safe through the wild
+labyrinths which separate this world from yours.  I was so possessed
+with the ideas and so full of the remembrance of that poor,
+affectionate creature, whose miserable end you were the witness of,
+that I did not, for several minutes, perceive our arrival at
+Guntsberg.  Hurrying to bed, I seemed in my slumbers to pass that
+interdicted boundary which divides our earth from the region of
+Indian happiness.  Thisbe ran nimbly before me; her white form
+glimmered amongst dusky forests; she led me into an infinitely
+spacious plain, where I heard vast multitudes discoursing upon events
+to come.  What further passed must never be revealed.  I awoke in
+tears, and could hardly find spirits enough to look around me, till
+we were driving through the midst of Augsburg.
+
+July 21st.--We dined and rambled about this renowned city till
+evening.  The colossal paintings on the walls of almost every
+considerable building gave it a strange air, which pleases upon the
+score of novelty.
+
+Having passed a number of streets decorated in this exotic manner, we
+found ourselves suddenly before the public hall, by a noble statue of
+Augustus, under whose auspices the colony was formed.  Which way
+soever we turned, our eyes met some remarkable edifice, or marble
+basin into which several groups of sculptured river-gods pour a
+profusion of waters.  These stately fountains and bronze statues, the
+extraordinary size and loftiness of the buildings, the towers rising
+in perspective, and the Doric portal of the town-house, answered in
+some measure the idea Montfaucon gives us of the scene of an ancient
+tragedy.  Whenever a pompous Flemish painter attempts a
+representation of Troy, and displays in his background those streets
+of palaces described in the Iliad, Augsburg, or some such city, may
+easily be traced.  Sometimes a corner of Antwerp discovers itself;
+and generally, above a Corinthian portico, rises a Gothic spire.
+Just such a jumble may be viewed from the statue of Augustus, under
+which I remained till the Concierge came, who was to open the gates
+of the town-house, and show me its magnificent hall.
+
+I wished for you exceedingly when, ascending a flight of a hundred
+steps, I entered it through a portal, supported by tall pillars and
+crowned with a majestic pediment.  Upon advancing, I discovered five
+more entrances equally grand, with golden figures of guardian genii
+leaning over the entablature; and saw, through a range of windows,
+each above thirty feet high, and nearly level with the marble
+pavement, the whole city, with all its roofs and spires, beneath my
+feet.  The pillars, cornices, and panels of this striking apartment
+are uniformly tinged with brown and gold; and the ceiling, enriched
+with emblematical paintings and innumerable canopies of carved work,
+casts a very magisterial shade.  Upon the whole, I should not be
+surprised at a burgomaster assuming a formidable dignity in such a
+room.
+
+I must confess it had a somewhat similar effect upon me; and I
+descended the flight of steps with as much pomposity as if a
+triumphal car waited at my feet, or as if on the point of giving
+audience to the Queen of Sheba.  It happened to be a Saint's day, and
+half the inhabitants of Augsburg were gathered together in the
+opening before their hall; the greatest numbers, especially the
+women, still exhibiting the very identical dresses which Hollar
+engraved.  My lofty gait imposed upon this primitive assembly, which
+receded to give me passage with as much silent respect as if I had
+really been the wise sovereign of Israel.  When I got home, an
+execrable supper was served up to my majesty; I scolded in an unroyal
+style, and soon convinced myself I was no longer Solomon.
+
+July 22nd.--Joy to the Electors of Bavaria! for planting such
+extensive woods of fir in their dominions as shade over the chief
+part of the road from Augsburg to Munich.  Near the last-mentioned
+city, I cannot boast of the scenery changing to advantage.  Instead
+of flourishing woods and verdure, we beheld a parched dreary flat,
+diversified by fields of withering barley, and stunted avenues drawn
+formally across them; now and then a stagnant pool, and sometimes a
+dunghill, by way of regale.  However, the wild rocks of the Tyrol
+terminate the view, and to them imagination may fly, and walk amidst
+springs and lilies of her own creation.  I speak from authority,
+having had the pleasure of anticipating an evening in this romantic
+style.
+
+Tuesday next is the grand fair, with horse-races and junketings:  a
+piece of news I was but too soon acquainted with; for the moment we
+entered the town, good-natured creatures from all quarters advised us
+to get out of it; since traders and harlequins had filled every
+corner of the place, and there was not a lodging to be procured.  The
+inns, to be sure, were like hives of industrious animals sorting
+their merchandise, and preparing their goods for sale.  Yet, in spite
+of difficulties, we got possession of a quiet apartment.
+
+July 23rd.--We were driven in the evening to Nymphenburg, the
+Elector's country palace, whose bosquets, jets-d'eaux, and parterres
+are the pride of the Bavarians.  The principal platform is all of a
+glitter with gilded Cupids and shining serpents spouting at every
+pore.  Beds of poppies, hollyhocks, scarlet lychnis, and the most
+flaming flowers, border the edge of the walks, which extend till the
+perspective meets, and swarm with ladies and gentlemen in parti-
+coloured raiment.  The Queen of Golconda's gardens in a French opera
+are scarcely more gaudy and artificial.  Unluckily, too, the evening
+was fine, and the sun so powerful that we were half roasted before we
+could cross the great avenue and enter the thickets, which barely
+conceal a very splendid hermitage, where we joined Mr. and Mrs. T.,
+and a party of fashionable Bavarians.
+
+Amongst the ladies was Madame la Contesse, I forget who, a production
+of the venerable Haslang, with her daughter, Madame de ---, who has
+the honour of leading the Elector in her chains.  These goddesses
+stepping into a car, vulgarly called a cariole, the mortals followed,
+and explored alley after alley and pavilion after pavilion.  Then,
+having viewed Pagodenburg, which is, as they told me, all Chinese;
+and Marienburg, which is most assuredly all tinsel; we paraded by a
+variety of fountains in full squirt, and though they certainly did
+their best (for many were set a-going on purpose), I cannot say I
+greatly admired them.
+
+The ladies were very gaily attired, and the gentlemen, as smart as
+swords, bags, and pretty clothes could make them, looked exactly like
+the fine people one sees represented in a coloured print.  Thus we
+kept walking genteelly about the orangery, till the carriage drew up
+and conveyed us to Mr. T's.
+
+Immediately after supper, we drove once more out of town, to a garden
+and tea-room, where all degrees and ages dance jovially together till
+morning.  Whilst one party wheel briskly away in the valz, another
+amuse themselves in a corner with cold meat and rhenish.  That
+despatched, out they whisk amongst the dancers, with an impetuosity
+and liveliness I little expected to have found in Bavaria.  After
+turning round and round, with a rapidity that is quite inconceivable
+to an English dancer, the music changes to a slower movement, and
+then follows a succession of zig-zag minuets, performed by old and
+young, straight and crooked, noble and plebeian, all at once, from
+one end of the room to the other.  Tallow candles snuffing and
+stinking, dishes changing, heads scratching, and all sorts of
+performances going forward at the same moment; the flutes, oboes, and
+bassoons snorting and grunting with peculiar emphasis; now fast, now
+slow, just as Variety commands, who seems to rule the ceremonial of
+this motley assembly, where every distinction of rank and privilege
+is totally forgotten.  Once a week, on Sundays that is to say, the
+rooms are open, and Monday is generally somewhat advanced before they
+are deserted.  If good humour and coarse merriment are all that
+people desire, here they are to be found in perfection, though at the
+expense of toes and noses.  Both these extremities of my person
+suffered most cruelly; and I was not sorry to retire about one in the
+morning to a purer atmosphere.
+
+July 24th.--Custom condemned us to visit the palace, which glares
+with looking-glass, gilding, and cut velvet, most sumptuously fringed
+and spangled.  The chapel, though small, is richer than anything
+Croesus ever possessed, let them say what they will.  Not a corner
+but shines with gold, diamonds, and scraps of martyrdom studded with
+jewels.  I had the delight of treading amethysts and the richest gems
+under foot, which, if you recollect, Apuleius thinks such supreme
+felicity.  Alas! I was quite unworthy of the honour, and had much
+rather have trodden the turf of the mountains.  Mammon would never
+have taken his eyes off the pavement; mine soon left the
+contemplation of it, and fixed on St. Peter's thumb, enshrined with a
+degree of elegance, and adorned by some malapert enthusiast with
+several of the most delicate antique cameos I ever beheld; the
+subjects, Ledas and sleeping Venuses, are a little too pagan, one
+should think, for an apostle's finger.
+
+From this precious repository we were conducted through the public
+garden to a large hall, where part of the Sleitzom collection is
+piled up, till a gallery can be finished for its reception.  'Twas a
+matter of great favour to view, in this state, the pieces that
+compose it,--a very imperfect one too, since some of the best were
+under operation.  But I would not upon any account have missed the
+sight of Rubens's "Massacre of the Innocents."  Such expressive
+horrors were never yet transferred to canvas, and Moloch himself
+might have gazed at them with pleasure.
+
+After dinner we were led round the churches; and if you are as much
+tired with reading my voluminous descriptions, as I was with the
+continual repetition of altars and reliquaries, the Lord have mercy
+upon you!  However, your delivery draws near.  The post is going out,
+and to-morrow we shall begin to mount the cliffs of the Tyrol; but
+don't be afraid of any long-winded epistles from their summits:  I
+shall be too well employed in ascending them.  Just now, as I have
+lain by a long while, I grow sleek, and scribble on in mere
+wantonness of spirit.  What excesses such a correspondence is capable
+of, you will soon be able to judge.
+
+July 25th.--The noise of the people thronging to the fair did not
+allow me to slumber very long in the morning.  When I got up, every
+street was crowded with Jews and mountebanks, holding forth and
+driving their bargains in all the energetic vehemence of the German
+tongue.  Vast quantities of rich merchandise glittered in the shops
+as we passed along to the gates.  Heaps of fruit and sweetmeats set
+half the grandams and infants in the place a-cackling with felicity.
+
+Mighty glad was I to make my escape; and in about an hour or two, we
+entered a wild tract of country, not unlike the skirts of a princely
+park.  A little farther on stands a cluster of cottages, where we
+stopped to give our horses some bread, and were pestered with swarms
+of flies, most probably journeying to Munich fair, there to feast
+upon sugared tarts and bottle-noses.
+
+The next post brought us over hill and dale, grove and meadow, to a
+narrow plain, watered by rivulets and surrounded by cliffs, under
+which lies scattered the village of Wollrathshausen, consisting of
+several cottages, built entirely of fir, with strange galleries
+hanging over the way.  Nothing can be neater than the carpentry of
+these simple edifices, nor more solid than their construction; many
+of them looked as if they had braved the torrents which fell from the
+mountains a century ago; and, if one may judge from the hoary
+appearance of the inhabitants, here are patriarchs who remember the
+Emperor Lewis of Bavaria.  Orchards of cherry-trees impend from the
+steeps above the village, which to our certain knowledge produce no
+contemptible fruit.
+
+Having refreshed ourselves with their cooling juice, we struck into a
+grove of pines, the tallest and most flourishing perhaps we ever
+beheld.  There seemed no end to these forests, save where little
+irregular spots of herbage, fed by cattle, intervened.  Whenever we
+gained an eminence it was only to discover more ranges of dark wood,
+variegated with meadows and glittering streams.  White clover and a
+profusion of sweet-scented flowers clothe their banks; above, waves
+the mountain-ash, glowing with scarlet berries; and beyond, rise
+hills and rocks and mountains, piled upon one another, and fringed
+with fir to their topmost acclivities.  Perhaps the Norwegian forests
+alone equal these in grandeur and extent.  Those which cover the
+Swiss highlands rarely convey such vast ideas.  There, the woods
+climb only half way up their ascents, and then are circumscribed by
+snows:  here, no boundaries are set to their progress, and the
+mountains, from their bases to their summits, display rich unbroken
+masses of vegetation.
+
+As we were surveying this prospect, a thick cloud, fraught with
+thunder, obscured the transparence of the horizon, whilst flashes
+startled our horses, whose snorts and stampings resounded through the
+woods.  What from the shade of the firs and the impending tempests,
+we travelled several miles almost in total darkness.  One moment the
+clouds began to fleet, and a faint gleam promised serener hours, but
+the next all was gloom and terror; presently a deluge of rain poured
+down upon the valley, and in a short time the torrents, beginning to
+swell, raged with such fury as to be with difficulty forded.
+Twilight drew on, just as we had passed the most terrible; then
+ascending a steep hill under a mountain, whose pines and birches
+rustled with the storm, we saw a little lake below.  A deep azure
+haze veiled its eastern shore, and lowering vapours concealed the
+cliffs to the south; but over its western extremities a few
+transparent clouds, the remains of the rays of a struggling sunset,
+were suspended, which streamed on the surface of the waters, and
+tinged with tender pink the brow of a verdant promontory.
+
+I could not help fixing myself on the banks of the lake for several
+minutes, till this apparition was lost, and confounded with the
+shades of night.  Looking round, I shuddered at a craggy mountain,
+clothed in dark forests and almost perpendicular, that was absolutely
+to be surmounted before we could arrive at Wallersee.  No house, not
+even a shed appearing, we were forced to ascend the peak, and
+penetrate these awful groves.
+
+Great praise is due to the directors of the roads across them, which,
+considering their situation, are wonderfully fine.  Mounds of stone
+support the passage in some places; and, in others, it is hewn with
+incredible labour through the solid rock.  Beeches and pines of a
+hundred feet high, darken the way with their gigantic branches,
+casting a chill around, and diffusing a woody odour.  As we advanced,
+in the thick shade, amidst the spray of torrents, and heard their
+loud roar in the chasm beneath, I could scarcely help thinking myself
+transported to the Grande Chartreuse; and began to conceive hopes of
+once more beholding St. Bruno. {140}  But, though that venerable
+father did not vouchsafe an apparition, or call to me again from the
+depths of the dells, he protected his votary from nightly perils, and
+brought us to the banks of Wallersee Lake.  We saw lights gleam upon
+its shores, which directed us to a cottage where we reposed after our
+toils, and were soon lulled to sleep by the fall of distant waters.
+
+July 26th.--The sun rose many hours before me, and when I got up was
+spangling the surface of the lake, which expands between steeps of
+wood, crowned by lofty crags and pinnacles.  We had an opportunity of
+contemplating this bold assemblage as we travelled on the banks of
+the Meer, where it forms a bay sheltered by impending forests; the
+water, tinged by their reflection with a deep cerulean, calm and
+tranquil.  Mountains of pine and beech rising above, close every
+outlet; and, no village or spire peeping out of the foliage, impress
+an idea of more than European solitude.  I could contentedly have
+passed a summer's moon in these retirements, hollowed myself a canoe,
+and fished for sustenance.
+
+From the shore of Wallersee, our road led us straight through arching
+groves, which the axe seems never to have violated, to the summit of
+a rock covered with spurge-laurel, and worn by the course of torrents
+into innumerable craggy forms.  Beneath, lay extended a chaos of
+shattered cliffs, with tall pines springing from their crevices, and
+rapid streams hurrying between their intermingled trunks and
+branches.  As yet, no hut appeared, no mill, no bridge, no trace of
+human existence.
+
+After a few hours' journey through the wilderness, we began to
+discover a wreath of smoke; and presently the cottage from whence it
+arose, composed of planks, and reared on the very brink of a
+precipice.  Piles of cloven spruce-fir were dispersed before the
+entrance, on a little spot of verdure browsed by goats; near them sat
+an aged man with hoary whiskers, his white locks tucked under a fur
+cap.  Two or three beautiful children, their hair neatly braided,
+played around him; and a young woman, dressed in a short robe and
+Polish-looking bonnet, peeped out of a wicket window.
+
+I was so much struck with the exotic appearance of this sequestered
+family, that, crossing a rivulet, I clambered up to their cottage and
+begged some refreshment.  Immediately there was a contention amongst
+the children, who should be the first to oblige me.  A little black-
+eyed girl succeeded, and brought me an earthen jug full of milk, with
+crumbled bread, and a platter of strawberries fresh picked from the
+bank.  I reclined in the midst of my smiling hosts, and spread my
+repast on the turf:  never could I be waited upon with more
+hospitable grace.  The only thing I wanted was language to express my
+gratitude; and it was this deficiency which made me quit them so
+soon.  The old man seemed visibly concerned at my departure; and his
+children followed me a long way down the rocks, talking in a dialect
+which passes all understanding, and waving their hands to bid me
+adieu.
+
+I had hardly lost sight of them and regained my carriage before we
+entered a forest of pines, to all appearance without bounds, of every
+age and figure; some, feathered to the ground with flourishing
+branches; others, decayed into shapes like Lapland idols.  I can
+imagine few situations more dreadful than to be lost at night amidst
+this confusion of trunks, hollow winds whistling among the branches,
+and strewing their cones below.  Even at noonday, I thought we should
+never have found our way out.
+
+At last, having descended a long avenue, endless perspectives opening
+on either side, we emerged into a valley bounded by swelling hills,
+divided into agreeable shady inclosures, where many herds were
+grazing.  A rivulet flows along the pastures beneath; and after
+winding through the village of Boidou, loses itself in a narrow pass
+amongst the cliffs and precipices which rise above the cultivated
+slopes, and frame in this happy pastoral region.  All the plain was
+in sunshine, the sky blue, and the heights illuminated, except one
+rugged peak with spires of rock, shaped not unlike the views I have
+seen of Sinai, and wrapped, like that sacred mount, in clouds and
+darkness.  At the base of this tremendous mass, lies a neat hamlet
+called Mittenvald, surrounded by thickets and banks of verdure, and
+watered by frequent springs, whose sight and murmurs were so reviving
+in the midst of a sultry day, that we could not think of leaving
+their vicinity, but remained at Mittenvald the whole evening.
+
+Our inn had long airy galleries, and a pleasant balcony fronting the
+mountain.  In one of these we dined upon trout fresh from the rills,
+and cherries just culled from the orchards that cover the slopes
+above.  The clouds were dispersing, and the topmost peak half
+visible, before we ended our repast.  Every moment discovering some
+inaccessible cliff or summit, shining through the mists, and tinted
+by the sun with pale golden colours.  These appearances filled me
+with such delight and with such a train of romantic associations,
+that I left the table and ran to an open field beyond the huts and
+gardens, to gaze in solitude and catch the vision before it dissolved
+away.  You, if any human being is able, may conceive true ideas of
+these glowing vapours sailing over the pointed rocks; and brightening
+them in their passage with amber light.
+
+When all were faded and lost in the blue ether, I had time to look
+around me and notice the mead in which I was standing.  Here, clover
+covered its surface; there, crops of grain; further on, beds of herbs
+and the sweetest flowers.  An amphitheatre of hills and rocks, broken
+into a variety of glens and precipices, guards the plain from
+intrusion, and opens a course for several clear rivulets, which,
+after gurgling amidst loose stones and fragments, fall down the
+steeps, and are concealed and quieted in the herbage of the vale.
+
+A cottage or two peep out of the woods that hang over the waterfalls;
+and on the brow of the hills above, appears a series of eleven little
+chapels, uniformly built.  I followed the narrow path that leads to
+them, on the edge of the eminences, and met a troop of beautiful
+peasants, all of the name of Anna (for it was her saintship's day),
+going to pay their devotions, severally, at these neat white fanes.
+There were faces that Guercino would not have disdained copying, with
+braids of hair the softest and most luxuriant I ever beheld.  Some
+had wreathed it simply with flowers, other with rolls of a thin linen
+(manufactured in the neighbourhood), and disposed it with a degree of
+elegance one should not have expected on the cliffs of the Tyrol.
+
+Being arrived, they knelt all together at the first chapel, on the
+steps, a minute or two, whispered a short prayer, and then dispersed
+each to her fane.  Every little building had now its fair worshipper,
+and you may well conceive how much such figures, scattered about the
+landscape, increased its charms.  Notwithstanding the fervour of
+their adorations (for at intervals they sighed and beat their white
+bosoms with energy), several bewitching profane glances were cast at
+me as I passed by.  Don't be surprised, then, if I became a convert
+to idolatry in so amiable a form, and worshipped St. Anna on the
+score of her namesakes.
+
+When got beyond the last chapel, I began to hear the roar of a
+cascade in a thick wood of beech and chestnut that clothes the steeps
+of a wide fissure in the rock.  My ear soon guided me to its
+entrance, which was marked by a shed encompassed with mossy
+fragments, and almost concealed by bushes of the caper-plant in full
+red bloom.  Amongst these I struggled, till, reaching a goat-track,
+it conducted me, on the brink of the foaming waters, to the very
+depths of the cliff, whence issues a stream which dashes impetuously
+down, strikes against a ledge of rocks, and sprinkles the impending
+thicket with dew.  Big drops hung on every spray, and glittered on
+the leaves partially gilt by the rays of the declining sun, whose
+mellow hues softened the summits of the cliffs, and diffused a
+repose, a divine calm, over this deep retirement, which inclined me
+to imagine it the extremity of the earth, and the portal of some
+other region of existence; some happy world beyond the dark groves of
+pine, the caves and awful mountains, where the river takes its
+source!  I hung eagerly on the gulph, impressed with this idea, and
+fancied myself listening to a voice that bubbled up with the waters;
+then looked into the abyss and strained my eyes to penetrate its
+gloom, but all was dark and unfathomable as futurity!  Awakening from
+my reverie, I felt the damps of the water chill my forehead, and ran
+shivering out of the vale to avoid them.  A warmer atmosphere, that
+reigned in the meads I had wandered across before, tempted me to
+remain a good while longer, collecting the wild pinks with which they
+are strewed in profusion, and a species of thyme scented like myrrh.
+Whilst I was thus employed, a confused murmur struck my ear, and, on
+turning towards a cliff, backed by the woods from whence the sound
+seemed to proceed, forth issued a herd of goats, hundreds after
+hundreds, skipping down the steeps:  then followed two shepherd boys,
+gamboling together as they drove their creatures along:  soon after,
+the dog made his appearance, hunting a stray heifer which brought up
+the rear.  I followed them with my eyes till lost in the windings of
+the valley, and heard the tinkling of their bells die gradually away.
+Now the last blush of crimson left the summit of Sinai, inferior
+mountains being long since cast in deep blue shades.  The village was
+already hushed when I regained it, and in a few moments I followed
+its example.
+
+July 27th.--We pursued our journey to Inspruck, through the wildest
+scenes of wood and mountain that were ever traversed, the rocks now
+beginning to assume a loftier and more majestic appearance, and to
+glisten with snows.  I had proposed passing a day or two at Inspruck,
+visiting the castle of Ambras, and examining Count Eysenberg's
+cabinet, enriched with the rarest productions of the mineral kingdom,
+and a complete collection of the moths and flies peculiar to the
+Tyrol; but, upon my arrival, the azure of the skies and the
+brightness of the sunshine inspired me with an irresistible wish of
+hastening to Italy.  I was now too near the object of my journey, to
+delay possession any longer than absolutely necessary; so, casting a
+transient look on Maximilian's tomb, and the bronze statues of
+Tyrolese Counts and worthies, solemnly ranged in the church of the
+Franciscans, set immediately off.
+
+We crossed a broad noble street, terminated by a triumphal arch, and
+were driven along the road to the foot of a mountain waving with
+fields of corn, and variegated with wood and vineyards, encircling
+lawns of the finest verdure, scattered over with white houses
+glistening in the sun.  Upon ascending the mount, and beholding a
+vast range of prospects of a similar character, I almost repented my
+impatience, and looked down with regret upon the cupolas and steeples
+we were leaving behind.  But the rapid succession of lovely and
+romantic scenes soon effaced the former from my memory.
+
+Our road, the smoothest in the world (though hewn in the bosom of
+rocks), by its sudden turns and windings, gave us, every instant,
+opportunities of discovering new villages, and forests rising beyond
+forests; green spots in the midst of wood, high above on the
+mountains, and cottages perched on the edge of promontories.  Down,
+far below, in the chasm, amidst a confusion of pines and fragments of
+stone, rages the torrent Inn, which fills the country far and wide
+with a perpetual murmur.  Sometimes we descended to its brink, and
+crossed over high bridges; sometimes mounted half-way up the cliffs,
+till its roar and agitation became, through distance, inconsiderable.
+
+After a long ascent, the shades of evening reposing in the valleys,
+and the upland snows still tinged with a vivid red, we reached
+Schonberg, a village well worthy of its appellation:  and then,
+twilight drawing over us, began to descend.  We could now but faintly
+discover the opposite mountains, veined with silver rills, when we
+came once more to the banks of the Inn.  This turbulent stream
+accompanied us all the way to Steinach, and broke by its continual
+roar the stillness of the night, which had finished half its course
+before we were settled to rest.
+
+July 28th.--I rose early to scent the fragrance of the vegetation,
+bathed in a shower which had lately fallen, and looking around me,
+saw nothing but crags hanging over crags, and the rocky shores of the
+stream, still dark with the shade of the mountains.  The small
+opening in which Steinach is situated, terminates in a gloomy strait,
+scarce leaving room for the road and the torrent, which does not
+understand being thwarted, and will force its way, let the pines grow
+ever so thick, or the rocks be ever so considerable.
+
+Notwithstanding the forbidding air of this narrow dell, Industry has
+contrived to enliven its steeps with habitations, to raise water by
+means of a wheel, and to cover the surface of the rocks with soil.
+By this means large crops of oats and flax are produced, and most of
+the huts have gardens adjoining, which are filled with poppies,
+seeming to thrive in this parched situation.
+
+
+"Urit enim lini campum seges, urit avenae,
+Urunt Lethaeo perfusa papavera somno."
+
+
+The farther we advanced in the dell, the larger were the plantations
+which discovered themselves.  For what purpose these gaudy flowers
+meet with such encouragement, I had neither time nor language to
+inquire; the mountaineers stuttering a gibberish unintelligible even
+to Germans.  Probably opium is extracted from them; or, perhaps, if
+you love a conjecture, Morpheus has transferred his abode from the
+Cimmerians, and has perceived a cavern somewhere or other in the
+recesses of these endless mountains.  Poppies, you know, in poetic
+travels, always denote the skirts of his soporific reign, and I don't
+remember a region better calculated for undisturbed repose than the
+narrow clefts and gullies which run up amongst these rocks, lost in
+vapours impervious to the sun, and moistened by rills and showers,
+whose continual tricklings inspire a drowsiness not easily to be
+resisted.  Add to these circumstances the waving of the pines, with
+the hum of bees seeking their food in the crevices, and you will have
+as sleepy a region as that in which Spenser and Ariosto have placed
+the nodding deity.
+
+At present, I must confess, I should not dislike submitting to his
+empire, for a few months or years, just as it might happen, whilst
+Europe is distracted by demons of revenge and war; whilst they are
+strangling at Venice, and tearing each other to pieces in unhappy
+London; whilst Etna and Vesuvius give signs of uncommon wrath;
+America welters in her blood; and almost every quarter of the globe
+is filled with carnage and devastation.  This is the moment to humble
+ourselves before the God of Sleep; to beseech him to open his dusky
+portals; and admit us into the repose of his retired kingdom.  If you
+are inclined to become a suppliant, hasten to the Tyrol, and we will
+search together about the mountains, traverse the poppy-meads, and
+look into every chasm and fissure that excludes daylight, in hopes of
+discovering the mansion of repose.  Then when we have found this
+corner (or I think our search will be successful) Morpheus will give
+us an approving nod, and beckon us in silence to couch, where, soon
+lulled by the murmurs of the place, we shall sink into oblivion and
+tranquillity.  But we may as well keep our eyes open for the present,
+till we have made this important discovery, and look at the beautiful
+country round Brixen, whither I arrived in the cool of the evening,
+and breathed the freshness of a garden, immediately beneath my
+window.  The thrushes, warbling amongst its shades, saluted me, the
+moment I awoke next morning.
+
+July 29th.--We proceeded over fertile mountains to Bolsano.  Here
+first I noticed the rocks cut into terraces, thick set with melons
+and Indian corn; gardens of fig-trees and pomegranates hanging over
+walls, clustered with fruit; amidst them, a little pleasant cot,
+shaded by cypresses.  In the evening we perceived several further
+indications of approaching Italy; and after sunset the Adige, rolling
+its full tide between precipices, which looked awful in the dusk.
+Myriads of fire-flies sparkled amongst the shrubs on the bank.  I
+traced the course of these exotic insects by their blue light, now
+rising to the summits of the trees, now sinking to the ground and
+associating with vulgar glow-worms.  We had opportunities enough to
+remark their progress, since we travelled all night; such being my
+impatience to reach the promised land!
+
+Morning dawned just as we saw Trent dimly before us.  I slept a few
+hours, then set out again (July 30th), after the heats were in some
+degree abated, and leaving Bergine, where the peasants were feasting
+before their doors, in their holiday dresses, with red pinks stuck in
+their ears instead of rings, and their necks surrounded with coral of
+the same colour, we came through a woody valley to the banks of a
+lake, filled with the purest and most transparent water, which loses
+itself in shady creeks, amongst hills robed with verdure from their
+bases to their summits.
+
+The shores present one continual shrubbery, interspersed with knots
+of larches and slender almonds, starting from the underwood.  A
+cornice of rock runs round the whole, except where the trees descend
+to the very brink, and dip their boughs in the water.
+
+It was five o'clock when I caught the sight of this unsuspected lake,
+and the evening shadows stretched nearly across it.  Gaining a very
+rapid ascent, we looked down upon its placid bosom, and saw several
+airy peaks rising above the tufted foliage of the groves around.  I
+quitted the contemplation of them with regret, and, in a few hours,
+arrived at Borgo di Volsugano, the scenes of the lake still present
+before the eye of my fancy.
+
+July 31st.--My heart beat quick when I saw some hills, not very
+distant, which I was told lay in the Venetian State, and I thought an
+age, at least, had elapsed before we were passing their base.  The
+road was never formed to delight an impatient traveller; loose
+pebbles and rolling stones render it, in the highest degree, tedious
+and jolting.  I should not have spared my execrations, had it not
+traversed a picturesque valley, overgrown with juniper, and strewed
+with fragments of rock, precipitated, long since, from the
+surrounding eminences, blooming with cyclamens.
+
+I clambered up several of these crags,
+
+
+"fra gli odoriferi ginepri,"
+
+
+to gather the flowers I have just mentioned, and found them
+deliciously scented.  Fratillarias, and the most gorgeous flies, many
+of which I here noticed for the first time, were fluttering about and
+expanding their wings to the sun.  There is no describing the numbers
+I beheld, nor their gaily varied colouring.  I could not find in my
+heart to destroy their felicity; to scatter their bright plumage and
+snatch them for ever from the realms of light and flowers.  Had I
+been less compassionate, I should have gained credit with that
+respectable corps, the torturers of butterflies; and might, perhaps,
+have enriched their cabinets with some unknown captives.  However, I
+left them imbibing the dews of heaven, in free possession of their
+native rights; and having changed horses at Tremolano, entered at
+length my long-desired Italy.
+
+The pass is rocky and tremendous, guarded by a fortress (Covalo), in
+possession of the Empress Queen, and only fit, one should think, to
+be inhabited by her eagles.  There is no attaining this exalted hold
+but by the means of a cord let down many fathoms by the soldiers, who
+live in dens and caverns, which serve also as arsenals, and magazines
+for powder; whose mysteries I declined prying into, their approach
+being a little too aerial for my earthly frame.  A black vapour,
+tinging their entrance, completed the terror of the prospect, which I
+shall never forget.
+
+For two or three leagues it continued much in the same style; cliffs,
+nearly perpendicular, on both sides, and the Brenta foaming and
+thundering below.  Beyond, the rocks began to be mantled with vines
+and gardens.  Here and there a cottage shaded with mulberries made
+its appearance, and we often discovered, on the banks of the river,
+ranges of white buildings, with courts and awnings, beneath which
+vast numbers were employed in manufacturing silk.  As we advanced,
+the stream gradually widened, and the rocks receded; woods were more
+frequent and cottages thicker strown.
+
+About five in the evening, we had left the country of crags and
+precipices, of mists and cataracts, and were entering the fertile
+territory of the Bassanese.  It was now I beheld groves of olives,
+and vines clustering the summits of the tallest elms; pomegranates in
+every garden, and vases of citron and orange before almost every
+door.  The softness and transparency of the air soon told me I was
+arrived in happier climates; and I felt sensations of joy and novelty
+run through my veins, upon beholding this smiling land of groves and
+verdure stretched out before me.  A few glooming vapours, I can
+hardly call them clouds, rested upon the extremities of the
+landscape; and, through their medium, the sun cast an oblique and
+dewy ray.  Peasants were returning homeward from the cultivated
+hillocks and corn-fields, singing as they went, and calling to each
+other over the hills; whilst the women were milking goats before the
+wickets of the cottages, and preparing their country fare.
+
+I left them enjoying it, and soon beheld the ancient ramparts and
+cypresses of Bassano; whose classic appearance recalled the memory of
+former times, and answered exactly the ideas I had pictured to myself
+of Italian edifices.  Though encompassed by walls and turrets,
+neither soldiers nor custom-house officers start out from their
+concealment, to question and molest a weary traveller, for such are
+the blessings of the Venetian State, at least of the Terra Firma
+provinces, that it does not contain, I believe, above four regiments.
+Istria, Dalmatia, and the maritime frontiers, are more formidably
+guarded, as they touch, you know, the whiskers of the Turkish empire.
+
+Passing under a Doric gateway, we crossed the chief part of the town
+in the way to our locanda, pleasantly situated, and commanding a
+level green, where people walk and eat ices by moonlight.  On the
+right, the Franciscan church and convent, half hid in the religious
+gloom of pine and cypress; to the left, a perspective of walls and
+towers rising from the turf, and marking it, when I arrived, with
+long shadows; in front, where the lawn terminates, meadow, wood, and
+garden run quite to the base of the mountains.
+
+Twilight coming on, this beautiful spot swarmed with people, sitting
+in circles upon the grass, refreshing themselves with cooling liquors
+or lounging upon the bank beneath the towers.  They looked so free
+and happy that I longed to be acquainted with them; and by the
+interposition of a polite Venetian (who, though a perfect stranger,
+showed me the most engaging marks of attention), was introduced to a
+group of the principal inhabitants.  Our conversation ended in a
+promise to meet the next evening at a country house about a league
+from Bassano, and then to return together and sing to the praise of
+Pacchierotti, their idol, as well as mine.
+
+You can have no idea what pleasure we mutually found in being of the
+same faith, and believing in one singer; nor can you imagine what
+effects that musical divinity produced at Padua, where he performed a
+few years ago, and threw his audience into such raptures, that it was
+some time before they recovered.  One in particular, a lady of
+distinction, fainted away the instant she caught the pathetic accents
+of his voice, and was near dying a martyr to its melody.  La Contessa
+Roberti, who sings in the truest taste, gave me a detail of the whole
+affair.  "Egli ha fatto veramente un fanatismo a Padua," was her
+expression.  I assured her we were not without idolatry in England,
+upon his account; but that in this, as well as in other articles of
+belief, there were many abominable heretics.
+
+August 1st.--The whole morning not a soul stirred who could avoid it.
+Those who were so active and lively the night before, were now
+stretched languidly upon their couches.  Being to the full as idly
+disposed, I sat down and wrote some of this dreaming epistle; then
+feasted upon figs and melons; then got under the shade of the
+cypress, and slumbered till evening, only waking to dine, and take
+some ice.
+
+The sun declining apace, I hastened to my engagement at Mosolente
+(for so is the villa called), placed on a verdant hill encircled by
+others as lovely, and consisting of three light pavilions connected
+by porticos:  just such as we admire in the fairy scenes of an opera.
+A vast flight of steps leads to the summit, where Signora Roberti and
+her friends received me with a grace and politeness that can never
+want a place in my memory.  We rambled over all the apartments of
+this agreeable edifice, characterised by airiness and simplicity.
+The pavement incrusted with a composition as cool and polished as
+marble; the windows, doors, and balconies adorned with silvered, iron
+work, commanding scenes of meads and woodlands that extend to the
+shores of the Adriatic; spires and cypresses rising above the levels;
+and the hazy mountains beyond Padua, diversifying the expanse, form
+altogether a landscape which the elegant imagination of Horizonti
+never exceeded.  Beyond the villa, a tumble of hillocks present
+themselves in a variety of forms, with dips and hollows between,
+scattered over with leafy trees and vines dangling in continued
+garlands.
+
+I gazed on this rural view till it faded in the dusk; then returning
+to Bassano, repaired to an illuminated hall, and had the felicity of
+hearing La Signora Roberti sing the very air which had excited such
+transport at Padua.  As soon as she had ended, and that I could hear
+no more those affecting sounds, which had held me silent and almost
+breathless for several moments, a band of various instruments
+stationed in the open street began a lively symphony, which would
+have delighted me at any other time; but now, I wished them a
+thousand leagues away, so melancholy an impression did the air I had
+been listening to leave on my mind.
+
+At midnight I took leave of my obliging hosts, who were just setting
+out for Padua.  They gave me a thousand kind invitations, and I hope
+some future day to accept them.
+
+August 2nd.--Our route to Venice lay winding about the variegated
+plains I had surveyed from Mosolente; and after dining at Treviso we
+came in two hours and a half to Mestre, between grand villas and
+gardens peopled with statues.  Embarking our baggage at the last-
+mentioned place, we stepped into a gondola, whose even motion was
+very agreeable after the jolts of a chaise.  Stretched beneath the
+awning, I enjoyed at my ease the freshness of the gales, and the
+sight of the waters.  We were soon out of the canal of Mestre,
+terminated by an isle which contains a cell dedicated to the Holy
+Virgin, peeping out of a thicket from whence spire up two tall
+cypresses.  Its bells tingled as we passed along and dropped some
+paolis into a net tied at the end of a pole stretched out to us for
+that purpose.
+
+As soon as we had doubled the cape of this diminutive island, an
+azure expanse of sea opened to our view, the domes and towers of
+Venice rising from its bosom.  Now we began to distinguish Murano,
+St. Michele, St. Giorgio in Alga, and several other islands, detached
+from the grand cluster, which I hailed as old acquaintances;
+innumerable prints and drawings having long since made their shapes
+familiar.  Still gliding forward, the sun casting his last gleams
+across the waves, and reddening the different towers, we every moment
+distinguished some new church or palace in the city, suffused with
+the evening rays, and reflected with all their glow of colouring from
+the surface of the waters.
+
+The air was still; the sky cloudless; a faint wind just breathing
+upon the deep, lightly bore its surface against the steps of a chapel
+in the island of Saint Secondo, and waved the veil before its portal,
+as we rowed by and coasted the walls of its garden, overhung with
+fig-trees and topped with Italian pines.  The convent discovers
+itself through their branches, built in a style somewhat morisco, and
+level with the sea, except where the garden intervenes.
+
+Here, meditation may indulge her reveries in the midst of the surges,
+and walk in cloisters, alone vocal with the whispers of the pine.  I
+passed this consecrated spot soon after sunset, when daylight was
+expiring in the west, and when the distant woods of Fusina were lost
+in the haze of the horizon.
+
+We were now drawing very near the city, and a confused hum began to
+interrupt the evening stillness; gondolas were continually passing
+and repassing, and the entrance of the Canal Reggio, with all its
+stir and bustle, lay before us.  Our gondoliers turned with much
+address through a crowd of boats and barges that blocked up the way,
+and rowed smoothly by the side of a broad pavement, covered with
+people in all dresses and of all nations.
+
+Leaving the Palazzo Pesaro, a noble structure with two rows of
+arcades and a superb rustic, behind, we were soon landed before the
+Leon Bianco, which being situated in one of the broadest parts of the
+grand canal, commands a most striking assemblage of buildings.  I
+have no terms to describe the variety of pillars, of pediments, of
+mouldings, and cornices, some Grecian, others Saracenical, that adorn
+these edifices, of which the pencil of Canaletti conveys so perfect
+an idea as to render all verbal description superfluous.  At one end
+of this grand perspective appears the Rialto; the sweep of the canal
+conceals the other.
+
+The rooms of our hotel are as spacious and cheerful as I could
+desire; a lofty hall, or rather gallery, painted with grotesque in a
+very good style, perfectly clean, floored with the stucco composition
+I have mentioned above, divides the house, and admits a refreshing
+current of air.  Several windows near the ceiling look into this vast
+apartment, which serves in lieu of a court, and is rendered perfectly
+luminous by a glazed arcade, thrown open to catch the breezes.
+Through it I passed to a balcony which impends over the canal, and is
+twined round with plants forming a green festoon springing from two
+large vases of orange-trees placed at each end.  Here I established
+myself to enjoy the cool, and observe, as well as the dusk would
+permit, the variety of figures shooting by in their gondolas.
+
+As night approached, innumerable tapers glimmered through the awnings
+before the windows.  Every boat had its lantern, and the gondolas
+moving rapidly along were followed by tracks of light, which gleamed
+and played upon the waters.  I was gazing at these dancing fires when
+the sounds of music were wafted along the canals, and as they grew
+louder and louder, an illuminated barge, filled with musicians,
+issued from the Rialto, and stopping under one of the palaces, began
+a serenade, which was clamorous and suspended all conversation in the
+galleries and porticos; till, rowing slowly away, it was heard no
+more.  The gondoliers catching the air, imitated its cadences, and
+were answered by others at a distance, whose voices, echoed by the
+arch of the bridge, acquired a plaintive and interesting tone.  I
+retired to rest, full of the sound; and long after I was asleep, the
+melody seemed to vibrate in my ear.
+
+August 3rd.--It was not five o'clock before I was aroused by a loud
+din of voices and splashing of water under my balcony.  Looking out,
+I beheld the grand canal so entirely covered with fruits and
+vegetables, on rafts and in barges, that I could scarcely distinguish
+a wave.  Loads of grapes, peaches, and melons arrived, and
+disappeared in an instant, for every vessel was in motion; and the
+crowds of purchasers hurrying from boat to boat, formed one of the
+liveliest pictures imaginable.  Amongst the multitudes, I remarked a
+good many whose dress and carriage announced something above the
+common rank; and upon inquiry I found they were noble Venetians, just
+come from their casinos, and met to refresh themselves with fruit,
+before they retired to sleep for the day.
+
+Whilst I was observing them, the sun began to colour the balustrades
+of the palaces, and the pure exhilarating air of the morning drawing
+me abroad, I procured a gondola, laid in my provision of bread and
+grapes, and was rowed under the Rialto, down the grand canal, to the
+marble steps of S. Maria della Salute, erected by the Senate in
+performance of a vow to the Holy Virgin, who begged off a terrible
+pestilence in 1630.  I gazed, delighted with its superb frontispiece
+and dome, relieved by a clear blue sky.  To criticize columns or
+pediments of the different facades, would be time lost; since one
+glance upon the worst view that has been taken of them, conveys a far
+better idea than the most elaborate description.  The great bronze
+portal opened whilst I was standing on the steps which lead to it,
+and discovered the interior of the dome, where I expatiated in
+solitude; no mortal appearing except an old priest who trimmed the
+lamps, and muttered a prayer before the high altar, still wrapped in
+shadows.  The sunbeams began to strike against the windows of the
+cupola just as I left the church, and was wafted across the waves to
+the spacious platform in front of St. Giorgio Maggiore, by far the
+most perfect and beautiful edifice my eyes ever beheld.
+
+When my first transport was a little subsided, and I had examined the
+graceful design of each particular ornament, and united the just
+proportion and grand effect of the whole in my mind, I planted my
+umbrella on the margin of the sea, and reclining under its shade, my
+feet dangling over the waters, viewed the vast range of palaces, of
+porticos, of towers, opening on every side and extending out of
+sight.  The Doge's residence and the tall columns at the entrance of
+the place of St. Mark, form, together with the arcades of the public
+library, the lofty Campanile and the cupolas of the ducal church, one
+of the most striking groups of buildings that art can boast of.  To
+behold at one glance these stately fabrics, so illustrious in the
+records of former ages, before which, in the flourishing times of the
+republic, so many valiant chiefs and princes have landed, loaded with
+the spoils of different nations, was a spectacle I had long and
+ardently desired.  I thought of the days of Frederic Barbarossa, when
+looking up the piazza of St. Mark, along which he marched in solemn
+procession, to cast himself at the feet of Alexander the Third, and
+pay a tardy homage to St. Peter's successor.  Here were no longer
+those splendid fleets that attended his progress; one solitary
+galeass was all I beheld, anchored opposite the palace of the Doge,
+and surrounded by crowds of gondolas, whose sable hues contrasted
+strongly with its vermilion oars and shining ornaments.  A party-
+coloured multitude was continually shifting from one side of the
+piazza to the other; whilst senators and magistrates in long black
+robes were already arriving to fill their respective charges.
+
+I contemplated the busy scene from my peaceful platform, where
+nothing stirred but aged devotees creeping to their devotions; and,
+whilst I remained thus calm and tranquil, heard the distant buzz and
+rumour of the town.  Fortunately a length of waves rolled between me
+and its tumults; so that I ate my grapes, and read Metastasio,
+undisturbed by officiousness or curiosity.  When the sun became too
+powerful, I entered the nave, and applauded the genius of Palladio.
+
+After I had admired the masterly structure of the roof and the
+lightness of its arches, my eyes naturally directed themselves to the
+pavement of white and ruddy marble, polished, and reflecting like a
+mirror the columns which rise from it.  Over this I walked to a door
+that admitted me into the principal quadrangle of the convent,
+surrounded by a cloister supported on Ionic pillars, beautifully
+proportioned.  A flight of stairs opens into the court, adorned with
+balustrades and pedestals, sculptured with elegance truly Grecian.
+This brought me to the refectory, where the chef-d'oeuvre of Paul
+Veronese, representing the marriage of Cana in Galilee, was the first
+object that presented itself.  I never beheld so gorgeous a group of
+wedding garments before; there is every variety of fold and plait
+that can possibly be imagined.  The attitudes and countenances are
+more uniform, and the guests appear a very genteel, decent sort of
+people, well used to the mode of their times and accustomed to
+miracles.
+
+Having examined this fictitious repast, I cast a look on a long range
+of tables covered with very excellent realities, which the monks were
+coming to devour with energy, if one might judge from their
+appearance.  These sons of penitence and mortification possess one of
+the most spacious islands of the whole cluster, a princely
+habitation, with gardens and open porticos, that engross every breath
+of air; and, what adds not a little to the charms of their abode, is
+the liberty of making excursions from it, whenever they have a mind.
+
+The republic, wisely jealous of ecclesiastical influence, connives at
+these amusing rambles, and, by encouraging the liberty of monks and
+churchmen, prevents their appearing too sacred and important in the
+eyes of the people, who have frequent proofs of their being mere
+flesh and blood, and that of the frailest composition.  Had the rest
+of Italy been of the same opinion, and profited as much by Fra
+Paolo's maxims, some of its fairest fields would not, at this moment,
+lie uncultivated, and its ancient spirit might have revived.
+However, I can scarcely think the moment far distant, when it will
+assert its natural prerogatives, awake from its ignoble slumber, and
+look back upon the tiara, with all its host of idle fears and scaring
+phantoms, as the offspring of a distempered dream.  Scarce a
+sovereign supports any longer this vain illusion, except the old
+woman of Hungary, and as soon as her dim eyes are closed we shall
+probably witness great events. {156}
+
+Full of prophecies and bodings, I moved slowly out of the cloisters;
+and, gaining my gondola, arrived, I know not how, at the flights of
+steps which lead to the Redenptore, a structure so simple and
+elegant, that I thought myself entering an antique temple, and looked
+about for the statue of the God of Delphi, or some other graceful
+divinity.  A huge crucifix of bronze soon brought me to times
+present.
+
+The charm being thus dissolved, I began to perceive the shapes of
+rueful martyrs peeping out of the niches around, and the bushy beards
+of Capuchin friars wagging before the altars.  These good fathers had
+decorated their church, according to custom, with orange and citron
+trees, placed between the pilasters of the arcades; and on grand
+festivals, it seems, they turn the whole church into a bower, strew
+the pavement with leaves, and festoon the dome with flowers.
+
+I left them occupied with their plants and their devotions.  It was
+midday, and I begged to be rowed to some woody island, where I might
+dine in shade and tranquillity.  My gondoliers shot off in an
+instant; but, though they went at a very rapid rate, I wished to fly
+faster, and getting into a bark with six oars, swept along the
+waters, soon left the Zecca and San Marco behind; and, launching into
+the plains of shining sea, saw turret after turret, and isle after
+isle, fleeting before me.  A pale greenish light ran along the shores
+of the distant continent, whose mountains seemed to catch the motion
+of my boat, and to fly with equal celerity.
+
+I had not much time to contemplate the beautiful effects on the
+waters--the emerald and purple hues which gleamed along their
+surface.  Our prow struck, foaming, against the walls of the
+Carthusian garden, before I recollected where I was, or could look
+attentively around me.  Permission being obtained, I entered this
+cool retirement, and putting aside with my hands the boughs of fig-
+trees and pomegranates, got under an ancient bay, near which several
+tall pines lift themselves up to the breezes.  I listened to the
+conversation they held, with a wind just flown from Greece, and
+charged, as well as I could understand this airy language, with many
+affectionate remembrances from their relations on Mount Ida.
+
+I reposed amidst bay leaves, fanned by a constant air, till it
+pleased the fathers to send me some provisions, with a basket of
+fruit and wine.  Two of them would wait upon me, and ask ten thousand
+questions about Lord George Gordon, and the American war.  I, who was
+deeply engaged with the winds, and fancied myself hearing these rapid
+travellers relate their adventures, wished my interrogators in
+purgatory, and pleaded ignorance of the Italian language.  This
+circumstance extricated me from my difficulties, and procured me a
+long interval of repose.
+
+The rustling of the pines had the same effect as the murmurs of other
+old story-tellers, and I slept undisturbed till the people without,
+in the boat (who wondered not a little, I dare say, what the deuce
+was become of me within), began a sort of chorus in parts, full of
+such plaintive modulation, that I still thought myself under the
+influence of a dream, and, half in this world and half in the other,
+believed, like the heroes of Fingal, that I had caught the music of
+the spirits of the hill.
+
+When I was thoroughly convinced of the reality of these sounds, I
+moved towards the shore from whence they proceeded:  a glassy sea lay
+full before me; no gale ruffled the expanse; every breath was
+subsided, and I beheld the sun go down in all its sacred calm.  You
+have experienced the sensations this moment inspires; imagine what
+they must have been in such a scene, and accompanied with a melody so
+simple and pathetic.  I stepped into my boat, and instead of
+encouraging the speed of the gondoliers, begged them to abate their
+ardour, and row me lazily home.  They complied, and we were near an
+hour reaching the platform before the ducal palace, thronged as usual
+with a variety of nations.  I mixed a moment with the crowd; then
+directed my steps to the great mosque,--I ought to say the church of
+St. Mark; but really its cupolas, slender pinnacles, and semicircular
+arches, have so oriental an appearance, as to excuse this
+appellation.  I looked a moment at the four stately coursers of
+bronze and gold that adorn the chief portal, and then took in, at one
+glance, the whole extent of the square, with its towers and
+standards.  So noble an assemblage never met my eyes.  I envied the
+good fortune of Petrarch, who describes, in one of his letters, a
+tournament held in this princely opening.
+
+Many are the festivals which have been here celebrated.  When Henry
+the Third left Poland to mount the throne of France, he passed
+through Venice, and found the republic waiting to receive him in
+their famous square, which by means of an awning stretched from the
+balustrades of opposite palaces, was metamorphosed into a vast
+saloon, sparkling with artificial stars, and spread with the richest
+carpets of the East.  What a magnificent idea!  The ancient Romans,
+in the zenith of power and luxury, never conceived a greater.  It is
+to them the Venetians are indebted for the hint, since we read of the
+Coliseo and Pompey's theatre being sometimes covered with transparent
+canvas, to defend the spectators from the heat or sudden rain, and to
+tint the scene with soft agreeable colours, like the hues of the
+declining sun.
+
+Having enjoyed the general perspective of the piazza, I began to
+enter into particulars, and examine the bronze pedestals of the three
+standards before the great church, designed by Sansovino in the true
+spirit of the antique, and covered with relievos, at the same time
+bold and elegant.  It is also to this celebrated architect we are
+indebted for the stately facade of the Proccuratie nuove, which forms
+one side of the square, and presents an uninterrupted series of
+arcades and marble columns exquisitely wrought.  Opposite this
+magnificent range appears another line of palaces, whose
+architecture, though far removed from the Grecian purity of
+Sansovino, impresses veneration, and completes the pomp of the view.
+
+There is something strange and singular in the tower, which rises
+distinct from the smooth pavement of the square, a little to the left
+as you stand before the chief entrance of St. Mark's.  The design is
+rather barbarous, and terminates in uncouth and heavy pyramids; yet
+in spite of these defects it struck me with awe.  A beautiful
+building called the Loggetta, and which serves as a guard-house
+during the convocation of the grand council, decorates its base.
+Nothing can be more enriched, more finished than this structure;
+which, though far from diminutive, is in a manner lost at the foot of
+the Campanile.  This enormous mass seems to promise a very long
+duration, and will probably carry down the fame of St. Mark and his
+Lion to the latest posterity.  Both appear in great state towards its
+summit, and have nothing superior, but an archangel perched on the
+topmost pinnacle, and pointing to the skies.  The dusk prevented my
+remarking the various sculptures with which the Loggetta is crowded.
+
+Crossing the ample space between this elegant edifice and the ducal
+palace, I passed through a labyrinth of pillars and entered the
+principal court, of which nothing but the great outline was visible
+at so late an hour.  Two reservoirs of bronze, rich with sculptured
+foliage, diversify the area.  In front a magnificent flight of steps
+presents itself, by which the senators ascend through vast and solemn
+corridors, which lead to the interior of the edifice.  The colossal
+statues of Mars and Neptune guard the entrance, and have given the
+appellation of scala dei geganti to the steps below, which I mounted
+not without respect; and, leaning against the balustrades, formed
+like the rest of the building of the rarest marbles, adored the
+tutelary divinities.
+
+My devotions were shortly interrupted by one of the sbirri, or
+officers of police, who take their stands after sunset before the
+avenues of the palace, and who told me the gates were upon the point
+of being closed.  So, hurrying down the steps, I left half my vows
+unpaid and a million of delicate sculptures unexplored; for every
+pilaster, every frieze, every entablature, is incrusted with
+porphyry, verde antique, or some other curious marble, carved into as
+many grotesque wreaths and mouldings as we admire in the loggios of
+Raffaello.  The various portals, the strange projections, the length
+of cloisters; in short, the noble irregularity of these imperial
+piles, delighted me beyond idea; and I was sorry to be forced to
+abandon them so soon, especially as the twilight, which bats and owls
+love not better than I do, enlarged every portico, lengthened every
+colonnade, and increased the dimensions of the whole, just as
+imagination desired.  This faculty would have had full scope had I
+but remained an hour longer.  The moon would then have gleamed upon
+the gigantic forms of Mars and Neptune, and discovered the statues of
+ancient heroes emerging from the gloom of their niches.
+
+Such an interesting assemblage of objects, such regal scenery, with
+the reflection that half their ornaments once contributed to the
+decoration of Athens, transported me beyond myself.  The sbirri
+thought me distracted.  True enough, I was stalking proudly about
+like an actor in an ancient Grecian tragedy, lifting up his hands to
+the consecrated fanes and images around, expecting the reply of his
+attendant chorus, and declaiming the first verses of OEdipus
+Tyrannus.
+
+These fits of enthusiasm were hardly subsided, when I issued from the
+gates of the palace into the great square, which received a faint
+gleam from its casinos and palaces, just beginning to be lighted up,
+and become the resort of pleasure and dissipation.  Numbers were
+walking in parties upon the pavement; some sought the shade of the
+porticos with their favourites; others were earnestly engaged in
+conversation, and filled the gay illuminated apartments, where they
+resorted to drink coffee and sorbet, with laughter and merriment.  A
+thoughtless giddy transport prevailed; for, at this hour, anything
+like restraint seems perfectly out of the question; and however
+solemn a magistrate or senator may appear in the day, at night he
+lays up wig and robe and gravity to sleep together, runs intriguing
+about in his gondola, takes the reigning sultana under his arm, and
+so rambles half over the town, which grows gayer and gayer as the day
+declines.
+
+Many of the noble Venetians have a little suite of apartments in some
+out-of-the-way corner, near the grand piazza, of which their families
+are totally ignorant.  To these they skulk in the dusk, and revel
+undisturbed with the companions of their pleasures.  Jealousy itself
+cannot discover the alleys, the winding passages, the unsuspected
+doors, by which these retreats are accessible.  Many an unhappy
+lover, whose mistress disappears on a sudden with some fortunate
+rival, has searched for her haunts in vain.  The gondoliers
+themselves, though the prime managers of intrigue, are scarce ever
+acquainted with these interior cabinets.  When a gallant has a mind
+to pursue his adventures with mystery, he rows to the piazza, orders
+his bark to wait, meets his goddess in the crowd, and vanishes from
+all beholders.  Surely, Venice is the city in the universe best
+calculated for giving scope to the observations of a devil upon two
+sticks.  What a variety of lurking-places would one stroke of his
+crutch uncover!
+
+Whilst the higher ranks were solacing themselves in their casinos,
+the rabble were gathered in knots round the strollers and
+mountebanks, singing and scaramouching in the middle of the square.
+I observed a great number of Orientals amongst the crowd, and heard
+Turkish and Arabic muttering in every corner.  There the Sclavonian
+dialect predominated; there some Grecian jargon, almost
+unintelligible.  Had St. Mark's church been the wondrous tower, and
+its piazza the chief square, of the city of Babylon, there could
+scarcely have been a greater confusion of languages.
+
+The novelty of the scene afforded me no small share of amusement, and
+I wandered about from group to group, and from one strange exotic to
+another, asking and being asked innumerable ridiculous questions, and
+settling the politics of London and Constantinople, almost in the
+same breath.  This instant, I found myself in a circle of grave
+Armenian priests and jewellers; the next amongst Greeks and
+Dalmatians, who accosted me with the smoothest compliments, and gave
+proof that their reputation for pliability and address was not ill-
+founded.
+
+I was entering into a grand harum-scarum discourse with some Russian
+Counts or Princes, or whatever you please, just landed with dwarfs,
+and footmen, and governors, and staring, like me, about them, when
+Mad. de R. arrived, to whom I had the happiness of being recommended.
+She very obligingly presented me to some of the most distinguished of
+the Venetian families at their great casino, which looks into the
+piazza, and consists of five or six rooms, fitted up in a gay flimsy
+taste, neither rich nor elegant, where were a great many lights, and
+a great many ladies negligently dressed, their hair falling very
+freely about them, and innumerable adventures written in their eyes.
+The gentlemen were lolling upon the sofas or lounging about the
+apartments.
+
+The whole assembly seemed upon the verge of gaping, till coffee was
+carried round.  This magic beverage diffused a temporary animation;
+and, for a moment or two, conversation moved on with a degree of
+pleasing extravagance; but the flash was soon dissipated, and nothing
+remained save cards and stupidity.
+
+In the intervals of shuffling and dealing, some talked over the
+affairs of the grand council with less reserve than I expected; and
+two or three of them asked some feeble questions about the late
+tumults in London:  as much, however, through indolence and
+forgetfulness, I should conjecture, as from any political motive, for
+I don't believe all those wise stories, which some travellers have
+propagated, of Venetian subtlety and profound silence.  They might
+have reigned during the dark periods of the republic, but at this
+moment the veil is rent in fifty places; and without any wonderful
+penetration, the debates of the senate are discoverable.  There
+doubtless was a time when, society being greatly divided, and little
+communication subsisting among the nobles, secrets were invariably
+kept; but since the establishment of casinos, which the ladies rule,
+where chit-chat and tittle-tattle are for ever going forwards, who
+can preserve a rigorous taciturnity upon any subject in the universe?
+It was one o'clock before all the company were assembled, and I left
+them at three, still dreaming over their coffee and card-tables.
+Trieze is their favourite game:  uno, due, tre, quatro, cinque,
+fante, cavallo are eternally repeated; the apartments echoed no other
+sound.
+
+No lively people could endure such monotony; yet I have been told the
+Venetians are remarkably spirited, and so eager in the pursuit of
+amusement as hardly to allow themselves any sleep.  Some, for
+instance, after declaiming in the Senate, walking an hour in the
+square, and fidgeting about from one casino to another till morning
+dawns, will get into a gondola, row across the Lagunes, take the post
+to Mestre or Fusina, and jumble over craggy pavements to Treviso,
+breakfast in haste, and rattle back again as if the devil were
+charioteer:  by eleven the party is restored to Venice, resumes robe
+and periwig, and goes to council.
+
+This may be very true, and yet I will never cite the Venetians as
+examples of vivacity.  Their nerves, unstrung by disease and the
+consequences of early debaucheries, impede all lively flow of spirits
+in its course, and permit at best but a few moments of a false and
+feverish activity.  The approaches of rest, forced back by an
+immoderate use of coffee, render them, too, weak and listless, and
+the facility of being wafted from place to place in a gondola, adds
+not a little to their indolence.  In short, I can scarcely regard
+their Eastern neighbours in a more lazy light; and am apt to imagine
+that instead of slumbering less than other people, they pass their
+lives in one perpetual doze.
+
+August 4th.--The heats were so excessive in the night, that I thought
+myself several times on the point of suffocation, tossed about like a
+wounded fish, and dreamt of the devil and Senegal.  Towards sunrise,
+a faint breeze restored me to life and reason.  I slumbered till late
+in the day, and the moment I was fairly awake, ordered my gondolier
+to row out to the main ocean, that I might plunge into its waves, and
+hear and see nothing but waters around me.
+
+We shot off, wound amongst a number of sheds, shops, churches,
+casinos, and palaces, growing immediately out of the canals, without
+any apparent foundation.  No quay, no terrace, not even a slab is to
+be seen before the doors; one step brings you from the hall into the
+bark, and the vestibules of the stateliest structures lie open to the
+waters, and level with them.  I observed several, as I glided along,
+supported by rows of well-proportioned pillars, adorned with terms
+and vases, beyond which the eye generally discovers a grand court,
+and sometimes a garden.
+
+In about half an hour, we had left the thickest cluster of isles
+behind, and, coasting the Place of St. Mark opposite to San Giorgio
+Maggiore, whose elegant frontispiece was painted on the calm waters,
+launched into the blue expanse of sea, from which rise the Chartreuse
+and two or three other woody islands.  I hailed the spot where I had
+passed such a happy visionary evening, and nodded to my friends the
+pines.
+
+A few minutes more brought me to a dreary, sun-burnt shore, stalked
+over by a few Sclavonian soldiers, who inhabit a castle hard by, go
+regularly to an ugly unfinished church, and from thence, it is to be
+hoped, to paradise; as the air of their barracks is abominable, and
+kills them like blasted sheep.
+
+Forlorn as this island appeared to me, I was told it was the scene of
+the Doge's pageantry at the feast of the Ascension; and the very spot
+to which he sails in the Bucentaur, previously to wedding the sea.
+You have heard enough, and if ever you looked into a show-box, seen
+full sufficient of this gaudy spectacle, without my enlarging upon
+the topic.  I shall only say, that I was obliged to pursue, partly,
+the same road as the nuptial procession, in order to reach the beach,
+and was broiled and dazzled accordingly.
+
+At last, after traversing some desert hillocks, all of a hop with
+toads and locusts (amongst which English heretics have the honour of
+being interred), I passed under an arch, and suddenly the boundless
+plains of ocean opened to my view.  I ran to the smooth sands,
+extending on both sides out of sight, cast off my clothes, and dashed
+into the waves, which were coursing one another with a gentle motion,
+and breaking lightly on the shores.  The tide rolled over me as I lay
+floating about, buoyed up by the water, and carried me wheresoever it
+listed.  It might have borne me far out into the main, and exposed me
+to a thousand perils, before I had been aware, so totally was I
+abandoned to the illusion of the moment.  My ears were filled with
+murmuring undecided sounds; my limbs, stretched languidly on the
+surge, rose or sunk just as it swelled or subsided.  In this passive,
+senseless state I remained, till the sun cast a less intolerable
+light, and the fishing vessels, lying out in the bay at a great
+distance, spread their sails and were coming home.
+
+Hastening back over the desert of locusts, I threw myself into the
+gondola; and, no wind or wave opposing, was soon wafted across to
+those venerable columns, so conspicuous in the Place of St. Mark.
+Directing my course immediately to the ducal palace, I entered the
+grand court, ascending the Giant's stairs, and examined at my leisure
+its bas-reliefs.  Then, taking the first guide that presented
+himself, I was shown along several cloisters and corridors, sustained
+by innumerable pillars, into the state apartments, which Tintoret and
+Paolo Veronese have covered with the triumphs of their country.
+
+A swarm of lawyers filled the Sala del Maggior Consiglio, and one of
+the first advocates in the republic was pleading with all his might,
+before a solemn row of senators.  The eyes and ears of the assembly
+seemed equally affected.  Clouds of powder and volleys of execrations
+issuing every instant from the disputants, I got out of their way;
+and was led from hall to hall, and from picture to picture, with
+exemplary resignation.  To be sure, I was heartily tired, but behaved
+with decency, having never once expressed how much I wished the
+chefs-d'oeuvre I had been contemplating, less smoky and numerous.
+
+At last, I reached once more the colonnades at the entrance, and
+caught the sea-breeze in the open porticos which front San Giorgio
+Maggiore.  The walls are covered in most places with grim visages
+sculptured in marble, whose mouths gape for accusations, and swallow
+every lie that malice and revenge can dictate.  I wished for a few
+ears of the same kind, dispersed about the Doge's residence, to which
+one might apply one's own, and catch some account of the mysteries
+within; some little dialogue between the Three Inquisitors, or debate
+in the Council of Ten.
+
+This is the tribunal which holds the wealthy nobility in continual
+awe; before which they appear with trembling and terror:  and whose
+summons they dare not disobey.  Sometimes, by way of clemency, it
+condemns its victims to perpetual imprisonment in close, stifling
+cells, between the leads and beams of the palace; or, unwilling to
+spill the blood of a fellow-citizen, generously sinks them into
+dungeons, deep under the canals which wash its foundations; so that,
+above and below, its majesty is contaminated by the abodes of
+punishment.  What other sovereign could endure the idea of having his
+immediate residence polluted with tears? or revel in his halls,
+conscious that many of his species were consuming their hours in
+lamentations above his head, and that but a few beams separated him
+from the scene of their tortures?  How ever gaily disposed, could one
+dance with pleasure on a pavement, beneath which lie damp and gloomy
+caverns, whose inhabitants waste away by painful degrees, and feel
+themselves whole years a-dying?  Impressed by these terrible ideas, I
+could not regard the palace without horror, and wished for the
+strength of a thousand antediluvians, to level it with the sea, lay
+open the secret recesses of punishment, and admit free gales and
+sunshine into every den.
+
+When I had thus vented my indignation, I repaired to the statue of
+Neptune and invoked it to second my enterprise.  Once upon a time no
+deity had a freer hand at razing cities.  His execution was renowned
+throughout all antiquity, and the proudest monarchs deprecated the
+wrath of [Greek text which cannot be reproduced].  But, like the
+other mighty ones of ancient days, his reign is past and his trident
+disregarded.  Formerly any wild spirit found favour in the eyes of
+fortune, and was led along the career of glory to the deliverance of
+captives and the extirpation of monsters; but, in our degenerate
+times, this easy road to fame is no longer open, and the means of
+producing such signal events perplexed and difficult.
+
+Abandoning, therefore, the sad tenants of the Piombi to their fate, I
+left the courts, and stepping into my bark, was rowed down a canal
+over which the lofty walls of the palace cast a tremendous shade.
+Beneath these fatal waters the dungeons I have also been speaking of
+are situated.  There the wretches lie marking the sound of the oars,
+and counting the free passage of every gondola.  Above, a marble
+bridge, of bold majestic architecture, joins the highest part of the
+prisons to the secret galleries of the palace; from whence criminals
+are conducted over the arch to a cruel and mysterious death.  I
+shuddered whilst passing below; and believe it is not without cause,
+this structure is named PONTE DEl SOSPIRI.  Horrors and dismal
+prospects haunted my fancy upon my return.  I could not dine in
+peace, so strongly was my imagination affected; but snatching my
+pencil, I drew chasms and subterraneous hollows, the domain of fear
+and torture, with chains, racks, wheels, and dreadful engines, in the
+style of Piranesi.  About sunset I went and refreshed myself with the
+cool air and cheerful scenery of the Fondamenti nuovi, a vast quay or
+terrace of white marble, which commands the whole series of isles,
+from San Michele's to Torcello,
+
+
+"That rise and glitter o'er the ambient tide."
+
+
+Nothing can be more picturesque than the groups of towers and cupolas
+which they present, mixed with flat roofs and low buildings, and now
+and then a pine or cypress.  Afar off, a little woody isle, called Il
+Deserto, swells from the ocean and diversifies its expanse.
+
+When I had spent a delightful half-hour in viewing the distant isles,
+M. de.  B. accompanied me to the Mendicanti, one of the four
+conservatorios, which give the best musical education conceivable to
+near one hundred young women.  You may imagine how admirably those of
+the Mendicanti in particular are taught, since their establishment is
+under Bertoni's direction, who breathes around him the very soul of
+grace and harmony.  The chapel in which we sat to hear the oratorio
+was dark and solemn; a screen of lofty pillars, formed of black
+marble and highly polished, excluded the glow of the western sky, and
+reflected the lamps which burn perpetually before the altar.  Every
+tribune was thronged with people, whose profound silence showed them
+worthy auditors of Bertoni's compositions.  Here were no cackling old
+women, or groaning Methodists, such as infest our English churches,
+and scare one's ears with hoarse coughs accompanied by the naso
+obligato.  All were still and attentive, imbibing the plaintive notes
+of the voices with eagerness; and scarce a countenance but seemed
+deeply affected with David's sorrows, the subject of the performance.
+I sat retired in a solitary tribune, and felt them as my own.  Night
+came on before the last chorus was sung, and I still seem to hear its
+sacred melody.
+
+August 18th.--It rains; the air is refreshed and I have courage to
+resume my pen, which the sultry weather had forced to lie dormant so
+long.  I like this odd town of Venice, and find every day some new
+amusement in rambling about its innumerable canals and alleys.
+Sometimes I go and pry about the great church of Saint Mark, and
+examine the variety of marbles and mazes of delicate sculpture with
+which it is covered.  The cupola, glittering with gold, mosaic, and
+paintings of half the wonders in the Apocalypse, never fails
+transporting me to the period of the Eastern empire.  I think myself
+in Constantinople, and expect Michael Paleologus with all his train.
+One circumstance alone prevents my observing half the treasures of
+the place, and holds down my fancy, just springing into the air:  I
+mean the vile stench which exhales from every recess and corner of
+the edifice, and which all the altars cannot subdue.
+
+When oppressed by this noxious atmosphere, I run up the Campanile in
+the piazza, and seating myself amongst the pillars of the gallery,
+breathe the fresh gales which blow from the Adriatic; survey at my
+leisure all Venice beneath me, with its azure sea, white sails, and
+long tracts of islands shining in the sun.  Having thus laid in a
+provision of wholesome breezes, I brave the vapours of the canals,
+and venture into the most curious and murky quarters of the city, in
+search of Turks and Infidels, that I may ask as many questions as I
+please about Damascus and Suristan, those happy countries which
+nature has covered with roses.
+
+Asiatics find Venice very much to their liking, and all those I
+conversed with allowed its customs and style of living had a good
+deal of conformity to their own.  The eternal lounging in coffee-
+houses and sipping of sorbets, agrees perfectly well with the
+inhabitants of the Ottoman empire, who stalk about here in their
+proper dresses, and smoke their own exotic pipes, without being
+stared and wondered at, as in most other European capitals.  Some few
+of these Orientals are communicative and enlightened; but, generally
+speaking, they know nothing beyond the rule of three, and the
+commonest transactions of mercantile affairs.
+
+The Greeks are by far a more lively generation, still retaining their
+propensity to works of genius and imagination.  Metastasio has been
+lately translated into their modern jargon, and some obliging papa or
+other has had the patience to put the long-winded romance of Clelia
+into a Grecian dress.  I saw two or three of these volumes exposed on
+a stall, under the grand arcades of the public library, as I went one
+day to admire the antiques in its vestibules.
+
+Whilst I was intent upon my occupation, a little door, I never should
+have suspected, flew open, and out popped Monsieur de V., from a
+place where nothing, I believe, but broomsticks and certain other
+utensils were ever before deposited.  This gentleman, the most active
+investigator of Homer since the days of the good bishop of
+Thessalonica, bespatters you with more learning in a minute than
+others communicate in half a year; quotes Arabic, Greek, Hebrew,
+Syriac, etc., with a formidable fluency; and drove me from one end of
+the room to the other with all the thunder of erudition.  Syllables
+fell thicker than hail, and in an instant I found myself so weighed
+down and covered, that I prayed, for mercy's sake, to be introduced,
+by way of respite, to a Laplander whom he leads about as a curiosity;
+a poor, harmless, good sort of a soul, calm and indifferent, who has
+acquired the words of several Oriental languages to perfection:
+ideas he has, in none.
+
+We went together to view a collection of medals in one of the
+Gradanigo palaces, and two or three inestimable volumes, filled with
+paintings that represent the dress of the ancient Venetians; so that
+I had an opportunity of observing to perfection all the Lapland
+nothingness of my companion.  What a perfect void!  Cold and silent
+as the polar regions, not one passion ever throbbed in his bosom; not
+one bright ray of fancy ever glittered in his mind; without love or
+anger, pleasure or pain, his days fleet smoothly along:  all things
+considered, I must confess I envied such comfortable apathy.
+
+After having passed a peaceful hour in dreaming over the medals and
+rarities, M. de V. was for conducting me to the Armenian convent, but
+I begged to be excused, and went to S. Giovanni e Paolo's, a church
+ever celebrated in the annals of painting, since it contains that
+masterpiece of Titian, "The Martyrdom of St. Peter."  It being a
+festival, the huge Gothic pillars were covered with red damask, and
+the shrines of saints and worthies glimmered with tapers.  The dim
+chapels on each side the nave received a feeble light, and discovered
+the tombs of ancient Doges, and the equestrian statues of many a
+doughty General.  I admired them all, but liked nothing so much as a
+snug bas-relief I found out in a corner, which represents St. Mark
+and some other good souls a-prosing, whilst his lion and the old
+serpent squabble and scratch in the foreground of the sculpture, like
+cat and dog by the fireside.  After dinner, when the shadows of domes
+and palaces began lengthening across the waves, I rowed out
+
+
+"On the clear hyaline, the glassy sea,"
+
+
+to observe the last sunbeams fade on the tufted gardens of the
+Giudecca, and to contemplate the distant Euganean hills, once the
+happiest region of Italy; where wandering nations enjoyed the
+simplicity of a pastoral life, long before the arrival of Antenor.
+In those ancient times, deep forests and extensive pastures covered
+the shores {170a} of the Adriatic, and innumerable flocks hung on the
+brow of the mountains.  This golden period ended upon the incursion
+of the Trojans and Heneti; who, led by Antenor, drove away the
+unfortunate savages, and possessed themselves of their habitations.
+{170b}  The form of the hillocks is varied and picturesque, and the
+sun, sinking behind them, suffuses their summits with tints of the
+brightest orange.  Scarce one evening have I failed to remark the
+changeful scenery of the clouds, and to fill my mind with
+recollections of primeval days and happier ages.  Night generally
+surprises me in the midst of my reveries; I return, lulled in my
+gondola by the murmur of waters, pass about an hour with M. de R.,
+whose imagination and sensibility almost equal your own; then, retire
+to sleep, and dream of the Euganeans.
+
+
+
+LETTER IX
+
+
+
+August 27th.--I am just returned from visiting the isles of Burano,
+Torcello, and Mazorbo, distant about five miles from Venice.  To
+these amphibious spots the Romans, inhabitants of eastern Lombardy,
+fled from the ravine of Attila; and, if we may believe Cassiodorus,
+there was a time when they presented a beautiful appearance.  Beyond
+them, on the coast of the Lagunes, rose the once populous city of
+Altina, with its six stately gates, which Dandolo mentions. {170c}
+Its neighbourhood was scattered with innumerable villas and temples,
+composing altogether a prospect which Martial compares to Baiae:
+
+
+"AEmula Baianis Altini littora villis."
+
+
+But this agreeable scene, like so many others, is passed entirely
+away, and has left nothing, except heaps of stones and misshapen
+fragments, to vouch for its former magnificence.  Two of the islands,
+Costanziaco and Amiano, that are imagined to have contained the
+bowers and gardens of the Altinatians, have sunk beneath the waters;
+those which remain are scarcely worthy to rise above their surface.
+
+Though I was persuaded little was left to be seen above ground, I
+could not deny myself the imaginary pleasure of treading a corner of
+the earth once so adorned and cultivated; and of walking over the
+roofs, perhaps, of concealed halls and undiscovered palaces.  M. de
+R., to whom I communicated my ideas, entered at once into the scheme;
+hiring therefore a peiotte we took some provisions and music (to us
+equally necessaries of life), and launched into the canal, between
+St. Michael and Murano.
+
+The waves coursed each other with violence, and dark clouds hung over
+the grand sweep of northern mountains, whilst the west smiled with
+azure and bright sunshine.  Thunder rolled awfully at a distance, and
+those white and greyish birds, the harbingers of storms, flitted
+frequently before our bark.  For some moments we were in doubt
+whether to proceed; but as we advanced by a little dome in the Isle
+of St. Michael, shaped like an ancient temple, the sky cleared, and
+the ocean subsiding by degrees, soon presented a tranquil expanse,
+across which we were smoothly wafted.  Our instruments played several
+delightful airs, that called forth the inhabitants of every island,
+and held them silent, as if spell-bound, on the edge of their quays
+and terraces, till we were out of hearing.
+
+Leaving Murano far behind, Venice and its world of turrets began to
+sink on the horizon, and the low desert isles beyond Mazorbo to lie
+stretched out before us.  Now we beheld vast wastes of {171} purple
+flowers, and could distinguish the low hum of the insects which hover
+above them; such was the silence of the place.  Coasting these
+solitary fields, we wound amongst several serpentine canals, bordered
+by gardens of figs and pomegranates, with neat Indian-looking
+inclosures of cane and reed:  an aromatic plant clothes the margin of
+the waters, which the people justly dignify with the title of marine
+incense.  It proved very serviceable in subduing a musky odour, which
+attacked us the moment we landed, and which proceeds from serpents
+that lurk in the hedges.  These animals, say the gondoliers, defend
+immense treasures which lie buried under the ruins.  Woe to those who
+attempt invading them, or prying too cautiously about!
+
+Not choosing to be devoured, we left many a mount of fragments
+unnoticed, and made the best of our way to a little green, free from
+weeds or adders, bounded on one side by a miserable shed, decorated
+with the name of the Podesta's residence, and on the other by a
+circular church.  Some remains of tolerable antique sculpture are
+enchased in the walls; and the dome, supported by pillars of a smooth
+Grecian marble, though uncouth and ill-proportioned, impresses a sort
+of veneration, and transports the fancy to the twilight glimmering
+period when it was raised.
+
+Having surveyed what little was visible, and given as much career to
+our imaginations as the scene inspired, we walked over a soil
+composed of crumbling bricks and cement to the cathedral; whose
+arches, turned on the ancient Roman principle, convinced us that it
+dates as high as the sixth or seventh century.
+
+Nothing can be well more fantastic than the ornaments of this
+structure, formed from the ruins of the Pagan temples of Altina, and
+incrusted with a gilt mosaic, like that which covers our Edward the
+Confessor's tomb.  The pavement, composed of various precious
+marbles, is richer and more beautiful than one could have expected,
+in a place where every other object savours of the grossest
+barbarism.  At the farther end, beyond the altar, appears a
+semicircular niche, with seats like the gradines of a diminutive
+amphitheatre; above rise the quaint forms of the apostles, in red,
+blue, green, and black mosaic, and in the midst of the goodly group a
+sort of marble chair, cool and penitential enough, where St. Lorenzo
+Giustiniani sat to hold a provincial council, the Lord knows how long
+ago!  The fount for holy water stands by the principal entrance,
+fronting this curious recess, and seems to have belonged to some
+place of Gentile worship.  The figures of horned imps cling round its
+sides, more devilish, more Egyptian, than any I ever beheld.  The
+dragons on old china are not more whimsical:  I longed to have it
+filled with bats' blood, and to have sent it by way of present to the
+sabbath; I can assure you it would have done honour to their
+witcheries.  The sculpture is not the most delicate, but I cannot say
+a great deal about it, as but little light reaches the spot where it
+is fixed.  Indeed, the whole church is far from luminous, its windows
+being narrow and near the roof, with shutters composed of blocks of
+marble, which nothing but the last whirlwind, one should think, could
+move from their hinges.
+
+By the time we had examined every nook and corner of this singular
+edifice, and caught perhaps some small portion of sanctity by sitting
+in San Lorenzo's chair, dinner was prepared in a neighbouring
+convent, and the nuns, allured by the sound of our flutes and oboes,
+peeped out of their cells and showed themselves by dozens at the
+grate.  Some few agreeable faces and interesting eyes enlivened the
+dark sisterhood; all seemed to catch a gleam of pleasure from the
+music; two or three of them, probably the last immured, let fall a
+tear, and suffered the recollection of the world and its profane joys
+to interrupt for a moment their sacred tranquillity.
+
+We stayed till the sun was low, and the breezes blew cool from the
+ocean, on purpose that they might listen as long as possible to a
+harmony which seemed to issue, as the old abbess expressed herself,
+from the gates of paradise ajar.  A thousand benedictions consecrated
+our departure; twilight came on just as we entered the bark and rowed
+out upon the waves, agitated by a fresh gale, but fearing nothing
+under the protection of St. Margherita, whose good wishes our music
+had secured.
+
+In two hours we were safely landed at the Fondamenti nuovi, and went
+immediately to the Mendicanti, where they were performing the
+oratorio of Sisera.  The composer, a young man, had displayed great
+fire and originality in this performance; and a knowledge of
+character seldom found in the most celebrated masters.  The
+supplication of the thirsty chieftain, and Jael's insinuating arts
+and pious treachery, are admirably expressed; but the agitation and
+bodily slumbers which precede his death, are imagined in the highest
+strain of genius.  The terror and agony of his dreams made me start,
+more than once, from my seat; and all the horrors of his
+assassination seemed full before me, so fatal was the sound of the
+instrument, so just the conduct of the harmony.
+
+Too much applause cannot be given to the Marchetti, who sang the part
+of Sisera, and seconded the composer's ideas by the most feeling and
+spirited execution.  There are few things I shall regret more at
+Venice, than this conservatorio.  Whenever I am musically given, I
+fly to it, and hear the most striking finales in Bertoni's and
+Anfosse's operas, as long and often as I please.
+
+The sight of the orchestra still makes me smile.  You know, I
+suppose, it is entirely of the female gender, and that nothing is
+more common than to see a delicate white hand journeying across an
+enormous double bass, or a pair of roseate cheeks puffing, with all
+their efforts, at a French horn.  Some that are grown old and
+Amazonian, who have abandoned their fiddles and their lovers, take
+vigorously to the kettledrum; and one poor limping lady, who had been
+crossed in love, now makes an admirable figure on the bassoon.
+
+Good-night!  I am quite exhausted with composing a chorus for these
+same Amazonians.  The poetry I send you, which seems to be some of
+the most picturesque and nervous an Italian ever produced.  The music
+takes up too much room to travel at present.  One day or other,
+perhaps, we may hear it in some dark grove, when the moon is eclipsed
+and nature in alarm.
+
+This is not the last letter you would receive from Venice, was I not
+hurrying to Lucca, where Pacchierotti sings next week, in the opera
+of Quinto Fabio, of all operas the most worthy to excuse such a
+musical fanaticism.  Adieu.
+
+
+
+LETTER X
+
+
+
+September 4th.--I was sorry to leave Venice, and regretted my
+peaceful excursions upon the Adriatic, when the Euganean hills were
+lost in a golden haze, and the sun cast his departing gleam across
+the waters.  No bright rays illuminated my departure, but the
+coolness and perfume of the air made some amends for their absence.
+
+About an hour's rowing from the isle of Saint Giorgio in Alga,
+brought us to the shores of Fusina, right opposite the opening where
+the Brenta mixes with the sea.  This river flows calmly between banks
+of verdure, crowned by poplars, with vines twining round every stalk,
+and depending from tree to tree in beautiful festoons.  Beds of mint
+and flowers clothe the brink of the stream, except where a tall
+growth of reeds and osiers lift themselves to the breezes.  I heard
+their whispers as we glided along; and had I been alone might have
+told you what they said to me; but such aerial oracles must be
+approached in solitude.  The morning continued to lower as we
+advanced; scarce a wind ventured to breathe; all was still and placid
+as the surface of the Brenta.  No sound struck my ears except the
+bargemen hallooing to open the sluices, and deepen the water.
+
+As yet I had not perceived an habitation; no other objects than green
+inclosures and fields of Turkish corn, shaded with vines and poplars,
+met my eyes wherever I turned them.
+
+Our navigation, the tranquil streams and cultivated banks, in short
+the whole landscape, had a sort of Chinese cast, which led me into
+Quang-Si and Quang-Tong.  The variety of canes, reeds, and blooming
+rushes, shooting from the slopes, confirmed my fancies, and when I
+beheld the yellow nenupha expanding its broad leaves to the current,
+I thought of the Tao-Se, and venerated one of the chief ingredients
+in their beverage of immortality.  Landing where this magic
+vegetation appeared most luxuriant, I cropped the flowers; but
+searched in vain for the kernels, which, according to the doctrine of
+the Bonzes, produce such wonderful effects.  Though I was deceived in
+this pursuit, I gained, however, in another.  The bank upon which I
+had sprung presented a continual walk of level turf, surrounded by
+vines, concealing the trees which supported them, and forming the
+most delightful bowers.  Under these garlands I passed, and gathered
+the ripe clusters which dangled around, convinced that Noah had
+discovered a far superior beverage to that of the Tao-Se.  Whilst I
+was thus agreeably employed, it began to rain, and the earth to
+exhale a fresh, reviving odour, highly grateful to one who had been
+so long confined to walls and waters.  After breathing nothing but
+the essence of the canals and the flavours of the Rialto, after the
+jingling of bells and brawls of the gondoliers, imagine how agreeable
+it was to scent the perfume of clover, to tread a springing herbage,
+and listen in silence to the showers pattering amongst the leaves.  I
+staid so long amidst the vines, that it grew late before we rowed by
+the Mira, a village of palaces, whose courts and gardens, as
+magnificent as statues, terraces, and vases can make them, compose a
+grand, though far from a rural prospect.
+
+Not being greatly delighted with such scenery, we stayed no longer
+than our dinner required, and reached the Dolo an hour before sunset.
+Passing the great sluices, whose gates opened with a thundering
+noise, we continued our course along the peaceful Brenta, winding its
+broad full stream through impenetrable copses, surmounted by tall
+waving poplars.  Day was about to close when we reached Fiesso; and
+it being a misty evening, I could scarcely distinguish the pompous
+facade of the Pisani palace.  That where we supped looks upon a broad
+mass of foliage, which I contemplated with pleasure as it sank in the
+dusk.
+
+We walked a long while under a pavilion stretched before the
+entrance, breathing the freshness of the wood after the shower, and
+hearing the drops trickle down the awning above our heads.  The
+Galuzzi sang some of her father Ferandini's compositions, with a
+fire, an energy, an expression, that one moment raised me to a pitch
+of heroism, and the next dissolved me in tears.  Her cheek was
+flushed with inspiration, her eyes glistened; the whole tone of her
+countenance was like that of a person rapt and inspired.  I forgot
+both time and place whilst she was breathing forth such celestial
+harmony.  The night stole imperceptibly away, and morning dawned
+before I awoke from my trance.  I don't recollect ever to have passed
+an evening, which every circumstance conspired so much to improve.
+In general, my musical pleasures suffer terrible abatements from the
+phlegm and stupidity of my neighbourhood, but here every one seemed
+to catch the flame, and to listen with reciprocal delight.  The C---
+threw quick around her the glancing fires of genius:  and, what with
+the song of the Galuzzi, and those intellectual meteors, I scarcely
+knew to what element I was transported; and doubted for several
+moments whether I had not fallen into a celestial dream.  I loathed
+the light of the morning star, which summoned me to depart; and, if I
+may express myself so poetically,
+
+
+"Cast many a longing, ling'ring look behind."
+
+
+
+LETTER XI
+
+
+
+September 5th.--The glow and splendour of the rising sun, for once in
+my life, drew little of my attention.  I was too deeply plunged in my
+reveries, to notice the landscape which lay before me; and the walls
+of Padua presented themselves some time ere I was aware.  At any
+other moment, how sensibly should I have been affected with their
+appearance! how many ideas of Antenor and his Trojans, would have
+thronged into my memory! but now I regarded the scene with
+indifference, and passed many a palace, and many a woody garden, with
+my eyes riveted to the ground.  The first object that appeared, upon
+lifting them up, was a confused pile of spires and cupolas, dedicated
+to blessed St. Anthony, who betook himself to the conversion of fish,
+after the heretics would lend no ear to his discourses.
+
+You are too well apprised of the veneration I have always entertained
+for this ingenious preacher, to doubt that I immediately repaired to
+his shrine and offered up my little orisons before it.  Mine was a
+disturbed spirit, and required all the balm of St. Anthony's kindness
+to appease it.  Perhaps you will say I had better gone to bed, and
+applied myself to my sleepy friend, the pagan divinity.  'Tis
+probable that you are in the right; but I could not retire to rest
+without venting some portion of effervescence in sighs and
+supplications.  The nave was filled with decrepit women and feeble
+children, kneeling by baskets of vegetables and other provisions;
+which, by good Anthony's interposition, they hoped to sell
+advantageously in the course of the day.  Beyond these, nearer the
+choir, and in a gloomier part of the edifice, knelt a row of rueful
+penitents, smiting their breasts, and lifting their eyes to heaven.
+Further on, in front of the dark recess, where the sacred relics are
+deposited, a few desperate, melancholy sinners lay prostrate.
+
+To these I joined myself, and fell down on the steps before the
+shrine.  The sunbeams had not yet penetrated into this religious
+quarter; and the only light it received proceeded from the golden
+lamps, which hang in clusters round the sanctuary.  A lofty altar,
+decked with superstitious prodigality, conceals the holy pile from
+profane glances.  Those who are profoundly touched with its sanctity
+may approach, and walking round, look through the crevices of the
+tomb, and rub their noses against the identical bones of St. Anthony,
+which, it is observed, exude a balsamic odour.  But supposing a
+traveller ever so heretical, I would advise him by no means to
+neglect this pilgrimage; since every part of the recess he visits is
+decorated with the most exquisite sculptures.  Sansovino and the best
+artists have vied with each other in carving the alto relievos of the
+arcade, which, for design and execution, would do honour to the
+sculptors of antiquity.
+
+Having observed these objects with much less exactness than they
+merited, and acted perhaps too capital a part amongst the devotees, I
+hastened to the inn, luckily hard by, and one of the best I am
+acquainted with.  Here I soon fell asleep in defiance of sunshine.
+'Tis true my slumbers were not a little agitated.  St. Anthony had
+been deaf to my prayer, and I still found myself a frail, infatuated
+mortal.
+
+At five I got up; we dined, and afterwards, scarcely knowing, nor
+much caring, what became of us, we strolled to the great hall of the
+town; an enormous edifice, as large as that of Westminster, but free
+from stalls, or shops, or nests of litigation.  The roof, one
+spacious vault of brown timber, casts a solemn gloom, which was still
+increased by the lateness of the hour, and not diminished by the wan
+light, admitted through the windows of pale blue glass.  The size and
+shape of this colossal chamber, the coving of the roof, with beams
+like perches for the feathered race, stretching across it, and, above
+all, the watery gleams that glanced through the casements, possessed
+my fancy with ideas of Noah's ark, and almost persuaded me I beheld
+that extraordinary vessel.  The representation one sees of it in
+Scheutzer's "Physica Sacra" seems to be formed upon this very model,
+and for several moments I indulged the chimera of imagining myself
+confined within its precincts.  How willingly, could I but choose my
+companions, would I encounter a deluge, to float whole years instead
+of months upon the waves!
+
+We remained walking to and fro in the ark, till the twilight faded
+into total darkness.  It was then full time to retire, as the
+guardian of the place was by no means formed to divine our diluvian
+ideas.
+
+
+
+LETTER XII
+
+
+
+September 6th.--At Padua, I was too near the last and one of the most
+celebrated abodes of Petrarch, to make the omission of a visit
+excusable; had I not been in a disposition to render such a
+pilgrimage peculiarly pleasing.  I set forwards from Padua after
+dinner, so as to arrive some time before sunset.  Nothing could be
+finer than the day; and I had every reason to promise myself a serene
+and delicious hour, before the sun might go down.  I put the poems of
+Petrarch into my pocket; and, as my road lay chiefly through lanes,
+planted on either side with mulberries and poplars, from which vines
+hung dangling in careless festoons, I found many a bowering shade,
+where I sat, at intervals, to indulge my pensive humour over some
+ejaculatory sonnet; as the pilgrim, on his journey to Loretto,
+reposes here and there, to offer his prayers and meditations to the
+Virgin.  In little more than an hour and half, I found myself in the
+midst of the Euganean hills, and, after winding almost another hour
+amongst them, I got, before I was well aware, into the village of
+Arqua.  Nothing can be more sequestered or obscure than its
+situation.  It had rather a deserted appearance; several of its
+houses being destitute of inhabitants, and crumbling into ruins.  Two
+or three of them, however, exhibited ancient towers, richly mantled
+with ivy, and surrounded with cypress, that retained the air of
+having once belonged to persons of consideration.  Their present
+abandoned state nourished the melancholy idea with which I entered
+the village.  Could one approach the last retreat of genius, and not
+look for some glow of its departed splendour?
+
+
+"Dear to the pensive eye of fond regret,
+Is light still beaming from a sun that's set."
+
+
+The residence of Petrarch at Arqua is said to have drawn thither from
+Padua the society of its more enlightened citizens.  This city,
+whilst Petrarch lived in its neighbourhood, was engaged in rebellion
+against the Venetians; and Francis de Carrara, the head of it, went
+often to Arqua, to consult Petrarch; when he found himself obliged to
+sue to Venice for peace.  The poet was indeed deputed, upon this
+occasion, his ambassador to the state; as being a person whose
+character and credit were most likely to appease its wrath.  His
+success in this embassy might, perhaps, have been some recompense for
+an employment he accepted with much regret, as it forced him from his
+beloved retirement.  In a letter to one of his friends, written about
+this period of his life, he says:  "I pass the greatest part of the
+year in the country, which I have always preferred to cities:  I
+read; I write; I think:  thus, my life and my pleasures are like
+those of youth.  I take pains to hide myself; but I cannot escape
+visits:  it is an honour which displeases and wearies me.  In my
+little house on the Euganean hills, I hope to pass my few remaining
+days in tranquillity, and to have always before my eyes my dead, or
+my absent, friends."  I was musing on these circumstances as I walked
+along the village, till a venerable old woman, seated at her door
+with her distaff in her hand, observing me, soon guessed the cause of
+my excursion; and offered to guide me to Petrarch's house.  The
+remainder of my way was short, and well amused by my guide's
+enthusiastic expressions of veneration for the poet's memory; which,
+she assured me, she felt but in common with the other inhabitants of
+the village.  When we came to the door of the house, we met the
+peasant, its present possessor.  The old woman, recommending the
+stranger and his curiosity to her neighbour's good offices, departed.
+I entered immediately, and ran over every room, which the peasant
+assured me, in confirmation of what I before learnt from better
+authority, were preserved, as nearly as they could be, in the state
+Petrarch had left them.  The house and premises, having unfortunately
+been transmitted from one enthusiast of his name to another, no
+tenants have been admitted, but under the strictest prohibition of
+making any change in the form of the apartments, or in the memorial
+relics belonging to the place:  and, to say the truth, everything I
+saw in it, save a few articles of the peasant's furniture in the
+kitchen, has an authentic appearance.  Three of the rooms below
+stairs are particularly shown, and they have nothing in them but what
+once belonged to the poet.  In one, which I think they call his
+parlour, is a very antique cupboard; where, it is supposed, he
+deposited some precious part of his literary treasure.  The ceiling
+is painted in a grotesque manner.  A niche in the wall contains the
+skeleton of his favourite cat, with a Latin epigram beneath, of
+Petrarch's composition.  It is good enough to deserve being copied;
+but the lateness of the hour did not allow me time.  A little room,
+beyond this, is said to have been his study:  the walls of it, from
+top to bottom, are scribbled over with sonnets, and poetical eulogies
+on Petrarch, ancient and modern:  many of which are subscribed by
+persons, of distinguished rank and talents, Italians as well as
+strangers.  Here, too, is the bard's old chair, and on it is
+displayed a great deal of heavy, ornamental carpentry; which required
+no stretch of faith to be believed the manufacture of the fourteenth
+century.  You may be sure, I placed myself in it, with much
+veneration, and the most resigned assent to Mrs. Dobson's relation:
+that Petrarch, sitting in this same chair, was found dead in his
+library, with one arm leaning on a book.  Who could sit in Petrarch's
+chair, void of some effect?  I rose not from it without a train of
+pensive sentiments and soft impressions; which I ever love to
+indulge.  I was now led into a larger room, behind that I first saw;
+where, it is likely enough, the poet, according to the peasant's
+information, received the visits of his friends.  Its walls were
+adorned with landscapes and pastoral scenes, in such painting as
+Petrarch himself might, and is supposed to have executed.  Void of
+taste and elegance, either in the design or colouring, they bear some
+characteristic marks of the age to which they are, with no
+improbability, assigned; and, separate from the merit of exhibiting
+repeatedly the portraits of Petrarch and Laura, are a valuable sketch
+of the rude infancy of the art, where it rose with such hasty vigour
+to perfection.  Having seen all that was left unchanged in this
+consecrated mansion, I passed through a room, said to have been the
+bard's bed-room, and stepped into the garden, situated on a green
+slope, descending directly from the house.  It is now rather an
+orchard than a garden; a spot of small extent, and without much else
+to recommend it, but that it once was the property of Petrarch.  It
+is not pretended to have retained the form in which he left it.  An
+agreeably wild and melancholy kind of view, which it commands over
+the Euganean hills, and which I beheld under the calm glow of
+approaching sunset, must often, at the same moment, have soothed the
+poet's anxious feelings, and hushed his active imagination, as it did
+my own, into a delicious repose.  Having lingered here till the sun
+was sunk beneath the horizon, I was led a little way farther in the
+village, to see Petrarch's fountain.  Hippocrene itself could not
+have been more esteemed by the poet, than this, his gift, by all the
+inhabitants of Arqua.  The spring is copious, clear, and of excellent
+water; I need not say with what relish I drank of it.  The last
+religious act in my little pilgrimage was a visit to the church-yard;
+where I strewed a few flowers, the fairest of the season, on the
+poet's tomb; and departed for Padua by the light of the moon.
+
+
+
+LETTER XIII
+
+
+
+September 7th.--Immediately after breakfast, we went to St.
+Justina's, a noble temple, designed by Palladio, and worthy of his
+reputation.  The dimensions are vast, and the equal distribution of
+light and ornament truly admirable.  Upon my first entrance, the long
+perspective of domes above, and chequered marble below, struck me
+with surprise and pleasure.  I roved about the spacious aisles for
+several minutes, then sat down under the grand cupola, and admired
+the beautiful symmetry of the building.
+
+Both extremities of the cross aisles are terminated by altar and
+tombs of very remote antiquity, adorned with uncouth sculptures of
+the Evangelists, supported by wreathed columns of alabaster, round
+which, to my no small astonishment, four or five gawky fellows were
+waddling on their knees, persuaded, it seems, that this strange
+devotion would cure the rheumatism, or any other aches with which
+they were afflicted.  You can have no conception of the ridiculous
+attitudes into which they threw themselves; nor the difficulty with
+which they squeezed along, between the middle column of the tomb and
+those which surrounded it.  No criminal in the pillory ever exhibited
+a more rueful appearance, no swine ever scrubbed itself more
+fervently than these infatuated lubbers.
+
+I left them hard at work, taking more exercise than had been their
+lot for many a day; and, mounting into the organ gallery, listened to
+Turini's {182} music with infinite satisfaction.  The loud harmonious
+tones of the instrument filled the whole edifice; and, being repeated
+by the echoes of its lofty domes and arches, produced a wonderful
+effect.  Turini, aware of this circumstance, adapts his compositions
+with great intelligence to the place, and makes his slave, the organ,
+send forth the most affecting, long-protracted sounds, which languish
+in the air, and are some time a-dying.  Nothing can be more original
+than his style.  Deprived of sight by an unhappy accident, in the
+flower of his days, he gave up his entire soul to music, and scarcely
+exists but through its medium.
+
+When we came out of St. Justina's, the azure of the sky and the
+softness of the air inclined us to think of some excursion.  Where
+could I wish to go, but to the place in which I had been so
+delighted?  Besides, it was proper to make the C. another visit, and
+proper to see the Pisani palace, which happily I had before
+neglected.  All these proprieties considered, M. de R. accompanied me
+to Fiesso.
+
+The sun was just sunk when we arrived; the whole ether in a glow, and
+the fragrance of the arched citron alleys delightful.  Beneath them I
+walked in the cool, till the Galuzzi began once more her enchanting
+melody.  She sung till the moon tempted the fascinating G---a and
+myself to stray on the banks of the Brenta.  A profound calm reigned
+upon the woods and the waters, and moonlight added serenity to a
+scene naturally peaceful.  We listened to the faint murmurs of the
+leaves, and the distant rural noises, observing the gleams that
+quivered on the river, and discovered a mutual delight in
+contemplating the same objects.
+
+We supped late:  before the Galuzzi had repeated the airs which had
+most affected me, morning began to dawn.
+
+September 8th.--It was evening, and I was still asleep; not in a
+tranquil slumber, but at the mercy of fantastic visions.  The want of
+sound repose had thrown me into a feverish impatient mood, that was
+alone to be subdued by harmony.  Scarcely had I snatched some slight
+refreshment, before I flew to the great organ at St. Justina's, but
+tried, this time, to compose myself in vain.  M. de R., finding my
+endeavours unsuccessful, proposed, by way of diverting my attention,
+that we should set out immediately for one of the Euganean hills
+about five or seven miles from Padua, at the foot of which some
+antique baths had very lately been discovered.  I consented, without
+hesitation, little concerned whither I went, or what happened to me,
+provided the scene was often shifted.  The lanes and enclosures we
+passed on our road to the hills, appeared in all the gaiety that
+verdure, flowers, and sunshine could give them.  But my pleasures
+were overcast, and I beheld every object, however cheerful, through a
+dusky medium.  Deeply engaged in conversation, distance made no
+impression; and we beheld the meadows, over which the ruins are
+scattered, lie before us, when we still imagined ourselves several
+miles away.  Had I but enjoyed my former serenity, how agreeably
+would such a landscape have affected my imagination!  How lightly
+should I not have run over the herbage, and viewed the irregular
+shrubby hills, diversified with clumps of cypress, verdant spots, and
+pastoral cottages, such as Zuccarelli loved to paint!  No scene could
+be more smiling than this which here presented itself, or answer, in
+a fuller degree, the ideas I had formed of Italy.
+
+Leaving our carriage at the entrance of the mead, we traversed its
+flowery surface, and shortly perceived among the grass an oblong
+basin, incrusted with pure white marble.  Most of the slabs are large
+and perfect, apparently brought from Greece, and still retaining
+their polished smoothness.  The pipes to convey the waters are still
+discernible; in short, the whole ground-plan may be easily traced.
+Nothing more remains:  the pillars and arcades are fallen, and one or
+two pedestals alone vouch for their former existence.  Near the
+principal bath, we remarked the platforms of several circular
+apartments, paved with mosaic, in a neat simple taste, far from
+inelegant.  Weeds have not yet sprung up amongst the crevices; and
+the universal freshness of the ruin shows that it has not been long
+exposed.
+
+Theodoric is the prince to whom these structures are attributed; and
+Cassiodorus, the prime chronicler of the country, is quoted to
+maintain the supposition.  My spirit was too much engaged to make any
+learned parade, or to dispute upon a subject, which I abandon, with
+all its glories, to calmer and less impatient minds.
+
+Having taken a cursory view of the ruins in the mead, we ascended the
+hill which borders upon it, and surveyed a prospect of the same
+nature, though in a more lovely and expanded style, than that which I
+beheld from Mosolente.  Padua crowns the landscape, with its towers
+and cupolas rising from a continued grove; and, from the drawings I
+have seen, I should conjecture that Damascus presents somewhat of a
+similar appearance.
+
+Taking our eyes off this extensive prospect, we turned them to the
+fragments beneath our feet.  The walls appear plainly composed of the
+opus reticulatum so universal in the environs of Naples.  A sort of
+terrace, with the bases of columns circling the mount, leads me to
+imagine here were formerly arcades and porticos, for enjoying the
+view; for on the summit I could trace no vestiges of any considerable
+structure, and am therefore inclined to conclude, that nothing more
+than a colonnade surrounded the hill, leading perhaps to some slight
+fane, or pavilion, for the recreation of the bathers below.
+
+A profusion of aromatic flowers covered the slopes, and exhaled
+additional perfumes, as the sun declined, and the still hour
+approached, which was wont to spread over my mind a divine composure,
+and to restore the tranquillity I might have lost in the day.  But
+now it diffused in vain its reviving coolness, and I remained, if
+possible, more sad and restless than before.
+
+To produce such a revolution, divine how I must have been fascinated!
+and be not surprised at my repeating all the way that pathetic sonnet
+of Petrarch:
+
+
+"O giorno, o ora, o ultimo momento,
+O stelle congiurate a 'mpoverirme!
+O fido sguardo, or che volei tu dirme,
+Partend' io, per non esser mai contento?"
+
+
+September 9th.--You may imagine how I felt when the hour of leaving
+Padua drew near.  It happened to be a high festival, and mass
+celebrated at the grand church of St. Anthony, with more than
+ordinary splendour.  The music drawing us thither, we found every
+chapel twinkling with lights, and the choir filled with a vapour of
+incense.  Through its medium several cloth of gold figures discovered
+themselves, ministering before the altar, and acting their parts with
+a sacred pomposity, wonderfully imposing.  I attended very little to
+their functions, but the plaintive tones of the voices and
+instruments, so consonant with my own feelings, melted me into tears,
+and gave me, no doubt, the exterior of exalted piety.  Guadazni sang
+amongst the other musicians, but seemed to be sinking apace into
+devotion and obscurity.  The ceremony ended, I took leave of M. de R.
+with sincere regret, and was driven away to Vicenza.  Of my journey I
+scarce know any more than that the evening was cold and rainy, that I
+shivered and was miserable.
+
+September 10th.--The morning being overcast, I went, full of the
+spirit of AEschylus, to the Olympic Theatre, and vented my evil
+temper in reciting some of the most tremendous verses of his furies.
+The august front of the scene, and its three grand streets of fanes
+and palaces, inspired me with the loftiest sentiments of the Grecian
+drama; but the dubious light admitted through windows, scarce visible
+between the rows of statues which crown the entablature, sunk me into
+fits of gloom and sadness.  I mused a long while in the darkest and
+most retired recess of the edifice, fancying I had penetrated into a
+real and perfect monument of antiquity, which till this moment had
+remained undiscovered.  It is impossible to conceive a structure more
+truly classical, or to point out a single ornament which has not the
+best antique authority.  I am not in the least surprised that the
+citizens of Vicenza enthusiastically gave in to Palladio's plan, and
+sacrificed large sums to erect so beautiful a model.  When finished,
+they procured, at a vast expense, the representation of a Grecian
+tragedy, with its chorus and majestic decorations.  You can enter
+into the rapture of an artist, who sees his fondest vision realized;
+and can easily conceive how it was, that Palladio esteemed this
+compliment the most flattering reward.  After I had given scope to
+the fancies which the scene suggested, we set out for Verona.
+
+The situation is striking and picturesque.  A long line of battlement
+walls, flanked by venerable towers, mounts the hill in a grand
+irregular sweep, and incloses many a woody garden and grove of
+slender cypress.  Beyond rises an awful assembly of mountains;
+opposite to which a fertile plain presents itself, decked with all
+the variety of meads and thickets, olive-grounds and vineyards.
+
+Amongst these our road kept winding till we entered the city gate,
+and passed (the post knows how many streets and alleys in the way!)
+to the inn, a lofty, handsome-looking building; but so full that we
+were obliged to take up with an apartment on its very summit, open to
+all the winds, like the magic chamber Apuleius mentions, and
+commanding the roofs of half Verona.  Here and there a pine shot up
+amongst them, and the shady hills, terminating the perspective with
+their walls and turrets, formed a romantic scene.
+
+Placing our table in a balcony, to enjoy the prospect with greater
+freedom, we feasted upon fish from the Lago di Garda, and the
+delicious fruits of the country,--grapes worthy of Canaan, and
+peaches such as Eden itself might have gloried in producing.  Thus
+did I remain, solacing myself, breathing the cool air, and remarking
+the evening tints of the mountains.  Neither the paintings of Count
+this, nor the antiquities of the Marquis t'other, could tempt me from
+my aerial situation; I refused hunting out the famous Paolos
+scattered over the town, and sat like the owl in the Georgics,
+
+
+"Solis et occasom servans de culmine summo."
+
+
+Twilight drawing on, I left my haunt, and stealing downstairs,
+inquired for a guide to conduct me to the amphitheatre, perhaps the
+most entire monument of Roman days.  The people of the house, instead
+of bringing me a quiet peasant, officiously delivered me up to a
+professed antiquary, one of those diligent plausible young men, to
+whom, God help me! I have so capital an aversion.  This sweet spark
+displayed all his little erudition, and flourished away upon cloacas
+and vomitoriums with eternal fluency.  He was very profound in the
+doctrine of conduits, and knew to admiration how the filthiness of
+all the amphitheatre was disposed of; but perceiving my inattention,
+and having just grace enough to remark that I chose one side of the
+street when he preferred the other, and sometimes trotted through
+despair in the kennel, he made me a pretty bow, I threw him half-a-
+crown, and seeing the ruins before me, traversed a gloomy arcade and
+emerged alone into the arena.  A smooth turf covers its surface, from
+which a spacious row of gradines rises to a majestic elevation.  Four
+arches, with their simple Doric ornament, alone remain of the grand
+circle which once lifted itself above the highest seats of the
+amphitheatre; and, had it not been for Gothic violence, this part of
+the structure would have equally resisted the ravages of time.
+Nothing can be more exact than the preservation of the gradines; not
+a block has sunk from its place, and whatever trifling injuries they
+may have received have been carefully repaired.  The two chief
+entrances are rebuilt with solidity and closed by portals, no passage
+being permitted through the theatre except at public shows and
+representations, sometimes still given in the arena.
+
+When I paced slowly across it, silence reigned undisturbed amongst
+the awful ruins, and nothing moved, save the weeds and grasses which
+skirt the walls and tremble with the faintest breeze.
+
+I liked the idea of being thus shut in on every side by endless
+gradines, abandoned to a stillness and solitude I was so peculiarly
+disposed to taste.  Throwing myself upon the grass in the middle of
+the arena, I enjoyed the freedom of my situation; and pursued the
+last tracks of light, as they faded behind the solitary arches, which
+rose above the rest.  Red and fatal were the tints of the western
+sky; the wind blew chill and hollow, and something more than common
+seemed to issue from the withering herbage on the walls.  I started
+up, fled through a dark arcade, where water falls drop by drop, and
+arrived, panting, in the great square before the ruins.  Directing my
+steps across it, I reached an ancient castle, once inhabited by the
+Scaligeri, sovereigns of Verona.  Hard by appeared the ruins of a
+triumphal arch, which most antiquarians ascribe to Vitruvius,
+enriched with delicate scrolls and flowery ornaments.  I could have
+passed half-an-hour very agreeably in copying these elegant
+sculptures; but night covering them with her shades, I returned home
+to the Corso; where the outlines of several palaces, designed by
+Michel San Michele, attracted my attention.  But it was too dusky to
+examine their details.
+
+September 11th.--Traversing once more the grand piazza, and casting a
+last glance upon the amphitheatre, we passed under a lofty arch which
+terminates the perspective, and left Verona by a wide, irregular,
+picturesque street, commanding, whenever you look back, a striking
+scene of towers, cypress, and mountains.
+
+The country, between this beautiful town and Mantua, presents one
+continued grove of dwarfish mulberries, among which start up
+innumerable barren hills.  Now and then a knot of poplars diversify
+their craggy summits, and sometimes a miserable shed.  Mantua itself
+rises out of a morass formed by the Mincio, whose course, in most
+places, is so choked up with reeds as to be scarcely discernible.  It
+requires a creative imagination to discover any charms in such a
+prospect, and a strong prepossession not to be disgusted with the
+scene where Virgil was born.  For my own part, I approached this
+neighbourhood with proper deference, and began to feel the God, but
+finding no tufted tree on which I could suspend my lyre, or verdant
+bank which invited to repose, I abandoned poetry and entered the city
+in despair.
+
+The beating of drums, and sight of German whiskers, finished what
+croaking frogs and stagnant ditches had begun.  Every classic idea
+being scared by such sounds and such objects, I dined in dudgeon, and
+refused stirring out till late in the evening.
+
+A few paces from the town stand the remains of the palace where the
+Gonzagas formerly resided.  This I could not resist looking at, and
+was amply rewarded.  Several of the apartments, adorned by the bold
+pencil of Julio Romano, merit the most exact attention; and the
+grotesques, with which the stucco ceilings are covered, equal the
+celebrated loggios of the Vatican.  I don't recollect ever having
+seen these elegant designs engraven, and believe it would be
+perfectly worth the pains of some capital artist to copy them.  Being
+in fresco upon damp neglected walls, each year diminishes their
+number, and every winter moulders some beautiful figure away.
+
+The subjects, mostly from antique fables, are treated with all the
+purity and gracefulness of Raphael.  Amongst others the story of
+Polypheme is very conspicuous.  Acis appears, reclined with his
+beloved Galatea, on the shore of the ocean, whilst their gigantic
+enemy, seated above on the brow of AEtna, seems by the paleness and
+horrors of his countenance to meditate some terrible revenge.
+
+When it was too late to examine the paintings any longer, I walked
+into a sort of court, or rather garden, which had been decorated with
+fountains and antique statues.  Their fragments still remain amongst
+weeds and beds of flowers, for every corner of the place is smothered
+with vegetation.  Here nettles grow thick and rampant:  there,
+tuberoses and jessamine cling around mounds of ruins, which during
+the elegant reign of the Gonzagas led to grottos and subterranean
+apartments, concealed from vulgar eyes, and sacred to the most
+refined enjoyments.  I gathered a tuberose that sprang from a shell
+of white marble, once trickling with water, now half filled with
+mould, and carrying it home, shut myself up for the rest of the
+night, inhaled its perfume, and fell a-dreaming.
+
+September 12th.--A shower having fallen, the air was refreshed, and
+the drops still glittered upon the vines, through which our road
+conducted us.  Three or four miles from Mantua the scene changed to
+extensive grounds of rice, and meads of the tenderest verdure watered
+by springs, whose frequent meanders gave to the whole prospect the
+appearance of a vast green carpet shot with silver.  Further on we
+crossed the Po, and passing Guastalla, entered a woody country full
+of inclosures and villages; herds feeding in the meadows, and poultry
+parading before every wicket.
+
+The peasants were busied in winnowing their corn; or, mounted upon
+the elms and poplars, gathering the rich clusters from the vines that
+hang streaming in braids from one branch to another.  I was surprised
+to find myself already in the midst of the vintage, and to see every
+road crowded with carts and baskets bringing it along; you cannot
+imagine a pleasanter scene.
+
+Round Reggio it grew still more lively, and on the other side of that
+agreeable little city, I remarked many a cottage that Tityrus might
+have inhabited, with its garden and willow hedge in flower, swarming
+with bees.  Our road, the smoothest conceivable, led us, perhaps too
+rapidly, by so cheerful a landscape.  I caught glimpses of fields and
+copses as we fled along, that could have afforded me amusement for
+hours, and orchards on gentle acclivities, beneath which I could have
+walked till evening.  The trees literally bent under their loads of
+fruit, and innumerable ruddy apples lay scattered upon the ground -
+
+
+"Strata jacent passim sus quaeque sub arbore poma."
+
+
+Beyond these rich masses of foliage, to which the sun lent additional
+splendour, at the utmost extremity of the pastures, rose the
+irregular ridge of the Apennines, whose deep blue presented a
+striking contrast to the glowing colours of the foreground.  I fixed
+my eyes on the chain of distant mountains, and indulged, as usual, my
+conjectures of what was going forward on their summits; of those who
+tended goats on the edge of the precipice; traversed, at this moment,
+the dark thickets of pines, and passed their lives in yonder sheds,
+contented and unknown.  Such were the dreams that filled my fancy,
+and kept it incessantly employed till it was dusk, and the moon began
+to show herself; the same moon which, but a few days ago, had seen me
+so happy at Fiesso.  Her soft light reposed upon the meads, that had
+been newly mown, and the shadows of tall poplars were cast aslant
+them.  I left my carriage, and running into the dim haze, abandoned
+myself to the recollection it inspired.  During an hour, I kept
+continually flying forwards; bounding from enclosure to enclosure
+like a hunted antelope, and forgetting where I was or whither I was
+going.  One sole idea filled my mind, and led me on with such
+heedless rapidity, that I stumbled over stones and bushes, and
+entangled myself on every wreath of vines which opposed my progress.
+At length, having wandered where chance or the wildness of my fancy
+led, till the lateness of the evening alarmed me, I regained the
+chaise as fast as I could, and arrived between ten and eleven at the
+place of my destination.
+
+September 13th.--Having but a moment or two at liberty, I hurried
+early in the morning to the palace, and entered an elegant Ionic
+court, with arcades of the whitest stone, through which I caught
+peeps of a clear blue sky and groves of cypresses.  Some few good
+paintings still adorn the apartments, but the best part of the
+collection has been disposed of, for a hundred thousand sequins,
+amongst which was that inestimable picture, the Notte of Corregio.
+An excellent copy remained and convinced me the original was not
+undeservedly celebrated.  None but the pencil of Corregio ever
+designed such graceful angels, nor imagined such a pearly dawn to
+cast around them.  Ten thousand times, I dare say, has the subject of
+the Nativity been treated, and as many painters have failed in
+rendering it so pleasing.  The break of day, the first smiles of the
+celestial infant, and the truth, the simplicity of every countenance,
+cannot be too warmly admired.  In the other rooms, no picture gave me
+more pleasure than Jacob's Vision by Domenico Feti.  I gazed several
+minutes at the grand confusion of clouds and seraphim descending
+around the patriarch, and wished for a similar dream.
+
+Having spent the little time I had remaining in contemplating this
+object, I hastened from the palace and left Modena.
+
+We traversed a champagne country in our way to Bologna, whose
+richness and fertility increased in proportion as we drew near that
+celebrated mart of lap-dogs and sausages.  A chain of hills commands
+the city, variegated with green inclosures and villas innumerable,
+almost every one of which has its grove of chestnuts and cypresses.
+On the highest acclivity of this range appears the magnificent
+convent of Madonna del Monte, embosomed in wood, and joined to the
+town by a corridor a league in length.  This vast portico, ascending
+the steeps and winding amongst the thickets, sometimes concealed and
+sometimes visible, produces an effect wonderfully grand and singular.
+I longed to have mounted the height by so extraordinary a passage;
+and hope on some future day to be better acquainted with Saint Maria
+del Monte.
+
+At present I thought of little else, to say truth, but what I had
+seen at Fiesso; and what I was to hear at Lucca.  The anxiety
+inspired by the one, and impatience by the other, rendered me
+shamefully insensible to the merits of Bologna (where I passed near
+two hours), and of which I can add nothing but that it is very much
+out of humour, an earthquake and Cardinal Buoncompagni having
+disarranged both land and people.  For half-a-year the ground
+continued trembling; and for these last months, the legate and
+senators have grumbled and scratched incessantly; so that, between
+natural and political commotions, the Bolognese must have passed an
+agreeable summer.
+
+Such a report of the situation of things, you may suppose, was not
+likely to retard my journey.  I put off delivering my letters to
+another opportunity; ran up a tall slender tower as high as the
+Campanile di San Marco, by way of exercise; and proceeded immediately
+after dinner towards the mountains.  We were soon in the midst of
+crags and stony channels, that stream with ten thousand rills in the
+winter season, but during the summer months reflect every sunbeam,
+and harbour half the scorpions in the country.
+
+For many a toilsome league our prospect consisted of nothing but
+dreary hillocks and intervening wastes, more barren and mournful than
+those to which Mary Magdalene retired.  Sometimes a crucifix or
+chapel peeped out of the parched fern and grasses, with which these
+desolate fields are clothed; and now and then we met a goggle-eyed
+pilgrim trudging along, and staring about him as if he waited only
+for night and opportunity to have additional reasons for hurrying to
+Jerusalem.
+
+During three or four hours that we continued ascending, the scene
+increased in sterility and desolation; but, at the end of our second
+post, the landscape began to alter for the better:  little green
+valleys at the base of tremendous steeps, discovered themselves,
+scattered over with oaks, and freshened with running waters, which
+the nakedness of the impending rocks set off to advantage.  The sides
+of the cliffs in general consist of rude misshapen masses; but their
+summits are smooth and verdant, and continually browsed by herds of
+white goats, which were gambolling on the edge of the precipices as
+we passed beneath.
+
+I joined one of these frisking assemblies, whose shadows were
+stretched by the setting sun along the level herbage.  There I sat a
+few minutes whilst they shook their beards at me, and tried to scare
+me with all their horns; but I was not to be frightened, and would
+offer up my adorations to departing day, in spite of their caperings.
+Being tired with skipping and butting at me in vain, the whole herd
+trotted away, and I after them.  They led me a dance from crag to
+crag and from thicket to thicket.
+
+It was growing dusky apace, and wreaths of smoke began to ascend from
+the mysterious depths of the valleys.  I was ignorant what monster
+inhabited such retirements, so gave over my pursuit, lest some
+Polypheme or other might make me repent it.  I looked around, the
+carriage was out of sight; but hearing the neighing of horses at a
+distance, I soon came up with them, and mounted another rapid ascent,
+whence an extensive tract of cliff and forest land was discernible.
+
+The rocks here formed a spacious terrace; along which I continued
+surveying the distant groves, and marking the solemn approach of
+night.  The sky was hung with storms, and a pale moon seemed to
+advance with difficulty amongst broken and tempestuous clouds.  It
+was an hour to reap plants with brazen sickles, and to meditate upon
+revenge.
+
+A chill wind blew from the highest peak of the Apennines, inspiring
+evil, and making a dismal rustle amongst the woods of chestnut that
+hung on the mountain's side, through which we were forced to pass.  I
+never heard such fatal murmurs; nor felt myself so gloomily.  I
+walked out of the sound of the carriage, where the glimmering
+moonlight prevailed, and began interpreting the language of the
+leaves, not greatly to my own advantage or that of any being in the
+universe.  I was no prophet of good, but full of melancholy bodings,
+and something that bordered upon despair.  Had I but commanded an
+oracle, as ancient visionaries were wont, I should have thrown whole
+nations into dismay.
+
+How long I continued in this strange temper I cannot pretend to say,
+but believe it was midnight before we emerged from the oracular
+forest, and saw faintly before us the huts of Lognone, where we were
+to sleep.  This blessed hamlet is suspended on the brow of a bleak
+mountain, and every gust that stirs shakes the whole village to its
+foundations.  At our approach two hags stalked forth with lanterns
+and invited us with a grin, which I shall always remember, to a dish
+of mustard and crow's gizzards, a dish I was more than half afraid of
+tasting, lest it should change me to some bird of darkness, condemned
+to mope eternally on the black rafters of the cottage.
+
+After repeated supplications we procured a few eggs, and some faggots
+to make a fire.  Its blaze gave me courage to hear the hollow blasts
+that whistled in the crevices; and pitching my bed in a warm corner,
+I soon fell asleep, and forgot all my cares and inquietudes.
+
+September 14th.--The sun had not been long above the horizon, before
+we set forward upon a craggy pavement hewn out of the rough bosom of
+the cliffs and precipices.  Scarce a tree was visible, and the few
+that presented themselves began already to shed their leaves.  The
+raw nipping air of this desert with difficulty spares a blade of
+vegetation; and in the whole range of these extensive eminences I
+could not discover a single corn-field or pasture.  Inhabitants, you
+may guess, there were none.  I would defy even a Scotch highlander to
+find means of subsistence in so rude a soil.
+
+Towards midday, we had surmounted the dreariest part of our journey,
+and began to perceive a milder landscape.  The climate improved as
+well as the prospect, and after a continual descent of several hours,
+we saw groves and villages in the dips of the hills, and met a string
+of mules and horses laden with fruit.  I purchased some figs and
+peaches from this little caravan, and spreading my repast upon a
+bank, baked in the sunshine, and gathered large spikes of lavender in
+full bloom.
+
+Continuing our route, we bid adieu to the realms of poverty and
+barrenness, and entered a cultivated vale sheltered by woody
+acclivities.  Among these we wound along, the peasants singing upon
+the hill, and driving their cattle to springs by the road's side;
+near one of which we dined in a patriarchal manner, and afterwards
+pursued our course through a grove of taper cypresses, waving with
+the cool gales of the evening.  The heights were suffused with a
+ruddy glow, proceeding from the light pink clouds which floated on
+the horizon.  No others were to be seen.  All nature seemed in a
+happy tranquil state; the herds penned in their folds, and every
+rustic going to repose.  I shared the general calm for the first time
+this many a tedious hour; and traversed the dales in peace, abandoned
+to flattering hopes and gay illusions.  The full moon shone
+propitiously upon me as I ascended a hill, and discovered Florence at
+a distance, surrounded with gardens and terraces, rising one above
+another.  The serene moonlight on the pale grey tints of the olive,
+gave an Elysian, visionary appearance to the landscape.  I never
+beheld so mild a sky, nor such soft gleams:  the mountains were
+veiled in azure mists, which concealed their rugged summits; and the
+plains in vapours, that smoothed their irregularities, and diffused a
+faint aerial hue, to which no description can render justice.  I
+could have contemplated such scenery for hours, and was sorry when I
+found myself shut up from it by the gates of Florence.  We passed
+several lofty palaces of the true Tuscan order, with rustic arcades
+and stout columns, whose solidity and magnificence were not
+diminished by the shades of midnight.  Whilst these grand masses lay
+dark and solemn, the smooth flagstone, with which every street is
+paved, received a chequered gleam, and the Arno, the brightest
+radiance.  Though tired with my jumble over the Apennines, I could
+not resist the temptation of walking upon the banks of so celebrated
+a river, and crossing its bridges, which still echoed with music and
+conversation.  Having gratified the first impulse of curiosity, I
+returned to Vaninis, and slept as well as my impatience would allow,
+till it was time next morning (September 15th), to visit the gallery,
+and worship the Venus de Medicis.  I felt, upon entering this world
+of taste and elegance, as if I could have taken up my abode in it for
+ever; but confused with the multitude of objects, I knew not where to
+turn myself, and ran childishly by the ample ranks of sculptures,
+like a butterfly in a parterre, that skims before it fixes, over ten
+thousand flowers.
+
+Having taken my course down one side of the gallery, I turned the
+angle and discovered another long perspective, equally stored with
+prodigies of bronze and marble; paintings on the walls, on the
+ceilings, in short, everywhere.  A minute brought me, vast as it was,
+to the extremity of this range; then, flying down a third, adorned in
+the same delightful manner, I paused under the bust of Jupiter
+Olympius; and began to reflect a little more maturely upon the
+company in which I found myself.  Opposite, appeared the majestic
+features of Minerva, breathing divinity; and Cybele, the mother of
+the gods.
+
+I bowed low to these awful powers, but seeing a black figure just by,
+whose attitude seemed to announce the deity of sleep, I made
+immediately up to it.  You know my fondness for this drowsy
+personage, and that it is not the first time I have quitted the most
+splendid society for him.  I found him, at present, of touchstone,
+with the countenance of a towardly brat, sleeping ill through
+indigestion.  The artist had not conceived such high ideas of the god
+as live in my bosom, or else he never would have represented him with
+so little grace or dignity.
+
+Displeased at finding my favourite subject profaned, I perceived the
+lively transports of enthusiasm began in some degree to be
+dissipated, and I felt myself calm enough to follow the herd of
+guides and spectators from chamber to chamber and cabinet to cabinet,
+without falling into errors of rapture and inspiration.  We were led
+slowly and moderately through the large rooms, containing the
+portraits of painters, good, bad, and indifferent, from Raffaelle to
+Liotard; then into a museum of bronzes, which would afford both
+amusement and instruction for years.
+
+To one who can never behold an ancient lamp or tripod without the
+associations of those who sacrificed on the one and meditated by the
+other, imagine what pleasures such a repository must have
+communicated.
+
+When I had alarmed, not satisfied, my curiosity by rapidly running
+over this multitude of candelabra, urns, and sacred utensils, we
+entered a small luminous apartment, surrounded with cases richly
+decorated, and filled with the most exquisite models of workmanship
+in bronze and various metals, classed in exact order.  Here are
+crowds of diminutive deities and tutelary lars, to whom the
+superstition of former days attributed those midnight murmurs which
+were believed to presage the misfortunes of a family.  Amongst these
+now neglected images are preserved a vast number of talismans,
+cabalistic amulets, and other grotesque relics of ancient credulity.
+
+In the centre of the room, I remarked a table, beautifully formed of
+polished gems, and, hard by it, the statue of a genius with his
+familiar serpent, and all his attributes; the guardian of the
+treasured antiquities.  From this chamber we were conducted into
+another, which opens to that part of the gallery where the busts of
+Adrian and Antinous are placed.  Two pilasters, delicately carved in
+trophies and clusters of ancient armour, stand on each side of the
+entrance; within are several perfumed cabinets of miniatures, and a
+single column of Oriental alabaster about ten feet in height,
+
+
+"Lucido e terso, e bianco, piu che latte."
+
+
+I put my guide's patience to the proof, by remaining much longer than
+any one else ever did, in admiring the pillar, and rummaging the
+drawers of the cabinets.  At last, the musk with which they are
+impregnated obliged me to desist, and I moved on to a suite of
+saloons, with low arched roofs, glittering with arabesque, in azure
+and gold.  Several medallions appear amongst the wreaths of foliage,
+tolerably well painted, with representations of splendid feasts and
+tournaments for which Florence was once so famous.
+
+A vast collection of small pictures, most of them Flemish, covers the
+walls of these apartments.  But nothing struck me more than a
+Medusa's head by that surprising genius Leonardo da Vinci.  It
+appears just severed from the body, and cast on the damp pavement of
+a cavern:  a deadly paleness covers the countenance, and the mouth
+exhales a pestilential vapour:  the snakes, which fill almost the
+whole picture, beginning to untwist their folds; one or two seemed
+already crept away, and crawling up the rock in company with toads
+and other venomous reptiles.
+
+The colouring of these disgustful objects is faithful to a great
+degree; the effect of light, prodigious; the whole so masterly that I
+could not help entering into this description; though I fear to
+little purpose, as words at best convey but a weak idea of objects
+addressed to the sight alone.
+
+Here are a great many Polemburgs:  one in particular, the strangest I
+ever beheld.  Instead of those soft scenes of woods and waterfalls he
+is in general so fond of representing, he has chosen for his subject
+Virgil ushering Dante into the regions of eternal punishment, amidst
+the ruins of flaming edifices that glare across the infernal waters.
+These mournful towers harbour innumerable shapes, all busy in preying
+upon the damned.  One capital devil, in the form of an enormous
+lobster, seems very strenuously employed in mumbling a miserable
+mortal, who sprawls, though in vain, to escape from his claws.  This
+performance, whimsical as it is, retains all that softness of tint
+and delicacy of pencil for which Polemburg is so renowned.
+
+Had not the subject so palpably contradicted the execution as to
+become remarkable, I should have passed it over, like a thousand
+more, and brought you immediately to the Tribune.  I dare say our
+sensations were similar on entering this apartment.  Need I say I was
+enchanted the moment I set my feet within it, and saw full before me
+the Venus de Medicis?  The warm ivory hue of the original marble is a
+beauty no copy has ever imitated, and the softness of the limbs
+exceeded the liveliest idea I had formed to myself of their
+perfection.
+
+Their symmetry every artist is acquainted with; but do you recollect
+a faint ruddy cast in the hair, which admirably relieves the
+whiteness of the forehead?  This circumstance, though perhaps
+accidental, struck me as peculiarly charming; it increased the
+illusion, and helped me to imagine I beheld a breathing divinity.
+
+When I had taken my eyes reluctantly from this beautiful object, I
+cast them upon a Morpheus of white marble, which lies slumbering at
+the feet of the goddess in the form of a graceful child.  A dormant
+lion serves him for a pillow:  two ample wings, carved with the
+utmost delicacy, are gathered under him; two others, budding from his
+temples, half concealed by a flow of lovely ringlets.  His languid
+hands scarce hold a bunch of poppies:  near him creeps a lizard, just
+yielding to his influence.  Nothing can be more just than the
+expression of sleep in the countenance of the little divinity.  His
+lion too seems perfectly lulled, and rests his muzzle upon his fore-
+paws as quiet as a domestic mastiff.  I contemplated the god with
+infinite satisfaction, till I felt an agreeable sleepiness steal over
+my senses, and should have liked very well to doze away a few hours
+by his side.  My ill-humour at seeing this deity so grossly
+sculptured in the gallery, was dissipated by the gracefulness of his
+appearance in the Tribune.  I was now contented, for the artist, (to
+whom the Lord give a fair seat in paradise!) had realized my ideas;
+and, if I may venture my opinion, sculpture never arrived to higher
+perfection, or, at the same time, kept more justly within its
+province.  Sleeping figures with me always produce the finest
+illusion.  I easily persuade myself that I behold the very personage,
+cast into the lethargic state which is meant to be represented, and I
+can gaze whole hours upon them with complacency.  But when I see an
+archer in the very act of discharging his arrow, a dancer with one
+foot in the air, or a gladiator extending his fist to all eternity, I
+grow tired, and ask, When will they perform what they are about?
+When will the bow twang? the foot come to the ground? or the fist
+meet its adversary?  Such wearisome attitudes I can view with
+admiration, but never with pleasure.  The wrestlers, for example, in
+the same apartment, filled me with disgust:  I cried out, For
+heaven's sake! give the throw, and have done.  In taking my turn
+round the enchanted circle, I discovered still, another Morpheus;
+stretched carelessly on a mantle, with poppies in his hands; but no
+wings grow from his temples, nor lion supports his head.  A moth just
+issuing from his chrysalis is the only being which seems to have felt
+his soporific influence; whereas the other god I have mentioned may
+vaunt the glory of subduing the most formidable of animals.
+
+The morning was gone before I could snatch myself from the Tribune.
+In my way home, I looked into the cathedral, an enormous fabric,
+inlaid with the richest marbles, and covered with stars and chequered
+work, like an old-fashioned cabinet.  The architect seems to have
+turned his building inside out; nothing in art being more ornamented
+than the exterior, and few churches so simple within.  The nave is
+vast and solemn, the dome amazingly spacious, with the high altar in
+its centre, inclosed by a circular arcade near two hundred feet in
+diameter.  There is something imposing in this decoration, as it
+suggests the idea of a sanctuary, into which none but the holy ought
+to penetrate.  However profane I might feel myself, I took the
+liberty of entering, and sat myself down in a niche.  Not a ray of
+light reaches this sacred inclosure, but through the medium of narrow
+windows, high in the dome and richly painted.  A sort of yellow tint
+predominates, which gives additional solemnity to the altar, and
+paleness to the votary before it.  I was sensible of the effect, and
+obtained at least the colour of sanctity.
+
+Having remained some time in this pious hue, I returned home and
+feasted upon grapes and ortolans with great edification; then walked
+to one of the bridges across the Arno, and surveyed the hills at a
+distance, purpled by the declining sun.  Its mild beams tempted me to
+the garden of Boboli, which lies behind the Palazzo Pitti, stretched
+out on the side of a mountain.  I ascended terrace after terrace,
+robed by a thick underwood of hay and myrtle, above which rise
+several nodding towers, and a long sweep of venerable wall, almost
+entirely concealed by ivy.  You would have been enraptured with the
+broad masses of shade and dusky alleys that opened as I advanced,
+with white statues of fauns and sylvans glimmering amongst them; some
+of which pour water into sarcophagi of the purest marble, covered
+with antique relievos.  The capitals of columns and ancient friezes
+are scattered about as seats.
+
+On these I reposed myself, and looked up to the cypress groves
+spiring above the thickets; then, plunging into their retirements, I
+followed a winding path, which led me by a series of steep ascents to
+a green platform overlooking the whole extent of wood, with Florence
+deep beneath, and the tops of the hills which encircle it, jagged
+with pines; here and there a convent, or villa, whitening in the sun.
+This scene extends as far as the eye can reach.
+
+Still ascending I attained the brow of the mountain, and had nothing
+but the fortress of Belvedere, and two or three open porticos above
+me.  On this elevated situation, I found several walks of trellis-
+work, clothed with luxuriant vines, that produce to my certain
+knowledge the most delicious clusters.  A colossal statue of Ceres,
+her hands extended in the act of scattering fertility over the
+prospect, crowns the summit, where I lingered to mark the landscape
+fade, and the bright skirts of the western sun die gradually away.
+
+Then descending alley after alley, and bank after bank, I came to the
+orangery in front of the palace, disposed in a grand amphitheatre,
+with marble niches relieved by dark foliage, out of which spring tall
+aerial cypresses.  This spot brought the scenery of an antique Roman
+garden full into my mind.  I expected every instant to be called to
+the table of Lucullus hard by, in one of the porticoes, and to
+stretch myself on his purple triclinias; but waiting in vain for a
+summons till the approach of night, I returned delighted with a
+ramble that had led me so far into antiquity.
+
+Friday, September 16th.--My impatience to hear Pacchierotti called me
+up with the sun.  I blessed a day which was to give me the greatest
+of musical pleasures, and travelled gaily towards Lucca, along a
+fertile plain, bounded by rocky hills, and scattered over with towns
+and villages.  We passed Pistoia in haste, and about three in the
+afternoon entered the Lucchese territory, by a clean, paved road,
+which runs through some of the pleasantest copses imaginable,
+bordered with a variety of heaths and broom in blossom.  Sometimes it
+conducted us down slopes, overgrown with shrubby chestnuts and arbor
+vitae; sometimes between groves of cypresses and pines laden with
+cones:  a red soil peeping forth from the vegetation adds to the
+richness of the landscape, which swells all the way into gentle
+acclivities:  and at about seven or eight miles from the city spreads
+into mountains, green to their very summits, and diversified with
+gardens and palaces.  A more pleasing scenery can with difficulty be
+imagined:  I was quite charmed with beholding it, as I knew very well
+that the opera would keep me a long while chained down in its
+neighbourhood.
+
+Happy for me that the environs of Lucca were so beautiful; since I
+defy almost any city to contain more ugliness within its walls.
+Narrow streets and dismal alleys; wide gutters and cracked pavements;
+everybody in black, like mourners for the gloom of their habitations,
+which, however, are large and lofty enough of conscience; but having
+all grated windows, they convey none but dark and dungeon-like ideas.
+My spirits fell many degrees upon entering this sable capital; and
+when I found Friday was meagre day, in every sense of the word, with
+its inhabitants, and no opera to be performed, I grew terribly out of
+humour, and shut myself up in a chamber of the inn, which, to
+complete my misfortune, was crowded with human lumber.  Instead of a
+delightful symphony, I heard nothing for some time but the clatter of
+plates and the swearing of waiters.
+
+Amongst the number of my tormentors was a whole Genoese family of
+distinction; very fat and sleek, and terribly addicted to the violin.
+Hearing of my fondness for music, they speedily got together a few
+scrapers, and began such an academia as drove me to one end of the
+room, whilst they possessed the other.  The hopes and heir of the
+family--a coarse chubby dolt of about eighteen--played out of all
+time, and during the interval of repose he gave his elbow, burst out
+into a torrent of commonplace, which completed, you may imagine, my
+felicity.
+
+Pacchierotti, whom they all worshipped in their heavy way, sat silent
+the while in a corner; the second soprano warbled, not absolutely
+ill, at the harpsichord; whilst the old lady, young lady, and
+attendant females, kept ogling him with great perseverance.  Those
+who could not get in, squinted through the crevices of the door.
+Abbes and greyhounds were fidgeting continually without.  In short, I
+was so worried that, pleading headaches and lassitudes, I escaped
+about ten o'clock, and shook myself when I got safe to my apartment,
+like a spaniel just fresh from a dripping copse.
+
+
+
+LETTER XIV
+
+
+
+LUCCA, September 25th.
+
+You ask me how I pass my time.  Generally upon the hills, in wild
+spots where the arbutus flourishes:  from whence I may catch a
+glimpse of the distant sea; my horse tied to a cypress, and myself
+cast upon the grass, like Palmarin of Oliva, with a tablet and pencil
+in my hand, a basket of grapes by my side, and a crooked stick to
+shake down the chestnuts.  I have bidden adieu, several days ago, to
+the dinners and glories of the town, and only come thither in an
+evening, just time enough for the grand march which precedes
+Pacchierotti in Quinto Fabio.  Sometimes he accompanies me in my
+excursions, to the utter discontent of the Lucchese, who swear I
+shall ruin their opera, by leading him such confounded rambles
+amongst the mountains, and exposing him to the inclemency of winds
+and showers.  One day they made a vehement remonstrance, but in vain;
+for the next, away we trotted over hill and dale, and stayed so late
+in the evening, that cold and hoarseness were the consequence.
+
+The whole republic was thrown into commotion, and some of its prime
+ministers were deputed to harangue Pacchierotti upon the rides he had
+committed.  Billingsgate never produced such furious orators.  Had
+the safety of their mighty state depended upon this imprudent
+excursion, they could not have vociferated with greater violence.
+You know I am rather energetic, and, to say truth, I had very nearly
+got into a scrape of importance, and drawn down the execrations of
+the Gonfalonier and all his council upon my head, in defending him,
+and in openly declaring our intention of taking, next morning,
+another ride over the rocks, and absolutely losing ourselves in the
+clouds which veil their acclivities.  These threats were put into
+execution, and yesterday we made a tour of about thirty miles upon
+the highlands, and visited a variety of castles and palaces.
+
+The Conte Nobili conducted us, a noble Lucchese, but born in Flanders
+and educated at Paris.  He possesses the greatest elegance of
+imagination, and a degree of sensibility rarely met with upon our
+gross planet.  The way did not appear tedious in such company.  The
+sun was tempered by light clouds, and a soft autumnal haze rested
+upon the hills, covered with shrubs and olives.  The distant plains
+and forests appeared tinted with deep blue, and I am now convinced
+the azure so prevalent in Velvet Breughel's landscapes is not
+exaggerated.
+
+After riding for six or seven miles along the cultivated levels, we
+began to ascend a rough slope, overgrown with chestnuts; here and
+there some vines streaming in garlands displayed their clusters.  A
+great many loose fragments and stumps of ancient pomegranates
+perplexed our route, which continued, turning and winding through
+this sort of wilderness, till it opened on a sudden to the side of a
+lofty mountain, covered with tufted groves, amongst which hangs the
+princely castle of the Garzonis, on the very side of a precipice.
+
+Alcina could not have chosen a more romantic situation.  The garden
+lies extended beneath, gay with flowers, and glittering with
+compartments of spar, which, though in no great purity of taste, has
+an enchanted effect for the first time.  Two large marble basins,
+with jet-d'eaux seventy feet in height, divide the parterres; from
+the extremity of which rises a rude cliff, shaded with firs and ilex,
+and cut into terraces.
+
+Leaving our horses at the great gate of this magic inclosure, we
+passed through the spray of the fountains, and mounting an almost
+endless flight of steps, entered an alley of oranges, and gathered
+ripe fruit from the trees.  Whilst we were thus employed, the sun
+broke from the clouds, and lighted up the vivid green of the
+vegetation; at the same time spangling the waters, which pour
+copiously down a succession of rocky terraces, and sprinkle the
+impending citron-trees with perpetual dew.  These streams issue from
+a chasm in the cliff, surrounded by cypresses, which conceal by their
+thick branches some pavilions with baths.  Above arises a colossal
+statue of Fame, boldly carved, and in the very act of starting from
+the precipices.  A narrow path leads up to the feet of the goddess,
+on which I reclined; whilst a vast column of water arched over my
+head, and fell, without even wetting me with its spray, into the
+depths below.
+
+I could with difficulty prevail upon myself to abandon this cool
+recess, which the fragrance of bay and orange, extracted by constant
+showers, rendered uncommonly luxurious.  At last I consented to move
+on, through a dark wall of ilex, which, to the credit of Signor
+Garzoni be it spoken, is suffered to grow as wild and as forest-like
+as it pleases.  This grove is suspended on the mountain side, whose
+summit is clothed with a boundless wood of olives, and forms, by its
+azure colour, a striking contrast with the deep verdure of its base.
+
+After resting a few moments in the shade, we proceeded to a long
+avenue (bordered by aloes in bloom, forming majestic pyramids of
+flowers thirty feet high), which led us to the palace.  This was soon
+run over.  Then, mounting our horses, we wound amongst sunny vales,
+and inclosures with myrtle hedges, till we came to a rapid steep.  We
+felt the heat most powerfully in ascending it, and were glad to take
+refuge under a bower of vines, which runs for miles along its summit,
+almost without interruption.  These arbours afforded us both shade
+and refreshment; I fell upon the clusters which formed our ceiling,
+like a native of the north, unused to such luxuriance:  one of those
+Goths which Gray so poetically describes, who
+
+
+"Scent the new fragrance of the breathing rose,
+And quaff the pendent vintage as it grows."
+
+
+I wish you had journeyed with us under this fruitful canopy, and
+observed the partial sunshine through its transparent leaves, and the
+glimpses of the blue sky it every now and then admitted.  I say only
+every now and then, for in most places a sort of verdant gloom
+prevailed, exquisitely agreeable in so hot a day.
+
+But such luxury did not last, you may suppose, for ever.  We were
+soon forced from our covert, and obliged to traverse a mountain
+exposed to the sun, which had dispersed every cloud, and shone with
+intolerable brightness.  On the other side of this extensive eminence
+lies an agreeable hillock, surrounded by others, woody and irregular.
+Wide vineyards and fences of Indian corn lay between, across which
+the Conte Nobili conducted us to his house, where we found prepared a
+very comfortable dinner.  We drank the growth of the spot, and defied
+Constantia and the Cape to excel it.
+
+Afterwards, retiring into a wood of the Marchese Mansi, with neat
+pebble walks and trickling rivulets, we sipped coffee and loitered
+till sunset.  It was then time to return:  the dews began to fall,
+and the mists to rise from the valleys.  The profound calm and
+silence of evening threw us all three into our reveries.  We went
+pacing along heedlessly, just as our horses pleased, without hearing
+any sound but their steps.
+
+Between nine and ten we entered the gates of Lucca.  Pacchierotti
+coughed, and half its inhabitants wished us at the devil.
+
+I think now I have detained you long enough with my excursions:  you
+must require a little repose; for my own part, I am heartily tired.
+I intended to say some things about certain owls, amongst other
+grievances I am pestered with in this republic; but shall cut them
+all short, and wish you good-night; for the opera is already begun,
+and I would not miss the first glorious recitative for the empire of
+Trebizond.
+
+
+
+LETTER XV
+
+
+
+LIVOURNO, October 2nd.
+
+No sooner were we beyond the gates, than we found ourselves in narrow
+roads, shut in by vines and grassy banks of canes and osiers, rising
+high above our carriage, and waving their leaves in the air.  Through
+the openings which sometimes intervene we discovered a variety of
+hillocks clothed with shrubberies and verdure, ruined towers looking
+out of the bushes, not one without a romantic tale attending it.
+
+This sort of scenery lasted till, passing the baths, we beheld Pisa
+rising from an extensive plain, the most open we had as yet seen in
+Italy, crossed by an aqueduct.  We were set down immediately before
+the Duomo, which stands insulated in a verdant opening, and is by far
+the most curious and highly finished edifice my eyes ever viewed.
+Don't ask of what shape or architecture; it is almost impossible to
+tell, so great is the confusion of ornaments.  The capitals of the
+columns and carvings of the architraves, as well as the form of the
+arches, are evidently of Grecian design, but Gothic proportions.  The
+dome gives the mass an Oriental appearance, which helped to bewilder
+me; in short, I have dreamed of such buildings, but little thought
+they existed.  On one side you survey the famous tower, as perfectly
+awry as I expected; on the other the baptistery, a circular edifice
+distinct from the church and right opposite its principal entrance,
+crowded with sculptures and topped by the strangest of cupolas.
+
+Having indulged our curiosity with this singular prospect for some
+moments, we entered the cathedral and admired the stately columns of
+porphyry and the rarest marbles, supporting a roof which, like the
+rest of the building, shines with gold.  A pavement of the brightest
+mosaic completes its magnificence:  all around are sculptures by M.
+Ang. Buonaroti, and paintings by the most distinguished artists.  We
+examined them all, and then walked down the nave and remarked the
+striking effect of the baptistery, seen in perspective through the
+bronze portals, which you know, I suppose, are covered with relievos
+of the finest workmanship.  These noble valves were thrown wide open,
+and we passed between to examine the alabaster fount in the
+baptistery, constructed after the primitive ritual, and exquisitely
+wrought.  Many palm trees appear amongst the carved work, which seems
+to indicate the former connections of the Pisanese with Palestine.
+
+Our next object was the Campo Santo, which forms one side of the
+opening in which the cathedral is situated.  The walls, and Gothic
+tabernacle above the entrance, rising from a level turf, appear as
+fresh as if built within the present century, and, preserving a neat
+straw colour, have the cleanest effect imaginable.  Our guide
+unlocking the gates, we entered a spacious cloister, forming an
+oblong quadrangle, enclosing the sacred earth of Jerusalem, conveyed
+hither about the period of the crusades, in the days of Pisanese
+prosperity.  The holy mould produces a rampant crop of weeds, but
+none are permitted to spring from the pavement, which is entirely
+composed of tombs with slabs and monumental inscriptions smoothly
+laid.  Ranges of slender pillars, formed of the whitest marble and
+glistening in the sun, support the arcades, which are carved with
+innumerable stars and roses, partly Gothic and partly Saracenial.
+Strange paintings of hell and the devil, mostly taken from Dante's
+rhapsodies, cover the walls of these fantastic galleries, attributed
+to the venerable Giotto and Bufalmacco, whom Boccace mentions in his
+"Decamerone."
+
+Beneath, along the base of the columns, rows of pagan sarcophagi are
+placed, to my no small surprise, as I could not have supposed the
+Pisanese sufficiently tolerant to admit profane sculptures within
+such consecrated precincts.  However, there they are, as well as
+fifty other contradictory ornaments.
+
+I was quite seized by the strangeness of the place, and paced fifty
+times round and round the cloisters, discovering at every time some
+odd novelty.  When tired, I seated myself on a fair slab of giallo
+antico, that looked a little cleaner than its neighbours (which I
+only mention to identify the precise point of view), and looking
+through the filigreed covering of the arches, observed the domes of
+the cathedral, cupola of the baptistery, and roof of the leaning
+tower rising above the leads, and forming the strangest assemblage of
+pinnacles perhaps in Europe.  The place is neither sad nor solemn;
+the arches are airy, the pillars light, and there is so much caprice,
+such an exotic look in the whole scene, that without any violent
+effort of fancy one might imagine one's self in fairyland.  Every
+object is new, every ornament original; the mixture of antique
+sarcophagi with Gothic sepulchres, completes the vagaries of the
+prospect, to which, one day or other, I think of returning, to act a
+visionary part, hear visionary music, and commune with sprites, for I
+shall never find in the whole universe besides so whimsical a
+theatre.  It was between ten and eleven when we entered the Campo
+Santo, and one o'clock struck before I could be persuaded to leave
+it; and 'twas the sun which then drove me away; whose heat was so
+powerful that all the inhabitants of Pisa showed their wisdom by
+keeping within doors.  Not an animal appeared in the streets, except
+five camels laden with water, stalking along a range of garden walls
+and pompous mansions, with an awning before every door.  We were
+obliged to follow their steps, at least a quarter of a mile, before
+we reached our inn.  Ice was the first thing I sought after, and when
+I had swallowed an unreasonable portion, I began not to think quite
+so much of the deserts of Africa, as the heat and the camels had
+induced me a moment ago.
+
+Early in the afternoon, we proceeded to Livourno through a wild tract
+of forest, somewhat in the style of our English parks.  The trees in
+some places formed such shady arbours, that we could not resist the
+desire of walking beneath them, and were well rewarded; for after
+struggling through a rough thicket, we entered a lawn hemmed in by
+oaks and chestnuts, which extends several leagues along the coast and
+conceals the prospect of the ocean; but we heard its murmurs.
+
+Nothing could be smoother or more verdant than the herbage, which was
+sprinkled with daisies and purple crocuses, as in the month of May.
+I felt all the genial sensations of Spring steal into my bosom, and
+was greatly delighted upon discovering vast bushes of myrtle in
+bloom.  The softness of the air, the sound of the distant surges, the
+evening gleams, and repose of the landscape, quieted the tumult of my
+spirits, and I experienced the calm of my infant hours.  I lay down
+in the open turf-walks between the shrubberies, listlessly surveyed
+the cattle browsing at a distance, and the blue hills that rose above
+the foliage, and bounded the view.  During a few moments I had
+forgotten every care; but when I began to inquire into my happiness,
+I found it vanish.  I felt myself without those I love most, in
+situations they would have warmly admired, and without them these
+pleasant meads and woodlands were of little avail.
+
+We had not left this woody region far behind, when the Fanale began
+to lift itself above the horizon--the Fanale you have so often
+mentioned; the sky and ocean glowing with amber light, and the ships
+out at sea appearing in a golden haze, of which we have no conception
+in our northern climates.  Such a prospect, together with the fresh
+gales from the Mediterranean, charmed me; I hurried immediately to
+the port and sat on a reef of rocks, listening to the waves that
+broke amongst them.
+
+
+
+LETTER XVI
+
+
+
+October 3rd.--I went, as you would have done, to walk on the mole as
+soon as the sun began to shine upon it.  Its construction you are no
+stranger to; therefore I think I may spare myself the trouble of
+saying anything about it, except that the port which it embraces is
+no longer crowded.  Instead of ten ranks of vessels there are only
+three, and those consist chiefly of Corsican galleys, that look as
+poor and tattered as their masters.  Not much attention did I bestow
+upon such objects, but, taking my seat at the extremity of the quay,
+surveyed the smooth plains of ocean, the coast scattered over with
+watch-towers, and the rocky isle of Gorgona, emerging from the
+morning mists, which still lingered upon the horizon.
+
+Whilst I was musing upon the scene, and calling up all that train of
+ideas before my imagination, which possessed your own upon beholding
+it, an ancient figure, with a beard that would have suited a sea-god,
+stepped out of a boat, and tottering up the steps of the quay,
+presented himself before me with a basket in his hand.  He stayed
+dripping a few moments before he pronounced a syllable, and when he
+began his discourse, I was in doubt whether I should not have moved
+off in a hurry, there was something so wan and singular in his
+countenance.  Except this being, no other was visible for a quarter
+of a mile at least.  I knew not what strange adventure I might be
+upon the point of commencing, or what message I was to expect from
+the submarine divinities.  However, after all my conjectures, the
+figure turned out to be no other than an old fisherman, who, having
+picked up a few large branches of red coral, offered them to sale.  I
+eagerly made the purchase, and thought myself a favourite of Neptune,
+since he allowed me to acquire for next to nothing some of his most
+beautiful ornaments.
+
+My bargain thus expeditiously finished, I ran along the quay with my
+basket of coral, and, jumping into a boat, was rowed back to the gate
+of the port.  The carriage waited there; I filled it with jasmine,
+shut myself up in the shade of the green blinds, and was driven away
+at a rate that favoured my impatience.  We bowled smoothly over the
+lawns I attempted describing in my last letter, amongst myrtles in
+flower, that would have done honour to the island of Juan Fernandes.
+
+Arrived at Pisa, I scarcely allowed myself a moment to revisit the
+Campo Santo, but, after taking my usual portion of ice and
+pomegranate-seeds, hurried on to Lucca as fast as horses could carry
+me, threw the whole idle town into a stare by my speedy return, and
+gave myself up to Q. Fabio.
+
+Next day (October 4th) was passed in running over my old haunts upon
+the hills, and bidding farewell to several venerable chestnuts, for
+which I had contracted a sort of friendship by often experiencing
+their protection.  I could not help feeling some melancholy sensation
+when I turned round the last time to bid them adieu.  Who knows but
+some dryad enclosed within them was conscious of my gratitude, and
+noted it down on the bark of her tree?  It was late before I finished
+my excursion, and soon after I had walked as usual upon the ramparts
+the opera began.
+
+
+
+LETTER XVII
+
+
+
+FLORENCE, October 5th.
+
+It was not without regret that I forced myself from Lucca.  We had
+all the same road to go over again, that brought us to this important
+republic, but we broke down by way of variety.  The wind was chill,
+the atmosphere damp and clogged with unwholesome vapours, through
+which we were forced to walk for a league, whilst our chaise lagged
+after us.
+
+Taking shelter in a miserable cottage, we remained shivering and
+shaking till the carriage was in some sort of order, and then
+proceeded so slowly that we did not arrive at Florence till late in
+the evening.  We found an apartment over the Arno prepared for our
+reception.  The river, swollen with rains, roared like a mountain
+torrent.  Throwing open my windows, I viewed its agitated course by
+the light of the moon, half concealed in stormy clouds, which hung
+above the fortress of the Belvedere, and cast a lowering gleam over
+the hills, which rise above the town, and wave with cypress.  I sat
+contemplating the effect of the shadows on the bridge, on the heights
+of Boboli, and the mountain covered with pale olive groves, amongst
+which a convent is situated, till the moon sunk into the darkest
+quarter of the sky, and a bell began to toll.  Its sullen sound
+filled me with sadness.  I closed the casements, called for lights,
+ran to a harpsichord Vannini had prepared for me, and played somewhat
+in the strain of Jomelli's Miserere.
+
+October 6th.--Every cloud was dispersed when I arose; the sunbeams
+glittered on the stream, and the purity and transparency of the
+tether added new charms to the woody eminences around.  Such was the
+clearness of the air that even objects on the distant mountains were
+distinguishable.  I felt quite revived by the exhilarating prospect,
+and walked in the splendour of sunshine to the porticos beneath the
+famous gallery; then to an ancient castle, raised in the days of the
+republic, which fronts the grand piazza:  colossal statues and
+venerable terms are placed before it.  On one side a fountain clung
+round with antique figures of bronze, by John of Bologna, so
+admirably wrought as to hold me several minutes in astonishment; on
+the other, three lofty Gothic arches, and under one of them the
+Perseus of Benvenuto Cellini, raised on a pedestal, incomparably
+designed and executed; which I could not behold uninterested, since
+its author has ever occupied a distinguished place in my kalendar of
+genius.  Having examined some groups of sculptures, by Baccio
+Bandinelli and other mighty artists, I entered the court of the
+castle, dark and deep, as if hewn out of a rock; surrounded by a
+vaulted arcade, covered with arabesque ornaments, and supported by
+pillars as uncouthly carved as those of Persepolis.  In the midst
+appears a marble fount with an image of bronze, that looks quite
+strange and cabalistic.  I leaned against it, to look up to the
+summits of the walls, which rise to a vast height, from whence
+springs a slender tower.  Above, in the apartments of the castle,
+were preserved numbers of curious cabinets, tables of inlaid gems,
+and a thousand rarities, collected by the house of Medici, but
+exposed by the present sovereign of Tuscany to public sale.
+
+It was not without indignation that I learnt this new mark of
+contempt which the Austrians bestow on the memory of those
+illustrious patrons of the Arts; whom, being unwilling to imitate,
+they affect to despise as a race of merchants, whose example it would
+be abasing their dignity to follow.
+
+I could have stayed much longer to enjoy the novelty and strangeness
+of the place; but it was right to pay some compliments of form.  That
+duty over, I dined in peace and solitude, read over your letters, and
+repaired, as evening drew on, to the thickets of Boboli.
+
+What a serene sky! what mellowness in the tints of the mountains!  A
+purple haze concealed the bases, whilst their summits were invested
+with saffron light, discovering every white cot and every copse that
+clothed their declivities.  The prospect widened as I ascended the
+terraces of the garden.
+
+After traversing many long alleys, brown with impending foliage, I
+emerged into a green opening on the brow of the hill, and seated
+myself under the statue of Ceres.  From this high point I surveyed
+the mosaic cupola of the Duomo, its quaint turret, and one still more
+grotesque in its neighbourhood, built not improbably in the style of
+ancient Etruria.  Beyond this singular group of buildings a plain
+stretches itself far and wide, most richly scattered over with
+villas, gardens, and groves of pine and olive, quite to the feet of
+the mountains.
+
+After I had marked the sun's going down, I went through a plat of
+vines hanging on the steeps, to a little eminence, round which the
+wood grows wilder and more luxuriant, and the cypresses shoot up to a
+surprising elevation.  The pruners have spared this sylvan corner,
+and suffered the bays to put forth their branches, and the ilex to
+dangle over the walks, many of whose entrances are nearly overgrown.
+I enjoyed the gloom of these shady arbours, in the midst of which
+rises a lofty pavilion with galleries running round it, not unlike
+the idea one forms of Turkish chiosks.  Beneath lies a garden of
+vines and rose-trees, which I visited, and found a spring under a
+rustic arch of grotto-work, fringed round with ivy.  Millions of fish
+inhabit here, of that beautiful glittering species which comes from
+China.  This golden nation were leaping after insects, as I stood
+gazing upon the deep, clear water, and listening to the drops that
+trickle from the cove.  Opposite to which, at the end of an alley of
+vines, you discover an oval bason, and in the midst of it a statue of
+Ganymede, sitting reclined upon the eagle, full of that graceful
+languor so peculiarly Grecian.  Whilst I was musing on the margin of
+the spring (for I returned to it after casting a look upon the
+sculpture), the moon rose above the tufted foliage of the terraces.
+Her silver brightness was strongly contrasted by the deep green of
+the holm-oak and bay, amongst which I descended by several flights of
+stairs, with neat marble balustrades crowned by vases of aloes.
+
+It was about seven o'clock, and everybody was jumbling to my Lord T--
+-'s, who lives in a fine house all over blue and silver, with stuffed
+birds, alabaster cupids, and a thousand prettinesses more; but, after
+all, neither he nor his abode are worth mentioning.  I found a deal
+of slopping and sipping of tea going forwards, and many dawdlers
+assembled.
+
+As I can say little good of the party, I had better shut the door,
+and conduct you to the opera, which is really a striking spectacle.
+However, it being addressed to the sight alone, I was soon tired, and
+gave myself up to conversation.  Bedini, first soprano, put my
+patience to severe proof, during the few minutes I attended.  You
+never beheld such a porpoise.  If these animals were to sing, I
+should conjecture it would be in his style.  You may suppose how
+often I invoked Pacchierotti, and regretted the lofty melody of
+Quinto Fabio.  Everybody seemed as well contented as if there were no
+such thing as good music in the world, except a Neapolitan duchess,
+who delighted me by her vivacity.  We took our fill of maledictions,
+and went home equally pleased with each other for having mutually
+execrated both singers and audience.
+
+
+
+LETTER XVIII
+
+
+
+October 22nd.--They say the air is worse this year at Rome than ever,
+and that it would be madness to go thither during its malign
+influence.  This was very bad news indeed to one heartily tired of
+Florence, at least of its society.  Merciful powers! what a set
+harbour within its walls! * * * * * You may imagine I do not take
+vast or vehement delight in this company, though very ingenious,
+praiseworthy, etc.  The woods of the Cascini shelter me every
+morning; and there grows an old crooked ilex at their entrance,
+twisting round a pine, upon whose branches I sit for hours,--hear,
+without feeling, the showers trickling above my head, and see the
+cattle browsing peacefully in their pastures, which hazel copses,
+Italian pines, and groves of cypress enclose.
+
+In the afternoon I never fail hiding myself in the thickets of
+Boboli, and marking the golden glimmer of sunset between their
+leaves.  The other evening I varied my walks, and ascended one of
+those pleasant hills {214} which rise in the vicinity of the city,
+and command a variegated scene of spires, towns, villas, cots, and
+gardens.  On the right, as you stand upon the brow, appears Fesule
+with its turrets and white houses, covering a rocky mount; to the
+left, the vast Val d'Arno lost in immensity.  A Franciscan convent
+stands on the summit of the eminence, wrapped up in ancient
+cypresses, which hinder its holy inhabitants from seeing too much of
+so gay a view.  The paved ascent leading up to their abode receives
+also a shade from the cypresses which border it.  Beneath which
+venerable avenue, crosses with inscriptions are placed at stated
+distances, to mark the various moments of Christ's passion; as when
+fainting under His burden He halted to repose Himself, or when He met
+His afflicted mother ("Giesu incontra la fua afflitta madre").
+
+Above, at the end of the perspective, rises a chapel designed with
+infinite taste and simple elegance by M. A. Buonarotti.  Further on,
+an ancient church, in the corrupt Greek style of the primitive
+Christians, incrusted with white marble, porphyry, and verd antique.
+The interior presents a crowded assemblage of ornaments, elaborate
+mosaic pavements, and inlaid work without end.  The high altar,
+placed in a semicircular recess, which reminded me of the church at
+Torcello, glitters with barbaric paintings on a gold ground, and
+receives the strongest glow of light imaginable from five windows,
+filled up with transparent marble clouded like tortoiseshell.  A
+smooth polished staircase leads to this sacred place:  another
+brought me to a subterraneous chapel, supported by confused groups of
+variegated pillars, just visible by the glimmer of lamps.  I thought
+of the Zancaroon at Cordova, and began reciting the first verses of
+the Koran.
+
+Passing on not unawed, I followed some flights of steps, which
+terminate in the neat cloisters of the convent, in perfect
+preservation, but totally deserted.  Ranges of citron and aloes fill
+up the quadrangle, whose walls are hung with superstitious pictures
+most singularly fancied.  The Jesuits were the last tenants of this
+retirement, and seem to have had great reason for their choice.  Its
+peace and stillness delighted me.
+
+Next day a very opposite scene engaged me, though much against my
+will.  Her R. H. the G. Duchess having produced a princess in the
+night, everybody put on grand gala in the morning, and I was carried,
+along with the glittering tide of courtiers, ministers, and ladies,
+to see the christening.  After hearing the Grand Duke talk politics
+for some time, the doors of a temporary chapel were thrown open.
+Trumpets flourished, processions marched, and the archbishop began
+his business at an altar of massive gold, placed under a yellow silk
+pavilion, with pyramids of lights before it.  Wax tapers, though it
+was noon-day, shone in every corner of the apartments.  Two rows of
+pages, gorgeously accoutred, and holding enormous torches, stood on
+each side his Royal Highness, and made him the prettiest courtesies
+imaginable, to the sound of an execrable band of music, though led by
+Nardini.  The poor old archbishop, who looked very piteous and saint-
+like, struck up the Te Deum with a quavering voice, and the rest
+followed him full gallop.
+
+That ceremony being despatched (for his R. H. was in a mighty fidget
+to shrink back into his beloved obscurity), the crowd dispersed, and
+I went, with a few others, to dine at my Lord Tilney's.
+
+Evening drawing on, I ran to throw myself into the woods of Boboli,
+and remained till it was night in their profound recesses.  Really
+this garden is enough to bewilder an enthusiastic spirit; there is
+something so solemn in its shades, its avenues, and spires of
+cypresses.  When I had mused for many a melancholy hour amongst them,
+I emerged into the orangery before the palace, which overlooks the
+largest district of the town, and beheld, as I slowly descended the
+road which leads up to it, certain bright lights glancing across the
+cupola of the Duomo and the points of the highest towers.  At first I
+thought them meteors, or those illusive fires which often dance
+before the eye of my imagination; but soon I was convinced of their
+reality:  for in a few minutes the battlements of the old castle,
+which I remember mentioning in a former letter, shone with lamps; the
+lantern of the cathedral was lighted up on a sudden; whilst a stream
+of torches ran along its fantastic turrets.
+
+I enjoyed this prospect at a distance:  when near, its pleasure was
+greatly diminished, for half the fish in the town were frying to
+rejoice the hearts of H. R. Highness's loyal subjects, and bonfires
+blazing in every street and alley.  Hubbubs and stinks of every
+denomination drove me quickly to the theatre; but that was all
+glitter and glare.  No taste, no arrangement, paltry looking-glasses,
+and rat's-tail candles.  I had half a mind to return to Boboli.
+
+
+
+LETTER XIX
+
+
+
+October 23rd.--Do you recollect our evening rambles last year upon
+the hill of pines? and the dark valley where we used to muse in the
+twilight?  I remember we often fancied the scene like Valombrosa; and
+vowed, if ever an occasion offered, to visit that deep retirement.  I
+had put off the execution of this pilgrimage from day to day till the
+warm weather was gone; and the Florentines declared I should be
+frozen if I attempted it.  Everybody stared last night at the opera
+when I told them I was going to bury myself in fallen leaves, and
+hear no music but their rustlings.
+
+Mr. --- was just as eager as myself to escape the chit-chat and
+nothingness of Florence; so we finally determined upon our
+expedition, and mounting our horses, set out this morning, happily
+without any company but the spirit which led us along.  We had need
+of inspiration, since nothing else, I think, would have tempted us
+over such dreary, uninteresting hillocks as rise from the banks of
+the Arno.  The hoary olive is their principal vegetation; so that
+Nature, in this part of the country, seems in a withering decrepit
+state, and may not unaptly be compared to "an old woman clothed in
+grey."  However, we did not suffer the prospect to damp our
+enthusiasm, which was the better preserved for Valombrosa.
+
+About half way, our palfreys thought proper to look out for some
+oats, and I to creep into a sort of granary in the midst of a barren
+waste, scattered over with white rocks, that reflected more heat than
+I cared for, although I had been told snow and ice were to be my
+portion.  Seating myself on the floor between heaps of corn, I
+reached down a few purple clusters of Muscadine grapes, which hung to
+dry in the ceiling, and amused myself very pleasantly with them till
+the horses had finished their meal and it was lawful to set forwards.
+We met with nothing but rocky steeps shattered into fragments, and
+such roads as half inclined us to repent our undertaking; but cold
+was not yet amongst the number of our evils.
+
+At last, after ascending a tedious while, we began to feel the wind
+blow sharp from the peaks of the mountains, and to hear the murmur of
+the forests of pine which shade their acclivities.  A paved path
+leads across them, quite darkened by boughs, which, meeting over our
+heads, cast a gloom and a chill below, that would have stopped the
+proceedings of reasonable mortals, and sent them to bask in the
+plain; but, being not so easily discomfited, we threw ourselves
+boldly into the forest.  It presented one of those confusions of tall
+straight stems I am so fond of, and exhaled a fresh aromatic odour
+that revived my spirits.
+
+The cold to be sure was piercing; but setting that at defiance, we
+galloped on, and issued shortly into a vast amphitheatre of lawns and
+meadows, surrounded by thick woods beautifully green.  Flocks of
+sheep were dispersed on the slopes, whose smoothness and verdure
+equal our English pastures.  Steep cliffs and mountains, clothed with
+beech to their very summits, guard this retired valley.  The herbage,
+moistened by streams which fall from the eminences, has never been
+known to fade; and, whilst the chief part of Tuscany is parched by
+the heats of summer, these upland meadows retain the freshness of
+spring.  I regretted not having visited them sooner, as autumn had
+already made great havoc amongst the foliage.  Showers of leaves blew
+full in our faces as we rode towards the convent, placed at an
+extremity of the vale, and sheltered by remote firs and chestnuts
+towering one above another.
+
+Alighting before the entrance, two fathers came out and received us
+into the peace of their retirement.  We found a blazing fire, and
+tables spread very comfortably before it, round which five or six
+overgrown friars were lounging, who seemed, by the sleekness and rosy
+hue of their countenances, not totally to have despised this mortal
+existence.
+
+My letters of recommendation soon brought the heads of the order
+about me, fair round figures, such as a Chinese would have placed in
+his pagoda.  I could willingly have dispensed with their attention;
+yet to avoid this was scarcely within the circle of possibility.  All
+dinner we endured the silliest questions imaginable; but that
+despatched, away flew your humble servant to the fields and forests.
+The fathers made a shift to waddle after, as fast and as
+complaisantly as they were able, but were soon distanced.
+
+Now, I found myself at liberty, and ran up a narrow path overhung by
+rock, with bushy chestnuts starting from the crevices.  This led me
+into wild glens of beech trees, mostly decayed and covered with moss:
+several were fallen.  It was amongst these the holy hermit Gualbertus
+had his cell.  I rested a moment upon one of their huge branches,
+listening to the roar of a waterfall which the wood concealed; then
+springing up, I clambered over crags and fragments, guided by the
+sound, and presently discovered a full stream, precipitating itself
+down a cliff of pine, amongst which I remained several minutes,
+watching the fallen floods; till, tired with their endless
+succession, I plunged into the thickest of the grove.  A beech
+received me, like a second Gualbertus, in its hollow trunk.  The dry
+leaves chased each other down the steeps on the edge of the torrents
+with hollow rustlings, whilst the solemn wave of the forests above
+exactly answered the idea I had formed of Valombrosa,
+
+
+   " . . . where th' Etrurian shades
+High overarch't imbowr."
+
+
+The scene was beginning to take effect, and the genius of Milton to
+move across his favourite valley, when the fathers arrived puffing
+and blowing, by an easier ascent than I knew of.  Pardon me, if I
+cursed their intrusion, and wished them as still as Gualbertus.
+
+"You have missed the way," cried the youngest; "the hermitage, with
+the fine picture by Andrea del Sarto, which all the English admire,
+is on the opposite side of the wood:  there don't you see it on the
+point of the cliff?"
+
+"Yes, yes," said I a little peevishly; "I wonder the devil has not
+pushed it down long ago; it seems to invite his kick."
+
+"Satan," answered the old Pagod very dryly, "is full of malice; but
+whoever drinks of a spring which the Lord causeth to flow near the
+hermitage is freed from his illusions."
+
+"Are they so?" replied I with a sanctified accent; "then prithee
+conduct me thither, for I have great need of such salutary waters,
+being troubled with strange fancies and imaginations, such as the
+evil one himself ought to be ashamed of inspiring."
+
+The youngest father shook his head, as much as to say, "This is
+nothing more than a heretic's whim."
+
+The senior--muddled, I conjecture--set forwards with greater piety,
+and began some legendary tales of the kind which my soul loveth:
+rare stories of caves and dens of the earth, inhabited by ancient men
+familiar with spirits, and not the least discomposed by a party of
+angels coming to dinner, or playing a game at miracles to pass away
+the evening.  He pointed to a chasm in the cliff, round which we were
+winding by a spiral path, where Gualbertus used to sleep, and,
+turning himself towards the west, see a long succession of saints and
+martyrs sweeping athwart the sky, and gilding the clouds with far
+brighter splendours than the setting sun.  Here he rested till his
+last hour, when the bells of the convent beneath (which till that
+moment would have made dogs howl, had there been any within its
+precincts) struck out such harmonious jingling that all the country
+around was ravished, and began lifting up their eyes with singular
+devotion, when, behold! cherubim appeared, light dawned, and birds
+chirped, although it was midnight.  Alas! alas! what would I not give
+to witness such a spectacle, and read my prayer-book by the
+effulgence of opening heaven!
+
+However, willing to see something at least, I crept into the
+consecrated cleft, and extended myself on its rugged surface.  A very
+penitential couch! but commanding glorious prospects of the world
+below, which lay this evening in deep blue shade; the sun looking red
+and angry through misty vapours, which prevented our discovering the
+Tuscan sea.
+
+Finding the rock as damp as might be expected, I soon shifted my
+quarters, and followed the youngest father up to the Romitorio, a
+snug little hermitage, with a neat chapel, and altar-piece by Andrea
+del Sarto, which I should have more minutely examined in any other
+place, but where the wild scenery of hanging woods and meadows, steep
+hills and nodding precipices, possessed my whole attention.  I just
+stayed to taste the holy fountain; and then, escaping from my
+conductors, ran eagerly down the path, leaping over the springs that
+crossed it, and entered a lawn of the smoothest turf, grazed by
+sheep, and swelling into gentle acclivities, skirted by groves of
+fir, whose solemn verdure formed a contrast with its tender green.
+Beyond this pleasant opening rises a second, hemmed in with copses;
+and still higher, a third, whence a forest of young pines spires up
+into a lofty theatre terminated by peaks, universally concealed under
+a thick mantle of beech, tinged with ruddy brown.  Pausing in the
+midst of the lawns, and looking upward to the sweeps of wood which
+surrounded me, I addressed my orisons to the genius of the place, and
+prayed that I might once more return into its bosom, and be permitted
+to bring you along with me, for surely such meads, such groves, were
+formed for our enjoyment!
+
+This little rite performed, I walked on quite to the extremity of the
+pastures, traversed a thicket, and found myself on the edge of
+precipices, beneath whose base the whole Val d'Arno lies expanded.  I
+listened to distant murmurings in the plain, saw smoke rise from the
+cottages, and viewed a vast tract of barren country, which evening
+rendered still more desolate, bounded by the high mountain of
+Radicofani.  Then, turning round, I beheld the whole extent of rock
+and forest, the groves of beech, and wilds above the convent, glowing
+with fiery red, for the sun, making a last effort to pierce the
+vapours, produced this effect; which was the more striking, as the
+sky was dark, and the rest of the prospect of a melancholy blue.
+
+Returning slowly homeward, I marked the warm glow deserting the
+eminences, and heard the bell toll sullenly to vespers.  The young
+boys of the seminary were moving in a body to their dark inclosure,
+all dressed in black.  Many of them looked pale and wan.  I wished to
+ask them whether the solitude of Valombrosa suited their age and
+vivacity; but a tall spectre of a priest drove them along like a
+herd, and presently, the gates opening, I saw them no more.  A
+sadness I could scarcely account for came over me.  I shivered at the
+bare idea of being cooped up in such a place, and seeing no other
+living objects than scarecrow priests and friars; to hear every day
+the same dull service and droning organ; view the same cloisters; be
+led the same walks; watched, cribbed, confined, and filled with
+superstitious fears.
+
+The night was growing chill, the winds boisterous, and in the
+intervals of the gusts I had the addition of a lamentable screech-owl
+to raise my spirits.  Upon the whole, I was not at all concerned to
+meet the fathers, who came out to show me to my room, and entertain
+me with various gossipings, both sacred and profane, till supper
+appeared.
+
+Next morning, the Padre Decano gave us chocolate in his apartment;
+and afterwards led us round the convent, insisting most unmercifully
+upon our viewing every cell and every dormitory.  However, I was
+determined to make a full stop at the organ, which is perhaps the
+most harmonious I ever played upon; but placed in a dark, dingy
+recess, feebly lighted by lamps, not calculated to inspire triumphant
+voluntaries.  The monks, who had all crowded around me when I first
+began, in expectation of brisk jigs and lively overtures, soon took
+themselves away upon hearing a strain ten times more sorrowful than
+that to which they were accustomed.  I did not lament their
+departure, but played dismally on till our horses came round to the
+gate.  We mounted, spurred back through the grove of pines which
+protect Valombrosa from intrusion, descended the steeps, and, gaining
+the plains, galloped in three hours to Florence.
+
+
+
+LETTER XX
+
+
+
+SIENNA, October 26th.
+
+At last fears were overcome, the epidemical fever at Rome allowed to
+be no longer dangerous, and myself permitted to quit Florence.  The
+weather was neither gay nor dismal; the country neither fine nor
+ugly; and your friend full as indifferent as the scenes he looked at.
+Towards afternoon, a thunderstorm gave character to the landscape,
+and we entered a narrow vale enclosed by rocks, with streams running
+at their base.  Poplars with faded yellow leaves sprung from the
+margins of the rivulets, which seemed to lose themselves in the ruins
+of a castle, built in the Gothic times.  Our road led through its
+court and passed the ancient keep, still darkened by its turrets; a
+few mud cottages are scattered about the opening where formerly the
+chieftain exercised his vassals, and trained them to war.  The
+dungeon, once filled with miserable victims, serves only at present
+to confine a few goats, which were milking before its entrance.  As
+we were driven along under a tottering gateway, and then through a
+plain and up a hill, the breeze whispering amongst the fern which
+covers it, I felt the sober autumnal cast of the evening bring back
+the happy hours I passed last year at this very time, calm and
+sequestered.  Full of these recollections, my eyes closed of their
+own accord, and were not opened for many hours; in short, till we
+entered Sienna.
+
+October 27th.--Here my duty of course was to see the cathedral, and I
+got up much earlier than I wished, in order to perform it.  I wonder
+our holy ancestors did not choose a mountain at once, scrape it into
+shrines, and chisel it into scripture stories.  It would have cost
+them almost as little trouble as the building in question, which may
+certainly be esteemed a masterpiece of ridiculous taste and elaborate
+absurdity.  The front, incrusted with alabaster, is worked into a
+million of fretted arches and puzzling ornaments.  There are statues
+without number and relievos without end.
+
+The church within is all of black and white marble alternately; the
+roof blue and gold, with a profusion of silken banners hanging from
+it; and a cornice running above the principal arcade, composed
+entirely of bustos representing the whole series of sovereign
+pontiffs, from the first Bishop of Rome to Adrian the Fourth.  Pope
+Joan figured amongst them, between Leo the Fourth and Benedict the
+Third, till the year 1600, when she was turned out, at the instance
+of Clement the Eighth, to make room for Zacharias the First.
+
+I hardly knew which was the nave, or which the cross aisle, of this
+singular edifice, so perfect is the confusion of its parts.  The
+pavement demands attention, being inlaid so curiously as to represent
+variety of histories taken from Holy Writ, and designed in the true
+style of that hobgoblin tapestry which used to bestare the halls of
+our ancestors.  Near the high altar stands the strangest of pulpits,
+supported by polished pillars of granite, rising from lions' backs,
+which serve as pedestals.  In every corner of the place some chapel
+or other offends or astonishes you.  That, however, of the Chigi
+family, it must be allowed, has infinite merit with respect to design
+and execution; but it is so lost in general disorder as to want the
+best part of its effect.
+
+From the church one enters a vaulted chamber, erected by the
+Picolominis, filled with valuable missals most exquisitely
+illuminated.  The paintings in fresco on the walls are rather
+barbarous, though executed after the designs of the mighty Raffaelle;
+but then, we must remember, he had but just escaped from Pietro
+Perugino.
+
+Not staying long in the Duomo, we left Sienna in good time; and,
+after being shaken and tumbled in the worst roads that were ever
+pretended to be made use of, found ourselves beneath the rough
+mountains round Radicofani, about seven o'clock on a cold and dismal
+evening.  Up we toiled a steep craggy ascent, and reached at length
+the inn upon its summit.  My heart sunk when I entered a vast range
+of apartments, with high black rafted roofs, once intended for a
+hunting palace of the Grand Dukes, but now desolate and forlorn.  The
+wind having risen, every door began to shake, and every board
+substituted for a window to clatter, as if the severe power who
+dwells on the topmost peak of Radicofani, according to its village
+mythologists, was about to visit his abode.  My only spell to keep
+him at a distance was kindling an enormous fire, whose charitable
+gleams cheered my spirits, and gave them a quicker flow.  Yet, for
+some minutes, I never ceased looking, now to the right, now to the
+left, up at the dark beams, and down the long passages, where the
+pavement, broken up in several places, and earth newly strewn about,
+seemed to indicate that something horrid was concealed below.
+
+A grim fraternity of cats kept whisking backwards and forwards in
+these dreary avenues, which I am apt to imagine is the very identical
+scene of a sabbath of witches at certain periods.  Not venturing to
+explore them, I fastened my door, pitched my bed opposite the hearth,
+which glowed with embers, and crept under the coverlids, hardly
+venturing to go to sleep, lest I should be suddenly roused from it by
+the sudden glare of torches, and be more initiated than I wished into
+the mysteries of the place.
+
+Scarce was I settled, before two or three of the brotherhood just
+mentioned stalked in at a little opening under the door.  I insisted
+upon their moving off faster than they had entered, suspecting that
+they would soon turn wizards, and was surprised, when midnight came,
+to hear nothing more than their mewings, doleful enough, and echoed
+by the hollow walls and arches.
+
+
+
+LETTER XXI
+
+
+
+RADICOFANI, October 28th.
+
+I begin to despair of magical adventures, since none happened at
+Radicofani, which Nature seems wholly to have abandoned.  Not a tree,
+not an acre of soil, has she bestowed upon its inhabitants, who would
+have more excuse for practising the gloomy art than the rest of
+mankind.  I was very glad to leave their black hills and stony
+wilderness behind, and, entering the Papal territory, to see some
+shrubs and corn-fields at a distance, near Aquapadente, which is
+situated on a ledge of cliffs, mantled with chestnut copses and
+tufted ilex.  The country grew varied and picturesque.  St. Lorenzo,
+the next post, built upon a hill, overlooks the lake of Bolsena,
+whose woody shores conceal many ruined buildings.  We passed some of
+them in a retired vale, with arches from rock to rock, and grottos
+beneath half lost in thickets, from which rise craggy pinnacles
+crowned by mouldering towers; just such scenery as Polemburg and
+Peter de Laer introduce in their paintings.
+
+Beyond these truly Italian prospects, which a mellow evening tint
+rendered still more interesting, a forest of oaks presents itself
+upon the brows of hills, which extends almost the whole way to Monte
+Fiascone.  It was late before we ascended it.  The whole country
+seems full of inhabited caverns, that began as night drew on to shine
+with fires.  We saw many dark shapes glancing before them, and
+perhaps a subterraneous people like the Cimmerians lurk in their
+recesses.  As we drew near Viterbo, the lights in the fields grew
+less and less frequent; and when we entered the town, all was total
+darkness.
+
+To-morrow I hope to pay my vows before the high altar of St. Peter,
+and tread the Vatican.  Why are you not here to usher me into the
+imperial city:  to watch my first glance of the Coliseo:  and lead me
+up the stairs of the Capitol?  I shall rise before the sun, that I
+may see him set from Monte Cavallo.
+
+
+
+LETTER XXII
+
+
+
+ROME, October 29th.
+
+We set out in the dark.  Morning dawned over the Lago di Vico; its
+waters of a deep ultramarine blue, and its surrounding forests
+catching the rays of the rising sun.  It was in vain I looked for the
+cupola of St. Peter's upon descending the mountains beyond Viterbo.
+Nothing but a sea of vapours was visible.
+
+At length they rolled away, and the spacious plains began to show
+themselves, in which the most warlike of nations reared their seat of
+empire.  On the left, afar off, rises the rugged chain of Apennines,
+and on the other side, a shining expanse of ocean terminates the
+view.  It was upon this vast surface so many illustrious actions were
+performed, and I know not where a mighty people could have chosen a
+grander theatre.  Here was space for the march of armies, and verge
+enough for encampments.  Levels for martial games, and room for that
+variety of roads and causeways that led from the capital to Ostia.
+How many triumphant legions have trodden these pavements! how many
+captive kings!  What throngs of cars and chariots once glittered on
+their surface! savage animals dragged from the interior of Africa;
+and the ambassadors of Indian princes, followed by their exotic
+train, hastening to implore the favour of the senate!
+
+During many ages, this eminence commanded almost every day such
+illustrious scenes; but all are vanished:  the splendid tumult is
+passed away; silence and desolation remain.  Dreary flats thinly
+scattered over with ilex, and barren hillocks crowned by solitary
+towers, were the only objects we perceived for several miles.  Now
+and then we passed a few black ill-favoured sheep feeding by the way-
+side, near a ruined sepulchre, just such animals as an ancient would
+have sacrificed to the Manes.  Sometimes we crossed a brook, whose
+ripplings were the only sounds which broke the general stillness, and
+observed the shepherds' huts on its banks, propped up with broken
+pedestals and marble friezes.  I entered one of them, whose owner was
+abroad tending his herds, and began writing upon the sand, and
+murmuring a melancholy song.  Perhaps the dead listened to me from
+their narrow cells.  The living I can answer for:  they were far
+enough removed.
+
+You will not be surprised at the dark tone of my musings in so sad a
+scene, especially as the weather lowered; and you are well acquainted
+how greatly I depend upon skies and sunshine.  To-day I had no blue
+firmament to revive my spirits; no genial gales, no aromatic plants
+to irritate my nerves and give me at least a momentary animation.
+Heath and furze were the sole vegetation which covers this endless
+wilderness.  Every slope is strewed with the relics of a happier
+period; trunks of trees, shattered columns, cedar beams, helmets of
+bronze, skulls and coins, are frequently dug up together.
+
+I cannot boast of having made any discoveries, nor of sending you any
+novel intelligence.  You knew before how perfectly the environs of
+Rome were desolate, and how completely the Papal government contrives
+to make its subjects miserable.  But who knows that they were not
+just as wretched in those boasted times we are so fond of
+celebrating?  All is doubt and conjecture in this frail existence;
+and I might as well attempt proving to whom belonged the mouldering
+bones which lay dispersed around me, as venture to affirm that one
+age is more fortunate than another.  Very likely the poor cottager,
+under whose roof I reposed, is happier than the luxurious Roman upon
+the remains of whose palace, perhaps, his shed is raised:  and yet
+that Roman flourished in the purple days of the empire, when all was
+wealth and splendour, triumph and exultation.
+
+I could have spent the whole day by the rivulet, lost in dreams and
+meditations; but recollecting my vow, I ran back to the carriage and
+drove on.  The road not having been mended, I believe, since the days
+of the Caesars, would not allow our motions to be very precipitate.
+"When you gain the summit of yonder hill, you will discover Rome,"
+said one of the postillions:  up we dragged; no city appeared.  "From
+the next," cried out a second; and so on from height to height did
+they amuse my expectations.  I thought Rome fled before us, such was
+my impatience, till at last we perceived a cluster of hills with
+green pastures on their summits, inclosed by thickets and shaded by
+flourishing ilex.  Here and there a white house, built in the antique
+style, with open porticos, that received a faint gleam of the evening
+sun, just emerged from the clouds and tinting the meads below.  Now
+domes and towers began to discover themselves in the valley, and St.
+Peter's to rise above the magnificent roofs of the Vatican.  Every
+step we advanced the scene extended, till, winding suddenly round the
+hill, all Rome opened to our view.
+
+A spring flowed opportunely into a marble cistern close by the way;
+two cypresses and a pine waved over it.  I leaped up, poured water
+upon my hands, and then, lifting them up to the sylvan Genii of the
+place, implored their protection.  I wished to have run wild in the
+fresh fields and copses above the Vatican, there to have remained
+till fauns might creep out of their concealment, and satyrs begin to
+touch their flutes in the twilight, for the place looks still so
+wondrous classical, that I can never persuade myself either
+Constantine Attila or the Popes themselves have chased them all away.
+I think I should have found some out, who would have fed me with milk
+and chestnuts, have sung me a Latian ditty, and mourned the woeful
+changes which have taken place, since their sacred groves were
+felled, and Faunus ceased to be oracular.  Who can tell but they
+would have given me some mystic skin to sleep on, that I might have
+looked into futurity?
+
+Shall I ever forget the sensations I experienced upon slowly
+descending the hills, and crossing the bridge over the Tiber; when I
+entered an avenue between terraces and ornamented gates of villas,
+which leads to the Porto del Popolo, and beheld the square, the
+domes, the obelisk, the long perspective of streets and palaces
+opening beyond, all glowing with the vivid red of sunset?  You can
+imagine how I enjoyed my beloved tint, my favourite hour, surrounded
+by such objects.  You can fancy me ascending Monte Cavallo, leaning
+against the pedestal which supports Bucephalus; then, spite of time
+and distance, hurrying to St. Peter's in performance of my vow.
+
+I met the Holy Father in all his pomp returning from vespers:
+trumpets flourishing, and a legion of guards drawn out upon Ponte St.
+Angelo.  Casting a respectful glance upon the Moles Adriani, I moved
+on till the full sweep of St. Peter's colonnade opened upon me, and
+fixed me, as if spell-bound, under the obelisk, lost in wonder.  The
+edifice appears to have been raised within the year, such is its
+freshness and preservation.  I could hardly take my eyes from off the
+beautiful symmetry of its front, contrasted with the magnificent
+though irregular courts of the Vatican towering over the colonnade,
+till, the sun sinking behind the dome, I ran up the steps and entered
+the grand portal, which was on the very point of being closed.
+
+I knew not where I was, or to what scene transported.  A sacred
+twilight concealing the extremities of the structure, I could not
+distinguish any particular ornament, but enjoyed the effect of the
+whole.  No damp air or fetid exhalation offended me.  The perfume of
+incense was not yet entirely dissipated.  No human being stirred.  I
+heard a door close with the sound of thunder, and thought I
+distinguished some faint whisperings, but am ignorant whence they
+came.  Several hundred lamps twinkled round the high altar, quite
+lost in the immensity of the pile.  No other light disturbed my
+reveries but the dying glow still visible through the western
+windows.  Imagine how I felt upon finding myself alone in this vast
+temple at so late an hour, and think whether I had not revelations.
+
+It was almost eight o'clock before I issued forth, and, pausing a few
+minutes under the porticos, listened to the rush of the fountains:
+then traversing half the town, I believe, in my way to the Villa
+Medici, under which I am lodged, fell into a profound repose, which
+my zeal and exercise may be allowed, I think, to have merited.
+
+October 30th.--It was a clear morning; I mounted up to the roof of
+the house, and sat under a set of open pavilions, surveying the vast
+group of stately buildings below; then repaired immediately after
+breakfast to St. Peter's, which even exceeded the height of my
+expectations.  I could hardly quit it.  I wish his Holiness would
+allow me to erect a little tabernacle under the dome.  I should
+desire no other prospect during the winter; no other sky than the
+vast arches glowing with golden ornaments, so lofty as to lose all
+glitter or gaudiness.  But I cannot say I should be perfectly
+contented, unless I could obtain another pavilion for you.  Thus
+established, we would take our evening walks on the field of marble;
+for is not the pavement vast enough to excuse the extravagance of the
+appellation?  Sometimes, instead of climbing a mountain, we should
+ascend the cupola, and look down on our little encampment below.  At
+night I should wish for a constellation of lamps dispersed about in
+clusters, and so contrived as to diffuse a mild and equal light for
+us to read or draw by.  Music should not be wanting:  one day to
+breathe in the subterraneous chapels, another to mount high into the
+dome.
+
+The doors should be closed, and not a mortal admitted.  No priests,
+no cardinals:  God forbid!  We should have all the space to
+ourselves, and to such creatures, too, as resemble us.
+
+The windows I should shade with transparent curtains of yellow silk,
+to admit the glow of perpetual summer.  Lanterns, as many as you
+please, of all forms and sizes; they would remind us of China, and,
+depending from the roof of the palace, bring before us that of the
+Emperor Ki, which was twice as large as St. Peter's (if we may credit
+the grand annals), and lighted alone by tapers, for his Imperial
+Majesty, being tired of the sun, would absolutely have a new
+firmament of his own creation, and an artificial day.  Was it not a
+rare fantastic idea?  For my part, I should like of all things to
+immure myself after his example, with those I love; forget the
+divisions of time, have a moon at command, and a theatrical sun to
+rise and set at pleasure.
+
+I was so absorbed in my imaginary palace, and exhausted with
+contriving plans for its embellishment, as to have no spirits left
+for the Pantheon, which I visited late in the evening, and entered
+with a reverence approaching to superstition.  The whiteness of the
+dome offending me, I slunk into one of the recesses, closed my eyes,
+transported myself into antiquity; then opened them again, tried to
+persuade myself the pagan gods were in their niches, and the saints
+out of the question; was vexed at coming to my senses, and finding
+them all there, St. Andrew with his cross, and St. Agnes with her
+lamb, etc., etc.  Then I paced disconsolately into the portico, which
+shows the name of Agrippa on its pediment.  I leaned a minute against
+a Corinthian column; I lamented that no pontiff arrived with victims
+and aruspices, of whom I might inquire, what, in the name of birds
+and garbage, put me so terribly out of humour! for you must know I
+was very near being disappointed, and began to think Piranesi and
+Paolo Panini had been a great deal too colossal in their view of this
+venerable structure.  I left the column, walked to the centre of the
+temple, and, folding my arms, stood as fixed as a statue.  Some
+architects have celebrated the effect of light from the opening
+above, and pretended it to be distributed around so as to give those
+who walk beneath the appearance of mystic substances beaming with
+radiance.  Mighty fine, if that were the case!  I appeared, to be
+sure, a luminous figure, and never stood I more in need of something
+to distinguish me, being forlorn and dismal in the supreme degree.
+
+But though it is not so immense as I had expected, yet a certain
+venerable air, an awful gloom, breathed inspiration, though of the
+sorrowful kind.
+
+I had expected a heap of Venetian letters, but could not discover
+one.  I had received no intelligence from England this many a tedious
+day; and for aught I can tell to the contrary, you may have been dead
+these three weeks.  I think I shall wander soon in the Catacombs,
+which I am half inclined to imagine communicate with the lower world;
+and perhaps I may find some letter there from you, lying upon a
+broken sarcophagus, dated from the realms of Night, and giving an
+account of your descent into her bosom.  Yet, I pray continually,
+notwithstanding my curiosity to learn what passes in the dark regions
+beyond the tomb, that you will condescend to remain a few years
+longer on our planet; for what would become of me, should I lose
+sight of you for ever?  Stay, therefore, as long as you can, and let
+us have the delight of dozing a little more of this poor existence
+away together, and steeping ourselves in pleasant dreams.
+
+October 31st.--I absolutely will have no antiquary to go prating from
+fragment to fragment, and tell me, that were I to stay five years at
+Rome, I should not see half it contained.  The thought alone, of so
+much to look at, is quite distracting, and makes me resolve to view
+nothing at all in a scientific way; but straggle and wander about,
+just as the spirit chooses.  This evening, it led me to the Coliseo,
+and excited a vehement desire in me to break down and pulverize the
+whole circle of saints' nests and chapels, which disgrace the arena.
+You recollect, I dare say, the vile effect of this holy trumpery, and
+would join with all your heart in kicking it into the Tiber.  A few
+lazy abbots were at their devotions before them; such as would have
+made a lion's mouth water; fatter, I dare say, than any saint in the
+whole martyrology, and ten times more tantalizing.  I looked first,
+at the dens where wild beasts used to be kept, to divert the
+magnanimous people of Rome with devastation and murder; then, at the
+tame cattle before the altars.  Heavens! thought I to myself, how
+times are changed!  Could ever Vespasian have imagined his
+amphitheatre would have been thus inhabited?  I passed on, making
+these reflections, to a dark arcade, overgrown with ilex.  In the
+openings which time and violence have made, a distant grove of
+cypresses discover themselves; springing from heaps of mouldering
+ruins, relieved by a clear transparent sky, strewed with a few red
+clouds.  This was the sort of prospect I desired, and I sat down on a
+shattered frieze to enjoy it.  Many stories of ancient Rome thronged
+into my mind as I mused; triumphal scenes, but tempered by sadness,
+and the awful thoughts of their being all passed away.  It would be
+in vain to recapitulate the ideas which chased one another along.
+Think where I sat, and you may easily conjecture the series.  When
+the procession was fleeted by (for I not only thought, but seemed to
+see warriors moving amongst the cypresses, and consuls returning from
+Parthian expeditions, loaded with strange spoils, and received with
+the acclamations of millions upon entering the theatre), I arose,
+crossed the arena, paced several times round and round, looked up to
+arcade rising above arcade, and admiring the stately height and
+masses of the structure, considered it in various points of view, and
+felt, as if I never should be satisfied with gazing, hour after hour,
+and day after day.  Next, directing my steps to the arch of
+Constantine, I surveyed the groups of ruins which surrounded me.  The
+cool breeze of the evening played in the beds of canes and osiers
+which flourished under the walls of the Coliseo:  a cloud of birds
+were upon the wing to regain their haunts in its crevices; and,
+except the sound of their flight, all was silent; for happily no
+carriages were rattling along.  I observed the palace and obelisk of
+St. John of Lateran, at a distance; but it was too late to take a
+nearer survey; so, returning leisurely home, I traversed the Campo
+Vaccino, and leaned a moment against one of the columns which
+supported the temple of Jupiter Stator.  Some women were fetching
+water from the fountain hard by, whilst another group had kindled a
+fire under the shrubs and twisted fig-trees, which cover the Palatine
+Hill.  Innumerable vaults and arches peep out of the vegetation.  It
+was upon these, in all probability, the splendid palace of the
+Caesars was raised.  Confused fragments of marble, and walls of lofty
+terraces, are the sole traces of its ancient magnificence.  A
+wretched rabble were roasting their chestnuts, on the very spot,
+perhaps, where Domitian convened a senate, to harangue upon the
+delicacies of his entertainment.  The light of the flame cast upon
+the figures around it, and the mixture of tottering wall with foliage
+impending above their heads, formed a striking picture, which I
+stayed contemplating from my pillar, till the fire went out, the
+assembly dispersed, and none remained but a withered hag, raking the
+embers, and muttering to herself.  I thought also it was high time to
+retire, lest the unwholesome mists, which were streaming from the
+opening before the Coliseo, might make me repent my stay.  Whether
+they had already taken effect, or no, I will not absolutely
+determine; but something or other had grievously disordered me.  A
+few centuries ago I should have taxed the old hag with my headache,
+and have attributed the uncommon oppression I experienced to her
+baleful power.  Hastening to my hotel, I mounted into the open
+portico upon its summit, nearly upon a level with the Villa Medici,
+and sat, several hours, with my arms folded in one another, listening
+to the distant rumours of the town.  It had been a fine moment to
+have bestrode one of the winds which piped around me, offering, no
+doubt, some compact from Lucifer.
+
+November 1st.--Though you find I am not yet snatched away from the
+earth, according to my last night's bodings, I was far too restless
+and dispirited to deliver my recommendatory letters.  St. Carlos, a
+mighty day of gala at Naples, was an excellent excuse for leaving
+Rome, and indulging my roving disposition.  After spending my morning
+at St. Peter's, we set off about four o'clock, and drove by the
+Coliseo and a Capuchin convent, whose monks were all busied in
+preparing the skeletons of their order, to figure by torchlight in
+the evening.  St. John's of Lateran astonished me.  I could not help
+walking several times round the obelisk, and admiring the noble open
+space in which the palace is erected, and the extensive scene of
+towers and aqueducts discovered from the platform in front.
+
+We went out at the Porta Appia, and began to perceive the plains
+which surround the city opening on every side.  Long reaches of walls
+and arches, but seldom interrupted, stretch across them.  Sometimes,
+indeed, a withered pine, lifting itself up to the mercy of every
+blast that sweeps the champagne, breaks their uniformity.  Between
+the aqueducts to the left, nothing but wastes of fern, or tracts of
+ploughed lands, dark and desolate, are visible, the corn not being
+yet sprung up.  On the right, several groups of ruined fanes and
+sepulchres diversify the levels, with here and there a garden or
+woody inclosure.  Such objects are scattered over the landscape, that
+towards the horizon bulges into gentle ascents, and, rising by
+degrees, swells at length into a chain of mountains, which received
+the pale gleams of the sun, setting in watery clouds.
+
+By this uncertain light we discovered the white buildings of Albano,
+sprinkled about the steeps.  We had not many moments to contemplate
+them, for it was night when we passed the Torre di mezza via, and
+began breathing a close pestilential vapour.  Half suffocated, and
+recollecting a variety of terrifying tales about the malaria, we
+advanced, not without fear, to Veletri, and hardly ventured to fall
+asleep when arrived there.
+
+November 2nd.--I arose at daybreak, and forgetting fevers and
+mortalities, ran into a level meadow without the town, whilst the
+horses were putting to the carriage.  Why should I calumniate the
+air? it seemed purer and more transparent than any I had before
+inhaled.  The mountains were covered with thin mists, and the morning
+star sparkled above their summits.  Birds were twittering amongst
+some sheds and bushes, which border the sides of the road.  A
+chestnut hung over it, against which I leaned till the chaise came
+up.  Being perfectly alone, and not discovering any trace of the
+neighbouring city, I fancied myself existing in the ancient days of
+Hesperia, and hoped to meet Picus in his woods before the evening.
+But, instead of those shrill clamours which used to echo through the
+thickets when Pan joined with mortals in the chase, I heard the
+rumbling of our carriage, and the curses of its postillions.
+Mounting a horse, I flew before them, and seemed to catch inspiration
+from the breezes.  Now I turned my eyes to the ridge of precipices,
+in whose grots and caverns Saturn and his people passed their life;
+then to the distant ocean.  Afar off rose the cliffs, so famous for
+Circe's incantations, and the whole line of coast, which was once
+covered with her forests.
+
+Whilst I was advancing with full speed, the sunbeams began to shoot
+athwart the mountains, the plains to light up by degrees, and their
+shrubberies of myrtle to glisten with dewdrops.  The sea brightened,
+and the Circean rock soon glowed with purple.  I never felt my
+spirits so exhilarated, and they could not have flowed with more
+vivacity, even had I tasted the cup which Helen gave Telemachus.  You
+will think me gone wild when I tell you I was, in a manner, drunk
+with the dews of the morning, and so enraptured with the prospects
+which lay before me as to address them in verse, and compose charms
+to dispel the enchantments of Circe.  All day were we approaching her
+rock; towards evening Terracina appeared before us, in a bold
+romantic site; house above house, and turret looking over turret, on
+the steeps of a mountain, inclosed with mouldering walls, and crowned
+by the ruined terraces of a delightful palace:  one of those,
+perhaps, which the luxurious Romans inhabited during the summer, when
+so free and lofty an exposition (the sea below, with its gales and
+murmurs) must have been exquisitely agreeable.  Groves of orange and
+citron hang on the declivity, rough with the Indian fig, whose bright
+red flowers, illuminated by the sun, had a magic splendour.  A palm-
+tree, growing on the highest crag, adds not a little to its singular
+appearance.  Being the largest I had ever seen, and clustered with
+fruit, I climbed up the rocks to take a close survey of it, and found
+a spring trickling near its fount, bordered by fresh herbage.  On
+this I stretched myself on the very edge of the precipice, and
+looking down upon the beach, and glassy plains of ocean, exclaimed
+with Martial:
+
+
+"O nemua!  O fentes! aolidumque madentis
+Littus, et acquorcis splendidus Anxur aquis!"
+
+
+Glancing my eyes athwart the sea, I fixed them on the Circean
+promontory, which lies right opposite to Terracina, joined to the
+continent by a very narrow strip of land, and appearing like an
+island.  The roar of the waves lashing the base of the precipices,
+might still be thought the howl of savage monsters; but where are
+those woods which shaded the dome of the goddess?  Scarce a tree
+appears.  A few thickets, and but a few, are the sole remains of this
+once impenetrable vegetation; yet even these I longed to visit, such
+was my predilection for the spot.
+
+Who knows but Circe might have led me to some other palace, in a more
+secret and retired vale, where she dwells remote from modern
+mariners, and the present inhabitants of her environs; universally
+changed to swine for these many ages?  Their metamorphoses being so
+thoroughly established as to leave no further pretence for her
+operations, I can imagine her given up to solitude, and the
+consciousness of her potent influence.  Notwithstanding the risks of
+the adventure, I wished to have attempted it, and seen whether she
+would have allowed me, as night came on, to warm myself by her cedar
+fire, and hear her captivating song.  Perhaps, had the goddess been
+propitious, I might have culled some herbs of wondrous efficacy.  You
+recollect, I dare say, how renowned the cliff was for them, and
+remember that Circe's attendants, deeply skilled, like their
+mistress, in pharmacy, were continually gathering plants in the woods
+and wilds which enriched her abode.  It was thus the companions of
+Ulysses found them employed, when, entering her palace, they unwarily
+drank the beverage she offered.  Ovid has told this story in a
+masterly manner, and formed a lively picture of the magic dome, with
+the occupations of its inhabitants.  We see them judiciously
+arranging their plants, whilst Circe directs and points out, with the
+nicest discernment, the simple and compound virtues of every flower.
+
+Descending the cliff, and pursuing our route to Mola along the shore,
+by a grand road formed on the ruins of the Appian, we drove under an
+enormous perpendicular rock, standing detached, like a watch-tower,
+and cut into arsenals and magazines.  Day closed just as we got
+beyond it, and a new moon gleamed faintly on the waters.  We saw
+fires afar off in the bay, some twinkling on the coast, others upon
+the waves, and heard the murmur of voices; for the night was still
+and solemn, like that of Cajetas's funeral.  I looked anxiously on a
+sea, where the heroes of the Odyssey and AEneid had sailed in search
+of fate and empire, then closed my eyes, and dreamed of those
+illustrious wanderers.
+
+Nine struck when we arrived at Mola di Cajeta.  The boats were just
+coming in (whose lights we had seen out upon the main), and brought
+such fish as Neptune, I dare say, would have grudged AEneas and
+Ulysses.
+
+November 3rd.--The morning was soft, but hazy.  I walked in a grove
+of oranges, white with blossoms, and at. the same time glowing with
+fruit, some of which I obtained leave to gather.  The spot sloped
+pleasantly towards the sea, and here I amused myself with my
+agreeable occupation till the horses were ready, then set off on the
+Appian, between hedges of myrtle and aloes, catching fresh gales from
+the sea as I flew along, and breathing the perfume of an aromatic
+vegetation, which covers the fields on the shore.  We observed
+variety of towns, with battlemented walls and ancient turrets,
+crowning the pinnacles of rocky steeps, surrounded by wilds, and rude
+uncultivated mountains.  The Liris, now Garigliano, winds its
+peaceful course through wide extensive meadows, scattered over with
+the remains of aqueducts, and waters the base of the rocks I have
+just mentioned.  Such a prospect could not fail of bringing Virgil's
+panegyric of Italy full in my mind:
+
+
+"Tot congesta manu praeruptis oppida saxis
+Fluminaque antiquos suhterlabentia muros."
+
+
+As soon as we arrived in sight of Capua, the sky darkened, clouds
+covered the horizon, and presently poured down such deluges of rain
+as floated the whole country.  The gloom was general; Vesuvius
+disappeared just after we had the pleasure of discovering it;
+lightning began to flash with dreadful rapidity, and people to run
+frightened to their houses.  At four o'clock darkness universally
+prevailed, except when a livid glare of lightning presented momentary
+glimpses of the bay and mountains.  We lighted torches, and forded
+several torrents almost at the hazard of our lives.  The fields round
+Naples were filled with herds, lowing most piteously, and yet not
+half so much scared as their masters, who ran about cursing and
+swearing like Indians during the eclipse of the moon.  I knew
+Vesuvius had often put their courage to proof, but little thought of
+an inundation occasioning such commotions.
+
+For three hours the storm increased in violence, and instead of
+entering Naples on a calm evening, and viewing its delightful shores
+by moonlight--instead of finding the squares and terraces thronged
+with people and animated by music, we advanced with fear and terror
+through dark streets totally deserted, every creature being shut up
+in their houses, and we heard nothing but driving rain, rushing
+torrents, and the fall of fragments beaten down by their violence.
+Our inn, like every other habitation, was in great disorder, and we
+waited a long while before we could settle in our apartments with any
+comfort.  All night the waves roared round the rocky foundations of a
+fortress beneath my windows, and the lightning played clear in my
+eyes.  I could not sleep, and was full as disturbed as the elements.
+
+November 4th.--Peace was restored to nature in the morning, but every
+mouth was full of the dreadful accidents which had happened in the
+night.  The sky was cloudless when I awoke, and such was the
+transparence of the atmosphere that I could clearly discern the
+rocks, and even some white buildings on the island of Caprea, though
+at the distance of several miles.  A large window fronts my bed, and
+its casements being thrown open, gives me a vast prospect of ocean,
+uninterrupted except by the peaks of Caprea and the Cape of Sorento.
+I lay half an hour gazing on the smooth level waters, and listening
+to the confused voices of the fishermen, passing and repassing in
+light skiffs, which came and disappeared in an instant.
+
+Running to the balcony the moment my eyes were fairly open (for till
+then I saw objects, I know not how, as one does in dreams), I leaned
+over its rails, and viewed Vesuvius rising distinct into the blue
+ether, with all that world of gardens and casinos which are scattered
+about its base; then looked down into the street, deep below,
+thronged with people in holiday garments, and carriages, and soldiers
+in full parade.  The woody, variegated shore of Posilipo next drew my
+attention.  It was on those very rocks, under those tall pines,
+Sannazaro was wont to sit by moonlight, or at peep of dawn, holding
+converse with the Nereids.  'Tis there he still sleeps; and I wished
+to have gone immediately and strewed coral over his tomb, but I was
+obliged to check my impatience, and hurry to the palace in form and
+gala.
+
+A courtly mob had got thither upon the same errand, daubed over with
+lace and most notably be-periwigged.  Nothing but--bows and
+salutations were going forward on the staircase, one of the largest I
+ever beheld, and which a multitude of prelates and friars were
+ascending in all the pomp of awkwardness.  I jostled along to the
+presence chamber, where his Majesty was dining alone in a circular
+inclosure of fine clothes and smirking faces.  The moment he had
+finished, twenty long necks were poked forth, and it was a glorious
+struggle amongst some of the most decorated who first should kiss his
+hand.  Doing so was the great business of the day, and everybody
+pressed forward to the best of their abilities.  His Majesty seemed
+to eye nothing but the end of his nose, which is doubtless a capital
+object.
+
+Though people have imagined him a weak monarch, I beg leave to differ
+in opinion, since he has the boldness to prolong his childhood and be
+happy, in spite of years and conviction.  Give him a boar to stab,
+and a pigeon to shoot at, a battledore or an angling rod, and he is
+better contented than Solomon in all his glory, and will never
+discover, like that sapient sovereign, that all is vanity and
+vexation of spirit.
+
+His courtiers in general have rather a barbaric appearance, and
+differ little in the character of their physiognomies from the most
+savage nations.  I should have taken them for Calmucks or Samoieds,
+had it not been for their dresses and European finery.
+
+You may suppose I was not sorry, after my presentation was over, to
+return to Sir W.'s and hear Lady H. play, whose music breathes the
+most pastoral Sicilian ideas, and transports me to green meads on the
+sea-coast, where I wander with Theocritus.
+
+The evening was passing swiftly away in this delightful excursion of
+fancy, and I had almost forgotten there was a grand illumination at
+the theatre of St. Carlo.  After traversing a number of dark streets,
+we suddenly entered this enormous edifice, whose six rows of boxes
+blazed with tapers.  I never beheld such lofty walls of light, nor so
+pompous a decoration as covered the stage.  Marchesi was singing in
+the midst of all these splendours some of the poorest music
+imaginable, with the clearest and most triumphant voice, perhaps, in
+the universe.
+
+It was some time before I could look to any purpose around me, or
+discover what animals inhabited this glittering world:  such was its
+size and glare.  At last I perceived vast numbers of ugly beings, in
+gold and silver raiment, peeping out of their boxes.  The court being
+present, a tolerable silence was maintained, but the moment his
+Majesty withdrew (which great event took place at the beginning of
+the second act) every tongue broke loose, and nothing but buzz and
+hubbub filled up the rest of the entertainment.
+
+The last ballet, formed upon the old story of "Le Festin de Pierre,"
+had wonderful effect, and terminated in the most striking perspective
+of the infernal region.  Picq danced incomparably, and Signora Rossi
+led the Fandango, with a grace and activity that pleased me beyond
+idea.  Music was never more rapturous than that which accompanies
+this dance.  It quite enchanted me, and I longed to have sprung upon
+the stage.  The cadence is so strongly marked by the castanets, that
+it is almost impossible to be out of time; and the rapidity of steps
+and varied movements scarcely allows a moment to think of being
+tired.  I should imagine the eternal dance, with which certain tribes
+of American savages think they are to be rewarded in a future
+existence, might be formed somewhat on this model.  Indeed the
+Fandango arrived in Spain with the conquerors of the other
+hemisphere, and is far too lively and extatic to be of European
+original.
+
+November 6th--Till to-day we have had nothing but rains; the sea
+covered with mists, and Caprea invisible.  Would you believe it?  I
+have not yet been able to mount to St. Elmo and the Capo di Monte, in
+order to take a general view of the town.
+
+At length a bright gleam of sunshine roused me from my slumbers, and
+summoned me to the broad terrace of Chiaja, directly above the waters
+and commanding the whole coast of Posilipo.  Insensibly I drew
+towards it, and (you know the pace I run when out upon discoveries)
+soon reached the entrance of the grotto, which lay in dark shades,
+whilst the crags that lower over it were brightly illumined.  Shrubs
+and vines grow luxuriantly in the crevices of the rock; and their
+fresh yellow colours, variegated with ivy, have a beautiful effect.
+To the right a grove of pines sprung from the highest pinnacles:  on
+the left, bay and chestnut conceal the tomb of Virgil, placed on the
+summit of a cliff which impends over the opening of the grotto, and
+is fringed with a florid vegetation.  Beneath are several wide
+apertures hollowed in the solid stone, which lead to caverns sixty or
+seventy feet in depth, where a number of peasants, who were employed
+in quarrying, made such a noise with their tools and their voices as
+almost inclined me to wish the Cimmerians would start from their
+subterraneous habitations, and sacrifice these profane to the Manes.
+
+Walking out of the sunshine, I seated myself on a loose stone
+immediately beneath the first gloomy arch of the grotto, and looking
+down the vast and solemn perspective, terminated by a speck of grey
+uncertain light, venerated a work which some old chroniclers have
+imagined as ancient as the Trojan war.  'Twas here the mysterious
+race I have just mentioned performed their infernal rites, and it was
+this excavation perhaps which led to their abode.
+
+The Neapolitans attribute a more modern, though full as problematical
+an origin to their famous cavern, and most piously believe it to have
+been formed by the enchantments of Virgil, who, as Mr. Addison very
+justly observes, is better known at Naples in his magical character,
+than as the author of the AEneid.  This strange infatuation most
+probably arose from the vicinity of the tomb, in which his ashes are
+supposed to have been deposited; and which, according to popular
+tradition, was guarded by those very spirits who assisted in
+constructing the cave.  But whatever may have given rise to these
+ideas, certain it is they were not confined to the lower ranks alone.
+King Robert, {240} a wise though far from poetical monarch, conducted
+his friend Petrarch with great solemnity to the spot; and, pointing
+to the entrance of the grotto, very gravely asked him, whether he did
+not adopt the general belief, and conclude this stupendous passage
+derived its origin from Virgil's powerful incantations?  The answer,
+I think, may easily be conjectured.
+
+When I had sat for some time, contemplating this dusky avenue, and
+trying to persuade myself that it was hewn by the Cimmerians, I
+retreated without proceeding any farther, and followed a narrow path
+which led me, after some windings and turnings, along the brink of
+the precipice, across a vineyard, to that retired nook of the rocks
+which shelters Virgil's tomb, most venerably mossed over, and more
+than half concealed by bushes and vegetation.  Drops of dew were
+distilling from the niches of the little chamber, which once
+contained his urn, and heaps of withered leaves had gathered on the
+pavement.  Amongst these I crept to eat some grapes and biscuits,
+having duly scattered a few crumbs as a sort of offering to the
+invisible guardians of the place.  I believe they were sensible of my
+piety, and, as a reward, kept vagabonds and clowns away.
+
+The one who conducted me remained aloof at awful distance, whilst I
+sat commercing with the manes of my beloved poet, or straggling about
+the shrubbery which hangs directly above the mouth of the grot.  I
+wonder I did not visit the eternal shades sooner that I expected, for
+no squirrel ever skipped from bough to bough more venturously.  One
+instant I climbed up the branches of a chestnut, and sat almost on
+its extremity, my feet impending over the chasm below; another I
+boldly advanced to the edge of the rock, and saw crowds of people and
+carriages, diminished by distance, issuing from the bosom of the
+mountain, and disappearing almost as soon as discovered in the
+windings of its road.  Having clambered high above the cavern, I
+hazarded my neck on the top of one of the pines, and looked
+contemptuously down on the race of pigmies that were so busily moving
+to and fro.  The sun was fiercer than I could have wished, but the
+sea-breezes fanned me in my aerial situation, which commanded the
+grand sweep of the bay, varied by convents, palaces, and gardens,
+mixed with huge masses of rock and crowned by the stately buildings
+of the Carthusians and fortress of St. Elmo.  Add a glittering blue
+sea to this perspective, with Caprea rising from its bosom, and
+Vesuvius breathing forth a white column of smoke into the ether, and
+you will then have a scene upon which I gazed with delight, for more
+than an hour, almost forgetting that I was perched upon the head of a
+pine, with nothing but a frail branch to uphold me.  However, I
+descended alive, as Virgil's genii, I am resolved to believe, were my
+protectors.
+
+
+
+LETTER XXIII
+
+
+
+November 8th.--This morning I awoke in the glow of sunshine; the air
+blew fresh and fragrant; never did I feel more elastic and enlivened.
+A brisker flow of spirits than I had for many a day experienced,
+animated me with a desire of rambling about the shore of Baii, and
+creeping into caverns and subterraneous chambers.  Off I set along
+Chiaja, and up strange paths which impend over the grotto of
+Posilipo, amongst the thickets mentioned a letter or two ago; for in
+my present lively humour, I disdained ordinary roads, and would take
+paths and ways of my own.  A society of kids did not understand what
+I meant by intruding upon their precipices; and scrambling away,
+scattered sand and fragments upon the good people that were trudging
+along the pavement below.
+
+I went on from pine to pine, and thicket to thicket, upon the brink
+of rapid declivities.  My conductor, a shrewd savage, whom Sir
+William had recommended to me, cheered our route with stories that
+had passed in the neighbourhood, and traditions about the grot over
+which we were travelling.  I wish you had been of the party, and sat
+down by us on little smooth spots of sward, where I reclined,
+scarcely knowing which way caprice was leading me.  My mind was full
+of the tales of the place, and glowed with a vehement desire of
+exploring the world beyond the grot.  I longed to ascend the
+promontory of Misenus, and follow the same dusky route down which the
+Sibyl conducted AEneas.
+
+With these dispositions I proceeded; and soon the cliffs and copses
+opened to views of the Baian bay, with the little isles of Niscita
+and Lazaretto lifting themselves out of the waters.  Procita and
+Ischia appeared at a distance, invested with that purple bloom so
+inexpressibly beautiful, and peculiar to this fortunate climate.  I
+hailed the prospect and blessed the transparent air that gave me life
+and vigour to run down the rocks, and hie as fast as my savage across
+the plain to Puzzoli.  There we took bark and rowed out into the blue
+ocean, by the remains of a sturdy mole:  many such, I imagine,
+adorned the bay in Roman ages crowned by vast lengths of slender
+pillars; pavilions at their extremities, and taper cypresses spiring
+above their balustrades:  this character of villa occurs very
+frequently in the paintings of Herculaneum.
+
+We had soon crossed the bay, and landing on a bushy coast, near some
+fragments of a temple which they say was raised to Hercules, advanced
+into the country by narrow tracks covered with moss and strewed with
+shining pebbles; to the right and left, broad masses of luxuriant
+foliage, chestnut, bay, and ilex, that shelter the ruins of
+columbariums and sepulchral chambers, where the dead sleep snug
+amongst rampant herbage.  The region was still, save when a cock crew
+from the hamlets, which, as well as the tombs, are almost concealed
+by thickets.  No parties of smart Englishmen and connoisseurs were
+about.  I had all the land to myself, and mounted its steeps and
+penetrated into its recesses, with the importance of a discoverer.
+What a variety of narrow paths, between banks and shades, did I
+wildly follow! my savage laughing loud at my odd gestures and useless
+activity.  He wondered I did not scrape the ground for medals, and
+pocket little bits of plaster, like other plausible young travellers
+that had gone before me.
+
+After ascending some time, I followed him into the Piscina Mirabilis,
+the wondrous reservoir which Nero constructed to supply his fleet,
+when anchored in the neighbouring bay.  'Tis a grand labyrinth of
+solid vaults and pillars, as you well know, but you cannot conceive
+the partial gleams of sunshine which played on the arches, nor the
+variety of roots and ivies trailing from the cove.  A noise of
+trickling waters prevailed, that had almost lulled me to sleep as I
+rested myself on the celandine which carpets the floor; but curiosity
+urging me forward, I gained the upper air; walked amongst woods a few
+minutes, and then into grots and dismal excavations (prisons they
+call them), which began to weary me.
+
+After having gone up and down in this manner for some time, we at
+last reached an eminence that looked over the Mare Morto, and Elysian
+fields trembling with poplars.  The Dead Lake, a faithful emblem of
+eternal tranquillity, looked deep and solemn.  A few peasants were
+passing along its margin, their shadows reflected on the water:  all
+was serene and peaceful.  Turning from the lake I espied a rock at
+about a league distant, whose summit was clad with verdure, and
+finding this to be the promontory of Misenus, I immediately set my
+face to that quarter.
+
+We passed several dirty villages, inhabited by an ill-favoured
+generation, infamous for depredations and murders.  Their gardens,
+however, discover some marks of industry; the fields are separated by
+neat hedges of cane, and corn seemed to flourish in the inclosures.
+
+I walked on with slowness and deliberation, musing at every step, and
+stopping ever and anon to rest myself by springs and tufted bay-
+trees; when insensibly we began to leave the cultivated lands behind
+us, and to lose ourselves in shady wilds, which, to all appearance,
+no mortal had ever trodden.  Here were no paths, no enclosures; a
+primeval rudeness characterized the whole scene, -
+
+
+   "Juvat arva videre,
+Non rastris, hominum non ulli obnoxia curae."
+
+
+The idea of going almost out of the world, soothed the tone of mind
+into which a variety of affecting recollections had thrown me.  I
+formed conjectures about the promontory to which we were tending; and
+when I cast my eyes around the savage landscape, transported myself
+four thousand years into antiquity, and half persuaded myself I was
+one of AEneas's companions.  After forcing our way about a mile
+through glades of shrubs and briars, we entered a verdant opening at
+the base of the cliff which takes its name from Misenus.  The poets
+of the Augustan age would have celebrated such a meadow with the
+warmest raptures; they would have discovered a nymph in every flower,
+and detected a dryad under every tree.  Doubtless imagination never
+formed a lovelier prospect.  Here were clear streams and grassy
+hillocks, leafy shrubs and cypresses spiring out of their bosom, -
+
+
+"Et circum irriguo surgebant lilia prato
+Candida purpureis mista papaveribus."
+
+
+But as it is not the lot of human animals to be contented, instead of
+reposing in the vale, I scaled the rock, and was three parts
+dissolved in attaining its summit,--a flat spot covered with herbage,
+where I lay contemplating the ocean, and fanned by its breezes.  The
+sun darted upon my head; I wished to avoid its immediate influence:
+no tree was near.  Deep below lay the pleasant valley:  'twas a long
+way to descend.  Looking round and round, I spied something like a
+hut, under a crag on the edge of a dark fissure.  Might I avail
+myself of its covert?  My conductor answered in the affirmative, and
+added that it was inhabited by a good old woman, who never refused a
+cup of milk, or slice of bread, to refresh a weary traveller.
+
+Thirst and fatigue urged me speedily down an intervening slope of
+stunted myrtle.  Though oppressed with heat, I could not help
+deviating a few steps from the direct path to notice the uncouth
+rocks which rose frowning on every quarter.  Above the hut, their
+appearance was truly formidable; dark ivy crept among the crevices,
+and dwarf aloes with sharp spines, such as Lucifer himself might be
+supposed to have sown.  Indeed, I knew not whether I was not
+approaching some gate that leads to his abode, as I drew near a gulph
+(the fissure lately mentioned) and heard the hollow gusts which were
+imprisoned below.  The savage, my guide, shuddered as he passed by to
+apprise the old woman of my coming.  I felt strangely, and stared
+around me, and but half liked my situation.  To say truth, I wished
+myself away, and heartily regretted the green vale.
+
+In the midst of my doubts, forth tottered the old woman.  "You are
+welcome," said she, in a feeble voice, but a better dialect than I
+had heard in the neighbourhood.  Her look was more humane, and she
+seemed of a superior race to the inhabitants of the surrounding
+valleys.  My savage treated her with peculiar deference.  She had
+just given him some bread, with which he retired to a respectful
+distance, bowing to the earth.  I caught the mode, and was very
+obsequious, thinking myself on the point of experiencing a witch's
+influence, and gaining, perhaps, some insight into the volume of
+futurity.  She smiled at my agitation, and kept beckoning me into the
+cottage.
+
+"Now," thought I to myself, "I am upon the verge of an adventure.  O
+Quixote!  O Sylvio di Rosalva! how would ye have strutted in such a
+situation!  What fair Infantas would ye not have expected to behold,
+condemned to spinning wheels, and solitude?"  I, alas! saw nothing
+but clay walls, a straw bed, some glazed earthen bowls, and a wooden
+crucifix.  My shoes were loaded with sand:  this my hostess
+perceived, and immediately kindling a fire in an inner part of the
+hovel, brought out some warm water to refresh my feet, and set some
+milk and chestnuts before me.  This patriarchal politeness was by no
+means indifferent after my tiresome ramble.  I sat down opposite to
+the door which fronted the unfathomable gulph; beyond appeared the
+sea, of a deep cerulean, foaming with waves.  The sky also was
+darkening apace with storms.  Sadness came over me like a cloud, and
+I looked up to the old woman for consolation.
+
+"And you too are sorrowful, young stranger," said she, "that come
+from the gay world!  How must I feel, who pass year after year in
+these lonely mountains?"  I answered that the weather affected me,
+and my spirits were exhausted by the walk.
+
+All the while I spoke she looked at me with such a melancholy
+earnestness that I asked the cause, and began again to imagine myself
+in some fatal habitation,
+
+
+"Where more is meant than meets the ear."
+
+
+Said she, "Your features are wonderfully like those of an unfortunate
+young person, who, in this retirement . . . "  The tears began to
+fall as she pronounced these words; she seemed older than before, and
+bent to the ground with sorrow.  My curiosity was fired.  "Tell me,"
+continued I, "what you mean? who was this youth for whom you are so
+interested? and why did he seclude himself in this wild region?  Your
+kindness might no doubt alleviate, in some measure, the horrors of
+the place; but may God defend me from passing the night near such a
+gulph!  I would not trust myself in a despairing moment."
+
+"It is," said she, "a place of horrors.  I tremble to relate what has
+happened on this very spot; but your manner interests me, and though
+I am little given to narrations, for once I will unlock my lips
+concerning the secrets of yonder fatal chasm.
+
+"I was born in a distant part of Italy, and have known better days.
+In my youth fortune smiled upon my family, but in a few years they
+withered away; no matter by what accident.  I am not going, however,
+to talk of myself.  Have patience a few moments!  A series of
+unfortunate events reduced me to indigence, and drove me to this
+desert, where, from rearing goats and making their milk into cheese,
+by a different method than is common in the Neapolitan State, I have,
+for about thirty years, prolonged a sorrowful existence.  My silent
+grief and constant retirement had made me appear to some a saint, and
+to others a sorceress.  The slight knowledge I have of plants has
+been exaggerated, and, some years back, the hours I gave up to
+prayer, and the recollection of former friends, lost to me for ever!
+were cruelly intruded upon by the idle and the ignorant.  But soon I
+sank into obscurity; my little recipes were disregarded, and you are
+the first stranger who, for these twelve months past, has visited my
+abode.  Ah, would to God its solitude had ever remained inviolate!
+
+"It is now three-and-twenty years," and she looked upon some
+characters cut on the planks of the cottage, "since I was sitting by
+moonlight, under that cliff you view to the right, my eyes fixed on
+the ocean, my mind lost in the memory of my misfortunes, when I heard
+a step, and starting up, a figure stood before me.  It was a young
+man, in a rich habit, with streaming hair, and looks that bespoke the
+utmost terror.  I knew not what to think of this sudden apparition.
+'Mother,' said he with faltering accents, 'let me rest under your
+roof; and deliver me not up to those who thirst after my blood.  Take
+this gold; take all, all!'
+
+"Surprise held me speechless; the purse fell to the ground; the youth
+stared wildly on every side:  I heard many voices beyond the rocks;
+the wind bore them distinctly, but presently they died away.  I took
+courage, and assured the youth my cot should shelter him.  'Oh! thank
+you, thank you!' answered he, and pressed my hand.  He shared my
+scanty provision.
+
+"Overcome with toil (for I had worked hard in the day), sleep closed
+my eyes for a short interval.  When I awoke the moon was set, but I
+heard my unhappy guest sobbing in darkness.  I disturbed him not.
+Morning dawned, and he was fallen into a slumber.  The tears bubbled
+out of his closed eyelids, and coursed one another down his wan
+cheeks.  I had been too wretched myself not to respect the sorrows of
+another:  neglecting therefore my accustomed occupations, I drove
+away the flies that buzzed around his temples.  His breast heaved
+high with sighs, and he cried loudly in his sleep for mercy.
+
+"The beams of the sun dispelling his dream, he started up like one
+that had heard the voice of an avenging angel, and hid his face with
+his hands.  I poured some milk down his parched throat.  'Oh,
+mother!' he exclaimed, 'I am a wretch unworthy of compassion; the
+cause of innumerable sufferings; a murderer! a parricide!'  My blood
+curdled to hear a stripling utter such dreadful words, and behold
+such agonising sighs swell in so young a bosom; for I marked the
+sting of conscience urging him to disclose what I am going to relate.
+
+"It seems he was of high extraction, nursed in the pomps and luxuries
+of Naples, the pride and darling of his parents, adorned with a
+thousand lively talents, which the keenest sensibility conspired to
+improve.  Unable to fix any bounds to whatever became the object of
+his desires, he passed his first years in roving from one
+extravagance to another, but as yet there was no crime in his
+caprices.
+
+"At length it pleased Heaven to visit his family, and make their idol
+the slave of an unworthy passion.  He had a friend, who from his
+birth had been devoted to his interest, and placed all his confidence
+in him.  This friend loved to distraction a young creature, the most
+graceful of her sex (as I can witness), and she returned his
+affection.  In the exultation of his heart, he showed her to the
+wretch whose tale I am about to tell.  He sickened at her sight.  She
+too caught fire at his glances.  They languished--they consumed away-
+-they conversed, and his persuasive language finished what his guilty
+glances had begun.
+
+"Their flame was soon discovered, for he disdained to conceal a
+thought, however dishonourable.  The parents warned the youth in the
+tenderest manner; but advice and prudent counsels were to him so
+loathsome, that unable to contain his rage, and infatuated with love,
+he menaced the life of his friend as the obstacle of his enjoyment.
+Coolness and moderation were opposed to violence and frenzy, and he
+found himself treated with a contemptuous gentleness.  Stricken to
+the heart, he wandered about for some time like one entranced.
+Meanwhile the nuptials were preparing; and the lovely girl he had
+perverted found ways to let him know she was about to be torn from
+his embraces.
+
+"He raved, and rousing his dire spirit, applied to a malignant daemon
+who sold the most inveterate poisons.  These he presented, like a cup
+of pure iced water, to his friend, and to his own affectionate
+father.  They drank the draught, and soon began to pine.  He marked
+the progress of their dissolution with a horrid firmness.  He let the
+moment pass beyond which all antidotes were vain.  His friend
+expired; and the young criminal, though he beheld the dews of death
+hang on his parent's forehead, yet stretched not forth his hand.  In
+a short space the miserable father breathed his last, whilst his son
+was sitting aloof in the same chamber.
+
+"The sight overcame him.  He felt, for the first time, the pangs of
+remorse.  His agitation passed not unnoticed.  He was watched:
+suspicions beginning to unfold, he took alarm, and one evening
+escaped; but not without previously informing the partner of his
+crimes which way he intended to flee.  Several pursued; but the
+inscrutable will of Providence blinded their search, and I was doomed
+to behold the effects of celestial vengeance.
+
+"Such are the chief circumstances of the tale I gathered from the
+youth.  I swooned whilst he related it, and could take no sustenance.
+One whole day afterwards did I pray the Lord, that I might die rather
+than be near an incarnate demon.  With what indignation did I now
+survey that slender form and those flowing tresses, which had
+interested me before so much in his behalf!
+
+"No sooner did he perceive the change in my countenance, than
+sullenly retiring to yonder rock, he sat careless of the sun and
+scorching winds; for it was now the summer solstice.  Equally was he
+heedless of the unwholesome dews.  When midnight came my horrors were
+augmented; and I meditated several times to abandon my hovel, and fly
+to the next village; but a power more than human chained me to the
+spot and fortified my mind.
+
+"I slept, and it was late next morning when some one called at the
+wicket of the little fold, where my goats are penned.  I arose, and
+saw a peasant of my acquaintance leading a female strangely muffled
+up, and casting her eyes on the ground.  My heart misgave me.  I
+thought this was the very maid who had been the cause of such
+unheard-of wickedness.  Nor were my conjectures ill-founded.
+Regardless of the clown who stood by in stupid astonishment, she fell
+to the earth and bathed my hand with tears.  Her trembling lips with
+difficulty inquired after the youth; and, as she spoke, a glow of
+conscious guilt lightened up her pale countenance.
+
+"The full recollection of her lover's crimes shot through my memory.
+I was incensed, and would have spurned her away; but she clung to my
+garments and seemed to implore my pity with a look so full of misery,
+that, relenting, I led her in silence to the extremity of the cliff
+where the youth was seated, his feet dangling above the sea.  His eye
+was rolling wildly around, but it soon fixed upon the object for
+whose sake he had doomed himself to perdition.
+
+"I am not inclined to describe their ecstasies, or the eagerness with
+which they sought each other's embraces.  I turned indignantly my
+head; and, driving my goats to a recess amongst the rocks, sat
+revolving in my mind these strange events.  I neglected procuring any
+provision for my unwelcome guests; and about midnight returned
+homewards by the light of the moon, which shone serenely in the
+heavens.  Almost the first object her beams discovered was the guilty
+maid sustaining the head of her lover, who had fainted through
+weakness and want of nourishment.  I fetched some dry bread, and,
+dipping it in milk, laid it before them.  Having performed this duty
+I set open the door of my hut, and retiring to a neighbouring cavity,
+there stretched myself on a heap of leaves, and offered my prayers to
+Heaven.
+
+"A thousand fears, till this moment unknown, thronged into my fancy.
+I mistook the shadow of leaves, that chequered the entrance to the
+grot, for ugly reptiles, and repeatedly shook my garments.  The flow
+of the distant surges was deepened by my apprehensions into distant
+groans:  in a word, I could not rest; but issuing from the cavern as
+hastily as my trembling knees would allow, paced along the edge of
+the precipice.  An unaccountable impulse hurried my steps.  Dark
+clouds were driving across the sky, and the setting moon was flushed
+with the deepest crimson.  A wan gleam coloured the sea.  Such was my
+terror and shivering, that, unable to advance to my hut or retreat to
+the cavern, I was about to shield myself from the night in a sandy
+crevice, when a loud shriek pierced my ear.  My fears had confused
+me; I was in fact hard by my hovel, and scarcely three paces from the
+brink of the cavern:  it was from thence the cries proceeded.
+
+"Advancing in a cold shudder to its edge, part of which was newly
+crumbled in, I discovered the form of the young man suspended by one
+foot to a branch of juniper that grew ten feet down:  thus dreadfully
+did he hang over the gulph from the branch bent with his weight.  His
+features were distorted, his eye-balls glared with agony, and his
+screams became so shrill and terrible, that I lost all power of
+assistance.  Fixed, I stood with my eyes riveted upon the criminal,
+who incessantly cried out, 'O God!  O Father! save me, if there be
+yet mercy! save me, or I sink into the abyss!'
+
+"I am convinced he saw me not; for not once did he implore my help.
+My heart was dead within me.  I called out upon the Lord.  His voice
+grew faint, and as I gazed intent upon him, he fell into utter
+darkness.  I sank to the earth in a trance, during which a sound like
+the rush of pennons assaulted my ear:  methought the evil spirit was
+bearing off his soul; I lifted up my eyes, but nothing stirred; the
+stillness that prevailed was awful.
+
+"The moon looked stained with streaks of blood; her orb hanging low
+over the waves afforded a sickly light, by which I perceived some one
+coming down that white cliff you see before you; and soon I heard the
+voice of the young woman calling aloud on her guilty lover.  She
+stopped.  She repeated again and again her exclamation; but there was
+no reply.  Alarmed and frantic she hurried along the path, and now I
+saw her on the promontory, and now by yonder pine, devouring with her
+glances every crevice in the rock.  At length perceiving me, she flew
+to where I stood, by the fatal precipice, and having noticed the
+fragments fresh crumbled in, pored importunately on my countenance.
+I continued pointing to the chasm; she trembled not; her tears could
+not flow; but she divined the meaning.  'He is lost!' said she; 'the
+earth has swallowed him! but, as I have shared with him the highest
+joy, so will I partake his torments.  I will follow; dare not to
+hinder me.'  I shrank back.
+
+"Like the phantoms I have seen in dreams, she glanced beside me; and,
+clasping her hands above her head, lifted a steadfast look on the
+hemisphere, and viewed the moon with an anxiousness that told me she
+was bidding it farewell for ever.  Observing a silken handkerchief on
+the ground, with which she had but an hour ago bound her lover's
+temples, she snatched it up, and imprinting it with burning kisses,
+thrust it into her bosom.  Once more, expanding her arms in the last
+act of despair and miserable passion, she threw herself, with a
+furious leap, into the gulph.
+
+"To its margin I crawled on my knees, and, shuddering, looked down
+into the gloom.  There I remained in the most dreadful darkness; for
+now the moon was sunk, the sky obscured with storms, and a
+tempestuous blast ranging the ocean.  Showers poured thick upon me,
+and the lightning, in clear and frequent flashes, gave me terrifying
+glimpses of yonder accursed chasm.
+
+"Stranger, dost thou believe in the great Being? in our Redeemer? in
+the tenets of our faith?"  I answered with reverence, but said I was
+no Catholic.  "Then," continued the aged woman, "I will not declare
+before a heretic what were the sacred visions of that night of
+vengeance!"  She paused; I was silent.
+
+After a short interval, with deep and frequent sighs, she resumed her
+narrative.  "Daylight began to dawn as if with difficulty, and it was
+late before its radiance had tinged the watery and tempestuous
+clouds.  I was still kneeling by the gulph in prayer when the cliffs
+began to brighten, and the beams of the morning sun to strike against
+me.  Then did I rejoice.  Then no longer did I think myself of all
+human beings the most abject and miserable.  How different did I feel
+myself from those, fresh plunged into the abodes of torment, and
+driven for ever from the morning!
+
+"Three days elapsed in total solitude:  on the fourth, some grave and
+ancient persons arrived from Naples, who questioned me, repeatedly,
+about the wretched lovers, and to whom I related their fate with
+every dreadful particular.  Soon after I learned that all discourse
+concerning them was expressly stopped, and that no prayers were
+offered up for their souls."
+
+With these words, as well as I recollect, the old woman ended her
+singular narration.  My blood thrilled as I walked by the gulph to
+call my guide, who stood aloof under the cliffs.  He seemed to think,
+from the paleness of my countenance, that I had heard some gloomy
+prediction, and shook his head when I turned round to bid my old
+hostess adieu!  It was a melancholy evening, and I could not refrain
+from tears, as, winding through the defiles of the rocks, the sad
+scenes which had passed amongst them recurred to my memory.
+
+Traversing a wild thicket, we soon regained the shore, where I
+rambled a few minutes whilst the peasant went for the boatmen.  The
+last streaks of light were quivering on the waters when I stepped
+into the bark, and wrapping myself up in an awning, slept till we
+reached Puzzoli, some of whose inhabitants came forth with torches to
+light us home.
+
+I was vexed to be roused from my visions, and had much rather have
+sunk in some deep cave of the Cimmerians than returned to Naples.
+
+
+
+LETTER XXIV
+
+
+
+NAPLES, November 9th.
+
+We made our excursion to Pompeii, passing through Portici, and over
+the last lava of Mount Vesuvius.  I experienced a strange mixture of
+sensations, on surveying at once the mischiefs of the late eruption,
+in the ruin of villages, farms, and vineyards; and all around them
+the most luxuriant and delightful scenery of nature.  It was
+impossible to resist the impressions of melancholy from viewing the
+former, or not to admit that gaiety of spirits which was inspired by
+the sight of the latter.  I say nothing of the Museum at Portici,
+which we saw in our way, on account of the ample description of its
+contents already given to the public, and because it should be
+described no otherwise than by an exact catalogue, or by an
+exhibition of engravings.  An hour and half brought us from this
+celebrated repository to Pompeii.  Nothing can be conceived more
+delightful than the climate and situation of this city.  It stands
+upon a gently-rising hill, which commands the bay of Naples, with the
+islands of Caprea and Ischia, the rich coasts of Sorento, the tower
+of Castel a Mare; and on the other side, Mount Vesuvius, with the
+lovely country intervening.  It is judged to be about an Italian mile
+long, and three and a half in circuit.  We entered the city at the
+little gate which lies towards Stabiae.  The first object upon
+entering is a colonnade round a square court, which seems to have
+formed a place of arms.  Behind the colonnade is a series of little
+rooms, destined for the soldiers' barracks.  The columns are of
+stone, plaistered with stucco and coloured.  On several of them we
+found names scratched in Greek and Latin; probably those of the
+soldiers who had been quartered there.  Helmets and armour for
+various parts of the body were discovered amongst the skeletons of
+some soldiers, whose hard fate had compelled them to wait on duty, at
+the perilous moment of the city's approaching destruction.  Dolphins
+and tridents, sculptured in relief on most of these relics of armour,
+seem to show that they had been fabricated for naval service.  Some
+of the sculptures on the arms, probably belonging to officers,
+exhibit a greater variety of ornaments.  The taking of Troy, wrought
+on one of the helmets, is beautifully executed; and much may be said
+in commendation of the work of several others.
+
+We were next led to the remains of a temple and altar near these
+barracks.  From thence to some rooms floored (as indeed were almost
+all that have been cleared from the rubbish) with tesselated mosaic
+pavements of various patterns, and most of them of very excellent
+execution.  Many of these have been taken up, and now form the floors
+of the rooms in the Museum at Portici, whose best ornaments of every
+kind are furnished from the discoveries at Pompeii.  From the rooms
+just mentioned we descended into a subterraneous chamber,
+communicating with a bathing apartment.  It appears to have served as
+a kind of office to the latter.  It was probably here that the
+clothes used in bathing were washed.  A fireplace, a capacious
+cauldron of bronze, and earthen vessels, proper for that purpose,
+found here, have given rise to the conjecture.  Contiguous to this
+room is a small circular one with a fireplace, which was the stove to
+the bath.  I should not forget to tell you that the skeleton of the
+poor laundress (for so the antiquaries will have it), who was very
+diligently washing the bathing clothes at the time of the eruption,
+was found lying in an attitude of most resigned death, not far from
+the washing cauldron in the office just mentioned.
+
+We were now conducted to the temple, or rather chapel, of Isis.  The
+chief remains are a covered cloister; the great altar on which was
+probably exhibited the statue of the goddess; a little edifice to
+protect the sacred well; the pediment of the chapel, with a
+symbolical vase in relief; ornaments in stucco, on the front of the
+main building, consisting of the lotus, the sistrum, representations
+of gods, Harpocrates, Anubis, and other objects of Egyptian worship.
+The figures on one side of this temple are Perseus with the Gorgon's
+head; on the other side, Mars and Venus, with Cupids bearing the arms
+of Mars.  We next observe three altars of different sizes.  On one of
+them is said to have been found the bones of a victim unconsumed, the
+last sacrifice having probably been stopped by the dreadful calamity
+which had occasioned it.  From a niche in the temple was taken a
+statue of marble:  a woman pressing her lips with her forefinger.
+Within the area is a well, where the priest threw the ashes of the
+sacrifices.  We saw in the Museum at Portici some lovely arabesque
+paintings, cut from the walls of the cloister.  The foliage which ran
+round the whole sweep of the cloister itself is in the finest taste.
+A tablet of basalt with Egyptian hieroglyphics was transported from
+thence to Portici, together with the following inscription, taken
+from the front gate of the chapel:
+
+
+N. POPIDUS N. F. CELSINUS.
+AEDEM ISIDIS TERRAE MOTU COLLAPSAM
+A FUNDAMENTO P.  SUA RESTITUIT
+HUNC DECURIONES OB LIBERALITATEM
+CUM ESSET ANNORUM SEX ORDINI SUO
+GRATIS ADLEGERUNT.
+
+
+Behind one of the altars we saw a small room, in which, our guide
+informed us, a human skeleton had been discovered, with some fish
+bones on a plate near it, and a number of other culinary utensils.
+We then passed on to another apartment, almost contiguous, where
+nothing more remarkable had been found than an iron crow:  an
+instrument with which perhaps the unfortunate wretch, whose skeleton
+I have mentioned above, had vainly endeavoured to extricate herself,
+this room being probably barricaded by the matter of the eruption.
+This temple, rebuilt, as the inscription imports, by N. Popidius, had
+been thrown down by a terrible earthquake, that likewise destroyed a
+great part of the city (sixteen years before the famous eruption of
+Vesuvius described by Pliny, which happened in the first year of
+Titus, A.D. 79) and buried at once both Herculaneum and Pompeii.  As
+I lingered alone in these environs sacred to Isis, some time after my
+companions had quitted them, I fell into one of those reveries which
+my imagination is so fond of indulging; and transporting myself
+seventeen hundred years back, fancied I was sailing with the elder
+Pliny, on the first day's eruption, from Misenum, towards Retina and
+Herculaneum; and afterwards towards the villa of his friend
+Pomponianus at Stabiae.  The course of our galley seldom carried us
+out of sight of Pompeii, and as often as I could divert my attention
+from the tremendous spectacle of the eruption, its enormous pillar of
+smoke standing conically in the air, and tempests of liquid fire
+continually bursting out from the midst of it, then raining down the
+sides of the mountain, and flooding this beautiful coast with
+innumerable streams of red-hot lava, methought I turned my eyes upon
+this fair city, whose houses, villas, and gardens, with their long
+ranges of columned courts and porticos, were made visible through the
+universal cloud of ashes, by lightning from the mountain; and saw its
+distracted inhabitants, men, women, and children, running to and fro
+in despair.  But in one spot, I mean the court and precincts of the
+temple, glared a continual light.  It was the blaze of the altars;
+towards which I discerned a long-robed train of priests moving in
+solemn procession, to supplicate by prayer and sacrifice, at this
+destructive moment, the intervention of Isis, who had taught the
+first fathers of mankind the culture of the earth, and other arts of
+civil life.  Methought I could distinguish in their hands all those
+paintings and images, sacred to this divinity, brought out on this
+portentous occasion, from the subterraneous apartments and mystic
+cells of the temple.  There was every form of creeping thing and
+abominable beast, every Egyptian pollution which the true prophet had
+seen in vision, among the secret idolatries of the temple at
+Jerusalem.  The priests arrived at the altars; I saw them gathered
+round, and purifying the three at once with the sacred meal; then,
+all moving slowly about them, each with his right hand towards the
+fire:  it was the office of some to seize the firebrands of the
+altars, with which they sprinkled holy water on the numberless
+bystanders.  Then began the prayers, the hymns, and lustrations of
+the sacrifice.  The priests had laid the victims with their throats
+downward upon the altars; were ransacking the baskets of flour and
+salt for the knives of slaughter, and proceeding in haste to the
+accomplishment of their pious ceremonies;--when one of our company,
+who thought me lost, returned with impatience, and calling me off to
+some new object, put an end to my strange reverie.  We were now
+summoned to pay some attention to the scene and corridor of a
+theatre, not far from the temple.  Little more of its remains being
+yet cleared away, we hastened back to a small house and garden in the
+neighbourhood of Isis.  Sir W. Hamilton (in his account of Pompeii
+communicated to the Society of Antiquaries), when speaking of this
+house, having taken occasion to give a general idea of the private
+mansions of the ancient citizens, I shall take the liberty of
+transcribing the whole passage.  "A covered cloister, supported by
+columns, goes round the house, as was customary in many of the houses
+at Pompeii.  The rooms in general are very small, and in one, where
+an iron bedstead was found, the wall had been pared away to make room
+for this bedstead; so that it was not six feet square, and yet this
+room was most elegantly painted, and had a tesselated or mosaic
+floor.  The weight of the matter erupted from Mount Vesuvius has
+universally damaged the upper parts of the houses; the lower parts
+are mostly found as fresh as at the moment they were buried.  The
+plan of most of the houses at Pompeii is a square court, with a
+fountain in the middle, and small rooms round, communicating with
+that court.  By the construction and distribution of the houses, it
+seems, the inhabitants of Pompeii were fond of privacy.  They had few
+windows towards the street, except where, from the nature of the
+plan, they could not avoid it; but even in that case the windows were
+placed too high for anyone in the streets to overlook them.  Their
+houses nearly resemble each other, both as to distribution of plan,
+and in the manner of finishing the apartments.  The rooms are in
+general small, from ten to twelve feet, and from fourteen to eighteen
+feet; few communications between room and room, almost all without
+windows, except the apartments situated to the gardens, which are
+thought to have been allotted to the women.  Their cortiles, or
+courts, were often surrounded by porticos, even in very small houses;
+not but there were covered galleries before the doors of their
+apartments to afford shade and shelter.  No timber was used in
+finishing their apartments, except in doors and windows.  The floors
+were generally laid in mosaic work.  One general taste prevailed of
+painting the sides and ceilings of the rooms.  Small figures and
+medallions of low relief were sometimes introduced.  Their great
+variety consisted in the colours, and in the choice and delicacy of
+the ornaments, in which they displayed great harmony and taste.
+Their houses were some two, others three stories high."
+
+We now pursued our way through what is with some probability thought
+to have been the principal street.  Its narrowness, however,
+surprised me.  It is scarcely eleven feet wide, clear of the footways
+raised on each side of it.  The pavement is formed of a large sort of
+flattish-surfaced pebbles; not laid down with the greatest evenness
+or regularity.  The sideways may be about a yard wide, each paved,
+irregularly enough, with small stones.  There are guard stones at
+equal intervals, to defend the foot passengers from carriages and
+horses.  I cannot say I found anything either elegant or pleasant in
+the effect of this open street.  But, as the houses in general
+present little more than a dead wall towards it, I do not imagine any
+views, beyond mere use and convenience, were consulted in the plan.
+It led us, however, through the principal gate or entrance, to a sort
+of Villa Rustica, without the limits of the city, which amply
+recompensed our curiosity.  The arcade surrounding a square garden,
+or courtyard, offers itself first to the observer's notice.  Into
+this open a number of coved rooms, adorned with paintings of figures
+and arabesques.  These rooms, though small, have a rich and elegant
+appearance, their ornaments being very well executed, and retaining
+still their original freshness.  On the top of the arcade runs a walk
+or open terrace, leading to the larger apartments of the higher
+story.  One of the rooms below has a capacious bow-window, where
+several panes of glass, somewhat shattered, were found, but in
+sufficient preservation to show that the ancients were not without
+knowledge of this species of manufacture.  As Horace and most of the
+old Latin Poets dwell much on the praises of ancient conviviality,
+and appear to have valued themselves considerably on their
+connoisseurship in wine, it was with great pleasure I descended into
+the spacious cellars, sunk and vaulted beneath the arcade above-
+mentioned.  Several earthen amphorae were standing in rows against
+the walls, but the Massic and Falernian with which they were once
+stored, had probably long been totally absorbed by the earth and
+ashes, which were now the sole contents of these venerable jars.  The
+ancients are thought to have used oil, instead of corks, and that the
+stoppers were of some matter that could make but little resistance,
+seems confirmed by the entrance of that, which now supplied the place
+with wine.  The skeletons of several of the family who had possessed
+this villa were discovered in the cellar, together with brass and
+silver coins, and many such ornaments of dress as were of more
+durable materials.  On re-ascending, we went to the hot and cold
+baths; thence to the back of the villa, separated by a passage from
+the more elegant part of the house; we were shown some rooms which
+had been occupied by the farmer, and from whence several implements
+of agriculture had been carried, to enrich the collection at Portici.
+On the whole, the plan and construction of this villa are extremely
+curious, and its situation very happily chosen.  I could not,
+however, help feeling some regret, in not having had the good fortune
+to be present at the first discovery.  It must have been highly
+interesting to see all its ancient relics (the greatest part of which
+are now removed) each in its proper place; or, at least, in the place
+they had possessed for so long a course of years.  His Sicilian
+Majesty has ordered a correct draught of this villa to be taken,
+which, it is hoped, will one day be published, with a complete
+account of all the discoveries at Pompeii.
+
+Our next walk was to see the Columbarium, a very solemn looking
+edifice, where probably the families of higher rank only at Pompeii,
+deposited the urns of their deceased kindred.  Several of these urns,
+with their ashes, and one among the rest of glass, inclosed in
+another of earth, were dug out of the sepulchral vaults.  A quantity
+of marble statues, of but ordinary execution, and colossal masks of
+terra-cotta, constituted the chief ornaments of the Columbarium.  It
+is situated without the gates, on the same side of the city as the
+villa just described.  There is something characteristically sad in
+its aspect.  It threw my mind into a melancholy, but not disagreeable
+tone.  Under the mixed sentiments it inspired, I cast one lingering
+look back on the whole affecting scene of ruins, over which I had for
+several hours been rambling, and quitted it to return to Naples, not
+without great reluctance.
+
+
+
+LETTER XXV
+
+
+
+ROME, December 9th.
+
+My last letter was despatched in such a hurry that I had not time to
+conclude it.  This will be nearly as imperfect; but yet I cannot
+forbear writing, having the vanity to believe that you are pleased
+with hearing only that I am well.
+
+Your friend H. walked with me this morning in the Loggios of
+Raffaelle, and we went afterwards to the Capitol.  Nothing delighted
+me more in the whole treasury of sculptures, than a figure in alto
+relievo of Endymion, reclined on the mountain's brow:  his head falls
+upon his breast with an ease and gracefulness, of which the Greeks
+alone had ever a true conception.  Most of the chambers, if you
+recollect, are filled with the elegant remains of Adrian's
+collection.  The villa of that classic emperor at Tivoli, must have
+been the most charming of structures.  Having travelled into various
+and remote parts of his empire, he assembled their most valuable
+ornaments on one spot.  Some of his apartments were filled with the
+mysterious images and symbols of Egypt:  others with Eastern tripods
+and strange Adriatic vases.  Though enraptured with St. Peter's and
+the Vatican, with the gardens and groves of pine, that surround this
+interesting city, still I cannot help sighing after my native hills
+and copses, which look (I know not how it happens) more like the
+haunts of Pan than any I have seen in Italy.  I eagerly anticipate
+the placid hours we shall pass, perhaps next summer, on the wild
+range which belongs to our sylvan deities.  In their deep fastnesses
+I will hide myself from the world, and never allow its glare to
+bicker through my foliage.  You will follow me, I trust, into
+retirement, and equally forget the turmoils of mankind.  What have we
+children of the good Sylvanus to do with the miseries or triumphs of
+the savages that prowl about London?  Let us forget there exists such
+a city, and when reposing amongst ivy and blossoms of bloom, imagine
+ourselves in the ancient dominions of Saturn, and dream that we see
+him pass along with his rustic attendants.
+
+
+
+LETTER XXVI
+
+
+
+AUGSBURG, January 20th, 1781.
+
+For these ten days past have I been traversing Lapland:  winds
+whistling in my ears, and cones showering down upon my head from the
+wilds of pine through which our route conducted us.  Often were we
+obliged to travel by moonlight, and I leave you to imagine the awful
+aspect of the Tyrol mountains buried in snow.
+
+I scarcely ventured to utter an exclamation of surprise, though
+prompted by some of the most striking scenes in nature, lest I should
+interrupt the sacred silence that prevails, during winter, in these
+boundless solitudes.  The streams are frozen, and mankind petrified,
+for aught I know to the contrary, since whole days have we journeyed
+on without perceiving the slightest hint of their existence.
+
+I never before felt the pleasure of discovering a smoke rising from a
+cottage, or of hearing a heifer lowing in its stall; and could not
+have supposed there was so much satisfaction in perceiving two or
+three fur caps, with faces under them, peeping out of their
+concealments.  I wish you had been with me, exploring this savage
+region:  wrapped up in our bear-skins, we should have followed its
+secret avenues, and penetrated, perhaps, into some enchanted cave
+lined with sables, where, like the heroes of northern romances, we
+should have been waited upon by dwarfs, and sung drowsily to repose.
+I think it no bad scheme to sleep away five or six years to come,
+since every hour affairs are growing more and more turbulent.  Well,
+let them! provided we may enjoy, in security, the shades of our
+thickets.
+
+
+
+ADDITIONAL LETTERS
+
+
+
+[The following Letters, written in a second Excursion, which was
+interrupted by a dangerous illness, are added on account of their
+affinity to some of the preceding.]
+
+
+
+LETTER I
+
+
+
+COLOGNE, May 28th, 1782.
+
+This is the first day of summer; the oak leaves expand, the roses
+blow, butterflies are about, and I have spirits enough to write to
+you.  We have had clouded skies this fortnight past, and roads like
+the Slough of Despond.  Last Wednesday we were benighted on a dismal
+plain, apparently boundless.  The moon cast a sickly gleam, and now
+and then a blue meteor glided along the morass which lay before us.
+
+After much difficulty we gained an avenue, and in an hour's time
+discovered something like a gateway, shaded by crooked elms and
+crowned by a cluster of turrets.  Here we paused and knocked; no one
+answered.  We repeated our knocks; the stout oaken gate returned a
+hollow sound; the horses coughed, their riders blew their horns.  At
+length the bars fell, and we entered--by what means I am ignorant,
+for no human being appeared.
+
+A labyrinth of narrow winding alleys, dark as the vaults of a
+cathedral, opened to our view.  We kept wandering along, at least
+twenty minutes, between lofty mansions with grated windows, and
+strange galleries, projecting one over another, from which depended
+innumerable uncouth figures and crosses, in iron-work, swinging to
+and fro with the wind.  At the end of this gloomy maze we found a
+long street, not fifteen feet wide, I am certain; the houses still
+loftier than those in the alleys, the windows thicker barred, and the
+gibbets (for I know not what else to call them) more frequent.  Here
+and there we saw lights glimmering in the highest stories, and arches
+on the right and left, which seemed to lead into retired courts and
+deeper darkness.
+
+Along one of these recesses we were jumbled, over such pavement as I
+hope you may never tread upon; and, after parading round it, went out
+at the same arch whence we came in.  This procession seemed at first
+very mystical, but it was too soon accounted for by our postillions,
+who confessed they had lost their way.  A council was held amongst
+them in form, and then we struck into another labyrinth of hideous
+edifices, habitations I will not venture to call them, as not a
+creature stirred; though the rumbling of our carriages was echoed by
+all the vaults and arches.
+
+Towards midnight we rested a few minutes, and a head poking out of a
+casement directed us to the hotel of Der Heilige Geist, where an
+apartment, thirty feet square, was prepared for our reception.
+
+
+
+LETTER II
+
+
+
+INSPRUCK, June 4th.
+
+No sooner had we passed Fuezen than we entered the Tyrol, and the
+country of wonders.  Those lofty peaks, those steeps of wood I
+delight in, lay before us.  Innumerable clear springs gush out on
+every side, overhung by luxuriant shrubs in blossom.  The day was
+mild, though overcast, and a soft blue vapour rested upon the hills,
+above which rise mountains that bear plains of snow into the clouds.
+
+At night we lay at Nasariet, a village buried amongst savage
+promontories.  The next morning we advanced, in bright sunshine, into
+smooth lawns on the slopes of mountains, scattered over with larches,
+whose delicate foliage formed a light green veil to the azure sky.
+Flights of birds were merrily travelling from spray to spray.  I ran
+delighted into this world of boughs, whilst C. sat down to draw the
+huts which are scattered about for the shelter of herds, and discover
+themselves amongst the groves in the most picturesque manner.
+
+These little edifices are uncommonly neat, and excite those ideas of
+pastoral life to which I am so fondly attached.  The turf from whence
+they rise is enamelled, in the strict sense of the word, with
+flowers.  A sort of bluebell predominated, brighter than ultramarine;
+here and there auriculas looked out of the moss, and I often reposed
+upon tufts of ranunculus.  Bushes of phillerea were very frequent,
+the sun shining full on their glossy leaves.  An hour passed away
+swiftly in these pleasant groves, where I lay supine under a lofty
+fir, a tower of leaves and branches.
+
+
+
+LETTER III
+
+
+
+PADUA, June 14th.
+
+Once more, said I to myself, I shall have the delight of beholding
+Venice; so got into an open chaise, the strangest curricle that ever
+man was jolted in, and drove furiously along the causeways by the
+Brenta, into whose deep waters it is a mercy, methinks, I was not
+precipitated.  Fiesso, the Dolo, the Mira, with all their gardens,
+statues, and palaces, seemed flying after each other, so rapid was
+our motion.
+
+After a few hours' confinement between close steeps, the scene opened
+to the wide shore of Fusina.  I looked up (for I had scarcely time to
+look before) and beheld a troubled sky, shot with vivid red, the
+Lagunes tinted like the opal, and the islands of a glowing flame-
+colour.  The lofty mountains of the distant continent appeared of a
+deep melancholy grey, and innumerable gondolas were passing to and
+fro in all their blackness.  The sun, after a long struggle, was
+swallowed up in the tempestuous clouds.
+
+In an hour we drew near to Venice, and saw its world of domes rising
+out of the waters.  A fresh breeze bore the toll of innumerable bells
+by my ear.  Sadness came over me as I entered the great canal, and
+recognised (the scene of many a strange adventure) those solemn
+palaces, with their lofty arcades and gloomy arches, beneath which I
+had so often sat.
+
+The Venetians being mostly at their villas on the Brenta, the town
+appeared deserted.  I visited, however, all my old haunts in the
+Place of St. Mark, ran up the Campanile, and rowed backwards and
+forwards, opposite the Ducal Palace, by moonlight.  They are building
+a spacious quay, near the street of the Sclavonians, fronting the
+island of San Giorgio Maggiore, where I remained alone at least an
+hour, following the wanderings of the moon amongst mountainous
+clouds, and listening to the waters dashing against marble steps.
+
+I closed my evening at my friend M. de R.'s, and sung over the airs I
+composed in the dawn of our acquaintance.
+
+Next morning the wind was uncommonly violent for the mild season of
+June, and the canals much agitated; but I was determined to visit the
+Lido once more, and bathe on my accustomed beach.  The pines in the
+garden of the Carthusians were nodding as I passed by in my gondola,
+which was very poetically buffeted by the waves.
+
+Traversing the desert of locusts, I hailed the Adriatic, and plunged
+into its bosom.  The sea, delightfully cool, refreshed me to such a
+degree, that, upon my return to Venice, I found myself able to thread
+its labyrinths of streets, canals, and alleys, in search of amber and
+Oriental curiosities.  The variety of exotic merchandize, the perfume
+of coffee, the shade of awnings, and the sight of Greeks and Asiatics
+sitting crossed-legged under them, made me think myself in the
+bazaars of Constantinople.
+
+'Tis certain my beloved town of Venice ever recalls a series of
+Eastern ideas and adventures.  I cannot help thinking St. Mark's a
+mosque, and the neighbouring palace some vast seraglio, full of
+arabesque saloons, embroidered sofas, and voluptuous Circassians.
+
+
+
+LETTER IV
+
+
+
+PADUA, June 19th.
+
+The morning was delightful, and St. Anthony's bells in full chime.  A
+shower which had fallen in the night rendered the air so cool and
+grateful, that Mad. de R. and myself determined to seize the
+opportunity and go to Mirabello, a country house, which Algarotti had
+inhabited, situate amongst the Euganean hills, eight or nine miles
+from Padua.
+
+Our road lay between poplar alleys and fields of yellow corn,
+overhung by garlands of vine, most beautifully green.  I soon found
+myself in the midst of my favourite hills, upon slopes covered with
+clover, and shaded by cherry-trees.  Bending down their boughs I
+gathered the fruit, and grew cooler and happier every instant.
+
+We dined very comfortably in a strange hall, where I pitched my
+pianoforte, and sang the voluptuous airs of Bertoni's Armida.  That
+enchantress might have raised her palace in this situation; and, had
+I been Rinaldo, I certainly should not very soon have abandoned it.
+
+After dinner we drank coffee under some branching lemons, which
+sprang from a terrace, commanding a boundless scene of towers and
+villas; tall cypresses and shrubby hillocks rising, like islands, out
+of a sea of corn and vine.
+
+Evening drawing on, and the breeze blowing fresh from the distant
+Adriatic, I reclined on a slope, and turned my eyes anxiously towards
+Venice; then upon some little fields hemmed in by chestnuts in
+blossom, where the peasants were making their hay, and, from thence,
+to a mountain, crowned by a circular grove of fir and cypress.
+
+In the centre of these shades some monks have a comfortable nest;
+perennial springs, a garden of delicious vegetables, and, I dare say,
+a thousand luxuries besides, which the poor mortals below never dream
+of.
+
+Had it not been late, I should certainly have climbed up to the
+grove, and asked admittance into its recesses; but having no mind to
+pass the night in this eyrie, I contented myself with the distant
+prospect.
+
+
+
+LETTER V
+
+
+
+ROME, June 29th.
+
+It is needless for me to say I wish you with me:  you know I do; you
+know how delightfully we should ramble about Rome together.  This
+evening, instead of jiggeting along the Corso with the puppets in
+blue and silver coats, and green and gold coaches, instead of bowing
+to Cardinal this, and dotting my head to Abbe t'other, I strolled to
+the Coliseo, found out my old haunts amongst its arches, and enjoyed
+the pure transparent sky between groves of slender cypress.  Then
+bending my course to the Palatine Mount, I passed under the Arch of
+Titus, and gained the Capitol, which was quite deserted, the world,
+thank Heaven, being all slip-slopping in coffee-houses, or staring at
+a few painted boards patched up before the Colonna palace, where, by
+the by, to-night is a grand rinfresco for all the dolls and doll-
+fanciers of Rome.  I heard their buzz at a distance; that was enough
+for me!
+
+Soothed by the rippling of waters, I descended the Capitoline stairs,
+and leaned several minutes against one of the Egyptian lionesses.
+This animal has no knack at oracles, or else it would have murmured
+out to me the situation of that secret cave, where the wolf suckled
+Romulus and his brother.
+
+About nine, I returned home, and am now writing to you like a prophet
+on the housetop.  Behind me rustle the thickets of Villa Medici;
+before, lies roof beyond roof and dome beyond dome:  these are dimly
+discovered; but don't you see the great cupola of cupolas, twinkling
+with illuminations?  The town is real, I am certain; but, surely,
+that structure of fire must be visionary.
+
+
+
+LETTER VI
+
+
+
+ROME, June 30th.
+
+As soon as the sun declined I strolled into the Villa Medici; but
+finding it haunted by fine pink and yellow people, nay, even by the
+Spanish Ambassador, and several more dignified carcasses, I moved off
+to the Negroni garden.  There I found what my soul desired, thickets
+of jasmine, and wild spots overgrown with bay; long alleys of cypress
+totally neglected, and almost impassable through the luxuriance of
+the vegetation; on every side antique fragments, vases, sarcophagi,
+and altars sacred to the Manes, in deep, shady recesses, which I am
+certain the Manes must love.  The air was filled with the murmurs of
+water, trickling down basins of porphyry, and losing itself amongst
+overgrown weeds and grasses.
+
+Above the wood and between its boughs appeared several domes, and a
+strange lofty tower.  I will not say they belong to St. Maria
+Maggiore; no, they are fanes and porticos dedicated to Cybele, who
+delights in sylvan situations.  The forlorn air of this garden, with
+its high and reverend shades, make me imagine it as old as the baths
+of Dioclesian, which peep over one of its walls.  Yes, I am persuaded
+some consul or praetor dwelt here only fifty years ago.  Would to
+God, our souls might be transported to such solitary spots! where we
+might glide along the dark alleys together, when bodies were gone to
+bed.  I discovered a little cave that would just suit us; celandine,
+Venus' hair, and a thousand delicate plants, growing downwards from
+the cave; beneath lies a clear spring.
+
+At the close of day, I repaired to the platform before the stately
+porticos of the Lateran.  There I sat, folded up in myself.  Some
+priests jarred the iron gates behind me.  I looked over my shoulder
+through the portals, into the portico.  Night began to fill it with
+darkness.  Upon turning round, the sad waste of the Campagna met my
+eyes, and I wished to go home, but had not the power.  A pressure,
+like that I have felt in horrid dreams, seemed to fix me to the
+pavement.
+
+I was thus in a manner forced to view the dreary scene, the long line
+of aqueducts and lonesome towers.  Perhaps the unwholesome vapours,
+rising like blue mists from the plains, affected me.  I know not how
+it was; but I never experienced such strange, such chilling terrors.
+About ten o'clock, thank God, the spell dissolved; I found my limbs
+at liberty, and returned home.
+
+
+
+LETTER VII
+
+
+
+NAPLES, July 8th.
+
+The sea-breezes restored me to life.  I set the heat of midday at
+defiance, and do not believe in the horrors of the sirocco.
+Yesterday I passed at Portici, with Lady H.  The morning, refreshing
+and pleasant, invited us at an early hour into the open air.  We
+drove, in an uncovered chaise, to the royal Bosquetto:  no other
+carriage than Sir W.'s is allowed to enter its alleys.  We breathed a
+fresh air untainted by dust or garlic.  Every now and then, amidst
+wild bushes of ilex and myrtle, one finds a graceful antique statue,
+sometimes a fountain, and often a rude knoll, where the rabbits sit
+undisturbed, contemplating the blue glittering bay; at least, I
+should do so, if I were a rabbit.
+
+The walls of this shady inclosure are lined with Peruvian aloes,
+whose white blossoms, scented like those of the magnolia, form the
+most magnificent clusters.  They are plants to salute respectfully as
+one passes by, such is their size and dignity.  In the midst of the
+thickets stands the King's Pagliaro, surrounded by gardens with
+hedges of luxuriant jasmine, whose branches are suffered to flaunt as
+much as Nature pleases.
+
+The morning sun darted his first rays on their flowers just as I
+entered this pleasant spot.  The hut looks as if erected in the days
+of fairy pastoral life; its neatness is quite delightful.  Bright
+tiles compose the floor; straw, nicely platted, covers the walls.  In
+the middle of the room, you see a table spread with a beautiful
+Persian carpet; at one end, four niches with mattresses of silk,
+where the King and his favourites repose after dinner; at the other,
+a white marble basin.  Mount a little staircase, and you find
+yourself in another apartment, formed by the roof, which being
+entirely composed of glistening straw, casts that comfortable yellow
+glow I admire.  From the windows you look into the garden, not
+flourished with parterres, but divided into plats of fragrant herbs
+and flowers, with here and there a little marble table, or basin of
+the purest water.
+
+These sequestered inclosures are cultivated with the greatest care,
+and so frequently watered, that I observed lettuces, and a variety of
+other vegetables, as fresh as in our green England.
+
+
+
+AN EXCURSION TO THE GRAND CHARTREUSE IN THE YEAR 1778
+
+
+
+The Grand Chartreuse has exceeded my expectations; it is more
+wonderfully wild than I can describe, or even you can imagine.  It
+has possessed me to such a degree that at present I can neither
+think, speak, nor write upon any other subject.
+
+June 5th.--I left Geneva, and after passing through a succession of
+valleys between innumerable mountains, and after crossing a variety
+of picturesque bridges, thrown over the streams which water them,
+arrived at Aix, in Savoy, famous for its baths, which, as
+disagreeable things are generally the most salutary, ought doubtless
+to be of the greatest efficacy; for more uninviting objects one
+seldom meets with.
+
+Advancing beneath a little eminence, partly rock, partly wall, we
+discovered the principal bath, filled with a blue reeking water,
+whose very steam is sufficient to seethe one without further
+assistance.
+
+Scarce had we stood looking on it a minute, before down dashed three
+or four dirty boys, as copper-coloured as the natives of Bengal; who
+by splashing us all over, and swimming about a la crapaudine,
+convinced us that it was not their fault, if we would not have
+companions in the delights of bathing.  I soon hurried away from this
+salubrious cauldron, and stepping into a little chapel hard by, where
+they were singing vespers, prayed heartily to the Virgin, that I
+might never need the assistance of those wonder-working waters over
+which she presides.  As there was but little company in the town, and
+little amusement, I went to bed at nine, and rose at four the next
+morning, that I might reach before sunset the celebrated road, which
+Charles Emanuel had cut through a rocky mountain.  My plan succeeded,
+and after dining at Chambery (a place scarce worth speaking of to
+you), and passing by a cataract that throws itself from a lofty
+steep, I began to discover a beautiful woody vale, terminated on one
+side by the hallowed cliffs of the Grand Chartreuse, and on the other
+by the mountain which Charles Emanuel had perforated in so
+extraordinary a manner.  The sun was just sinking in a brilliant
+cloud, which seemed to repose on a swelling hill, covered with
+cattle, when we quitted the cheerful valley, and began to descend
+between two ridges of precipices, that at some distance had the
+appearance of towering ramparts.  Pursuing our route, we found
+ourselves in a deep cleft, surrounded by caverns, echoing with a
+thousand rills which trickle down their sides, and mingling their
+murmurs with the rattling of our wheels and the steps of our horses,
+infinitely repeated and multiplied, formed, altogether, the strangest
+combination of sounds that ever reached my ears.  The road itself is
+admirably cut, and hewn with such neatness that, were it not for the
+savage and desolate air of its environs, I should have imagined
+myself approaching some grand castle or considerable city.  Toward
+the summits of the precipices, that in some places rise to a majestic
+elevation (the two sides here and there nearly meeting in an arch),
+hang light woods of glossy green, which, being agitated by a gentle
+wind, cast a moving shadow over the cleft beneath, and, at a little
+distance, gave our road the appearance of a chequered pavement.
+
+Having wound through the bosom of the mountain for some time, I was
+struck by the unexpected appearance of a grand edifice, resembling a
+vast portal, supported by Doric pilasters, and crowned with an
+ornamented pediment.  Upon my nearer approach I found a smooth tablet
+filling up the space I had allotted for an entrance, on which was
+engraven a pompous Latin inscription, setting forth with what
+incredible labour and perseverance his Majesty, Charles Emanuel the
+Second of Sardinia, Cyprus, and Jerusalem, King, had cut this road
+through the mountain; which great enterprise, though unattempted by
+the Romans, and despaired of by other nations, was executed under his
+auspices.  I very sincerely wished him joy, and, as the evening was
+growing rather cool, was not sorry to perceive, through an opening in
+the rocks, a wide-extended plain, interspersed with meadows,
+embosomed by woods, in which I distinguished Les Echelles, a village,
+where we were to lie, with its chimneys smoking, under the base of
+one of the Carthusian mountains, round which had gathered a concourse
+of red and greyish clouds.
+
+The twilight was beginning to prevail when we reached our inn, and
+very glad I was to leave it at the first dawn of the next day.  We
+were now obliged to abandon our coach; and taking horse, proceeded
+towards the mountains, which, with the valleys between them, form
+what is called the Desert of the Carthusians.
+
+In an hour's time we were drawing near, and could discern the opening
+of a narrow valley overhung by shaggy precipices, above which rose
+lofty peaks, covered to their very summits with wood.  We could now
+distinguish the roar of torrents, and a confusion of strange sounds,
+issuing from dark forests of pine.  I confess at this moment I was
+somewhat startled.  I experienced some disagreeable sensations, and
+it was not without a degree of unwillingness that I left the gay
+pastures and enlivening sunshine, to throw myself into this gloomy
+and disturbed region.  How dreadful, thought I, must be the despair
+of those who enter it never to return!
+
+But after the first impression was worn away, all my curiosity
+redoubled; and desiring our guide to put forward with greater speed,
+we made such good haste, that the meadows and cottages of the plain
+were soon left far behind, and we found ourselves on the banks of the
+torrent, whose agitation answered the ideas which its sounds had
+inspired.  Into the midst of these troubled waters we were obliged to
+plunge with our horses, and, when landed on the opposite shore, were
+by no means displeased to have passed them.
+
+We had now closed with the forests, over which the impending rocks
+diffused an additional gloom.  The day grew obscured by clouds, and
+the sun no longer enlightened the distant plains, when we began to
+ascend towards the entrance of the desert, marked by two pinnacles of
+rock far above us, beyond which a melancholy twilight prevailed.
+Every moment we approached nearer and nearer to the sounds which had
+alarmed us; and, suddenly emerging from the woods, we discovered
+several mills and forges, with many complicated machines of iron,
+hanging over the torrent, that threw itself headlong from a cleft in
+the precipices; on one side of which I perceived our road winding
+along, till it was stopped by a venerable gateway.  A rock above one
+of the forges was hollowed into the shape of a round tower, of no
+great size, but resembling very much an altar in figure; and, what
+added greatly to the grandeur of the object, was a livid flame
+continually palpitating upon it, which the gloom of the valley
+rendered perfectly discernible.
+
+The road, at a small distance from this remarkable scene, was become
+so narrow, that, had my horse started, I should have been but too
+well acquainted with the torrent that raged beneath; dismounting,
+therefore, I walked towards the edge of the great fall, and there,
+leaning on a fragment of cliff, looked down into the foaming gulph,
+where the waters were hurled along over broken pines, pointed rocks,
+and stakes of iron.  Then, lifting up my eyes, I took in the vast
+extent of the forests, frowning on the brows of the mountains.
+
+It was here first I felt myself seized by the genius of the place,
+and penetrated with veneration of its religious gloom; and, I
+believe, uttered many extravagant exclamations; but, such was the
+dashing of the wheels, and the rushing of the waters at the bottom of
+the forges, that what I said was luckily undistinguishable.
+
+I was not yet, however, within the consecrated inclosure, and
+therefore not perfectly contented; so, leaving my fragment, I paced
+in silence up the path which led to the great portal.  When we
+arrived before it, I rested a moment, and leaning against the stout
+oaken gate, which closed up the entrance to this unknown region, felt
+at my heart a certain awe, that brought to my mind the sacred terror
+of those, in ancient days, going to be admitted into the Eleusinian
+mysteries.
+
+My guide gave two knocks; after a solemn pause, the gate was slowly
+opened, and all our horses having passed through it, was again
+carefully closed.
+
+I now found myself in a narrow dell, surrounded on every side by
+peaks of the mountains, rising almost beyond my sight, and shelving
+downwards till their bases were hidden by the foam and spray of the
+water, over which hung a thousand withered and distorted trees.  The
+rocks seemed crowding upon me, and, by their particular situation,
+threatened to obstruct every ray of light; but, notwithstanding the
+menacing appearance of the prospect, I still kept following my guide,
+up a craggy ascent, partly hewn through a rock, and bordered by the
+trunks of ancient fir-trees, which formed a fantastic barrier, till
+we came to a dreary and exposed promontory, impending directly over
+the dell.
+
+The woods are here clouded with darkness, and the torrents, rushing
+with additional violence, are lost in the gloom of the caverns below;
+every object, as I looked downwards from my path, that hung midway
+between the base and the summit of the cliff, was horrid and woeful.
+The channel of the torrent sunk deep amidst frightful crags, and the
+pale willows and wreathed roots spreading over it, answered my ideas
+of those dismal abodes, where, according to the druidical mythology,
+the ghosts of conquered warriors were bound.  I shivered whilst I was
+regarding these regions of desolation, and, quickly lifting up my
+eyes to vary the scene, I perceived a range of whitish cliffs,
+glistening with the light of the sun, to emerge from these melancholy
+forests.
+
+On a fragment that projected over the chasm, and concealed for a
+moment its terrors, I saw a cross, on which was written VIA COELI.
+The cliffs being the heaven to which I now aspired, we deserted the
+edge of the precipice, and ascending, came to a retired nook of the
+rocks, in which several copious rills had worn irregular grottoes.
+Here we reposed an instant, and were enlivened with a few sunbeams,
+piercing the thickets and gilding the waters that bubbled from the
+rock, over which hung another cross, inscribed with this short
+sentence, which the situation rendered wonderfully pathetic, O SPES
+UNICA! the fervent exclamation of some wretch disgusted with the
+world, whose only consolation was found in this retirement.
+
+We quitted this solitary cross to enter a thick forest of beech-
+trees, that screened in some measure the precipices on which they
+grew, catching, however, every instant terrifying glimpses of the
+torrent below.  Streams gushed from every crevice in the cliffs, and
+falling over the mossy roots and branches of the beech, hastened to
+join the great torrent, athwart which I every now and then remarked
+certain tottering bridges, and sometimes could distinguish a
+Carthusian crossing over to his hermitage, that just peeped above the
+woody labyrinths on the opposite shore.
+
+Whilst I was proceeding amongst the innumerable trunks of the beech
+trees, my guide pointed out to me a peak, rising above the others,
+which he called the Throne of Moses.  If that prophet had received
+his revelations in this desert, no voice need have declared it holy
+ground, for every part of it is stamped with such a sublimity of
+character as would alone be sufficient to impress the idea.
+
+Having left these woods behind, and crossing a bridge of many lofty
+arches, I shuddered once more at the impetuosity of the torrent; and,
+mounting still higher, came at length to a kind of platform before
+two cliffs, joined by an arch of rock, under which we were to pursue
+our road.  Below we beheld again innumerable streams, turbulently
+precipitating themselves from the woods, and lashing the base of the
+mountains, mossed over with a dark sea-green.
+
+In this deep hollow such mists and vapours prevailed as hindered my
+prying into its recesses; besides, such was the dampness of the air,
+that I hastened gladly from its neighbourhood, and passing under the
+second portal, beheld with pleasure the sunbeams gilding the Throne
+of Moses.
+
+It was now about ten o'clock, and my guide assured me I should soon
+discover the convent.  Upon this information I took new courage, and
+continued my route on the edge of the rocks, till we struck into
+another gloomy grove.  After turning about it for some time, we
+entered again into the glare of daylight, and saw a green valley
+skirted by ridges of cliffs and sweeps of wood before us.  Towards
+the farther end of this inclosure, on a gentle acclivity, rose the
+revered turrets of the Carthusians, which extend in a long line on
+the brow of the hill; beyond them a woody amphitheatre majestically
+presents itself, terminated by spires of rock and promontories lost
+amongst the clouds.
+
+The roar of the torrent was now but faintly distinguishable, and all
+the scenes of horror and confusion I had passed, were succeeded by a
+sacred and profound calm.  I traversed the valley with a thousand
+sensations I despair of describing, and stood before the gate of the
+convent with as much awe as some novice or candidate, newly arrived,
+to solicit the holy retirement of the order.
+
+As admittance is more readily granted to the English than to almost
+any other nation, it was not long before the gates opened, and whilst
+the porter ordered our horses to the stable, we entered a court
+watered by two fountains and built round with lofty edifices,
+characterized by a noble simplicity.
+
+The interior portal, opening, discovered an arched aisle, extending
+till the perspective nearly met, along which windows, but scantily
+distributed between the pilasters, admitted a pale solemn light, just
+sufficient to distinguish the objects with a picturesque uncertainty.
+We had scarcely set our feet on the pavement when the monks began to
+issue from an arch, about half way down, and passing in a long
+succession from their chapel, bowed reverently with much humility and
+meekness, and dispersed in silence, leaving one of their body alone
+in the aisle.
+
+The Father Coadjutor (for he only remained) advanced towards us with
+great courtesy, and welcomed us in a manner which gave me far more
+pleasure than all the frivolous salutations and affected greetings so
+common in the world beneath.  After asking us a few indifferent
+questions, he called one of the lay brothers, who live in the convent
+under less severe restrictions than the fathers whom they serve, and
+ordering him to prepare our apartment, conducted us to a large square
+hall with casement windows, and, what was more comfortable, an
+enormous chimney, whose hospitable hearth blazed with a fire of dry
+aromatic fir, on each side of which were two doors that communicated
+with the neat little cells destined for our bedchambers.
+
+Whilst he was placing us round the fire, a ceremony by no means
+unimportant in the cold climate of these upper regions, a bell rang
+which summoned him to prayers.  After charging the lay brother to set
+before us the best fare their desert afforded, he retired, and left
+us at full liberty to examine our chambers.
+
+The weather lowered, and the casements permitted very little light to
+enter the apartment:  but on the other side it was amply enlivened by
+the gleams of the fire, that spread all over a certain comfortable
+air, which even sunshine but rarely diffuses.  Whilst the showers
+descended with great violence, the lay brother and another of his
+companions were placing an oval table, very neatly carved and covered
+with the finest linen, in the middle of the hall; and, before we had
+examined a number of portraits which were hung in all the panels of
+the wainscot, they called us to a dinner widely different from what
+might have been expected in so dreary a situation.  The best fish,
+the most exquisite fruits, and a variety of dishes, excellent without
+the assistance of meat, were served up with an order and arrangement
+that showed it was not the first time they had entertained in the
+noblest manner.  But I was not more struck with the delicacy of the
+entertainment, than with the extreme cleanness and English-like
+neatness of the whole apartment and its furniture.  A marble
+fountain, particularly, gave it a very agreeable aid, and the water
+that fell from it into a porphyry shell was remarkable for its
+clearness and purity.  Our attendant friar was helping us to some
+Burgundy, which we pronounced of very respectable antiquity, when the
+Coadjutor returned, accompanied by two other fathers, the Secretary
+and Procurator, whom he presented to us.  You would have been both
+charmed and surprised with the cheerful resignation that appeared in
+their countenances, and with the easy turn of their conversation.
+
+The Coadjutor, though equally kind, was as yet more reserved:  his
+countenance, however, spoke for him without the aid of words, and
+there was in his manner a mixture of dignity and humility, which
+could not fail to interest.  There were moments when the recollection
+of some past event seemed to shade his countenance with a melancholy
+that rendered it still more affecting.  I should suspect he formerly
+possessed a great share of natural vivacity (something of it being
+still, indeed, apparent in his more unguarded moments); but this
+spirit is almost entirely subdued by the penitence and mortification
+of the order.
+
+The secretary displayed a very considerable share of knowledge in the
+political state of Europe, furnished probably by the extensive
+correspondence these fathers preserve with the three hundred and
+sixty subordinate convents, dispersed throughout all those countries
+where the court of Rome still maintains its influence.
+
+In the course of our conversation they asked me innumerable questions
+about England, where formerly, they said, many monasteries had
+belonged to their order; and principally that of W., which they had
+learnt to be now in my possession.
+
+The Secretary, almost with tears in his eyes, beseeched me to revere
+these consecrated edifices, and to preserve their remains, for the
+sake of St. Hugo, their canonized Prior.  I replied greatly to his
+satisfaction, and then declaimed so much in favour of Saint Bruno,
+and the holy prior of Witham, that the good fathers grew exceedingly
+delighted with the conversation, and made me promise to remain some
+days with them.  I readily complied with their request, and,
+continuing in the same strain, that had so agreeably affected their
+ears, was soon presented with the works of Saint Bruno, whom I so
+zealously admired.
+
+After we had sat extolling them, and talking upon much the same sort
+of subjects for about an hour, the Coadjutor proposed a walk amongst
+the cloisters and galleries, as the weather would not admit of any
+longer excursion.  He leading the way, we ascended a flight of steps,
+which brought us to a gallery, on each side of which a vast number of
+pictures, representing the dependent convents, were ranged; for I was
+now in the capital of the order, where the General resides, and from
+whence he issues forth his commands to his numerous subjects; who
+depute the superiors of their respective convents, whether situated
+in the wilds of Calabria, the forests of Poland, or in the remotest
+districts of Portugal and Spain, to assist at the grand chapter, held
+annually under him, a week or two after Easter.
+
+This reverend father Dom Biclet died about ten days before our
+arrival:  a week ago they elected the Pere Robinet prior of the
+Carthusian convent at Paris in his room, and two fathers were now on
+their route to apprise him of their choice, and to salute him General
+of the Carthusians.  During this interregnum the Coadjutor holds the
+first rank in the temporal, and the Grand Vicaire in the spiritual,
+affairs of the order; both of which are very extensive.
+
+If I may judge from the representations of the different convents,
+which adorn this gallery, there are many highly worthy of notice, for
+the singularity of their situations, and the wild beauties of the
+landscapes which surround them.  The Venetian Chartreuse, placed in a
+woody island, and that of Rome, rising from amongst groups of
+majestic ruins, struck me as peculiarly pleasing.  Views of the
+English monasteries hung formerly in such a gallery, but had been
+destroyed by fire, together with the old convent.  The list only
+remains, with but a very few written particulars concerning them.
+
+Having amused myself for some time with the pictures, and the
+descriptions the Coadjutor gave me of them, we quitted the gallery
+and entered a kind of chapel, in which were two altars with lamps
+burning before them, on each side of a lofty portal.  This opened
+into a grand coved hall, adorned with historical paintings of St.
+Bruno's life, and the portraits of the Generals of the order, since
+the year of the great founder's death (1085) to the present time.
+Under these portraits are the stalls for the Superiors, who assist at
+the grand convocation.  In front appears the General's throne; above,
+hangs a representation of the canonized Bruno, crowned with stars.
+
+Were I, after walking along the dim cloisters, and passing through
+the antechapel, faintly illuminated by a solitary lamp, suddenly to
+enter this hall at midnight, when the convocation is assembled, and
+the synod of venerable fathers, all in solemn order, surrounding the
+successor of Bruno, it would be a long while, I believe, before I
+could recover from the surprise of so august a spectacle.  It must
+indeed be a very imposing sight:  the gravity they preserve on these
+occasions, their venerable age (for Superiors cannot be chosen
+young), and the figures of their deceased Generals, dimly discovered
+above, may surely be allowed to awe even an heretical spectator into
+a momentary respect for the order.  For my own part, I must confess,
+that the hall, though divested of all this accompaniment, filled me
+with a veneration I scarcely knew how to account for; perhaps the
+portraits inspired it.  They were all well executed, and mostly in
+attitudes of adoration.  The form of Bruno was almost lost in the
+splendour of the stars which hovered over him.  I could in some
+moments fancy myself capable of plunging into the horror of a desert,
+and foregoing all the vanities and delights of the world, to secure
+my memory so sublime a consecration.
+
+The Coadjutor seemed charmed with the respect with which I looked
+round on these holy objects; and if the hour of vespers had not been
+drawing near, we should have spent more time in the contemplation of
+Bruno's miracles, portrayed on the lower panels of the hall.  We left
+that room to enter a winding passage (lighted by windows in the
+roof), that brought us to a cloister six hundred feet in length, from
+which branched off two others, joining a fourth of the same most
+extraordinary dimensions.  Vast ranges of slender pillars extend
+round the different courts of the edifice, many of which are thrown
+into gardens belonging to particular cells.
+
+We entered one of them:  its inhabitant received us with much
+civility, walked before us through a little corridor that looked on
+his garden, showed us his narrow dwelling, and, having obtained leave
+of the Coadjutor to speak, gave us his benediction, and beheld us
+depart with concern.  Nature has given this poor monk very
+considerable talents for painting.  He has drawn the portrait of the
+late General, in a manner that discovers great facility of execution;
+but he is not allowed to exercise his pencil on any other subject,
+lest he should be amused; and amusement in this severe order is a
+crime.  He had so subdued, so mortified an appearance, that I was not
+sorry to hear the bell, which summoned the Coadjutor to prayers, and
+prevented my entering any more of the cells.  We continued straying
+from cloister to cloister, and wandering along the winding passages
+and intricate galleries of this immense edifice, whilst the Coadjutor
+was assisting at vespers.
+
+In every part of the structure reigned the most death-like calm:  no
+sound reached my ears but the "minute drops from off the eaves."  I
+sat down in a niche of the cloister, and fell into a profound
+reverie, from which I was recalled by the return of our conductor;
+who, I believe, was almost tempted to imagine, from the cast of my
+countenance, that I was deliberating whether I should not remain with
+them for ever.
+
+But I soon roused myself, and testified some impatience to see the
+great chapel, at which we at length arrived, after traversing another
+labyrinth of cloisters.  The gallery immediately before its entrance
+appeared quite gay, in comparison with the others I had passed, and
+owes its cheerfulness to a large window (ornamented with slabs of
+polished marble), that admits the view of a lovely wood.  Being
+neatly glazed, and free from paintings or Gothic ornaments, it allows
+a full blaze of light to dart on the chapel door; which is also
+adorned with marble, in a plain but noble style of architecture.
+
+The father sacristan stood ready on the steps of the portal to grant
+us admittance; and, throwing open the valves, we entered the chapel
+and were struck by the justness of its proportions, the simple
+majesty of the arched roof, and the mild solemn light, equally
+diffused over every part of the edifice.  No tawdry ornaments, no
+glaring pictures, disgraced the sanctity of the place.  The high
+altar, standing distinct from the walls, which were hung with a rich
+velvet, was the only object on which many ornaments were lavished,
+and even there the elegance of the workmanship concealed the glare of
+the materials, which were silver, solid gold, and the most costly
+gems.  It being Whit-Sunday, this altar was covered with statues of
+gold, shrines, and candelabra of the stateliest shape and most
+delicate execution.  Four of the latter, of a gigantic size, were
+placed on the steps; which, together with part of the inlaid floor
+within the choir, were spread with beautiful carpets.
+
+The illumination of so many tapers striking on the shrines, censers,
+and pillars of polished jasper, sustaining the canopy of the altar,
+produced a wonderful effect; and, as the rest of the chapel was
+visible only by the faint external light admitted from above, the
+splendour and dignity of the altar was enhanced by contrast.  I
+retired a moment from it, and seating myself in one of the
+furthermost stalls of the choir, looked towards it, and fancied it
+had risen like an exhalation.
+
+Here I remained several minutes breathing nothing but incense, and
+should not have quitted my station soon, had I not been apprehensive
+of disturbing the devotions of two aged fathers who had just entered,
+and were prostrating themselves before the steps of the altar.  These
+venerable figures added greatly to the solemnity of the scene; which
+as the day declined increased every moment in splendour; for the
+sparkling of several lamps of chased silver that hung from the roofs,
+and the gleaming of nine huge tapers which I had not before noticed,
+began to be visible just as I left the chapel.
+
+Passing through the sacristy, where lay several piles of rich
+embroidered vestments, purposely displayed for our inspection, we
+regained the cloister which led to our apartment, where the supper
+was ready prepared.  We had scarcely finished it, when the Coadjutor,
+and the fathers who had accompanied us before, returned, and ranging
+themselves round the fire, resumed the conversation about St. Bruno.
+
+Finding me very piously disposed by the wonders I had seen in the day
+to listen to things of a miraculous nature, they began to relate the
+inspirations they had received from him, and his mysterious
+apparitions.  I was all attention, respect, and credulity.  The old
+Secretary worked himself up to such a pitch of enthusiasm, that I am
+very much inclined to imagine he believed, in these moments, all the
+marvellous events he related.  The Coadjutor being less violent in
+his pretensions to St. Bruno's modern miracles, contented himself
+with enumerating the noble works he had done in the days of his
+fathers, and in the old time before them.
+
+It grew rather late before my kind hosts had finished their
+narrations, and I was not sorry, after all the exercise I had taken,
+to return to my cell, where everything invited to repose.  I was
+charmed with the neatness and oddity of my little apartment; its
+cabin-like bed, oratory, and ebony crucifix; in short, everything it
+contained; not forgetting the aromatic odour of the pine, with which
+it was roofed, floored, and wainscoted.  The night was luckily dark.
+Had the moon appeared, I could not have prevailed upon myself to have
+quitted her till very late; but, as it happened, I crept into my
+cabin, and was by "whispering winds soon lulled asleep."
+
+Eight o'clock struck next morning before I awoke; when, to my great
+sorrow, I found the peaks, which rose above the convent, veiled in
+vapours, and the rain descending with violence.
+
+After we had breakfasted by the light of our fire (for the casements
+admitted but a very feeble gleam), I sat down to the works of St.
+Bruno; of all medleys the strangest.  Allegories without end:  a
+theologico-natural history of birds, beasts, and fishes:  several
+chapters on paradise; the delights of solitude; the glory of
+Solomon's temple; the new Jerusalem; and numberless other wonderful
+subjects, full of enthusiasm and superstition.
+
+Saint Bruno was certainly a mighty genius; I admire the motives which
+drew him to this desert; but perhaps before we come to that part of
+the story, you will like to know what preceded it.  My Saint (for
+Bruno has succeeded Thomas of Canterbury) was of noble descent, and
+possessed considerable wealth.  He was not less remarkable for the
+qualities of his mind, and his talents gained him the degree of
+Master of the great sciences in the University of Rheims; here he
+contracted a friendship with Odo, afterwards Urban the Second.  Being
+always poetic, singular, and visionary, he soon grew disgusted with
+the world, and began early in life to sigh after retirement.  His
+residence at Grenoble, where he was invited by Hugo, its bishop,
+determined him to the monastic state.
+
+This venerable prelate imparted to him a vision in which he seemed to
+behold the desert and mountain beyond his city visible in the dead of
+night by the streaming of seven lucid stars that hung directly over
+them.  Whilst he was ardently gazing at this wonder, a still voice
+was heard declaring it the future abode of Bruno--by him to be
+consecrated as a retirement for holy men desirous of holding converse
+with their God.  No shepherd's pipe was to be heard within these
+precincts; no huntsman's profane feet to tread these silent regions,
+which were to be dedicated solely to their Creator; no woman was to
+ascend this mountain, nor violate by her allurements the sacred
+repose of its inhabitants.
+
+Such were the first institutions of the order as the inspired Bishop
+of Grenoble delivered them to Bruno, who selecting a few persons
+that, like himself, contemned the splendours of the world and the
+charms of society, repaired with them to this spot; and, in the
+darkest parts of the forests which shade the most gloomy recesses of
+the mountains, founded the first convent of Carthusians, long since
+destroyed.
+
+Several years passed away, whilst Bruno was employed in actions of
+the most exalted piety; and, the fame of his exemplary conduct
+reaching Rome (where his friend had been lately invested with the
+papal tiara), the whole conclave was desirous of seeing him, and
+entreated Urban to invite him to Rome.  The request of Christ's
+vicegerent was not to be refused; and Bruno quitted his beloved
+solitude, leaving some of his disciples behind, who propagated his
+doctrines, and tended zealously the infant order.
+
+The pomp of the Roman court soon disgusted the rigid Bruno, who had
+weaned himself entirely from worldly affections.
+
+Being wholly intent on futurity, the bustle and tumults of a busy
+metropolis became so irksome that he supplicated Urban for leave to
+retire; and, having obtained it, left Rome, and immediately seeking
+the wilds of Calabria, there sequestered himself in a lonely
+hermitage, calmly expecting his last moments.  Many are the miracles
+which he wrought and which his canonized bones have since effected:
+angels (it is said), hovered round him in his departing hour, and
+bore him on their wings to heaven.  The different accounts of his
+translation are almost endless; and as they are all nearly in the
+same style, it will be needless to recite them.
+
+I had scarcely finished taking extracts from the life and writings of
+St. Bruno when the dinner appeared, consisting of everything most
+delicate which a strict adherence to the rules of meagre could allow.
+The good fathers returned as usual with the dessert, and served up an
+admirable dish of miracles, well seasoned with the devil and prettily
+garnished with angels and moonbeams. {284}
+
+Our conversation was interrupted, very agreeably, by the sudden
+intrusion of the sun, which, escaping from the clouds, shone in full
+splendour above the highest peak of the mountains, and the vapours
+fleeting by degrees discovered the woods in all the freshness of
+their verdure.  The pleasure I received from seeing this new creation
+rising to view was very lively, and, as the fathers assured me the
+humidity of their walks did not often continue longer than the
+showers, I left my hall.
+
+Crossing the court, I hastened out of the gates, and running swiftly
+along a winding path on the side of the meadow, bordered by the
+forests, enjoyed the charms of the prospect, inhaled the perfume of
+the woodlands, and now turning towards the summits of the precipices
+that encircled this sacred inclosure, admired the glowing colours
+they borrowed from the sun, contrasted by the dark hues of the
+forest.  Now, casting my eyes below, I suffered them to roam from
+valley to valley, and from one stream (beset with tall pines and
+tufted beech trees) to another.  The purity of the air in these
+exalted regions, and the lightness of my own spirits, almost seized
+me with the idea of treading in that element.
+
+Not content with the distant beauties of the hanging rocks and
+falling waters, I still kept running wildly along, with an eagerness
+and rapidity that, to a sober spectator, would have given me the
+appearance of one possessed, and with reason, for I was affected with
+the scene to a degree I despair of expressing.
+
+Whilst I was continuing my course, pursued by a thousand strange
+ideas, a father, who was returning from some distant hermitage,
+stopped my career, and made signs for me to repose myself on a bench
+erected under a neighbouring shed; and, perceiving my agitation and
+disordered looks, fancied, I believe, that one of the bears that lurk
+near the snows of the mountains had alarmed me by his sudden
+appearance.
+
+The good old man, expressing by his gestures that he wished me to
+recover myself in quiet on the bench, hastened, with as much alacrity
+as his age permitted, to a cottage adjoining the shed, and returning
+in a few moments, presented me some water in a wooden bowl, into
+which he let fall several drops of an elixir composed of innumerable
+herbs, and having performed this deed of charity, signified to me by
+a look, in which benevolence, compassion, and perhaps some little
+remains of curiosity were strongly painted, how sorry he was to be
+restrained by his vow of silence from inquiring into the cause of my
+agitation, and giving me farther assistance.  I answered also by
+signs, on purpose to carry on the adventure, and suffered him to
+depart with all his conjectures unsatisfied.
+
+No sooner had I lost sight of the benevolent hermit, than I started
+up, and pursued my path with my former agility, till I came to the
+edge of a woody dell, that divided the meadow on which I was running
+from the opposite promontory.  Here I paused, and looking up at the
+cliffs, now but faintly illumined by the sun, which had been some
+time sinking on our narrow horizon, reflected that it would be
+madness to bewilder myself, at so late an hour, in the mazes of the
+forest.  Being thus determined, I abandoned with regret the idea of
+penetrating into the lovely region before me, and contented myself
+for some moments with marking the pale tints of the evening gradually
+overspreading the cliffs, so lately flushed with the gleams of the
+setting sun.
+
+But my eyes were soon diverted from contemplating these objects by a
+red light streaming over the northern sky, which attracted my notice,
+as I sat on the brow of a sloping hill, looking down a steep hollow
+vale, surrounded by the forests, above which rose majestically the
+varied peaks and promontories of the mountains.
+
+The upland lawns, which hang at immense heights above the vale, next
+caught my attention.  I was gazing alternately at them and the
+valley, when a long succession of light misty clouds, of strange
+fantastic shapes, issuing from a narrow gully between the rocks,
+passed on, like a solemn procession, over the hollow dale, midway
+between the stream that watered it below and the summits of the
+cliffs on high.
+
+The tranquillity of the region the verdure, of the lawn, environed by
+girdles of flourishing wood, and the lowing of the distant herds,
+filled me with the most pleasing sensations.  But when I lifted up my
+eyes to the towering cliffs, and beheld the northern sky streaming
+with ruddy light, and the long succession of misty forms hovering
+over the space beneath, they became sublime and awful.  The dews
+which began to descend, and the vapours which were rising from every
+dell, reminded me of the lateness of the hour; and it was with great
+reluctance that I turned from the scene which had so long engaged my
+contemplation, and traversed slowly and silently the solitary
+meadows, over which I had hurried with such eagerness an hour ago.
+
+Hill appeared after hill, and hillock succeeded hillock, which I had
+passed unnoticed before.  Sometimes I imagined myself following a
+different path from that which had brought me to the edge of the deep
+valley; another moment, descending into the hollows between the
+hillocks that concealed the distant prospects from my sight, I
+fancied I had entirely mistaken my route, and expected every moment
+to be lost amongst the rude brakes and tangled thickets that skirted
+the eminences around.
+
+As the darkness increased, my situation became still more and more
+forlorn.  I had almost abandoned the idea of reaching the convent;
+and whenever I gained any swelling ground, looked above, below, and
+on every side of me, in hopes of discovering some glimmering lamp
+which might indicate a hermitage, whose charitable possessor, I
+flattered myself, would direct me to the monastery.
+
+At length, after a tedious wandering along the hills, I found myself,
+unexpectedly, under the convent walls; and, as I was looking for the
+gate, the attendant lay brothers came out with lights, in order to
+search for me.  Scarcely had I joined them when the Coadjutor and the
+Secretary came forward, with the kindest anxiety expressed their
+uneasiness at my long absence, and conducted me to my apartment,
+where Mr. --- was waiting, with no small degree of impatience; but I
+found not a word had been mentioned of my adventure with the hermit;
+so that, I believe, he strictly kept his vow till the day when the
+Carthusians are allowed to speak, and which happened after my
+departure.
+
+We had hardly supped before the gates of the convent were shut, a
+circumstance which disconcerted me not a little, as the full moon
+gleamed through the casements, and the stars, sparkling above the
+forests of pines, invited me to leave my apartment again, and to give
+myself up entirely to the spectacle they offered.
+
+The Coadjutor, perceiving that I was often looking earnestly through
+the windows, guessed my wishes, and calling a lay brother, ordered
+him to open the gates, and wait at them till my return.  It was not
+long before I took advantage of this permission, and escaping from
+the courts and cloisters of the monastery, all hushed in death-like
+stillness, ascended a green knoll, which several ancient pines
+strongly marked with their shadows:  there, leaning against one of
+their trunks, I lifted up my eyes to the awful barrier of surrounding
+mountains, discovered by the trembling silver light of the moon
+shooting directly on the woods which fringed their acclivities.
+
+The lawns, the vast woods, the steep descents, the precipices, the
+torrents, lay all extended beneath, softened by a pale bluish haze,
+that alleviated, in some measure, the stern prospect of the rocky
+promontories above, wrapped in dark shadows.  The sky was of the
+deepest azure; innumerable stars were distinguished with unusual
+clearness from this elevation, many of which twinkled behind the fir-
+trees edging the promontories.  White, grey, and darkish clouds came
+marching towards the moon, that shone full against a range of cliffs,
+which lift themselves far above the others.  The hoarse murmur of the
+torrent, throwing itself from the distant wildernesses into the
+gloomy vales, was mingled with the blast that blew from the
+mountains.  It increased.  The forests began to wave, black clouds
+rose from the north, and, as they fleeted along, approached the moon,
+whose light they shortly extinguished.  A moment of darkness
+succeeded; the gust was chill and melancholy; it swept along the
+desert, and then subsiding, the vapours began to pass away, and the
+moon returned the grandeur of the scene was renewed, and its imposing
+solemnity was increased by her presence.  Inspiration was in every
+wind.
+
+I followed some impulse which drove me to the summit of the mountains
+before me; and there, casting a look on the whole extent of wild
+woods and romantic precipices, thought of the days of St. Bruno.  I
+eagerly contemplated every rock that formerly might have met his
+eyes; drank of the spring which tradition says he was wont to drink
+of; and ran to every pine whose withered appearance bespoke a remote
+antiquity, and beneath which, perhaps, the saint had reposed himself,
+when worn with vigils, or possessed with the sacred spirit of his
+institutions.
+
+It was midnight:  the convent bell tolled; for the most solemn hour
+of prayer was arrived.  I cannot, nor would I, attempt to unfold to
+you, in prose, half the strange things of which I thought, and which
+I seemed to see, during this wild excursion.  However, I owe to it
+the poetical humour in which I composed the following lines, written
+immediately on my return, in the album of the fathers, during the
+stillest watch of the night:
+
+
+
+ODE.
+
+   To orisons, the midnight bell
+Had toll'd each silent inmate from his cell;
+   The hour was come to muse or pray,
+Or work mysterious rites that shun the day:
+   My steps some whis'pring influence led,
+Up to yon pine-clad mountain's gloomy head:
+   Hollow and deep the gust did blow,
+And torrents dash'd into the vales below.
+   At length the toilsome height attain'd,
+Quick fled the moon, and sudden stillness reign'd.
+   As fearful turn'd my searching eye,
+Glanc'd near a shadowy form, and fleeted by;
+   Anon, before me full it stood:
+A saintly figure, pale, in pensive mood.
+   Damp horror thrill'd me till he spoke,
+And accents faint the charm bound silence broke:
+   "Long, trav'ller! ere this region near,
+Say, did not whisp'rings strange arrest thine ear?
+   My summons 'twas to bid thee come,
+Where sole the friend of Nature loves to roam.
+   Ages long past, this drear abode
+To solitude I sanctified, and God:
+   'Twas here, by love of Wisdom brought,
+Her truest lore, Self-knowledge, first I sought;
+   Devoted here my worldly wealth,
+To win my chosen sons immortal health.
+   Midst these dun woods, and mountains steep,
+Midst the wild horrors of yon desert deep,
+   Midst yawning caverns, wat'ry dells,
+Midst long, sequestered aisles, and peaceful cells,
+   No passions fell distract the mind,
+To Nature, Silence, and Herself consign'd.
+   In these still mansions who shall bide,
+'Tis mine, with Heaven's appointment, to decide;
+   But, hither, I invite not all:
+Some want the will to come, and more the call;
+   But all, mark well my parting voice!
+Led, or by chance, necessity, or choice
+   (Ah! with our Genius dread to sport),
+Sage lessons here may learn of high import.
+   Know!  Silence is the nurse of Truth;
+Know!  Temperance long retards the flight of Youth
+   Learn here, how penitence and pray'r
+Man's fallen race for happier worlds prepare;
+   Learn mild demeanour, void of art,
+And bear, amidst the world, the hermit's heart;
+   Fix, trav'ller! deep this heaven-taught lore:
+Know Bruno brings it, and returns no more."
+   (Half sighed, half smiled his long farewell),
+He turn'd, and vanish'd in the bright'ning dell.
+
+
+My imagination was too much disturbed, and my spirits far too active,
+to allow me any rest for some time, and I had not long been quieted
+by sleep, when I was suddenly awakened by a furious blast, that drove
+open my casement, and let in the roar of the tempest, for the night
+was troubled.  In the intervals of the storm, in those moments when
+the winds seemed to pause, the faint sounds of the choir stole upon
+my ear; but were swallowed up the next instant by the redoubled fury
+of the gust, which was still increased by the roar of the waters.
+
+I started from my bed, closed the casement, and composed myself as
+well as I was able; but no sooner had the sunbeams entered my window,
+than I arose, and gladly leaving my cell, hastened to the same knoll
+where I had stood the night before.  The storm was dissipated, and
+the pure morning air delightfully refreshing; every tree, every
+shrub, glistened with dew.  A gentle wind breathed upon the woods,
+and waved the fir-trees on the cliffs, which, free from clouds, rose
+distinctly into the clear blue sky.  I strayed from the knoll into
+the valley between the steeps of wood and the turrets of the convent,
+and passed the different buildings, destined for the manufacture of
+the articles necessary to the fathers; for nothing is worn or used
+within this inclosure which comes from the profane world.
+
+Traversing the meadows and a succession of little dells, where I was
+so lately bewildered, I came to a bridge thrown over the torrent,
+which I crossed; and here followed a slight path that brought me to
+an eminence, covered with a hanging wood of beach-trees feathered to
+the ground, from whence I looked down the narrow pass towards
+Grenoble.  Perceiving a smoke to arise from the groves which nodded
+over the eminence, I climbed up a rocky steep, and, after struggling
+through a thicket of shrubs, entered a smooth, sloping lawn, framed
+in by woody precipices; at one extremity of which I discovered the
+cottage, whose smoke had directed me to this sequestered spot; and,
+at the other, a numerous group of cattle, lying under the shade of
+some beech-trees, whilst several friars, with long beards and russet
+garments, were employed in milking them.
+
+The luxuriant foliage of the woods, clinging round the steeps that
+skirted the lawn; its gay, sunny exposition; the groups of sleek,
+dappled cows, and the odd employment of the friars, so little
+consonant with their venerable beards, formed a picturesque and
+certainly very singular spectacle.  I, who had been accustomed to
+behold "milk-maids singing blithe," and tripping lightly along with
+their pails, was not a little surprised at the silent gravity with
+which these figures shifted their trivets from cow to cow; and it was
+curious to see with what adroitness they performed their functions,
+managing their long beards with a facility and cleanliness equally
+admirable.
+
+I watched all their movements for some time, concealed by the trees,
+before I made myself visible; but no sooner did I appear on the lawn,
+than one of the friars quitted his trivet, very methodically set down
+his pail, and coming towards me with an open, smiling countenance,
+desired me to refresh myself with some bread and milk.  A second,
+observing what was going forward, was resolved not to be exceeded in
+an hospitable act, and, quitting his pail too, hastened into the
+woods whence he returned in a few minutes with some strawberries,
+very neatly enveloped in fresh leaves.  These hospitable, milking
+fathers, next invited me to the cottage, whither I declined going, as
+I preferred the shade of the beeches; so, throwing myself on the dry
+aromatic herbage, I enjoyed the pastoral character of the scene with
+all possible glee.
+
+Not a cloud darkened the heavens; every object smiled; innumerable
+gaudy flies glanced in the sunbeams that played in a clear spring by
+the cottage; I saw with pleasure the sultry glow of the distant
+cliffs and forests, whilst indolently reclined in the shade,
+listening to the summer hum; one hour passed after another neglected
+away, during my repose in this most delightful of valleys.  The
+cattle were all slunk into the recesses of the wood, and were
+drinking at the streams which flow along their shades, before I could
+prevail on myself to quit the turf and the beech trees.  Never shall
+I cease regretting the peaceful moments I spent in Valombre, as never
+perhaps, were I even to return to it, may so many circumstances unite
+to render it pleasing.
+
+When I returned unwillingly to the convent, the only topic on which I
+could converse was the charms of Valombre; but notwithstanding the
+indifference with which I now regarded the prospects that surrounded
+the monastery, I could not disdain an offer made by one of the
+friars, of conducting me to the summit of the highest peak in the
+desert.
+
+Pretty late in the afternoon I set out with my guide, and, following
+his steps through many forests of pine, and wild apertures among
+them, strewed with fragments, arrived at a chapel, built on a mossy
+rock, and dedicated to St. Bruno.
+
+Having once more drunk of the spring that issues from the rock on
+which this edifice is raised, I moved forward, keeping my eyes fixed
+on a lofty green mountain, whence rises a vast cliff, spiring up to a
+surprising elevation; and which (owing to the sun's reflection on a
+transparent mist hovering around it) was tinged with a pale visionary
+light.  This object was the goal to which I aspired; and redoubling
+my activity, I made the best of my way over rude ledges of rocks, and
+crumbled fragments of the mountain interspersed with firs, till I
+came to the green steeps I had surveyed at a distance.
+
+These I ascended with some difficulty, and, leaving a few scattered
+beech-trees behind, in full leaf, shortly bid adieu to summer, and
+entered the regions of spring; for, as I approached that part of the
+mountain next the summit, the trees, which I found there rooted in
+the crevices, were but just beginning to unfold their leaves, and
+every spot of the greensward was covered with cowslips and violets.
+
+After taking a few moments' repose, my guide prepared to clamber
+amongst the rocks, and I followed him with as much alertness as I was
+able, till laying hold of the trunk of a withered pine, we sprang
+upon a small level space, where I seated myself, and beheld far
+beneath me the vast desert and dreary solitudes, amongst which
+appeared, thinly scattered, the green meadows and hanging lawns.  The
+eye next overlooking the barrier of mountains, ranged through immense
+tracts of distant countries; the plains where Lyons is situated; the
+woodlands and lakes of Savoy; amongst which that of Bourget was near
+enough to discover its beauties, all glowing with the warm haze of
+the setting sun.
+
+My situation was too dizzy to allow a long survey; so turning my eyes
+from the terrific precipice, I gladly beheld an opening in the rocks,
+through which we passed into a little irregular glen of the smoothest
+greensward, closed in on one side by the great peak, and on the
+others by a ridge of sharp pinnacles, which crown the range of white
+cliffs I had so much admired the night before, when brightened by the
+moon.
+
+The singular situation of this romantic spot invited me to remain in
+it till the sun was about to sink on the horizon:  during which time
+I visited every little cave delved in the ridges of rock, and
+gathered large sprigs of the mezereon and rhododendron in full bloom,
+which, with a surprising variety of other plants, carpeted this
+lovely glen.  A luxuriant vegetation,
+
+
+"That on the green turf suck'd the honey'd showers,
+And purpled all the ground with vernal flow'rs."
+
+
+My guide, perceiving I was ready to mount still higher, told me it
+would be in vain, as the beds of snow that lie eternally in some
+fissures of the mountain, must necessarily impede my progress; but,
+finding I was very unwilling to abandon the enterprise, he showed me
+a few notches in the peak, by which we might ascend, though not
+without danger.  This prospect rather abated my courage, and the wind
+rising, drove several thick clouds round the bottom of the peak,
+which increasing every minute, shortly screened the green mountain
+and all the forest from our sight.  A sea of vapours soon undulated
+beneath my feet, and lightning began to flash from a dark angry
+cloud, that hung over the valleys, and deluged them with storms,
+whilst I was securely standing under the clear expanse of ether.
+
+But the hour did not admit of my remaining long in this proud
+station; so descending, I was soon obliged to pass through the
+vapours, and, carefully following my guide (for a false step might
+have caused my destruction), wound amongst the declivities, till we
+left the peak behind, and just as we reached the green mountain,
+which was moistened with the late storm, the clouds fleeted and the
+evening recovered its serenity.
+
+Leaving the chapel of St. Bruno on the right, we entered the woods,
+and soon emerged from them into a large pasture, under the grand
+amphitheatre of mountains, having a gentle ascent before us, beyond
+which appeared the neat blue roofs and glittering spires of the
+convent, where we arrived as the moon was beginning to assume her
+empire.
+
+I need not say I rested well after the interesting fatigues of the
+day.  The next morning, early, I quitted my kind hosts with great
+reluctance.  The Coadjutor and two other fathers accompanied me to
+the outward gate, and there within the solemn circle of the desert
+bestowed on me their benediction.
+
+It seemed indeed to come from their hearts, nor would they leave me
+till I was a hundred paces from the convent; and then, laying their
+hands on their breasts, declared that if ever I was disgusted with
+the world, here was an asylum.
+
+I was in a melancholy mood when I traced back all the windings of my
+road, and when I found myself beyond the last gate, in the midst of
+the wide world again, it increased.
+
+We returned to Les Echelles; from thence to Chamberry, and, instead
+of going through Aix, passed by Amecy; but nothing in all the route
+engaged my attention, nor had I any pleasing sensations till I beheld
+the glassy lake of Geneva, and its lovely environs.
+
+I rejoiced then because I knew of a retirement on its banks where I
+could sit and think of Valombre.
+
+
+
+Footnotes:
+
+{110}  Hills in the neighbourhood of Quang-Tong
+
+{127}  The Peries, inhabitants of Ginnistan, live upon perfumes,
+etc., etc.  See Richardson's Dissertations.
+
+{133}  Thisbe, a favourite greyhound torn to pieces by a mad dog.
+
+{140}  See the description of the Grande Chartreuse.
+
+{156}  The conduct of the emperor, since the death of his mother,
+seems to be accomplishing this prediction apace.
+
+{170a}  It is reasonably conjectured that the sea formerly washed the
+walls of Padua.
+
+{170b}  T. Livius, L. i., c. i.
+
+{170c}  Lib. v., c. iv., p. 5.
+
+{171}  Called Roscani in Venetian, and reduced to ashes for the glass
+manufactory at Murano.
+
+{182}  A nephew of Bertoni, and worthy of his uncle.
+
+{214}  Mentioned by Dante in his "Purgatorio."
+
+{240}  Mem. pour la Vie de Petrarque, vol. i., p. 439.
+
+{284}  Angela are frequently represented, in legendary tales, as
+riding on the beams of the moon.
+
+
+
+*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK, DREAMS, WAKING THOUGHTS, ETC. ***
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+<html>
+<head>
+<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=US-ASCII" />
+<title>Dreams, Waking Thoughts, and Incidents</title>
+</head>
+<body>
+<h2>
+<a href="#startoftext">Dreams, Waking Thoughts, and Incidents, by William Beckford</a>
+</h2>
+<pre>
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Dreams, Waking Thoughts, and Incidents
+by William Beckford
+
+Copyright laws are changing all over the world. Be sure to check the
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+Title: Dreams, Waking Thoughts, and Incidents
+
+Author: William Beckford
+
+Release Date: January, 2005  [EBook #7258]
+[This file was first posted on April 2, 2003]
+
+Edition: 10
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: US-ASCII
+</pre>
+<p><a name="startoftext"></a></p>
+<p>Transcribed from the 1891 Ward, Lock and Co. edition by David Price,
+email ccx074@coventry.ac.uk</p>
+<div class="GutenbergBlankLines3"><br /><br /><br /></div>
+<h1>Dreams, Waking Thoughts, and Incidents;<br />in a Series of Letters
+from Various Parts of Europe</h1>
+<div class="GutenbergBlankLines2"><br /><br /></div>
+<h2>LETTER I</h2>
+<div class="GutenbergBlankLines2"><br /><br /></div>
+<p><i>June</i> 19<i>th</i>, 1780. - Shall I tell you my dreams? - To
+give an account of my time is doing, I assure you, but little better.&nbsp;
+Never did there exist a more ideal being.&nbsp; A frequent mist hovers
+before my eyes, and, through its medium, I see objects so faint and
+hazy, that both their colours and forms are apt to delude me.&nbsp;
+This is a rare confession, say the wise, for a traveller to make: pretty
+accounts will such a one give of outlandish countries: his correspondents
+must reap great benefit, no doubt, from such purblind observations.&nbsp;
+But stop, my good friends; patience a moment! - I really have not the
+vanity of pretending to make a single remark, during the whole of my
+journey: if - be contented with my visionary way of gazing, I am perfectly
+pleased; and shall write away as freely as Mr. A., Mr. B., Mr. C., and
+a million others whose letters are the admiration of the politest circles.</p>
+<p>All through Kent did I doze as usual; now and then I opened my eyes
+to take in an idea or two of the green, woody country through which
+I was passing; then closed them again; transported myself back to my
+native hills; thought I led a choir of those I loved best through their
+shades; and was happy in the arms of illusion.&nbsp; The sun set before
+I recovered my senses enough to discover plainly the variegated slopes
+near Canterbury, waving with slender birch-trees, and gilt with a profusion
+of broom.&nbsp; I thought myself still in my beloved solitude, but missed
+the companions of my slumbers.&nbsp; Where are they? - Behind yon blue
+hills, perhaps, or t&rsquo;other side of that thick forest.&nbsp; My
+fancy was travelling after these deserters, till we reached the town;
+vile enough o&rsquo; conscience, and fit only to be passed in one&rsquo;s
+sleep.&nbsp; The moment after I got out of the carriage, brought me
+to the cathedral; an old haunt of mine.&nbsp; I had always venerated
+its lofty pillars, dim aisles, and mysterious arches.&nbsp; Last night
+they were more solemn than ever, and echoed no other sound than my steps.&nbsp;
+I strayed about the choir and chapels, till they grew so dark and dismal,
+that I was half inclined to be frightened; looked over my shoulder;
+thought of spectres that have an awkward trick of syllabling men&rsquo;s
+names in dreary places; and fancied a sepulchral voice exclaiming: &ldquo;Worship
+my toe at Ghent; my ribs at Florence; my skull at Bologna, Sienna, and
+Rome.&nbsp; Beware how you neglect this order; for my bones, as well
+as my spirit, have the miraculous property of being here, there, and
+everywhere.&rdquo;&nbsp; These injunctions, you may suppose, were received
+in a becoming manner, and noted all down in my pocket-book by inspiration
+(for I could not see), and hurrying into the open air, I was whirled
+away in the dark to Margate.&nbsp; Don&rsquo;t ask what were my dreams
+thither: - nothing but horrors, deep-vaulted tombs, and pale, though
+lovely figures, extended upon them; shrill blasts that sung in my ears,
+and filled me with sadness, and the recollection of happy hours, fleeting
+away, perhaps for ever!&nbsp; I was not sorry, when the bustle of our
+coming-in dispelled these phantoms.&nbsp; The change, however, in point
+of scenery was not calculated to dissipate my gloom; for the first object
+in this world that presented itself, was a vast expanse of sea, just
+visible by the gleamings of the moon, bathed in watery clouds; a chill
+air ruffled the waves.&nbsp; I went to shiver a few melancholy moments
+on the shore.&nbsp; How often did I try to wish away the reality of
+my separation from those I love, and attempt to persuade myself it was
+but a dream!</p>
+<p>This morning I found myself more cheerfully disposed, by the queer
+Dutch faces with short pipes and ginger-bread complexions that came
+smirking and scraping to get us on board their respective vessels; but,
+as I had a ship engaged for me before, their invitations were all in
+vain.&nbsp; The wind blows fair; and, should it continue of the same
+mind a few hours longer, we shall have no cause to complain of our passage.&nbsp;
+Adieu!&nbsp; Think of me sometimes.&nbsp; If you write immediately,
+I shall receive your letter at the Hague.</p>
+<p>It is a bright sunny evening: the sea reflects a thousand glowing
+colours, and, in a minute or two, I shall be gliding on its surface.</p>
+<div class="GutenbergBlankLines2"><br /><br /></div>
+<h2>LETTER II</h2>
+<div class="GutenbergBlankLines2"><br /><br /></div>
+<p>OSTEND, <i>June</i> 21<i>st</i>.</p>
+<p>T&rsquo;other minute I was in Greece, gathering the bloom of Hymettus,
+but now I am landed in Flanders, smoked with tobacco, and half poisoned
+with garlic.&nbsp; Were I to remain ten days at Ostend, I should scarcely
+have one delightful vision; &rsquo;tis so unclassic a place - nothing
+but preposterous Flemish roofs disgust your eyes when you cast them
+upwards; swaggering Dutchmen and mongrel barbers are the principal objects
+they meet with below.&nbsp; I should esteem myself in luck, were the
+nuisances of this seaport confined only to two senses; but, alas! the
+apartment above my head proves a squalling brattery, and the sounds
+which proceed from it are so loud and frequent, that a person might
+think himself in limbo, without any extravagance.</p>
+<p>Am I not an object of pity, when I tell you that I was tormented
+yesterday by a similar cause?&nbsp; But I know not how it is; your violent
+complainers are the least apt to excite compassion.&nbsp; I believe,
+notwithstanding, if another rising generation should lodge above me
+at the next inn, I shall grow as scurrilous as Dr. Smollett, and be
+dignified with the appellation of the Younger Smelfungus.&nbsp; Well,
+let those make out my diploma that will, I am determined to vent my
+spleen, and like Lucifer, unable to enjoy comfort myself, tease others
+with the details of my vexatious.&nbsp; You must know, then, since I
+am resolved to grumble, that, tired with my passage, I went to the Capuchin
+church, a large solemn building, in search of silence and solitude;
+but here again was I disappointed.&nbsp; Half-a-dozen squeaking fiddles
+fugued and flourished away in the galleries, and as many paralytic monks
+gabbled before the altars, while a whole posse of devotees, in long
+white hoods and flannels, were sweltering on either side.</p>
+<p>Such piety, in warm weather, was no very fragrant circumstance; so
+I sought the open air again as fast as I was able.&nbsp; The serenity
+of the evening, joined to the desire I had of casting another glance
+over the ocean, tempted me to the ramparts.&nbsp; There, at least, thought
+I to myself, I may range undisturbed, and talk with my old friends the
+breezes, and address my discourse to the waves, and be as romantic and
+whimsical as I please; but it happened that I had scarcely begun my
+apostrophe, before out flaunted a whole rank of officers, with ladies
+and abb&eacute;s and puppy dogs, singing, and flirting, and making such
+a hubbub, that I had not one peaceful moment to observe the bright tints
+of the western horizon, or enjoy the series of antique ideas with which
+a calm sunset never fails to inspire me.</p>
+<p>Finding, therefore, no quiet abroad, I returned to my inn, and should
+have gone immediately to bed, in hopes of relapsing into the bosom of
+dreams and delusions; but the limbo I mentioned before grew so very
+outrageous, that I was obliged to postpone my rest till sugar-plums
+and nursery eloquence had hushed it to repose.&nbsp; At length peace
+was restored, and about eleven o&rsquo;clock I fell into a slumber,
+during which the most lovely Sicilian prospects filled the eye of my
+fancy.&nbsp; I anticipated the classic scenes of that famous island,
+and forgot every sorrow in the meadows of Enna.</p>
+<p>Next morning, awakened by the sunbeams, I arose quite refreshed by
+the agreeable impressions of my dream, and filled with presages of future
+happiness in the climes which had inspired them.&nbsp; No other idea
+but such as Trinacria and Naples suggested, haunted me whilst travelling
+to Ghent.&nbsp; I neither heard the vile Flemish dialect which was talking
+around me, nor noticed formal avenues and marshy country which we passed.&nbsp;
+When we stopped to change horses, I closed my eyes upon the whole scene,
+and was transported immediately to some Grecian solitude, where Theocritus
+and his shepherds were filling the air with melody.&nbsp; To one so
+far gone in poetic antiquity, Ghent is not the most likely place to
+recall his attention; and I know nothing more about it, than that it
+is a large, ill-paved, dismal-looking city, with a decent proportion
+of convents and chapels, stuffed with monuments, brazen gates, and glittering
+marbles.&nbsp; In the great church were two or three pictures by Rubens,
+mechanically excellent, but these realities were not designed in so
+graceful a manner as to divert my attention from the mere descriptions
+Pausanias gives us of the works of Grecian artists, and I would at any
+time fall asleep in a Flemish cathedral, for a vision of the temple
+of Olympian Jupiter.&nbsp; But I think I hear, at this moment, some
+grave and respectable personage chiding me for such levities, and saying,
+&ldquo;Really, Sir, you had better stay at home, and dream in your great
+chair, than give yourself the trouble of going post through Europe,
+in search of inspiring places to fall asleep.&nbsp; If Flanders and
+Holland are to be dreamed over at this rate, you had better take ship
+at once, and doze all the way to Italy.&rdquo;&nbsp; Upon my word, I
+should not have much objection to that scheme; and, if some cabalist
+would but transport me in an instant to the summit of &AElig;tna, any
+body might slop through the Low Countries that pleased.</p>
+<p>Being, however, so far advanced, there was no retracting; and as
+it is now three or four years since I have almost abandoned the hopes
+of discovering a necromancer, I resolved to journey along with Quiet
+and Content for my companions.&nbsp; These two comfortable deities have,
+I believe, taken Flanders under their especial protection; every step
+one advances discovering some new proof of their influence.&nbsp; The
+neatness of the houses, and the universal cleanliness of the villages,
+show plainly that their inhabitants live in ease and good humour.&nbsp;
+All is still and peaceful in these fertile lowlands: the eye meets nothing
+but round, unmeaning faces at every door, and harmless stupidity smiling
+at every window.&nbsp; The beasts, as placid as their masters, graze
+on without any disturbance; and I scarcely recollect to have heard one
+grunting swine or snarling mastiff during my whole progress.&nbsp; Before
+every village is a wealthy dunghill, not at all offensive, because but
+seldom disturbed; and there they bask in the sun, and wallow at their
+ease, till the hour of death and bacon arrives, when capacious paunches
+await them.&nbsp; If I may judge from the healthy looks and reposed
+complexions of the Flemings, they have every reason to expect a peaceful
+tomb.</p>
+<p>But it is high time to leave our swinish moralities behind us, and
+to jog on towards Antwerp.&nbsp; More rich pastures, more ample fields
+of grain, more flourishing willows! - a boundless plain before this
+city, dotted with cows and flowers, from whence its spires and quaint
+roofs are seen to advantage.&nbsp; The pale colours of the sky, and
+a few gleams of watery sunshine, gave a true Flemish cast to the scenery,
+and everything appeared so consistent, that I had not a shadow of pretence
+to think myself asleep.</p>
+<p>After crossing a broad, noble river, edged on one side by beds of
+osiers beautifully green, and on the other by gates and turrets preposterously
+ugly, we came through several streets of lofty houses to our inn.&nbsp;
+Its situation in the &ldquo;Place de Mer,&rdquo; a vast open space surrounded
+by buildings above buildings, and roof above roof, has something striking
+and singular.&nbsp; A tall gilt crucifix of bronze, sculptured by some
+famous artist, adds to its splendour; and the tops of some tufted trees,
+seen above a line of magnificent hotels, have no bad effect in the perspective.</p>
+<p>It was almost dusk when we arrived; and as I am very partial to new
+objects discovered by this dubious visionary light, I went immediately
+a-rambling.&nbsp; Not a sound disturbed my meditations; there were no
+groups of squabbling children or talkative old women.&nbsp; The whole
+town seemed retired into their inmost chambers; and I kept winding and
+turning about, from street to street, and from alley to alley, without
+meeting a single inhabitant.&nbsp; Now and then, indeed, one or two
+women in long cloaks and mantles glided about at a distance; but their
+dress was so shroud-like, and their whole appearance so ghostly, that
+I was more than half afraid to accost them.&nbsp; As the night approached,
+the ranges of buildings grew more and more dim, and the silence which
+reigned amongst them more awful.&nbsp; The canals, which in some places
+intersect the streets, were likewise in perfect solitude, and there
+was just light sufficient for me to observe on the still waters the
+reflection of the structures above them.&nbsp; Except two or three tapers
+glimmering through the casements, no one circumstance indicated human
+existence.&nbsp; I might, without being thought very romantic, have
+imagined myself in the city of petrified people, which Arabian fabulists
+are so fond of describing.&nbsp; Were any one to ask my advice upon
+the subject of retirement, I should tell him, - By all means repair
+to Antwerp.&nbsp; No village amongst the Alps, or hermitage upon Mount
+Lebanon, is less disturbed: you may pass your days in this great city
+without being the least conscious of its sixty thousand inhabitants,
+unless you visit the churches.&nbsp; There, indeed, are to be heard
+a few devout whispers, and sometimes, to be sure, the bells make a little
+chiming; but walk about, as I do, in the twilights of midsummer, and
+be assured your ears will be free from all molestation.</p>
+<p>You can have no idea how many strange, amusing fancies played around
+me whilst I wandered along; nor how delighted I was with the novelty
+of my situation.&nbsp; But a few days ago, thought I within myself,
+I was in the midst of all the tumult and uproar of London: now, as if
+by some magic influence, I am transported to a city equally remarkable
+for streets and edifices, but whose inhabitants seem cast into a profound
+repose.&nbsp; What a pity that we cannot borrow some small share of
+this soporific disposition!&nbsp; It would temper that restless spirit
+which throws us sometimes into such dreadful convulsions.&nbsp; However,
+let us not be too precipitate in desiring so dead a calm; the time may
+arrive when, like Antwerp, we may sink into the arms of forgetfulness;
+when a fine verdure may carpet our Exchange, and passengers traverse
+the Strand, without any danger of being smothered in crowds, or lost
+in the confusion of carriages.</p>
+<p>Reflecting, in this manner, upon the silence of the place, contrasted
+with the important bustle which formerly rendered it so famous, I insensibly
+drew near to the cathedral, and found myself, before I was aware, under
+its stupendous tower.&nbsp; It is difficult to conceive an object more
+solemn or imposing than this edifice at the hour I first beheld it.&nbsp;
+Dark shades hindered my examining the lower galleries or windows; their
+elaborate carved work was invisible; nothing but huge masses of building
+met my sight, and the tower, shooting up four hundred and sixty-six
+feet into the air, received an additional importance from the gloom
+which prevailed below.&nbsp; The sky being perfectly clear, several
+stars twinkled through the mosaic of the spire, and added not a little
+to its enchanted effect.&nbsp; I longed to ascend it that instant, to
+stretch myself out upon its very summit, and calculate from so sublime
+an elevation the influence of the planets.</p>
+<p>Whilst I was indulging my astrological reveries, a ponderous bell
+struck ten, and such a peal of chimes succeeded, as shook the whole
+edifice, notwithstanding its bulk, and drove me away in a hurry.&nbsp;
+No mob obstructed my passage, and I ran through a succession of streets,
+free and unmolested, as if I had been skimming along over the downs
+of Wiltshire.&nbsp; My servants conversing before the hotel were the
+only sounds which the great &ldquo;Place de Mer&rdquo; echoed.</p>
+<p>This universal stillness was the more pleasing, when I looked back
+upon those scenes of horror and outcry which filled London but a week
+or two ago, when danger was not confined to night only, and the environs
+of the capital, but haunted our streets at midday.&nbsp; Here, I could
+wander over an entire city; stray by the port, and venture through the
+most obscure alleys, without a single apprehension; without beholding
+a sky red and portentous with the light of fires, or hearing the confused
+and terrifying murmurs of shouts and groans, mingled with the reports
+of artillery.&nbsp; I can assure you, I think myself very fortunate
+to have escaped the possibility of another such week of desolation,
+and to be peaceably roosted at Antwerp.&nbsp; Were I not still fatigued
+with my heavy progress through sands and quagmires, I should descant
+a little longer upon the blessings of so quiet a metropolis, but it
+is growing late, and I must retire to enjoy it.</p>
+<div class="GutenbergBlankLines2"><br /><br /></div>
+<h2>LETTER III</h2>
+<div class="GutenbergBlankLines2"><br /><br /></div>
+<p>ANTWERP, <i>June</i> 23<i>rd.</i></p>
+<p>My windows look full upon the Place de Mer, and the sun, beaming
+through their white curtains, awoke me from a dream of Arabian happiness.&nbsp;
+Imagination had procured herself a tent on the mountains of Sanaa, covered
+with coffee-trees in bloom.&nbsp; She was presenting me the essence
+of their flowers, and was just telling me that you possessed a pavilion
+on a neighbouring hill, when the sunshine dispelled the vision; and
+opening my eyes, I found myself pent in by Flemish spires and buildings:
+no hills, no verdure, no aromatic breezes, no hope of being in your
+vicinity: all were vanished with the shadows of fancy, and I was left
+alone to deplore your absence.&nbsp; But I think it rather selfish to
+wish you here, for what pleasure could pacing from one dull church to
+another, afford a person of your turn?&nbsp; I don&rsquo;t believe you
+would catch a taste for blubbering Magdalens and coarse Madonnas, by
+lolling in Rubens&rsquo; chair; nor do I believe a view of the Ostades
+and Snyders, so liberally scattered in every collection, would greatly
+improve your pencil.</p>
+<p>After breakfast this morning I began my pilgrimage to all those illustrious
+cabinets.&nbsp; First, I went to Monsieur Van Lencren&rsquo;s, who possesses
+a suite of apartments, lined, from the base to the cornice, with the
+rarest productions of the Flemish school.&nbsp; Heavens forbid I should
+enter into a detail of their niceties!&nbsp; I might as well count the
+dew-drops upon any of Van Huysem&rsquo;s flower-pieces, or the pimples
+on their possessor&rsquo;s countenance; a very good sort of man, indeed;
+but from whom I was not at all sorry to be delivered.</p>
+<p>My joy was, however, of short duration, as a few minutes brought
+me into the courtyard of the Chanoin Knyfe&rsquo;s habitation; a snug
+abode, well furnished with easy chairs and orthodox couches.&nbsp; After
+viewing the rooms on the first floor, we mounted a gentle staircase,
+and entered an ante-chamber, which those who delight in the imitations
+of art rather than of nature, in the likenesses of joint stools and
+the portraits of tankards, would esteem most capitally adorned: but
+it must be confessed, that, amongst these uninteresting performances,
+are dispersed a few striking Berghems and agreeable Polemburgs.&nbsp;
+In the gallery adjoining, two or three Rosa de Tivolis merit observation;
+and a large Teniers, representing a St. Anthony surrounded by a malicious
+fry of imps and leering devilesses, is well calculated to display the
+whimsical buffoonery of a Dutch imagination.</p>
+<p>I was observing this strange medley, when the Canon made his appearance;
+and a most prepossessing figure he has, according to Flemish ideas.&nbsp;
+In my humble opinion his Reverence looked a little muddled or so; and,
+to be sure, the description I afterwards heard of his style of living,
+favours not a little my surmises.&nbsp; This worthy dignitary, what
+with his private fortune and the good things of the church, enjoys a
+revenue of about five thousand pounds sterling, which he contrives to
+get rid of in the joys of the table and the encouragement of the pencil.</p>
+<p>His servants, perhaps, assist not a little in the expenditure of
+so comfortable an income; the Canon being upon a very social footing
+with them all.&nbsp; At four o&rsquo;clock in the afternoon, a select
+party attend him in his coach to an alehouse about a league from the
+city; where a table, well spread with jugs of beer and handsome cheeses,
+waits their arrival.&nbsp; After enjoying this rural fare, the same
+equipage conducts them back again, by all accounts, much faster than
+they came; which may well be conceived, as the coachman is one of the
+brightest wits of the entertainment.</p>
+<p>My compliments, alas! were not much relished, you may suppose, by
+this jovial personage.&nbsp; I said a few favourable words of Polemburg,
+and offered up a small tribute of praise to the memory of Berghem; but,
+as I could not prevail upon Mynheer Knyfe to expand, I made one of my
+best bows, and left him to the enjoyment of his domestic felicity.</p>
+<p>In my way home, I looked into another cabinet, the greatest ornament
+of which was a most sublime thistle by Snyders, of the heroic size,
+and so faithfully imitated that I dare say no ass could see it unmoved.&nbsp;
+At length, it was lawful to return home; and as I positively refused
+visiting any more cabinets in the afternoon, I sent for a harpsichord
+of Rucker, and played myself quite out of the Netherlands.</p>
+<p>It was late before I finished my musical excursion, and I took advantage
+of this dusky moment to revisit the cathedral.&nbsp; A flight of starlings
+was fluttering about one of the pinnacles of the tower; their faint
+chirpings were the only sounds that broke the stillness of the air.&nbsp;
+Not a human form appeared at any of the windows around; no footsteps
+were audible in the opening before the grand entrance; and, during the
+half hour I spent in walking to and fro beneath the spire, one solitary
+Franciscan was the only creature that accosted me.&nbsp; From him I
+learnt that a grand service was to be performed next day in honour of
+St. John the Baptist, and the best music in Flanders would be called
+forth on the occasion.&nbsp; As I had seen cabinets enough to form some
+slight judgment of Flemish painting, I determined to stay one day longer
+at Antwerp to hear a little how its inhabitants were disposed to harmony.</p>
+<p>Having taken this resolution, I formed an acquaintance with Mynheer
+Vander Bosch, the first organist of the place, who very kindly permitted
+me to sit next him in his gallery during the celebration of high mass.&nbsp;
+The service ended, I strayed about the aisles, and examined the innumerable
+chapels which decorate them, whilst Mynheer Vander Bosch thundered and
+lightened away upon his huge organ with fifty stops.</p>
+<p>When the first flashes of execution were a little subsided, I took
+an opportunity of surveying the celebrated &ldquo;Descent from the Cross,&rdquo;
+which has ever been esteemed one of Rubens&rsquo;s chef d&rsquo;&oelig;uvres,
+and for which they say old Lewis Baboon offered no less a sum than forty
+thousand florins.&nbsp; The principal figure has, doubtless, a very
+meritorious paleness, and looks as dead as an artist could desire; the
+rest of the group have been so liberally praised, that there is no occasion
+to add another tittle of commendation.&nbsp; A swinging St. Christopher,
+fording a brook with a child on his shoulders, cannot fail of attracting
+your attention.&nbsp; This colossal personage is painted on the folding-doors
+which defend the capital performance just mentioned from vulgar eyes;
+and here Rubens has selected a very proper subject to display the gigantic
+coarseness of his pencil.</p>
+<p>Had this powerful artist confined his strength to the representation
+of agonizing thieves and sturdy Barabbases, nobody would have been readier
+than your humble servant to offer incense at his shrine, but when I
+find him lost in the flounces of the Virgin&rsquo;s drapery, or bewildered
+in the graces of St. Catherine&rsquo;s smile, pardon me if I withhold
+my adoration.&nbsp; After I had most dutifully observed all the Rubenses
+in the church, I walked half over Antwerp in search of St. John&rsquo;s
+relics, which were moving about in procession, but an heretical wind
+having extinguished all their tapers, and discomposed the canopy over
+the Bon Dieu, I cannot say much for the grandeur of the spectacle.&nbsp;
+If my eyes were not greatly regaled by the Saint&rsquo;s magnificence,
+my ears were greatly affected in the evening by the music which sang
+forth his praises.&nbsp; The cathedral was crowded with devotees and
+perfumed with incense.&nbsp; Several of its marble altars gleamed with
+the reflection of lamps, and, altogether, the spectacle was new and
+imposing.&nbsp; I knelt very piously in one of the aisles while a symphony
+in the best style of Corelli, performed with taste and feeling, transported
+me to Italian climates, and I was quite vexed, when a cessation dissolved
+the charm, to think that I had still so many tramontane regions to pass,
+before I could in effect reach that classic country, where my spirit
+had so long taken up its abode.&nbsp; Finding it was in vain to wish
+or expect any preternatural interposition, and perceiving no conscious
+angel, or Loretto-vehicle, waiting in some dark consecrated corner to
+bear me away, I humbly returned to my hotel in the Place de Mer, and
+soothed myself with some terrestrial harmony; till, my eyes growing
+heavy, I fell fast asleep, and entered the empire of dreams, according
+to custom, by its ivory portal.&nbsp; What passed in those shadowy realms
+is too thin and unsubstantial to be committed to paper.&nbsp; The very
+breath of waking mortals would dissipate all the train, and drive them
+eternally away; give me leave, therefore, to omit the relation of my
+visionary travels, and have the patience to pursue a sketch of my real
+ones from Antwerp to the Hague.</p>
+<p><i>Monday</i>, <i>June</i> 26<i>th</i>, we were again upon the pav&eacute;,
+rattling and jumbling along between clipped hedges and blighted avenues.&nbsp;
+The plagues of Egypt have been renewed, one might almost imagine, in
+this country, by the appearance of the oak-trees: not a leaf have the
+insects spared.&nbsp; After having had the displeasure of seeing no
+other objects for several hours, but these blasted rows, the scene changed
+to vast tracts of level country, buried in sand, and smothered with
+heath; the particular character of which I had but too good an opportunity
+of intimately knowing, as a tortoise might have kept pace with us without
+being once out of breath.</p>
+<p>Towards evening, we entered the dominions of the United Provinces,
+and had all their glory of canals, track-shuyts, and windmills before
+us.&nbsp; The minute neatness of the villages, their red roofs, and
+the lively green of the willows which shade them, corresponded with
+the ideas I had formed of Chinese prospects; a resemblance which was
+not diminished upon viewing on every side the level scenery of enamelled
+meadows, with stripes of clear water across them, and innumerable barges
+gliding busily along.&nbsp; Nothing could be finer than the weather;
+it improved each moment, as if propitious to my exotic fancies; and,
+at sunset, not one single cloud obscured the horizon.&nbsp; Several
+storks were parading by the water-side, amongst flags and osiers; and,
+as far as the eye could reach, large herds of beautifully spotted cattle
+were enjoying the plenty of their pastures.&nbsp; I was perfectly in
+the environs of Canton, or Ning Po, till we reached Meerdyke.&nbsp;
+You know fumigations are always the current recipe in romance to break
+an enchantment; as soon, therefore, as I left my carriage, and entered
+my inn, the clouds of tobacco which filled every one of its apartments
+dispersed my Chinese imaginations, and reduced me in an instant to Holland.</p>
+<p>Why should I enlarge upon my adventures at Meerdyke?&nbsp; To tell
+you that its inhabitants are the most uncouth bipeds in the universe
+would be nothing very new or entertaining; so let me at once pass over
+the village, leave Rotterdam, and even Delft, that great parent of pottery,
+and transport you with a wave of my pen to the Hague.</p>
+<p>As the evening was rather warm, I immediately walked out to enjoy
+the shade of the long avenue which leads to Scheveling.&nbsp; It was
+fresh and pleasant enough, but I breathed none of those genuine woody
+perfumes, which exhale from the depths of forests, and which allure
+my imagination at once to the haunts of Pan and the good old Sylvanus.&nbsp;
+However, I was far from displeased with my ramble; and, consoling myself
+with the hopes of shortly reposing in the sylvan labyrinths of Nemi,
+I proceeded to the village on the sea-coast, which terminates the perspective.&nbsp;
+Almost every cottage door being open to catch the air, I had an opportunity
+of looking into their neat apartments.&nbsp; Tables, shelves, earthenware,
+all glisten with cleanliness; the country people were drinking tea,
+after the fatigues of the day, and talking over its bargains and contrivances.</p>
+<p>I left them, to walk on the beach, and was so charmed with the vast
+azure expanse of ocean, which opened suddenly upon me, that I remained
+there a full half hour.&nbsp; More than two hundred vessels of different
+sizes were in sight, the last sunbeams purpling their sails, and casting
+a path of innumerable brilliants athwart the waves.&nbsp; What would
+I not have given to follow this shining track!&nbsp; It might have conducted
+me straight to those fortunate western climates, those happy isles which
+you are so fond of painting, and I of dreaming about.&nbsp; But, unluckily,
+this passage was the only one my neighbours the Dutch were ignorant
+of.&nbsp; To be sure they have islands rich in spices, and blessed with
+the sun&rsquo;s particular attention, but which their government, I
+am apt to imagine, renders by no means fortunate.</p>
+<p>Abandoning therefore all hopes at present of this adventurous voyage,
+I returned towards the Hague, and, in my way home, looked into a country-house
+of the late Count Bentinck, with parterres and bosquets by no means
+resembling (one should conjecture) the gardens of the Hesperides.&nbsp;
+But, considering that the whole group of trees, terraces, and verdure
+were in a manner created out of hills of sand, the place may claim some
+portion of merit.&nbsp; The walks and alleys have all the stiffness
+and formality our ancestors admired; but the intermediate spaces, being
+dotted with clumps and sprinkled with flowers, are imagined in Holland
+to be in the English style.&nbsp; An Englishman ought certainly to behold
+it with partial eyes, since every possible attempt has been made to
+twist it into the taste of his country.</p>
+<p>I need not say how liberally I bestowed my encomiums on Count B.&rsquo;s
+tasteful intentions; nor how happy I was, when I had duly serpentized
+over his garden, to find myself once more in the grand avenue.&nbsp;
+All the way home, I reflected upon the economical disposition of the
+Dutch, who raise gardens from heaps of sand, and cities out of the bosom
+of the waters.&nbsp; I had still a further proof of this thrifty turn,
+since the first object I met was an unwieldy fellow (not able, or unwilling,
+perhaps, to afford horses) airing his carcass in a one-dog chair.&nbsp;
+The poor animal puffed and panted, - Mynheer smoked, and gaped around
+him with the most blessed indifference.</p>
+<div class="GutenbergBlankLines2"><br /><br /></div>
+<h2>LETTER IV</h2>
+<div class="GutenbergBlankLines2"><br /><br /></div>
+<p><i>June</i> 30<i>th.</i></p>
+<p>I dedicated the morning to the Prince of Orange&rsquo;s cabinet of
+paintings and curiosities both natural and artificial.&nbsp; Amongst
+the pictures which amused me the most is a St. Anthony, by Hell-fire
+Brughel, who has shown himself right worthy of the title; for a more
+diabolical variety of imps never entered the human imagination.&nbsp;
+Brughel has made his saint take refuge in a ditch filled with harpies
+and creeping things innumerable, whose malice, one should think, would
+have lost Job himself the reputation of patience.&nbsp; Castles of steel
+and fiery turrets glare on every side, from whence issue a band of junior
+devils.&nbsp; These seem highly entertained with pinking poor St. Anthony,
+and whispering, I warrant ye, filthy tales in his ear.&nbsp; Nothing
+can be more rueful than the patient&rsquo;s countenance; more forlorn
+than his beard; more pious than his eye, which forms a strong contrast
+to the pert winks and insidious glances of his persecutors; some of
+whom; I need not mention, are evidently of the female kind.</p>
+<p>But really I am quite ashamed of having detained you in such bad
+company so long; and, had I a moment to spare, you should be introduced
+to a better set in this gallery, where some of the most exquisite Berghems
+and Wouvermans I ever beheld would delight you for hours.&nbsp; I do
+not think you would look much at the Polemburgs; there are but two,
+and one of them is very far from capital; in short I am in a great hurry;
+so pardon me, Carlo Cignani! if I don&rsquo;t do justice to your merit;
+and excuse me, Potter! if I pass by your herds without leaving a tribute
+of admiration.</p>
+<p>Mynheer Van Something is as eager to precipitate my motions as I
+was to get out of the damps and perplexities of Soorflect yesterday
+evening; so mounting a very indifferent staircase, he led me to a suite
+of garret-like apartments; which, considering the meanness of their
+exterior, I was much surprised to find stored with some of the most
+valuable productions of the Indies.&nbsp; Gold cups enriched with gems,
+models of Chinese palaces in ivory, glittering armour of Hindostan,
+and Japan caskets, filled every corner of this awkward treasury.&nbsp;
+What of all its baubles pleased me most was a large coffer of some precious
+wood, containing enamelled flasks of oriental essences, enough to perfume
+a zenana, and so fragrant that I thought the Mogul himself a Dutchman,
+for lavishing them upon this inelegant nation.&nbsp; If disagreeable
+fumes, as I mentioned before, dissolve enchantments, such aromatic oils
+have doubtless the power of raising them; for, whilst I scented their
+fragrance, scarcely could anything have persuaded me that I was not
+in the wardrobe of Hecuba, -</p>
+<div class="GutenbergBlankLines1"><br /></div>
+<p>&ldquo;Where treasur&rsquo;d odours breath&rsquo;d a costly scent.&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="GutenbergBlankLines1"><br /></div>
+<p>I saw, or seemed to see, the arched apartments, the procession of
+venerable matrons, the consecrated vestments: the very temple began
+to rise upon my sight, when a Dutch porpoise approaching to make me
+a low bow; his complaisance was full as notorious as Satan&rsquo;s,
+when, according to Catholic legends, he took leave of Calvin or Dr.
+Faustus.&nbsp; No spell can resist a fumigation of this nature; away
+fled palace, Hecuba, matrons, temple, etc.&nbsp; I looked up, and lo!&nbsp;
+I was in a garret.&nbsp; As poetry is but too often connected with this
+lofty situation, you won&rsquo;t wonder much at my flight.&nbsp; Being
+a little recovered from it, I tottered down the staircase, entered the
+cabinets of natural history, and was soon restored to my sober senses.&nbsp;
+A grave hippopotamus contributed a great deal to their reestablishment.</p>
+<p>The butterflies, I must needs confess, were very near leading me
+another dance: I thought of their native hills and beloved flowers,
+of Haynang and Nan-Hoa; <a name="citation110"></a><a href="#footnote110">{110}</a>
+but the jargon which was prating all around me prevented the excursion,
+and I summoned a decent share of attention for that ample chamber which
+has been appropriated to bottled snakes and pickled f&oelig;tuses.</p>
+<p>After having enjoyed the same spectacle in the British Museum, no
+very new or singular objects can be selected in this.&nbsp; One of the
+rarest articles it contains is the representation in wax of a human
+head, most dexterously flayed indeed!&nbsp; Rapturous encomiums have
+been bestowed by amateurs on this performance.&nbsp; A German professor
+could hardly believe it artificial; and, prompted by the love of truth,
+set his teeth in this delicious morsel to be convinced of its reality.&nbsp;
+My faith was less hazardously established; and I moved off, under the
+conviction that art had never produced anything more horridly natural.</p>
+<p>It was one o&rsquo;clock before I got through the mineral kingdom;
+and another hour passed before I could quit with decorum the regions
+of stuffed birds and marine productions.&nbsp; At length my departure
+was allowable; and I went to dine at Sir Joseph Yorke&rsquo;s, with
+all nations and languages.&nbsp; The Hague is the place in the world
+for a motley assembly, and, in some humours, I think such the most agreeable.</p>
+<p>After coffee I strayed to the great wood, which, considering that
+it almost touches the town with its boughs, is wonderfully forest-like.&nbsp;
+Not a branch being ever permitted to be lopped, the oaks and beeches
+retain their natural luxuriance, and form some of the most picturesque
+groups conceivable.&nbsp; In some places their straight boles rise sixty
+feet without a bough; in others, they are bent fantastically over the
+alleys, which turn and wind about just as a painter would desire.&nbsp;
+I followed them with eagerness and curiosity, sometimes deviating from
+my path amongst tufts of fern and herbage.</p>
+<p>In these cool retreats I could not believe myself near canals and
+windmills; the Dutch formalities were all forgotten whilst contemplating
+the broad masses of foliage above, and the wild flowers and grasses
+below.&nbsp; Several hares and rabbits scudded by me while I sat; and
+the birds were chirping their evening song.&nbsp; Their preservation
+does credit to the police of the country, which is so exact and well
+regulated as to suffer no outrage within the precincts of this extensive
+wood, the depth and thickness of which seem calculated to favour half
+the sins of a capital.</p>
+<p>Relying upon this comfortable security, I lingered unmolested amongst
+the beeches till the ruddy gold of the setting sun ceased to glow on
+their foliage; then taking the nearest path, I suffered myself, though
+not without regret, to be conducted out of this fresh sylvan scene to
+the dusty, pompous parterres of the Greffier Fagel.&nbsp; Every flower
+that wealth can purchase diffuses its perfume on one side; whilst every
+stench a canal can exhale, poisons the air on the other.&nbsp; These
+sluggish puddles defy all the power of the United Provinces, and retain
+the freedom of stinking in spite of their endeavours: but perhaps I
+am too bold in my assertion; for I have no authority to mention any
+attempts to purify these noxious pools.&nbsp; Who knows but their odour
+is congenial to a Dutch constitution?&nbsp; One should be inclined to
+this supposition by the numerous banqueting-rooms and pleasure-houses
+which hang directly above their surface, and seem calculated on purpose
+to enjoy them.&nbsp; If frogs were not excluded from the magistrature
+of their country (and I cannot but think it a little hard that they
+are), one should not wonder at this choice.&nbsp; Such burgomasters
+might erect their pavilions in such situations.&nbsp; But, after all,
+I am not greatly surprised at the fishiness of their site, since very
+slight authority would persuade me there was a period when Holland was
+all water, and the ancestors of the present inhabitants fish.&nbsp;
+A certain oysterishness of eye and flabbiness of complexion are almost
+proofs sufficient of this aquatic descent: and pray tell me for what
+purpose are such galligaskins as the Dutch burthen themselves with contrived,
+but to tuck up a flouncing tail, and thus cloak the deformity of their
+dolphin-like terminations?</p>
+<p>Having done penance for some time in the damp alleys which line the
+borders of these lazy waters, I was led through corkscrew sand-walks
+to a vast flat, sparingly scattered over with vegetation.&nbsp; To puzzle
+myself in such a labyrinth there was no temptation, so taking advantage
+of the lateness of the hour, and muttering a few complimentary promises
+of returning at the first opportunity, I escaped the ennui of this endless
+scrubbery, and got home, with the determination of being wiser and less
+curious if ever my stars should bring me again to the Hague.&nbsp; To-morrow
+I bid it adieu, and if the horses but second my endeavours, shall be
+delivered in a few days from the complicated plagues of the United Provinces.</p>
+<div class="GutenbergBlankLines2"><br /><br /></div>
+<h2>LETTER V</h2>
+<div class="GutenbergBlankLines2"><br /><br /></div>
+<p>HAERLEM, <i>July</i> 1<i>st.</i></p>
+<p>The sky was clear and blue when we left the Hague, and we travelled
+along a shady road for about an hour, then down sunk the carriage into
+a sand-bed, and we were dragged along so slowly that I fell into a profound
+repose.&nbsp; How long it lasted is not material; but when I awoke,
+we were rumbling through Leyden.&nbsp; There is no need to write a syllable
+in honour of this illustrious city: its praises have already been sung
+and said by fifty professors, who have declaimed in its university,
+and smoked in its gardens.&nbsp; So let us get out of it as fast as
+we can, and breathe the cool air of the wood near Haerlem, where we
+arrived just as day declined.&nbsp; Hay was making in the fields, and
+perfumed the country far and wide with its reviving fragrance.&nbsp;
+I promised myself a pleasant walk in the groves, took up Gesner, and
+began to have pretty pastoral ideas; but when I approached the nymphs
+that were dispersed on the meads, and saw faces that would have dishonoured
+a flounder, and heard accents that would have confounded a hog, all
+my dislike to the walking filth of the Low Countries returned.&nbsp;
+I let fall the garlands I had wreathed for the shepherds; we jumped
+into the carriage, and were driven off to the town.&nbsp; Every avenue
+to it swarmed with people, whose bustle and agitation seemed to announce
+that something extraordinary was going forward.&nbsp; Upon inquiry I
+found it was the great fair at Haerlem; and before we had advanced much
+farther, our carriage was surrounded by idlers and gingerbread-eaters
+of all denominations.&nbsp; Passing the gate, we came to a cluster of
+little illuminated booths beneath a grove, glittering with toys and
+looking-glasses.&nbsp; It was not without difficulty that we reached
+our inn, and then the plague was to procure chambers; at last we were
+accommodated, and the first moment I could call my own has been dedicated
+to you.</p>
+<p>You won&rsquo;t be surprised at the nonsense I have written, since
+I tell you the scene of the riot and uproar from whence it bears date.&nbsp;
+At this very moment the confused murmur of voices and music stops all
+regular proceedings: old women and children tattling; apes, bears, and
+show-boxes under the windows; French rattling, English swearing, outrageous
+Italians, frisking minstrels; <i>tambours de basque</i> at every corner;
+myself distracted; a confounded squabble of cooks and haranguing German
+couriers just arrived, their masters following open-mouthed; nothing
+to eat, the steam of ham and flesh-pots all the while provoking their
+appetite; Mynheers very busy with the realities, and smoking as deliberately
+as if in a solitary lusthuys over the laziest canal in the Netherlands;
+squeaking chambermaids in the galleries above, and prudish dames below,
+half inclined to receive the golden solicitations of certain beauties
+for admittance, but positively refusing them the moment some creditable
+personage appears; eleven o&rsquo;clock strikes; half the lights in
+the fair are extinguished; scruples grow less and less delicate; Mammon
+prevails, darkness and complaisance succeed.&nbsp; Good-night; may you
+sleep better than I shall.</p>
+<div class="GutenbergBlankLines2"><br /><br /></div>
+<h2>LETTER VI</h2>
+<div class="GutenbergBlankLines2"><br /><br /></div>
+<p>UTRECHT, <i>July</i> 2<i>nd</i>.</p>
+<p>Well, thank Heaven, Amsterdam is behind us!&nbsp; How I got thither
+signifies not one farthing; it was all along a canal, as usual.&nbsp;
+The weather was hot enough to broil an inhabitant of Bengal; and the
+odours, exhaling from every quarter, sufficiently powerful to regale
+the nose of a Hottentot.</p>
+<p>Under these agreeable circumstances we entered the great city.&nbsp;
+The Stadt-huys being the only cool place it contained, I repaired thither
+as fast as the heat permitted, and walked in a lofty marble hall, magnificently
+covered, till the dinner was ready at the inn.&nbsp; That despatched,
+we set off for Utrecht.&nbsp; Both sides of the way are lined with the
+country-houses and gardens of opulent citizens, as fine as gilt statues
+and clipped hedges can make them.&nbsp; Their number is quite astonishing:
+from Amsterdam to Utrecht, full thirty miles, we beheld no other objects
+than endless avenues and stiff parterres scrawled and flourished in
+patterns like the embroidery of an old maid&rsquo;s work-bag.&nbsp;
+Notwithstanding this formal taste, I could not help admiring the neatness
+and arrangement of every inclosure, enlivened by a profusion of flowers,
+and decked with arbours, beneath which a vast number of round unmeaning
+faces were solacing themselves after the heat of the day.&nbsp; Each
+lusthuys we passed contained some comfortable party dozing over their
+pipes, or angling in the muddy fish-ponds below.&nbsp; Scarce an avenue
+but swarmed with female josses; little squat pug-dogs waddling at their
+sides, the attributes, I suppose, of these fair divinities.</p>
+<p>But let us leave them to loiter thus amiably in their Elysian groves,
+and arrive at Utrecht; which, as nothing very remarkable claimed my
+attention, I hastily quitted to visit a Moravian establishment at Siest,
+in its neighbourhood.&nbsp; The chapel, a large house, late the habitation
+of Count Zinzendorf, and a range of apartments filled with the holy
+fraternity, are totally wrapped in dark groves, overgrown with weeds,
+amongst which some damsels were straggling, under the immediate protection
+of their pious brethren.</p>
+<p>Traversing the woods, we found ourselves in a large court, built
+round with brick edifices, the grass-plats in a deplorable way, and
+one ragged goat, their only inhabitant, on a little expiatory scheme,
+perhaps, for the failings of the fraternity.&nbsp; I left this poor
+animal to ruminate in solitude, and followed my guide into a series
+of shops furnished with gew-gaws and trinkets, said to be manufactured
+by the female part of the society.&nbsp; Much cannot be boasted of their
+handiworks: I expressed a wish to see some of these industrious fair
+ones; but, upon receiving no answer, found this was a subject <i>of
+which there was no discourse.</i></p>
+<p>Consoling myself as well as I was able, I put myself under the guidance
+of another slovenly disciple, who showed me the chapel, and harangued
+very pathetically upon celestial love.&nbsp; In my way thither, I caught
+a glimpse of some pretty sempstresses, warbling melodious hymns as they
+sat needling and thimbling at their windows above.&nbsp; I had a great
+inclination to have approached this busy group, but the roll of the
+brother&rsquo;s eye corrected me.</p>
+<p>Reflecting upon my unworthiness, I retired from the consecrated buildings,
+and was driven back to Utrecht, not a little amused with my expedition.&nbsp;
+If you are as well disposed to be pleased as I was, I shall esteem myself
+very lucky, and not repent sending you so incorrect a narrative.&nbsp;
+I really have not time to look it over, and am growing so drowsy, that
+you will, I hope, pardon all its errors, when you consider that my pen
+writes in its sleep.</p>
+<div class="GutenbergBlankLines2"><br /><br /></div>
+<h2>LETTER VII</h2>
+<div class="GutenbergBlankLines2"><br /><br /></div>
+<p>SPA, <i>July</i> 6<i>th.</i></p>
+<p>From Utrecht to Bois le Duc nothing but sand and heath; no inspiration,
+no whispering foliage, not even a grasshopper, to put one in mind of
+Eclogues and Theocritus.&nbsp; &ldquo;But why did you not fall into
+one of your beloved slumbers, and dream of poetic mountains?&nbsp; This
+was the very country to shut one&rsquo;s eyes upon without disparagement.&rdquo;&nbsp;
+Why so I did, but the postillions and boatmen obliged me to open them,
+as soon as they were closed.&nbsp; Four times was I shoved, out of my
+visions, into leaky boats, and towed across as many idle rivers.&nbsp;
+I thought there was no end of these tiresome transits; and, when I reached
+my journey&rsquo;s end, was so completely jaded that I almost believed
+Charon would be the next aquatic I should have to deal with.&nbsp; The
+fair light of the morning (Tuesday, July 4th) was scarcely sufficient
+to raise my spirits, and I had left Bois le Duc a good way in arrears
+before I was thoroughly convinced of my existence; when I looked through
+the blinds of the carriage, and saw nothing but barren plains and mournful
+willows, banks clad with rushes, and heifers so black and dismal that
+Proserpine herself would have given them up to Hecate.&nbsp; I was near
+believing myself in the neighbourhood of a certain evil place, where
+I should be punished for all my croakings.&nbsp; We travelled at this
+rate, I dare say, fifteen miles, without seeing a single shed: at last,
+one or two miserable cottages appeared, darkened by heath, and stuck
+in a sand-pit; from whence issued a half-starved generation, that pursued
+us a long while with their piteous wailings.&nbsp; The heavy roads and
+ugly prospects, together with the petulant clamours of my petitioners,
+made me quite uncharitable.&nbsp; I was in a dark, remorseless mood,
+which lasted me till we reached Br&eacute;e, a shabby decayed town,
+encompassed by walls and ruined turrets.&nbsp; Having nothing to do,
+I straggled about them, till night shaded the dreary prospects, and
+gave me an opportunity of imagining them, if I pleased, noble and majestic.&nbsp;
+Several of these waning edifices were invested with thick ivy: the evening
+was chill, and I crept under their covert.&nbsp; Two or three brother
+owls were before me, but politely gave up their pretensions to the spot,
+and, as soon as I appeared, with a rueful whoop flitted away to some
+deeper retirement.&nbsp; I had scarcely begun to mope in tranquillity,
+before a rapid shower trickled amongst the clusters above me, and forced
+me to abandon my haunt.&nbsp; Returning in the midst of it to my inn,
+I hurried to bed, and was soon lulled asleep by the storm.&nbsp; A dream
+bore me off to Persepolis; and led me thro&rsquo; vast subterraneous
+treasures to a hall, where Solomon, methought, was holding forth upon
+their vanity.&nbsp; I was upon the very point of securing a part of
+this immense wealth, and fancied myself writing down the sage prophet&rsquo;s
+advice how to make use of it, when a loud vociferation in the street,
+and the bell of a neighbouring chapel, dispersed the vision.&nbsp; Starting
+up, I threw open the windows, and found it was eight o&rsquo;clock (Wednesday,
+July 5th), and had hardly rubbed my eyes, before beggars came limping
+from every quarter.&nbsp; I knew their plaguy voices but too well; and
+that the same hubbub had broken my slumbers, and driven me from wisdom
+and riches to the regions of ignorance and poverty.&nbsp; The halt,
+the lame, and the blind, being restored, by the miracle of a few stivers,
+to their functions, we breakfasted in peace, and, gaining the carriage,
+waded through sandy deserts to Maestricht: our view, however, was considerably
+improved, for a league round the town, and presented some hills and
+pleasant valleys, smiling with crops of grain: here and there, green
+meadows, spread over with hay, varied the prospect, which the chirping
+of birds (the first I had heard for many a tedious day) amongst the
+barley, rendered so cheerful, that I began, like them, my exultations,
+and was equally thoughtless and serene.&nbsp; I need scarcely tell you,
+that, leaving the coach, I pursued a deep furrow between two extensive
+corn-fields, and reposed upon a bank of flowers, the golden ears waving
+above my head, and entirely bounding my prospect.&nbsp; Here I lay,
+in peace and sunshine, a few happy moments; contemplating the blue sky,
+and fancying myself restored to the valley at F., where I have passed
+so many happy hours, shut out from the world, and concealed in the bosom
+of harvests.&nbsp; It was then I first grew so fond of dreaming; and
+no wonder, since I have frequently imagined that Ceres did not disdain
+to inspire my slumbers; but, half concealed, half visible, would tell
+me amusing stories of her reapers; and, sometimes more seriously inclined,
+recite the affecting tale of her misfortunes.&nbsp; At midday, when
+all was still, and a warm haze seemed to repose on the face of the landscape,
+I have often fancied this celestial voice bewailing Proserpine, in the
+most pathetic accents.&nbsp; From these sacred moments I resolved to
+offer sacrifice in the fields of Enna; to explore their fragrant recesses,
+and experience whether the Divinity would not manifest herself to me
+in her favourite domain.&nbsp; It was this vow, which tempted me from
+my native valleys.&nbsp; Its execution, therefore, being my principal
+aim, I deserted my solitary bank and proceeded on my journey.&nbsp;
+Maestricht abounds in Gothic churches, but contains no temple to Ceres.&nbsp;
+I was not sorry to quit it, after spending an hour unavoidably within
+its walls.&nbsp; Our road was conducted up a considerable eminence,
+from the summit of which we discovered a range of woody steeps, extending
+for leagues; beneath lay a winding valley, richly variegated and lighted
+up by the Maese.&nbsp; The evening sun, scarcely gleaming through hazy
+clouds, cast a pale, tender hue upon the landscape, and the copses,
+still dewy with a shower that had lately fallen, diffused the most grateful
+fragrance.&nbsp; Flocks of sheep hung browsing on the acclivities, whilst
+a numerous herd were dispersed along the river&rsquo;s side.&nbsp; I
+stayed so long, enjoying this pastoral scene, that we did not arrive
+at Li&egrave;ge till the night was advanced, and the moon risen.&nbsp;
+Her interesting gleams were thrown away upon this ill-built, crowded
+city; and I grieved that gates and fortifications prevented my breathing
+the fresh air of the surrounding mountains.</p>
+<p>Next morning (July 6th) a zigzag road brought us, after many descents
+and rises, to Spa.&nbsp; The approach, through a rocky vale, is not
+totally devoid of picturesque merit, and as I met no cabriolets or tituppings
+on the chauf&eacute;e, I concluded that the waters were not as yet much
+visited; and that I should have their romantic environs pretty much
+to myself.&nbsp; But, alas, how rudely was I deceived!&nbsp; The moment
+we entered up flew a dozen sashes.&nbsp; Chevaliers de St. Louis, meagre
+Marquises, and ladies of the scarlet order of Babylon, all poked their
+heads out.&nbsp; In a few minutes half the town was in motion; tailors,
+confectioners, and barbers thrusting bills into our hands with manifold
+grimaces and contortions.&nbsp; Then succeeded a grand <i>entr&eacute;</i>
+of <i>valets de place</i>, who were hardly dismissed before the lodging
+letters arrived, followed by somebody with a list of <i>les seigneurs</i>
+and <i>dames</i> as long as a Welsh pedigree.&nbsp; Half-an-hour was
+wasted in speeches and recommendations; another passed before we could
+snatch a morsel of refreshment; they then finding I was neither inclined
+to go to the ball, nor enter the land where Pharaoh reigneth, peace
+was restored, a few feeble bows were scraped, and I found myself in
+perfect solitude.&nbsp; Taking advantage of this quiet moment, I stole
+out of town, and followed a path cut in the rocks, which brought me
+to a young wood of oaks on their summits.&nbsp; Luckily I met no saunterer:
+the gay vagabonds, it seemed, were all at the assembly, as happy as
+billiards and chit-chat could make them.&nbsp; It was not an evening
+to tempt such folks abroad.&nbsp; The air was cool, and the sky lowering;
+a melancholy cloud shaded the wild hills and irregular woods at a distance.&nbsp;
+There was something so importunate in their appearance, that I could
+not help asking their name, and was told they were skirts of the forest
+of Ardenne, amongst whose enchanted labyrinths the heroes of Boyardo
+and Ariosto roved formerly in quest of adventures.&nbsp; I felt myself
+singularly affected whilst gazing upon a wood so celebrated in romance
+for feats of the highest chivalry; and, Don Quixote-like, would have
+explored its recesses in search of that memorable fountain of hatred,
+which (if you recollect the story) was raised by Merlin to free illustrious
+knights and damsels from the torments of rejected love.&nbsp; So far
+was I advanced in these romantic fancies, that, forgetting the lateness
+of the hour, I wandered on, expecting to reach the fountain at every
+step; but at length it grew so dusky that, unable to trace back my way
+amongst the thickets, in vain I strayed through intricate copses, till
+the clouds began to disperse and the moon appeared.&nbsp; Being so placed
+as to receive the full play of silver radiance, to my no small surprise,
+I beheld a precipice immediately beneath my feet.&nbsp; The chasm was
+deep and awful; something like the entrance to a grot discovered itself
+below, and if I had not already been disappointed on the score of the
+fount, I won&rsquo;t answer but that I should have flung myself adventurously
+down, and tried whether I might not have seen such wonders as appeared
+to Bradamante, when cast by Pinnabel, rather impolitely, into Merlin&rsquo;s
+cave.&nbsp; But no propitious light beaming from the cavity, I concluded
+times were changed; and searching about me, found at last a shelving
+steep, which it was just possible to descend without goat&rsquo;s heels,
+and that&rsquo;s all.</p>
+<p>In my way home, I passed the redoute, and seeing a vast glare of
+lustres in its apartments, I ran upstairs and found the gamblers all
+eager in storming the Pharaoh Bank: a young Englishman of distinction
+seemed the most likely to raise the siege, which increased every instant
+in turbulence; but not feeling the least inclination to protract or
+to shorten its fate, I left the knights to their adventures, and returned
+ingloriously to my inn.</p>
+<p>All languages are chattering at the Table d&rsquo;H&ocirc;te, and
+all sorts of business transacted under my very windows.&nbsp; The racket
+and perfume of this place make me resolve to get out of it to-morrow;
+as that is the case, you won&rsquo;t hear from me till I reach Munich.&nbsp;
+Adieu!&nbsp; May we meet in our dreams by the fountain of Merlin, and
+from thence take our flight with Astolpho to the moon; for I shrewdly
+suspect the best part of our senses are bottled up there; and then,
+you know, it will be a delightful novelty to wake up with a clear understanding.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Indeed, Sir, no Monsieur <i>comme il faut</i>, ever left Spa
+in such dudgeon before, unless jilted by a Polish princess, or stripped
+by an itinerant Count!&nbsp; You have neither breakfasted at the Vauxhall,
+nor attended the Spectacle, nor tasted the waters.&nbsp; Had you but
+taken one sip, your ill-humour would have all trickled away, and you
+would have felt both your heels and your elbows quite alive in the evening.&rdquo;
+- Granted; but pray tell your postillions to drive off as fast as their
+horses will carry them.</p>
+<p>Away we went to Aix-la-Chapelle about ten at night, and saw the mouldering
+turrets of that once illustrious capital by the help of a candle and
+lantern.&nbsp; An old woman asked our names (for not a single soldier
+appeared); and traversing a number of superannuated streets without
+perceiving the least trace of Charlemagne or his Paladins, we procured
+comfortable though not magnificent apartments, and slept most unheroically
+sound, till it was time to set forward for Dusseldorf.</p>
+<p><i>July</i> 8<i>th</i>. - As we were driven out of the town, I caught
+a glimpse of a grove, hemmed in by dingy buildings, where a few water-drinkers
+were sauntering along to the sound of some rueful French horns; the
+wan greenish light admitted through the foliage made them look like
+unhappy souls condemned to an eternal lounge for having trifled away
+their existence.&nbsp; It was not with much regret that I left such
+a party behind; and, after experiencing the vicissitudes of good roads
+and rumbling pavements, found myself, towards the close of evening,
+upon the banks of the Rhine.</p>
+<p>Many wild ideas thronged into my mind, the moment I beheld this celebrated
+river.&nbsp; I thought of the vast regions through which it flows, and
+suffered my imagination to expatiate as far as its source.&nbsp; A red,
+variegated sky, reflected from the stream, the woods trembling on its
+banks, and the spires of Nuys rising beyond them, helped to amuse my
+fancy.&nbsp; Not being able to brook the confinement of the carriage,
+I left it to come over at its leisure; and, stepping into a boat, rowed
+along, at first, by the quivering osiers; then, launching out into the
+midst of the waters, I glided a few moments with the current, and resting
+on my oars, listened to the hum of voices afar off, while several little
+skiffs, like canoes, glanced before my sight, concerning which distance
+and the twilight allowed me to make a thousand fantastic conjectures.&nbsp;
+When I had sufficiently indulged these extravagant reveries, I began
+to cross over the river in good earnest; and being landed on its opposite
+margin, travelled forwards to the town.</p>
+<p>Nothing but the famous gallery of paintings could invite strangers
+to stay a moment within its walls; more crooked streets, more indifferent
+houses, one seldom meets with; except soldiers, not a living creature
+moving about them; and at night a complete regiment of bugs &ldquo;marked
+me for their own.&rdquo;&nbsp; Thus I lay, at once both the seat of
+war and the victim of these detestable animals, till early in the morning
+(Sunday, July 9th), when Morpheus, compassionating my sufferings, opened
+the ivory gates of his empire, and freed his votary from the most unconscionable
+vermin that ever nastiness engendered.&nbsp; In humble prose, I fell
+fast asleep; and remained quiet, in defiance of my adversaries, till
+it was time to survey the cabinet.</p>
+<p>This collection is displayed in five large galleries, and contains
+some valuable productions of the Italian school; but the room most boasted
+of is that which Rubens has filled with no less than three enormous
+representations of the last day, where an innumerable host of sinners
+are exhibited as striving in vain to avoid the tangles of the devil&rsquo;s
+tail.&nbsp; The woes of several fat luxurious souls are rendered in
+the highest gusto.&nbsp; Satan&rsquo;s dispute with some brawny concubines,
+whom he is lugging off in spite of all their resistance, cannot be too
+much admired by those who approve this class of subject, and think such
+strange imbroglios in the least calculated to raise a sublime or a religious
+idea.</p>
+<p>For my own part, I turned from them with disgust, and hastened to
+contemplate a Holy Family by Camillo Procaccini, in another apartment.&nbsp;
+The brightest imagination can never conceive any figure more graceful
+than that of the young Jesus; and if ever I beheld an inspired countenance
+or celestial features, it was here: but to attempt conveying in words
+what colours alone can express, would be only reversing the absurdity
+of many a master in the gallery, who aims to represent those ideas by
+colours which language alone is able to describe.&nbsp; Should you admit
+this opinion, you won&rsquo;t be surprised at my passing such a multitude
+of renowned pictures unnoticed; nor at my bringing you out of the cabinet
+without deluging ten pages with criticisms in the style of the ingenious
+Lady M---.</p>
+<p>As I had spent so much time in gazing at Camillo&rsquo;s divinity,
+the day was too far advanced to think of travelling to Cologne; I was
+therefore obliged to put myself once more under the dominion of the
+most inveterate bugs in the universe.&nbsp; This government, like many
+others, made but an indifferent use of its power, and the subject suffering
+accordingly was extremely rejoiced at flying from his persecutors to
+Cologne.</p>
+<p><i>July</i> 10<i>th</i>. - Clouds of dust hindered my making any
+remarks on the exterior of this celebrated city; but if its appearance
+be not more beautiful from without than within, I defy Mr. Salmon himself
+to launch forth very warmly in its praise.&nbsp; But of what avail are
+stately palaces, broad streets, or airy markets, to a town which can
+boast of such a treasure as the bodies of those three wise sovereigns
+who were star-led to Bethlehem?&nbsp; Is not this circumstance enough
+to procure it every respect?&nbsp; I really believe so, from the pious
+and dignified contentment of its inhabitants.&nbsp; They care not a
+hair of an ass&rsquo;s ear whether their houses be gloomy and ill-contrived,
+their pavements overgrown with weeds, and their shops with filthiness,
+provided the carcasses of Gaspar, Melchior, and Balthazar might be preserved
+with proper decorum.&nbsp; Nothing, to be sure, can be richer than the
+shrine which contains these precious relics.&nbsp; I paid my devotions
+before it the moment I arrived; this step was inevitable: had I omitted
+it, not a soul in Cologne but would have cursed me for a Pagan.</p>
+<p>Do you not wonder at hearing of these venerable bodies so far from
+their native country?&nbsp; I thought them snug in some Arabian pyramid
+ten feet deep in spice; but you see one can never tell what is to become
+of one a few ages hence.&nbsp; Who knows but the Emperor of Morocco
+may be canonized some future day in Lapland?&nbsp; I asked, of course,
+how in the name of miracles they came hither; but found no story of
+a supernatural conveyance.&nbsp; It seems the holy Empress Helena, as
+great a collectress of relics as the D---s of P. is of profane curiosities,
+first routed them out: then they were packed off to Rome.&nbsp; King
+Alaric, having no grace, bundled them down to Milan; where they remained
+till it pleased God to inspire an ancient archbishop with the fervent
+wish of depositing them at Cologne.&nbsp; There these skeletons were
+taken into the most especial consideration, crowned with jewels and
+filigreed with gold.&nbsp; Never were skulls more elegantly mounted;
+and I doubt whether Odin&rsquo;s buffet could exhibit so fine an assortment.&nbsp;
+The chapel containing these beatified bones is placed in a dark extremity
+of the cathedral.&nbsp; Several golden lamps gleam along the polished
+marbles with which it is adorned, and afford just light enough to read
+the following monkish inscription:-</p>
+<div class="GutenbergBlankLines1"><br /></div>
+<p>&ldquo;CORPORA SANCTORUM RECUBANT HIC TERNA MAGORUM;<br />EX HIS
+SUBLATUM NIHIL EST ALIBIVE LOCATUM.&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="GutenbergBlankLines1"><br /></div>
+<p>After I had satisfied my curiosity with respect to the peregrinations
+of the consecrated skeletons, I examined their shrine; and was rather
+surprised to find it not only enriched with barbaric gold and pearl,
+but covered with cameos and intaglios of the best antique sculpture.&nbsp;
+Many an impious emperor and gross Silenus, many a wanton nymph and frantic
+bacchanal, figure in the same range with the statues of saints and evangelists.&nbsp;
+How St. Helena could tolerate such a mixed assembly (for the shrine
+was formed under her auspices) surpasses my comprehension.&nbsp; Perhaps
+you will say it is no great matter, and give me a hint to move out of
+the chapel, lest the three kings and their star should lead me quite
+out of my way.&nbsp; Very well; I think I had better stop in time, to
+tell you, without further excursion, that we set off after dinner for
+Bonn.</p>
+<p>Our road-side was lined with beggarly children, high convent walls,
+and scarecrow crucifixes, lubberly monks, dejected peasants, and all
+the delights of Catholicism.&nbsp; Such scenery not engaging a share
+of my attention, I kept gazing at the azure irregular mountains which
+bounded our view, and in thought was already transported to their summits.&nbsp;
+Various are the prospects I surveyed from this imaginary exaltation,
+and innumerable the chimeras which trotted in my brain.&nbsp; Mounted
+on these fantastic quadrupeds, I shot swiftly from rock to rock, and
+built castles in the style of Piranesi upon most of their pinnacles.&nbsp;
+The magnificence and variety of my a&euml;rial towers hindered my thinking
+the way long.&nbsp; I was still walking with a crowd of phantoms upon
+their terraces, when the carriage made a halt.&nbsp; Immediately descending
+the innumerable flights of steps which divide such lofty edifices from
+the lower world, I entered the inn at Bonn, and was shown into an apartment
+which commands the chief front of the Elector&rsquo;s palace.&nbsp;
+You may guess how contemptible it appeared to one just returned from
+the court of fancy.</p>
+<p>In other respects, I saw it in a very favourable moment; for the
+twilight, shading the whole fa&ccedil;ade, concealed its plaistered
+walls and painted pillars; their pediments and capitals being tolerably
+well proportioned, and the range of windows beneath considerable, I
+gave the architect more credit than he deserved, and paced to and fro
+beneath the arcade, as pompously as if arrived at the Vatican; but the
+circumstance which rendered my walk in reality agreeable, was the prevalence
+of a delicious perfume.&nbsp; It was so dusky, that I was a minute or
+two seeking in vain the entrance of an orangery, from whence this reviving
+scent proceeded.&nbsp; At length I discovered it; and, passing under
+an arch, found myself in the midst of lemon and orange trees, now in
+the fullest blow, which form a continued grove before the palace, and
+extend, on each side of its grand portal, out of sight.&nbsp; A few
+steps separate this extensive terrace from a lawn, bordered by stately
+rows of beeches.&nbsp; Beyond, in the centre of this striking theatre,
+rises a romantic assemblage of distant mountains, crowned with the ruins
+of castles, whose turrets, but faintly seen, were just such as you have
+created to complete a prospect.&nbsp; I was the only human being in
+the misty extent of the gardens, and was happier in my solitude than
+I can describe.&nbsp; No noise disturbed its silence, except the flutter
+of moths and trickling of fountains.&nbsp; These undecided sounds, corresponding
+with the dimness and haze of the scenery, threw me into a pensive state
+of mind, neither gay nor dismal.&nbsp; I recapitulated the wayward adventures
+of my childhood, and traced back each moment of a period, which had
+seen me happy.&nbsp; Then, turning my thoughts towards future days,
+my heart beat at the idea of that awful veil which covers the time to
+come.&nbsp; One moment, &rsquo;twas the brightest hope that glittered
+behind it; the next, a series of melancholy images clouded the perspective.&nbsp;
+Thus, alternately swayed by fears and exultation, I passed an interesting
+hour in the twilight, ranging amongst the orange trees, or reclined
+by the fountain.&nbsp; I could not boast of being perfectly satisfied,
+since those were absent, without whom not even the fields of Enna could
+be charming.&nbsp; However, I was far from displeased with the clear
+streams that bubbled around, and could willingly have dropped asleep
+by their margin.&nbsp; Had I reposed in so romantic a situation, the
+murmurs of trees and waters would doubtless have invited &ldquo;some
+strange mysterious dream&rdquo; to hover over me, and perhaps futurity
+might have been unveiled.</p>
+<div class="GutenbergBlankLines2"><br /><br /></div>
+<h2>LETTER VIII</h2>
+<div class="GutenbergBlankLines2"><br /><br /></div>
+<p><i>July</i> 11<i>th</i>. - Let those who delight in picturesque country
+repair to the borders of the Rhine, and follow the road which we took
+from Bonn to Coblentz.&nbsp; In some places it is suspended like a cornice
+above the waters; in others, it winds behind lofty steeps and broken
+acclivities, shaded by woods and clothed with an endless variety of
+plants and flowers.&nbsp; Several green paths lead amongst this vegetation
+to the summits of the rocks, which often serve as the foundation of
+abbeys and castles, whose lofty roofs and spires, rising above the cliffs,
+impress passengers with ideas of their grandeur, that might probably
+vanish upon a nearer approach.&nbsp; Not choosing to lose any prejudice
+in their favour, I kept a respectful distance whenever I left my carriage,
+and walked on the banks of the river.</p>
+<p>Just before we came to Andernach, an antiquated town with strange
+morisco-looking towers, I spied a raft, at least three hundred feet
+in length, on which ten or twelve cottages were erected, and a great
+many people employed in sawing wood.&nbsp; The women sat spinning at
+their doors, whilst their children played among the water-lilies that
+bloomed in abundance on the edge of the stream.&nbsp; A smoke, rising
+from one of these aquatic habitations, partially obscured the mountains
+beyond, and added not a little, to their effect.</p>
+<p>Altogether, the scene was so novel and amusing, that I sat half an
+hour contemplating it from an eminence under the shade of some leafy
+walnuts; and should like extremely to build a moveable village, people
+it with my friends, and so go floating about from island to island,
+and from one woody coast of the Rhine to another.&nbsp; Would you dislike
+such a party?&nbsp; I am much deceived, or you would be the first to
+explore the shades and promontories beneath which we should be wafted
+along.</p>
+<p>But I don&rsquo;t think you would find Coblentz, where we were obliged
+to take up our night&rsquo;s lodging, much to your taste.&nbsp; &rsquo;Tis
+a mean, dirty assemblage of plastered houses, striped with paint, and
+set off with wooden galleries, in the beautiful taste of St. Giles&rsquo;s.&nbsp;
+Above, on a rock, stands the palace of the Elector, which seems to be
+remarkable for nothing but situation.&nbsp; I did not bestow many looks
+on this structure whilst ascending the mountain across which our road
+to Mayence conducted us.</p>
+<p><i>July</i> 12<i>th</i>. - Having attained the summit, we discovered
+a vast, irregular range of country, and advancing, found ourselves amongst
+downs bounded by forests and purpled with thyme.&nbsp; This sort of
+prospect extending for several leagues, I walked on the turf, and inhaled
+with avidity the fresh gales that blew over its herbage, till I came
+to a steep slope overgrown with privet and a variety of luxuriant shrubs
+in blossom; there reposing beneath its shade, I gathered flowers, listened
+to the bees, observed their industry, and idled away a few minutes with
+great fascination.&nbsp; A cloudless sky and bright sunshine made me
+rather loth to move on; but the charms of the landscape, increasing
+every instant, drew me forward.</p>
+<p>I had not gone far, before a winding valley discovered itself, shut
+in by rocks and mountains clothed to their very summits with the thickest
+woods.&nbsp; A broad river, flowing at the base of the cliffs, reflected
+the impending vegetation, and looked so calm and glassy that I was determined
+to be better acquainted with it.&nbsp; For this purpose we descended
+by a zigzag path into the vale, and making the best of our way on the
+banks of the Lune (for so is the river called), came suddenly upon the
+town of Ems, famous in mineral story; where finding very good lodgings,
+we took up our abode, and led an Indian life amongst the wilds and mountains.</p>
+<p>After supper I walked on a smooth lawn by the river, to observe the
+moon journeying through a world of silver clouds that lay dispersed
+over the face of the heavens.&nbsp; It was a mild genial evening; every
+mountain cast its broad shadow on the surface of the stream; lights
+twinkled afar off on the hills; they burnt in silence.&nbsp; All were
+asleep, except a female figure in white, with glow-worms shining in
+her hair.&nbsp; She kept moving disconsolately about; sometimes I heard
+her sigh; and if apparitions sigh, this must have been an apparition.&nbsp;
+Upon my return, I asked a thousand questions, but could never obtain
+any information of the figure and its luminaries.</p>
+<p><i>July</i> 13<i>th</i>. - The pure air of the morning invited me
+early to the hills.&nbsp; Hiring a skiff, I rowed about a mile down
+the stream, and landed on a sloping meadow, level with the waters, and
+newly mown.&nbsp; Heaps of hay still lay dispersed under the copses
+which hemmed in on every side this little sequestered paradise.&nbsp;
+What a spot for a tent!&nbsp; I could encamp here for months, and never
+be tired.&nbsp; Not a day would pass by without discovering some new
+promontory, some untrodden pasture, some unsuspected vale, where I might
+remain among woods and precipices lost and forgotten.&nbsp; I would
+give you, and two or three more, the clue of my labyrinth: nobody else
+should be conscious of its entrance.&nbsp; Full of such agreeable dreams,
+I rambled about the meads, scarcely knowing which way I was going; sometimes
+a spangled fly led me astray, and, oftener, my own strange fancies.&nbsp;
+Between both, I was perfectly bewildered, and should never have found
+my boat again, had not an old German naturalist, who was collecting
+fossils on the cliffs, directed me to it.</p>
+<p>When I got home it was growing late, and I now began to perceive
+that I had taken no refreshment, except the perfume of the hay and a
+few wood strawberries; airy diet, you will observe, for one not yet
+received into the realms of Ginnistan. <a name="citation127"></a><a href="#footnote127">{127}</a></p>
+<p><i>July</i> 14<i>th</i>. - I have just made a discovery, that this
+place as full of idlers and water-drinkers as their Highnesses of Orange
+and Hesse Darmstadt can desire; for to them accrue all the profits of
+its salubrious fountains.&nbsp; I protest, I knew nothing of all this
+yesterday, so entirely was I taken up with the rocks and meadows; no
+chance of meeting either card or billiard players in their solitudes.&nbsp;
+Both abound at Ems, where they hop and fidget from ball to ball, unconscious
+of the bold scenery in their neighbourhood, and totally insensible to
+its charms.&nbsp; They had no notion, not they, of admiring barren crags
+and precipices, where even the Lord would lose his way, as a coarse
+lubber decorated with stars and orders very ingeniously observed to
+me; nor could they form the least conception of any pleasure there was
+in climbing like a goat amongst the cliffs, and then diving into woods
+and recesses where the sun had never penetrated; where there were neither
+card-tables prepared nor sideboards garnished; no <i>jambon de Mayence</i>
+in waiting; no supply of pipes, nor any of the commonest delights, to
+be met with in the commonest taverns.</p>
+<p>To all this I acquiesced with most perfect submission, but immediately
+left the orator to entertain a circle of antiquated dames and weather-beaten
+officers who were gathering around him.&nbsp; Scarcely had I turned
+my back upon this polite assembly, when <i>Monsieur l&rsquo;Administrateur
+des bains</i>, a fine pompous fellow, who had been <i>maitre d&rsquo;h&ocirc;tel</i>
+in a great German family, came forward purposely to acquaint me, I suppose,
+that their baths had the honour of possessing Prince Orloff, &ldquo;<i>avec
+sa grande maitresse, son Chamberlain et quelques Dames d&rsquo;Honneur</i>:&rdquo;
+moreover, that his Highness came hither to refresh himself after his
+laborious employments at the Court of Petersburg, and expected (<i>grace
+aux eaux</i>!) to return to the domains his august sovereign had lately
+bestowed upon him in perfect health, and to become the father of his
+people.</p>
+<p>Wishing Monsieur d&rsquo;Orloff all possible success, I should have
+left the company at a great distance, had not a violent shower stopped
+my career, and obliged me to return to my apartment.&nbsp; The rain
+growing heavier, intercepted the prospect of the mountains, and spread
+such a gloom over the vale as sank my spirits fifty degrees; to which
+a close foggy atmosphere not a little contributed.&nbsp; Towards night
+the clouds assumed a more formidable aspect.&nbsp; Thunder rolled awfully
+along the distant cliffs, and several rapid torrents began to run down
+the steeps.&nbsp; Unable to stay within, I walked into an open portico,
+listening to the murmur of the river, mingled with the roar of falling
+waters.&nbsp; At intervals a blue flash of lightning discovered their
+agitated surface, and two or three scared women rushing through the
+storm and calling all the saints in Paradise to their assistance.</p>
+<p>Things were in this state, when the orator who had harangued so brilliantly
+on the nothingness of ascending mountains, took shelter under the porch,
+and entering immediately into conversation, regaled my ears with a woful
+narration of murders which had happened the other day on the precise
+road I was to follow next morning.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Sir,&rdquo; said he, &ldquo;your route is, to be sure, very
+perilous: on the left you have a chasm, down which, should your horses
+take the smallest alarm, you are infallibly precipitated; to the right
+hangs an impervious wood, and there, sir, I can assure you, are wolves
+enough to devour a regiment; a little farther on, you cross a desolate
+tract of forest land, the roads so deep and broken, that if you go ten
+paces in as many minutes you may think yourself fortunate.&nbsp; There
+lurk the most savage banditti in Europe, lately irritated by the Prince
+of Orange&rsquo;s proscription; and so desperate, that if they once
+attack, you can expect no mercy.&nbsp; Should you venture through this
+hazardous district to-morrow, you will, in all probability, meet a company
+of people who have just left the town to search for the mangled bodies
+of their relations; but, for Heaven&rsquo;s sake, sir, if you value
+your life, do not suffer an idle curiosity to lead you over such dangerous
+regions, however picturesque their appearance.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>I own I felt rather intimidated by so formidable a prospect, and
+was very near abandoning my plan of crossing the mountains, and so go
+back again and round about, the Lord knows where; but considering this
+step would be quite unheroical, I resolved to attribute my fears to
+the gloom of the moment, and the dejection it occasioned.&nbsp; It was
+almost nine o&rsquo;clock before my kind adviser ceased inspiring me
+with terrors; then, finding myself at liberty, I retired to bed, not
+under the most agreeable impressions; and after tossing and tumbling
+in the agitation of tumultuous slumbers, I started up at seven in the
+morning of July 15th, ordered the horses, and set forward, without further
+dilemmas.&nbsp; Though it had thundered almost the whole night, the
+air was still clogged with vapours, the mountains bathed in humid clouds,
+and the scene I had so warmly admired no longer discernible.&nbsp; Proceeding
+along the edge of the precipices I had been forewarned of, for about
+an hour, and escaping that peril at least, we traversed the slopes of
+a rude, heathy hill, in instantaneous expectation of foes and murderers.&nbsp;
+A misty rain prevented us seeing above ten yards before us, and every
+uncouth oak or rocky fragment we approached seemed lurking spies or
+gigantic enemies.&nbsp; One time the murmur of the wind among invisible
+woods of beech, sounded like the wail of distress; and at another the
+noise of a torrent we could not discover, counterfeited the report of
+musquetry.&nbsp; In this suspicious manner we journeyed through the
+forest which had so recently been the scene of assaults and depredations.&nbsp;
+At length, after winding several restless hours amongst its dreary avenues,
+we emerged into open daylight.&nbsp; The sky cleared, a cultivated vale
+lay before us, and the evening sun, gleaming bright through the vapours,
+cast a cheerful look upon some corn-fields, and seemed to promise better
+times.&nbsp; A few minutes more brought us safe to the village of Viesbaden,
+where we slept in peace and tranquillity.</p>
+<p><i>July</i> 16<i>th</i>. - Our apprehensions entirely dispersed,
+we rose light and refreshed from our slumbers, and passing through Mayence,
+Oppenheim, and Worms, travelled gaily over the plain in which Mannheim
+is situated.&nbsp; The sun set before we arrived there, and it was by
+the mild gleams of the rising moon, that I first beheld the vast electoral
+palace, and those long straight streets and neat white houses, which
+distinguish this elegant capital from almost every other.</p>
+<p>Numbers of well-dressed people were amusing themselves with music
+and fireworks in the squares and open spaces; other groups appeared
+conversing in circles before their doors, and enjoying the serenity
+of the evening.&nbsp; Almost every window bloomed with carnations; and
+we could hardly cross a street without hearing the German flute.&nbsp;
+A scene of such happiness and refinement contrasted in the most agreeable
+manner with the dismal prospects we had left behind.&nbsp; No storms,
+no frightful chasms, were here to alarm us, no ruffians or lawless plunderers.&nbsp;
+All around was peace, security, and contentment in their most engaging
+attire.</p>
+<p><i>July</i> 17<i>th</i>. - Though all impatience to reach that delightful
+classic region which already possesses, as I have often said, the better
+half of my spirit, I could not think of leaving Mannheim unexplored;
+and therefore resolved to give up the day to the halls and galleries
+of the electoral palace.&nbsp; Those, which contain the cabinet of paintings
+and sculptures in ivory, form a regular suite of nine immense apartments,
+about three hundred and seventy-two feet in length, well-proportioned
+and uniformly floored with inlaid wood.&nbsp; Each room has ample folding-doors
+richly gilt and varnished.&nbsp; When seen in perspective these entrances
+have the most magnificent effect imaginable.&nbsp; Nothing can give
+nobler ideas of space than such an enfilade of saloons unencumbered
+by heavy furniture, where the eyes range without interruption: I wandered
+alone from one to the other, and was never wearied with contemplating
+the variety of pictures which enliven the scene, and convey the highest
+idea of the collector&rsquo;s taste.&nbsp; When my curiosity was a little
+satisfied, I left this amusing series of apartments with regret, visited
+the library which the present Elector Palatine has formed, upon the
+same great scale that characterizes his other collections, and, after
+viewing the rest of the palace, saw the opera house, which may boast
+of having contained one of the first bands in Europe: from thence I
+returned home in a very musical humour.</p>
+<p>An excellent harpsichord seconded this disposition, which lasted
+me till late in the evening; when growing drowsy, I yielded to the influence
+of sleep, and was in an instant transported to a far more delightful
+palace than that of the elector; where I expatiated in perfumed apartments
+with yellow light, and conversed with none but Albano and Claude Lorrain,
+till the beams of the morning sun entered my chamber, and forced my
+visiting companions to fly murmuring to the shades.&nbsp; I cannot say
+but I was sorry to leave Mannheim, though my acquaintance with it was
+entirely confined to inanimate objects.&nbsp; The cheerful air and free
+range of the galleries would be sufficient, for several days, for my
+amusement; as you know I could people them with phantoms.&nbsp; Not
+many leagues out of town, lie the famous gardens of Schweidsing.&nbsp;
+The weather being extremely warm, we were glad to avail ourselves of
+their shades.&nbsp; There are a great many fountains inclosed by thickets
+of shrubs, and cool alleys which lead to arbours of trellis-work, festooned
+with nasturtiums and convolvuluses.&nbsp; Several catalpas and sumachs
+in full flower gave considerable richness to the scenery; and whilst
+we walked amongst them, a fresh breeze gently waved their summits.&nbsp;
+The tall poplars and acacias, quivering with the air, cast innumerable
+shadows on the intervening plats of greensward, and, as they moved their
+branches, discovered other walks beyond, and distant jets of water rising
+above their foliage, and sparkling in the sun.&nbsp; After passing a
+multitude of shady avenues, terminated by temples or groups of statues,
+we followed our guide through a kind of arched bower to a little opening
+in the wood, neatly paved with different coloured pebbles.&nbsp; On
+one side, appeared niches and alcoves, ornamented with spars and polished
+marbles; on the other, an aviary; in front, a superb pavilion, with
+baths, porticos, and cabinets, fitted up in the most elegant and luxurious
+style.&nbsp; The song of exotic birds; the freshness of the surrounding
+verdure heightened by falling streams; and that dubious poetic light
+admitted through thick foliage, so agreeable after the glare of a sultry
+day, detained me for some time in an alcove reading Spenser, and imagining
+myself but a few paces removed from the Idle Lake.&nbsp; I would fain
+have loitered an hour more in this enchanted bower, had not the gardener,
+whose patience was quite exhausted, and who had never heard of the Red-Cross
+Knight and his achievements, dragged me away to a sunburnt, contemptible
+hillock, commanding the view of a serpentine ditch, and decorated with
+the title of Jardin Anglois.&nbsp; Some object like decayed limekilns
+and mouldering ovens, is disposed in an amphitheatrical form, on the
+declivity of this tremendous eminence: and there is to be ivy, and a
+cascade, and what not, as my conductor observed.&nbsp; A glance was
+all I bestowed on this caricature upon English gardens; I then went
+off in a huff at being chased from my bower, and grumbled all the road
+to Entsweigen; where, to our misfortune, we lay amidst hogs and vermin,
+who amply revenged my quarrels with their country.</p>
+<p><i>July</i> 20<i>th</i>. - After travelling a post or two, we came
+in sight of a green moor, with many insulated woods and villages; the
+Danube sweeping majestically along, and the city of Ulm rising upon
+its banks.&nbsp; The fields in its neighbourhood were overspread with
+cloths bleaching in the sun, and waiting for barks which convey them
+down the great river, in ten days, to Vienna, and from thence through
+Hungary, into the midst of the Turkish Empire.&nbsp; I almost envied
+the merchants their voyage, and descending to the edge of the stream,
+proffered my orisons to Father Danube, beseeching him to remember me
+to the regions through which he flows.&nbsp; I promised him an altar
+and solemn rites, should he grant my request, and was very idolatrous,
+until the shadows lengthening over the unlimited plains on his margin,
+reminded me that the sun would be shortly sunk, and that I had still
+above fifteen miles to go.&nbsp; Gathering a purple iris that grew upon
+the bank, I wore it to his honour; and have reason to fancy my piety
+was rewarded, as not a fly or an insect dared to buzz about me the whole
+evening.</p>
+<p>You never saw a brighter sky nor more glowing clouds than gilded
+our horizon.&nbsp; The air was impregnated with the perfume of clover,
+and for ten miles we beheld no other objects than smooth levels enamelled
+with flowers, and interspersed with thickets of oak, beyond which appeared
+a long series of mountains, that distance and the evening tinged with
+an interesting azure.&nbsp; Such were the very spots for youthful games
+and exercises, open spaces for tilts, and spreading shades to screen
+the spectators.</p>
+<p>Father Lafiteau tells us, there are many such vast and flowery meads
+in the interior of America, to which the roving tribes of Indians repair
+once or twice in a century to settle the rights of the chase, and lead
+their solemn dances; and so deep an impression do these assemblies leave
+on the minds of the savages, that the highest ideas they entertain of
+future felicity consist in the perpetual enjoyment of songs and dances
+upon the green boundless lawns of their elysium.&nbsp; In the midst
+of these visionary plains rises the abode of Aneantsic, encircled by
+choirs of departed chieftains leaping in cadence to the mournful sound
+of spears as they ring on the shell of the tortoise.&nbsp; Their favourite
+attendants, long separated from them whilst on earth, are restored again
+in this ethereal region, and skim freely over the vast level space;
+now hailing one group of beloved friends, and now another.&nbsp; Mortals
+newly ushered by death into this world of pure blue sky and boundless
+meads, see the long-lost objects of their affection advancing across
+the lawn to meet them.&nbsp; Flights of familiar birds, the purveyors
+of many an earthly chase, once more attend their progress, whilst the
+shades of their faithful dogs seem coursing each other below.&nbsp;
+Low murmurs and tinkling sounds fill the whole region, and, as its new
+denizens proceed, increase in melody, till, unable to resist the thrilling
+music, they spring forward in ecstasies to join the eternal round.</p>
+<p>A share of this celestial transport seemed communicated to me whilst
+my eyes wandered over the plain, which appeared to widen and extend
+in proportion as the twilight prevailed.</p>
+<p>The dusky hour, favourable to conjurations, allowed me to believe
+the spirits of departed friends not far removed from the clouds, which,
+to all appearance, reposed at the extremity of the prospect, and tinted
+the surface of the horizon with ruddy colours.&nbsp; This glow still
+lingered upon the verge of the landscape, after the sun disappeared;
+and &rsquo;twas in those peaceful moments, when no sound but the browsing
+of cattle reached me, that I imagined benign looks were cast upon me
+from the golden vapours, and I seemed to catch glimpses of faint forms
+moving, amongst them, which were once so dear; and even thought my ears
+affected by well-known voices, long silent upon earth.&nbsp; When the
+warm hues of the sky were gradually fading, and the distant thickets
+began to assume a deeper and more melancholy blue, I fancied a shape
+like Thisbe <a name="citation133"></a><a href="#footnote133">{133}</a>
+shot swiftly along; and, sometimes halting afar off, cast an affectionate
+look upon her old master, that seemed to say, When you draw near the
+last inevitable hour, and the pale countries of Aneantsic are stretched
+out before you, I will precede your footsteps, and guide them safe through
+the wild labyrinths which separate this world from yours.&nbsp; I was
+so possessed with the ideas and so full of the remembrance of that poor,
+affectionate creature, whose miserable end you were the witness of,
+that I did not, for several minutes, perceive our arrival at Guntsberg.&nbsp;
+Hurrying to bed, I seemed in my slumbers to pass that interdicted boundary
+which divides our earth from the region of Indian happiness.&nbsp; Thisbe
+ran nimbly before me; her white form glimmered amongst dusky forests;
+she led me into an infinitely spacious plain, where I heard vast multitudes
+discoursing upon events to come.&nbsp; What further passed must never
+be revealed.&nbsp; I awoke in tears, and could hardly find spirits enough
+to look around me, till we were driving through the midst of Augsburg.</p>
+<p><i>July</i> 21<i>st</i>. - We dined and rambled about this renowned
+city till evening.&nbsp; The colossal paintings on the walls of almost
+every considerable building gave it a strange air, which pleases upon
+the score of novelty.</p>
+<p>Having passed a number of streets decorated in this exotic manner,
+we found ourselves suddenly before the public hall, by a noble statue
+of Augustus, under whose auspices the colony was formed.&nbsp; Which
+way soever we turned, our eyes met some remarkable edifice, or marble
+basin into which several groups of sculptured river-gods pour a profusion
+of waters.&nbsp; These stately fountains and bronze statues, the extraordinary
+size and loftiness of the buildings, the towers rising in perspective,
+and the Doric portal of the town-house, answered in some measure the
+idea Montfaucon gives us of the scene of an ancient tragedy.&nbsp; Whenever
+a pompous Flemish painter attempts a representation of Troy, and displays
+in his background those streets of palaces described in the Iliad, Augsburg,
+or some such city, may easily be traced.&nbsp; Sometimes a corner of
+Antwerp discovers itself; and generally, above a Corinthian portico,
+rises a Gothic spire.&nbsp; Just such a jumble may be viewed from the
+statue of Augustus, under which I remained till the Concierge came,
+who was to open the gates of the town-house, and show me its magnificent
+hall.</p>
+<p>I wished for you exceedingly when, ascending a flight of a hundred
+steps, I entered it through a portal, supported by tall pillars and
+crowned with a majestic pediment.&nbsp; Upon advancing, I discovered
+five more entrances equally grand, with golden figures of guardian genii
+leaning over the entablature; and saw, through a range of windows, each
+above thirty feet high, and nearly level with the marble pavement, the
+whole city, with all its roofs and spires, beneath my feet.&nbsp; The
+pillars, cornices, and panels of this striking apartment are uniformly
+tinged with brown and gold; and the ceiling, enriched with emblematical
+paintings and innumerable canopies of carved work, casts a very magisterial
+shade.&nbsp; Upon the whole, I should not be surprised at a burgomaster
+assuming a formidable dignity in such a room.</p>
+<p>I must confess it had a somewhat similar effect upon me; and I descended
+the flight of steps with as much pomposity as if a triumphal car waited
+at my feet, or as if on the point of giving audience to the Queen of
+Sheba.&nbsp; It happened to be a Saint&rsquo;s day, and half the inhabitants
+of Augsburg were gathered together in the opening before their hall;
+the greatest numbers, especially the women, still exhibiting the very
+identical dresses which Hollar engraved.&nbsp; My lofty gait imposed
+upon this primitive assembly, which receded to give me passage with
+as much silent respect as if I had really been the wise sovereign of
+Israel.&nbsp; When I got home, an execrable supper was served up to
+my majesty; I scolded in an unroyal style, and soon convinced myself
+I was no longer Solomon.</p>
+<p><i>July</i> 22<i>nd</i>. - Joy to the Electors of Bavaria! for planting
+such extensive woods of fir in their dominions as shade over the chief
+part of the road from Augsburg to Munich.&nbsp; Near the last-mentioned
+city, I cannot boast of the scenery changing to advantage.&nbsp; Instead
+of flourishing woods and verdure, we beheld a parched dreary flat, diversified
+by fields of withering barley, and stunted avenues drawn formally across
+them; now and then a stagnant pool, and sometimes a dunghill, by way
+of regale.&nbsp; However, the wild rocks of the Tyrol terminate the
+view, and to them imagination may fly, and walk amidst springs and lilies
+of her own creation.&nbsp; I speak from authority, having had the pleasure
+of anticipating an evening in this romantic style.</p>
+<p>Tuesday next is the grand fair, with horse-races and junketings:
+a piece of news I was but too soon acquainted with; for the moment we
+entered the town, good-natured creatures from all quarters advised us
+to get out of it; since traders and harlequins had filled every corner
+of the place, and there was not a lodging to be procured.&nbsp; The
+inns, to be sure, were like hives of industrious animals sorting their
+merchandise, and preparing their goods for sale.&nbsp; Yet, in spite
+of difficulties, we got possession of a quiet apartment.</p>
+<p><i>July 23</i>rd. - We were driven in the evening to Nymphenburg,
+the Elector&rsquo;s country palace, whose bosquets, jets-d&rsquo;eaux,
+and parterres are the pride of the Bavarians.&nbsp; The principal platform
+is all of a glitter with gilded Cupids and shining serpents spouting
+at every pore.&nbsp; Beds of poppies, hollyhocks, scarlet lychnis, and
+the most flaming flowers, border the edge of the walks, which extend
+till the perspective meets, and swarm with ladies and gentlemen in parti-coloured
+raiment.&nbsp; The Queen of Golconda&rsquo;s gardens in a French opera
+are scarcely more gaudy and artificial.&nbsp; Unluckily, too, the evening
+was fine, and the sun so powerful that we were half roasted before we
+could cross the great avenue and enter the thickets, which barely conceal
+a very splendid hermitage, where we joined Mr. and Mrs. T., and a party
+of fashionable Bavarians.</p>
+<p>Amongst the ladies was Madame la Contesse, I forget who, a production
+of the venerable Haslang, with her daughter, Madame de ---, who has
+the honour of leading the Elector in her chains.&nbsp; These goddesses
+stepping into a car, vulgarly called a cariole, the mortals followed,
+and explored alley after alley and pavilion after pavilion.&nbsp; Then,
+having viewed Pagodenburg, which is, as they told me, all Chinese; and
+Marienburg, which is most assuredly all tinsel; we paraded by a variety
+of fountains in full squirt, and though they certainly did their best
+(for many were set a-going on purpose), I cannot say I greatly admired
+them.</p>
+<p>The ladies were very gaily attired, and the gentlemen, as smart as
+swords, bags, and pretty clothes could make them, looked exactly like
+the fine people one sees represented in a coloured print.&nbsp; Thus
+we kept walking genteelly about the orangery, till the carriage drew
+up and conveyed us to Mr. T&rsquo;s.</p>
+<p>Immediately after supper, we drove once more out of town, to a garden
+and tea-room, where all degrees and ages dance jovially together till
+morning.&nbsp; Whilst one party wheel briskly away in the valz, another
+amuse themselves in a corner with cold meat and rhenish.&nbsp; That
+despatched, out they whisk amongst the dancers, with an impetuosity
+and liveliness I little expected to have found in Bavaria.&nbsp; After
+turning round and round, with a rapidity that is quite inconceivable
+to an English dancer, the music changes to a slower movement, and then
+follows a succession of zig-zag minuets, performed by old and young,
+straight and crooked, noble and plebeian, all at once, from one end
+of the room to the other.&nbsp; Tallow candles snuffing and stinking,
+dishes changing, heads scratching, and all sorts of performances going
+forward at the same moment; the flutes, oboes, and bassoons snorting
+and grunting with peculiar emphasis; now fast, now slow, just as Variety
+commands, who seems to rule the ceremonial of this motley assembly,
+where every distinction of rank and privilege is totally forgotten.&nbsp;
+Once a week, on Sundays that is to say, the rooms are open, and Monday
+is generally somewhat advanced before they are deserted.&nbsp; If good
+humour and coarse merriment are all that people desire, here they are
+to be found in perfection, though at the expense of toes and noses.&nbsp;
+Both these extremities of my person suffered most cruelly; and I was
+not sorry to retire about one in the morning to a purer atmosphere.</p>
+<p><i>July</i> 24<i>th</i>. - Custom condemned us to visit the palace,
+which glares with looking-glass, gilding, and cut velvet, most sumptuously
+fringed and spangled.&nbsp; The chapel, though small, is richer than
+anything Cr&oelig;sus ever possessed, let them say what they will.&nbsp;
+Not a corner but shines with gold, diamonds, and scraps of martyrdom
+studded with jewels.&nbsp; I had the delight of treading amethysts and
+the richest gems under foot, which, if you recollect, Apuleius thinks
+such supreme felicity.&nbsp; Alas! I was quite unworthy of the honour,
+and had much rather have trodden the turf of the mountains.&nbsp; Mammon
+would never have taken his eyes off the pavement; mine soon left the
+contemplation of it, and fixed on St. Peter&rsquo;s thumb, enshrined
+with a degree of elegance, and adorned by some malapert enthusiast with
+several of the most delicate antique cameos I ever beheld; the subjects,
+Ledas and sleeping Venuses, are a little too pagan, one should think,
+for an apostle&rsquo;s finger.</p>
+<p>From this precious repository we were conducted through the public
+garden to a large hall, where part of the Sleitzom collection is piled
+up, till a gallery can be finished for its reception.&nbsp; &rsquo;Twas
+a matter of great favour to view, in this state, the pieces that compose
+it, - a very imperfect one too, since some of the best were under operation.&nbsp;
+But I would not upon any account have missed the sight of Rubens&rsquo;s
+&ldquo;Massacre of the Innocents.&rdquo;&nbsp; Such expressive horrors
+were never yet transferred to canvas, and Moloch himself might have
+gazed at them with pleasure.</p>
+<p>After dinner we were led round the churches; and if you are as much
+tired with reading my voluminous descriptions, as I was with the continual
+repetition of altars and reliquaries, the Lord have mercy upon you!&nbsp;
+However, your delivery draws near.&nbsp; The post is going out, and
+to-morrow we shall begin to mount the cliffs of the Tyrol; but don&rsquo;t
+be afraid of any long-winded epistles from their summits: I shall be
+too well employed in ascending them.&nbsp; Just now, as I have lain
+by a long while, I grow sleek, and scribble on in mere wantonness of
+spirit.&nbsp; What excesses such a correspondence is capable of, you
+will soon be able to judge.</p>
+<p><i>July</i> 25<i>th</i>. - The noise of the people thronging to the
+fair did not allow me to slumber very long in the morning.&nbsp; When
+I got up, every street was crowded with Jews and mountebanks, holding
+forth and driving their bargains in all the energetic vehemence of the
+German tongue.&nbsp; Vast quantities of rich merchandise glittered in
+the shops as we passed along to the gates.&nbsp; Heaps of fruit and
+sweetmeats set half the grandams and infants in the place a-cackling
+with felicity.</p>
+<p>Mighty glad was I to make my escape; and in about an hour or two,
+we entered a wild tract of country, not unlike the skirts of a princely
+park.&nbsp; A little farther on stands a cluster of cottages, where
+we stopped to give our horses some bread, and were pestered with swarms
+of flies, most probably journeying to Munich fair, there to feast upon
+sugared tarts and bottle-noses.</p>
+<p>The next post brought us over hill and dale, grove and meadow, to
+a narrow plain, watered by rivulets and surrounded by cliffs, under
+which lies scattered the village of Wollrathshausen, consisting of several
+cottages, built entirely of fir, with strange galleries hanging over
+the way.&nbsp; Nothing can be neater than the carpentry of these simple
+edifices, nor more solid than their construction; many of them looked
+as if they had braved the torrents which fell from the mountains a century
+ago; and, if one may judge from the hoary appearance of the inhabitants,
+here are patriarchs who remember the Emperor Lewis of Bavaria.&nbsp;
+Orchards of cherry-trees impend from the steeps above the village, which
+to our certain knowledge produce no contemptible fruit.</p>
+<p>Having refreshed ourselves with their cooling juice, we struck into
+a grove of pines, the tallest and most flourishing perhaps we ever beheld.&nbsp;
+There seemed no end to these forests, save where little irregular spots
+of herbage, fed by cattle, intervened.&nbsp; Whenever we gained an eminence
+it was only to discover more ranges of dark wood, variegated with meadows
+and glittering streams.&nbsp; White clover and a profusion of sweet-scented
+flowers clothe their banks; above, waves the mountain-ash, glowing with
+scarlet berries; and beyond, rise hills and rocks and mountains, piled
+upon one another, and fringed with fir to their topmost acclivities.&nbsp;
+Perhaps the Norwegian forests alone equal these in grandeur and extent.&nbsp;
+Those which cover the Swiss highlands rarely convey such vast ideas.&nbsp;
+There, the woods climb only half way up their ascents, and then are
+circumscribed by snows: here, no boundaries are set to their progress,
+and the mountains, from their bases to their summits, display rich unbroken
+masses of vegetation.</p>
+<p>As we were surveying this prospect, a thick cloud, fraught with thunder,
+obscured the transparence of the horizon, whilst flashes startled our
+horses, whose snorts and stampings resounded through the woods.&nbsp;
+What from the shade of the firs and the impending tempests, we travelled
+several miles almost in total darkness.&nbsp; One moment the clouds
+began to fleet, and a faint gleam promised serener hours, but the next
+all was gloom and terror; presently a deluge of rain poured down upon
+the valley, and in a short time the torrents, beginning to swell, raged
+with such fury as to be with difficulty forded.&nbsp; Twilight drew
+on, just as we had passed the most terrible; then ascending a steep
+hill under a mountain, whose pines and birches rustled with the storm,
+we saw a little lake below.&nbsp; A deep azure haze veiled its eastern
+shore, and lowering vapours concealed the cliffs to the south; but over
+its western extremities a few transparent clouds, the remains of the
+rays of a struggling sunset, were suspended, which streamed on the surface
+of the waters, and tinged with tender pink the brow of a verdant promontory.</p>
+<p>I could not help fixing myself on the banks of the lake for several
+minutes, till this apparition was lost, and confounded with the shades
+of night.&nbsp; Looking round, I shuddered at a craggy mountain, clothed
+in dark forests and almost perpendicular, that was absolutely to be
+surmounted before we could arrive at Wallersee.&nbsp; No house, not
+even a shed appearing, we were forced to ascend the peak, and penetrate
+these awful groves.</p>
+<p>Great praise is due to the directors of the roads across them, which,
+considering their situation, are wonderfully fine.&nbsp; Mounds of stone
+support the passage in some places; and, in others, it is hewn with
+incredible labour through the solid rock.&nbsp; Beeches and pines of
+a hundred feet high, darken the way with their gigantic branches, casting
+a chill around, and diffusing a woody odour.&nbsp; As we advanced, in
+the thick shade, amidst the spray of torrents, and heard their loud
+roar in the chasm beneath, I could scarcely help thinking myself transported
+to the Grande Chartreuse; and began to conceive hopes of once more beholding
+St. Bruno. <a name="citation140"></a><a href="#footnote140">{140}</a>&nbsp;
+But, though that venerable father did not vouchsafe an apparition, or
+call to me again from the depths of the dells, he protected his votary
+from nightly perils, and brought us to the banks of Wallersee Lake.&nbsp;
+We saw lights gleam upon its shores, which directed us to a cottage
+where we reposed after our toils, and were soon lulled to sleep by the
+fall of distant waters.</p>
+<p><i>July</i> 26<i>th</i>. - The sun rose many hours before me, and
+when I got up was spangling the surface of the lake, which expands between
+steeps of wood, crowned by lofty crags and pinnacles.&nbsp; We had an
+opportunity of contemplating this bold assemblage as we travelled on
+the banks of the Meer, where it forms a bay sheltered by impending forests;
+the water, tinged by their reflection with a deep cerulean, calm and
+tranquil.&nbsp; Mountains of pine and beech rising above, close every
+outlet; and, no village or spire peeping out of the foliage, impress
+an idea of more than European solitude.&nbsp; I could contentedly have
+passed a summer&rsquo;s moon in these retirements, hollowed myself a
+canoe, and fished for sustenance.</p>
+<p>From the shore of Wallersee, our road led us straight through arching
+groves, which the axe seems never to have violated, to the summit of
+a rock covered with spurge-laurel, and worn by the course of torrents
+into innumerable craggy forms.&nbsp; Beneath, lay extended a chaos of
+shattered cliffs, with tall pines springing from their crevices, and
+rapid streams hurrying between their intermingled trunks and branches.&nbsp;
+As yet, no hut appeared, no mill, no bridge, no trace of human existence.</p>
+<p>After a few hours&rsquo; journey through the wilderness, we began
+to discover a wreath of smoke; and presently the cottage from whence
+it arose, composed of planks, and reared on the very brink of a precipice.&nbsp;
+Piles of cloven spruce-fir were dispersed before the entrance, on a
+little spot of verdure browsed by goats; near them sat an aged man with
+hoary whiskers, his white locks tucked under a fur cap.&nbsp; Two or
+three beautiful children, their hair neatly braided, played around him;
+and a young woman, dressed in a short robe and Polish-looking bonnet,
+peeped out of a wicket window.</p>
+<p>I was so much struck with the exotic appearance of this sequestered
+family, that, crossing a rivulet, I clambered up to their cottage and
+begged some refreshment.&nbsp; Immediately there was a contention amongst
+the children, who should be the first to oblige me.&nbsp; A little black-eyed
+girl succeeded, and brought me an earthen jug full of milk, with crumbled
+bread, and a platter of strawberries fresh picked from the bank.&nbsp;
+I reclined in the midst of my smiling hosts, and spread my repast on
+the turf: never could I be waited upon with more hospitable grace.&nbsp;
+The only thing I wanted was language to express my gratitude; and it
+was this deficiency which made me quit them so soon.&nbsp; The old man
+seemed visibly concerned at my departure; and his children followed
+me a long way down the rocks, talking in a dialect which passes all
+understanding, and waving their hands to bid me adieu.</p>
+<p>I had hardly lost sight of them and regained my carriage before we
+entered a forest of pines, to all appearance without bounds, of every
+age and figure; some, feathered to the ground with flourishing branches;
+others, decayed into shapes like Lapland idols.&nbsp; I can imagine
+few situations more dreadful than to be lost at night amidst this confusion
+of trunks, hollow winds whistling among the branches, and strewing their
+cones below.&nbsp; Even at noonday, I thought we should never have found
+our way out.</p>
+<p>At last, having descended a long avenue, endless perspectives opening
+on either side, we emerged into a valley bounded by swelling hills,
+divided into agreeable shady inclosures, where many herds were grazing.&nbsp;
+A rivulet flows along the pastures beneath; and after winding through
+the village of Boidou, loses itself in a narrow pass amongst the cliffs
+and precipices which rise above the cultivated slopes, and frame in
+this happy pastoral region.&nbsp; All the plain was in sunshine, the
+sky blue, and the heights illuminated, except one rugged peak with spires
+of rock, shaped not unlike the views I have seen of Sinai, and wrapped,
+like that sacred mount, in clouds and darkness.&nbsp; At the base of
+this tremendous mass, lies a neat hamlet called Mittenvald, surrounded
+by thickets and banks of verdure, and watered by frequent springs, whose
+sight and murmurs were so reviving in the midst of a sultry day, that
+we could not think of leaving their vicinity, but remained at Mittenvald
+the whole evening.</p>
+<p>Our inn had long airy galleries, and a pleasant balcony fronting
+the mountain.&nbsp; In one of these we dined upon trout fresh from the
+rills, and cherries just culled from the orchards that cover the slopes
+above.&nbsp; The clouds were dispersing, and the topmost peak half visible,
+before we ended our repast.&nbsp; Every moment discovering some inaccessible
+cliff or summit, shining through the mists, and tinted by the sun with
+pale golden colours.&nbsp; These appearances filled me with such delight
+and with such a train of romantic associations, that I left the table
+and ran to an open field beyond the huts and gardens, to gaze in solitude
+and catch the vision before it dissolved away.&nbsp; You, if any human
+being is able, may conceive true ideas of these glowing vapours sailing
+over the pointed rocks; and brightening them in their passage with amber
+light.</p>
+<p>When all were faded and lost in the blue ether, I had time to look
+around me and notice the mead in which I was standing.&nbsp; Here, clover
+covered its surface; there, crops of grain; further on, beds of herbs
+and the sweetest flowers.&nbsp; An amphitheatre of hills and rocks,
+broken into a variety of glens and precipices, guards the plain from
+intrusion, and opens a course for several clear rivulets, which, after
+gurgling amidst loose stones and fragments, fall down the steeps, and
+are concealed and quieted in the herbage of the vale.</p>
+<p>A cottage or two peep out of the woods that hang over the waterfalls;
+and on the brow of the hills above, appears a series of eleven little
+chapels, uniformly built.&nbsp; I followed the narrow path that leads
+to them, on the edge of the eminences, and met a troop of beautiful
+peasants, all of the name of Anna (for it was her saintship&rsquo;s
+day), going to pay their devotions, severally, at these neat white fanes.&nbsp;
+There were faces that Guercino would not have disdained copying, with
+braids of hair the softest and most luxuriant I ever beheld.&nbsp; Some
+had wreathed it simply with flowers, other with rolls of a thin linen
+(manufactured in the neighbourhood), and disposed it with a degree of
+elegance one should not have expected on the cliffs of the Tyrol.</p>
+<p>Being arrived, they knelt all together at the first chapel, on the
+steps, a minute or two, whispered a short prayer, and then dispersed
+each to her fane.&nbsp; Every little building had now its fair worshipper,
+and you may well conceive how much such figures, scattered about the
+landscape, increased its charms.&nbsp; Notwithstanding the fervour of
+their adorations (for at intervals they sighed and beat their white
+bosoms with energy), several bewitching profane glances were cast at
+me as I passed by.&nbsp; Don&rsquo;t be surprised, then, if I became
+a convert to idolatry in so amiable a form, and worshipped St. Anna
+on the score of her namesakes.</p>
+<p>When got beyond the last chapel, I began to hear the roar of a cascade
+in a thick wood of beech and chestnut that clothes the steeps of a wide
+fissure in the rock.&nbsp; My ear soon guided me to its entrance, which
+was marked by a shed encompassed with mossy fragments, and almost concealed
+by bushes of the caper-plant in full red bloom.&nbsp; Amongst these
+I struggled, till, reaching a goat-track, it conducted me, on the brink
+of the foaming waters, to the very depths of the cliff, whence issues
+a stream which dashes impetuously down, strikes against a ledge of rocks,
+and sprinkles the impending thicket with dew.&nbsp; Big drops hung on
+every spray, and glittered on the leaves partially gilt by the rays
+of the declining sun, whose mellow hues softened the summits of the
+cliffs, and diffused a repose, a divine calm, over this deep retirement,
+which inclined me to imagine it the extremity of the earth, and the
+portal of some other region of existence; some happy world beyond the
+dark groves of pine, the caves and awful mountains, where the river
+takes its source!&nbsp; I hung eagerly on the gulph, impressed with
+this idea, and fancied myself listening to a voice that bubbled up with
+the waters; then looked into the abyss and strained my eyes to penetrate
+its gloom, but all was dark and unfathomable as futurity!&nbsp; Awakening
+from my reverie, I felt the damps of the water chill my forehead, and
+ran shivering out of the vale to avoid them.&nbsp; A warmer atmosphere,
+that reigned in the meads I had wandered across before, tempted me to
+remain a good while longer, collecting the wild pinks with which they
+are strewed in profusion, and a species of thyme scented like myrrh.&nbsp;
+Whilst I was thus employed, a confused murmur struck my ear, and, on
+turning towards a cliff, backed by the woods from whence the sound seemed
+to proceed, forth issued a herd of goats, hundreds after hundreds, skipping
+down the steeps: then followed two shepherd boys, gamboling together
+as they drove their creatures along: soon after, the dog made his appearance,
+hunting a stray heifer which brought up the rear.&nbsp; I followed them
+with my eyes till lost in the windings of the valley, and heard the
+tinkling of their bells die gradually away.&nbsp; Now the last blush
+of crimson left the summit of Sinai, inferior mountains being long since
+cast in deep blue shades.&nbsp; The village was already hushed when
+I regained it, and in a few moments I followed its example.</p>
+<p><i>July</i> 27<i>th</i>. - We pursued our journey to Inspruck, through
+the wildest scenes of wood and mountain that were ever traversed, the
+rocks now beginning to assume a loftier and more majestic appearance,
+and to glisten with snows.&nbsp; I had proposed passing a day or two
+at Inspruck, visiting the castle of Ambras, and examining Count Eysenberg&rsquo;s
+cabinet, enriched with the rarest productions of the mineral kingdom,
+and a complete collection of the moths and flies peculiar to the Tyrol;
+but, upon my arrival, the azure of the skies and the brightness of the
+sunshine inspired me with an irresistible wish of hastening to Italy.&nbsp;
+I was now too near the object of my journey, to delay possession any
+longer than absolutely necessary; so, casting a transient look on Maximilian&rsquo;s
+tomb, and the bronze statues of Tyrolese Counts and worthies, solemnly
+ranged in the church of the Franciscans, set immediately off.</p>
+<p>We crossed a broad noble street, terminated by a triumphal arch,
+and were driven along the road to the foot of a mountain waving with
+fields of corn, and variegated with wood and vineyards, encircling lawns
+of the finest verdure, scattered over with white houses glistening in
+the sun.&nbsp; Upon ascending the mount, and beholding a vast range
+of prospects of a similar character, I almost repented my impatience,
+and looked down with regret upon the cupolas and steeples we were leaving
+behind.&nbsp; But the rapid succession of lovely and romantic scenes
+soon effaced the former from my memory.</p>
+<p>Our road, the smoothest in the world (though hewn in the bosom of
+rocks), by its sudden turns and windings, gave us, every instant, opportunities
+of discovering new villages, and forests rising beyond forests; green
+spots in the midst of wood, high above on the mountains, and cottages
+perched on the edge of promontories.&nbsp; Down, far below, in the chasm,
+amidst a confusion of pines and fragments of stone, rages the torrent
+Inn, which fills the country far and wide with a perpetual murmur.&nbsp;
+Sometimes we descended to its brink, and crossed over high bridges;
+sometimes mounted half-way up the cliffs, till its roar and agitation
+became, through distance, inconsiderable.</p>
+<p>After a long ascent, the shades of evening reposing in the valleys,
+and the upland snows still tinged with a vivid red, we reached Sch&ouml;nberg,
+a village well worthy of its appellation: and then, twilight drawing
+over us, began to descend.&nbsp; We could now but faintly discover the
+opposite mountains, veined with silver rills, when we came once more
+to the banks of the Inn.&nbsp; This turbulent stream accompanied us
+all the way to Steinach, and broke by its continual roar the stillness
+of the night, which had finished half its course before we were settled
+to rest.</p>
+<p><i>July</i> 28<i>th</i>. - I rose early to scent the fragrance of
+the vegetation, bathed in a shower which had lately fallen, and looking
+around me, saw nothing but crags hanging over crags, and the rocky shores
+of the stream, still dark with the shade of the mountains.&nbsp; The
+small opening in which Steinach is situated, terminates in a gloomy
+strait, scarce leaving room for the road and the torrent, which does
+not understand being thwarted, and will force its way, let the pines
+grow ever so thick, or the rocks be ever so considerable.</p>
+<p>Notwithstanding the forbidding air of this narrow dell, Industry
+has contrived to enliven its steeps with habitations, to raise water
+by means of a wheel, and to cover the surface of the rocks with soil.&nbsp;
+By this means large crops of oats and flax are produced, and most of
+the huts have gardens adjoining, which are filled with poppies, seeming
+to thrive in this parched situation.</p>
+<div class="GutenbergBlankLines1"><br /></div>
+<p>&ldquo;Urit enim lini campum seges, urit aven&aelig;,<br />Urunt
+Leth&aelig;o perfusa papavera somno.&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="GutenbergBlankLines1"><br /></div>
+<p>The farther we advanced in the dell, the larger were the plantations
+which discovered themselves.&nbsp; For what purpose these gaudy flowers
+meet with such encouragement, I had neither time nor language to inquire;
+the mountaineers stuttering a gibberish unintelligible even to Germans.&nbsp;
+Probably opium is extracted from them; or, perhaps, if you love a conjecture,
+Morpheus has transferred his abode from the Cimmerians, and has perceived
+a cavern somewhere or other in the recesses of these endless mountains.&nbsp;
+Poppies, you know, in poetic travels, always denote the skirts of his
+soporific reign, and I don&rsquo;t remember a region better calculated
+for undisturbed repose than the narrow clefts and gullies which run
+up amongst these rocks, lost in vapours impervious to the sun, and moistened
+by rills and showers, whose continual tricklings inspire a drowsiness
+not easily to be resisted.&nbsp; Add to these circumstances the waving
+of the pines, with the hum of bees seeking their food in the crevices,
+and you will have as sleepy a region as that in which Spenser and Ariosto
+have placed the nodding deity.</p>
+<p>At present, I must confess, I should not dislike submitting to his
+empire, for a few months or years, just as it might happen, whilst Europe
+is distracted by demons of revenge and war; whilst they are strangling
+at Venice, and tearing each other to pieces in unhappy London; whilst
+Etna and Vesuvius give signs of uncommon wrath; America welters in her
+blood; and almost every quarter of the globe is filled with carnage
+and devastation.&nbsp; This is the moment to humble ourselves before
+the God of Sleep; to beseech him to open his dusky portals; and admit
+us into the repose of his retired kingdom.&nbsp; If you are inclined
+to become a suppliant, hasten to the Tyrol, and we will search together
+about the mountains, traverse the poppy-meads, and look into every chasm
+and fissure that excludes daylight, in hopes of discovering the mansion
+of repose.&nbsp; Then when we have found this corner (or I think our
+search will be successful) Morpheus will give us an approving nod, and
+beckon us in silence to couch, where, soon lulled by the murmurs of
+the place, we shall sink into oblivion and tranquillity.&nbsp; But we
+may as well keep our eyes open for the present, till we have made this
+important discovery, and look at the beautiful country round Brixen,
+whither I arrived in the cool of the evening, and breathed the freshness
+of a garden, immediately beneath my window.&nbsp; The thrushes, warbling
+amongst its shades, saluted me, the moment I awoke next morning.</p>
+<p><i>July</i> 29<i>th</i>. - We proceeded over fertile mountains to
+Bolsano.&nbsp; Here first I noticed the rocks cut into terraces, thick
+set with melons and Indian corn; gardens of fig-trees and pomegranates
+hanging over walls, clustered with fruit; amidst them, a little pleasant
+cot, shaded by cypresses.&nbsp; In the evening we perceived several
+further indications of approaching Italy; and after sunset the Adige,
+rolling its full tide between precipices, which looked awful in the
+dusk.&nbsp; Myriads of fire-flies sparkled amongst the shrubs on the
+bank.&nbsp; I traced the course of these exotic insects by their blue
+light, now rising to the summits of the trees, now sinking to the ground
+and associating with vulgar glow-worms.&nbsp; We had opportunities enough
+to remark their progress, since we travelled all night; such being my
+impatience to reach the promised land!</p>
+<p>Morning dawned just as we saw Trent dimly before us.&nbsp; I slept
+a few hours, then set out again (July 30th), after the heats were in
+some degree abated, and leaving Bergine, where the peasants were feasting
+before their doors, in their holiday dresses, with red pinks stuck in
+their ears instead of rings, and their necks surrounded with coral of
+the same colour, we came through a woody valley to the banks of a lake,
+filled with the purest and most transparent water, which loses itself
+in shady creeks, amongst hills robed with verdure from their bases to
+their summits.</p>
+<p>The shores present one continual shrubbery, interspersed with knots
+of larches and slender almonds, starting from the underwood.&nbsp; A
+cornice of rock runs round the whole, except where the trees descend
+to the very brink, and dip their boughs in the water.</p>
+<p>It was five o&rsquo;clock when I caught the sight of this unsuspected
+lake, and the evening shadows stretched nearly across it.&nbsp; Gaining
+a very rapid ascent, we looked down upon its placid bosom, and saw several
+airy peaks rising above the tufted foliage of the groves around.&nbsp;
+I quitted the contemplation of them with regret, and, in a few hours,
+arrived at Borgo di Volsugano, the scenes of the lake still present
+before the eye of my fancy.</p>
+<p><i>July</i> 31<i>st</i>. - My heart beat quick when I saw some hills,
+not very distant, which I was told lay in the Venetian State, and I
+thought an age, at least, had elapsed before we were passing their base.&nbsp;
+The road was never formed to delight an impatient traveller; loose pebbles
+and rolling stones render it, in the highest degree, tedious and jolting.&nbsp;
+I should not have spared my execrations, had it not traversed a picturesque
+valley, overgrown with juniper, and strewed with fragments of rock,
+precipitated, long since, from the surrounding eminences, blooming with
+cyclamens.</p>
+<p>I clambered up several of these crags,</p>
+<div class="GutenbergBlankLines1"><br /></div>
+<p>&ldquo;fra gli odoriferi ginepri,&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="GutenbergBlankLines1"><br /></div>
+<p>to gather the flowers I have just mentioned, and found them deliciously
+scented.&nbsp; Fratillarias, and the most gorgeous flies, many of which
+I here noticed for the first time, were fluttering about and expanding
+their wings to the sun.&nbsp; There is no describing the numbers I beheld,
+nor their gaily varied colouring.&nbsp; I could not find in my heart
+to destroy their felicity; to scatter their bright plumage and snatch
+them for ever from the realms of light and flowers.&nbsp; Had I been
+less compassionate, I should have gained credit with that respectable
+corps, the torturers of butterflies; and might, perhaps, have enriched
+their cabinets with some unknown captives.&nbsp; However, I left them
+imbibing the dews of heaven, in free possession of their native rights;
+and having changed horses at Tremolano, entered at length my long-desired
+Italy.</p>
+<p>The pass is rocky and tremendous, guarded by a fortress (Covalo),
+in possession of the Empress Queen, and only fit, one should think,
+to be inhabited by her eagles.&nbsp; There is no attaining this exalted
+hold but by the means of a cord let down many fathoms by the soldiers,
+who live in dens and caverns, which serve also as arsenals, and magazines
+for powder; whose mysteries I declined prying into, their approach being
+a little too a&euml;rial for my earthly frame.&nbsp; A black vapour,
+tinging their entrance, completed the terror of the prospect, which
+I shall never forget.</p>
+<p>For two or three leagues it continued much in the same style; cliffs,
+nearly perpendicular, on both sides, and the Brenta foaming and thundering
+below.&nbsp; Beyond, the rocks began to be mantled with vines and gardens.&nbsp;
+Here and there a cottage shaded with mulberries made its appearance,
+and we often discovered, on the banks of the river, ranges of white
+buildings, with courts and awnings, beneath which vast numbers were
+employed in manufacturing silk.&nbsp; As we advanced, the stream gradually
+widened, and the rocks receded; woods were more frequent and cottages
+thicker strown.</p>
+<p>About five in the evening, we had left the country of crags and precipices,
+of mists and cataracts, and were entering the fertile territory of the
+Bassanese.&nbsp; It was now I beheld groves of olives, and vines clustering
+the summits of the tallest elms; pomegranates in every garden, and vases
+of citron and orange before almost every door.&nbsp; The softness and
+transparency of the air soon told me I was arrived in happier climates;
+and I felt sensations of joy and novelty run through my veins, upon
+beholding this smiling land of groves and verdure stretched out before
+me.&nbsp; A few glooming vapours, I can hardly call them clouds, rested
+upon the extremities of the landscape; and, through their medium, the
+sun cast an oblique and dewy ray.&nbsp; Peasants were returning homeward
+from the cultivated hillocks and corn-fields, singing as they went,
+and calling to each other over the hills; whilst the women were milking
+goats before the wickets of the cottages, and preparing their country
+fare.</p>
+<p>I left them enjoying it, and soon beheld the ancient ramparts and
+cypresses of Bassano; whose classic appearance recalled the memory of
+former times, and answered exactly the ideas I had pictured to myself
+of Italian edifices.&nbsp; Though encompassed by walls and turrets,
+neither soldiers nor custom-house officers start out from their concealment,
+to question and molest a weary traveller, for such are the blessings
+of the Venetian State, at least of the Terra Firma provinces, that it
+does not contain, I believe, above four regiments.&nbsp; Istria, Dalmatia,
+and the maritime frontiers, are more formidably guarded, as they touch,
+you know, the whiskers of the Turkish empire.</p>
+<p>Passing under a Doric gateway, we crossed the chief part of the town
+in the way to our locanda, pleasantly situated, and commanding a level
+green, where people walk and eat ices by moonlight.&nbsp; On the right,
+the Franciscan church and convent, half hid in the religious gloom of
+pine and cypress; to the left, a perspective of walls and towers rising
+from the turf, and marking it, when I arrived, with long shadows; in
+front, where the lawn terminates, meadow, wood, and garden run quite
+to the base of the mountains.</p>
+<p>Twilight coming on, this beautiful spot swarmed with people, sitting
+in circles upon the grass, refreshing themselves with cooling liquors
+or lounging upon the bank beneath the towers.&nbsp; They looked so free
+and happy that I longed to be acquainted with them; and by the interposition
+of a polite Venetian (who, though a perfect stranger, showed me the
+most engaging marks of attention), was introduced to a group of the
+principal inhabitants.&nbsp; Our conversation ended in a promise to
+meet the next evening at a country house about a league from Bassano,
+and then to return together and sing to the praise of Pacchierotti,
+their idol, as well as mine.</p>
+<p>You can have no idea what pleasure we mutually found in being of
+the same faith, and believing in one singer; nor can you imagine what
+effects that musical divinity produced at Padua, where he performed
+a few years ago, and threw his audience into such raptures, that it
+was some time before they recovered.&nbsp; One in particular, a lady
+of distinction, fainted away the instant she caught the pathetic accents
+of his voice, and was near dying a martyr to its melody.&nbsp; La Contessa
+Roberti, who sings in the truest taste, gave me a detail of the whole
+affair.&nbsp; &ldquo;Egli ha fatto veramente un fanatismo a Padua,&rdquo;
+was her expression.&nbsp; I assured her we were not without idolatry
+in England, upon his account; but that in this, as well as in other
+articles of belief, there were many abominable heretics.</p>
+<p><i>August</i> 1<i>st</i>. - The whole morning not a soul stirred
+who could avoid it.&nbsp; Those who were so active and lively the night
+before, were now stretched languidly upon their couches.&nbsp; Being
+to the full as idly disposed, I sat down and wrote some of this dreaming
+epistle; then feasted upon figs and melons; then got under the shade
+of the cypress, and slumbered till evening, only waking to dine, and
+take some ice.</p>
+<p>The sun declining apace, I hastened to my engagement at Mosolente
+(for so is the villa called), placed on a verdant hill encircled by
+others as lovely, and consisting of three light pavilions connected
+by porticos: just such as we admire in the fairy scenes of an opera.&nbsp;
+A vast flight of steps leads to the summit, where Signora Roberti and
+her friends received me with a grace and politeness that can never want
+a place in my memory.&nbsp; We rambled over all the apartments of this
+agreeable edifice, characterised by airiness and simplicity.&nbsp; The
+pavement incrusted with a composition as cool and polished as marble;
+the windows, doors, and balconies adorned with silvered, iron work,
+commanding scenes of meads and woodlands that extend to the shores of
+the Adriatic; spires and cypresses rising above the levels; and the
+hazy mountains beyond Padua, diversifying the expanse, form altogether
+a landscape which the elegant imagination of Horizonti never exceeded.&nbsp;
+Beyond the villa, a tumble of hillocks present themselves in a variety
+of forms, with dips and hollows between, scattered over with leafy trees
+and vines dangling in continued garlands.</p>
+<p>I gazed on this rural view till it faded in the dusk; then returning
+to Bassano, repaired to an illuminated hall, and had the felicity of
+hearing La Signora Roberti sing the very air which had excited such
+transport at Padua.&nbsp; As soon as she had ended, and that I could
+hear no more those affecting sounds, which had held me silent and almost
+breathless for several moments, a band of various instruments stationed
+in the open street began a lively symphony, which would have delighted
+me at any other time; but now, I wished them a thousand leagues away,
+so melancholy an impression did the air I had been listening to leave
+on my mind.</p>
+<p>At midnight I took leave of my obliging hosts, who were just setting
+out for Padua.&nbsp; They gave me a thousand kind invitations, and I
+hope some future day to accept them.</p>
+<p><i>August</i> 2<i>nd</i>. - Our route to Venice lay winding about
+the variegated plains I had surveyed from Mosolente; and after dining
+at Treviso we came in two hours and a half to Mestre, between grand
+villas and gardens peopled with statues.&nbsp; Embarking our baggage
+at the last-mentioned place, we stepped into a gondola, whose even motion
+was very agreeable after the jolts of a chaise.&nbsp; Stretched beneath
+the awning, I enjoyed at my ease the freshness of the gales, and the
+sight of the waters.&nbsp; We were soon out of the canal of Mestre,
+terminated by an isle which contains a cell dedicated to the Holy Virgin,
+peeping out of a thicket from whence spire up two tall cypresses.&nbsp;
+Its bells tingled as we passed along and dropped some paolis into a
+net tied at the end of a pole stretched out to us for that purpose.</p>
+<p>As soon as we had doubled the cape of this diminutive island, an
+azure expanse of sea opened to our view, the domes and towers of Venice
+rising from its bosom.&nbsp; Now we began to distinguish Murano, St.
+Michele, St. Giorgio in Alga, and several other islands, detached from
+the grand cluster, which I hailed as old acquaintances; innumerable
+prints and drawings having long since made their shapes familiar.&nbsp;
+Still gliding forward, the sun casting his last gleams across the waves,
+and reddening the different towers, we every moment distinguished some
+new church or palace in the city, suffused with the evening rays, and
+reflected with all their glow of colouring from the surface of the waters.</p>
+<p>The air was still; the sky cloudless; a faint wind just breathing
+upon the deep, lightly bore its surface against the steps of a chapel
+in the island of Saint Secondo, and waved the veil before its portal,
+as we rowed by and coasted the walls of its garden, overhung with fig-trees
+and topped with Italian pines.&nbsp; The convent discovers itself through
+their branches, built in a style somewhat morisco, and level with the
+sea, except where the garden intervenes.</p>
+<p>Here, meditation may indulge her reveries in the midst of the surges,
+and walk in cloisters, alone vocal with the whispers of the pine.&nbsp;
+I passed this consecrated spot soon after sunset, when daylight was
+expiring in the west, and when the distant woods of Fusina were lost
+in the haze of the horizon.</p>
+<p>We were now drawing very near the city, and a confused hum began
+to interrupt the evening stillness; gondolas were continually passing
+and repassing, and the entrance of the Canal Reggio, with all its stir
+and bustle, lay before us.&nbsp; Our gondoliers turned with much address
+through a crowd of boats and barges that blocked up the way, and rowed
+smoothly by the side of a broad pavement, covered with people in all
+dresses and of all nations.</p>
+<p>Leaving the Palazzo Pesaro, a noble structure with two rows of arcades
+and a superb rustic, behind, we were soon landed before the Leon Bianco,
+which being situated in one of the broadest parts of the grand canal,
+commands a most striking assemblage of buildings.&nbsp; I have no terms
+to describe the variety of pillars, of pediments, of mouldings, and
+cornices, some Grecian, others Saracenical, that adorn these edifices,
+of which the pencil of Canaletti conveys so perfect an idea as to render
+all verbal description superfluous.&nbsp; At one end of this grand perspective
+appears the Rialto; the sweep of the canal conceals the other.</p>
+<p>The rooms of our hotel are as spacious and cheerful as I could desire;
+a lofty hall, or rather gallery, painted with grotesque in a very good
+style, perfectly clean, floored with the stucco composition I have mentioned
+above, divides the house, and admits a refreshing current of air.&nbsp;
+Several windows near the ceiling look into this vast apartment, which
+serves in lieu of a court, and is rendered perfectly luminous by a glazed
+arcade, thrown open to catch the breezes.&nbsp; Through it I passed
+to a balcony which impends over the canal, and is twined round with
+plants forming a green festoon springing from two large vases of orange-trees
+placed at each end.&nbsp; Here I established myself to enjoy the cool,
+and observe, as well as the dusk would permit, the variety of figures
+shooting by in their gondolas.</p>
+<p>As night approached, innumerable tapers glimmered through the awnings
+before the windows.&nbsp; Every boat had its lantern, and the gondolas
+moving rapidly along were followed by tracks of light, which gleamed
+and played upon the waters.&nbsp; I was gazing at these dancing fires
+when the sounds of music were wafted along the canals, and as they grew
+louder and louder, an illuminated barge, filled with musicians, issued
+from the Rialto, and stopping under one of the palaces, began a serenade,
+which was clamorous and suspended all conversation in the galleries
+and porticos; till, rowing slowly away, it was heard no more.&nbsp;
+The gondoliers catching the air, imitated its cadences, and were answered
+by others at a distance, whose voices, echoed by the arch of the bridge,
+acquired a plaintive and interesting tone.&nbsp; I retired to rest,
+full of the sound; and long after I was asleep, the melody seemed to
+vibrate in my ear.</p>
+<p><i>August</i> 3<i>rd</i>. - It was not five o&rsquo;clock before
+I was aroused by a loud din of voices and splashing of water under my
+balcony.&nbsp; Looking out, I beheld the grand canal so entirely covered
+with fruits and vegetables, on rafts and in barges, that I could scarcely
+distinguish a wave.&nbsp; Loads of grapes, peaches, and melons arrived,
+and disappeared in an instant, for every vessel was in motion; and the
+crowds of purchasers hurrying from boat to boat, formed one of the liveliest
+pictures imaginable.&nbsp; Amongst the multitudes, I remarked a good
+many whose dress and carriage announced something above the common rank;
+and upon inquiry I found they were noble Venetians, just come from their
+casinos, and met to refresh themselves with fruit, before they retired
+to sleep for the day.</p>
+<p>Whilst I was observing them, the sun began to colour the balustrades
+of the palaces, and the pure exhilarating air of the morning drawing
+me abroad, I procured a gondola, laid in my provision of bread and grapes,
+and was rowed under the Rialto, down the grand canal, to the marble
+steps of S. Maria della Salute, erected by the Senate in performance
+of a vow to the Holy Virgin, who begged off a terrible pestilence in
+1630.&nbsp; I gazed, delighted with its superb frontispiece and dome,
+relieved by a clear blue sky.&nbsp; To criticize columns or pediments
+of the different fa&ccedil;ades, would be time lost; since one glance
+upon the worst view that has been taken of them, conveys a far better
+idea than the most elaborate description.&nbsp; The great bronze portal
+opened whilst I was standing on the steps which lead to it, and discovered
+the interior of the dome, where I expatiated in solitude; no mortal
+appearing except an old priest who trimmed the lamps, and muttered a
+prayer before the high altar, still wrapped in shadows.&nbsp; The sunbeams
+began to strike against the windows of the cupola just as I left the
+church, and was wafted across the waves to the spacious platform in
+front of St. Giorgio Maggiore, by far the most perfect and beautiful
+edifice my eyes ever beheld.</p>
+<p>When my first transport was a little subsided, and I had examined
+the graceful design of each particular ornament, and united the just
+proportion and grand effect of the whole in my mind, I planted my umbrella
+on the margin of the sea, and reclining under its shade, my feet dangling
+over the waters, viewed the vast range of palaces, of porticos, of towers,
+opening on every side and extending out of sight.&nbsp; The Doge&rsquo;s
+residence and the tall columns at the entrance of the place of St. Mark,
+form, together with the arcades of the public library, the lofty Campanile
+and the cupolas of the ducal church, one of the most striking groups
+of buildings that art can boast of.&nbsp; To behold at one glance these
+stately fabrics, so illustrious in the records of former ages, before
+which, in the flourishing times of the republic, so many valiant chiefs
+and princes have landed, loaded with the spoils of different nations,
+was a spectacle I had long and ardently desired.&nbsp; I thought of
+the days of Frederic Barbarossa, when looking up the piazza of St. Mark,
+along which he marched in solemn procession, to cast himself at the
+feet of Alexander the Third, and pay a tardy homage to St. Peter&rsquo;s
+successor.&nbsp; Here were no longer those splendid fleets that attended
+his progress; one solitary galeass was all I beheld, anchored opposite
+the palace of the Doge, and surrounded by crowds of gondolas, whose
+sable hues contrasted strongly with its vermilion oars and shining ornaments.&nbsp;
+A party-coloured multitude was continually shifting from one side of
+the piazza to the other; whilst senators and magistrates in long black
+robes were already arriving to fill their respective charges.</p>
+<p>I contemplated the busy scene from my peaceful platform, where nothing
+stirred but aged devotees creeping to their devotions; and, whilst I
+remained thus calm and tranquil, heard the distant buzz and rumour of
+the town.&nbsp; Fortunately a length of waves rolled between me and
+its tumults; so that I ate my grapes, and read Metastasio, undisturbed
+by officiousness or curiosity.&nbsp; When the sun became too powerful,
+I entered the nave, and applauded the genius of Palladio.</p>
+<p>After I had admired the masterly structure of the roof and the lightness
+of its arches, my eyes naturally directed themselves to the pavement
+of white and ruddy marble, polished, and reflecting like a mirror the
+columns which rise from it.&nbsp; Over this I walked to a door that
+admitted me into the principal quadrangle of the convent, surrounded
+by a cloister supported on Ionic pillars, beautifully proportioned.&nbsp;
+A flight of stairs opens into the court, adorned with balustrades and
+pedestals, sculptured with elegance truly Grecian.&nbsp; This brought
+me to the refectory, where the chef-d&rsquo;&oelig;uvre of Paul Veronese,
+representing the marriage of Cana in Galilee, was the first object that
+presented itself.&nbsp; I never beheld so gorgeous a group of wedding
+garments before; there is every variety of fold and plait that can possibly
+be imagined.&nbsp; The attitudes and countenances are more uniform,
+and the guests appear a very genteel, decent sort of people, well used
+to the mode of their times and accustomed to miracles.</p>
+<p>Having examined this fictitious repast, I cast a look on a long range
+of tables covered with very excellent realities, which the monks were
+coming to devour with energy, if one might judge from their appearance.&nbsp;
+These sons of penitence and mortification possess one of the most spacious
+islands of the whole cluster, a princely habitation, with gardens and
+open porticos, that engross every breath of air; and, what adds not
+a little to the charms of their abode, is the liberty of making excursions
+from it, whenever they have a mind.</p>
+<p>The republic, wisely jealous of ecclesiastical influence, connives
+at these amusing rambles, and, by encouraging the liberty of monks and
+churchmen, prevents their appearing too sacred and important in the
+eyes of the people, who have frequent proofs of their being mere flesh
+and blood, and that of the frailest composition.&nbsp; Had the rest
+of Italy been of the same opinion, and profited as much by Fra Paolo&rsquo;s
+maxims, some of its fairest fields would not, at this moment, lie uncultivated,
+and its ancient spirit might have revived.&nbsp; However, I can scarcely
+think the moment far distant, when it will assert its natural prerogatives,
+awake from its ignoble slumber, and look back upon the tiara, with all
+its host of idle fears and scaring phantoms, as the offspring of a distempered
+dream.&nbsp; Scarce a sovereign supports any longer this vain illusion,
+except the old woman of Hungary, and as soon as her dim eyes are closed
+we shall probably witness great events. <a name="citation156"></a><a href="#footnote156">{156}</a></p>
+<p>Full of prophecies and bodings, I moved slowly out of the cloisters;
+and, gaining my gondola, arrived, I know not how, at the flights of
+steps which lead to the Redenptore, a structure so simple and elegant,
+that I thought myself entering an antique temple, and looked about for
+the statue of the God of Delphi, or some other graceful divinity.&nbsp;
+A huge crucifix of bronze soon brought me to times present.</p>
+<p>The charm being thus dissolved, I began to perceive the shapes of
+rueful martyrs peeping out of the niches around, and the bushy beards
+of Capuchin friars wagging before the altars.&nbsp; These good fathers
+had decorated their church, according to custom, with orange and citron
+trees, placed between the pilasters of the arcades; and on grand festivals,
+it seems, they turn the whole church into a bower, strew the pavement
+with leaves, and festoon the dome with flowers.</p>
+<p>I left them occupied with their plants and their devotions.&nbsp;
+It was midday, and I begged to be rowed to some woody island, where
+I might dine in shade and tranquillity.&nbsp; My gondoliers shot off
+in an instant; but, though they went at a very rapid rate, I wished
+to fly faster, and getting into a bark with six oars, swept along the
+waters, soon left the Zecca and San Marco behind; and, launching into
+the plains of shining sea, saw turret after turret, and isle after isle,
+fleeting before me.&nbsp; A pale greenish light ran along the shores
+of the distant continent, whose mountains seemed to catch the motion
+of my boat, and to fly with equal celerity.</p>
+<p>I had not much time to contemplate the beautiful effects on the waters
+- the emerald and purple hues which gleamed along their surface.&nbsp;
+Our prow struck, foaming, against the walls of the Carthusian garden,
+before I recollected where I was, or could look attentively around me.&nbsp;
+Permission being obtained, I entered this cool retirement, and putting
+aside with my hands the boughs of fig-trees and pomegranates, got under
+an ancient bay, near which several tall pines lift themselves up to
+the breezes.&nbsp; I listened to the conversation they held, with a
+wind just flown from Greece, and charged, as well as I could understand
+this airy language, with many affectionate remembrances from their relations
+on Mount Ida.</p>
+<p>I reposed amidst bay leaves, fanned by a constant air, till it pleased
+the fathers to send me some provisions, with a basket of fruit and wine.&nbsp;
+Two of them would wait upon me, and ask ten thousand questions about
+Lord George Gordon, and the American war.&nbsp; I, who was deeply engaged
+with the winds, and fancied myself hearing these rapid travellers relate
+their adventures, wished my interrogators in purgatory, and pleaded
+ignorance of the Italian language.&nbsp; This circumstance extricated
+me from my difficulties, and procured me a long interval of repose.</p>
+<p>The rustling of the pines had the same effect as the murmurs of other
+old story-tellers, and I slept undisturbed till the people without,
+in the boat (who wondered not a little, I dare say, what the deuce was
+become of me within), began a sort of chorus in parts, full of such
+plaintive modulation, that I still thought myself under the influence
+of a dream, and, half in this world and half in the other, believed,
+like the heroes of Fingal, that I had caught the music of the spirits
+of the hill.</p>
+<p>When I was thoroughly convinced of the reality of these sounds, I
+moved towards the shore from whence they proceeded: a glassy sea lay
+full before me; no gale ruffled the expanse; every breath was subsided,
+and I beheld the sun go down in all its sacred calm.&nbsp; You have
+experienced the sensations this moment inspires; imagine what they must
+have been in such a scene, and accompanied with a melody so simple and
+pathetic.&nbsp; I stepped into my boat, and instead of encouraging the
+speed of the gondoliers, begged them to abate their ardour, and row
+me lazily home.&nbsp; They complied, and we were near an hour reaching
+the platform before the ducal palace, thronged as usual with a variety
+of nations.&nbsp; I mixed a moment with the crowd; then directed my
+steps to the great mosque, - I ought to say the church of St. Mark;
+but really its cupolas, slender pinnacles, and semicircular arches,
+have so oriental an appearance, as to excuse this appellation.&nbsp;
+I looked a moment at the four stately coursers of bronze and gold that
+adorn the chief portal, and then took in, at one glance, the whole extent
+of the square, with its towers and standards.&nbsp; So noble an assemblage
+never met my eyes.&nbsp; I envied the good fortune of Petrarch, who
+describes, in one of his letters, a tournament held in this princely
+opening.</p>
+<p>Many are the festivals which have been here celebrated.&nbsp; When
+Henry the Third left Poland to mount the throne of France, he passed
+through Venice, and found the republic waiting to receive him in their
+famous square, which by means of an awning stretched from the balustrades
+of opposite palaces, was metamorphosed into a vast saloon, sparkling
+with artificial stars, and spread with the richest carpets of the East.&nbsp;
+What a magnificent idea!&nbsp; The ancient Romans, in the zenith of
+power and luxury, never conceived a greater.&nbsp; It is to them the
+Venetians are indebted for the hint, since we read of the Coliseo and
+Pompey&rsquo;s theatre being sometimes covered with transparent canvas,
+to defend the spectators from the heat or sudden rain, and to tint the
+scene with soft agreeable colours, like the hues of the declining sun.</p>
+<p>Having enjoyed the general perspective of the piazza, I began to
+enter into particulars, and examine the bronze pedestals of the three
+standards before the great church, designed by Sansovino in the true
+spirit of the antique, and covered with relievos, at the same time bold
+and elegant.&nbsp; It is also to this celebrated architect we are indebted
+for the stately fa&ccedil;ade of the Proccuratie nuove, which forms
+one side of the square, and presents an uninterrupted series of arcades
+and marble columns exquisitely wrought.&nbsp; Opposite this magnificent
+range appears another line of palaces, whose architecture, though far
+removed from the Grecian purity of Sansovino, impresses veneration,
+and completes the pomp of the view.</p>
+<p>There is something strange and singular in the tower, which rises
+distinct from the smooth pavement of the square, a little to the left
+as you stand before the chief entrance of St. Mark&rsquo;s.&nbsp; The
+design is rather barbarous, and terminates in uncouth and heavy pyramids;
+yet in spite of these defects it struck me with awe.&nbsp; A beautiful
+building called the Loggetta, and which serves as a guard-house during
+the convocation of the grand council, decorates its base.&nbsp; Nothing
+can be more enriched, more finished than this structure; which, though
+far from diminutive, is in a manner lost at the foot of the Campanile.&nbsp;
+This enormous mass seems to promise a very long duration, and will probably
+carry down the fame of St. Mark and his Lion to the latest posterity.&nbsp;
+Both appear in great state towards its summit, and have nothing superior,
+but an archangel perched on the topmost pinnacle, and pointing to the
+skies.&nbsp; The dusk prevented my remarking the various sculptures
+with which the Loggetta is crowded.</p>
+<p>Crossing the ample space between this elegant edifice and the ducal
+palace, I passed through a labyrinth of pillars and entered the principal
+court, of which nothing but the great outline was visible at so late
+an hour.&nbsp; Two reservoirs of bronze, rich with sculptured foliage,
+diversify the area.&nbsp; In front a magnificent flight of steps presents
+itself, by which the senators ascend through vast and solemn corridors,
+which lead to the interior of the edifice.&nbsp; The colossal statues
+of Mars and Neptune guard the entrance, and have given the appellation
+of <i>scala dei geganti</i> to the steps below, which I mounted not
+without respect; and, leaning against the balustrades, formed like the
+rest of the building of the rarest marbles, adored the tutelary divinities.</p>
+<p>My devotions were shortly interrupted by one of the sbirri, or officers
+of police, who take their stands after sunset before the avenues of
+the palace, and who told me the gates were upon the point of being closed.&nbsp;
+So, hurrying down the steps, I left half my vows unpaid and a million
+of delicate sculptures unexplored; for every pilaster, every frieze,
+every entablature, is incrusted with porphyry, verde antique, or some
+other curious marble, carved into as many grotesque wreaths and mouldings
+as we admire in the loggios of Raffaello.&nbsp; The various portals,
+the strange projections, the length of cloisters; in short, the noble
+irregularity of these imperial piles, delighted me beyond idea; and
+I was sorry to be forced to abandon them so soon, especially as the
+twilight, which bats and owls love not better than I do, enlarged every
+portico, lengthened every colonnade, and increased the dimensions of
+the whole, just as imagination desired.&nbsp; This faculty would have
+had full scope had I but remained an hour longer.&nbsp; The moon would
+then have gleamed upon the gigantic forms of Mars and Neptune, and discovered
+the statues of ancient heroes emerging from the gloom of their niches.</p>
+<p>Such an interesting assemblage of objects, such regal scenery, with
+the reflection that half their ornaments once contributed to the decoration
+of Athens, transported me beyond myself.&nbsp; The sbirri thought me
+distracted.&nbsp; True enough, I was stalking proudly about like an
+actor in an ancient Grecian tragedy, lifting up his hands to the consecrated
+fanes and images around, expecting the reply of his attendant chorus,
+and declaiming the first verses of &OElig;dipus Tyrannus.</p>
+<p>These fits of enthusiasm were hardly subsided, when I issued from
+the gates of the palace into the great square, which received a faint
+gleam from its casinos and palaces, just beginning to be lighted up,
+and become the resort of pleasure and dissipation.&nbsp; Numbers were
+walking in parties upon the pavement; some sought the shade of the porticos
+with their favourites; others were earnestly engaged in conversation,
+and filled the gay illuminated apartments, where they resorted to drink
+coffee and sorbet, with laughter and merriment.&nbsp; A thoughtless
+giddy transport prevailed; for, at this hour, anything like restraint
+seems perfectly out of the question; and however solemn a magistrate
+or senator may appear in the day, at night he lays up wig and robe and
+gravity to sleep together, runs intriguing about in his gondola, takes
+the reigning sultana under his arm, and so rambles half over the town,
+which grows gayer and gayer as the day declines.</p>
+<p>Many of the noble Venetians have a little suite of apartments in
+some out-of-the-way corner, near the grand piazza, of which their families
+are totally ignorant.&nbsp; To these they skulk in the dusk, and revel
+undisturbed with the companions of their pleasures.&nbsp; Jealousy itself
+cannot discover the alleys, the winding passages, the unsuspected doors,
+by which these retreats are accessible.&nbsp; Many an unhappy lover,
+whose mistress disappears on a sudden with some fortunate rival, has
+searched for her haunts in vain.&nbsp; The gondoliers themselves, though
+the prime managers of intrigue, are scarce ever acquainted with these
+interior cabinets.&nbsp; When a gallant has a mind to pursue his adventures
+with mystery, he rows to the piazza, orders his bark to wait, meets
+his goddess in the crowd, and vanishes from all beholders.&nbsp; Surely,
+Venice is the city in the universe best calculated for giving scope
+to the observations of a devil upon two sticks.&nbsp; What a variety
+of lurking-places would one stroke of his crutch uncover!</p>
+<p>Whilst the higher ranks were solacing themselves in their casinos,
+the rabble were gathered in knots round the strollers and mountebanks,
+singing and scaramouching in the middle of the square.&nbsp; I observed
+a great number of Orientals amongst the crowd, and heard Turkish and
+Arabic muttering in every corner.&nbsp; There the Sclavonian dialect
+predominated; there some Grecian jargon, almost unintelligible.&nbsp;
+Had St. Mark&rsquo;s church been the wondrous tower, and its piazza
+the chief square, of the city of Babylon, there could scarcely have
+been a greater confusion of languages.</p>
+<p>The novelty of the scene afforded me no small share of amusement,
+and I wandered about from group to group, and from one strange exotic
+to another, asking and being asked innumerable ridiculous questions,
+and settling the politics of London and Constantinople, almost in the
+same breath.&nbsp; This instant, I found myself in a circle of grave
+Armenian priests and jewellers; the next amongst Greeks and Dalmatians,
+who accosted me with the smoothest compliments, and gave proof that
+their reputation for pliability and address was not ill-founded.</p>
+<p>I was entering into a grand harum-scarum discourse with some Russian
+Counts or Princes, or whatever you please, just landed with dwarfs,
+and footmen, and governors, and staring, like me, about them, when Mad.
+de R. arrived, to whom I had the happiness of being recommended.&nbsp;
+She very obligingly presented me to some of the most distinguished of
+the Venetian families at their great casino, which looks into the piazza,
+and consists of five or six rooms, fitted up in a gay flimsy taste,
+neither rich nor elegant, where were a great many lights, and a great
+many ladies negligently dressed, their hair falling very freely about
+them, and innumerable adventures written in their eyes.&nbsp; The gentlemen
+were lolling upon the sofas or lounging about the apartments.</p>
+<p>The whole assembly seemed upon the verge of gaping, till coffee was
+carried round.&nbsp; This magic beverage diffused a temporary animation;
+and, for a moment or two, conversation moved on with a degree of pleasing
+extravagance; but the flash was soon dissipated, and nothing remained
+save cards and stupidity.</p>
+<p>In the intervals of shuffling and dealing, some talked over the affairs
+of the grand council with less reserve than I expected; and two or three
+of them asked some feeble questions about the late tumults in London:
+as much, however, through indolence and forgetfulness, I should conjecture,
+as from any political motive, for I don&rsquo;t believe all those wise
+stories, which some travellers have propagated, of Venetian subtlety
+and profound silence.&nbsp; They might have reigned during the dark
+periods of the republic, but at this moment the veil is rent in fifty
+places; and without any wonderful penetration, the debates of the senate
+are discoverable.&nbsp; There doubtless was a time when, society being
+greatly divided, and little communication subsisting among the nobles,
+secrets were invariably kept; but since the establishment of casinos,
+which the ladies rule, where chit-chat and tittle-tattle are for ever
+going forwards, who can preserve a rigorous taciturnity upon any subject
+in the universe?&nbsp; It was one o&rsquo;clock before all the company
+were assembled, and I left them at three, still dreaming over their
+coffee and card-tables.&nbsp; Trieze is their favourite game: <i>uno</i>,
+<i>due</i>, <i>tre</i>, <i>quatro</i>, <i>cinque</i>, <i>fante</i>,
+<i>cavallo</i> are eternally repeated; the apartments echoed no other
+sound.</p>
+<p>No lively people could endure such monotony; yet I have been told
+the Venetians are remarkably spirited, and so eager in the pursuit of
+amusement as hardly to allow themselves any sleep.&nbsp; Some, for instance,
+after declaiming in the Senate, walking an hour in the square, and fidgeting
+about from one casino to another till morning dawns, will get into a
+gondola, row across the Lagunes, take the post to Mestre or Fusina,
+and jumble over craggy pavements to Treviso, breakfast in haste, and
+rattle back again as if the devil were charioteer: by eleven the party
+is restored to Venice, resumes robe and periwig, and goes to council.</p>
+<p>This may be very true, and yet I will never cite the Venetians as
+examples of vivacity.&nbsp; Their nerves, unstrung by disease and the
+consequences of early debaucheries, impede all lively flow of spirits
+in its course, and permit at best but a few moments of a false and feverish
+activity.&nbsp; The approaches of rest, forced back by an immoderate
+use of coffee, render them, too, weak and listless, and the facility
+of being wafted from place to place in a gondola, adds not a little
+to their indolence.&nbsp; In short, I can scarcely regard their Eastern
+neighbours in a more lazy light; and am apt to imagine that instead
+of slumbering less than other people, they pass their lives in one perpetual
+doze.</p>
+<p><i>August</i> 4<i>th</i>. - The heats were so excessive in the night,
+that I thought myself several times on the point of suffocation, tossed
+about like a wounded fish, and dreamt of the devil and Senegal.&nbsp;
+Towards sunrise, a faint breeze restored me to life and reason.&nbsp;
+I slumbered till late in the day, and the moment I was fairly awake,
+ordered my gondolier to row out to the main ocean, that I might plunge
+into its waves, and hear and see nothing but waters around me.</p>
+<p>We shot off, wound amongst a number of sheds, shops, churches, casinos,
+and palaces, growing immediately out of the canals, without any apparent
+foundation.&nbsp; No quay, no terrace, not even a slab is to be seen
+before the doors; one step brings you from the hall into the bark, and
+the vestibules of the stateliest structures lie open to the waters,
+and level with them.&nbsp; I observed several, as I glided along, supported
+by rows of well-proportioned pillars, adorned with terms and vases,
+beyond which the eye generally discovers a grand court, and sometimes
+a garden.</p>
+<p>In about half an hour, we had left the thickest cluster of isles
+behind, and, coasting the Place of St. Mark opposite to San Giorgio
+Maggiore, whose elegant frontispiece was painted on the calm waters,
+launched into the blue expanse of sea, from which rise the Chartreuse
+and two or three other woody islands.&nbsp; I hailed the spot where
+I had passed such a happy visionary evening, and nodded to my friends
+the pines.</p>
+<p>A few minutes more brought me to a dreary, sun-burnt shore, stalked
+over by a few Sclavonian soldiers, who inhabit a castle hard by, go
+regularly to an ugly unfinished church, and from thence, it is to be
+hoped, to paradise; as the air of their barracks is abominable, and
+kills them like blasted sheep.</p>
+<p>Forlorn as this island appeared to me, I was told it was the scene
+of the Doge&rsquo;s pageantry at the feast of the Ascension; and the
+very spot to which he sails in the <i>Bucentaur</i>, previously to wedding
+the sea.&nbsp; You have heard enough, and if ever you looked into a
+show-box, seen full sufficient of this gaudy spectacle, without my enlarging
+upon the topic.&nbsp; I shall only say, that I was obliged to pursue,
+partly, the same road as the nuptial procession, in order to reach the
+beach, and was broiled and dazzled accordingly.</p>
+<p>At last, after traversing some desert hillocks, all of a hop with
+toads and locusts (amongst which English heretics have the honour of
+being interred), I passed under an arch, and suddenly the boundless
+plains of ocean opened to my view.&nbsp; I ran to the smooth sands,
+extending on both sides out of sight, cast off my clothes, and dashed
+into the waves, which were coursing one another with a gentle motion,
+and breaking lightly on the shores.&nbsp; The tide rolled over me as
+I lay floating about, buoyed up by the water, and carried me wheresoever
+it listed.&nbsp; It might have borne me far out into the main, and exposed
+me to a thousand perils, before I had been aware, so totally was I abandoned
+to the illusion of the moment.&nbsp; My ears were filled with murmuring
+undecided sounds; my limbs, stretched languidly on the surge, rose or
+sunk just as it swelled or subsided.&nbsp; In this passive, senseless
+state I remained, till the sun cast a less intolerable light, and the
+fishing vessels, lying out in the bay at a great distance, spread their
+sails and were coming home.</p>
+<p>Hastening back over the desert of locusts, I threw myself into the
+gondola; and, no wind or wave opposing, was soon wafted across to those
+venerable columns, so conspicuous in the Place of St. Mark.&nbsp; Directing
+my course immediately to the ducal palace, I entered the grand court,
+ascending the Giant&rsquo;s stairs, and examined at my leisure its bas-reliefs.&nbsp;
+Then, taking the first guide that presented himself, I was shown along
+several cloisters and corridors, sustained by innumerable pillars, into
+the state apartments, which Tintoret and Paolo Veronese have covered
+with the triumphs of their country.</p>
+<p>A swarm of lawyers filled the Sala del Maggior Consiglio, and one
+of the first advocates in the republic was pleading with all his might,
+before a solemn row of senators.&nbsp; The eyes and ears of the assembly
+seemed equally affected.&nbsp; Clouds of powder and volleys of execrations
+issuing every instant from the disputants, I got out of their way; and
+was led from hall to hall, and from picture to picture, with exemplary
+resignation.&nbsp; To be sure, I was heartily tired, but behaved with
+decency, having never once expressed how much I wished the chefs-d&rsquo;&oelig;uvre
+I had been contemplating, less smoky and numerous.</p>
+<p>At last, I reached once more the colonnades at the entrance, and
+caught the sea-breeze in the open porticos which front San Giorgio Maggiore.&nbsp;
+The walls are covered in most places with grim visages sculptured in
+marble, whose mouths gape for accusations, and swallow every lie that
+malice and revenge can dictate.&nbsp; I wished for a few ears of the
+same kind, dispersed about the Doge&rsquo;s residence, to which one
+might apply one&rsquo;s own, and catch some account of the mysteries
+within; some little dialogue between the Three Inquisitors, or debate
+in the Council of Ten.</p>
+<p>This is the tribunal which holds the wealthy nobility in continual
+awe; before which they appear with trembling and terror: and whose summons
+they dare not disobey.&nbsp; Sometimes, by way of clemency, it condemns
+its victims to perpetual imprisonment in close, stifling cells, between
+the leads and beams of the palace; or, unwilling to spill the blood
+of a fellow-citizen, generously sinks them into dungeons, deep under
+the canals which wash its foundations; so that, above and below, its
+majesty is contaminated by the abodes of punishment.&nbsp; What other
+sovereign could endure the idea of having his immediate residence polluted
+with tears? or revel in his halls, conscious that many of his species
+were consuming their hours in lamentations above his head, and that
+but a few beams separated him from the scene of their tortures?&nbsp;
+How ever gaily disposed, could one dance with pleasure on a pavement,
+beneath which lie damp and gloomy caverns, whose inhabitants waste away
+by painful degrees, and feel themselves whole years a-dying?&nbsp; Impressed
+by these terrible ideas, I could not regard the palace without horror,
+and wished for the strength of a thousand antediluvians, to level it
+with the sea, lay open the secret recesses of punishment, and admit
+free gales and sunshine into every den.</p>
+<p>When I had thus vented my indignation, I repaired to the statue of
+Neptune and invoked it to second my enterprise.&nbsp; Once upon a time
+no deity had a freer hand at razing cities.&nbsp; His execution was
+renowned throughout all antiquity, and the proudest monarchs deprecated
+the wrath of &Kappa;&Rho;&Epsilon;&Iota;&Omega;&Nu; &Epsilon;&Nu;&Omicron;&Sigma;&Iota;&Chi;&Theta;&Omega;&Nu;.&nbsp;
+But, like the other mighty ones of ancient days, his reign is past and
+his trident disregarded.&nbsp; Formerly any wild spirit found favour
+in the eyes of fortune, and was led along the career of glory to the
+deliverance of captives and the extirpation of monsters; but, in our
+degenerate times, this easy road to fame is no longer open, and the
+means of producing such signal events perplexed and difficult.</p>
+<p>Abandoning, therefore, the sad tenants of the Piombi to their fate,
+I left the courts, and stepping into my bark, was rowed down a canal
+over which the lofty walls of the palace cast a tremendous shade.&nbsp;
+Beneath these fatal waters the dungeons I have also been speaking of
+are situated.&nbsp; There the wretches lie marking the sound of the
+oars, and counting the free passage of every gondola.&nbsp; Above, a
+marble bridge, of bold majestic architecture, joins the highest part
+of the prisons to the secret galleries of the palace; from whence criminals
+are conducted over the arch to a cruel and mysterious death.&nbsp; I
+shuddered whilst passing below; and believe it is not without cause,
+this structure is named PONTE DEl SOSPIRI.&nbsp; Horrors and dismal
+prospects haunted my fancy upon my return.&nbsp; I could not dine in
+peace, so strongly was my imagination affected; but snatching my pencil,
+I drew chasms and subterraneous hollows, the domain of fear and torture,
+with chains, racks, wheels, and dreadful engines, in the style of Piranesi.&nbsp;
+About sunset I went and refreshed myself with the cool air and cheerful
+scenery of the Fondamenti nuovi, a vast quay or terrace of white marble,
+which commands the whole series of isles, from San Michele&rsquo;s to
+Torcello,</p>
+<div class="GutenbergBlankLines1"><br /></div>
+<p>&ldquo;That rise and glitter o&rsquo;er the ambient tide.&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="GutenbergBlankLines1"><br /></div>
+<p>Nothing can be more picturesque than the groups of towers and cupolas
+which they present, mixed with flat roofs and low buildings, and now
+and then a pine or cypress.&nbsp; Afar off, a little woody isle, called
+Il Deserto, swells from the ocean and diversifies its expanse.</p>
+<p>When I had spent a delightful half-hour in viewing the distant isles,
+M. de.&nbsp; B. accompanied me to the Mendicanti, one of the four conservatorios,
+which give the best musical education conceivable to near one hundred
+young women.&nbsp; You may imagine how admirably those of the Mendicanti
+in particular are taught, since their establishment is under Bertoni&rsquo;s
+direction, who breathes around him the very soul of grace and harmony.&nbsp;
+The chapel in which we sat to hear the oratorio was dark and solemn;
+a screen of lofty pillars, formed of black marble and highly polished,
+excluded the glow of the western sky, and reflected the lamps which
+burn perpetually before the altar.&nbsp; Every tribune was thronged
+with people, whose profound silence showed them worthy auditors of Bertoni&rsquo;s
+compositions.&nbsp; Here were no cackling old women, or groaning Methodists,
+such as infest our English churches, and scare one&rsquo;s ears with
+hoarse coughs accompanied by the naso obligato.&nbsp; All were still
+and attentive, imbibing the plaintive notes of the voices with eagerness;
+and scarce a countenance but seemed deeply affected with David&rsquo;s
+sorrows, the subject of the performance.&nbsp; I sat retired in a solitary
+tribune, and felt them as my own.&nbsp; Night came on before the last
+chorus was sung, and I still seem to hear its sacred melody.</p>
+<p><i>August</i> 18<i>th</i>. - It rains; the air is refreshed and I
+have courage to resume my pen, which the sultry weather had forced to
+lie dormant so long.&nbsp; I like this odd town of Venice, and find
+every day some new amusement in rambling about its innumerable canals
+and alleys.&nbsp; Sometimes I go and pry about the great church of Saint
+Mark, and examine the variety of marbles and mazes of delicate sculpture
+with which it is covered.&nbsp; The cupola, glittering with gold, mosaic,
+and paintings of half the wonders in the Apocalypse, never fails transporting
+me to the period of the Eastern empire.&nbsp; I think myself in Constantinople,
+and expect Michael Paleologus with all his train.&nbsp; One circumstance
+alone prevents my observing half the treasures of the place, and holds
+down my fancy, just springing into the air: I mean the vile stench which
+exhales from every recess and corner of the edifice, and which all the
+altars cannot subdue.</p>
+<p>When oppressed by this noxious atmosphere, I run up the Campanile
+in the piazza, and seating myself amongst the pillars of the gallery,
+breathe the fresh gales which blow from the Adriatic; survey at my leisure
+all Venice beneath me, with its azure sea, white sails, and long tracts
+of islands shining in the sun.&nbsp; Having thus laid in a provision
+of wholesome breezes, I brave the vapours of the canals, and venture
+into the most curious and murky quarters of the city, in search of Turks
+and Infidels, that I may ask as many questions as I please about Damascus
+and Suristan, those happy countries which nature has covered with roses.</p>
+<p>Asiatics find Venice very much to their liking, and all those I conversed
+with allowed its customs and style of living had a good deal of conformity
+to their own.&nbsp; The eternal lounging in coffee-houses and sipping
+of sorbets, agrees perfectly well with the inhabitants of the Ottoman
+empire, who stalk about here in their proper dresses, and smoke their
+own exotic pipes, without being stared and wondered at, as in most other
+European capitals.&nbsp; Some few of these Orientals are communicative
+and enlightened; but, generally speaking, they know nothing beyond the
+rule of three, and the commonest transactions of mercantile affairs.</p>
+<p>The Greeks are by far a more lively generation, still retaining their
+propensity to works of genius and imagination.&nbsp; Metastasio has
+been lately translated into their modern jargon, and some obliging papa
+or other has had the patience to put the long-winded romance of Clelia
+into a Grecian dress.&nbsp; I saw two or three of these volumes exposed
+on a stall, under the grand arcades of the public library, as I went
+one day to admire the antiques in its vestibules.</p>
+<p>Whilst I was intent upon my occupation, a little door, I never should
+have suspected, flew open, and out popped Monsieur de V., from a place
+where nothing, I believe, but broomsticks and certain other utensils
+were ever before deposited.&nbsp; This gentleman, the most active investigator
+of Homer since the days of the good bishop of Thessalonica, bespatters
+you with more learning in a minute than others communicate in half a
+year; quotes Arabic, Greek, Hebrew, Syriac, etc., with a formidable
+fluency; and drove me from one end of the room to the other with all
+the thunder of erudition.&nbsp; Syllables fell thicker than hail, and
+in an instant I found myself so weighed down and covered, that I prayed,
+for mercy&rsquo;s sake, to be introduced, by way of respite, to a Laplander
+whom he leads about as a curiosity; a poor, harmless, good sort of a
+soul, calm and indifferent, who has acquired the words of several Oriental
+languages to perfection: ideas he has, in none.</p>
+<p>We went together to view a collection of medals in one of the Gradanigo
+palaces, and two or three inestimable volumes, filled with paintings
+that represent the dress of the ancient Venetians; so that I had an
+opportunity of observing to perfection all the Lapland nothingness of
+my companion.&nbsp; What a perfect void!&nbsp; Cold and silent as the
+polar regions, not one passion ever throbbed in his bosom; not one bright
+ray of fancy ever glittered in his mind; without love or anger, pleasure
+or pain, his days fleet smoothly along: all things considered, I must
+confess I envied such comfortable apathy.</p>
+<p>After having passed a peaceful hour in dreaming over the medals and
+rarities, M. de V. was for conducting me to the Armenian convent, but
+I begged to be excused, and went to S. Giovanni e Paolo&rsquo;s, a church
+ever celebrated in the annals of painting, since it contains that masterpiece
+of Titian, &ldquo;The Martyrdom of St. Peter.&rdquo;&nbsp; It being
+a festival, the huge Gothic pillars were covered with red damask, and
+the shrines of saints and worthies glimmered with tapers.&nbsp; The
+dim chapels on each side the nave received a feeble light, and discovered
+the tombs of ancient Doges, and the equestrian statues of many a doughty
+General.&nbsp; I admired them all, but liked nothing so much as a snug
+bas-relief I found out in a corner, which represents St. Mark and some
+other good souls a-prosing, whilst his lion and the old serpent squabble
+and scratch in the foreground of the sculpture, like cat and dog by
+the fireside.&nbsp; After dinner, when the shadows of domes and palaces
+began lengthening across the waves, I rowed out</p>
+<div class="GutenbergBlankLines1"><br /></div>
+<p>&ldquo;On the clear hyaline, the glassy sea,&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="GutenbergBlankLines1"><br /></div>
+<p>to observe the last sunbeams fade on the tufted gardens of the Giudecca,
+and to contemplate the distant Euganean hills, once the happiest region
+of Italy; where wandering nations enjoyed the simplicity of a pastoral
+life, long before the arrival of Antenor.&nbsp; In those ancient times,
+deep forests and extensive pastures covered the shores <a name="citation170a"></a><a href="#footnote170a">{170a}</a>
+of the Adriatic, and innumerable flocks hung on the brow of the mountains.&nbsp;
+This golden period ended upon the incursion of the Trojans and Heneti;
+who, led by Antenor, drove away the unfortunate savages, and possessed
+themselves of their habitations. <a name="citation170b"></a><a href="#footnote170b">{170b}</a>&nbsp;
+The form of the hillocks is varied and picturesque, and the sun, sinking
+behind them, suffuses their summits with tints of the brightest orange.&nbsp;
+Scarce one evening have I failed to remark the changeful scenery of
+the clouds, and to fill my mind with recollections of primeval days
+and happier ages.&nbsp; Night generally surprises me in the midst of
+my reveries; I return, lulled in my gondola by the murmur of waters,
+pass about an hour with M. de R., whose imagination and sensibility
+almost equal your own; then, retire to sleep, and dream of the Euganeans.</p>
+<div class="GutenbergBlankLines2"><br /><br /></div>
+<h2>LETTER IX</h2>
+<div class="GutenbergBlankLines2"><br /><br /></div>
+<p><i>August</i> 27<i>th</i>. - I am just returned from visiting the
+isles of Burano, Torcello, and Mazorbo, distant about five miles from
+Venice.&nbsp; To these amphibious spots the Romans, inhabitants of eastern
+Lombardy, fled from the ravine of Attila; and, if we may believe Cassiodorus,
+there was a time when they presented a beautiful appearance.&nbsp; Beyond
+them, on the coast of the Lagunes, rose the once populous city of Altina,
+with its six stately gates, which Dandolo mentions. <a name="citation170c"></a><a href="#footnote170c">{170c}</a>
+Its neighbourhood was scattered with innumerable villas and temples,
+composing altogether a prospect which Martial compares to Bai&aelig;:</p>
+<div class="GutenbergBlankLines1"><br /></div>
+<p>&ldquo;&AElig;mula Baianis Altini littora villis.&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="GutenbergBlankLines1"><br /></div>
+<p>But this agreeable scene, like so many others, is passed entirely
+away, and has left nothing, except heaps of stones and misshapen fragments,
+to vouch for its former magnificence.&nbsp; Two of the islands, Costanziaco
+and Amiano, that are imagined to have contained the bowers and gardens
+of the Altinatians, have sunk beneath the waters; those which remain
+are scarcely worthy to rise above their surface.</p>
+<p>Though I was persuaded little was left to be seen above ground, I
+could not deny myself the imaginary pleasure of treading a corner of
+the earth once so adorned and cultivated; and of walking over the roofs,
+perhaps, of concealed halls and undiscovered palaces.&nbsp; M. de R.,
+to whom I communicated my ideas, entered at once into the scheme; hiring
+therefore a <i>peiotte</i> we took some provisions and music (to us
+equally necessaries of life), and launched into the canal, between St.
+Michael and Murano.</p>
+<p>The waves coursed each other with violence, and dark clouds hung
+over the grand sweep of northern mountains, whilst the west smiled with
+azure and bright sunshine.&nbsp; Thunder rolled awfully at a distance,
+and those white and greyish birds, the harbingers of storms, flitted
+frequently before our bark.&nbsp; For some moments we were in doubt
+whether to proceed; but as we advanced by a little dome in the Isle
+of St. Michael, shaped like an ancient temple, the sky cleared, and
+the ocean subsiding by degrees, soon presented a tranquil expanse, across
+which we were smoothly wafted.&nbsp; Our instruments played several
+delightful airs, that called forth the inhabitants of every island,
+and held them silent, as if spell-bound, on the edge of their quays
+and terraces, till we were out of hearing.</p>
+<p>Leaving Murano far behind, Venice and its world of turrets began
+to sink on the horizon, and the low desert isles beyond Mazorbo to lie
+stretched out before us.&nbsp; Now we beheld vast wastes of <a name="citation171"></a><a href="#footnote171">{171}</a>
+purple flowers, and could distinguish the low hum of the insects which
+hover above them; such was the silence of the place.&nbsp; Coasting
+these solitary fields, we wound amongst several serpentine canals, bordered
+by gardens of figs and pomegranates, with neat Indian-looking inclosures
+of cane and reed: an aromatic plant clothes the margin of the waters,
+which the people justly dignify with the title of marine incense.&nbsp;
+It proved very serviceable in subduing a musky odour, which attacked
+us the moment we landed, and which proceeds from serpents that lurk
+in the hedges.&nbsp; These animals, say the gondoliers, defend immense
+treasures which lie buried under the ruins.&nbsp; Woe to those who attempt
+invading them, or prying too cautiously about!</p>
+<p>Not choosing to be devoured, we left many a mount of fragments unnoticed,
+and made the best of our way to a little green, free from weeds or adders,
+bounded on one side by a miserable shed, decorated with the name of
+the Podesta&rsquo;s residence, and on the other by a circular church.&nbsp;
+Some remains of tolerable antique sculpture are enchased in the walls;
+and the dome, supported by pillars of a smooth Grecian marble, though
+uncouth and ill-proportioned, impresses a sort of veneration, and transports
+the fancy to the twilight glimmering period when it was raised.</p>
+<p>Having surveyed what little was visible, and given as much career
+to our imaginations as the scene inspired, we walked over a soil composed
+of crumbling bricks and cement to the cathedral; whose arches, turned
+on the ancient Roman principle, convinced us that it dates as high as
+the sixth or seventh century.</p>
+<p>Nothing can be well more fantastic than the ornaments of this structure,
+formed from the ruins of the Pagan temples of Altina, and incrusted
+with a gilt mosaic, like that which covers our Edward the Confessor&rsquo;s
+tomb.&nbsp; The pavement, composed of various precious marbles, is richer
+and more beautiful than one could have expected, in a place where every
+other object savours of the grossest barbarism.&nbsp; At the farther
+end, beyond the altar, appears a semicircular niche, with seats like
+the gradines of a diminutive amphitheatre; above rise the quaint forms
+of the apostles, in red, blue, green, and black mosaic, and in the midst
+of the goodly group a sort of marble chair, cool and penitential enough,
+where St. Lorenzo Giustiniani sat to hold a provincial council, the
+Lord knows how long ago!&nbsp; The fount for holy water stands by the
+principal entrance, fronting this curious recess, and seems to have
+belonged to some place of Gentile worship.&nbsp; The figures of horned
+imps cling round its sides, more devilish, more Egyptian, than any I
+ever beheld.&nbsp; The dragons on old china are not more whimsical:
+I longed to have it filled with bats&rsquo; blood, and to have sent
+it by way of present to the sabbath; I can assure you it would have
+done honour to their witcheries.&nbsp; The sculpture is not the most
+delicate, but I cannot say a great deal about it, as but little light
+reaches the spot where it is fixed.&nbsp; Indeed, the whole church is
+far from luminous, its windows being narrow and near the roof, with
+shutters composed of blocks of marble, which nothing but the last whirlwind,
+one should think, could move from their hinges.</p>
+<p>By the time we had examined every nook and corner of this singular
+edifice, and caught perhaps some small portion of sanctity by sitting
+in San Lorenzo&rsquo;s chair, dinner was prepared in a neighbouring
+convent, and the nuns, allured by the sound of our flutes and oboes,
+peeped out of their cells and showed themselves by dozens at the grate.&nbsp;
+Some few agreeable faces and interesting eyes enlivened the dark sisterhood;
+all seemed to catch a gleam of pleasure from the music; two or three
+of them, probably the last immured, let fall a tear, and suffered the
+recollection of the world and its profane joys to interrupt for a moment
+their sacred tranquillity.</p>
+<p>We stayed till the sun was low, and the breezes blew cool from the
+ocean, on purpose that they might listen as long as possible to a harmony
+which seemed to issue, as the old abbess expressed herself, from the
+gates of paradise ajar.&nbsp; A thousand benedictions consecrated our
+departure; twilight came on just as we entered the bark and rowed out
+upon the waves, agitated by a fresh gale, but fearing nothing under
+the protection of St. Margherita, whose good wishes our music had secured.</p>
+<p>In two hours we were safely landed at the Fondamenti nuovi, and went
+immediately to the Mendicanti, where they were performing the oratorio
+of Sisera.&nbsp; The composer, a young man, had displayed great fire
+and originality in this performance; and a knowledge of character seldom
+found in the most celebrated masters.&nbsp; The supplication of the
+thirsty chieftain, and Jael&rsquo;s insinuating arts and pious treachery,
+are admirably expressed; but the agitation and bodily slumbers which
+precede his death, are imagined in the highest strain of genius.&nbsp;
+The terror and agony of his dreams made me start, more than once, from
+my seat; and all the horrors of his assassination seemed full before
+me, so fatal was the sound of the instrument, so just the conduct of
+the harmony.</p>
+<p>Too much applause cannot be given to the Marchetti, who sang the
+part of Sisera, and seconded the composer&rsquo;s ideas by the most
+feeling and spirited execution.&nbsp; There are few things I shall regret
+more at Venice, than this conservatorio.&nbsp; Whenever I am musically
+given, I fly to it, and hear the most striking finales in Bertoni&rsquo;s
+and Anfosse&rsquo;s operas, as long and often as I please.</p>
+<p>The sight of the orchestra still makes me smile.&nbsp; You know,
+I suppose, it is entirely of the female gender, and that nothing is
+more common than to see a delicate white hand journeying across an enormous
+double bass, or a pair of roseate cheeks puffing, with all their efforts,
+at a French horn.&nbsp; Some that are grown old and Amazonian, who have
+abandoned their fiddles and their lovers, take vigorously to the kettledrum;
+and one poor limping lady, who had been crossed in love, now makes an
+admirable figure on the bassoon.</p>
+<p>Good-night!&nbsp; I am quite exhausted with composing a chorus for
+these same Amazonians.&nbsp; The poetry I send you, which seems to be
+some of the most picturesque and nervous an Italian ever produced.&nbsp;
+The music takes up too much room to travel at present.&nbsp; One day
+or other, perhaps, we may hear it in some dark grove, when the moon
+is eclipsed and nature in alarm.</p>
+<p>This is not the last letter you would receive from Venice, was I
+not hurrying to Lucca, where Pacchierotti sings next week, in the opera
+of Quinto Fabio, of all operas the most worthy to excuse such a musical
+fanaticism.&nbsp; Adieu.</p>
+<div class="GutenbergBlankLines2"><br /><br /></div>
+<h2>LETTER X</h2>
+<div class="GutenbergBlankLines2"><br /><br /></div>
+<p><i>September</i> 4<i>th</i>. - I was sorry to leave Venice, and regretted
+my peaceful excursions upon the Adriatic, when the Euganean hills were
+lost in a golden haze, and the sun cast his departing gleam across the
+waters.&nbsp; No bright rays illuminated my departure, but the coolness
+and perfume of the air made some amends for their absence.</p>
+<p>About an hour&rsquo;s rowing from the isle of Saint Giorgio in Alga,
+brought us to the shores of Fusina, right opposite the opening where
+the Brenta mixes with the sea.&nbsp; This river flows calmly between
+banks of verdure, crowned by poplars, with vines twining round every
+stalk, and depending from tree to tree in beautiful festoons.&nbsp;
+Beds of mint and flowers clothe the brink of the stream, except where
+a tall growth of reeds and osiers lift themselves to the breezes.&nbsp;
+I heard their whispers as we glided along; and had I been alone might
+have told you what they said to me; but such a&euml;rial oracles must
+be approached in solitude.&nbsp; The morning continued to lower as we
+advanced; scarce a wind ventured to breathe; all was still and placid
+as the surface of the Brenta.&nbsp; No sound struck my ears except the
+bargemen hallooing to open the sluices, and deepen the water.</p>
+<p>As yet I had not perceived an habitation; no other objects than green
+inclosures and fields of Turkish corn, shaded with vines and poplars,
+met my eyes wherever I turned them.</p>
+<p>Our navigation, the tranquil streams and cultivated banks, in short
+the whole landscape, had a sort of Chinese cast, which led me into Quang-Si
+and Quang-Tong.&nbsp; The variety of canes, reeds, and blooming rushes,
+shooting from the slopes, confirmed my fancies, and when I beheld the
+yellow nenupha expanding its broad leaves to the current, I thought
+of the Tao-Se, and venerated one of the chief ingredients in their beverage
+of immortality.&nbsp; Landing where this magic vegetation appeared most
+luxuriant, I cropped the flowers; but searched in vain for the kernels,
+which, according to the doctrine of the Bonzes, produce such wonderful
+effects.&nbsp; Though I was deceived in this pursuit, I gained, however,
+in another.&nbsp; The bank upon which I had sprung presented a continual
+walk of level turf, surrounded by vines, concealing the trees which
+supported them, and forming the most delightful bowers.&nbsp; Under
+these garlands I passed, and gathered the ripe clusters which dangled
+around, convinced that Noah had discovered a far superior beverage to
+that of the Tao-S&eacute;.&nbsp; Whilst I was thus agreeably employed,
+it began to rain, and the earth to exhale a fresh, reviving odour, highly
+grateful to one who had been so long confined to walls and waters.&nbsp;
+After breathing nothing but the essence of the canals and the flavours
+of the Rialto, after the jingling of bells and brawls of the gondoliers,
+imagine how agreeable it was to scent the perfume of clover, to tread
+a springing herbage, and listen in silence to the showers pattering
+amongst the leaves.&nbsp; I staid so long amidst the vines, that it
+grew late before we rowed by the Mira, a village of palaces, whose courts
+and gardens, as magnificent as statues, terraces, and vases can make
+them, compose a grand, though far from a rural prospect.</p>
+<p>Not being greatly delighted with such scenery, we stayed no longer
+than our dinner required, and reached the Dolo an hour before sunset.&nbsp;
+Passing the great sluices, whose gates opened with a thundering noise,
+we continued our course along the peaceful Brenta, winding its broad
+full stream through impenetrable copses, surmounted by tall waving poplars.&nbsp;
+Day was about to close when we reached Fiesso; and it being a misty
+evening, I could scarcely distinguish the pompous facade of the Pisani
+palace.&nbsp; That where we supped looks upon a broad mass of foliage,
+which I contemplated with pleasure as it sank in the dusk.</p>
+<p>We walked a long while under a pavilion stretched before the entrance,
+breathing the freshness of the wood after the shower, and hearing the
+drops trickle down the awning above our heads.&nbsp; The Galuzzi sang
+some of her father Ferandini&rsquo;s compositions, with a fire, an energy,
+an expression, that one moment raised me to a pitch of heroism, and
+the next dissolved me in tears.&nbsp; Her cheek was flushed with inspiration,
+her eyes glistened; the whole tone of her countenance was like that
+of a person rapt and inspired.&nbsp; I forgot both time and place whilst
+she was breathing forth such celestial harmony.&nbsp; The night stole
+imperceptibly away, and morning dawned before I awoke from my trance.&nbsp;
+I don&rsquo;t recollect ever to have passed an evening, which every
+circumstance conspired so much to improve.&nbsp; In general, my musical
+pleasures suffer terrible abatements from the phlegm and stupidity of
+my neighbourhood, but here every one seemed to catch the flame, and
+to listen with reciprocal delight.&nbsp; The C--- threw quick around
+her the glancing fires of genius: and, what with the song of the Galuzzi,
+and those intellectual meteors, I scarcely knew to what element I was
+transported; and doubted for several moments whether I had not fallen
+into a celestial dream.&nbsp; I loathed the light of the morning star,
+which summoned me to depart; and, if I may express myself so poetically,</p>
+<div class="GutenbergBlankLines1"><br /></div>
+<p>&ldquo;Cast many a longing, ling&rsquo;ring look behind.&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="GutenbergBlankLines2"><br /><br /></div>
+<h2>LETTER XI</h2>
+<div class="GutenbergBlankLines2"><br /><br /></div>
+<p><i>September</i> 5<i>th</i>. - The glow and splendour of the rising
+sun, for once in my life, drew little of my attention.&nbsp; I was too
+deeply plunged in my reveries, to notice the landscape which lay before
+me; and the walls of Padua presented themselves some time ere I was
+aware.&nbsp; At any other moment, how sensibly should I have been affected
+with their appearance! how many ideas of Antenor and his Trojans, would
+have thronged into my memory! but now I regarded the scene with indifference,
+and passed many a palace, and many a woody garden, with my eyes riveted
+to the ground.&nbsp; The first object that appeared, upon lifting them
+up, was a confused pile of spires and cupolas, dedicated to blessed
+St. Anthony, who betook himself to the conversion of fish, after the
+heretics would lend no ear to his discourses.</p>
+<p>You are too well apprised of the veneration I have always entertained
+for this ingenious preacher, to doubt that I immediately repaired to
+his shrine and offered up my little orisons before it.&nbsp; Mine was
+a disturbed spirit, and required all the balm of St. Anthony&rsquo;s
+kindness to appease it.&nbsp; Perhaps you will say I had better gone
+to bed, and applied myself to my sleepy friend, the pagan divinity.&nbsp;
+&rsquo;Tis probable that you are in the right; but I could not retire
+to rest without venting some portion of effervescence in sighs and supplications.&nbsp;
+The nave was filled with decrepit women and feeble children, kneeling
+by baskets of vegetables and other provisions; which, by good Anthony&rsquo;s
+interposition, they hoped to sell advantageously in the course of the
+day.&nbsp; Beyond these, nearer the choir, and in a gloomier part of
+the edifice, knelt a row of rueful penitents, smiting their breasts,
+and lifting their eyes to heaven.&nbsp; Further on, in front of the
+dark recess, where the sacred relics are deposited, a few desperate,
+melancholy sinners lay prostrate.</p>
+<p>To these I joined myself, and fell down on the steps before the shrine.&nbsp;
+The sunbeams had not yet penetrated into this religious quarter; and
+the only light it received proceeded from the golden lamps, which hang
+in clusters round the sanctuary.&nbsp; A lofty altar, decked with superstitious
+prodigality, conceals the holy pile from profane glances.&nbsp; Those
+who are profoundly touched with its sanctity may approach, and walking
+round, look through the crevices of the tomb, and rub their noses against
+the identical bones of St. Anthony, which, it is observed, exude a balsamic
+odour.&nbsp; But supposing a traveller ever so heretical, I would advise
+him by no means to neglect this pilgrimage; since every part of the
+recess he visits is decorated with the most exquisite sculptures.&nbsp;
+Sansovino and the best artists have vied with each other in carving
+the alto relievos of the arcade, which, for design and execution, would
+do honour to the sculptors of antiquity.</p>
+<p>Having observed these objects with much less exactness than they
+merited, and acted perhaps too capital a part amongst the devotees,
+I hastened to the inn, luckily hard by, and one of the best I am acquainted
+with.&nbsp; Here I soon fell asleep in defiance of sunshine.&nbsp; &rsquo;Tis
+true my slumbers were not a little agitated.&nbsp; St. Anthony had been
+deaf to my prayer, and I still found myself a frail, infatuated mortal.</p>
+<p>At five I got up; we dined, and afterwards, scarcely knowing, nor
+much caring, what became of us, we strolled to the great hall of the
+town; an enormous edifice, as large as that of Westminster, but free
+from stalls, or shops, or nests of litigation.&nbsp; The roof, one spacious
+vault of brown timber, casts a solemn gloom, which was still increased
+by the lateness of the hour, and not diminished by the wan light, admitted
+through the windows of pale blue glass.&nbsp; The size and shape of
+this colossal chamber, the coving of the roof, with beams like perches
+for the feathered race, stretching across it, and, above all, the watery
+gleams that glanced through the casements, possessed my fancy with ideas
+of Noah&rsquo;s ark, and almost persuaded me I beheld that extraordinary
+vessel.&nbsp; The representation one sees of it in Scheutzer&rsquo;s
+&ldquo;Physica Sacra&rdquo; seems to be formed upon this very model,
+and for several moments I indulged the chimera of imagining myself confined
+within its precincts.&nbsp; How willingly, could I but choose my companions,
+would I encounter a deluge, to float whole years instead of months upon
+the waves!</p>
+<p>We remained walking to and fro in the ark, till the twilight faded
+into total darkness.&nbsp; It was then full time to retire, as the guardian
+of the place was by no means formed to divine our diluvian ideas.</p>
+<div class="GutenbergBlankLines2"><br /><br /></div>
+<h2>LETTER XII</h2>
+<div class="GutenbergBlankLines2"><br /><br /></div>
+<p><i>September</i> 6<i>th</i>. - At Padua, I was too near the last
+and one of the most celebrated abodes of Petrarch, to make the omission
+of a visit excusable; had I not been in a disposition to render such
+a pilgrimage peculiarly pleasing.&nbsp; I set forwards from Padua after
+dinner, so as to arrive some time before sunset.&nbsp; Nothing could
+be finer than the day; and I had every reason to promise myself a serene
+and delicious hour, before the sun might go down.&nbsp; I put the poems
+of Petrarch into my pocket; and, as my road lay chiefly through lanes,
+planted on either side with mulberries and poplars, from which vines
+hung dangling in careless festoons, I found many a bowering shade, where
+I sat, at intervals, to indulge my pensive humour over some ejaculatory
+sonnet; as the pilgrim, on his journey to Loretto, reposes here and
+there, to offer his prayers and meditations to the Virgin.&nbsp; In
+little more than an hour and half, I found myself in the midst of the
+Euganean hills, and, after winding almost another hour amongst them,
+I got, before I was well aware, into the village of Arqua.&nbsp; Nothing
+can be more sequestered or obscure than its situation.&nbsp; It had
+rather a deserted appearance; several of its houses being destitute
+of inhabitants, and crumbling into ruins.&nbsp; Two or three of them,
+however, exhibited ancient towers, richly mantled with ivy, and surrounded
+with cypress, that retained the air of having once belonged to persons
+of consideration.&nbsp; Their present abandoned state nourished the
+melancholy idea with which I entered the village.&nbsp; Could one approach
+the last retreat of genius, and not look for some glow of its departed
+splendour?</p>
+<div class="GutenbergBlankLines1"><br /></div>
+<p>&ldquo;Dear to the pensive eye of fond regret,<br />Is light still
+beaming from a sun that&rsquo;s set.&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="GutenbergBlankLines1"><br /></div>
+<p>The residence of Petrarch at Arqua is said to have drawn thither
+from Padua the society of its more enlightened citizens.&nbsp; This
+city, whilst Petrarch lived in its neighbourhood, was engaged in rebellion
+against the Venetians; and Francis de Carrara, the head of it, went
+often to Arqua, to consult Petrarch; when he found himself obliged to
+sue to Venice for peace.&nbsp; The poet was indeed deputed, upon this
+occasion, his ambassador to the state; as being a person whose character
+and credit were most likely to appease its wrath.&nbsp; His success
+in this embassy might, perhaps, have been some recompense for an employment
+he accepted with much regret, as it forced him from his beloved retirement.&nbsp;
+In a letter to one of his friends, written about this period of his
+life, he says: &ldquo;I pass the greatest part of the year in the country,
+which I have always preferred to cities: I read; I write; I think: thus,
+my life and my pleasures are like those of youth.&nbsp; I take pains
+to hide myself; but I cannot escape visits: it is an honour which displeases
+and wearies me.&nbsp; In my little house on the Euganean hills, I hope
+to pass my few remaining days in tranquillity, and to have always before
+my eyes my dead, or my absent, friends.&rdquo;&nbsp; I was musing on
+these circumstances as I walked along the village, till a venerable
+old woman, seated at her door with her distaff in her hand, observing
+me, soon guessed the cause of my excursion; and offered to guide me
+to Petrarch&rsquo;s house.&nbsp; The remainder of my way was short,
+and well amused by my guide&rsquo;s enthusiastic expressions of veneration
+for the poet&rsquo;s memory; which, she assured me, she felt but in
+common with the other inhabitants of the village.&nbsp; When we came
+to the door of the house, we met the peasant, its present possessor.&nbsp;
+The old woman, recommending the stranger and his curiosity to her neighbour&rsquo;s
+good offices, departed.&nbsp; I entered immediately, and ran over every
+room, which the peasant assured me, in confirmation of what I before
+learnt from better authority, were preserved, as nearly as they could
+be, in the state Petrarch had left them.&nbsp; The house and premises,
+having unfortunately been transmitted from one enthusiast of his name
+to another, no tenants have been admitted, but under the strictest prohibition
+of making any change in the form of the apartments, or in the memorial
+relics belonging to the place: and, to say the truth, everything I saw
+in it, save a few articles of the peasant&rsquo;s furniture in the kitchen,
+has an authentic appearance.&nbsp; Three of the rooms below stairs are
+particularly shown, and they have nothing in them but what once belonged
+to the poet.&nbsp; In one, which I think they call his parlour, is a
+very antique cupboard; where, it is supposed, he deposited some precious
+part of his literary treasure.&nbsp; The ceiling is painted in a grotesque
+manner.&nbsp; A niche in the wall contains the skeleton of his favourite
+cat, with a Latin epigram beneath, of Petrarch&rsquo;s composition.&nbsp;
+It is good enough to deserve being copied; but the lateness of the hour
+did not allow me time.&nbsp; A little room, beyond this, is said to
+have been his study: the walls of it, from top to bottom, are scribbled
+over with sonnets, and poetical eulogies on Petrarch, ancient and modern:
+many of which are subscribed by persons, of distinguished rank and talents,
+Italians as well as strangers.&nbsp; Here, too, is the bard&rsquo;s
+old chair, and on it is displayed a great deal of heavy, ornamental
+carpentry; which required no stretch of faith to be believed the manufacture
+of the fourteenth century.&nbsp; You may be sure, I placed myself in
+it, with much veneration, and the most resigned assent to Mrs. Dobson&rsquo;s
+relation: that Petrarch, sitting in this same chair, was found dead
+in his library, with one arm leaning on a book.&nbsp; Who could sit
+in Petrarch&rsquo;s chair, void of some effect?&nbsp; I rose not from
+it without a train of pensive sentiments and soft impressions; which
+I ever love to indulge.&nbsp; I was now led into a larger room, behind
+that I first saw; where, it is likely enough, the poet, according to
+the peasant&rsquo;s information, received the visits of his friends.&nbsp;
+Its walls were adorned with landscapes and pastoral scenes, in such
+painting as Petrarch himself might, and is supposed to have executed.&nbsp;
+Void of taste and elegance, either in the design or colouring, they
+bear some characteristic marks of the age to which they are, with no
+improbability, assigned; and, separate from the merit of exhibiting
+repeatedly the portraits of Petrarch and Laura, are a valuable sketch
+of the rude infancy of the art, where it rose with such hasty vigour
+to perfection.&nbsp; Having seen all that was left unchanged in this
+consecrated mansion, I passed through a room, said to have been the
+bard&rsquo;s bed-room, and stepped into the garden, situated on a green
+slope, descending directly from the house.&nbsp; It is now rather an
+orchard than a garden; a spot of small extent, and without much else
+to recommend it, but that it once was the property of Petrarch.&nbsp;
+It is not pretended to have retained the form in which he left it.&nbsp;
+An agreeably wild and melancholy kind of view, which it commands over
+the Euganean hills, and which I beheld under the calm glow of approaching
+sunset, must often, at the same moment, have soothed the poet&rsquo;s
+anxious feelings, and hushed his active imagination, as it did my own,
+into a delicious repose.&nbsp; Having lingered here till the sun was
+sunk beneath the horizon, I was led a little way farther in the village,
+to see Petrarch&rsquo;s fountain.&nbsp; Hippocrene itself could not
+have been more esteemed by the poet, than this, his gift, by all the
+inhabitants of Arqua.&nbsp; The spring is copious, clear, and of excellent
+water; I need not say with what relish I drank of it.&nbsp; The last
+religious act in my little pilgrimage was a visit to the church-yard;
+where I strewed a few flowers, the fairest of the season, on the poet&rsquo;s
+tomb; and departed for Padua by the light of the moon.</p>
+<div class="GutenbergBlankLines2"><br /><br /></div>
+<h2>LETTER XIII</h2>
+<div class="GutenbergBlankLines2"><br /><br /></div>
+<p><i>September</i> 7<i>th</i>. - Immediately after breakfast, we went
+to St. Justina&rsquo;s, a noble temple, designed by Palladio, and worthy
+of his reputation.&nbsp; The dimensions are vast, and the equal distribution
+of light and ornament truly admirable.&nbsp; Upon my first entrance,
+the long perspective of domes above, and chequered marble below, struck
+me with surprise and pleasure.&nbsp; I roved about the spacious aisles
+for several minutes, then sat down under the grand cupola, and admired
+the beautiful symmetry of the building.</p>
+<p>Both extremities of the cross aisles are terminated by altar and
+tombs of very remote antiquity, adorned with uncouth sculptures of the
+Evangelists, supported by wreathed columns of alabaster, round which,
+to my no small astonishment, four or five gawky fellows were waddling
+on their knees, persuaded, it seems, that this strange devotion would
+cure the rheumatism, or any other aches with which they were afflicted.&nbsp;
+You can have no conception of the ridiculous attitudes into which they
+threw themselves; nor the difficulty with which they squeezed along,
+between the middle column of the tomb and those which surrounded it.&nbsp;
+No criminal in the pillory ever exhibited a more rueful appearance,
+no swine ever scrubbed itself more fervently than these infatuated lubbers.</p>
+<p>I left them hard at work, taking more exercise than had been their
+lot for many a day; and, mounting into the organ gallery, listened to
+Turini&rsquo;s <a name="citation182"></a><a href="#footnote182">{182}</a>
+music with infinite satisfaction.&nbsp; The loud harmonious tones of
+the instrument filled the whole edifice; and, being repeated by the
+echoes of its lofty domes and arches, produced a wonderful effect.&nbsp;
+Turini, aware of this circumstance, adapts his compositions with great
+intelligence to the place, and makes his slave, the organ, send forth
+the most affecting, long-protracted sounds, which languish in the air,
+and are some time a-dying.&nbsp; Nothing can be more original than his
+style.&nbsp; Deprived of sight by an unhappy accident, in the flower
+of his days, he gave up his entire soul to music, and scarcely exists
+but through its medium.</p>
+<p>When we came out of St. Justina&rsquo;s, the azure of the sky and
+the softness of the air inclined us to think of some excursion.&nbsp;
+Where could I wish to go, but to the place in which I had been so delighted?&nbsp;
+Besides, it was proper to make the C. another visit, and proper to see
+the Pisani palace, which happily I had before neglected.&nbsp; All these
+proprieties considered, M. de R. accompanied me to Fiesso.</p>
+<p>The sun was just sunk when we arrived; the whole ether in a glow,
+and the fragrance of the arched citron alleys delightful.&nbsp; Beneath
+them I walked in the cool, till the Galuzzi began once more her enchanting
+melody.&nbsp; She sung till the moon tempted the fascinating G---a and
+myself to stray on the banks of the Brenta.&nbsp; A profound calm reigned
+upon the woods and the waters, and moonlight added serenity to a scene
+naturally peaceful.&nbsp; We listened to the faint murmurs of the leaves,
+and the distant rural noises, observing the gleams that quivered on
+the river, and discovered a mutual delight in contemplating the same
+objects.</p>
+<p>We supped late: before the Galuzzi had repeated the airs which had
+most affected me, morning began to dawn.</p>
+<p><i>September</i> 8<i>th</i>. - It was evening, and I was still asleep;
+not in a tranquil slumber, but at the mercy of fantastic visions.&nbsp;
+The want of sound repose had thrown me into a feverish impatient mood,
+that was alone to be subdued by harmony.&nbsp; Scarcely had I snatched
+some slight refreshment, before I flew to the great organ at St. Justina&rsquo;s,
+but tried, this time, to compose myself in vain.&nbsp; M. de R., finding
+my endeavours unsuccessful, proposed, by way of diverting my attention,
+that we should set out immediately for one of the Euganean hills about
+five or seven miles from Padua, at the foot of which some antique baths
+had very lately been discovered.&nbsp; I consented, without hesitation,
+little concerned whither I went, or what happened to me, provided the
+scene was often shifted.&nbsp; The lanes and enclosures we passed on
+our road to the hills, appeared in all the gaiety that verdure, flowers,
+and sunshine could give them.&nbsp; But my pleasures were overcast,
+and I beheld every object, however cheerful, through a dusky medium.&nbsp;
+Deeply engaged in conversation, distance made no impression; and we
+beheld the meadows, over which the ruins are scattered, lie before us,
+when we still imagined ourselves several miles away.&nbsp; Had I but
+enjoyed my former serenity, how agreeably would such a landscape have
+affected my imagination!&nbsp; How lightly should I not have run over
+the herbage, and viewed the irregular shrubby hills, diversified with
+clumps of cypress, verdant spots, and pastoral cottages, such as Zuccarelli
+loved to paint!&nbsp; No scene could be more smiling than this which
+here presented itself, or answer, in a fuller degree, the ideas I had
+formed of Italy.</p>
+<p>Leaving our carriage at the entrance of the mead, we traversed its
+flowery surface, and shortly perceived among the grass an oblong basin,
+incrusted with pure white marble.&nbsp; Most of the slabs are large
+and perfect, apparently brought from Greece, and still retaining their
+polished smoothness.&nbsp; The pipes to convey the waters are still
+discernible; in short, the whole ground-plan may be easily traced.&nbsp;
+Nothing more remains: the pillars and arcades are fallen, and one or
+two pedestals alone vouch for their former existence.&nbsp; Near the
+principal bath, we remarked the platforms of several circular apartments,
+paved with mosaic, in a neat simple taste, far from inelegant.&nbsp;
+Weeds have not yet sprung up amongst the crevices; and the universal
+freshness of the ruin shows that it has not been long exposed.</p>
+<p>Theodoric is the prince to whom these structures are attributed;
+and Cassiodorus, the prime chronicler of the country, is quoted to maintain
+the supposition.&nbsp; My spirit was too much engaged to make any learned
+parade, or to dispute upon a subject, which I abandon, with all its
+glories, to calmer and less impatient minds.</p>
+<p>Having taken a cursory view of the ruins in the mead, we ascended
+the hill which borders upon it, and surveyed a prospect of the same
+nature, though in a more lovely and expanded style, than that which
+I beheld from Mosolente.&nbsp; Padua crowns the landscape, with its
+towers and cupolas rising from a continued grove; and, from the drawings
+I have seen, I should conjecture that Damascus presents somewhat of
+a similar appearance.</p>
+<p>Taking our eyes off this extensive prospect, we turned them to the
+fragments beneath our feet.&nbsp; The walls appear plainly composed
+of the <i>opus reticulatum</i> so universal in the environs of Naples.&nbsp;
+A sort of terrace, with the bases of columns circling the mount, leads
+me to imagine here were formerly arcades and porticos, for enjoying
+the view; for on the summit I could trace no vestiges of any considerable
+structure, and am therefore inclined to conclude, that nothing more
+than a colonnade surrounded the hill, leading perhaps to some slight
+fane, or pavilion, for the recreation of the bathers below.</p>
+<p>A profusion of aromatic flowers covered the slopes, and exhaled additional
+perfumes, as the sun declined, and the still hour approached, which
+was wont to spread over my mind a divine composure, and to restore the
+tranquillity I might have lost in the day.&nbsp; But now it diffused
+in vain its reviving coolness, and I remained, if possible, more sad
+and restless than before.</p>
+<p>To produce such a revolution, divine how I must have been fascinated!
+and be not surprised at my repeating all the way that pathetic sonnet
+of Petrarch:</p>
+<div class="GutenbergBlankLines1"><br /></div>
+<p>&ldquo;O giorno, o ora, o ultimo momento,<br />O stelle congiurate
+a &rsquo;mpoverirme!<br />O fido sguardo, or che volei tu dirme,<br />Partend&rsquo;
+io, per non esser mai contento?&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="GutenbergBlankLines1"><br /></div>
+<p><i>September</i> 9<i>th</i>. - You may imagine how I felt when the
+hour of leaving Padua drew near.&nbsp; It happened to be a high festival,
+and mass celebrated at the grand church of St. Anthony, with more than
+ordinary splendour.&nbsp; The music drawing us thither, we found every
+chapel twinkling with lights, and the choir filled with a vapour of
+incense.&nbsp; Through its medium several cloth of gold figures discovered
+themselves, ministering before the altar, and acting their parts with
+a sacred pomposity, wonderfully imposing.&nbsp; I attended very little
+to their functions, but the plaintive tones of the voices and instruments,
+so consonant with my own feelings, melted me into tears, and gave me,
+no doubt, the exterior of exalted piety.&nbsp; Guadazni sang amongst
+the other musicians, but seemed to be sinking apace into devotion and
+obscurity.&nbsp; The ceremony ended, I took leave of M. de R. with sincere
+regret, and was driven away to Vicenza.&nbsp; Of my journey I scarce
+know any more than that the evening was cold and rainy, that I shivered
+and was miserable.</p>
+<p><i>September</i> 10<i>th</i>. - The morning being overcast, I went,
+full of the spirit of &AElig;schylus, to the Olympic Theatre, and vented
+my evil temper in reciting some of the most tremendous verses of his
+furies.&nbsp; The august front of the scene, and its three grand streets
+of fanes and palaces, inspired me with the loftiest sentiments of the
+Grecian drama; but the dubious light admitted through windows, scarce
+visible between the rows of statues which crown the entablature, sunk
+me into fits of gloom and sadness.&nbsp; I mused a long while in the
+darkest and most retired recess of the edifice, fancying I had penetrated
+into a real and perfect monument of antiquity, which till this moment
+had remained undiscovered.&nbsp; It is impossible to conceive a structure
+more truly classical, or to point out a single ornament which has not
+the best antique authority.&nbsp; I am not in the least surprised that
+the citizens of Vicenza enthusiastically gave in to Palladio&rsquo;s
+plan, and sacrificed large sums to erect so beautiful a model.&nbsp;
+When finished, they procured, at a vast expense, the representation
+of a Grecian tragedy, with its chorus and majestic decorations.&nbsp;
+You can enter into the rapture of an artist, who sees his fondest vision
+realized; and can easily conceive how it was, that Palladio esteemed
+this compliment the most flattering reward.&nbsp; After I had given
+scope to the fancies which the scene suggested, we set out for Verona.</p>
+<p>The situation is striking and picturesque.&nbsp; A long line of battlement
+walls, flanked by venerable towers, mounts the hill in a grand irregular
+sweep, and incloses many a woody garden and grove of slender cypress.&nbsp;
+Beyond rises an awful assembly of mountains; opposite to which a fertile
+plain presents itself, decked with all the variety of meads and thickets,
+olive-grounds and vineyards.</p>
+<p>Amongst these our road kept winding till we entered the city gate,
+and passed (the post knows how many streets and alleys in the way!)
+to the inn, a lofty, handsome-looking building; but so full that we
+were obliged to take up with an apartment on its very summit, open to
+all the winds, like the magic chamber Apuleius mentions, and commanding
+the roofs of half Verona.&nbsp; Here and there a pine shot up amongst
+them, and the shady hills, terminating the perspective with their walls
+and turrets, formed a romantic scene.</p>
+<p>Placing our table in a balcony, to enjoy the prospect with greater
+freedom, we feasted upon fish from the Lago di Garda, and the delicious
+fruits of the country, - grapes worthy of Canaan, and peaches such as
+Eden itself might have gloried in producing.&nbsp; Thus did I remain,
+solacing myself, breathing the cool air, and remarking the evening tints
+of the mountains.&nbsp; Neither the paintings of Count this, nor the
+antiquities of the Marquis t&rsquo;other, could tempt me from my a&euml;rial
+situation; I refused hunting out the famous Paolos scattered over the
+town, and sat like the owl in the Georgics,</p>
+<div class="GutenbergBlankLines1"><br /></div>
+<p>&ldquo;Solis et occasom servans de culmine summo.&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="GutenbergBlankLines1"><br /></div>
+<p>Twilight drawing on, I left my haunt, and stealing downstairs, inquired
+for a guide to conduct me to the amphitheatre, perhaps the most entire
+monument of Roman days.&nbsp; The people of the house, instead of bringing
+me a quiet peasant, officiously delivered me up to a professed antiquary,
+one of those diligent plausible young men, to whom, God help me! I have
+so capital an aversion.&nbsp; This sweet spark displayed all his little
+erudition, and flourished away upon cloacas and vomitoriums with eternal
+fluency.&nbsp; He was very profound in the doctrine of conduits, and
+knew to admiration how the filthiness of all the amphitheatre was disposed
+of; but perceiving my inattention, and having just grace enough to remark
+that I chose one side of the street when he preferred the other, and
+sometimes trotted through despair in the kennel, he made me a pretty
+bow, I threw him half-a-crown, and seeing the ruins before me, traversed
+a gloomy arcade and emerged alone into the arena.&nbsp; A smooth turf
+covers its surface, from which a spacious row of gradines rises to a
+majestic elevation.&nbsp; Four arches, with their simple Doric ornament,
+alone remain of the grand circle which once lifted itself above the
+highest seats of the amphitheatre; and, had it not been for Gothic violence,
+this part of the structure would have equally resisted the ravages of
+time.&nbsp; Nothing can be more exact than the preservation of the gradines;
+not a block has sunk from its place, and whatever trifling injuries
+they may have received have been carefully repaired.&nbsp; The two chief
+entrances are rebuilt with solidity and closed by portals, no passage
+being permitted through the theatre except at public shows and representations,
+sometimes still given in the arena.</p>
+<p>When I paced slowly across it, silence reigned undisturbed amongst
+the awful ruins, and nothing moved, save the weeds and grasses which
+skirt the walls and tremble with the faintest breeze.</p>
+<p>I liked the idea of being thus shut in on every side by endless gradines,
+abandoned to a stillness and solitude I was so peculiarly disposed to
+taste.&nbsp; Throwing myself upon the grass in the middle of the arena,
+I enjoyed the freedom of my situation; and pursued the last tracks of
+light, as they faded behind the solitary arches, which rose above the
+rest.&nbsp; Red and fatal were the tints of the western sky; the wind
+blew chill and hollow, and something more than common seemed to issue
+from the withering herbage on the walls.&nbsp; I started up, fled through
+a dark arcade, where water falls drop by drop, and arrived, panting,
+in the great square before the ruins.&nbsp; Directing my steps across
+it, I reached an ancient castle, once inhabited by the Scaligeri, sovereigns
+of Verona.&nbsp; Hard by appeared the ruins of a triumphal arch, which
+most antiquarians ascribe to Vitruvius, enriched with delicate scrolls
+and flowery ornaments.&nbsp; I could have passed half-an-hour very agreeably
+in copying these elegant sculptures; but night covering them with her
+shades, I returned home to the Corso; where the outlines of several
+palaces, designed by Michel San Michele, attracted my attention.&nbsp;
+But it was too dusky to examine their details.</p>
+<p><i>September</i> 11<i>th</i>. - Traversing once more the grand piazza,
+and casting a last glance upon the amphitheatre, we passed under a lofty
+arch which terminates the perspective, and left Verona by a wide, irregular,
+picturesque street, commanding, whenever you look back, a striking scene
+of towers, cypress, and mountains.</p>
+<p>The country, between this beautiful town and Mantua, presents one
+continued grove of dwarfish mulberries, among which start up innumerable
+barren hills.&nbsp; Now and then a knot of poplars diversify their craggy
+summits, and sometimes a miserable shed.&nbsp; Mantua itself rises out
+of a morass formed by the Mincio, whose course, in most places, is so
+choked up with reeds as to be scarcely discernible.&nbsp; It requires
+a creative imagination to discover any charms in such a prospect, and
+a strong prepossession not to be disgusted with the scene where Virgil
+was born.&nbsp; For my own part, I approached this neighbourhood with
+proper deference, and began to feel the God, but finding no tufted tree
+on which I could suspend my lyre, or verdant bank which invited to repose,
+I abandoned poetry and entered the city in despair.</p>
+<p>The beating of drums, and sight of German whiskers, finished what
+croaking frogs and stagnant ditches had begun.&nbsp; Every classic idea
+being scared by such sounds and such objects, I dined in dudgeon, and
+refused stirring out till late in the evening.</p>
+<p>A few paces from the town stand the remains of the palace where the
+Gonzagas formerly resided.&nbsp; This I could not resist looking at,
+and was amply rewarded.&nbsp; Several of the apartments, adorned by
+the bold pencil of Julio Romano, merit the most exact attention; and
+the grotesques, with which the stucco ceilings are covered, equal the
+celebrated loggios of the Vatican.&nbsp; I don&rsquo;t recollect ever
+having seen these elegant designs engraven, and believe it would be
+perfectly worth the pains of some capital artist to copy them.&nbsp;
+Being in fresco upon damp neglected walls, each year diminishes their
+number, and every winter moulders some beautiful figure away.</p>
+<p>The subjects, mostly from antique fables, are treated with all the
+purity and gracefulness of Raphael.&nbsp; Amongst others the story of
+Polypheme is very conspicuous.&nbsp; Acis appears, reclined with his
+beloved Galatea, on the shore of the ocean, whilst their gigantic enemy,
+seated above on the brow of &AElig;tna, seems by the paleness and horrors
+of his countenance to meditate some terrible revenge.</p>
+<p>When it was too late to examine the paintings any longer, I walked
+into a sort of court, or rather garden, which had been decorated with
+fountains and antique statues.&nbsp; Their fragments still remain amongst
+weeds and beds of flowers, for every corner of the place is smothered
+with vegetation.&nbsp; Here nettles grow thick and rampant: there, tuberoses
+and jessamine cling around mounds of ruins, which during the elegant
+reign of the Gonzagas led to grottos and subterranean apartments, concealed
+from vulgar eyes, and sacred to the most refined enjoyments.&nbsp; I
+gathered a tuberose that sprang from a shell of white marble, once trickling
+with water, now half filled with mould, and carrying it home, shut myself
+up for the rest of the night, inhaled its perfume, and fell a-dreaming.</p>
+<p><i>September</i> 12<i>th</i>. - A shower having fallen, the air was
+refreshed, and the drops still glittered upon the vines, through which
+our road conducted us.&nbsp; Three or four miles from Mantua the scene
+changed to extensive grounds of rice, and meads of the tenderest verdure
+watered by springs, whose frequent meanders gave to the whole prospect
+the appearance of a vast green carpet shot with silver.&nbsp; Further
+on we crossed the Po, and passing Guastalla, entered a woody country
+full of inclosures and villages; herds feeding in the meadows, and poultry
+parading before every wicket.</p>
+<p>The peasants were busied in winnowing their corn; or, mounted upon
+the elms and poplars, gathering the rich clusters from the vines that
+hang streaming in braids from one branch to another.&nbsp; I was surprised
+to find myself already in the midst of the vintage, and to see every
+road crowded with carts and baskets bringing it along; you cannot imagine
+a pleasanter scene.</p>
+<p>Round Reggio it grew still more lively, and on the other side of
+that agreeable little city, I remarked many a cottage that Tityrus might
+have inhabited, with its garden and willow hedge in flower, swarming
+with bees.&nbsp; Our road, the smoothest conceivable, led us, perhaps
+too rapidly, by so cheerful a landscape.&nbsp; I caught glimpses of
+fields and copses as we fled along, that could have afforded me amusement
+for hours, and orchards on gentle acclivities, beneath which I could
+have walked till evening.&nbsp; The trees literally bent under their
+loads of fruit, and innumerable ruddy apples lay scattered upon the
+ground -</p>
+<div class="GutenbergBlankLines1"><br /></div>
+<p>&ldquo;Strata jacent passim sus qu&aelig;que sub arbore poma.&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="GutenbergBlankLines1"><br /></div>
+<p>Beyond these rich masses of foliage, to which the sun lent additional
+splendour, at the utmost extremity of the pastures, rose the irregular
+ridge of the Apennines, whose deep blue presented a striking contrast
+to the glowing colours of the foreground.&nbsp; I fixed my eyes on the
+chain of distant mountains, and indulged, as usual, my conjectures of
+what was going forward on their summits; of those who tended goats on
+the edge of the precipice; traversed, at this moment, the dark thickets
+of pines, and passed their lives in yonder sheds, contented and unknown.&nbsp;
+Such were the dreams that filled my fancy, and kept it incessantly employed
+till it was dusk, and the moon began to show herself; the same moon
+which, but a few days ago, had seen me so happy at Fiesso.&nbsp; Her
+soft light reposed upon the meads, that had been newly mown, and the
+shadows of tall poplars were cast aslant them.&nbsp; I left my carriage,
+and running into the dim haze, abandoned myself to the recollection
+it inspired.&nbsp; During an hour, I kept continually flying forwards;
+bounding from enclosure to enclosure like a hunted antelope, and forgetting
+where I was or whither I was going.&nbsp; One sole idea filled my mind,
+and led me on with such heedless rapidity, that I stumbled over stones
+and bushes, and entangled myself on every wreath of vines which opposed
+my progress.&nbsp; At length, having wandered where chance or the wildness
+of my fancy led, till the lateness of the evening alarmed me, I regained
+the chaise as fast as I could, and arrived between ten and eleven at
+the place of my destination.</p>
+<p><i>September</i> 13<i>th</i>. - Having but a moment or two at liberty,
+I hurried early in the morning to the palace, and entered an elegant
+Ionic court, with arcades of the whitest stone, through which I caught
+peeps of a clear blue sky and groves of cypresses.&nbsp; Some few good
+paintings still adorn the apartments, but the best part of the collection
+has been disposed of, for a hundred thousand sequins, amongst which
+was that inestimable picture, the Notte of Corregio.&nbsp; An excellent
+copy remained and convinced me the original was not undeservedly celebrated.&nbsp;
+None but the pencil of Corregio ever designed such graceful angels,
+nor imagined such a pearly dawn to cast around them.&nbsp; Ten thousand
+times, I dare say, has the subject of the Nativity been treated, and
+as many painters have failed in rendering it so pleasing.&nbsp; The
+break of day, the first smiles of the celestial infant, and the truth,
+the simplicity of every countenance, cannot be too warmly admired.&nbsp;
+In the other rooms, no picture gave me more pleasure than Jacob&rsquo;s
+Vision by Domenico Feti.&nbsp; I gazed several minutes at the grand
+confusion of clouds and seraphim descending around the patriarch, and
+wished for a similar dream.</p>
+<p>Having spent the little time I had remaining in contemplating this
+object, I hastened from the palace and left Modena.</p>
+<p>We traversed a champagne country in our way to Bologna, whose richness
+and fertility increased in proportion as we drew near that celebrated
+mart of lap-dogs and sausages.&nbsp; A chain of hills commands the city,
+variegated with green inclosures and villas innumerable, almost every
+one of which has its grove of chestnuts and cypresses.&nbsp; On the
+highest acclivity of this range appears the magnificent convent of Madonna
+del Monte, embosomed in wood, and joined to the town by a corridor a
+league in length.&nbsp; This vast portico, ascending the steeps and
+winding amongst the thickets, sometimes concealed and sometimes visible,
+produces an effect wonderfully grand and singular.&nbsp; I longed to
+have mounted the height by so extraordinary a passage; and hope on some
+future day to be better acquainted with Saint Maria del Monte.</p>
+<p>At present I thought of little else, to say truth, but what I had
+seen at Fiesso; and what I was to hear at Lucca.&nbsp; The anxiety inspired
+by the one, and impatience by the other, rendered me shamefully insensible
+to the merits of Bologna (where I passed near two hours), and of which
+I can add nothing but that it is very much out of humour, an earthquake
+and Cardinal Buoncompagni having disarranged both land and people.&nbsp;
+For half-a-year the ground continued trembling; and for these last months,
+the legate and senators have grumbled and scratched incessantly; so
+that, between natural and political commotions, the Bolognese must have
+passed an agreeable summer.</p>
+<p>Such a report of the situation of things, you may suppose, was not
+likely to retard my journey.&nbsp; I put off delivering my letters to
+another opportunity; ran up a tall slender tower as high as the Campanile
+di San Marco, by way of exercise; and proceeded immediately after dinner
+towards the mountains.&nbsp; We were soon in the midst of crags and
+stony channels, that stream with ten thousand rills in the winter season,
+but during the summer months reflect every sunbeam, and harbour half
+the scorpions in the country.</p>
+<p>For many a toilsome league our prospect consisted of nothing but
+dreary hillocks and intervening wastes, more barren and mournful than
+those to which Mary Magdalene retired.&nbsp; Sometimes a crucifix or
+chapel peeped out of the parched fern and grasses, with which these
+desolate fields are clothed; and now and then we met a goggle-eyed pilgrim
+trudging along, and staring about him as if he waited only for night
+and opportunity to have additional reasons for hurrying to Jerusalem.</p>
+<p>During three or four hours that we continued ascending, the scene
+increased in sterility and desolation; but, at the end of our second
+post, the landscape began to alter for the better: little green valleys
+at the base of tremendous steeps, discovered themselves, scattered over
+with oaks, and freshened with running waters, which the nakedness of
+the impending rocks set off to advantage.&nbsp; The sides of the cliffs
+in general consist of rude misshapen masses; but their summits are smooth
+and verdant, and continually browsed by herds of white goats, which
+were gambolling on the edge of the precipices as we passed beneath.</p>
+<p>I joined one of these frisking assemblies, whose shadows were stretched
+by the setting sun along the level herbage.&nbsp; There I sat a few
+minutes whilst they shook their beards at me, and tried to scare me
+with all their horns; but I was not to be frightened, and would offer
+up my adorations to departing day, in spite of their caperings.&nbsp;
+Being tired with skipping and butting at me in vain, the whole herd
+trotted away, and I after them.&nbsp; They led me a dance from crag
+to crag and from thicket to thicket.</p>
+<p>It was growing dusky apace, and wreaths of smoke began to ascend
+from the mysterious depths of the valleys.&nbsp; I was ignorant what
+monster inhabited such retirements, so gave over my pursuit, lest some
+Polypheme or other might make me repent it.&nbsp; I looked around, the
+carriage was out of sight; but hearing the neighing of horses at a distance,
+I soon came up with them, and mounted another rapid ascent, whence an
+extensive tract of cliff and forest land was discernible.</p>
+<p>The rocks here formed a spacious terrace; along which I continued
+surveying the distant groves, and marking the solemn approach of night.&nbsp;
+The sky was hung with storms, and a pale moon seemed to advance with
+difficulty amongst broken and tempestuous clouds.&nbsp; It was an hour
+to reap plants with brazen sickles, and to meditate upon revenge.</p>
+<p>A chill wind blew from the highest peak of the Apennines, inspiring
+evil, and making a dismal rustle amongst the woods of chestnut that
+hung on the mountain&rsquo;s side, through which we were forced to pass.&nbsp;
+I never heard such fatal murmurs; nor felt myself so gloomily.&nbsp;
+I walked out of the sound of the carriage, where the glimmering moonlight
+prevailed, and began interpreting the language of the leaves, not greatly
+to my own advantage or that of any being in the universe.&nbsp; I was
+no prophet of good, but full of melancholy bodings, and something that
+bordered upon despair.&nbsp; Had I but commanded an oracle, as ancient
+visionaries were wont, I should have thrown whole nations into dismay.</p>
+<p>How long I continued in this strange temper I cannot pretend to say,
+but believe it was midnight before we emerged from the oracular forest,
+and saw faintly before us the huts of Lognone, where we were to sleep.&nbsp;
+This blessed hamlet is suspended on the brow of a bleak mountain, and
+every gust that stirs shakes the whole village to its foundations.&nbsp;
+At our approach two hags stalked forth with lanterns and invited us
+with a grin, which I shall always remember, to a dish of mustard and
+crow&rsquo;s gizzards, a dish I was more than half afraid of tasting,
+lest it should change me to some bird of darkness, condemned to mope
+eternally on the black rafters of the cottage.</p>
+<p>After repeated supplications we procured a few eggs, and some faggots
+to make a fire.&nbsp; Its blaze gave me courage to hear the hollow blasts
+that whistled in the crevices; and pitching my bed in a warm corner,
+I soon fell asleep, and forgot all my cares and inquietudes.</p>
+<p><i>September</i> 14<i>th</i>. - The sun had not been long above the
+horizon, before we set forward upon a craggy pavement hewn out of the
+rough bosom of the cliffs and precipices.&nbsp; Scarce a tree was visible,
+and the few that presented themselves began already to shed their leaves.&nbsp;
+The raw nipping air of this desert with difficulty spares a blade of
+vegetation; and in the whole range of these extensive eminences I could
+not discover a single corn-field or pasture.&nbsp; Inhabitants, you
+may guess, there were none.&nbsp; I would defy even a Scotch highlander
+to find means of subsistence in so rude a soil.</p>
+<p>Towards midday, we had surmounted the dreariest part of our journey,
+and began to perceive a milder landscape.&nbsp; The climate improved
+as well as the prospect, and after a continual descent of several hours,
+we saw groves and villages in the dips of the hills, and met a string
+of mules and horses laden with fruit.&nbsp; I purchased some figs and
+peaches from this little caravan, and spreading my repast upon a bank,
+baked in the sunshine, and gathered large spikes of lavender in full
+bloom.</p>
+<p>Continuing our route, we bid adieu to the realms of poverty and barrenness,
+and entered a cultivated vale sheltered by woody acclivities.&nbsp;
+Among these we wound along, the peasants singing upon the hill, and
+driving their cattle to springs by the road&rsquo;s side; near one of
+which we dined in a patriarchal manner, and afterwards pursued our course
+through a grove of taper cypresses, waving with the cool gales of the
+evening.&nbsp; The heights were suffused with a ruddy glow, proceeding
+from the light pink clouds which floated on the horizon.&nbsp; No others
+were to be seen.&nbsp; All nature seemed in a happy tranquil state;
+the herds penned in their folds, and every rustic going to repose.&nbsp;
+I shared the general calm for the first time this many a tedious hour;
+and traversed the dales in peace, abandoned to flattering hopes and
+gay illusions.&nbsp; The full moon shone propitiously upon me as I ascended
+a hill, and discovered Florence at a distance, surrounded with gardens
+and terraces, rising one above another.&nbsp; The serene moonlight on
+the pale grey tints of the olive, gave an Elysian, visionary appearance
+to the landscape.&nbsp; I never beheld so mild a sky, nor such soft
+gleams: the mountains were veiled in azure mists, which concealed their
+rugged summits; and the plains in vapours, that smoothed their irregularities,
+and diffused a faint a&euml;rial hue, to which no description can render
+justice.&nbsp; I could have contemplated such scenery for hours, and
+was sorry when I found myself shut up from it by the gates of Florence.&nbsp;
+We passed several lofty palaces of the true Tuscan order, with rustic
+arcades and stout columns, whose solidity and magnificence were not
+diminished by the shades of midnight.&nbsp; Whilst these grand masses
+lay dark and solemn, the smooth flagstone, with which every street is
+paved, received a chequered gleam, and the Arno, the brightest radiance.&nbsp;
+Though tired with my jumble over the Apennines, I could not resist the
+temptation of walking upon the banks of so celebrated a river, and crossing
+its bridges, which still echoed with music and conversation.&nbsp; Having
+gratified the first impulse of curiosity, I returned to Vaninis, and
+slept as well as my impatience would allow, till it was time next morning
+(September 15th), to visit the gallery, and worship the Venus de Medicis.&nbsp;
+I felt, upon entering this world of taste and elegance, as if I could
+have taken up my abode in it for ever; but confused with the multitude
+of objects, I knew not where to turn myself, and ran childishly by the
+ample ranks of sculptures, like a butterfly in a parterre, that skims
+before it fixes, over ten thousand flowers.</p>
+<p>Having taken my course down one side of the gallery, I turned the
+angle and discovered another long perspective, equally stored with prodigies
+of bronze and marble; paintings on the walls, on the ceilings, in short,
+everywhere.&nbsp; A minute brought me, vast as it was, to the extremity
+of this range; then, flying down a third, adorned in the same delightful
+manner, I paused under the bust of Jupiter Olympius; and began to reflect
+a little more maturely upon the company in which I found myself.&nbsp;
+Opposite, appeared the majestic features of Minerva, breathing divinity;
+and Cybele, the mother of the gods.</p>
+<p>I bowed low to these awful powers, but seeing a black figure just
+by, whose attitude seemed to announce the deity of sleep, I made immediately
+up to it.&nbsp; You know my fondness for this drowsy personage, and
+that it is not the first time I have quitted the most splendid society
+for him.&nbsp; I found him, at present, of touchstone, with the countenance
+of a towardly brat, sleeping ill through indigestion.&nbsp; The artist
+had not conceived such high ideas of the god as live in my bosom, or
+else he never would have represented him with so little grace or dignity.</p>
+<p>Displeased at finding my favourite subject profaned, I perceived
+the lively transports of enthusiasm began in some degree to be dissipated,
+and I felt myself calm enough to follow the herd of guides and spectators
+from chamber to chamber and cabinet to cabinet, without falling into
+errors of rapture and inspiration.&nbsp; We were led slowly and moderately
+through the large rooms, containing the portraits of painters, good,
+bad, and indifferent, from Raffaelle to Liotard; then into a museum
+of bronzes, which would afford both amusement and instruction for years.</p>
+<p>To one who can never behold an ancient lamp or tripod without the
+associations of those who sacrificed on the one and meditated by the
+other, imagine what pleasures such a repository must have communicated.</p>
+<p>When I had alarmed, not satisfied, my curiosity by rapidly running
+over this multitude of candelabra, urns, and sacred utensils, we entered
+a small luminous apartment, surrounded with cases richly decorated,
+and filled with the most exquisite models of workmanship in bronze and
+various metals, classed in exact order.&nbsp; Here are crowds of diminutive
+deities and tutelary lars, to whom the superstition of former days attributed
+those midnight murmurs which were believed to presage the misfortunes
+of a family.&nbsp; Amongst these now neglected images are preserved
+a vast number of talismans, cabalistic amulets, and other grotesque
+relics of ancient credulity.</p>
+<p>In the centre of the room, I remarked a table, beautifully formed
+of polished gems, and, hard by it, the statue of a genius with his familiar
+serpent, and all his attributes; the guardian of the treasured antiquities.&nbsp;
+From this chamber we were conducted into another, which opens to that
+part of the gallery where the busts of Adrian and Antinous are placed.&nbsp;
+Two pilasters, delicately carved in trophies and clusters of ancient
+armour, stand on each side of the entrance; within are several perfumed
+cabinets of miniatures, and a single column of Oriental alabaster about
+ten feet in height,</p>
+<div class="GutenbergBlankLines1"><br /></div>
+<p>&ldquo;Lucido e terso, e bianco, pi&ugrave; che latte.&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="GutenbergBlankLines1"><br /></div>
+<p>I put my guide&rsquo;s patience to the proof, by remaining much longer
+than any one else ever did, in admiring the pillar, and rummaging the
+drawers of the cabinets.&nbsp; At last, the musk with which they are
+impregnated obliged me to desist, and I moved on to a suite of saloons,
+with low arched roofs, glittering with arabesque, in azure and gold.&nbsp;
+Several medallions appear amongst the wreaths of foliage, tolerably
+well painted, with representations of splendid feasts and tournaments
+for which Florence was once so famous.</p>
+<p>A vast collection of small pictures, most of them Flemish, covers
+the walls of these apartments.&nbsp; But nothing struck me more than
+a Medusa&rsquo;s head by that surprising genius Leonardo da Vinci.&nbsp;
+It appears just severed from the body, and cast on the damp pavement
+of a cavern: a deadly paleness covers the countenance, and the mouth
+exhales a pestilential vapour: the snakes, which fill almost the whole
+picture, beginning to untwist their folds; one or two seemed already
+crept away, and crawling up the rock in company with toads and other
+venomous reptiles.</p>
+<p>The colouring of these disgustful objects is faithful to a great
+degree; the effect of light, prodigious; the whole so masterly that
+I could not help entering into this description; though I fear to little
+purpose, as words at best convey but a weak idea of objects addressed
+to the sight alone.</p>
+<p>Here are a great many Polemburgs: one in particular, the strangest
+I ever beheld.&nbsp; Instead of those soft scenes of woods and waterfalls
+he is in general so fond of representing, he has chosen for his subject
+Virgil ushering Dante into the regions of eternal punishment, amidst
+the ruins of flaming edifices that glare across the infernal waters.&nbsp;
+These mournful towers harbour innumerable shapes, all busy in preying
+upon the damned.&nbsp; One capital devil, in the form of an enormous
+lobster, seems very strenuously employed in mumbling a miserable mortal,
+who sprawls, though in vain, to escape from his claws.&nbsp; This performance,
+whimsical as it is, retains all that softness of tint and delicacy of
+pencil for which Polemburg is so renowned.</p>
+<p>Had not the subject so palpably contradicted the execution as to
+become remarkable, I should have passed it over, like a thousand more,
+and brought you immediately to the Tribune.&nbsp; I dare say our sensations
+were similar on entering this apartment.&nbsp; Need I say I was enchanted
+the moment I set my feet within it, and saw full before me the Venus
+de Medicis?&nbsp; The warm ivory hue of the original marble is a beauty
+no copy has ever imitated, and the softness of the limbs exceeded the
+liveliest idea I had formed to myself of their perfection.</p>
+<p>Their symmetry every artist is acquainted with; but do you recollect
+a faint ruddy cast in the hair, which admirably relieves the whiteness
+of the forehead?&nbsp; This circumstance, though perhaps accidental,
+struck me as peculiarly charming; it increased the illusion, and helped
+me to imagine I beheld a breathing divinity.</p>
+<p>When I had taken my eyes reluctantly from this beautiful object,
+I cast them upon a Morpheus of white marble, which lies slumbering at
+the feet of the goddess in the form of a graceful child.&nbsp; A dormant
+lion serves him for a pillow: two ample wings, carved with the utmost
+delicacy, are gathered under him; two others, budding from his temples,
+half concealed by a flow of lovely ringlets.&nbsp; His languid hands
+scarce hold a bunch of poppies: near him creeps a lizard, just yielding
+to his influence.&nbsp; Nothing can be more just than the expression
+of sleep in the countenance of the little divinity.&nbsp; His lion too
+seems perfectly lulled, and rests his muzzle upon his fore-paws as quiet
+as a domestic mastiff.&nbsp; I contemplated the god with infinite satisfaction,
+till I felt an agreeable sleepiness steal over my senses, and should
+have liked very well to doze away a few hours by his side.&nbsp; My
+ill-humour at seeing this deity so grossly sculptured in the gallery,
+was dissipated by the gracefulness of his appearance in the Tribune.&nbsp;
+I was now contented, for the artist, (to whom the Lord give a fair seat
+in paradise!) had realized my ideas; and, if I may venture my opinion,
+sculpture never arrived to higher perfection, or, at the same time,
+kept more justly within its province.&nbsp; Sleeping figures with me
+always produce the finest illusion.&nbsp; I easily persuade myself that
+I behold the very personage, cast into the lethargic state which is
+meant to be represented, and I can gaze whole hours upon them with complacency.&nbsp;
+But when I see an archer in the very act of discharging his arrow, a
+dancer with one foot in the air, or a gladiator extending his fist to
+all eternity, I grow tired, and ask, When will they perform what they
+are about?&nbsp; When will the bow twang? the foot come to the ground?
+or the fist meet its adversary?&nbsp; Such wearisome attitudes I can
+view with admiration, but never with pleasure.&nbsp; The wrestlers,
+for example, in the same apartment, filled me with disgust: I cried
+out, For heaven&rsquo;s sake! give the throw, and have done.&nbsp; In
+taking my turn round the enchanted circle, I discovered still, another
+Morpheus; stretched carelessly on a mantle, with poppies in his hands;
+but no wings grow from his temples, nor lion supports his head.&nbsp;
+A moth just issuing from his chrysalis is the only being which seems
+to have felt his soporific influence; whereas the other god I have mentioned
+may vaunt the glory of subduing the most formidable of animals.</p>
+<p>The morning was gone before I could snatch myself from the Tribune.&nbsp;
+In my way home, I looked into the cathedral, an enormous fabric, inlaid
+with the richest marbles, and covered with stars and chequered work,
+like an old-fashioned cabinet.&nbsp; The architect seems to have turned
+his building inside out; nothing in art being more ornamented than the
+exterior, and few churches so simple within.&nbsp; The nave is vast
+and solemn, the dome amazingly spacious, with the high altar in its
+centre, inclosed by a circular arcade near two hundred feet in diameter.&nbsp;
+There is something imposing in this decoration, as it suggests the idea
+of a sanctuary, into which none but the holy ought to penetrate.&nbsp;
+However profane I might feel myself, I took the liberty of entering,
+and sat myself down in a niche.&nbsp; Not a ray of light reaches this
+sacred inclosure, but through the medium of narrow windows, high in
+the dome and richly painted.&nbsp; A sort of yellow tint predominates,
+which gives additional solemnity to the altar, and paleness to the votary
+before it.&nbsp; I was sensible of the effect, and obtained at least
+the colour of sanctity.</p>
+<p>Having remained some time in this pious hue, I returned home and
+feasted upon grapes and ortolans with great edification; then walked
+to one of the bridges across the Arno, and surveyed the hills at a distance,
+purpled by the declining sun.&nbsp; Its mild beams tempted me to the
+garden of Boboli, which lies behind the Palazzo Pitti, stretched out
+on the side of a mountain.&nbsp; I ascended terrace after terrace, robed
+by a thick underwood of hay and myrtle, above which rise several nodding
+towers, and a long sweep of venerable wall, almost entirely concealed
+by ivy.&nbsp; You would have been enraptured with the broad masses of
+shade and dusky alleys that opened as I advanced, with white statues
+of fauns and sylvans glimmering amongst them; some of which pour water
+into sarcophagi of the purest marble, covered with antique relievos.&nbsp;
+The capitals of columns and ancient friezes are scattered about as seats.</p>
+<p>On these I reposed myself, and looked up to the cypress groves spiring
+above the thickets; then, plunging into their retirements, I followed
+a winding path, which led me by a series of steep ascents to a green
+platform overlooking the whole extent of wood, with Florence deep beneath,
+and the tops of the hills which encircle it, jagged with pines; here
+and there a convent, or villa, whitening in the sun.&nbsp; This scene
+extends as far as the eye can reach.</p>
+<p>Still ascending I attained the brow of the mountain, and had nothing
+but the fortress of Belvedere, and two or three open porticos above
+me.&nbsp; On this elevated situation, I found several walks of trellis-work,
+clothed with luxuriant vines, that produce to my certain knowledge the
+most delicious clusters.&nbsp; A colossal statue of Ceres, her hands
+extended in the act of scattering fertility over the prospect, crowns
+the summit, where I lingered to mark the landscape fade, and the bright
+skirts of the western sun die gradually away.</p>
+<p>Then descending alley after alley, and bank after bank, I came to
+the orangery in front of the palace, disposed in a grand amphitheatre,
+with marble niches relieved by dark foliage, out of which spring tall
+a&euml;rial cypresses.&nbsp; This spot brought the scenery of an antique
+Roman garden full into my mind.&nbsp; I expected every instant to be
+called to the table of Lucullus hard by, in one of the porticoes, and
+to stretch myself on his purple triclinias; but waiting in vain for
+a summons till the approach of night, I returned delighted with a ramble
+that had led me so far into antiquity.</p>
+<p><i>Friday</i>, <i>September</i> 16th. - My impatience to hear Pacchierotti
+called me up with the sun.&nbsp; I blessed a day which was to give me
+the greatest of musical pleasures, and travelled gaily towards Lucca,
+along a fertile plain, bounded by rocky hills, and scattered over with
+towns and villages.&nbsp; We passed Pistoia in haste, and about three
+in the afternoon entered the Lucchese territory, by a clean, paved road,
+which runs through some of the pleasantest copses imaginable, bordered
+with a variety of heaths and broom in blossom.&nbsp; Sometimes it conducted
+us down slopes, overgrown with shrubby chestnuts and arbor vit&aelig;;
+sometimes between groves of cypresses and pines laden with cones: a
+red soil peeping forth from the vegetation adds to the richness of the
+landscape, which swells all the way into gentle acclivities: and at
+about seven or eight miles from the city spreads into mountains, green
+to their very summits, and diversified with gardens and palaces.&nbsp;
+A more pleasing scenery can with difficulty be imagined: I was quite
+charmed with beholding it, as I knew very well that the opera would
+keep me a long while chained down in its neighbourhood.</p>
+<p>Happy for me that the environs of Lucca were so beautiful; since
+I defy almost any city to contain more ugliness within its walls.&nbsp;
+Narrow streets and dismal alleys; wide gutters and cracked pavements;
+everybody in black, like mourners for the gloom of their habitations,
+which, however, are large and lofty enough of conscience; but having
+all grated windows, they convey none but dark and dungeon-like ideas.&nbsp;
+My spirits fell many degrees upon entering this sable capital; and when
+I found Friday was meagre day, in every sense of the word, with its
+inhabitants, and no opera to be performed, I grew terribly out of humour,
+and shut myself up in a chamber of the inn, which, to complete my misfortune,
+was crowded with human lumber.&nbsp; Instead of a delightful symphony,
+I heard nothing for some time but the clatter of plates and the swearing
+of waiters.</p>
+<p>Amongst the number of my tormentors was a whole Genoese family of
+distinction; very fat and sleek, and terribly addicted to the violin.&nbsp;
+Hearing of my fondness for music, they speedily got together a few scrapers,
+and began such an academia as drove me to one end of the room, whilst
+they possessed the other.&nbsp; The hopes and heir of the family - a
+coarse chubby dolt of about eighteen - played out of all time, and during
+the interval of repose he gave his elbow, burst out into a torrent of
+commonplace, which completed, you may imagine, my felicity.</p>
+<p>Pacchierotti, whom they all worshipped in their heavy way, sat silent
+the while in a corner; the second soprano warbled, not absolutely ill,
+at the harpsichord; whilst the old lady, young lady, and attendant females,
+kept ogling him with great perseverance.&nbsp; Those who could not get
+in, squinted through the crevices of the door.&nbsp; Abb&eacute;s and
+greyhounds were fidgeting continually without.&nbsp; In short, I was
+so worried that, pleading headaches and lassitudes, I escaped about
+ten o&rsquo;clock, and shook myself when I got safe to my apartment,
+like a spaniel just fresh from a dripping copse.</p>
+<div class="GutenbergBlankLines2"><br /><br /></div>
+<h2>LETTER XIV</h2>
+<div class="GutenbergBlankLines2"><br /><br /></div>
+<p>LUCCA, <i>September</i> 25<i>th</i>.</p>
+<p>You ask me how I pass my time.&nbsp; Generally upon the hills, in
+wild spots where the arbutus flourishes: from whence I may catch a glimpse
+of the distant sea; my horse tied to a cypress, and myself cast upon
+the grass, like Palmarin of Oliva, with a tablet and pencil in my hand,
+a basket of grapes by my side, and a crooked stick to shake down the
+chestnuts.&nbsp; I have bidden adieu, several days ago, to the dinners
+and glories of the town, and only come thither in an evening, just time
+enough for the grand march which precedes Pacchierotti in <i>Quinto
+Fabio</i>.&nbsp; Sometimes he accompanies me in my excursions, to the
+utter discontent of the Lucchese, who swear I shall ruin their opera,
+by leading him such confounded rambles amongst the mountains, and exposing
+him to the inclemency of winds and showers.&nbsp; One day they made
+a vehement remonstrance, but in vain; for the next, away we trotted
+over hill and dale, and stayed so late in the evening, that cold and
+hoarseness were the consequence.</p>
+<p>The whole republic was thrown into commotion, and some of its prime
+ministers were deputed to harangue Pacchierotti upon the rides he had
+committed.&nbsp; Billingsgate never produced such furious orators.&nbsp;
+Had the safety of their mighty state depended upon this imprudent excursion,
+they could not have vociferated with greater violence.&nbsp; You know
+I am rather energetic, and, to say truth, I had very nearly got into
+a scrape of importance, and drawn down the execrations of the Gonfalonier
+and all his council upon my head, in defending him, and in openly declaring
+our intention of taking, next morning, another ride over the rocks,
+and absolutely losing ourselves in the clouds which veil their acclivities.&nbsp;
+These threats were put into execution, and yesterday we made a tour
+of about thirty miles upon the highlands, and visited a variety of castles
+and palaces.</p>
+<p>The Conte Nobili conducted us, a noble Lucchese, but born in Flanders
+and educated at Paris.&nbsp; He possesses the greatest elegance of imagination,
+and a degree of sensibility rarely met with upon our gross planet.&nbsp;
+The way did not appear tedious in such company.&nbsp; The sun was tempered
+by light clouds, and a soft autumnal haze rested upon the hills, covered
+with shrubs and olives.&nbsp; The distant plains and forests appeared
+tinted with deep blue, and I am now convinced the azure so prevalent
+in Velvet Breughel&rsquo;s landscapes is not exaggerated.</p>
+<p>After riding for six or seven miles along the cultivated levels,
+we began to ascend a rough slope, overgrown with chestnuts; here and
+there some vines streaming in garlands displayed their clusters.&nbsp;
+A great many loose fragments and stumps of ancient pomegranates perplexed
+our route, which continued, turning and winding through this sort of
+wilderness, till it opened on a sudden to the side of a lofty mountain,
+covered with tufted groves, amongst which hangs the princely castle
+of the Garzonis, on the very side of a precipice.</p>
+<p>Alcina could not have chosen a more romantic situation.&nbsp; The
+garden lies extended beneath, gay with flowers, and glittering with
+compartments of spar, which, though in no great purity of taste, has
+an enchanted effect for the first time.&nbsp; Two large marble basins,
+with jet-d&rsquo;eaux seventy feet in height, divide the parterres;
+from the extremity of which rises a rude cliff, shaded with firs and
+ilex, and cut into terraces.</p>
+<p>Leaving our horses at the great gate of this magic inclosure, we
+passed through the spray of the fountains, and mounting an almost endless
+flight of steps, entered an alley of oranges, and gathered ripe fruit
+from the trees.&nbsp; Whilst we were thus employed, the sun broke from
+the clouds, and lighted up the vivid green of the vegetation; at the
+same time spangling the waters, which pour copiously down a succession
+of rocky terraces, and sprinkle the impending citron-trees with perpetual
+dew.&nbsp; These streams issue from a chasm in the cliff, surrounded
+by cypresses, which conceal by their thick branches some pavilions with
+baths.&nbsp; Above arises a colossal statue of Fame, boldly carved,
+and in the very act of starting from the precipices.&nbsp; A narrow
+path leads up to the feet of the goddess, on which I reclined; whilst
+a vast column of water arched over my head, and fell, without even wetting
+me with its spray, into the depths below.</p>
+<p>I could with difficulty prevail upon myself to abandon this cool
+recess, which the fragrance of bay and orange, extracted by constant
+showers, rendered uncommonly luxurious.&nbsp; At last I consented to
+move on, through a dark wall of ilex, which, to the credit of Signor
+Garzoni be it spoken, is suffered to grow as wild and as forest-like
+as it pleases.&nbsp; This grove is suspended on the mountain side, whose
+summit is clothed with a boundless wood of olives, and forms, by its
+azure colour, a striking contrast with the deep verdure of its base.</p>
+<p>After resting a few moments in the shade, we proceeded to a long
+avenue (bordered by aloes in bloom, forming majestic pyramids of flowers
+thirty feet high), which led us to the palace.&nbsp; This was soon run
+over.&nbsp; Then, mounting our horses, we wound amongst sunny vales,
+and inclosures with myrtle hedges, till we came to a rapid steep.&nbsp;
+We felt the heat most powerfully in ascending it, and were glad to take
+refuge under a bower of vines, which runs for miles along its summit,
+almost without interruption.&nbsp; These arbours afforded us both shade
+and refreshment; I fell upon the clusters which formed our ceiling,
+like a native of the north, unused to such luxuriance: one of those
+Goths which Gray so poetically describes, who</p>
+<div class="GutenbergBlankLines1"><br /></div>
+<p>&ldquo;Scent the new fragrance of the breathing rose,<br />And quaff
+the pendent vintage as it grows.&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="GutenbergBlankLines1"><br /></div>
+<p>I wish you had journeyed with us under this fruitful canopy, and
+observed the partial sunshine through its transparent leaves, and the
+glimpses of the blue sky it every now and then admitted.&nbsp; I say
+only every now and then, for in most places a sort of verdant gloom
+prevailed, exquisitely agreeable in so hot a day.</p>
+<p>But such luxury did not last, you may suppose, for ever.&nbsp; We
+were soon forced from our covert, and obliged to traverse a mountain
+exposed to the sun, which had dispersed every cloud, and shone with
+intolerable brightness.&nbsp; On the other side of this extensive eminence
+lies an agreeable hillock, surrounded by others, woody and irregular.&nbsp;
+Wide vineyards and fences of Indian corn lay between, across which the
+Conte Nobili conducted us to his house, where we found prepared a very
+comfortable dinner.&nbsp; We drank the growth of the spot, and defied
+Constantia and the Cape to excel it.</p>
+<p>Afterwards, retiring into a wood of the Marchese Mansi, with neat
+pebble walks and trickling rivulets, we sipped coffee and loitered till
+sunset.&nbsp; It was then time to return: the dews began to fall, and
+the mists to rise from the valleys.&nbsp; The profound calm and silence
+of evening threw us all three into our reveries.&nbsp; We went pacing
+along heedlessly, just as our horses pleased, without hearing any sound
+but their steps.</p>
+<p>Between nine and ten we entered the gates of Lucca.&nbsp; Pacchierotti
+coughed, and half its inhabitants wished us at the devil.</p>
+<p>I think now I have detained you long enough with my excursions: you
+must require a little repose; for my own part, I am heartily tired.&nbsp;
+I intended to say some things about certain owls, amongst other grievances
+I am pestered with in this republic; but shall cut them all short, and
+wish you good-night; for the opera is already begun, and I would not
+miss the first glorious recitative for the empire of Trebizond.</p>
+<div class="GutenbergBlankLines2"><br /><br /></div>
+<h2>LETTER XV</h2>
+<div class="GutenbergBlankLines2"><br /><br /></div>
+<p>LIVOURNO, <i>October</i> 2<i>nd.</i></p>
+<p>No sooner were we beyond the gates, than we found ourselves in narrow
+roads, shut in by vines and grassy banks of canes and osiers, rising
+high above our carriage, and waving their leaves in the air.&nbsp; Through
+the openings which sometimes intervene we discovered a variety of hillocks
+clothed with shrubberies and verdure, ruined towers looking out of the
+bushes, not one without a romantic tale attending it.</p>
+<p>This sort of scenery lasted till, passing the baths, we beheld Pisa
+rising from an extensive plain, the most open we had as yet seen in
+Italy, crossed by an aqueduct.&nbsp; We were set down immediately before
+the Duomo, which stands insulated in a verdant opening, and is by far
+the most curious and highly finished edifice my eyes ever viewed.&nbsp;
+Don&rsquo;t ask of what shape or architecture; it is almost impossible
+to tell, so great is the confusion of ornaments.&nbsp; The capitals
+of the columns and carvings of the architraves, as well as the form
+of the arches, are evidently of Grecian design, but Gothic proportions.&nbsp;
+The dome gives the mass an Oriental appearance, which helped to bewilder
+me; in short, I have dreamed of such buildings, but little thought they
+existed.&nbsp; On one side you survey the famous tower, as perfectly
+awry as I expected; on the other the baptistery, a circular edifice
+distinct from the church and right opposite its principal entrance,
+crowded with sculptures and topped by the strangest of cupolas.</p>
+<p>Having indulged our curiosity with this singular prospect for some
+moments, we entered the cathedral and admired the stately columns of
+porphyry and the rarest marbles, supporting a roof which, like the rest
+of the building, shines with gold.&nbsp; A pavement of the brightest
+mosaic completes its magnificence: all around are sculptures by M. Ang.
+Buonaroti, and paintings by the most distinguished artists.&nbsp; We
+examined them all, and then walked down the nave and remarked the striking
+effect of the baptistery, seen in perspective through the bronze portals,
+which you know, I suppose, are covered with relievos of the finest workmanship.&nbsp;
+These noble valves were thrown wide open, and we passed between to examine
+the alabaster fount in the baptistery, constructed after the primitive
+ritual, and exquisitely wrought.&nbsp; Many palm trees appear amongst
+the carved work, which seems to indicate the former connections of the
+Pisanese with Palestine.</p>
+<p>Our next object was the Campo Santo, which forms one side of the
+opening in which the cathedral is situated.&nbsp; The walls, and Gothic
+tabernacle above the entrance, rising from a level turf, appear as fresh
+as if built within the present century, and, preserving a neat straw
+colour, have the cleanest effect imaginable.&nbsp; Our guide unlocking
+the gates, we entered a spacious cloister, forming an oblong quadrangle,
+enclosing the sacred earth of Jerusalem, conveyed hither about the period
+of the crusades, in the days of Pisanese prosperity.&nbsp; The holy
+mould produces a rampant crop of weeds, but none are permitted to spring
+from the pavement, which is entirely composed of tombs with slabs and
+monumental inscriptions smoothly laid.&nbsp; Ranges of slender pillars,
+formed of the whitest marble and glistening in the sun, support the
+arcades, which are carved with innumerable stars and roses, partly Gothic
+and partly Saracenial.&nbsp; Strange paintings of hell and the devil,
+mostly taken from Dante&rsquo;s rhapsodies, cover the walls of these
+fantastic galleries, attributed to the venerable Giotto and Bufalmacco,
+whom Boccace mentions in his &ldquo;Decamerone.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Beneath, along the base of the columns, rows of pagan sarcophagi
+are placed, to my no small surprise, as I could not have supposed the
+Pisanese sufficiently tolerant to admit profane sculptures within such
+consecrated precincts.&nbsp; However, there they are, as well as fifty
+other contradictory ornaments.</p>
+<p>I was quite seized by the strangeness of the place, and paced fifty
+times round and round the cloisters, discovering at every time some
+odd novelty.&nbsp; When tired, I seated myself on a fair slab of <i>giallo
+antico</i>, that looked a little cleaner than its neighbours (which
+I only mention to identify the precise point of view), and looking through
+the filigreed covering of the arches, observed the domes of the cathedral,
+cupola of the baptistery, and roof of the leaning tower rising above
+the leads, and forming the strangest assemblage of pinnacles perhaps
+in Europe.&nbsp; The place is neither sad nor solemn; the arches are
+airy, the pillars light, and there is so much caprice, such an exotic
+look in the whole scene, that without any violent effort of fancy one
+might imagine one&rsquo;s self in fairyland.&nbsp; Every object is new,
+every ornament original; the mixture of antique sarcophagi with Gothic
+sepulchres, completes the vagaries of the prospect, to which, one day
+or other, I think of returning, to act a visionary part, hear visionary
+music, and commune with sprites, for I shall never find in the whole
+universe besides so whimsical a theatre.&nbsp; It was between ten and
+eleven when we entered the Campo Santo, and one o&rsquo;clock struck
+before I could be persuaded to leave it; and &rsquo;twas the sun which
+then drove me away; whose heat was so powerful that all the inhabitants
+of Pisa showed their wisdom by keeping within doors.&nbsp; Not an animal
+appeared in the streets, except five camels laden with water, stalking
+along a range of garden walls and pompous mansions, with an awning before
+every door.&nbsp; We were obliged to follow their steps, at least a
+quarter of a mile, before we reached our inn.&nbsp; Ice was the first
+thing I sought after, and when I had swallowed an unreasonable portion,
+I began not to think quite so much of the deserts of Africa, as the
+heat and the camels had induced me a moment ago.</p>
+<p>Early in the afternoon, we proceeded to Livourno through a wild tract
+of forest, somewhat in the style of our English parks.&nbsp; The trees
+in some places formed such shady arbours, that we could not resist the
+desire of walking beneath them, and were well rewarded; for after struggling
+through a rough thicket, we entered a lawn hemmed in by oaks and chestnuts,
+which extends several leagues along the coast and conceals the prospect
+of the ocean; but we heard its murmurs.</p>
+<p>Nothing could be smoother or more verdant than the herbage, which
+was sprinkled with daisies and purple crocuses, as in the month of May.&nbsp;
+I felt all the genial sensations of Spring steal into my bosom, and
+was greatly delighted upon discovering vast bushes of myrtle in bloom.&nbsp;
+The softness of the air, the sound of the distant surges, the evening
+gleams, and repose of the landscape, quieted the tumult of my spirits,
+and I experienced the calm of my infant hours.&nbsp; I lay down in the
+open turf-walks between the shrubberies, listlessly surveyed the cattle
+browsing at a distance, and the blue hills that rose above the foliage,
+and bounded the view.&nbsp; During a few moments I had forgotten every
+care; but when I began to inquire into my happiness, I found it vanish.&nbsp;
+I felt myself without those I love most, in situations they would have
+warmly admired, and without them these pleasant meads and woodlands
+were of little avail.</p>
+<p>We had not left this woody region far behind, when the Fanal&egrave;
+began to lift itself above the horizon - the Fanal&egrave; you have
+so often mentioned; the sky and ocean glowing with amber light, and
+the ships out at sea appearing in a golden haze, of which we have no
+conception in our northern climates.&nbsp; Such a prospect, together
+with the fresh gales from the Mediterranean, charmed me; I hurried immediately
+to the port and sat on a reef of rocks, listening to the waves that
+broke amongst them.</p>
+<div class="GutenbergBlankLines2"><br /><br /></div>
+<h2>LETTER XVI</h2>
+<div class="GutenbergBlankLines2"><br /><br /></div>
+<p><i>October</i> 3<i>rd</i>. - I went, as you would have done, to walk
+on the mole as soon as the sun began to shine upon it.&nbsp; Its construction
+you are no stranger to; therefore I think I may spare myself the trouble
+of saying anything about it, except that the port which it embraces
+is no longer crowded.&nbsp; Instead of ten ranks of vessels there are
+only three, and those consist chiefly of Corsican galleys, that look
+as poor and tattered as their masters.&nbsp; Not much attention did
+I bestow upon such objects, but, taking my seat at the extremity of
+the quay, surveyed the smooth plains of ocean, the coast scattered over
+with watch-towers, and the rocky isle of Gorgona, emerging from the
+morning mists, which still lingered upon the horizon.</p>
+<p>Whilst I was musing upon the scene, and calling up all that train
+of ideas before my imagination, which possessed your own upon beholding
+it, an ancient figure, with a beard that would have suited a sea-god,
+stepped out of a boat, and tottering up the steps of the quay, presented
+himself before me with a basket in his hand.&nbsp; He stayed dripping
+a few moments before he pronounced a syllable, and when he began his
+discourse, I was in doubt whether I should not have moved off in a hurry,
+there was something so wan and singular in his countenance.&nbsp; Except
+this being, no other was visible for a quarter of a mile at least.&nbsp;
+I knew not what strange adventure I might be upon the point of commencing,
+or what message I was to expect from the submarine divinities.&nbsp;
+However, after all my conjectures, the figure turned out to be no other
+than an old fisherman, who, having picked up a few large branches of
+red coral, offered them to sale.&nbsp; I eagerly made the purchase,
+and thought myself a favourite of Neptune, since he allowed me to acquire
+for next to nothing some of his most beautiful ornaments.</p>
+<p>My bargain thus expeditiously finished, I ran along the quay with
+my basket of coral, and, jumping into a boat, was rowed back to the
+gate of the port.&nbsp; The carriage waited there; I filled it with
+jasmine, shut myself up in the shade of the green blinds, and was driven
+away at a rate that favoured my impatience.&nbsp; We bowled smoothly
+over the lawns I attempted describing in my last letter, amongst myrtles
+in flower, that would have done honour to the island of Juan Fernandes.</p>
+<p>Arrived at Pisa, I scarcely allowed myself a moment to revisit the
+Campo Santo, but, after taking my usual portion of ice and pomegranate-seeds,
+hurried on to Lucca as fast as horses could carry me, threw the whole
+idle town into a stare by my speedy return, and gave myself up to <i>Q.
+Fabio.</i></p>
+<p>Next day (October 4th) was passed in running over my old haunts upon
+the hills, and bidding farewell to several venerable chestnuts, for
+which I had contracted a sort of friendship by often experiencing their
+protection.&nbsp; I could not help feeling some melancholy sensation
+when I turned round the last time to bid them adieu.&nbsp; Who knows
+but some dryad enclosed within them was conscious of my gratitude, and
+noted it down on the bark of her tree?&nbsp; It was late before I finished
+my excursion, and soon after I had walked as usual upon the ramparts
+the opera began.</p>
+<div class="GutenbergBlankLines2"><br /><br /></div>
+<h2>LETTER XVII</h2>
+<div class="GutenbergBlankLines2"><br /><br /></div>
+<p>FLORENCE, <i>October</i> 5<i>th.</i></p>
+<p>It was not without regret that I forced myself from Lucca.&nbsp;
+We had all the same road to go over again, that brought us to this important
+republic, but we broke down by way of variety.&nbsp; The wind was chill,
+the atmosphere damp and clogged with unwholesome vapours, through which
+we were forced to walk for a league, whilst our chaise lagged after
+us.</p>
+<p>Taking shelter in a miserable cottage, we remained shivering and
+shaking till the carriage was in some sort of order, and then proceeded
+so slowly that we did not arrive at Florence till late in the evening.&nbsp;
+We found an apartment over the Arno prepared for our reception.&nbsp;
+The river, swollen with rains, roared like a mountain torrent.&nbsp;
+Throwing open my windows, I viewed its agitated course by the light
+of the moon, half concealed in stormy clouds, which hung above the fortress
+of the Belvedere, and cast a lowering gleam over the hills, which rise
+above the town, and wave with cypress.&nbsp; I sat contemplating the
+effect of the shadows on the bridge, on the heights of Boboli, and the
+mountain covered with pale olive groves, amongst which a convent is
+situated, till the moon sunk into the darkest quarter of the sky, and
+a bell began to toll.&nbsp; Its sullen sound filled me with sadness.&nbsp;
+I closed the casements, called for lights, ran to a harpsichord Vannini
+had prepared for me, and played somewhat in the strain of Jomelli&rsquo;s
+<i>Miserere.</i></p>
+<p><i>October</i> 6<i>th</i>. - Every cloud was dispersed when I arose;
+the sunbeams glittered on the stream, and the purity and transparency
+of the tether added new charms to the woody eminences around.&nbsp;
+Such was the clearness of the air that even objects on the distant mountains
+were distinguishable.&nbsp; I felt quite revived by the exhilarating
+prospect, and walked in the splendour of sunshine to the porticos beneath
+the famous gallery; then to an ancient castle, raised in the days of
+the republic, which fronts the grand piazza: colossal statues and venerable
+terms are placed before it.&nbsp; On one side a fountain clung round
+with antique figures of bronze, by John of Bologna, so admirably wrought
+as to hold me several minutes in astonishment; on the other, three lofty
+Gothic arches, and under one of them the Perseus of Benvenuto Cellini,
+raised on a pedestal, incomparably designed and executed; which I could
+not behold uninterested, since its author has ever occupied a distinguished
+place in my kalendar of genius.&nbsp; Having examined some groups of
+sculptures, by Baccio Bandinelli and other mighty artists, I entered
+the court of the castle, dark and deep, as if hewn out of a rock; surrounded
+by a vaulted arcade, covered with arabesque ornaments, and supported
+by pillars as uncouthly carved as those of Persepolis.&nbsp; In the
+midst appears a marble fount with an image of bronze, that looks quite
+strange and cabalistic.&nbsp; I leaned against it, to look up to the
+summits of the walls, which rise to a vast height, from whence springs
+a slender tower.&nbsp; Above, in the apartments of the castle, were
+preserved numbers of curious cabinets, tables of inlaid gems, and a
+thousand rarities, collected by the house of Medici, but exposed by
+the present sovereign of Tuscany to public sale.</p>
+<p>It was not without indignation that I learnt this new mark of contempt
+which the Austrians bestow on the memory of those illustrious patrons
+of the Arts; whom, being unwilling to imitate, they affect to despise
+as a race of merchants, whose example it would be abasing their dignity
+to follow.</p>
+<p>I could have stayed much longer to enjoy the novelty and strangeness
+of the place; but it was right to pay some compliments of form.&nbsp;
+That duty over, I dined in peace and solitude, read over your letters,
+and repaired, as evening drew on, to the thickets of Boboli.</p>
+<p>What a serene sky! what mellowness in the tints of the mountains!&nbsp;
+A purple haze concealed the bases, whilst their summits were invested
+with saffron light, discovering every white cot and every copse that
+clothed their declivities.&nbsp; The prospect widened as I ascended
+the terraces of the garden.</p>
+<p>After traversing many long alleys, brown with impending foliage,
+I emerged into a green opening on the brow of the hill, and seated myself
+under the statue of Ceres.&nbsp; From this high point I surveyed the
+mosaic cupola of the Duomo, its quaint turret, and one still more grotesque
+in its neighbourhood, built not improbably in the style of ancient Etruria.&nbsp;
+Beyond this singular group of buildings a plain stretches itself far
+and wide, most richly scattered over with villas, gardens, and groves
+of pine and olive, quite to the feet of the mountains.</p>
+<p>After I had marked the sun&rsquo;s going down, I went through a plat
+of vines hanging on the steeps, to a little eminence, round which the
+wood grows wilder and more luxuriant, and the cypresses shoot up to
+a surprising elevation.&nbsp; The pruners have spared this sylvan corner,
+and suffered the bays to put forth their branches, and the ilex to dangle
+over the walks, many of whose entrances are nearly overgrown.&nbsp;
+I enjoyed the gloom of these shady arbours, in the midst of which rises
+a lofty pavilion with galleries running round it, not unlike the idea
+one forms of Turkish chiosks.&nbsp; Beneath lies a garden of vines and
+rose-trees, which I visited, and found a spring under a rustic arch
+of grotto-work, fringed round with ivy.&nbsp; Millions of fish inhabit
+here, of that beautiful glittering species which comes from China.&nbsp;
+This golden nation were leaping after insects, as I stood gazing upon
+the deep, clear water, and listening to the drops that trickle from
+the cove.&nbsp; Opposite to which, at the end of an alley of vines,
+you discover an oval bason, and in the midst of it a statue of Ganymede,
+sitting reclined upon the eagle, full of that graceful languor so peculiarly
+Grecian.&nbsp; Whilst I was musing on the margin of the spring (for
+I returned to it after casting a look upon the sculpture), the moon
+rose above the tufted foliage of the terraces.&nbsp; Her silver brightness
+was strongly contrasted by the deep green of the holm-oak and bay, amongst
+which I descended by several flights of stairs, with neat marble balustrades
+crowned by vases of aloes.</p>
+<p>It was about seven o&rsquo;clock, and everybody was jumbling to my
+Lord T---&rsquo;s, who lives in a fine house all over blue and silver,
+with stuffed birds, alabaster cupids, and a thousand prettinesses more;
+but, after all, neither he nor his abode are worth mentioning.&nbsp;
+I found a deal of slopping and sipping of tea going forwards, and many
+dawdlers assembled.</p>
+<p>As I can say little good of the party, I had better shut the door,
+and conduct you to the opera, which is really a striking spectacle.&nbsp;
+However, it being addressed to the sight alone, I was soon tired, and
+gave myself up to conversation.&nbsp; Bedini, first soprano, put my
+patience to severe proof, during the few minutes I attended.&nbsp; You
+never beheld such a porpoise.&nbsp; If these animals were to sing, I
+should conjecture it would be in his style.&nbsp; You may suppose how
+often I invoked Pacchierotti, and regretted the lofty melody of <i>Quinto
+Fabio</i>.&nbsp; Everybody seemed as well contented as if there were
+no such thing as good music in the world, except a Neapolitan duchess,
+who delighted me by her vivacity.&nbsp; We took our fill of maledictions,
+and went home equally pleased with each other for having mutually execrated
+both singers and audience.</p>
+<div class="GutenbergBlankLines2"><br /><br /></div>
+<h2>LETTER XVIII</h2>
+<div class="GutenbergBlankLines2"><br /><br /></div>
+<p><i>October</i> 22<i>nd</i>. - They say the air is worse this year
+at Rome than ever, and that it would be madness to go thither during
+its malign influence.&nbsp; This was very bad news indeed to one heartily
+tired of Florence, at least of its society.&nbsp; Merciful powers! what
+a set harbour within its walls! * * * * * You may imagine I do not take
+vast or vehement delight in this company, though very ingenious, praiseworthy,
+etc.&nbsp; The woods of the Cascini shelter me every morning; and there
+grows an old crooked ilex at their entrance, twisting round a pine,
+upon whose branches I sit for hours, - hear, without feeling, the showers
+trickling above my head, and see the cattle browsing peacefully in their
+pastures, which hazel copses, Italian pines, and groves of cypress enclose.</p>
+<p>In the afternoon I never fail hiding myself in the thickets of Boboli,
+and marking the golden glimmer of sunset between their leaves.&nbsp;
+The other evening I varied my walks, and ascended one of those pleasant
+hills <a name="citation214"></a><a href="#footnote214">{214}</a> which
+rise in the vicinity of the city, and command a variegated scene of
+spires, towns, villas, cots, and gardens.&nbsp; On the right, as you
+stand upon the brow, appears Fesule with its turrets and white houses,
+covering a rocky mount; to the left, the vast Val d&rsquo;Arno lost
+in immensity.&nbsp; A Franciscan convent stands on the summit of the
+eminence, wrapped up in ancient cypresses, which hinder its holy inhabitants
+from seeing too much of so gay a view.&nbsp; The paved ascent leading
+up to their abode receives also a shade from the cypresses which border
+it.&nbsp; Beneath which venerable avenue, crosses with inscriptions
+are placed at stated distances, to mark the various moments of Christ&rsquo;s
+passion; as when fainting under His burden He halted to repose Himself,
+or when He met His afflicted mother (&ldquo;Giesu incontra la fua afflitta
+madre&rdquo;).</p>
+<p>Above, at the end of the perspective, rises a chapel designed with
+infinite taste and simple elegance by M. A. Buonarotti.&nbsp; Further
+on, an ancient church, in the corrupt Greek style of the primitive Christians,
+incrusted with white marble, porphyry, and verd antique.&nbsp; The interior
+presents a crowded assemblage of ornaments, elaborate mosaic pavements,
+and inlaid work without end.&nbsp; The high altar, placed in a semicircular
+recess, which reminded me of the church at Torcello, glitters with barbaric
+paintings on a gold ground, and receives the strongest glow of light
+imaginable from five windows, filled up with transparent marble clouded
+like tortoiseshell.&nbsp; A smooth polished staircase leads to this
+sacred place: another brought me to a subterraneous chapel, supported
+by confused groups of variegated pillars, just visible by the glimmer
+of lamps.&nbsp; I thought of the Zancaroon at Cordova, and began reciting
+the first verses of the Koran.</p>
+<p>Passing on not unawed, I followed some flights of steps, which terminate
+in the neat cloisters of the convent, in perfect preservation, but totally
+deserted.&nbsp; Ranges of citron and aloes fill up the quadrangle, whose
+walls are hung with superstitious pictures most singularly fancied.&nbsp;
+The Jesuits were the last tenants of this retirement, and seem to have
+had great reason for their choice.&nbsp; Its peace and stillness delighted
+me.</p>
+<p>Next day a very opposite scene engaged me, though much against my
+will.&nbsp; Her R. H. the G. Duchess having produced a princess in the
+night, everybody put on grand gala in the morning, and I was carried,
+along with the glittering tide of courtiers, ministers, and ladies,
+to see the christening.&nbsp; After hearing the Grand Duke talk politics
+for some time, the doors of a temporary chapel were thrown open.&nbsp;
+Trumpets flourished, processions marched, and the archbishop began his
+business at an altar of massive gold, placed under a yellow silk pavilion,
+with pyramids of lights before it.&nbsp; Wax tapers, though it was noon-day,
+shone in every corner of the apartments.&nbsp; Two rows of pages, gorgeously
+accoutred, and holding enormous torches, stood on each side his Royal
+Highness, and made him the prettiest courtesies imaginable, to the sound
+of an execrable band of music, though led by Nardini.&nbsp; The poor
+old archbishop, who looked very piteous and saint-like, struck up the
+Te Deum with a quavering voice, and the rest followed him full gallop.</p>
+<p>That ceremony being despatched (for his R. H. was in a mighty fidget
+to shrink back into his beloved obscurity), the crowd dispersed, and
+I went, with a few others, to dine at my Lord Tilney&rsquo;s.</p>
+<p>Evening drawing on, I ran to throw myself into the woods of Boboli,
+and remained till it was night in their profound recesses.&nbsp; Really
+this garden is enough to bewilder an enthusiastic spirit; there is something
+so solemn in its shades, its avenues, and spires of cypresses.&nbsp;
+When I had mused for many a melancholy hour amongst them, I emerged
+into the orangery before the palace, which overlooks the largest district
+of the town, and beheld, as I slowly descended the road which leads
+up to it, certain bright lights glancing across the cupola of the Duomo
+and the points of the highest towers.&nbsp; At first I thought them
+meteors, or those illusive fires which often dance before the eye of
+my imagination; but soon I was convinced of their reality: for in a
+few minutes the battlements of the old castle, which I remember mentioning
+in a former letter, shone with lamps; the lantern of the cathedral was
+lighted up on a sudden; whilst a stream of torches ran along its fantastic
+turrets.</p>
+<p>I enjoyed this prospect at a distance: when near, its pleasure was
+greatly diminished, for half the fish in the town were frying to rejoice
+the hearts of H. R. Highness&rsquo;s loyal subjects, and bonfires blazing
+in every street and alley.&nbsp; Hubbubs and stinks of every denomination
+drove me quickly to the theatre; but that was all glitter and glare.&nbsp;
+No taste, no arrangement, paltry looking-glasses, and rat&rsquo;s-tail
+candles.&nbsp; I had half a mind to return to Boboli.</p>
+<div class="GutenbergBlankLines2"><br /><br /></div>
+<h2>LETTER XIX</h2>
+<div class="GutenbergBlankLines2"><br /><br /></div>
+<p><i>October</i> 23<i>rd</i>. - Do you recollect our evening rambles
+last year upon the hill of pines? and the dark valley where we used
+to muse in the twilight?&nbsp; I remember we often fancied the scene
+like Valombrosa; and vowed, if ever an occasion offered, to visit that
+deep retirement.&nbsp; I had put off the execution of this pilgrimage
+from day to day till the warm weather was gone; and the Florentines
+declared I should be frozen if I attempted it.&nbsp; Everybody stared
+last night at the opera when I told them I was going to bury myself
+in fallen leaves, and hear no music but their rustlings.</p>
+<p>Mr. --- was just as eager as myself to escape the chit-chat and nothingness
+of Florence; so we finally determined upon our expedition, and mounting
+our horses, set out this morning, happily without any company but the
+spirit which led us along.&nbsp; We had need of inspiration, since nothing
+else, I think, would have tempted us over such dreary, uninteresting
+hillocks as rise from the banks of the Arno.&nbsp; The hoary olive is
+their principal vegetation; so that Nature, in this part of the country,
+seems in a withering decrepit state, and may not unaptly be compared
+to &ldquo;an old woman clothed in grey.&rdquo;&nbsp; However, we did
+not suffer the prospect to damp our enthusiasm, which was the better
+preserved for Valombrosa.</p>
+<p>About half way, our palfreys thought proper to look out for some
+oats, and I to creep into a sort of granary in the midst of a barren
+waste, scattered over with white rocks, that reflected more heat than
+I cared for, although I had been told snow and ice were to be my portion.&nbsp;
+Seating myself on the floor between heaps of corn, I reached down a
+few purple clusters of Muscadine grapes, which hung to dry in the ceiling,
+and amused myself very pleasantly with them till the horses had finished
+their meal and it was lawful to set forwards.&nbsp; We met with nothing
+but rocky steeps shattered into fragments, and such roads as half inclined
+us to repent our undertaking; but cold was not yet amongst the number
+of our evils.</p>
+<p>At last, after ascending a tedious while, we began to feel the wind
+blow sharp from the peaks of the mountains, and to hear the murmur of
+the forests of pine which shade their acclivities.&nbsp; A paved path
+leads across them, quite darkened by boughs, which, meeting over our
+heads, cast a gloom and a chill below, that would have stopped the proceedings
+of reasonable mortals, and sent them to bask in the plain; but, being
+not so easily discomfited, we threw ourselves boldly into the forest.&nbsp;
+It presented one of those confusions of tall straight stems I am so
+fond of, and exhaled a fresh aromatic odour that revived my spirits.</p>
+<p>The cold to be sure was piercing; but setting that at defiance, we
+galloped on, and issued shortly into a vast amphitheatre of lawns and
+meadows, surrounded by thick woods beautifully green.&nbsp; Flocks of
+sheep were dispersed on the slopes, whose smoothness and verdure equal
+our English pastures.&nbsp; Steep cliffs and mountains, clothed with
+beech to their very summits, guard this retired valley.&nbsp; The herbage,
+moistened by streams which fall from the eminences, has never been known
+to fade; and, whilst the chief part of Tuscany is parched by the heats
+of summer, these upland meadows retain the freshness of spring.&nbsp;
+I regretted not having visited them sooner, as autumn had already made
+great havoc amongst the foliage.&nbsp; Showers of leaves blew full in
+our faces as we rode towards the convent, placed at an extremity of
+the vale, and sheltered by remote firs and chestnuts towering one above
+another.</p>
+<p>Alighting before the entrance, two fathers came out and received
+us into the peace of their retirement.&nbsp; We found a blazing fire,
+and tables spread very comfortably before it, round which five or six
+overgrown friars were lounging, who seemed, by the sleekness and rosy
+hue of their countenances, not totally to have despised this mortal
+existence.</p>
+<p>My letters of recommendation soon brought the heads of the order
+about me, fair round figures, such as a Chinese would have placed in
+his pagoda.&nbsp; I could willingly have dispensed with their attention;
+yet to avoid this was scarcely within the circle of possibility.&nbsp;
+All dinner we endured the silliest questions imaginable; but that despatched,
+away flew your humble servant to the fields and forests.&nbsp; The fathers
+made a shift to waddle after, as fast and as complaisantly as they were
+able, but were soon distanced.</p>
+<p>Now, I found myself at liberty, and ran up a narrow path overhung
+by rock, with bushy chestnuts starting from the crevices.&nbsp; This
+led me into wild glens of beech trees, mostly decayed and covered with
+moss: several were fallen.&nbsp; It was amongst these the holy hermit
+Gualbertus had his cell.&nbsp; I rested a moment upon one of their huge
+branches, listening to the roar of a waterfall which the wood concealed;
+then springing up, I clambered over crags and fragments, guided by the
+sound, and presently discovered a full stream, precipitating itself
+down a cliff of pine, amongst which I remained several minutes, watching
+the fallen floods; till, tired with their endless succession, I plunged
+into the thickest of the grove.&nbsp; A beech received me, like a second
+Gualbertus, in its hollow trunk.&nbsp; The dry leaves chased each other
+down the steeps on the edge of the torrents with hollow rustlings, whilst
+the solemn wave of the forests above exactly answered the idea I had
+formed of Valombrosa,</p>
+<div class="GutenbergBlankLines1"><br /></div>
+<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo; . . . where th&rsquo; Etrurian shades<br />High
+overarch&rsquo;t imbowr.&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="GutenbergBlankLines1"><br /></div>
+<p>The scene was beginning to take effect, and the genius of Milton
+to move across his favourite valley, when the fathers arrived puffing
+and blowing, by an easier ascent than I knew of.&nbsp; Pardon me, if
+I cursed their intrusion, and wished them as still as Gualbertus.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You have missed the way,&rdquo; cried the youngest; &ldquo;the
+hermitage, with the fine picture by Andrea del Sarto, which all the
+English admire, is on the opposite side of the wood: there don&rsquo;t
+you see it on the point of the cliff?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Yes, yes,&rdquo; said I a little peevishly; &ldquo;I wonder
+the devil has not pushed it down long ago; it seems to invite his kick.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Satan,&rdquo; answered the old Pagod very dryly, &ldquo;is
+full of malice; but whoever drinks of a spring which the Lord causeth
+to flow near the hermitage is freed from his illusions.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Are they so?&rdquo; replied I with a sanctified accent; &ldquo;then
+prithee conduct me thither, for I have great need of such salutary waters,
+being troubled with strange fancies and imaginations, such as the evil
+one himself ought to be ashamed of inspiring.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The youngest father shook his head, as much as to say, &ldquo;This
+is nothing more than a heretic&rsquo;s whim.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The senior - muddled, I conjecture - set forwards with greater piety,
+and began some legendary tales of the kind which my soul loveth: rare
+stories of caves and dens of the earth, inhabited by ancient men familiar
+with spirits, and not the least discomposed by a party of angels coming
+to dinner, or playing a game at miracles to pass away the evening.&nbsp;
+He pointed to a chasm in the cliff, round which we were winding by a
+spiral path, where Gualbertus used to sleep, and, turning himself towards
+the west, see a long succession of saints and martyrs sweeping athwart
+the sky, and gilding the clouds with far brighter splendours than the
+setting sun.&nbsp; Here he rested till his last hour, when the bells
+of the convent beneath (which till that moment would have made dogs
+howl, had there been any within its precincts) struck out such harmonious
+jingling that all the country around was ravished, and began lifting
+up their eyes with singular devotion, when, behold! cherubim appeared,
+light dawned, and birds chirped, although it was midnight.&nbsp; Alas!
+alas! what would I not give to witness such a spectacle, and read my
+prayer-book by the effulgence of opening heaven!</p>
+<p>However, willing to see something at least, I crept into the consecrated
+cleft, and extended myself on its rugged surface.&nbsp; A very penitential
+couch! but commanding glorious prospects of the world below, which lay
+this evening in deep blue shade; the sun looking red and angry through
+misty vapours, which prevented our discovering the Tuscan sea.</p>
+<p>Finding the rock as damp as might be expected, I soon shifted my
+quarters, and followed the youngest father up to the Romitorio, a snug
+little hermitage, with a neat chapel, and altar-piece by Andrea del
+Sarto, which I should have more minutely examined in any other place,
+but where the wild scenery of hanging woods and meadows, steep hills
+and nodding precipices, possessed my whole attention.&nbsp; I just stayed
+to taste the holy fountain; and then, escaping from my conductors, ran
+eagerly down the path, leaping over the springs that crossed it, and
+entered a lawn of the smoothest turf, grazed by sheep, and swelling
+into gentle acclivities, skirted by groves of fir, whose solemn verdure
+formed a contrast with its tender green.&nbsp; Beyond this pleasant
+opening rises a second, hemmed in with copses; and still higher, a third,
+whence a forest of young pines spires up into a lofty theatre terminated
+by peaks, universally concealed under a thick mantle of beech, tinged
+with ruddy brown.&nbsp; Pausing in the midst of the lawns, and looking
+upward to the sweeps of wood which surrounded me, I addressed my orisons
+to the genius of the place, and prayed that I might once more return
+into its bosom, and be permitted to bring you along with me, for surely
+such meads, such groves, were formed for our enjoyment!</p>
+<p>This little rite performed, I walked on quite to the extremity of
+the pastures, traversed a thicket, and found myself on the edge of precipices,
+beneath whose base the whole Val d&rsquo;Arno lies expanded.&nbsp; I
+listened to distant murmurings in the plain, saw smoke rise from the
+cottages, and viewed a vast tract of barren country, which evening rendered
+still more desolate, bounded by the high mountain of Radicofani.&nbsp;
+Then, turning round, I beheld the whole extent of rock and forest, the
+groves of beech, and wilds above the convent, glowing with fiery red,
+for the sun, making a last effort to pierce the vapours, produced this
+effect; which was the more striking, as the sky was dark, and the rest
+of the prospect of a melancholy blue.</p>
+<p>Returning slowly homeward, I marked the warm glow deserting the eminences,
+and heard the bell toll sullenly to vespers.&nbsp; The young boys of
+the seminary were moving in a body to their dark inclosure, all dressed
+in black.&nbsp; Many of them looked pale and wan.&nbsp; I wished to
+ask them whether the solitude of Valombrosa suited their age and vivacity;
+but a tall spectre of a priest drove them along like a herd, and presently,
+the gates opening, I saw them no more.&nbsp; A sadness I could scarcely
+account for came over me.&nbsp; I shivered at the bare idea of being
+cooped up in such a place, and seeing no other living objects than scarecrow
+priests and friars; to hear every day the same dull service and droning
+organ; view the same cloisters; be led the same walks; watched, cribbed,
+confined, and filled with superstitious fears.</p>
+<p>The night was growing chill, the winds boisterous, and in the intervals
+of the gusts I had the addition of a lamentable screech-owl to raise
+my spirits.&nbsp; Upon the whole, I was not at all concerned to meet
+the fathers, who came out to show me to my room, and entertain me with
+various gossipings, both sacred and profane, till supper appeared.</p>
+<p>Next morning, the Padre Decano gave us chocolate in his apartment;
+and afterwards led us round the convent, insisting most unmercifully
+upon our viewing every cell and every dormitory.&nbsp; However, I was
+determined to make a full stop at the organ, which is perhaps the most
+harmonious I ever played upon; but placed in a dark, dingy recess, feebly
+lighted by lamps, not calculated to inspire triumphant voluntaries.&nbsp;
+The monks, who had all crowded around me when I first began, in expectation
+of brisk jigs and lively overtures, soon took themselves away upon hearing
+a strain ten times more sorrowful than that to which they were accustomed.&nbsp;
+I did not lament their departure, but played dismally on till our horses
+came round to the gate.&nbsp; We mounted, spurred back through the grove
+of pines which protect Valombrosa from intrusion, descended the steeps,
+and, gaining the plains, galloped in three hours to Florence.</p>
+<div class="GutenbergBlankLines2"><br /><br /></div>
+<h2>LETTER XX</h2>
+<div class="GutenbergBlankLines2"><br /><br /></div>
+<p>SIENNA, <i>October</i> 26<i>th</i>.</p>
+<p>At last fears were overcome, the epidemical fever at Rome allowed
+to be no longer dangerous, and myself permitted to quit Florence.&nbsp;
+The weather was neither gay nor dismal; the country neither fine nor
+ugly; and your friend full as indifferent as the scenes he looked at.&nbsp;
+Towards afternoon, a thunderstorm gave character to the landscape, and
+we entered a narrow vale enclosed by rocks, with streams running at
+their base.&nbsp; Poplars with faded yellow leaves sprung from the margins
+of the rivulets, which seemed to lose themselves in the ruins of a castle,
+built in the Gothic times.&nbsp; Our road led through its court and
+passed the ancient keep, still darkened by its turrets; a few mud cottages
+are scattered about the opening where formerly the chieftain exercised
+his vassals, and trained them to war.&nbsp; The dungeon, once filled
+with miserable victims, serves only at present to confine a few goats,
+which were milking before its entrance.&nbsp; As we were driven along
+under a tottering gateway, and then through a plain and up a hill, the
+breeze whispering amongst the fern which covers it, I felt the sober
+autumnal cast of the evening bring back the happy hours I passed last
+year at this very time, calm and sequestered.&nbsp; Full of these recollections,
+my eyes closed of their own accord, and were not opened for many hours;
+in short, till we entered Sienna.</p>
+<p><i>October</i> 27<i>th</i>. - Here my duty of course was to see the
+cathedral, and I got up much earlier than I wished, in order to perform
+it.&nbsp; I wonder our holy ancestors did not choose a mountain at once,
+scrape it into shrines, and chisel it into scripture stories.&nbsp;
+It would have cost them almost as little trouble as the building in
+question, which may certainly be esteemed a masterpiece of ridiculous
+taste and elaborate absurdity.&nbsp; The front, incrusted with alabaster,
+is worked into a million of fretted arches and puzzling ornaments.&nbsp;
+There are statues without number and relievos without end.</p>
+<p>The church within is all of black and white marble alternately; the
+roof blue and gold, with a profusion of silken banners hanging from
+it; and a cornice running above the principal arcade, composed entirely
+of bustos representing the whole series of sovereign pontiffs, from
+the first Bishop of Rome to Adrian the Fourth.&nbsp; Pope Joan figured
+amongst them, between Leo the Fourth and Benedict the Third, till the
+year 1600, when she was turned out, at the instance of Clement the Eighth,
+to make room for Zacharias the First.</p>
+<p>I hardly knew which was the nave, or which the cross aisle, of this
+singular edifice, so perfect is the confusion of its parts.&nbsp; The
+pavement demands attention, being inlaid so curiously as to represent
+variety of histories taken from Holy Writ, and designed in the true
+style of that hobgoblin tapestry which used to bestare the halls of
+our ancestors.&nbsp; Near the high altar stands the strangest of pulpits,
+supported by polished pillars of granite, rising from lions&rsquo; backs,
+which serve as pedestals.&nbsp; In every corner of the place some chapel
+or other offends or astonishes you.&nbsp; That, however, of the Chigi
+family, it must be allowed, has infinite merit with respect to design
+and execution; but it is so lost in general disorder as to want the
+best part of its effect.</p>
+<p>From the church one enters a vaulted chamber, erected by the Picolominis,
+filled with valuable missals most exquisitely illuminated.&nbsp; The
+paintings in fresco on the walls are rather barbarous, though executed
+after the designs of the mighty Raffaelle; but then, we must remember,
+he had but just escaped from Pietro Perugino.</p>
+<p>Not staying long in the Duomo, we left Sienna in good time; and,
+after being shaken and tumbled in the worst roads that were ever pretended
+to be made use of, found ourselves beneath the rough mountains round
+Radicofani, about seven o&rsquo;clock on a cold and dismal evening.&nbsp;
+Up we toiled a steep craggy ascent, and reached at length the inn upon
+its summit.&nbsp; My heart sunk when I entered a vast range of apartments,
+with high black rafted roofs, once intended for a hunting palace of
+the Grand Dukes, but now desolate and forlorn.&nbsp; The wind having
+risen, every door began to shake, and every board substituted for a
+window to clatter, as if the severe power who dwells on the topmost
+peak of Radicofani, according to its village mythologists, was about
+to visit his abode.&nbsp; My only spell to keep him at a distance was
+kindling an enormous fire, whose charitable gleams cheered my spirits,
+and gave them a quicker flow.&nbsp; Yet, for some minutes, I never ceased
+looking, now to the right, now to the left, up at the dark beams, and
+down the long passages, where the pavement, broken up in several places,
+and earth newly strewn about, seemed to indicate that something horrid
+was concealed below.</p>
+<p>A grim fraternity of cats kept whisking backwards and forwards in
+these dreary avenues, which I am apt to imagine is the very identical
+scene of a sabbath of witches at certain periods.&nbsp; Not venturing
+to explore them, I fastened my door, pitched my bed opposite the hearth,
+which glowed with embers, and crept under the coverlids, hardly venturing
+to go to sleep, lest I should be suddenly roused from it by the sudden
+glare of torches, and be more initiated than I wished into the mysteries
+of the place.</p>
+<p>Scarce was I settled, before two or three of the brotherhood just
+mentioned stalked in at a little opening under the door.&nbsp; I insisted
+upon their moving off faster than they had entered, suspecting that
+they would soon turn wizards, and was surprised, when midnight came,
+to hear nothing more than their mewings, doleful enough, and echoed
+by the hollow walls and arches.</p>
+<div class="GutenbergBlankLines2"><br /><br /></div>
+<h2>LETTER XXI</h2>
+<div class="GutenbergBlankLines2"><br /><br /></div>
+<p>RADICOFANI, <i>October</i> 28<i>th.</i></p>
+<p>I begin to despair of magical adventures, since none happened at
+Radicofani, which Nature seems wholly to have abandoned.&nbsp; Not a
+tree, not an acre of soil, has she bestowed upon its inhabitants, who
+would have more excuse for practising the gloomy art than the rest of
+mankind.&nbsp; I was very glad to leave their black hills and stony
+wilderness behind, and, entering the Papal territory, to see some shrubs
+and corn-fields at a distance, near Aquapadente, which is situated on
+a ledge of cliffs, mantled with chestnut copses and tufted ilex.&nbsp;
+The country grew varied and picturesque.&nbsp; St. Lorenzo, the next
+post, built upon a hill, overlooks the lake of Bolsena, whose woody
+shores conceal many ruined buildings.&nbsp; We passed some of them in
+a retired vale, with arches from rock to rock, and grottos beneath half
+lost in thickets, from which rise craggy pinnacles crowned by mouldering
+towers; just such scenery as Polemburg and Peter de Laer introduce in
+their paintings.</p>
+<p>Beyond these truly Italian prospects, which a mellow evening tint
+rendered still more interesting, a forest of oaks presents itself upon
+the brows of hills, which extends almost the whole way to Monte Fiascone.&nbsp;
+It was late before we ascended it.&nbsp; The whole country seems full
+of inhabited caverns, that began as night drew on to shine with fires.&nbsp;
+We saw many dark shapes glancing before them, and perhaps a subterraneous
+people like the Cimmerians lurk in their recesses.&nbsp; As we drew
+near Viterbo, the lights in the fields grew less and less frequent;
+and when we entered the town, all was total darkness.</p>
+<p>To-morrow I hope to pay my vows before the high altar of St. Peter,
+and tread the Vatican.&nbsp; Why are you not here to usher me into the
+imperial city: to watch my first glance of the Coliseo: and lead me
+up the stairs of the Capitol?&nbsp; I shall rise before the sun, that
+I may see him set from Monte Cavallo.</p>
+<div class="GutenbergBlankLines2"><br /><br /></div>
+<h2>LETTER XXII</h2>
+<div class="GutenbergBlankLines2"><br /><br /></div>
+<p>ROME, <i>October</i> 29<i>th.</i></p>
+<p>We set out in the dark.&nbsp; Morning dawned over the Lago di Vico;
+its waters of a deep ultramarine blue, and its surrounding forests catching
+the rays of the rising sun.&nbsp; It was in vain I looked for the cupola
+of St. Peter&rsquo;s upon descending the mountains beyond Viterbo.&nbsp;
+Nothing but a sea of vapours was visible.</p>
+<p>At length they rolled away, and the spacious plains began to show
+themselves, in which the most warlike of nations reared their seat of
+empire.&nbsp; On the left, afar off, rises the rugged chain of Apennines,
+and on the other side, a shining expanse of ocean terminates the view.&nbsp;
+It was upon this vast surface so many illustrious actions were performed,
+and I know not where a mighty people could have chosen a grander theatre.&nbsp;
+Here was space for the march of armies, and verge enough for encampments.&nbsp;
+Levels for martial games, and room for that variety of roads and causeways
+that led from the capital to Ostia.&nbsp; How many triumphant legions
+have trodden these pavements! how many captive kings!&nbsp; What throngs
+of cars and chariots once glittered on their surface! savage animals
+dragged from the interior of Africa; and the ambassadors of Indian princes,
+followed by their exotic train, hastening to implore the favour of the
+senate!</p>
+<p>During many ages, this eminence commanded almost every day such illustrious
+scenes; but all are vanished: the splendid tumult is passed away; silence
+and desolation remain.&nbsp; Dreary flats thinly scattered over with
+ilex, and barren hillocks crowned by solitary towers, were the only
+objects we perceived for several miles.&nbsp; Now and then we passed
+a few black ill-favoured sheep feeding by the way-side, near a ruined
+sepulchre, just such animals as an ancient would have sacrificed to
+the Manes.&nbsp; Sometimes we crossed a brook, whose ripplings were
+the only sounds which broke the general stillness, and observed the
+shepherds&rsquo; huts on its banks, propped up with broken pedestals
+and marble friezes.&nbsp; I entered one of them, whose owner was abroad
+tending his herds, and began writing upon the sand, and murmuring a
+melancholy song.&nbsp; Perhaps the dead listened to me from their narrow
+cells.&nbsp; The living I can answer for: they were far enough removed.</p>
+<p>You will not be surprised at the dark tone of my musings in so sad
+a scene, especially as the weather lowered; and you are well acquainted
+how greatly I depend upon skies and sunshine.&nbsp; To-day I had no
+blue firmament to revive my spirits; no genial gales, no aromatic plants
+to irritate my nerves and give me at least a momentary animation.&nbsp;
+Heath and furze were the sole vegetation which covers this endless wilderness.&nbsp;
+Every slope is strewed with the relics of a happier period; trunks of
+trees, shattered columns, cedar beams, helmets of bronze, skulls and
+coins, are frequently dug up together.</p>
+<p>I cannot boast of having made any discoveries, nor of sending you
+any novel intelligence.&nbsp; You knew before how perfectly the environs
+of Rome were desolate, and how completely the Papal government contrives
+to make its subjects miserable.&nbsp; But who knows that they were not
+just as wretched in those boasted times we are so fond of celebrating?&nbsp;
+All is doubt and conjecture in this frail existence; and I might as
+well attempt proving to whom belonged the mouldering bones which lay
+dispersed around me, as venture to affirm that one age is more fortunate
+than another.&nbsp; Very likely the poor cottager, under whose roof
+I reposed, is happier than the luxurious Roman upon the remains of whose
+palace, perhaps, his shed is raised: and yet that Roman flourished in
+the purple days of the empire, when all was wealth and splendour, triumph
+and exultation.</p>
+<p>I could have spent the whole day by the rivulet, lost in dreams and
+meditations; but recollecting my vow, I ran back to the carriage and
+drove on.&nbsp; The road not having been mended, I believe, since the
+days of the C&aelig;sars, would not allow our motions to be very precipitate.&nbsp;
+&ldquo;When you gain the summit of yonder hill, you will discover Rome,&rdquo;
+said one of the postillions: up we dragged; no city appeared.&nbsp;
+&ldquo;From the next,&rdquo; cried out a second; and so on from height
+to height did they amuse my expectations.&nbsp; I thought Rome fled
+before us, such was my impatience, till at last we perceived a cluster
+of hills with green pastures on their summits, inclosed by thickets
+and shaded by flourishing ilex.&nbsp; Here and there a white house,
+built in the antique style, with open porticos, that received a faint
+gleam of the evening sun, just emerged from the clouds and tinting the
+meads below.&nbsp; Now domes and towers began to discover themselves
+in the valley, and St. Peter&rsquo;s to rise above the magnificent roofs
+of the Vatican.&nbsp; Every step we advanced the scene extended, till,
+winding suddenly round the hill, all Rome opened to our view.</p>
+<p>A spring flowed opportunely into a marble cistern close by the way;
+two cypresses and a pine waved over it.&nbsp; I leaped up, poured water
+upon my hands, and then, lifting them up to the sylvan Genii of the
+place, implored their protection.&nbsp; I wished to have run wild in
+the fresh fields and copses above the Vatican, there to have remained
+till fauns might creep out of their concealment, and satyrs begin to
+touch their flutes in the twilight, for the place looks still so wondrous
+classical, that I can never persuade myself either Constantine Attila
+or the Popes themselves have chased them all away.&nbsp; I think I should
+have found some out, who would have fed me with milk and chestnuts,
+have sung me a Latian ditty, and mourned the woeful changes which have
+taken place, since their sacred groves were felled, and Faunus ceased
+to be oracular.&nbsp; Who can tell but they would have given me some
+mystic skin to sleep on, that I might have looked into futurity?</p>
+<p>Shall I ever forget the sensations I experienced upon slowly descending
+the hills, and crossing the bridge over the Tiber; when I entered an
+avenue between terraces and ornamented gates of villas, which leads
+to the Porto del Popolo, and beheld the square, the domes, the obelisk,
+the long perspective of streets and palaces opening beyond, all glowing
+with the vivid red of sunset?&nbsp; You can imagine how I enjoyed my
+beloved tint, my favourite hour, surrounded by such objects.&nbsp; You
+can fancy me ascending Monte Cavallo, leaning against the pedestal which
+supports Bucephalus; then, spite of time and distance, hurrying to St.
+Peter&rsquo;s in performance of my vow.</p>
+<p>I met the Holy Father in all his pomp returning from vespers: trumpets
+flourishing, and a legion of guards drawn out upon Ponte St. Angelo.&nbsp;
+Casting a respectful glance upon the Moles Adriani, I moved on till
+the full sweep of St. Peter&rsquo;s colonnade opened upon me, and fixed
+me, as if spell-bound, under the obelisk, lost in wonder.&nbsp; The
+edifice appears to have been raised within the year, such is its freshness
+and preservation.&nbsp; I could hardly take my eyes from off the beautiful
+symmetry of its front, contrasted with the magnificent though irregular
+courts of the Vatican towering over the colonnade, till, the sun sinking
+behind the dome, I ran up the steps and entered the grand portal, which
+was on the very point of being closed.</p>
+<p>I knew not where I was, or to what scene transported.&nbsp; A sacred
+twilight concealing the extremities of the structure, I could not distinguish
+any particular ornament, but enjoyed the effect of the whole.&nbsp;
+No damp air or fetid exhalation offended me.&nbsp; The perfume of incense
+was not yet entirely dissipated.&nbsp; No human being stirred.&nbsp;
+I heard a door close with the sound of thunder, and thought I distinguished
+some faint whisperings, but am ignorant whence they came.&nbsp; Several
+hundred lamps twinkled round the high altar, quite lost in the immensity
+of the pile.&nbsp; No other light disturbed my reveries but the dying
+glow still visible through the western windows.&nbsp; Imagine how I
+felt upon finding myself alone in this vast temple at so late an hour,
+and think whether I had not revelations.</p>
+<p>It was almost eight o&rsquo;clock before I issued forth, and, pausing
+a few minutes under the porticos, listened to the rush of the fountains:
+then traversing half the town, I believe, in my way to the Villa Medici,
+under which I am lodged, fell into a profound repose, which my zeal
+and exercise may be allowed, I think, to have merited.</p>
+<p><i>October</i> 30<i>th</i>. - It was a clear morning; I mounted up
+to the roof of the house, and sat under a set of open pavilions, surveying
+the vast group of stately buildings below; then repaired immediately
+after breakfast to St. Peter&rsquo;s, which even exceeded the height
+of my expectations.&nbsp; I could hardly quit it.&nbsp; I wish his Holiness
+would allow me to erect a little tabernacle under the dome.&nbsp; I
+should desire no other prospect during the winter; no other sky than
+the vast arches glowing with golden ornaments, so lofty as to lose all
+glitter or gaudiness.&nbsp; But I cannot say I should be perfectly contented,
+unless I could obtain another pavilion for you.&nbsp; Thus established,
+we would take our evening walks on the field of marble; for is not the
+pavement vast enough to excuse the extravagance of the appellation?&nbsp;
+Sometimes, instead of climbing a mountain, we should ascend the cupola,
+and look down on our little encampment below.&nbsp; At night I should
+wish for a constellation of lamps dispersed about in clusters, and so
+contrived as to diffuse a mild and equal light for us to read or draw
+by.&nbsp; Music should not be wanting: one day to breathe in the subterraneous
+chapels, another to mount high into the dome.</p>
+<p>The doors should be closed, and not a mortal admitted.&nbsp; No priests,
+no cardinals: God forbid!&nbsp; We should have all the space to ourselves,
+and to such creatures, too, as resemble us.</p>
+<p>The windows I should shade with transparent curtains of yellow silk,
+to admit the glow of perpetual summer.&nbsp; Lanterns, as many as you
+please, of all forms and sizes; they would remind us of China, and,
+depending from the roof of the palace, bring before us that of the Emperor
+Ki, which was twice as large as St. Peter&rsquo;s (if we may credit
+the grand annals), and lighted alone by tapers, for his Imperial Majesty,
+being tired of the sun, would absolutely have a new firmament of his
+own creation, and an artificial day.&nbsp; Was it not a rare fantastic
+idea?&nbsp; For my part, I should like of all things to immure myself
+after his example, with those I love; forget the divisions of time,
+have a moon at command, and a theatrical sun to rise and set at pleasure.</p>
+<p>I was so absorbed in my imaginary palace, and exhausted with contriving
+plans for its embellishment, as to have no spirits left for the Pantheon,
+which I visited late in the evening, and entered with a reverence approaching
+to superstition.&nbsp; The whiteness of the dome offending me, I slunk
+into one of the recesses, closed my eyes, transported myself into antiquity;
+then opened them again, tried to persuade myself the pagan gods were
+in their niches, and the saints out of the question; was vexed at coming
+to my senses, and finding them all there, St. Andrew with his cross,
+and St. Agnes with her lamb, etc., etc.&nbsp; Then I paced disconsolately
+into the portico, which shows the name of Agrippa on its pediment.&nbsp;
+I leaned a minute against a Corinthian column; I lamented that no pontiff
+arrived with victims and aruspices, of whom I might inquire, what, in
+the name of birds and garbage, put me so terribly out of humour! for
+you must know I was very near being disappointed, and began to think
+Piranesi and Paolo Panini had been a great deal too colossal in their
+view of this venerable structure.&nbsp; I left the column, walked to
+the centre of the temple, and, folding my arms, stood as fixed as a
+statue.&nbsp; Some architects have celebrated the effect of light from
+the opening above, and pretended it to be distributed around so as to
+give those who walk beneath the appearance of mystic substances beaming
+with radiance.&nbsp; Mighty fine, if that were the case!&nbsp; I appeared,
+to be sure, a luminous figure, and never stood I more in need of something
+to distinguish me, being forlorn and dismal in the supreme degree.</p>
+<p>But though it is not so immense as I had expected, yet a certain
+venerable air, an awful gloom, breathed inspiration, though of the sorrowful
+kind.</p>
+<p>I had expected a heap of Venetian letters, but could not discover
+one.&nbsp; I had received no intelligence from England this many a tedious
+day; and for aught I can tell to the contrary, you may have been dead
+these three weeks.&nbsp; I think I shall wander soon in the Catacombs,
+which I am half inclined to imagine communicate with the lower world;
+and perhaps I may find some letter there from you, lying upon a broken
+sarcophagus, dated from the realms of Night, and giving an account of
+your descent into her bosom.&nbsp; Yet, I pray continually, notwithstanding
+my curiosity to learn what passes in the dark regions beyond the tomb,
+that you will condescend to remain a few years longer on our planet;
+for what would become of me, should I lose sight of you for ever?&nbsp;
+Stay, therefore, as long as you can, and let us have the delight of
+dozing a little more of this poor existence away together, and steeping
+ourselves in pleasant dreams.</p>
+<p><i>October</i> 31<i>st</i>. - I absolutely will have no antiquary
+to go prating from fragment to fragment, and tell me, that were I to
+stay five years at Rome, I should not see half it contained.&nbsp; The
+thought alone, of so much to look at, is quite distracting, and makes
+me resolve to view nothing at all in a scientific way; but straggle
+and wander about, just as the spirit chooses.&nbsp; This evening, it
+led me to the Coliseo, and excited a vehement desire in me to break
+down and pulverize the whole circle of saints&rsquo; nests and chapels,
+which disgrace the arena.&nbsp; You recollect, I dare say, the vile
+effect of this holy trumpery, and would join with all your heart in
+kicking it into the Tiber.&nbsp; A few lazy abbots were at their devotions
+before them; such as would have made a lion&rsquo;s mouth water; fatter,
+I dare say, than any saint in the whole martyrology, and ten times more
+tantalizing.&nbsp; I looked first, at the dens where wild beasts used
+to be kept, to divert the magnanimous people of Rome with devastation
+and murder; then, at the tame cattle before the altars.&nbsp; Heavens!
+thought I to myself, how times are changed!&nbsp; Could ever Vespasian
+have imagined his amphitheatre would have been thus inhabited?&nbsp;
+I passed on, making these reflections, to a dark arcade, overgrown with
+ilex.&nbsp; In the openings which time and violence have made, a distant
+grove of cypresses discover themselves; springing from heaps of mouldering
+ruins, relieved by a clear transparent sky, strewed with a few red clouds.&nbsp;
+This was the sort of prospect I desired, and I sat down on a shattered
+frieze to enjoy it.&nbsp; Many stories of ancient Rome thronged into
+my mind as I mused; triumphal scenes, but tempered by sadness, and the
+awful thoughts of their being all passed away.&nbsp; It would be in
+vain to recapitulate the ideas which chased one another along.&nbsp;
+Think where I sat, and you may easily conjecture the series.&nbsp; When
+the procession was fleeted by (for I not only thought, but seemed to
+see warriors moving amongst the cypresses, and consuls returning from
+Parthian expeditions, loaded with strange spoils, and received with
+the acclamations of millions upon entering the theatre), I arose, crossed
+the arena, paced several times round and round, looked up to arcade
+rising above arcade, and admiring the stately height and masses of the
+structure, considered it in various points of view, and felt, as if
+I never should be satisfied with gazing, hour after hour, and day after
+day.&nbsp; Next, directing my steps to the arch of Constantine, I surveyed
+the groups of ruins which surrounded me.&nbsp; The cool breeze of the
+evening played in the beds of canes and osiers which flourished under
+the walls of the Coliseo: a cloud of birds were upon the wing to regain
+their haunts in its crevices; and, except the sound of their flight,
+all was silent; for happily no carriages were rattling along.&nbsp;
+I observed the palace and obelisk of St. John of Lateran, at a distance;
+but it was too late to take a nearer survey; so, returning leisurely
+home, I traversed the Campo Vaccino, and leaned a moment against one
+of the columns which supported the temple of Jupiter Stator.&nbsp; Some
+women were fetching water from the fountain hard by, whilst another
+group had kindled a fire under the shrubs and twisted fig-trees, which
+cover the Palatine Hill.&nbsp; Innumerable vaults and arches peep out
+of the vegetation.&nbsp; It was upon these, in all probability, the
+splendid palace of the C&aelig;sars was raised.&nbsp; Confused fragments
+of marble, and walls of lofty terraces, are the sole traces of its ancient
+magnificence.&nbsp; A wretched rabble were roasting their chestnuts,
+on the very spot, perhaps, where Domitian convened a senate, to harangue
+upon the delicacies of his entertainment.&nbsp; The light of the flame
+cast upon the figures around it, and the mixture of tottering wall with
+foliage impending above their heads, formed a striking picture, which
+I stayed contemplating from my pillar, till the fire went out, the assembly
+dispersed, and none remained but a withered hag, raking the embers,
+and muttering to herself.&nbsp; I thought also it was high time to retire,
+lest the unwholesome mists, which were streaming from the opening before
+the Coliseo, might make me repent my stay.&nbsp; Whether they had already
+taken effect, or no, I will not absolutely determine; but something
+or other had grievously disordered me.&nbsp; A few centuries ago I should
+have taxed the old hag with my headache, and have attributed the uncommon
+oppression I experienced to her baleful power.&nbsp; Hastening to my
+hotel, I mounted into the open portico upon its summit, nearly upon
+a level with the Villa Medici, and sat, several hours, with my arms
+folded in one another, listening to the distant rumours of the town.&nbsp;
+It had been a fine moment to have bestrode one of the winds which piped
+around me, offering, no doubt, some compact from Lucifer.</p>
+<p><i>November</i> 1<i>st</i>. - Though you find I am not yet snatched
+away from the earth, according to my last night&rsquo;s bodings, I was
+far too restless and dispirited to deliver my recommendatory letters.&nbsp;
+St. Carlos, a mighty day of gala at Naples, was an excellent excuse
+for leaving Rome, and indulging my roving disposition.&nbsp; After spending
+my morning at St. Peter&rsquo;s, we set off about four o&rsquo;clock,
+and drove by the Coliseo and a Capuchin convent, whose monks were all
+busied in preparing the skeletons of their order, to figure by torchlight
+in the evening.&nbsp; St. John&rsquo;s of Lateran astonished me.&nbsp;
+I could not help walking several times round the obelisk, and admiring
+the noble open space in which the palace is erected, and the extensive
+scene of towers and aqueducts discovered from the platform in front.</p>
+<p>We went out at the Porta Appia, and began to perceive the plains
+which surround the city opening on every side.&nbsp; Long reaches of
+walls and arches, but seldom interrupted, stretch across them.&nbsp;
+Sometimes, indeed, a withered pine, lifting itself up to the mercy of
+every blast that sweeps the champagne, breaks their uniformity.&nbsp;
+Between the aqueducts to the left, nothing but wastes of fern, or tracts
+of ploughed lands, dark and desolate, are visible, the corn not being
+yet sprung up.&nbsp; On the right, several groups of ruined fanes and
+sepulchres diversify the levels, with here and there a garden or woody
+inclosure.&nbsp; Such objects are scattered over the landscape, that
+towards the horizon bulges into gentle ascents, and, rising by degrees,
+swells at length into a chain of mountains, which received the pale
+gleams of the sun, setting in watery clouds.</p>
+<p>By this uncertain light we discovered the white buildings of Albano,
+sprinkled about the steeps.&nbsp; We had not many moments to contemplate
+them, for it was night when we passed the Torre di mezza via, and began
+breathing a close pestilential vapour.&nbsp; Half suffocated, and recollecting
+a variety of terrifying tales about the malaria, we advanced, not without
+fear, to Veletri, and hardly ventured to fall asleep when arrived there.</p>
+<p><i>November</i> 2<i>nd</i>. - I arose at daybreak, and forgetting
+fevers and mortalities, ran into a level meadow without the town, whilst
+the horses were putting to the carriage.&nbsp; Why should I calumniate
+the air? it seemed purer and more transparent than any I had before
+inhaled.&nbsp; The mountains were covered with thin mists, and the morning
+star sparkled above their summits.&nbsp; Birds were twittering amongst
+some sheds and bushes, which border the sides of the road.&nbsp; A chestnut
+hung over it, against which I leaned till the chaise came up.&nbsp;
+Being perfectly alone, and not discovering any trace of the neighbouring
+city, I fancied myself existing in the ancient days of Hesperia, and
+hoped to meet Picus in his woods before the evening.&nbsp; But, instead
+of those shrill clamours which used to echo through the thickets when
+Pan joined with mortals in the chase, I heard the rumbling of our carriage,
+and the curses of its postillions.&nbsp; Mounting a horse, I flew before
+them, and seemed to catch inspiration from the breezes.&nbsp; Now I
+turned my eyes to the ridge of precipices, in whose grots and caverns
+Saturn and his people passed their life; then to the distant ocean.&nbsp;
+Afar off rose the cliffs, so famous for Circe&rsquo;s incantations,
+and the whole line of coast, which was once covered with her forests.</p>
+<p>Whilst I was advancing with full speed, the sunbeams began to shoot
+athwart the mountains, the plains to light up by degrees, and their
+shrubberies of myrtle to glisten with dewdrops.&nbsp; The sea brightened,
+and the Circean rock soon glowed with purple.&nbsp; I never felt my
+spirits so exhilarated, and they could not have flowed with more vivacity,
+even had I tasted the cup which Helen gave Telemachus.&nbsp; You will
+think me gone wild when I tell you I was, in a manner, drunk with the
+dews of the morning, and so enraptured with the prospects which lay
+before me as to address them in verse, and compose charms to dispel
+the enchantments of Circe.&nbsp; All day were we approaching her rock;
+towards evening Terracina appeared before us, in a bold romantic site;
+house above house, and turret looking over turret, on the steeps of
+a mountain, inclosed with mouldering walls, and crowned by the ruined
+terraces of a delightful palace: one of those, perhaps, which the luxurious
+Romans inhabited during the summer, when so free and lofty an exposition
+(the sea below, with its gales and murmurs) must have been exquisitely
+agreeable.&nbsp; Groves of orange and citron hang on the declivity,
+rough with the Indian fig, whose bright red flowers, illuminated by
+the sun, had a magic splendour.&nbsp; A palm-tree, growing on the highest
+crag, adds not a little to its singular appearance.&nbsp; Being the
+largest I had ever seen, and clustered with fruit, I climbed up the
+rocks to take a close survey of it, and found a spring trickling near
+its fount, bordered by fresh herbage.&nbsp; On this I stretched myself
+on the very edge of the precipice, and looking down upon the beach,
+and glassy plains of ocean, exclaimed with Martial:</p>
+<div class="GutenbergBlankLines1"><br /></div>
+<p>&ldquo;O nemua!&nbsp; O fentes! aolidumque madentis<br />Littus,
+et acquorcis splendidus Anxur aquis!&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="GutenbergBlankLines1"><br /></div>
+<p>Glancing my eyes athwart the sea, I fixed them on the Circean promontory,
+which lies right opposite to Terracina, joined to the continent by a
+very narrow strip of land, and appearing like an island.&nbsp; The roar
+of the waves lashing the base of the precipices, might still be thought
+the howl of savage monsters; but where are those woods which shaded
+the dome of the goddess?&nbsp; Scarce a tree appears.&nbsp; A few thickets,
+and but a few, are the sole remains of this once impenetrable vegetation;
+yet even these I longed to visit, such was my predilection for the spot.</p>
+<p>Who knows but Circe might have led me to some other palace, in a
+more secret and retired vale, where she dwells remote from modern mariners,
+and the present inhabitants of her environs; universally changed to
+swine for these many ages?&nbsp; Their metamorphoses being so thoroughly
+established as to leave no further pretence for her operations, I can
+imagine her given up to solitude, and the consciousness of her potent
+influence.&nbsp; Notwithstanding the risks of the adventure, I wished
+to have attempted it, and seen whether she would have allowed me, as
+night came on, to warm myself by her cedar fire, and hear her captivating
+song.&nbsp; Perhaps, had the goddess been propitious, I might have culled
+some herbs of wondrous efficacy.&nbsp; You recollect, I dare say, how
+renowned the cliff was for them, and remember that Circe&rsquo;s attendants,
+deeply skilled, like their mistress, in pharmacy, were continually gathering
+plants in the woods and wilds which enriched her abode.&nbsp; It was
+thus the companions of Ulysses found them employed, when, entering her
+palace, they unwarily drank the beverage she offered.&nbsp; Ovid has
+told this story in a masterly manner, and formed a lively picture of
+the magic dome, with the occupations of its inhabitants.&nbsp; We see
+them judiciously arranging their plants, whilst Circe directs and points
+out, with the nicest discernment, the simple and compound virtues of
+every flower.</p>
+<p>Descending the cliff, and pursuing our route to Mola along the shore,
+by a grand road formed on the ruins of the Appian, we drove under an
+enormous perpendicular rock, standing detached, like a watch-tower,
+and cut into arsenals and magazines.&nbsp; Day closed just as we got
+beyond it, and a new moon gleamed faintly on the waters.&nbsp; We saw
+fires afar off in the bay, some twinkling on the coast, others upon
+the waves, and heard the murmur of voices; for the night was still and
+solemn, like that of Cajetas&rsquo;s funeral.&nbsp; I looked anxiously
+on a sea, where the heroes of the Odyssey and &AElig;neid had sailed
+in search of fate and empire, then closed my eyes, and dreamed of those
+illustrious wanderers.</p>
+<p>Nine struck when we arrived at Mola di Cajeta.&nbsp; The boats were
+just coming in (whose lights we had seen out upon the main), and brought
+such fish as Neptune, I dare say, would have grudged &AElig;neas and
+Ulysses.</p>
+<p><i>November</i> 3<i>rd</i>. - The morning was soft, but hazy.&nbsp;
+I walked in a grove of oranges, white with blossoms, and at. the same
+time glowing with fruit, some of which I obtained leave to gather.&nbsp;
+The spot sloped pleasantly towards the sea, and here I amused myself
+with my agreeable occupation till the horses were ready, then set off
+on the Appian, between hedges of myrtle and aloes, catching fresh gales
+from the sea as I flew along, and breathing the perfume of an aromatic
+vegetation, which covers the fields on the shore.&nbsp; We observed
+variety of towns, with battlemented walls and ancient turrets, crowning
+the pinnacles of rocky steeps, surrounded by wilds, and rude uncultivated
+mountains.&nbsp; The Liris, now Garigliano, winds its peaceful course
+through wide extensive meadows, scattered over with the remains of aqueducts,
+and waters the base of the rocks I have just mentioned.&nbsp; Such a
+prospect could not fail of bringing Virgil&rsquo;s panegyric of Italy
+full in my mind:</p>
+<div class="GutenbergBlankLines1"><br /></div>
+<p>&ldquo;Tot congesta manu praeruptis oppida saxis<br />Fluminaque
+antiquos suhterlabentia muros.&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="GutenbergBlankLines1"><br /></div>
+<p>As soon as we arrived in sight of Capua, the sky darkened, clouds
+covered the horizon, and presently poured down such deluges of rain
+as floated the whole country.&nbsp; The gloom was general; Vesuvius
+disappeared just after we had the pleasure of discovering it; lightning
+began to flash with dreadful rapidity, and people to run frightened
+to their houses.&nbsp; At four o&rsquo;clock darkness universally prevailed,
+except when a livid glare of lightning presented momentary glimpses
+of the bay and mountains.&nbsp; We lighted torches, and forded several
+torrents almost at the hazard of our lives.&nbsp; The fields round Naples
+were filled with herds, lowing most piteously, and yet not half so much
+scared as their masters, who ran about cursing and swearing like Indians
+during the eclipse of the moon.&nbsp; I knew Vesuvius had often put
+their courage to proof, but little thought of an inundation occasioning
+such commotions.</p>
+<p>For three hours the storm increased in violence, and instead of entering
+Naples on a calm evening, and viewing its delightful shores by moonlight
+- instead of finding the squares and terraces thronged with people and
+animated by music, we advanced with fear and terror through dark streets
+totally deserted, every creature being shut up in their houses, and
+we heard nothing but driving rain, rushing torrents, and the fall of
+fragments beaten down by their violence.&nbsp; Our inn, like every other
+habitation, was in great disorder, and we waited a long while before
+we could settle in our apartments with any comfort.&nbsp; All night
+the waves roared round the rocky foundations of a fortress beneath my
+windows, and the lightning played clear in my eyes.&nbsp; I could not
+sleep, and was full as disturbed as the elements.</p>
+<p><i>November</i> 4<i>th</i>. - Peace was restored to nature in the
+morning, but every mouth was full of the dreadful accidents which had
+happened in the night.&nbsp; The sky was cloudless when I awoke, and
+such was the transparence of the atmosphere that I could clearly discern
+the rocks, and even some white buildings on the island of Caprea, though
+at the distance of several miles.&nbsp; A large window fronts my bed,
+and its casements being thrown open, gives me a vast prospect of ocean,
+uninterrupted except by the peaks of Caprea and the Cape of Sorento.&nbsp;
+I lay half an hour gazing on the smooth level waters, and listening
+to the confused voices of the fishermen, passing and repassing in light
+skiffs, which came and disappeared in an instant.</p>
+<p>Running to the balcony the moment my eyes were fairly open (for till
+then I saw objects, I know not how, as one does in dreams), I leaned
+over its rails, and viewed Vesuvius rising distinct into the blue ether,
+with all that world of gardens and casinos which are scattered about
+its base; then looked down into the street, deep below, thronged with
+people in holiday garments, and carriages, and soldiers in full parade.&nbsp;
+The woody, variegated shore of Posilipo next drew my attention.&nbsp;
+It was on those very rocks, under those tall pines, Sannazaro was wont
+to sit by moonlight, or at peep of dawn, holding converse with the Nereids.&nbsp;
+&rsquo;Tis there he still sleeps; and I wished to have gone immediately
+and strewed coral over his tomb, but I was obliged to check my impatience,
+and hurry to the palace in form and gala.</p>
+<p>A courtly mob had got thither upon the same errand, daubed over with
+lace and most notably be-periwigged.&nbsp; Nothing but - bows and salutations
+were going forward on the staircase, one of the largest I ever beheld,
+and which a multitude of prelates and friars were ascending in all the
+pomp of awkwardness.&nbsp; I jostled along to the presence chamber,
+where his Majesty was dining alone in a circular inclosure of fine clothes
+and smirking faces.&nbsp; The moment he had finished, twenty long necks
+were poked forth, and it was a glorious struggle amongst some of the
+most decorated who first should kiss his hand.&nbsp; Doing so was the
+great business of the day, and everybody pressed forward to the best
+of their abilities.&nbsp; His Majesty seemed to eye nothing but the
+end of his nose, which is doubtless a capital object.</p>
+<p>Though people have imagined him a weak monarch, I beg leave to differ
+in opinion, since he has the boldness to prolong his childhood and be
+happy, in spite of years and conviction.&nbsp; Give him a boar to stab,
+and a pigeon to shoot at, a battledore or an angling rod, and he is
+better contented than Solomon in all his glory, and will never discover,
+like that sapient sovereign, that all is vanity and vexation of spirit.</p>
+<p>His courtiers in general have rather a barbaric appearance, and differ
+little in the character of their physiognomies from the most savage
+nations.&nbsp; I should have taken them for Calmucks or Samoieds, had
+it not been for their dresses and European finery.</p>
+<p>You may suppose I was not sorry, after my presentation was over,
+to return to Sir W.&rsquo;s and hear Lady H. play, whose music breathes
+the most pastoral Sicilian ideas, and transports me to green meads on
+the sea-coast, where I wander with Theocritus.</p>
+<p>The evening was passing swiftly away in this delightful excursion
+of fancy, and I had almost forgotten there was a grand illumination
+at the theatre of St. Carlo.&nbsp; After traversing a number of dark
+streets, we suddenly entered this enormous edifice, whose six rows of
+boxes blazed with tapers.&nbsp; I never beheld such lofty walls of light,
+nor so pompous a decoration as covered the stage.&nbsp; Marchesi was
+singing in the midst of all these splendours some of the poorest music
+imaginable, with the clearest and most triumphant voice, perhaps, in
+the universe.</p>
+<p>It was some time before I could look to any purpose around me, or
+discover what animals inhabited this glittering world: such was its
+size and glare.&nbsp; At last I perceived vast numbers of ugly beings,
+in gold and silver raiment, peeping out of their boxes.&nbsp; The court
+being present, a tolerable silence was maintained, but the moment his
+Majesty withdrew (which great event took place at the beginning of the
+second act) every tongue broke loose, and nothing but buzz and hubbub
+filled up the rest of the entertainment.</p>
+<p>The last ballet, formed upon the old story of &ldquo;Le Festin de
+Pierre,&rdquo; had wonderful effect, and terminated in the most striking
+perspective of the infernal region.&nbsp; Picq danced incomparably,
+and Signora Rossi led the Fandango, with a grace and activity that pleased
+me beyond idea.&nbsp; Music was never more rapturous than that which
+accompanies this dance.&nbsp; It quite enchanted me, and I longed to
+have sprung upon the stage.&nbsp; The cadence is so strongly marked
+by the castanets, that it is almost impossible to be out of time; and
+the rapidity of steps and varied movements scarcely allows a moment
+to think of being tired.&nbsp; I should imagine the eternal dance, with
+which certain tribes of American savages think they are to be rewarded
+in a future existence, might be formed somewhat on this model.&nbsp;
+Indeed the Fandango arrived in Spain with the conquerors of the other
+hemisphere, and is far too lively and extatic to be of European original.</p>
+<p><i>November</i> 6<i>th</i> - Till to-day we have had nothing but
+rains; the sea covered with mists, and Caprea invisible.&nbsp; Would
+you believe it?&nbsp; I have not yet been able to mount to St. Elmo
+and the Capo di Monte, in order to take a general view of the town.</p>
+<p>At length a bright gleam of sunshine roused me from my slumbers,
+and summoned me to the broad terrace of Chiaja, directly above the waters
+and commanding the whole coast of Posilipo.&nbsp; Insensibly I drew
+towards it, and (you know the pace I run when out upon discoveries)
+soon reached the entrance of the grotto, which lay in dark shades, whilst
+the crags that lower over it were brightly illumined.&nbsp; Shrubs and
+vines grow luxuriantly in the crevices of the rock; and their fresh
+yellow colours, variegated with ivy, have a beautiful effect.&nbsp;
+To the right a grove of pines sprung from the highest pinnacles: on
+the left, bay and chestnut conceal the tomb of Virgil, placed on the
+summit of a cliff which impends over the opening of the grotto, and
+is fringed with a florid vegetation.&nbsp; Beneath are several wide
+apertures hollowed in the solid stone, which lead to caverns sixty or
+seventy feet in depth, where a number of peasants, who were employed
+in quarrying, made such a noise with their tools and their voices as
+almost inclined me to wish the Cimmerians would start from their subterraneous
+habitations, and sacrifice these profane to the Manes.</p>
+<p>Walking out of the sunshine, I seated myself on a loose stone immediately
+beneath the first gloomy arch of the grotto, and looking down the vast
+and solemn perspective, terminated by a speck of grey uncertain light,
+venerated a work which some old chroniclers have imagined as ancient
+as the Trojan war.&nbsp; &rsquo;Twas here the mysterious race I have
+just mentioned performed their infernal rites, and it was this excavation
+perhaps which led to their abode.</p>
+<p>The Neapolitans attribute a more modern, though full as problematical
+an origin to their famous cavern, and most piously believe it to have
+been formed by the enchantments of Virgil, who, as Mr. Addison very
+justly observes, is better known at Naples in his magical character,
+than as the author of the &AElig;neid.&nbsp; This strange infatuation
+most probably arose from the vicinity of the tomb, in which his ashes
+are supposed to have been deposited; and which, according to popular
+tradition, was guarded by those very spirits who assisted in constructing
+the cave.&nbsp; But whatever may have given rise to these ideas, certain
+it is they were not confined to the lower ranks alone.&nbsp; King Robert,
+<a name="citation240"></a><a href="#footnote240">{240}</a> a wise though
+far from poetical monarch, conducted his friend Petrarch with great
+solemnity to the spot; and, pointing to the entrance of the grotto,
+very gravely asked him, whether he did not adopt the general belief,
+and conclude this stupendous passage derived its origin from Virgil&rsquo;s
+powerful incantations?&nbsp; The answer, I think, may easily be conjectured.</p>
+<p>When I had sat for some time, contemplating this dusky avenue, and
+trying to persuade myself that it was hewn by the Cimmerians, I retreated
+without proceeding any farther, and followed a narrow path which led
+me, after some windings and turnings, along the brink of the precipice,
+across a vineyard, to that retired nook of the rocks which shelters
+Virgil&rsquo;s tomb, most venerably mossed over, and more than half
+concealed by bushes and vegetation.&nbsp; Drops of dew were distilling
+from the niches of the little chamber, which once contained his urn,
+and heaps of withered leaves had gathered on the pavement.&nbsp; Amongst
+these I crept to eat some grapes and biscuits, having duly scattered
+a few crumbs as a sort of offering to the invisible guardians of the
+place.&nbsp; I believe they were sensible of my piety, and, as a reward,
+kept vagabonds and clowns away.</p>
+<p>The one who conducted me remained aloof at awful distance, whilst
+I sat commercing with the manes of my beloved poet, or straggling about
+the shrubbery which hangs directly above the mouth of the grot.&nbsp;
+I wonder I did not visit the eternal shades sooner that I expected,
+for no squirrel ever skipped from bough to bough more venturously.&nbsp;
+One instant I climbed up the branches of a chestnut, and sat almost
+on its extremity, my feet impending over the chasm below; another I
+boldly advanced to the edge of the rock, and saw crowds of people and
+carriages, diminished by distance, issuing from the bosom of the mountain,
+and disappearing almost as soon as discovered in the windings of its
+road.&nbsp; Having clambered high above the cavern, I hazarded my neck
+on the top of one of the pines, and looked contemptuously down on the
+race of pigmies that were so busily moving to and fro.&nbsp; The sun
+was fiercer than I could have wished, but the sea-breezes fanned me
+in my a&euml;rial situation, which commanded the grand sweep of the
+bay, varied by convents, palaces, and gardens, mixed with huge masses
+of rock and crowned by the stately buildings of the Carthusians and
+fortress of St. Elmo.&nbsp; Add a glittering blue sea to this perspective,
+with Caprea rising from its bosom, and Vesuvius breathing forth a white
+column of smoke into the ether, and you will then have a scene upon
+which I gazed with delight, for more than an hour, almost forgetting
+that I was perched upon the head of a pine, with nothing but a frail
+branch to uphold me.&nbsp; However, I descended alive, as Virgil&rsquo;s
+genii, I am resolved to believe, were my protectors.</p>
+<div class="GutenbergBlankLines2"><br /><br /></div>
+<h2>LETTER XXIII</h2>
+<div class="GutenbergBlankLines2"><br /><br /></div>
+<p><i>November</i> 8<i>th</i>. - This morning I awoke in the glow of
+sunshine; the air blew fresh and fragrant; never did I feel more elastic
+and enlivened.&nbsp; A brisker flow of spirits than I had for many a
+day experienced, animated me with a desire of rambling about the shore
+of Baii, and creeping into caverns and subterraneous chambers.&nbsp;
+Off I set along Chiaja, and up strange paths which impend over the grotto
+of Posilipo, amongst the thickets mentioned a letter or two ago; for
+in my present lively humour, I disdained ordinary roads, and would take
+paths and ways of my own.&nbsp; A society of kids did not understand
+what I meant by intruding upon their precipices; and scrambling away,
+scattered sand and fragments upon the good people that were trudging
+along the pavement below.</p>
+<p>I went on from pine to pine, and thicket to thicket, upon the brink
+of rapid declivities.&nbsp; My conductor, a shrewd savage, whom Sir
+William had recommended to me, cheered our route with stories that had
+passed in the neighbourhood, and traditions about the grot over which
+we were travelling.&nbsp; I wish you had been of the party, and sat
+down by us on little smooth spots of sward, where I reclined, scarcely
+knowing which way caprice was leading me.&nbsp; My mind was full of
+the tales of the place, and glowed with a vehement desire of exploring
+the world beyond the grot.&nbsp; I longed to ascend the promontory of
+Misenus, and follow the same dusky route down which the Sibyl conducted
+&AElig;neas.</p>
+<p>With these dispositions I proceeded; and soon the cliffs and copses
+opened to views of the Baian bay, with the little isles of Niscita and
+Lazaretto lifting themselves out of the waters.&nbsp; Procita and Ischia
+appeared at a distance, invested with that purple bloom so inexpressibly
+beautiful, and peculiar to this fortunate climate.&nbsp; I hailed the
+prospect and blessed the transparent air that gave me life and vigour
+to run down the rocks, and hie as fast as my savage across the plain
+to Puzzoli.&nbsp; There we took bark and rowed out into the blue ocean,
+by the remains of a sturdy mole: many such, I imagine, adorned the bay
+in Roman ages crowned by vast lengths of slender pillars; pavilions
+at their extremities, and taper cypresses spiring above their balustrades:
+this character of villa occurs very frequently in the paintings of Herculaneum.</p>
+<p>We had soon crossed the bay, and landing on a bushy coast, near some
+fragments of a temple which they say was raised to Hercules, advanced
+into the country by narrow tracks covered with moss and strewed with
+shining pebbles; to the right and left, broad masses of luxuriant foliage,
+chestnut, bay, and ilex, that shelter the ruins of columbariums and
+sepulchral chambers, where the dead sleep snug amongst rampant herbage.&nbsp;
+The region was still, save when a cock crew from the hamlets, which,
+as well as the tombs, are almost concealed by thickets.&nbsp; No parties
+of smart Englishmen and connoisseurs were about.&nbsp; I had all the
+land to myself, and mounted its steeps and penetrated into its recesses,
+with the importance of a discoverer.&nbsp; What a variety of narrow
+paths, between banks and shades, did I wildly follow! my savage laughing
+loud at my odd gestures and useless activity.&nbsp; He wondered I did
+not scrape the ground for medals, and pocket little bits of plaster,
+like other plausible young travellers that had gone before me.</p>
+<p>After ascending some time, I followed him into the Piscina Mirabilis,
+the wondrous reservoir which Nero constructed to supply his fleet, when
+anchored in the neighbouring bay.&nbsp; &rsquo;Tis a grand labyrinth
+of solid vaults and pillars, as you well know, but you cannot conceive
+the partial gleams of sunshine which played on the arches, nor the variety
+of roots and ivies trailing from the cove.&nbsp; A noise of trickling
+waters prevailed, that had almost lulled me to sleep as I rested myself
+on the celandine which carpets the floor; but curiosity urging me forward,
+I gained the upper air; walked amongst woods a few minutes, and then
+into grots and dismal excavations (prisons they call them), which began
+to weary me.</p>
+<p>After having gone up and down in this manner for some time, we at
+last reached an eminence that looked over the Mare Morto, and Elysian
+fields trembling with poplars.&nbsp; The Dead Lake, a faithful emblem
+of eternal tranquillity, looked deep and solemn.&nbsp; A few peasants
+were passing along its margin, their shadows reflected on the water:
+all was serene and peaceful.&nbsp; Turning from the lake I espied a
+rock at about a league distant, whose summit was clad with verdure,
+and finding this to be the promontory of Misenus, I immediately set
+my face to that quarter.</p>
+<p>We passed several dirty villages, inhabited by an ill-favoured generation,
+infamous for depredations and murders.&nbsp; Their gardens, however,
+discover some marks of industry; the fields are separated by neat hedges
+of cane, and corn seemed to flourish in the inclosures.</p>
+<p>I walked on with slowness and deliberation, musing at every step,
+and stopping ever and anon to rest myself by springs and tufted bay-trees;
+when insensibly we began to leave the cultivated lands behind us, and
+to lose ourselves in shady wilds, which, to all appearance, no mortal
+had ever trodden.&nbsp; Here were no paths, no enclosures; a primeval
+rudeness characterized the whole scene, -</p>
+<div class="GutenbergBlankLines1"><br /></div>
+<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;Juvat arva videre,<br />Non rastris, hominum
+non ulli obnoxia cur&aelig;.&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="GutenbergBlankLines1"><br /></div>
+<p>The idea of going almost out of the world, soothed the tone of mind
+into which a variety of affecting recollections had thrown me.&nbsp;
+I formed conjectures about the promontory to which we were tending;
+and when I cast my eyes around the savage landscape, transported myself
+four thousand years into antiquity, and half persuaded myself I was
+one of &AElig;neas&rsquo;s companions.&nbsp; After forcing our way about
+a mile through glades of shrubs and briars, we entered a verdant opening
+at the base of the cliff which takes its name from Misenus.&nbsp; The
+poets of the Augustan age would have celebrated such a meadow with the
+warmest raptures; they would have discovered a nymph in every flower,
+and detected a dryad under every tree.&nbsp; Doubtless imagination never
+formed a lovelier prospect.&nbsp; Here were clear streams and grassy
+hillocks, leafy shrubs and cypresses spiring out of their bosom, -</p>
+<div class="GutenbergBlankLines1"><br /></div>
+<p>&ldquo;Et circum irriguo surgebant lilia prato<br />Candida purpureis
+mista papaveribus.&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="GutenbergBlankLines1"><br /></div>
+<p>But as it is not the lot of human animals to be contented, instead
+of reposing in the vale, I scaled the rock, and was three parts dissolved
+in attaining its summit, - a flat spot covered with herbage, where I
+lay contemplating the ocean, and fanned by its breezes.&nbsp; The sun
+darted upon my head; I wished to avoid its immediate influence: no tree
+was near.&nbsp; Deep below lay the pleasant valley: &rsquo;twas a long
+way to descend.&nbsp; Looking round and round, I spied something like
+a hut, under a crag on the edge of a dark fissure.&nbsp; Might I avail
+myself of its covert?&nbsp; My conductor answered in the affirmative,
+and added that it was inhabited by a good old woman, who never refused
+a cup of milk, or slice of bread, to refresh a weary traveller.</p>
+<p>Thirst and fatigue urged me speedily down an intervening slope of
+stunted myrtle.&nbsp; Though oppressed with heat, I could not help deviating
+a few steps from the direct path to notice the uncouth rocks which rose
+frowning on every quarter.&nbsp; Above the hut, their appearance was
+truly formidable; dark ivy crept among the crevices, and dwarf aloes
+with sharp spines, such as Lucifer himself might be supposed to have
+sown.&nbsp; Indeed, I knew not whether I was not approaching some gate
+that leads to his abode, as I drew near a gulph (the fissure lately
+mentioned) and heard the hollow gusts which were imprisoned below.&nbsp;
+The savage, my guide, shuddered as he passed by to apprise the old woman
+of my coming.&nbsp; I felt strangely, and stared around me, and but
+half liked my situation.&nbsp; To say truth, I wished myself away, and
+heartily regretted the green vale.</p>
+<p>In the midst of my doubts, forth tottered the old woman.&nbsp; &ldquo;You
+are welcome,&rdquo; said she, in a feeble voice, but a better dialect
+than I had heard in the neighbourhood.&nbsp; Her look was more humane,
+and she seemed of a superior race to the inhabitants of the surrounding
+valleys.&nbsp; My savage treated her with peculiar deference.&nbsp;
+She had just given him some bread, with which he retired to a respectful
+distance, bowing to the earth.&nbsp; I caught the mode, and was very
+obsequious, thinking myself on the point of experiencing a witch&rsquo;s
+influence, and gaining, perhaps, some insight into the volume of futurity.&nbsp;
+She smiled at my agitation, and kept beckoning me into the cottage.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Now,&rdquo; thought I to myself, &ldquo;I am upon the verge
+of an adventure.&nbsp; O Quixote!&nbsp; O Sylvio di Rosalva! how would
+ye have strutted in such a situation!&nbsp; What fair Infantas would
+ye not have expected to behold, condemned to spinning wheels, and solitude?&rdquo;&nbsp;
+I, alas! saw nothing but clay walls, a straw bed, some glazed earthen
+bowls, and a wooden crucifix.&nbsp; My shoes were loaded with sand:
+this my hostess perceived, and immediately kindling a fire in an inner
+part of the hovel, brought out some warm water to refresh my feet, and
+set some milk and chestnuts before me.&nbsp; This patriarchal politeness
+was by no means indifferent after my tiresome ramble.&nbsp; I sat down
+opposite to the door which fronted the unfathomable gulph; beyond appeared
+the sea, of a deep cerulean, foaming with waves.&nbsp; The sky also
+was darkening apace with storms.&nbsp; Sadness came over me like a cloud,
+and I looked up to the old woman for consolation.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;And you too are sorrowful, young stranger,&rdquo; said she,
+&ldquo;that come from the gay world!&nbsp; How must I feel, who pass
+year after year in these lonely mountains?&rdquo;&nbsp; I answered that
+the weather affected me, and my spirits were exhausted by the walk.</p>
+<p>All the while I spoke she looked at me with such a melancholy earnestness
+that I asked the cause, and began again to imagine myself in some fatal
+habitation,</p>
+<div class="GutenbergBlankLines1"><br /></div>
+<p>&ldquo;Where more is meant than meets the ear.&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="GutenbergBlankLines1"><br /></div>
+<p>Said she, &ldquo;Your features are wonderfully like those of an unfortunate
+young person, who, in this retirement . . . &rdquo;&nbsp; The tears
+began to fall as she pronounced these words; she seemed older than before,
+and bent to the ground with sorrow.&nbsp; My curiosity was fired.&nbsp;
+&ldquo;Tell me,&rdquo; continued I, &ldquo;what you mean? who was this
+youth for whom you are so interested? and why did he seclude himself
+in this wild region?&nbsp; Your kindness might no doubt alleviate, in
+some measure, the horrors of the place; but may God defend me from passing
+the night near such a gulph!&nbsp; I would not trust myself in a despairing
+moment.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It is,&rdquo; said she, &ldquo;a place of horrors.&nbsp; I
+tremble to relate what has happened on this very spot; but your manner
+interests me, and though I am little given to narrations, for once I
+will unlock my lips concerning the secrets of yonder fatal chasm.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I was born in a distant part of Italy, and have known better
+days.&nbsp; In my youth fortune smiled upon my family, but in a few
+years they withered away; no matter by what accident.&nbsp; I am not
+going, however, to talk of myself.&nbsp; Have patience a few moments!&nbsp;
+A series of unfortunate events reduced me to indigence, and drove me
+to this desert, where, from rearing goats and making their milk into
+cheese, by a different method than is common in the Neapolitan State,
+I have, for about thirty years, prolonged a sorrowful existence.&nbsp;
+My silent grief and constant retirement had made me appear to some a
+saint, and to others a sorceress.&nbsp; The slight knowledge I have
+of plants has been exaggerated, and, some years back, the hours I gave
+up to prayer, and the recollection of former friends, lost to me for
+ever! were cruelly intruded upon by the idle and the ignorant.&nbsp;
+But soon I sank into obscurity; my little recipes were disregarded,
+and you are the first stranger who, for these twelve months past, has
+visited my abode.&nbsp; Ah, would to God its solitude had ever remained
+inviolate!</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It is now three-and-twenty years,&rdquo; and she looked upon
+some characters cut on the planks of the cottage, &ldquo;since I was
+sitting by moonlight, under that cliff you view to the right, my eyes
+fixed on the ocean, my mind lost in the memory of my misfortunes, when
+I heard a step, and starting up, a figure stood before me.&nbsp; It
+was a young man, in a rich habit, with streaming hair, and looks that
+bespoke the utmost terror.&nbsp; I knew not what to think of this sudden
+apparition.&nbsp; &lsquo;Mother,&rsquo; said he with faltering accents,
+&lsquo;let me rest under your roof; and deliver me not up to those who
+thirst after my blood.&nbsp; Take this gold; take all, all!&rsquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Surprise held me speechless; the purse fell to the ground;
+the youth stared wildly on every side: I heard many voices beyond the
+rocks; the wind bore them distinctly, but presently they died away.&nbsp;
+I took courage, and assured the youth my cot should shelter him.&nbsp;
+&lsquo;Oh! thank you, thank you!&rsquo; answered he, and pressed my
+hand.&nbsp; He shared my scanty provision.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Overcome with toil (for I had worked hard in the day), sleep
+closed my eyes for a short interval.&nbsp; When I awoke the moon was
+set, but I heard my unhappy guest sobbing in darkness.&nbsp; I disturbed
+him not.&nbsp; Morning dawned, and he was fallen into a slumber.&nbsp;
+The tears bubbled out of his closed eyelids, and coursed one another
+down his wan cheeks.&nbsp; I had been too wretched myself not to respect
+the sorrows of another: neglecting therefore my accustomed occupations,
+I drove away the flies that buzzed around his temples.&nbsp; His breast
+heaved high with sighs, and he cried loudly in his sleep for mercy.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The beams of the sun dispelling his dream, he started up like
+one that had heard the voice of an avenging angel, and hid his face
+with his hands.&nbsp; I poured some milk down his parched throat.&nbsp;
+&lsquo;Oh, mother!&rsquo; he exclaimed, &lsquo;I am a wretch unworthy
+of compassion; the cause of innumerable sufferings; a murderer! a parricide!&rsquo;&nbsp;
+My blood curdled to hear a stripling utter such dreadful words, and
+behold such agonising sighs swell in so young a bosom; for I marked
+the sting of conscience urging him to disclose what I am going to relate.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It seems he was of high extraction, nursed in the pomps and
+luxuries of Naples, the pride and darling of his parents, adorned with
+a thousand lively talents, which the keenest sensibility conspired to
+improve.&nbsp; Unable to fix any bounds to whatever became the object
+of his desires, he passed his first years in roving from one extravagance
+to another, but as yet there was no crime in his caprices.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;At length it pleased Heaven to visit his family, and make
+their idol the slave of an unworthy passion.&nbsp; He had a friend,
+who from his birth had been devoted to his interest, and placed all
+his confidence in him.&nbsp; This friend loved to distraction a young
+creature, the most graceful of her sex (as I can witness), and she returned
+his affection.&nbsp; In the exultation of his heart, he showed her to
+the wretch whose tale I am about to tell.&nbsp; He sickened at her sight.&nbsp;
+She too caught fire at his glances.&nbsp; They languished - they consumed
+away - they conversed, and his persuasive language finished what his
+guilty glances had begun.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Their flame was soon discovered, for he disdained to conceal
+a thought, however dishonourable.&nbsp; The parents warned the youth
+in the tenderest manner; but advice and prudent counsels were to him
+so loathsome, that unable to contain his rage, and infatuated with love,
+he menaced the life of his friend as the obstacle of his enjoyment.&nbsp;
+Coolness and moderation were opposed to violence and frenzy, and he
+found himself treated with a contemptuous gentleness.&nbsp; Stricken
+to the heart, he wandered about for some time like one entranced.&nbsp;
+Meanwhile the nuptials were preparing; and the lovely girl he had perverted
+found ways to let him know she was about to be torn from his embraces.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;He raved, and rousing his dire spirit, applied to a malignant
+d&aelig;mon who sold the most inveterate poisons.&nbsp; These he presented,
+like a cup of pure iced water, to his friend, and to his own affectionate
+father.&nbsp; They drank the draught, and soon began to pine.&nbsp;
+He marked the progress of their dissolution with a horrid firmness.&nbsp;
+He let the moment pass beyond which all antidotes were vain.&nbsp; His
+friend expired; and the young criminal, though he beheld the dews of
+death hang on his parent&rsquo;s forehead, yet stretched not forth his
+hand.&nbsp; In a short space the miserable father breathed his last,
+whilst his son was sitting aloof in the same chamber.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The sight overcame him.&nbsp; He felt, for the first time,
+the pangs of remorse.&nbsp; His agitation passed not unnoticed.&nbsp;
+He was watched: suspicions beginning to unfold, he took alarm, and one
+evening escaped; but not without previously informing the partner of
+his crimes which way he intended to flee.&nbsp; Several pursued; but
+the inscrutable will of Providence blinded their search, and I was doomed
+to behold the effects of celestial vengeance.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Such are the chief circumstances of the tale I gathered from
+the youth.&nbsp; I swooned whilst he related it, and could take no sustenance.&nbsp;
+One whole day afterwards did I pray the Lord, that I might die rather
+than be near an incarnate demon.&nbsp; With what indignation did I now
+survey that slender form and those flowing tresses, which had interested
+me before so much in his behalf!</p>
+<p>&ldquo;No sooner did he perceive the change in my countenance, than
+sullenly retiring to yonder rock, he sat careless of the sun and scorching
+winds; for it was now the summer solstice.&nbsp; Equally was he heedless
+of the unwholesome dews.&nbsp; When midnight came my horrors were augmented;
+and I meditated several times to abandon my hovel, and fly to the next
+village; but a power more than human chained me to the spot and fortified
+my mind.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I slept, and it was late next morning when some one called
+at the wicket of the little fold, where my goats are penned.&nbsp; I
+arose, and saw a peasant of my acquaintance leading a female strangely
+muffled up, and casting her eyes on the ground.&nbsp; My heart misgave
+me.&nbsp; I thought this was the very maid who had been the cause of
+such unheard-of wickedness.&nbsp; Nor were my conjectures ill-founded.&nbsp;
+Regardless of the clown who stood by in stupid astonishment, she fell
+to the earth and bathed my hand with tears.&nbsp; Her trembling lips
+with difficulty inquired after the youth; and, as she spoke, a glow
+of conscious guilt lightened up her pale countenance.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The full recollection of her lover&rsquo;s crimes shot through
+my memory.&nbsp; I was incensed, and would have spurned her away; but
+she clung to my garments and seemed to implore my pity with a look so
+full of misery, that, relenting, I led her in silence to the extremity
+of the cliff where the youth was seated, his feet dangling above the
+sea.&nbsp; His eye was rolling wildly around, but it soon fixed upon
+the object for whose sake he had doomed himself to perdition.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I am not inclined to describe their ecstasies, or the eagerness
+with which they sought each other&rsquo;s embraces.&nbsp; I turned indignantly
+my head; and, driving my goats to a recess amongst the rocks, sat revolving
+in my mind these strange events.&nbsp; I neglected procuring any provision
+for my unwelcome guests; and about midnight returned homewards by the
+light of the moon, which shone serenely in the heavens.&nbsp; Almost
+the first object her beams discovered was the guilty maid sustaining
+the head of her lover, who had fainted through weakness and want of
+nourishment.&nbsp; I fetched some dry bread, and, dipping it in milk,
+laid it before them.&nbsp; Having performed this duty I set open the
+door of my hut, and retiring to a neighbouring cavity, there stretched
+myself on a heap of leaves, and offered my prayers to Heaven.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;A thousand fears, till this moment unknown, thronged into
+my fancy.&nbsp; I mistook the shadow of leaves, that chequered the entrance
+to the grot, for ugly reptiles, and repeatedly shook my garments.&nbsp;
+The flow of the distant surges was deepened by my apprehensions into
+distant groans: in a word, I could not rest; but issuing from the cavern
+as hastily as my trembling knees would allow, paced along the edge of
+the precipice.&nbsp; An unaccountable impulse hurried my steps.&nbsp;
+Dark clouds were driving across the sky, and the setting moon was flushed
+with the deepest crimson.&nbsp; A wan gleam coloured the sea.&nbsp;
+Such was my terror and shivering, that, unable to advance to my hut
+or retreat to the cavern, I was about to shield myself from the night
+in a sandy crevice, when a loud shriek pierced my ear.&nbsp; My fears
+had confused me; I was in fact hard by my hovel, and scarcely three
+paces from the brink of the cavern: it was from thence the cries proceeded.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Advancing in a cold shudder to its edge, part of which was
+newly crumbled in, I discovered the form of the young man suspended
+by one foot to a branch of juniper that grew ten feet down: thus dreadfully
+did he hang over the gulph from the branch bent with his weight.&nbsp;
+His features were distorted, his eye-balls glared with agony, and his
+screams became so shrill and terrible, that I lost all power of assistance.&nbsp;
+Fixed, I stood with my eyes riveted upon the criminal, who incessantly
+cried out, &lsquo;O God!&nbsp; O Father! save me, if there be yet mercy!
+save me, or I sink into the abyss!&rsquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I am convinced he saw me not; for not once did he implore
+my help.&nbsp; My heart was dead within me.&nbsp; I called out upon
+the Lord.&nbsp; His voice grew faint, and as I gazed intent upon him,
+he fell into utter darkness.&nbsp; I sank to the earth in a trance,
+during which a sound like the rush of pennons assaulted my ear: methought
+the evil spirit was bearing off his soul; I lifted up my eyes, but nothing
+stirred; the stillness that prevailed was awful.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The moon looked stained with streaks of blood; her orb hanging
+low over the waves afforded a sickly light, by which I perceived some
+one coming down that white cliff you see before you; and soon I heard
+the voice of the young woman calling aloud on her guilty lover.&nbsp;
+She stopped.&nbsp; She repeated again and again her exclamation; but
+there was no reply.&nbsp; Alarmed and frantic she hurried along the
+path, and now I saw her on the promontory, and now by yonder pine, devouring
+with her glances every crevice in the rock.&nbsp; At length perceiving
+me, she flew to where I stood, by the fatal precipice, and having noticed
+the fragments fresh crumbled in, pored importunately on my countenance.&nbsp;
+I continued pointing to the chasm; she trembled not; her tears could
+not flow; but she divined the meaning.&nbsp; &lsquo;He is lost!&rsquo;
+said she; &lsquo;the earth has swallowed him! but, as I have shared
+with him the highest joy, so will I partake his torments.&nbsp; I will
+follow; dare not to hinder me.&rsquo;&nbsp; I shrank back.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Like the phantoms I have seen in dreams, she glanced beside
+me; and, clasping her hands above her head, lifted a steadfast look
+on the hemisphere, and viewed the moon with an anxiousness that told
+me she was bidding it farewell for ever.&nbsp; Observing a silken handkerchief
+on the ground, with which she had but an hour ago bound her lover&rsquo;s
+temples, she snatched it up, and imprinting it with burning kisses,
+thrust it into her bosom.&nbsp; Once more, expanding her arms in the
+last act of despair and miserable passion, she threw herself, with a
+furious leap, into the gulph.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;To its margin I crawled on my knees, and, shuddering, looked
+down into the gloom.&nbsp; There I remained in the most dreadful darkness;
+for now the moon was sunk, the sky obscured with storms, and a tempestuous
+blast ranging the ocean.&nbsp; Showers poured thick upon me, and the
+lightning, in clear and frequent flashes, gave me terrifying glimpses
+of yonder accursed chasm.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Stranger, dost thou believe in the great Being? in our Redeemer?
+in the tenets of our faith?&rdquo;&nbsp; I answered with reverence,
+but said I was no Catholic.&nbsp; &ldquo;Then,&rdquo; continued the
+aged woman, &ldquo;I will not declare before a heretic what were the
+sacred visions of that night of vengeance!&rdquo;&nbsp; She paused;
+I was silent.</p>
+<p>After a short interval, with deep and frequent sighs, she resumed
+her narrative.&nbsp; &ldquo;Daylight began to dawn as if with difficulty,
+and it was late before its radiance had tinged the watery and tempestuous
+clouds.&nbsp; I was still kneeling by the gulph in prayer when the cliffs
+began to brighten, and the beams of the morning sun to strike against
+me.&nbsp; Then did I rejoice.&nbsp; Then no longer did I think myself
+of all human beings the most abject and miserable.&nbsp; How different
+did I feel myself from those, fresh plunged into the abodes of torment,
+and driven for ever from the morning!</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Three days elapsed in total solitude: on the fourth, some
+grave and ancient persons arrived from Naples, who questioned me, repeatedly,
+about the wretched lovers, and to whom I related their fate with every
+dreadful particular.&nbsp; Soon after I learned that all discourse concerning
+them was expressly stopped, and that no prayers were offered up for
+their souls.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>With these words, as well as I recollect, the old woman ended her
+singular narration.&nbsp; My blood thrilled as I walked by the gulph
+to call my guide, who stood aloof under the cliffs.&nbsp; He seemed
+to think, from the paleness of my countenance, that I had heard some
+gloomy prediction, and shook his head when I turned round to bid my
+old hostess adieu!&nbsp; It was a melancholy evening, and I could not
+refrain from tears, as, winding through the defiles of the rocks, the
+sad scenes which had passed amongst them recurred to my memory.</p>
+<p>Traversing a wild thicket, we soon regained the shore, where I rambled
+a few minutes whilst the peasant went for the boatmen.&nbsp; The last
+streaks of light were quivering on the waters when I stepped into the
+bark, and wrapping myself up in an awning, slept till we reached Puzzoli,
+some of whose inhabitants came forth with torches to light us home.</p>
+<p>I was vexed to be roused from my visions, and had much rather have
+sunk in some deep cave of the Cimmerians than returned to Naples.</p>
+<div class="GutenbergBlankLines2"><br /><br /></div>
+<h2>LETTER XXIV</h2>
+<div class="GutenbergBlankLines2"><br /><br /></div>
+<p>NAPLES, <i>November</i> 9<i>th.</i></p>
+<p>We made our excursion to Pompeii, passing through Portici, and over
+the last lava of Mount Vesuvius.&nbsp; I experienced a strange mixture
+of sensations, on surveying at once the mischiefs of the late eruption,
+in the ruin of villages, farms, and vineyards; and all around them the
+most luxuriant and delightful scenery of nature.&nbsp; It was impossible
+to resist the impressions of melancholy from viewing the former, or
+not to admit that gaiety of spirits which was inspired by the sight
+of the latter.&nbsp; I say nothing of the Museum at Portici, which we
+saw in our way, on account of the ample description of its contents
+already given to the public, and because it should be described no otherwise
+than by an exact catalogue, or by an exhibition of engravings.&nbsp;
+An hour and half brought us from this celebrated repository to Pompeii.&nbsp;
+Nothing can be conceived more delightful than the climate and situation
+of this city.&nbsp; It stands upon a gently-rising hill, which commands
+the bay of Naples, with the islands of Caprea and Ischia, the rich coasts
+of Sorento, the tower of Castel a Mare; and on the other side, Mount
+Vesuvius, with the lovely country intervening.&nbsp; It is judged to
+be about an Italian mile long, and three and a half in circuit.&nbsp;
+We entered the city at the little gate which lies towards Stabi&aelig;.&nbsp;
+The first object upon entering is a colonnade round a square court,
+which seems to have formed a place of arms.&nbsp; Behind the colonnade
+is a series of little rooms, destined for the soldiers&rsquo; barracks.&nbsp;
+The columns are of stone, plaistered with stucco and coloured.&nbsp;
+On several of them we found names scratched in Greek and Latin; probably
+those of the soldiers who had been quartered there.&nbsp; Helmets and
+armour for various parts of the body were discovered amongst the skeletons
+of some soldiers, whose hard fate had compelled them to wait on duty,
+at the perilous moment of the city&rsquo;s approaching destruction.&nbsp;
+Dolphins and tridents, sculptured in relief on most of these relics
+of armour, seem to show that they had been fabricated for naval service.&nbsp;
+Some of the sculptures on the arms, probably belonging to officers,
+exhibit a greater variety of ornaments.&nbsp; The taking of Troy, wrought
+on one of the helmets, is beautifully executed; and much may be said
+in commendation of the work of several others.</p>
+<p>We were next led to the remains of a temple and altar near these
+barracks.&nbsp; From thence to some rooms floored (as indeed were almost
+all that have been cleared from the rubbish) with tesselated mosaic
+pavements of various patterns, and most of them of very excellent execution.&nbsp;
+Many of these have been taken up, and now form the floors of the rooms
+in the Museum at Portici, whose best ornaments of every kind are furnished
+from the discoveries at Pompeii.&nbsp; From the rooms just mentioned
+we descended into a subterraneous chamber, communicating with a bathing
+apartment.&nbsp; It appears to have served as a kind of office to the
+latter.&nbsp; It was probably here that the clothes used in bathing
+were washed.&nbsp; A fireplace, a capacious cauldron of bronze, and
+earthen vessels, proper for that purpose, found here, have given rise
+to the conjecture.&nbsp; Contiguous to this room is a small circular
+one with a fireplace, which was the stove to the bath.&nbsp; I should
+not forget to tell you that the skeleton of the poor laundress (for
+so the antiquaries will have it), who was very diligently washing the
+bathing clothes at the time of the eruption, was found lying in an attitude
+of most resigned death, not far from the washing cauldron in the office
+just mentioned.</p>
+<p>We were now conducted to the temple, or rather chapel, of Isis.&nbsp;
+The chief remains are a covered cloister; the great altar on which was
+probably exhibited the statue of the goddess; a little edifice to protect
+the sacred well; the pediment of the chapel, with a symbolical vase
+in relief; ornaments in stucco, on the front of the main building, consisting
+of the lotus, the sistrum, representations of gods, Harpocrates, Anubis,
+and other objects of Egyptian worship.&nbsp; The figures on one side
+of this temple are Perseus with the Gorgon&rsquo;s head; on the other
+side, Mars and Venus, with Cupids bearing the arms of Mars.&nbsp; We
+next observe three altars of different sizes.&nbsp; On one of them is
+said to have been found the bones of a victim unconsumed, the last sacrifice
+having probably been stopped by the dreadful calamity which had occasioned
+it.&nbsp; From a niche in the temple was taken a statue of marble: a
+woman pressing her lips with her forefinger.&nbsp; Within the area is
+a well, where the priest threw the ashes of the sacrifices.&nbsp; We
+saw in the Museum at Portici some lovely arabesque paintings, cut from
+the walls of the cloister.&nbsp; The foliage which ran round the whole
+sweep of the cloister itself is in the finest taste.&nbsp; A tablet
+of basalt with Egyptian hieroglyphics was transported from thence to
+Portici, together with the following inscription, taken from the front
+gate of the chapel:</p>
+<div class="GutenbergBlankLines1"><br /></div>
+<p>N. POPIDUS N. F. CELSINUS.<br />AEDEM ISIDIS TERRAE MOTU COLLAPSAM<br />A
+FUNDAMENTO P.&nbsp; SUA RESTITUIT<br />HUNC DECURIONES OB LIBERALITATEM<br />CUM
+ESSET ANNORUM SEX ORDINI SUO<br />GRATIS ADLEGERUNT.</p>
+<div class="GutenbergBlankLines1"><br /></div>
+<p>Behind one of the altars we saw a small room, in which, our guide
+informed us, a human skeleton had been discovered, with some fish bones
+on a plate near it, and a number of other culinary utensils.&nbsp; We
+then passed on to another apartment, almost contiguous, where nothing
+more remarkable had been found than an iron crow: an instrument with
+which perhaps the unfortunate wretch, whose skeleton I have mentioned
+above, had vainly endeavoured to extricate herself, this room being
+probably barricaded by the matter of the eruption.&nbsp; This temple,
+rebuilt, as the inscription imports, by N. Popidius, had been thrown
+down by a terrible earthquake, that likewise destroyed a great part
+of the city (sixteen years before the famous eruption of Vesuvius described
+by Pliny, which happened in the first year of Titus, A.D. 79) and buried
+at once both Herculaneum and Pompeii.&nbsp; As I lingered alone in these
+environs sacred to Isis, some time after my companions had quitted them,
+I fell into one of those reveries which my imagination is so fond of
+indulging; and transporting myself seventeen hundred years back, fancied
+I was sailing with the elder Pliny, on the first day&rsquo;s eruption,
+from Misenum, towards Retina and Herculaneum; and afterwards towards
+the villa of his friend Pomponianus at Stabi&aelig;.&nbsp; The course
+of our galley seldom carried us out of sight of Pompeii, and as often
+as I could divert my attention from the tremendous spectacle of the
+eruption, its enormous pillar of smoke standing conically in the air,
+and tempests of liquid fire continually bursting out from the midst
+of it, then raining down the sides of the mountain, and flooding this
+beautiful coast with innumerable streams of red-hot lava, methought
+I turned my eyes upon this fair city, whose houses, villas, and gardens,
+with their long ranges of columned courts and porticos, were made visible
+through the universal cloud of ashes, by lightning from the mountain;
+and saw its distracted inhabitants, men, women, and children, running
+to and fro in despair.&nbsp; But in one spot, I mean the court and precincts
+of the temple, glared a continual light.&nbsp; It was the blaze of the
+altars; towards which I discerned a long-robed train of priests moving
+in solemn procession, to supplicate by prayer and sacrifice, at this
+destructive moment, the intervention of Isis, who had taught the first
+fathers of mankind the culture of the earth, and other arts of civil
+life.&nbsp; Methought I could distinguish in their hands all those paintings
+and images, sacred to this divinity, brought out on this portentous
+occasion, from the subterraneous apartments and mystic cells of the
+temple.&nbsp; There was every form of creeping thing and abominable
+beast, every Egyptian pollution which the true prophet had seen in vision,
+among the secret idolatries of the temple at Jerusalem.&nbsp; The priests
+arrived at the altars; I saw them gathered round, and purifying the
+three at once with the sacred meal; then, all moving slowly about them,
+each with his right hand towards the fire: it was the office of some
+to seize the firebrands of the altars, with which they sprinkled holy
+water on the numberless bystanders.&nbsp; Then began the prayers, the
+hymns, and lustrations of the sacrifice.&nbsp; The priests had laid
+the victims with their throats downward upon the altars; were ransacking
+the baskets of flour and salt for the knives of slaughter, and proceeding
+in haste to the accomplishment of their pious ceremonies; - when one
+of our company, who thought me lost, returned with impatience, and calling
+me off to some new object, put an end to my strange reverie.&nbsp; We
+were now summoned to pay some attention to the scene and corridor of
+a theatre, not far from the temple.&nbsp; Little more of its remains
+being yet cleared away, we hastened back to a small house and garden
+in the neighbourhood of Isis.&nbsp; Sir W. Hamilton (in his account
+of Pompeii communicated to the Society of Antiquaries), when speaking
+of this house, having taken occasion to give a general idea of the private
+mansions of the ancient citizens, I shall take the liberty of transcribing
+the whole passage.&nbsp; &ldquo;A covered cloister, supported by columns,
+goes round the house, as was customary in many of the houses at Pompeii.&nbsp;
+The rooms in general are very small, and in one, where an iron bedstead
+was found, the wall had been pared away to make room for this bedstead;
+so that it was not six feet square, and yet this room was most elegantly
+painted, and had a tesselated or mosaic floor.&nbsp; The weight of the
+matter erupted from Mount Vesuvius has universally damaged the upper
+parts of the houses; the lower parts are mostly found as fresh as at
+the moment they were buried.&nbsp; The plan of most of the houses at
+Pompeii is a square court, with a fountain in the middle, and small
+rooms round, communicating with that court.&nbsp; By the construction
+and distribution of the houses, it seems, the inhabitants of Pompeii
+were fond of privacy.&nbsp; They had few windows towards the street,
+except where, from the nature of the plan, they could not avoid it;
+but even in that case the windows were placed too high for anyone in
+the streets to overlook them.&nbsp; Their houses nearly resemble each
+other, both as to distribution of plan, and in the manner of finishing
+the apartments.&nbsp; The rooms are in general small, from ten to twelve
+feet, and from fourteen to eighteen feet; few communications between
+room and room, almost all without windows, except the apartments situated
+to the gardens, which are thought to have been allotted to the women.&nbsp;
+Their cortiles, or courts, were often surrounded by porticos, even in
+very small houses; not but there were covered galleries before the doors
+of their apartments to afford shade and shelter.&nbsp; No timber was
+used in finishing their apartments, except in doors and windows.&nbsp;
+The floors were generally laid in mosaic work.&nbsp; One general taste
+prevailed of painting the sides and ceilings of the rooms.&nbsp; Small
+figures and medallions of low relief were sometimes introduced.&nbsp;
+Their great variety consisted in the colours, and in the choice and
+delicacy of the ornaments, in which they displayed great harmony and
+taste.&nbsp; Their houses were some two, others three stories high.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>We now pursued our way through what is with some probability thought
+to have been the principal street.&nbsp; Its narrowness, however, surprised
+me.&nbsp; It is scarcely eleven feet wide, clear of the footways raised
+on each side of it.&nbsp; The pavement is formed of a large sort of
+flattish-surfaced pebbles; not laid down with the greatest evenness
+or regularity.&nbsp; The sideways may be about a yard wide, each paved,
+irregularly enough, with small stones.&nbsp; There are guard stones
+at equal intervals, to defend the foot passengers from carriages and
+horses.&nbsp; I cannot say I found anything either elegant or pleasant
+in the effect of this open street.&nbsp; But, as the houses in general
+present little more than a dead wall towards it, I do not imagine any
+views, beyond mere use and convenience, were consulted in the plan.&nbsp;
+It led us, however, through the principal gate or entrance, to a sort
+of Villa Rustica, without the limits of the city, which amply recompensed
+our curiosity.&nbsp; The arcade surrounding a square garden, or courtyard,
+offers itself first to the observer&rsquo;s notice.&nbsp; Into this
+open a number of coved rooms, adorned with paintings of figures and
+arabesques.&nbsp; These rooms, though small, have a rich and elegant
+appearance, their ornaments being very well executed, and retaining
+still their original freshness.&nbsp; On the top of the arcade runs
+a walk or open terrace, leading to the larger apartments of the higher
+story.&nbsp; One of the rooms below has a capacious bow-window, where
+several panes of glass, somewhat shattered, were found, but in sufficient
+preservation to show that the ancients were not without knowledge of
+this species of manufacture.&nbsp; As Horace and most of the old Latin
+Poets dwell much on the praises of ancient conviviality, and appear
+to have valued themselves considerably on their connoisseurship in wine,
+it was with great pleasure I descended into the spacious cellars, sunk
+and vaulted beneath the arcade above-mentioned.&nbsp; Several earthen
+amphor&aelig; were standing in rows against the walls, but the Massic
+and Falernian with which they were once stored, had probably long been
+totally absorbed by the earth and ashes, which were now the sole contents
+of these venerable jars.&nbsp; The ancients are thought to have used
+oil, instead of corks, and that the stoppers were of some matter that
+could make but little resistance, seems confirmed by the entrance of
+that, which now supplied the place with wine.&nbsp; The skeletons of
+several of the family who had possessed this villa were discovered in
+the cellar, together with brass and silver coins, and many such ornaments
+of dress as were of more durable materials.&nbsp; On re-ascending, we
+went to the hot and cold baths; thence to the back of the villa, separated
+by a passage from the more elegant part of the house; we were shown
+some rooms which had been occupied by the farmer, and from whence several
+implements of agriculture had been carried, to enrich the collection
+at Portici.&nbsp; On the whole, the plan and construction of this villa
+are extremely curious, and its situation very happily chosen.&nbsp;
+I could not, however, help feeling some regret, in not having had the
+good fortune to be present at the first discovery.&nbsp; It must have
+been highly interesting to see all its ancient relics (the greatest
+part of which are now removed) each in its proper place; or, at least,
+in the place they had possessed for so long a course of years.&nbsp;
+His Sicilian Majesty has ordered a correct draught of this villa to
+be taken, which, it is hoped, will one day be published, with a complete
+account of all the discoveries at Pompeii.</p>
+<p>Our next walk was to see the Columbarium, a very solemn looking edifice,
+where probably the families of higher rank only at Pompeii, deposited
+the urns of their deceased kindred.&nbsp; Several of these urns, with
+their ashes, and one among the rest of glass, inclosed in another of
+earth, were dug out of the sepulchral vaults.&nbsp; A quantity of marble
+statues, of but ordinary execution, and colossal masks of terra-cotta,
+constituted the chief ornaments of the Columbarium.&nbsp; It is situated
+without the gates, on the same side of the city as the villa just described.&nbsp;
+There is something characteristically sad in its aspect.&nbsp; It threw
+my mind into a melancholy, but not disagreeable tone.&nbsp; Under the
+mixed sentiments it inspired, I cast one lingering look back on the
+whole affecting scene of ruins, over which I had for several hours been
+rambling, and quitted it to return to Naples, not without great reluctance.</p>
+<div class="GutenbergBlankLines2"><br /><br /></div>
+<h2>LETTER XXV</h2>
+<div class="GutenbergBlankLines2"><br /><br /></div>
+<p>ROME, <i>December</i> 9<i>th.</i></p>
+<p>My last letter was despatched in such a hurry that I had not time
+to conclude it.&nbsp; This will be nearly as imperfect; but yet I cannot
+forbear writing, having the vanity to believe that you are pleased with
+hearing only that I am well.</p>
+<p>Your friend H. walked with me this morning in the Loggios of Raffaelle,
+and we went afterwards to the Capitol.&nbsp; Nothing delighted me more
+in the whole treasury of sculptures, than a figure in alto relievo of
+Endymion, reclined on the mountain&rsquo;s brow: his head falls upon
+his breast with an ease and gracefulness, of which the Greeks alone
+had ever a true conception.&nbsp; Most of the chambers, if you recollect,
+are filled with the elegant remains of Adrian&rsquo;s collection.&nbsp;
+The villa of that classic emperor at Tivoli, must have been the most
+charming of structures.&nbsp; Having travelled into various and remote
+parts of his empire, he assembled their most valuable ornaments on one
+spot.&nbsp; Some of his apartments were filled with the mysterious images
+and symbols of Egypt: others with Eastern tripods and strange Adriatic
+vases.&nbsp; Though enraptured with St. Peter&rsquo;s and the Vatican,
+with the gardens and groves of pine, that surround this interesting
+city, still I cannot help sighing after my native hills and copses,
+which look (I know not how it happens) more like the haunts of Pan than
+any I have seen in Italy.&nbsp; I eagerly anticipate the placid hours
+we shall pass, perhaps next summer, on the wild range which belongs
+to our sylvan deities.&nbsp; In their deep fastnesses I will hide myself
+from the world, and never allow its glare to bicker through my foliage.&nbsp;
+You will follow me, I trust, into retirement, and equally forget the
+turmoils of mankind.&nbsp; What have we children of the good Sylvanus
+to do with the miseries or triumphs of the savages that prowl about
+London?&nbsp; Let us forget there exists such a city, and when reposing
+amongst ivy and blossoms of bloom, imagine ourselves in the ancient
+dominions of Saturn, and dream that we see him pass along with his rustic
+attendants.</p>
+<div class="GutenbergBlankLines2"><br /><br /></div>
+<h2>LETTER XXVI</h2>
+<div class="GutenbergBlankLines2"><br /><br /></div>
+<p>AUGSBURG, <i>January</i> 20<i>th</i>, 1781.</p>
+<p>For these ten days past have I been traversing Lapland: winds whistling
+in my ears, and cones showering down upon my head from the wilds of
+pine through which our route conducted us.&nbsp; Often were we obliged
+to travel by moonlight, and I leave you to imagine the awful aspect
+of the Tyrol mountains buried in snow.</p>
+<p>I scarcely ventured to utter an exclamation of surprise, though prompted
+by some of the most striking scenes in nature, lest I should interrupt
+the sacred silence that prevails, during winter, in these boundless
+solitudes.&nbsp; The streams are frozen, and mankind petrified, for
+aught I know to the contrary, since whole days have we journeyed on
+without perceiving the slightest hint of their existence.</p>
+<p>I never before felt the pleasure of discovering a smoke rising from
+a cottage, or of hearing a heifer lowing in its stall; and could not
+have supposed there was so much satisfaction in perceiving two or three
+fur caps, with faces under them, peeping out of their concealments.&nbsp;
+I wish you had been with me, exploring this savage region: wrapped up
+in our bear-skins, we should have followed its secret avenues, and penetrated,
+perhaps, into some enchanted cave lined with sables, where, like the
+heroes of northern romances, we should have been waited upon by dwarfs,
+and sung drowsily to repose.&nbsp; I think it no bad scheme to sleep
+away five or six years to come, since every hour affairs are growing
+more and more turbulent.&nbsp; Well, let them! provided we may enjoy,
+in security, the shades of our thickets.</p>
+<div class="GutenbergBlankLines2"><br /><br /></div>
+<h2>ADDITIONAL LETTERS</h2>
+<div class="GutenbergBlankLines2"><br /><br /></div>
+<p>[The following Letters, written in a second Excursion, which was
+interrupted by a dangerous illness, are added on account of their affinity
+to some of the preceding.]</p>
+<div class="GutenbergBlankLines2"><br /><br /></div>
+<h2>LETTER I</h2>
+<div class="GutenbergBlankLines2"><br /><br /></div>
+<p>COLOGNE, <i>May</i> 28<i>th</i>, 1782.</p>
+<p>This is the first day of summer; the oak leaves expand, the roses
+blow, butterflies are about, and I have spirits enough to write to you.&nbsp;
+We have had clouded skies this fortnight past, and roads like the Slough
+of Despond.&nbsp; Last Wednesday we were benighted on a dismal plain,
+apparently boundless.&nbsp; The moon cast a sickly gleam, and now and
+then a blue meteor glided along the morass which lay before us.</p>
+<p>After much difficulty we gained an avenue, and in an hour&rsquo;s
+time discovered something like a gateway, shaded by crooked elms and
+crowned by a cluster of turrets.&nbsp; Here we paused and knocked; no
+one answered.&nbsp; We repeated our knocks; the stout oaken gate returned
+a hollow sound; the horses coughed, their riders blew their horns.&nbsp;
+At length the bars fell, and we entered - by what means I am ignorant,
+for no human being appeared.</p>
+<p>A labyrinth of narrow winding alleys, dark as the vaults of a cathedral,
+opened to our view.&nbsp; We kept wandering along, at least twenty minutes,
+between lofty mansions with grated windows, and strange galleries, projecting
+one over another, from which depended innumerable uncouth figures and
+crosses, in iron-work, swinging to and fro with the wind.&nbsp; At the
+end of this gloomy maze we found a long street, not fifteen feet wide,
+I am certain; the houses still loftier than those in the alleys, the
+windows thicker barred, and the gibbets (for I know not what else to
+call them) more frequent.&nbsp; Here and there we saw lights glimmering
+in the highest stories, and arches on the right and left, which seemed
+to lead into retired courts and deeper darkness.</p>
+<p>Along one of these recesses we were jumbled, over such pavement as
+I hope you may never tread upon; and, after parading round it, went
+out at the same arch whence we came in.&nbsp; This procession seemed
+at first very mystical, but it was too soon accounted for by our postillions,
+who confessed they had lost their way.&nbsp; A council was held amongst
+them in form, and then we struck into another labyrinth of hideous edifices,
+habitations I will not venture to call them, as not a creature stirred;
+though the rumbling of our carriages was echoed by all the vaults and
+arches.</p>
+<p>Towards midnight we rested a few minutes, and a head poking out of
+a casement directed us to the hotel of Der Heilige Geist, where an apartment,
+thirty feet square, was prepared for our reception.</p>
+<div class="GutenbergBlankLines2"><br /><br /></div>
+<h2>LETTER II</h2>
+<div class="GutenbergBlankLines2"><br /><br /></div>
+<p>INSPRUCK, <i>June</i> 4<i>th.</i></p>
+<p>No sooner had we passed Fuezen than we entered the Tyrol, and the
+country of wonders.&nbsp; Those lofty peaks, those steeps of wood I
+delight in, lay before us.&nbsp; Innumerable clear springs gush out
+on every side, overhung by luxuriant shrubs in blossom.&nbsp; The day
+was mild, though overcast, and a soft blue vapour rested upon the hills,
+above which rise mountains that bear plains of snow into the clouds.</p>
+<p>At night we lay at Nasariet, a village buried amongst savage promontories.&nbsp;
+The next morning we advanced, in bright sunshine, into smooth lawns
+on the slopes of mountains, scattered over with larches, whose delicate
+foliage formed a light green veil to the azure sky.&nbsp; Flights of
+birds were merrily travelling from spray to spray.&nbsp; I ran delighted
+into this world of boughs, whilst C. sat down to draw the huts which
+are scattered about for the shelter of herds, and discover themselves
+amongst the groves in the most picturesque manner.</p>
+<p>These little edifices are uncommonly neat, and excite those ideas
+of pastoral life to which I am so fondly attached.&nbsp; The turf from
+whence they rise is enamelled, in the strict sense of the word, with
+flowers.&nbsp; A sort of bluebell predominated, brighter than ultramarine;
+here and there auriculas looked out of the moss, and I often reposed
+upon tufts of ranunculus.&nbsp; Bushes of phillerea were very frequent,
+the sun shining full on their glossy leaves.&nbsp; An hour passed away
+swiftly in these pleasant groves, where I lay supine under a lofty fir,
+a tower of leaves and branches.</p>
+<div class="GutenbergBlankLines2"><br /><br /></div>
+<h2>LETTER III</h2>
+<div class="GutenbergBlankLines2"><br /><br /></div>
+<p>PADUA, <i>June</i> 14<i>th.</i></p>
+<p>Once more, said I to myself, I shall have the delight of beholding
+Venice; so got into an open chaise, the strangest curricle that ever
+man was jolted in, and drove furiously along the causeways by the Brenta,
+into whose deep waters it is a mercy, methinks, I was not precipitated.&nbsp;
+Fiesso, the Dolo, the Mira, with all their gardens, statues, and palaces,
+seemed flying after each other, so rapid was our motion.</p>
+<p>After a few hours&rsquo; confinement between close steeps, the scene
+opened to the wide shore of Fusina.&nbsp; I looked up (for I had scarcely
+time to look before) and beheld a troubled sky, shot with vivid red,
+the Lagunes tinted like the opal, and the islands of a glowing flame-colour.&nbsp;
+The lofty mountains of the distant continent appeared of a deep melancholy
+grey, and innumerable gondolas were passing to and fro in all their
+blackness.&nbsp; The sun, after a long struggle, was swallowed up in
+the tempestuous clouds.</p>
+<p>In an hour we drew near to Venice, and saw its world of domes rising
+out of the waters.&nbsp; A fresh breeze bore the toll of innumerable
+bells by my ear.&nbsp; Sadness came over me as I entered the great canal,
+and recognised (the scene of many a strange adventure) those solemn
+palaces, with their lofty arcades and gloomy arches, beneath which I
+had so often sat.</p>
+<p>The Venetians being mostly at their villas on the Brenta, the town
+appeared deserted.&nbsp; I visited, however, all my old haunts in the
+Place of St. Mark, ran up the Campanile, and rowed backwards and forwards,
+opposite the Ducal Palace, by moonlight.&nbsp; They are building a spacious
+quay, near the street of the Sclavonians, fronting the island of San
+Giorgio Maggiore, where I remained alone at least an hour, following
+the wanderings of the moon amongst mountainous clouds, and listening
+to the waters dashing against marble steps.</p>
+<p>I closed my evening at my friend M. de R.&rsquo;s, and sung over
+the airs I composed in the dawn of our acquaintance.</p>
+<p>Next morning the wind was uncommonly violent for the mild season
+of June, and the canals much agitated; but I was determined to visit
+the Lido once more, and bathe on my accustomed beach.&nbsp; The pines
+in the garden of the Carthusians were nodding as I passed by in my gondola,
+which was very poetically buffeted by the waves.</p>
+<p>Traversing the desert of locusts, I hailed the Adriatic, and plunged
+into its bosom.&nbsp; The sea, delightfully cool, refreshed me to such
+a degree, that, upon my return to Venice, I found myself able to thread
+its labyrinths of streets, canals, and alleys, in search of amber and
+Oriental curiosities.&nbsp; The variety of exotic merchandize, the perfume
+of coffee, the shade of awnings, and the sight of Greeks and Asiatics
+sitting crossed-legged under them, made me think myself in the bazaars
+of Constantinople.</p>
+<p>&rsquo;Tis certain my beloved town of Venice ever recalls a series
+of Eastern ideas and adventures.&nbsp; I cannot help thinking St. Mark&rsquo;s
+a mosque, and the neighbouring palace some vast seraglio, full of arabesque
+saloons, embroidered sofas, and voluptuous Circassians.</p>
+<div class="GutenbergBlankLines2"><br /><br /></div>
+<h2>LETTER IV</h2>
+<div class="GutenbergBlankLines2"><br /><br /></div>
+<p>PADUA, <i>June</i> 19<i>th.</i></p>
+<p>The morning was delightful, and St. Anthony&rsquo;s bells in full
+chime.&nbsp; A shower which had fallen in the night rendered the air
+so cool and grateful, that Mad. de R. and myself determined to seize
+the opportunity and go to Mirabello, a country house, which Algarotti
+had inhabited, situate amongst the Euganean hills, eight or nine miles
+from Padua.</p>
+<p>Our road lay between poplar alleys and fields of yellow corn, overhung
+by garlands of vine, most beautifully green.&nbsp; I soon found myself
+in the midst of my favourite hills, upon slopes covered with clover,
+and shaded by cherry-trees.&nbsp; Bending down their boughs I gathered
+the fruit, and grew cooler and happier every instant.</p>
+<p>We dined very comfortably in a strange hall, where I pitched my pianoforte,
+and sang the voluptuous airs of Bertoni&rsquo;s Armida.&nbsp; That enchantress
+might have raised her palace in this situation; and, had I been Rinaldo,
+I certainly should not very soon have abandoned it.</p>
+<p>After dinner we drank coffee under some branching lemons, which sprang
+from a terrace, commanding a boundless scene of towers and villas; tall
+cypresses and shrubby hillocks rising, like islands, out of a sea of
+corn and vine.</p>
+<p>Evening drawing on, and the breeze blowing fresh from the distant
+Adriatic, I reclined on a slope, and turned my eyes anxiously towards
+Venice; then upon some little fields hemmed in by chestnuts in blossom,
+where the peasants were making their hay, and, from thence, to a mountain,
+crowned by a circular grove of fir and cypress.</p>
+<p>In the centre of these shades some monks have a comfortable nest;
+perennial springs, a garden of delicious vegetables, and, I dare say,
+a thousand luxuries besides, which the poor mortals below never dream
+of.</p>
+<p>Had it not been late, I should certainly have climbed up to the grove,
+and asked admittance into its recesses; but having no mind to pass the
+night in this eyrie, I contented myself with the distant prospect.</p>
+<div class="GutenbergBlankLines2"><br /><br /></div>
+<h2>LETTER V</h2>
+<div class="GutenbergBlankLines2"><br /><br /></div>
+<p>ROME, <i>June</i> 29<i>th</i>.</p>
+<p>It is needless for me to say I wish you with me: you know I do; you
+know how delightfully we should ramble about Rome together.&nbsp; This
+evening, instead of jiggeting along the Corso with the puppets in blue
+and silver coats, and green and gold coaches, instead of bowing to Cardinal
+this, and dotting my head to Abb&eacute; t&rsquo;other, I strolled to
+the Coliseo, found out my old haunts amongst its arches, and enjoyed
+the pure transparent sky between groves of slender cypress.&nbsp; Then
+bending my course to the Palatine Mount, I passed under the Arch of
+Titus, and gained the Capitol, which was quite deserted, the world,
+thank Heaven, being all slip-slopping in coffee-houses, or staring at
+a few painted boards patched up before the Colonna palace, where, by
+the by, to-night is a grand <i>rinfresco</i> for all the dolls and doll-fanciers
+of Rome.&nbsp; I heard their buzz at a distance; that was enough for
+me!</p>
+<p>Soothed by the rippling of waters, I descended the Capitoline stairs,
+and leaned several minutes against one of the Egyptian lionesses.&nbsp;
+This animal has no knack at oracles, or else it would have murmured
+out to me the situation of that secret cave, where the wolf suckled
+Romulus and his brother.</p>
+<p>About nine, I returned home, and am now writing to you like a prophet
+on the housetop.&nbsp; Behind me rustle the thickets of Villa Medici;
+before, lies roof beyond roof and dome beyond dome: these are dimly
+discovered; but don&rsquo;t you see the great cupola of cupolas, twinkling
+with illuminations?&nbsp; The town is real, I am certain; but, surely,
+that structure of fire must be visionary.</p>
+<div class="GutenbergBlankLines2"><br /><br /></div>
+<h2>LETTER VI</h2>
+<div class="GutenbergBlankLines2"><br /><br /></div>
+<p>ROME, <i>June</i> 30<i>th.</i></p>
+<p>As soon as the sun declined I strolled into the Villa Medici; but
+finding it haunted by fine pink and yellow people, nay, even by the
+Spanish Ambassador, and several more dignified carcasses, I moved off
+to the Negroni garden.&nbsp; There I found what my soul desired, thickets
+of jasmine, and wild spots overgrown with bay; long alleys of cypress
+totally neglected, and almost impassable through the luxuriance of the
+vegetation; on every side antique fragments, vases, sarcophagi, and
+altars sacred to the Manes, in deep, shady recesses, which I am certain
+the Manes must love.&nbsp; The air was filled with the murmurs of water,
+trickling down basins of porphyry, and losing itself amongst overgrown
+weeds and grasses.</p>
+<p>Above the wood and between its boughs appeared several domes, and
+a strange lofty tower.&nbsp; I will not say they belong to St. Maria
+Maggiore; no, they are fanes and porticos dedicated to Cybele, who delights
+in sylvan situations.&nbsp; The forlorn air of this garden, with its
+high and reverend shades, make me imagine it as old as the baths of
+Dioclesian, which peep over one of its walls.&nbsp; Yes, I am persuaded
+some consul or pr&aelig;tor dwelt here only fifty years ago.&nbsp; Would
+to God, our souls might be transported to such solitary spots! where
+we might glide along the dark alleys together, when bodies were gone
+to bed.&nbsp; I discovered a little cave that would just suit us; celandine,
+Venus&rsquo; hair, and a thousand delicate plants, growing downwards
+from the cave; beneath lies a clear spring.</p>
+<p>At the close of day, I repaired to the platform before the stately
+porticos of the Lateran.&nbsp; There I sat, folded up in myself.&nbsp;
+Some priests jarred the iron gates behind me.&nbsp; I looked over my
+shoulder through the portals, into the portico.&nbsp; Night began to
+fill it with darkness.&nbsp; Upon turning round, the sad waste of the
+Campagna met my eyes, and I wished to go home, but had not the power.&nbsp;
+A pressure, like that I have felt in horrid dreams, seemed to fix me
+to the pavement.</p>
+<p>I was thus in a manner forced to view the dreary scene, the long
+line of aqueducts and lonesome towers.&nbsp; Perhaps the unwholesome
+vapours, rising like blue mists from the plains, affected me.&nbsp;
+I know not how it was; but I never experienced such strange, such chilling
+terrors.&nbsp; About ten o&rsquo;clock, thank God, the spell dissolved;
+I found my limbs at liberty, and returned home.</p>
+<div class="GutenbergBlankLines2"><br /><br /></div>
+<h2>LETTER VII</h2>
+<div class="GutenbergBlankLines2"><br /><br /></div>
+<p>NAPLES, <i>July</i> 8<i>th.</i></p>
+<p>The sea-breezes restored me to life.&nbsp; I set the heat of midday
+at defiance, and do not believe in the horrors of the sirocco.&nbsp;
+Yesterday I passed at Portici, with Lady H.&nbsp; The morning, refreshing
+and pleasant, invited us at an early hour into the open air.&nbsp; We
+drove, in an uncovered chaise, to the royal Bosquetto: no other carriage
+than Sir W.&rsquo;s is allowed to enter its alleys.&nbsp; We breathed
+a fresh air untainted by dust or garlic.&nbsp; Every now and then, amidst
+wild bushes of ilex and myrtle, one finds a graceful antique statue,
+sometimes a fountain, and often a rude knoll, where the rabbits sit
+undisturbed, contemplating the blue glittering bay; at least, I should
+do so, if I were a rabbit.</p>
+<p>The walls of this shady inclosure are lined with Peruvian aloes,
+whose white blossoms, scented like those of the magnolia, form the most
+magnificent clusters.&nbsp; They are plants to salute respectfully as
+one passes by, such is their size and dignity.&nbsp; In the midst of
+the thickets stands the King&rsquo;s Pagliaro, surrounded by gardens
+with hedges of luxuriant jasmine, whose branches are suffered to flaunt
+as much as Nature pleases.</p>
+<p>The morning sun darted his first rays on their flowers just as I
+entered this pleasant spot.&nbsp; The hut looks as if erected in the
+days of fairy pastoral life; its neatness is quite delightful.&nbsp;
+Bright tiles compose the floor; straw, nicely platted, covers the walls.&nbsp;
+In the middle of the room, you see a table spread with a beautiful Persian
+carpet; at one end, four niches with mattresses of silk, where the King
+and his favourites repose after dinner; at the other, a white marble
+basin.&nbsp; Mount a little staircase, and you find yourself in another
+apartment, formed by the roof, which being entirely composed of glistening
+straw, casts that comfortable yellow glow I admire.&nbsp; From the windows
+you look into the garden, not flourished with parterres, but divided
+into plats of fragrant herbs and flowers, with here and there a little
+marble table, or basin of the purest water.</p>
+<p>These sequestered inclosures are cultivated with the greatest care,
+and so frequently watered, that I observed lettuces, and a variety of
+other vegetables, as fresh as in our green England.</p>
+<div class="GutenbergBlankLines2"><br /><br /></div>
+<h2>AN EXCURSION TO THE GRAND CHARTREUSE IN THE YEAR 1778</h2>
+<div class="GutenbergBlankLines2"><br /><br /></div>
+<p>The Grand Chartreuse has exceeded my expectations; it is more wonderfully
+wild than I can describe, or even you can imagine.&nbsp; It has possessed
+me to such a degree that at present I can neither think, speak, nor
+write upon any other subject.</p>
+<p><i>June</i> 5<i>th</i>. - I left Geneva, and after passing through
+a succession of valleys between innumerable mountains, and after crossing
+a variety of picturesque bridges, thrown over the streams which water
+them, arrived at Aix, in Savoy, famous for its baths, which, as disagreeable
+things are generally the most salutary, ought doubtless to be of the
+greatest efficacy; for more uninviting objects one seldom meets with.</p>
+<p>Advancing beneath a little eminence, partly rock, partly wall, we
+discovered the principal bath, filled with a blue reeking water, whose
+very steam is sufficient to seethe one without further assistance.</p>
+<p>Scarce had we stood looking on it a minute, before down dashed three
+or four dirty boys, as copper-coloured as the natives of Bengal; who
+by splashing us all over, and swimming about a <i>la crapaudine</i>,
+convinced us that it was not their fault, if we would not have companions
+in the delights of bathing.&nbsp; I soon hurried away from this salubrious
+cauldron, and stepping into a little chapel hard by, where they were
+singing vespers, prayed heartily to the Virgin, that I might never need
+the assistance of those wonder-working waters over which she presides.&nbsp;
+As there was but little company in the town, and little amusement, I
+went to bed at nine, and rose at four the next morning, that I might
+reach before sunset the celebrated road, which Charles Emanuel had cut
+through a rocky mountain.&nbsp; My plan succeeded, and after dining
+at Chambery (a place scarce worth speaking of to you), and passing by
+a cataract that throws itself from a lofty steep, I began to discover
+a beautiful woody vale, terminated on one side by the hallowed cliffs
+of the Grand Chartreuse, and on the other by the mountain which Charles
+Emanuel had perforated in so extraordinary a manner.&nbsp; The sun was
+just sinking in a brilliant cloud, which seemed to repose on a swelling
+hill, covered with cattle, when we quitted the cheerful valley, and
+began to descend between two ridges of precipices, that at some distance
+had the appearance of towering ramparts.&nbsp; Pursuing our route, we
+found ourselves in a deep cleft, surrounded by caverns, echoing with
+a thousand rills which trickle down their sides, and mingling their
+murmurs with the rattling of our wheels and the steps of our horses,
+infinitely repeated and multiplied, formed, altogether, the strangest
+combination of sounds that ever reached my ears.&nbsp; The road itself
+is admirably cut, and hewn with such neatness that, were it not for
+the savage and desolate air of its environs, I should have imagined
+myself approaching some grand castle or considerable city.&nbsp; Toward
+the summits of the precipices, that in some places rise to a majestic
+elevation (the two sides here and there nearly meeting in an arch),
+hang light woods of glossy green, which, being agitated by a gentle
+wind, cast a moving shadow over the cleft beneath, and, at a little
+distance, gave our road the appearance of a chequered pavement.</p>
+<p>Having wound through the bosom of the mountain for some time, I was
+struck by the unexpected appearance of a grand edifice, resembling a
+vast portal, supported by Doric pilasters, and crowned with an ornamented
+pediment.&nbsp; Upon my nearer approach I found a smooth tablet filling
+up the space I had allotted for an entrance, on which was engraven a
+pompous Latin inscription, setting forth with what incredible labour
+and perseverance his Majesty, Charles Emanuel the Second of Sardinia,
+Cyprus, and Jerusalem, King, had cut this road through the mountain;
+which great enterprise, though unattempted by the Romans, and despaired
+of by other nations, was executed under his auspices.&nbsp; I very sincerely
+wished him joy, and, as the evening was growing rather cool, was not
+sorry to perceive, through an opening in the rocks, a wide-extended
+plain, interspersed with meadows, embosomed by woods, in which I distinguished
+Les Echelles, a village, where we were to lie, with its chimneys smoking,
+under the base of one of the Carthusian mountains, round which had gathered
+a concourse of red and greyish clouds.</p>
+<p>The twilight was beginning to prevail when we reached our inn, and
+very glad I was to leave it at the first dawn of the next day.&nbsp;
+We were now obliged to abandon our coach; and taking horse, proceeded
+towards the mountains, which, with the valleys between them, form what
+is called the Desert of the Carthusians.</p>
+<p>In an hour&rsquo;s time we were drawing near, and could discern the
+opening of a narrow valley overhung by shaggy precipices, above which
+rose lofty peaks, covered to their very summits with wood.&nbsp; We
+could now distinguish the roar of torrents, and a confusion of strange
+sounds, issuing from dark forests of pine.&nbsp; I confess at this moment
+I was somewhat startled.&nbsp; I experienced some disagreeable sensations,
+and it was not without a degree of unwillingness that I left the gay
+pastures and enlivening sunshine, to throw myself into this gloomy and
+disturbed region.&nbsp; How dreadful, thought I, must be the despair
+of those who enter it never to return!</p>
+<p>But after the first impression was worn away, all my curiosity redoubled;
+and desiring our guide to put forward with greater speed, we made such
+good haste, that the meadows and cottages of the plain were soon left
+far behind, and we found ourselves on the banks of the torrent, whose
+agitation answered the ideas which its sounds had inspired.&nbsp; Into
+the midst of these troubled waters we were obliged to plunge with our
+horses, and, when landed on the opposite shore, were by no means displeased
+to have passed them.</p>
+<p>We had now closed with the forests, over which the impending rocks
+diffused an additional gloom.&nbsp; The day grew obscured by clouds,
+and the sun no longer enlightened the distant plains, when we began
+to ascend towards the entrance of the desert, marked by two pinnacles
+of rock far above us, beyond which a melancholy twilight prevailed.&nbsp;
+Every moment we approached nearer and nearer to the sounds which had
+alarmed us; and, suddenly emerging from the woods, we discovered several
+mills and forges, with many complicated machines of iron, hanging over
+the torrent, that threw itself headlong from a cleft in the precipices;
+on one side of which I perceived our road winding along, till it was
+stopped by a venerable gateway.&nbsp; A rock above one of the forges
+was hollowed into the shape of a round tower, of no great size, but
+resembling very much an altar in figure; and, what added greatly to
+the grandeur of the object, was a livid flame continually palpitating
+upon it, which the gloom of the valley rendered perfectly discernible.</p>
+<p>The road, at a small distance from this remarkable scene, was become
+so narrow, that, had my horse started, I should have been but too well
+acquainted with the torrent that raged beneath; dismounting, therefore,
+I walked towards the edge of the great fall, and there, leaning on a
+fragment of cliff, looked down into the foaming gulph, where the waters
+were hurled along over broken pines, pointed rocks, and stakes of iron.&nbsp;
+Then, lifting up my eyes, I took in the vast extent of the forests,
+frowning on the brows of the mountains.</p>
+<p>It was here first I felt myself seized by the genius of the place,
+and penetrated with veneration of its religious gloom; and, I believe,
+uttered many extravagant exclamations; but, such was the dashing of
+the wheels, and the rushing of the waters at the bottom of the forges,
+that what I said was luckily undistinguishable.</p>
+<p>I was not yet, however, within the consecrated inclosure, and therefore
+not perfectly contented; so, leaving my fragment, I paced in silence
+up the path which led to the great portal.&nbsp; When we arrived before
+it, I rested a moment, and leaning against the stout oaken gate, which
+closed up the entrance to this unknown region, felt at my heart a certain
+awe, that brought to my mind the sacred terror of those, in ancient
+days, going to be admitted into the Eleusinian mysteries.</p>
+<p>My guide gave two knocks; after a solemn pause, the gate was slowly
+opened, and all our horses having passed through it, was again carefully
+closed.</p>
+<p>I now found myself in a narrow dell, surrounded on every side by
+peaks of the mountains, rising almost beyond my sight, and shelving
+downwards till their bases were hidden by the foam and spray of the
+water, over which hung a thousand withered and distorted trees.&nbsp;
+The rocks seemed crowding upon me, and, by their particular situation,
+threatened to obstruct every ray of light; but, notwithstanding the
+menacing appearance of the prospect, I still kept following my guide,
+up a craggy ascent, partly hewn through a rock, and bordered by the
+trunks of ancient fir-trees, which formed a fantastic barrier, till
+we came to a dreary and exposed promontory, impending directly over
+the dell.</p>
+<p>The woods are here clouded with darkness, and the torrents, rushing
+with additional violence, are lost in the gloom of the caverns below;
+every object, as I looked downwards from my path, that hung midway between
+the base and the summit of the cliff, was horrid and woeful.&nbsp; The
+channel of the torrent sunk deep amidst frightful crags, and the pale
+willows and wreathed roots spreading over it, answered my ideas of those
+dismal abodes, where, according to the druidical mythology, the ghosts
+of conquered warriors were bound.&nbsp; I shivered whilst I was regarding
+these regions of desolation, and, quickly lifting up my eyes to vary
+the scene, I perceived a range of whitish cliffs, glistening with the
+light of the sun, to emerge from these melancholy forests.</p>
+<p>On a fragment that projected over the chasm, and concealed for a
+moment its terrors, I saw a cross, on which was written VIA COELI.&nbsp;
+The cliffs being the heaven to which I now aspired, we deserted the
+edge of the precipice, and ascending, came to a retired nook of the
+rocks, in which several copious rills had worn irregular grottoes.&nbsp;
+Here we reposed an instant, and were enlivened with a few sunbeams,
+piercing the thickets and gilding the waters that bubbled from the rock,
+over which hung another cross, inscribed with this short sentence, which
+the situation rendered wonderfully pathetic, O SPES UNICA! the fervent
+exclamation of some wretch disgusted with the world, whose only consolation
+was found in this retirement.</p>
+<p>We quitted this solitary cross to enter a thick forest of beech-trees,
+that screened in some measure the precipices on which they grew, catching,
+however, every instant terrifying glimpses of the torrent below.&nbsp;
+Streams gushed from every crevice in the cliffs, and falling over the
+mossy roots and branches of the beech, hastened to join the great torrent,
+athwart which I every now and then remarked certain tottering bridges,
+and sometimes could distinguish a Carthusian crossing over to his hermitage,
+that just peeped above the woody labyrinths on the opposite shore.</p>
+<p>Whilst I was proceeding amongst the innumerable trunks of the beech
+trees, my guide pointed out to me a peak, rising above the others, which
+he called the Throne of Moses.&nbsp; If that prophet had received his
+revelations in this desert, no voice need have declared it holy ground,
+for every part of it is stamped with such a sublimity of character as
+would alone be sufficient to impress the idea.</p>
+<p>Having left these woods behind, and crossing a bridge of many lofty
+arches, I shuddered once more at the impetuosity of the torrent; and,
+mounting still higher, came at length to a kind of platform before two
+cliffs, joined by an arch of rock, under which we were to pursue our
+road.&nbsp; Below we beheld again innumerable streams, turbulently precipitating
+themselves from the woods, and lashing the base of the mountains, mossed
+over with a dark sea-green.</p>
+<p>In this deep hollow such mists and vapours prevailed as hindered
+my prying into its recesses; besides, such was the dampness of the air,
+that I hastened gladly from its neighbourhood, and passing under the
+second portal, beheld with pleasure the sunbeams gilding the Throne
+of Moses.</p>
+<p>It was now about ten o&rsquo;clock, and my guide assured me I should
+soon discover the convent.&nbsp; Upon this information I took new courage,
+and continued my route on the edge of the rocks, till we struck into
+another gloomy grove.&nbsp; After turning about it for some time, we
+entered again into the glare of daylight, and saw a green valley skirted
+by ridges of cliffs and sweeps of wood before us.&nbsp; Towards the
+farther end of this inclosure, on a gentle acclivity, rose the revered
+turrets of the Carthusians, which extend in a long line on the brow
+of the hill; beyond them a woody amphitheatre majestically presents
+itself, terminated by spires of rock and promontories lost amongst the
+clouds.</p>
+<p>The roar of the torrent was now but faintly distinguishable, and
+all the scenes of horror and confusion I had passed, were succeeded
+by a sacred and profound calm.&nbsp; I traversed the valley with a thousand
+sensations I despair of describing, and stood before the gate of the
+convent with as much awe as some novice or candidate, newly arrived,
+to solicit the holy retirement of the order.</p>
+<p>As admittance is more readily granted to the English than to almost
+any other nation, it was not long before the gates opened, and whilst
+the porter ordered our horses to the stable, we entered a court watered
+by two fountains and built round with lofty edifices, characterized
+by a noble simplicity.</p>
+<p>The interior portal, opening, discovered an arched aisle, extending
+till the perspective nearly met, along which windows, but scantily distributed
+between the pilasters, admitted a pale solemn light, just sufficient
+to distinguish the objects with a picturesque uncertainty.&nbsp; We
+had scarcely set our feet on the pavement when the monks began to issue
+from an arch, about half way down, and passing in a long succession
+from their chapel, bowed reverently with much humility and meekness,
+and dispersed in silence, leaving one of their body alone in the aisle.</p>
+<p>The Father Coadjutor (for he only remained) advanced towards us with
+great courtesy, and welcomed us in a manner which gave me far more pleasure
+than all the frivolous salutations and affected greetings so common
+in the world beneath.&nbsp; After asking us a few indifferent questions,
+he called one of the lay brothers, who live in the convent under less
+severe restrictions than the fathers whom they serve, and ordering him
+to prepare our apartment, conducted us to a large square hall with casement
+windows, and, what was more comfortable, an enormous chimney, whose
+hospitable hearth blazed with a fire of dry aromatic fir, on each side
+of which were two doors that communicated with the neat little cells
+destined for our bedchambers.</p>
+<p>Whilst he was placing us round the fire, a ceremony by no means unimportant
+in the cold climate of these upper regions, a bell rang which summoned
+him to prayers.&nbsp; After charging the lay brother to set before us
+the best fare their desert afforded, he retired, and left us at full
+liberty to examine our chambers.</p>
+<p>The weather lowered, and the casements permitted very little light
+to enter the apartment: but on the other side it was amply enlivened
+by the gleams of the fire, that spread all over a certain comfortable
+air, which even sunshine but rarely diffuses.&nbsp; Whilst the showers
+descended with great violence, the lay brother and another of his companions
+were placing an oval table, very neatly carved and covered with the
+finest linen, in the middle of the hall; and, before we had examined
+a number of portraits which were hung in all the panels of the wainscot,
+they called us to a dinner widely different from what might have been
+expected in so dreary a situation.&nbsp; The best fish, the most exquisite
+fruits, and a variety of dishes, excellent without the assistance of
+meat, were served up with an order and arrangement that showed it was
+not the first time they had entertained in the noblest manner.&nbsp;
+But I was not more struck with the delicacy of the entertainment, than
+with the extreme cleanness and English-like neatness of the whole apartment
+and its furniture.&nbsp; A marble fountain, particularly, gave it a
+very agreeable aid, and the water that fell from it into a porphyry
+shell was remarkable for its clearness and purity.&nbsp; Our attendant
+friar was helping us to some Burgundy, which we pronounced of very respectable
+antiquity, when the Coadjutor returned, accompanied by two other fathers,
+the Secretary and Procurator, whom he presented to us.&nbsp; You would
+have been both charmed and surprised with the cheerful resignation that
+appeared in their countenances, and with the easy turn of their conversation.</p>
+<p>The Coadjutor, though equally kind, was as yet more reserved: his
+countenance, however, spoke for him without the aid of words, and there
+was in his manner a mixture of dignity and humility, which could not
+fail to interest.&nbsp; There were moments when the recollection of
+some past event seemed to shade his countenance with a melancholy that
+rendered it still more affecting.&nbsp; I should suspect he formerly
+possessed a great share of natural vivacity (something of it being still,
+indeed, apparent in his more unguarded moments); but this spirit is
+almost entirely subdued by the penitence and mortification of the order.</p>
+<p>The secretary displayed a very considerable share of knowledge in
+the political state of Europe, furnished probably by the extensive correspondence
+these fathers preserve with the three hundred and sixty subordinate
+convents, dispersed throughout all those countries where the court of
+Rome still maintains its influence.</p>
+<p>In the course of our conversation they asked me innumerable questions
+about England, where formerly, they said, many monasteries had belonged
+to their order; and principally that of W., which they had learnt to
+be now in my possession.</p>
+<p>The Secretary, almost with tears in his eyes, beseeched me to revere
+these consecrated edifices, and to preserve their remains, for the sake
+of St. Hugo, their canonized Prior.&nbsp; I replied greatly to his satisfaction,
+and then declaimed so much in favour of Saint Bruno, and the holy prior
+of Witham, that the good fathers grew exceedingly delighted with the
+conversation, and made me promise to remain some days with them.&nbsp;
+I readily complied with their request, and, continuing in the same strain,
+that had so agreeably affected their ears, was soon presented with the
+works of Saint Bruno, whom I so zealously admired.</p>
+<p>After we had sat extolling them, and talking upon much the same sort
+of subjects for about an hour, the Coadjutor proposed a walk amongst
+the cloisters and galleries, as the weather would not admit of any longer
+excursion.&nbsp; He leading the way, we ascended a flight of steps,
+which brought us to a gallery, on each side of which a vast number of
+pictures, representing the dependent convents, were ranged; for I was
+now in the capital of the order, where the General resides, and from
+whence he issues forth his commands to his numerous subjects; who depute
+the superiors of their respective convents, whether situated in the
+wilds of Calabria, the forests of Poland, or in the remotest districts
+of Portugal and Spain, to assist at the grand chapter, held annually
+under him, a week or two after Easter.</p>
+<p>This reverend father Dom Bicl&eacute;t died about ten days before
+our arrival: a week ago they elected the Pere Robin&eacute;t prior of
+the Carthusian convent at Paris in his room, and two fathers were now
+on their route to apprise him of their choice, and to salute him General
+of the Carthusians.&nbsp; During this interregnum the Coadjutor holds
+the first rank in the temporal, and the Grand Vicaire in the spiritual,
+affairs of the order; both of which are very extensive.</p>
+<p>If I may judge from the representations of the different convents,
+which adorn this gallery, there are many highly worthy of notice, for
+the singularity of their situations, and the wild beauties of the landscapes
+which surround them.&nbsp; The Venetian Chartreuse, placed in a woody
+island, and that of Rome, rising from amongst groups of majestic ruins,
+struck me as peculiarly pleasing.&nbsp; Views of the English monasteries
+hung formerly in such a gallery, but had been destroyed by fire, together
+with the old convent.&nbsp; The list only remains, with but a very few
+written particulars concerning them.</p>
+<p>Having amused myself for some time with the pictures, and the descriptions
+the Coadjutor gave me of them, we quitted the gallery and entered a
+kind of chapel, in which were two altars with lamps burning before them,
+on each side of a lofty portal.&nbsp; This opened into a grand coved
+hall, adorned with historical paintings of St. Bruno&rsquo;s life, and
+the portraits of the Generals of the order, since the year of the great
+founder&rsquo;s death (1085) to the present time.&nbsp; Under these
+portraits are the stalls for the Superiors, who assist at the grand
+convocation.&nbsp; In front appears the General&rsquo;s throne; above,
+hangs a representation of the canonized Bruno, crowned with stars.</p>
+<p>Were I, after walking along the dim cloisters, and passing through
+the antechapel, faintly illuminated by a solitary lamp, suddenly to
+enter this hall at midnight, when the convocation is assembled, and
+the synod of venerable fathers, all in solemn order, surrounding the
+successor of Bruno, it would be a long while, I believe, before I could
+recover from the surprise of so august a spectacle.&nbsp; It must indeed
+be a very imposing sight: the gravity they preserve on these occasions,
+their venerable age (for Superiors cannot be chosen young), and the
+figures of their deceased Generals, dimly discovered above, may surely
+be allowed to awe even an heretical spectator into a momentary respect
+for the order.&nbsp; For my own part, I must confess, that the hall,
+though divested of all this accompaniment, filled me with a veneration
+I scarcely knew how to account for; perhaps the portraits inspired it.&nbsp;
+They were all well executed, and mostly in attitudes of adoration.&nbsp;
+The form of Bruno was almost lost in the splendour of the stars which
+hovered over him.&nbsp; I could in some moments fancy myself capable
+of plunging into the horror of a desert, and foregoing all the vanities
+and delights of the world, to secure my memory so sublime a consecration.</p>
+<p>The Coadjutor seemed charmed with the respect with which I looked
+round on these holy objects; and if the hour of vespers had not been
+drawing near, we should have spent more time in the contemplation of
+Bruno&rsquo;s miracles, portrayed on the lower panels of the hall.&nbsp;
+We left that room to enter a winding passage (lighted by windows in
+the roof), that brought us to a cloister six hundred feet in length,
+from which branched off two others, joining a fourth of the same most
+extraordinary dimensions.&nbsp; Vast ranges of slender pillars extend
+round the different courts of the edifice, many of which are thrown
+into gardens belonging to particular cells.</p>
+<p>We entered one of them: its inhabitant received us with much civility,
+walked before us through a little corridor that looked on his garden,
+showed us his narrow dwelling, and, having obtained leave of the Coadjutor
+to speak, gave us his benediction, and beheld us depart with concern.&nbsp;
+Nature has given this poor monk very considerable talents for painting.&nbsp;
+He has drawn the portrait of the late General, in a manner that discovers
+great facility of execution; but he is not allowed to exercise his pencil
+on any other subject, lest he should be amused; and amusement in this
+severe order is a crime.&nbsp; He had so subdued, so mortified an appearance,
+that I was not sorry to hear the bell, which summoned the Coadjutor
+to prayers, and prevented my entering any more of the cells.&nbsp; We
+continued straying from cloister to cloister, and wandering along the
+winding passages and intricate galleries of this immense edifice, whilst
+the Coadjutor was assisting at vespers.</p>
+<p>In every part of the structure reigned the most death-like calm:
+no sound reached my ears but the &ldquo;minute drops from off the eaves.&rdquo;&nbsp;
+I sat down in a niche of the cloister, and fell into a profound reverie,
+from which I was recalled by the return of our conductor; who, I believe,
+was almost tempted to imagine, from the cast of my countenance, that
+I was deliberating whether I should not remain with them for ever.</p>
+<p>But I soon roused myself, and testified some impatience to see the
+great chapel, at which we at length arrived, after traversing another
+labyrinth of cloisters.&nbsp; The gallery immediately before its entrance
+appeared quite gay, in comparison with the others I had passed, and
+owes its cheerfulness to a large window (ornamented with slabs of polished
+marble), that admits the view of a lovely wood.&nbsp; Being neatly glazed,
+and free from paintings or Gothic ornaments, it allows a full blaze
+of light to dart on the chapel door; which is also adorned with marble,
+in a plain but noble style of architecture.</p>
+<p>The father sacristan stood ready on the steps of the portal to grant
+us admittance; and, throwing open the valves, we entered the chapel
+and were struck by the justness of its proportions, the simple majesty
+of the arched roof, and the mild solemn light, equally diffused over
+every part of the edifice.&nbsp; No tawdry ornaments, no glaring pictures,
+disgraced the sanctity of the place.&nbsp; The high altar, standing
+distinct from the walls, which were hung with a rich velvet, was the
+only object on which many ornaments were lavished, and even there the
+elegance of the workmanship concealed the glare of the materials, which
+were silver, solid gold, and the most costly gems.&nbsp; It being Whit-Sunday,
+this altar was covered with statues of gold, shrines, and candelabra
+of the stateliest shape and most delicate execution.&nbsp; Four of the
+latter, of a gigantic size, were placed on the steps; which, together
+with part of the inlaid floor within the choir, were spread with beautiful
+carpets.</p>
+<p>The illumination of so many tapers striking on the shrines, censers,
+and pillars of polished jasper, sustaining the canopy of the altar,
+produced a wonderful effect; and, as the rest of the chapel was visible
+only by the faint external light admitted from above, the splendour
+and dignity of the altar was enhanced by contrast.&nbsp; I retired a
+moment from it, and seating myself in one of the furthermost stalls
+of the choir, looked towards it, and fancied it had risen like an exhalation.</p>
+<p>Here I remained several minutes breathing nothing but incense, and
+should not have quitted my station soon, had I not been apprehensive
+of disturbing the devotions of two aged fathers who had just entered,
+and were prostrating themselves before the steps of the altar.&nbsp;
+These venerable figures added greatly to the solemnity of the scene;
+which as the day declined increased every moment in splendour; for the
+sparkling of several lamps of chased silver that hung from the roofs,
+and the gleaming of nine huge tapers which I had not before noticed,
+began to be visible just as I left the chapel.</p>
+<p>Passing through the sacristy, where lay several piles of rich embroidered
+vestments, purposely displayed for our inspection, we regained the cloister
+which led to our apartment, where the supper was ready prepared.&nbsp;
+We had scarcely finished it, when the Coadjutor, and the fathers who
+had accompanied us before, returned, and ranging themselves round the
+fire, resumed the conversation about St. Bruno.</p>
+<p>Finding me very piously disposed by the wonders I had seen in the
+day to listen to things of a miraculous nature, they began to relate
+the inspirations they had received from him, and his mysterious apparitions.&nbsp;
+I was all attention, respect, and credulity.&nbsp; The old Secretary
+worked himself up to such a pitch of enthusiasm, that I am very much
+inclined to imagine he believed, in these moments, all the marvellous
+events he related.&nbsp; The Coadjutor being less violent in his pretensions
+to St. Bruno&rsquo;s modern miracles, contented himself with enumerating
+the noble works he had done in the days of his fathers, and in the old
+time before them.</p>
+<p>It grew rather late before my kind hosts had finished their narrations,
+and I was not sorry, after all the exercise I had taken, to return to
+my cell, where everything invited to repose.&nbsp; I was charmed with
+the neatness and oddity of my little apartment; its cabin-like bed,
+oratory, and ebony crucifix; in short, everything it contained; not
+forgetting the aromatic odour of the pine, with which it was roofed,
+floored, and wainscoted.&nbsp; The night was luckily dark.&nbsp; Had
+the moon appeared, I could not have prevailed upon myself to have quitted
+her till very late; but, as it happened, I crept into my cabin, and
+was by &ldquo;whispering winds soon lulled asleep.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Eight o&rsquo;clock struck next morning before I awoke; when, to
+my great sorrow, I found the peaks, which rose above the convent, veiled
+in vapours, and the rain descending with violence.</p>
+<p>After we had breakfasted by the light of our fire (for the casements
+admitted but a very feeble gleam), I sat down to the works of St. Bruno;
+of all medleys the strangest.&nbsp; Allegories without end: a theologico-natural
+history of birds, beasts, and fishes: several chapters on paradise;
+the delights of solitude; the glory of Solomon&rsquo;s temple; the new
+Jerusalem; and numberless other wonderful subjects, full of enthusiasm
+and superstition.</p>
+<p>Saint Bruno was certainly a mighty genius; I admire the motives which
+drew him to this desert; but perhaps before we come to that part of
+the story, you will like to know what preceded it.&nbsp; My Saint (for
+Bruno has succeeded Thomas of Canterbury) was of noble descent, and
+possessed considerable wealth.&nbsp; He was not less remarkable for
+the qualities of his mind, and his talents gained him the degree of
+Master of the great sciences in the University of Rheims; here he contracted
+a friendship with Odo, afterwards Urban the Second.&nbsp; Being always
+poetic, singular, and visionary, he soon grew disgusted with the world,
+and began early in life to sigh after retirement.&nbsp; His residence
+at Grenoble, where he was invited by Hugo, its bishop, determined him
+to the monastic state.</p>
+<p>This venerable prelate imparted to him a vision in which he seemed
+to behold the desert and mountain beyond his city visible in the dead
+of night by the streaming of seven lucid stars that hung directly over
+them.&nbsp; Whilst he was ardently gazing at this wonder, a still voice
+was heard declaring it the future abode of Bruno - by him to be consecrated
+as a retirement for holy men desirous of holding converse with their
+God.&nbsp; No shepherd&rsquo;s pipe was to be heard within these precincts;
+no huntsman&rsquo;s profane feet to tread these silent regions, which
+were to be dedicated solely to their Creator; no woman was to ascend
+this mountain, nor violate by her allurements the sacred repose of its
+inhabitants.</p>
+<p>Such were the first institutions of the order as the inspired Bishop
+of Grenoble delivered them to Bruno, who selecting a few persons that,
+like himself, contemned the splendours of the world and the charms of
+society, repaired with them to this spot; and, in the darkest parts
+of the forests which shade the most gloomy recesses of the mountains,
+founded the first convent of Carthusians, long since destroyed.</p>
+<p>Several years passed away, whilst Bruno was employed in actions of
+the most exalted piety; and, the fame of his exemplary conduct reaching
+Rome (where his friend had been lately invested with the papal tiara),
+the whole conclave was desirous of seeing him, and entreated Urban to
+invite him to Rome.&nbsp; The request of Christ&rsquo;s vicegerent was
+not to be refused; and Bruno quitted his beloved solitude, leaving some
+of his disciples behind, who propagated his doctrines, and tended zealously
+the infant order.</p>
+<p>The pomp of the Roman court soon disgusted the rigid Bruno, who had
+weaned himself entirely from worldly affections.</p>
+<p>Being wholly intent on futurity, the bustle and tumults of a busy
+metropolis became so irksome that he supplicated Urban for leave to
+retire; and, having obtained it, left Rome, and immediately seeking
+the wilds of Calabria, there sequestered himself in a lonely hermitage,
+calmly expecting his last moments.&nbsp; Many are the miracles which
+he wrought and which his canonized bones have since effected: angels
+(it is said), hovered round him in his departing hour, and bore him
+on their wings to heaven.&nbsp; The different accounts of his translation
+are almost endless; and as they are all nearly in the same style, it
+will be needless to recite them.</p>
+<p>I had scarcely finished taking extracts from the life and writings
+of St. Bruno when the dinner appeared, consisting of everything most
+delicate which a strict adherence to the rules of meagre could allow.&nbsp;
+The good fathers returned as usual with the dessert, and served up an
+admirable dish of miracles, well seasoned with the devil and prettily
+garnished with angels and moonbeams. <a name="citation284"></a><a href="#footnote284">{284}</a></p>
+<p>Our conversation was interrupted, very agreeably, by the sudden intrusion
+of the sun, which, escaping from the clouds, shone in full splendour
+above the highest peak of the mountains, and the vapours fleeting by
+degrees discovered the woods in all the freshness of their verdure.&nbsp;
+The pleasure I received from seeing this new creation rising to view
+was very lively, and, as the fathers assured me the humidity of their
+walks did not often continue longer than the showers, I left my hall.</p>
+<p>Crossing the court, I hastened out of the gates, and running swiftly
+along a winding path on the side of the meadow, bordered by the forests,
+enjoyed the charms of the prospect, inhaled the perfume of the woodlands,
+and now turning towards the summits of the precipices that encircled
+this sacred inclosure, admired the glowing colours they borrowed from
+the sun, contrasted by the dark hues of the forest.&nbsp; Now, casting
+my eyes below, I suffered them to roam from valley to valley, and from
+one stream (beset with tall pines and tufted beech trees) to another.&nbsp;
+The purity of the air in these exalted regions, and the lightness of
+my own spirits, almost seized me with the idea of treading in that element.</p>
+<p>Not content with the distant beauties of the hanging rocks and falling
+waters, I still kept running wildly along, with an eagerness and rapidity
+that, to a sober spectator, would have given me the appearance of one
+possessed, and with reason, for I was affected with the scene to a degree
+I despair of expressing.</p>
+<p>Whilst I was continuing my course, pursued by a thousand strange
+ideas, a father, who was returning from some distant hermitage, stopped
+my career, and made signs for me to repose myself on a bench erected
+under a neighbouring shed; and, perceiving my agitation and disordered
+looks, fancied, I believe, that one of the bears that lurk near the
+snows of the mountains had alarmed me by his sudden appearance.</p>
+<p>The good old man, expressing by his gestures that he wished me to
+recover myself in quiet on the bench, hastened, with as much alacrity
+as his age permitted, to a cottage adjoining the shed, and returning
+in a few moments, presented me some water in a wooden bowl, into which
+he let fall several drops of an elixir composed of innumerable herbs,
+and having performed this deed of charity, signified to me by a look,
+in which benevolence, compassion, and perhaps some little remains of
+curiosity were strongly painted, how sorry he was to be restrained by
+his vow of silence from inquiring into the cause of my agitation, and
+giving me farther assistance.&nbsp; I answered also by signs, on purpose
+to carry on the adventure, and suffered him to depart with all his conjectures
+unsatisfied.</p>
+<p>No sooner had I lost sight of the benevolent hermit, than I started
+up, and pursued my path with my former agility, till I came to the edge
+of a woody dell, that divided the meadow on which I was running from
+the opposite promontory.&nbsp; Here I paused, and looking up at the
+cliffs, now but faintly illumined by the sun, which had been some time
+sinking on our narrow horizon, reflected that it would be madness to
+bewilder myself, at so late an hour, in the mazes of the forest.&nbsp;
+Being thus determined, I abandoned with regret the idea of penetrating
+into the lovely region before me, and contented myself for some moments
+with marking the pale tints of the evening gradually overspreading the
+cliffs, so lately flushed with the gleams of the setting sun.</p>
+<p>But my eyes were soon diverted from contemplating these objects by
+a red light streaming over the northern sky, which attracted my notice,
+as I sat on the brow of a sloping hill, looking down a steep hollow
+vale, surrounded by the forests, above which rose majestically the varied
+peaks and promontories of the mountains.</p>
+<p>The upland lawns, which hang at immense heights above the vale, next
+caught my attention.&nbsp; I was gazing alternately at them and the
+valley, when a long succession of light misty clouds, of strange fantastic
+shapes, issuing from a narrow gully between the rocks, passed on, like
+a solemn procession, over the hollow dale, midway between the stream
+that watered it below and the summits of the cliffs on high.</p>
+<p>The tranquillity of the region the verdure, of the lawn, environed
+by girdles of flourishing wood, and the lowing of the distant herds,
+filled me with the most pleasing sensations.&nbsp; But when I lifted
+up my eyes to the towering cliffs, and beheld the northern sky streaming
+with ruddy light, and the long succession of misty forms hovering over
+the space beneath, they became sublime and awful.&nbsp; The dews which
+began to descend, and the vapours which were rising from every dell,
+reminded me of the lateness of the hour; and it was with great reluctance
+that I turned from the scene which had so long engaged my contemplation,
+and traversed slowly and silently the solitary meadows, over which I
+had hurried with such eagerness an hour ago.</p>
+<p>Hill appeared after hill, and hillock succeeded hillock, which I
+had passed unnoticed before.&nbsp; Sometimes I imagined myself following
+a different path from that which had brought me to the edge of the deep
+valley; another moment, descending into the hollows between the hillocks
+that concealed the distant prospects from my sight, I fancied I had
+entirely mistaken my route, and expected every moment to be lost amongst
+the rude brakes and tangled thickets that skirted the eminences around.</p>
+<p>As the darkness increased, my situation became still more and more
+forlorn.&nbsp; I had almost abandoned the idea of reaching the convent;
+and whenever I gained any swelling ground, looked above, below, and
+on every side of me, in hopes of discovering some glimmering lamp which
+might indicate a hermitage, whose charitable possessor, I flattered
+myself, would direct me to the monastery.</p>
+<p>At length, after a tedious wandering along the hills, I found myself,
+unexpectedly, under the convent walls; and, as I was looking for the
+gate, the attendant lay brothers came out with lights, in order to search
+for me.&nbsp; Scarcely had I joined them when the Coadjutor and the
+Secretary came forward, with the kindest anxiety expressed their uneasiness
+at my long absence, and conducted me to my apartment, where Mr. ---
+was waiting, with no small degree of impatience; but I found not a word
+had been mentioned of my adventure with the hermit; so that, I believe,
+he strictly kept his vow till the day when the Carthusians are allowed
+to speak, and which happened after my departure.</p>
+<p>We had hardly supped before the gates of the convent were shut, a
+circumstance which disconcerted me not a little, as the full moon gleamed
+through the casements, and the stars, sparkling above the forests of
+pines, invited me to leave my apartment again, and to give myself up
+entirely to the spectacle they offered.</p>
+<p>The Coadjutor, perceiving that I was often looking earnestly through
+the windows, guessed my wishes, and calling a lay brother, ordered him
+to open the gates, and wait at them till my return.&nbsp; It was not
+long before I took advantage of this permission, and escaping from the
+courts and cloisters of the monastery, all hushed in death-like stillness,
+ascended a green knoll, which several ancient pines strongly marked
+with their shadows: there, leaning against one of their trunks, I lifted
+up my eyes to the awful barrier of surrounding mountains, discovered
+by the trembling silver light of the moon shooting directly on the woods
+which fringed their acclivities.</p>
+<p>The lawns, the vast woods, the steep descents, the precipices, the
+torrents, lay all extended beneath, softened by a pale bluish haze,
+that alleviated, in some measure, the stern prospect of the rocky promontories
+above, wrapped in dark shadows.&nbsp; The sky was of the deepest azure;
+innumerable stars were distinguished with unusual clearness from this
+elevation, many of which twinkled behind the fir-trees edging the promontories.&nbsp;
+White, grey, and darkish clouds came marching towards the moon, that
+shone full against a range of cliffs, which lift themselves far above
+the others.&nbsp; The hoarse murmur of the torrent, throwing itself
+from the distant wildernesses into the gloomy vales, was mingled with
+the blast that blew from the mountains.&nbsp; It increased.&nbsp; The
+forests began to wave, black clouds rose from the north, and, as they
+fleeted along, approached the moon, whose light they shortly extinguished.&nbsp;
+A moment of darkness succeeded; the gust was chill and melancholy; it
+swept along the desert, and then subsiding, the vapours began to pass
+away, and the moon returned the grandeur of the scene was renewed, and
+its imposing solemnity was increased by her presence.&nbsp; Inspiration
+was in every wind.</p>
+<p>I followed some impulse which drove me to the summit of the mountains
+before me; and there, casting a look on the whole extent of wild woods
+and romantic precipices, thought of the days of St. Bruno.&nbsp; I eagerly
+contemplated every rock that formerly might have met his eyes; drank
+of the spring which tradition says he was wont to drink of; and ran
+to every pine whose withered appearance bespoke a remote antiquity,
+and beneath which, perhaps, the saint had reposed himself, when worn
+with vigils, or possessed with the sacred spirit of his institutions.</p>
+<p>It was midnight: the convent bell tolled; for the most solemn hour
+of prayer was arrived.&nbsp; I cannot, nor would I, attempt to unfold
+to you, in prose, half the strange things of which I thought, and which
+I seemed to see, during this wild excursion.&nbsp; However, I owe to
+it the poetical humour in which I composed the following lines, written
+immediately on my return, in the album of the fathers, during the stillest
+watch of the night:</p>
+<div class="GutenbergBlankLines2"><br /><br /></div>
+<p>ODE.</p>
+<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;To orisons, the midnight bell<br />Had toll&rsquo;d
+each silent inmate from his cell;<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The hour was
+come to muse or pray,<br />Or work mysterious rites that shun the day:<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;My
+steps some whis&rsquo;pring influence led,<br />Up to yon pine-clad
+mountain&rsquo;s gloomy head:<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Hollow and deep
+the gust did blow,<br />And torrents dash&rsquo;d into the vales below.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;At
+length the toilsome height attain&rsquo;d,<br />Quick fled the moon,
+and sudden stillness reign&rsquo;d.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;As fearful
+turn&rsquo;d my searching eye,<br />Glanc&rsquo;d near a shadowy form,
+and fleeted by;<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Anon, before me full it stood:<br />A
+saintly figure, pale, in pensive mood.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Damp horror
+thrill&rsquo;d me till he spoke,<br />And accents faint the charm bound
+silence broke:<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;Long, trav&rsquo;ller!
+ere this region near,<br />Say, did not whisp&rsquo;rings strange arrest
+thine ear?<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;My summons &rsquo;twas to bid thee
+come,<br />Where sole the friend of Nature loves to roam.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Ages
+long past, this drear abode<br />To solitude I sanctified, and God:<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&rsquo;Twas
+here, by love of Wisdom brought,<br />Her truest lore, Self-knowledge,
+first I sought;<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Devoted here my worldly wealth,<br />To
+win my chosen sons immortal health.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Midst these
+dun woods, and mountains steep,<br />Midst the wild horrors of yon desert
+deep,<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Midst yawning caverns, wat&rsquo;ry dells,<br />Midst
+long, sequestered aisles, and peaceful cells,<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;No
+passions fell distract the mind,<br />To Nature, Silence, and Herself
+consign&rsquo;d.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;In these still mansions who
+shall bide,<br />&rsquo;Tis mine, with Heaven&rsquo;s appointment, to
+decide;<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;But, hither, I invite not all:<br />Some
+want the will to come, and more the call;<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;But
+all, mark well my parting voice!<br />Led, or by chance, necessity,
+or choice<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(Ah! with our Genius dread to sport),<br />Sage
+lessons here may learn of high import.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Know!&nbsp;
+Silence is the nurse of Truth;<br />Know!&nbsp; Temperance long retards
+the flight of Youth<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Learn here, how penitence
+and pray&rsquo;r<br />Man&rsquo;s fallen race for happier worlds prepare;<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Learn
+mild demeanour, void of art,<br />And bear, amidst the world, the hermit&rsquo;s
+heart;<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Fix, trav&rsquo;ller! deep this heaven-taught
+lore:<br />Know Bruno brings it, and returns no more.&rdquo;<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(Half
+sighed, half smiled his long farewell),<br />He turn&rsquo;d, and vanish&rsquo;d
+in the bright&rsquo;ning dell.</p>
+<div class="GutenbergBlankLines1"><br /></div>
+<p>My imagination was too much disturbed, and my spirits far too active,
+to allow me any rest for some time, and I had not long been quieted
+by sleep, when I was suddenly awakened by a furious blast, that drove
+open my casement, and let in the roar of the tempest, for the night
+was troubled.&nbsp; In the intervals of the storm, in those moments
+when the winds seemed to pause, the faint sounds of the choir stole
+upon my ear; but were swallowed up the next instant by the redoubled
+fury of the gust, which was still increased by the roar of the waters.</p>
+<p>I started from my bed, closed the casement, and composed myself as
+well as I was able; but no sooner had the sunbeams entered my window,
+than I arose, and gladly leaving my cell, hastened to the same knoll
+where I had stood the night before.&nbsp; The storm was dissipated,
+and the pure morning air delightfully refreshing; every tree, every
+shrub, glistened with dew.&nbsp; A gentle wind breathed upon the woods,
+and waved the fir-trees on the cliffs, which, free from clouds, rose
+distinctly into the clear blue sky.&nbsp; I strayed from the knoll into
+the valley between the steeps of wood and the turrets of the convent,
+and passed the different buildings, destined for the manufacture of
+the articles necessary to the fathers; for nothing is worn or used within
+this inclosure which comes from the profane world.</p>
+<p>Traversing the meadows and a succession of little dells, where I
+was so lately bewildered, I came to a bridge thrown over the torrent,
+which I crossed; and here followed a slight path that brought me to
+an eminence, covered with a hanging wood of beach-trees feathered to
+the ground, from whence I looked down the narrow pass towards Grenoble.&nbsp;
+Perceiving a smoke to arise from the groves which nodded over the eminence,
+I climbed up a rocky steep, and, after struggling through a thicket
+of shrubs, entered a smooth, sloping lawn, framed in by woody precipices;
+at one extremity of which I discovered the cottage, whose smoke had
+directed me to this sequestered spot; and, at the other, a numerous
+group of cattle, lying under the shade of some beech-trees, whilst several
+friars, with long beards and russet garments, were employed in milking
+them.</p>
+<p>The luxuriant foliage of the woods, clinging round the steeps that
+skirted the lawn; its gay, sunny exposition; the groups of sleek, dappled
+cows, and the odd employment of the friars, so little consonant with
+their venerable beards, formed a picturesque and certainly very singular
+spectacle.&nbsp; I, who had been accustomed to behold &ldquo;milk-maids
+singing blithe,&rdquo; and tripping lightly along with their pails,
+was not a little surprised at the silent gravity with which these figures
+shifted their trivets from cow to cow; and it was curious to see with
+what adroitness they performed their functions, managing their long
+beards with a facility and cleanliness equally admirable.</p>
+<p>I watched all their movements for some time, concealed by the trees,
+before I made myself visible; but no sooner did I appear on the lawn,
+than one of the friars quitted his trivet, very methodically set down
+his pail, and coming towards me with an open, smiling countenance, desired
+me to refresh myself with some bread and milk.&nbsp; A second, observing
+what was going forward, was resolved not to be exceeded in an hospitable
+act, and, quitting his pail too, hastened into the woods whence he returned
+in a few minutes with some strawberries, very neatly enveloped in fresh
+leaves.&nbsp; These hospitable, milking fathers, next invited me to
+the cottage, whither I declined going, as I preferred the shade of the
+beeches; so, throwing myself on the dry aromatic herbage, I enjoyed
+the pastoral character of the scene with all possible glee.</p>
+<p>Not a cloud darkened the heavens; every object smiled; innumerable
+gaudy flies glanced in the sunbeams that played in a clear spring by
+the cottage; I saw with pleasure the sultry glow of the distant cliffs
+and forests, whilst indolently reclined in the shade, listening to the
+summer hum; one hour passed after another neglected away, during my
+repose in this most delightful of valleys.&nbsp; The cattle were all
+slunk into the recesses of the wood, and were drinking at the streams
+which flow along their shades, before I could prevail on myself to quit
+the turf and the beech trees.&nbsp; Never shall I cease regretting the
+peaceful moments I spent in Valombr&eacute;, as never perhaps, were
+I even to return to it, may so many circumstances unite to render it
+pleasing.</p>
+<p>When I returned unwillingly to the convent, the only topic on which
+I could converse was the charms of Valombr&eacute;; but notwithstanding
+the indifference with which I now regarded the prospects that surrounded
+the monastery, I could not disdain an offer made by one of the friars,
+of conducting me to the summit of the highest peak in the desert.</p>
+<p>Pretty late in the afternoon I set out with my guide, and, following
+his steps through many forests of pine, and wild apertures among them,
+strewed with fragments, arrived at a chapel, built on a mossy rock,
+and dedicated to St. Bruno.</p>
+<p>Having once more drunk of the spring that issues from the rock on
+which this edifice is raised, I moved forward, keeping my eyes fixed
+on a lofty green mountain, whence rises a vast cliff, spiring up to
+a surprising elevation; and which (owing to the sun&rsquo;s reflection
+on a transparent mist hovering around it) was tinged with a pale visionary
+light.&nbsp; This object was the goal to which I aspired; and redoubling
+my activity, I made the best of my way over rude ledges of rocks, and
+crumbled fragments of the mountain interspersed with firs, till I came
+to the green steeps I had surveyed at a distance.</p>
+<p>These I ascended with some difficulty, and, leaving a few scattered
+beech-trees behind, in full leaf, shortly bid adieu to summer, and entered
+the regions of spring; for, as I approached that part of the mountain
+next the summit, the trees, which I found there rooted in the crevices,
+were but just beginning to unfold their leaves, and every spot of the
+greensward was covered with cowslips and violets.</p>
+<p>After taking a few moments&rsquo; repose, my guide prepared to clamber
+amongst the rocks, and I followed him with as much alertness as I was
+able, till laying hold of the trunk of a withered pine, we sprang upon
+a small level space, where I seated myself, and beheld far beneath me
+the vast desert and dreary solitudes, amongst which appeared, thinly
+scattered, the green meadows and hanging lawns.&nbsp; The eye next overlooking
+the barrier of mountains, ranged through immense tracts of distant countries;
+the plains where Lyons is situated; the woodlands and lakes of Savoy;
+amongst which that of Bourget was near enough to discover its beauties,
+all glowing with the warm haze of the setting sun.</p>
+<p>My situation was too dizzy to allow a long survey; so turning my
+eyes from the terrific precipice, I gladly beheld an opening in the
+rocks, through which we passed into a little irregular glen of the smoothest
+greensward, closed in on one side by the great peak, and on the others
+by a ridge of sharp pinnacles, which crown the range of white cliffs
+I had so much admired the night before, when brightened by the moon.</p>
+<p>The singular situation of this romantic spot invited me to remain
+in it till the sun was about to sink on the horizon: during which time
+I visited every little cave delved in the ridges of rock, and gathered
+large sprigs of the mezereon and rhododendron in full bloom, which,
+with a surprising variety of other plants, carpeted this lovely glen.&nbsp;
+A luxuriant vegetation,</p>
+<div class="GutenbergBlankLines1"><br /></div>
+<p>&ldquo;That on the green turf suck&rsquo;d the honey&rsquo;d showers,<br />And
+purpled all the ground with vernal flow&rsquo;rs.&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="GutenbergBlankLines1"><br /></div>
+<p>My guide, perceiving I was ready to mount still higher, told me it
+would be in vain, as the beds of snow that lie eternally in some fissures
+of the mountain, must necessarily impede my progress; but, finding I
+was very unwilling to abandon the enterprise, he showed me a few notches
+in the peak, by which we might ascend, though not without danger.&nbsp;
+This prospect rather abated my courage, and the wind rising, drove several
+thick clouds round the bottom of the peak, which increasing every minute,
+shortly screened the green mountain and all the forest from our sight.&nbsp;
+A sea of vapours soon undulated beneath my feet, and lightning began
+to flash from a dark angry cloud, that hung over the valleys, and deluged
+them with storms, whilst I was securely standing under the clear expanse
+of ether.</p>
+<p>But the hour did not admit of my remaining long in this proud station;
+so descending, I was soon obliged to pass through the vapours, and,
+carefully following my guide (for a false step might have caused my
+destruction), wound amongst the declivities, till we left the peak behind,
+and just as we reached the green mountain, which was moistened with
+the late storm, the clouds fleeted and the evening recovered its serenity.</p>
+<p>Leaving the chapel of St. Bruno on the right, we entered the woods,
+and soon emerged from them into a large pasture, under the grand amphitheatre
+of mountains, having a gentle ascent before us, beyond which appeared
+the neat blue roofs and glittering spires of the convent, where we arrived
+as the moon was beginning to assume her empire.</p>
+<p>I need not say I rested well after the interesting fatigues of the
+day.&nbsp; The next morning, early, I quitted my kind hosts with great
+reluctance.&nbsp; The Coadjutor and two other fathers accompanied me
+to the outward gate, and there within the solemn circle of the desert
+bestowed on me their benediction.</p>
+<p>It seemed indeed to come from their hearts, nor would they leave
+me till I was a hundred paces from the convent; and then, laying their
+hands on their breasts, declared that if ever I was disgusted with the
+world, here was an asylum.</p>
+<p>I was in a melancholy mood when I traced back all the windings of
+my road, and when I found myself beyond the last gate, in the midst
+of the wide world again, it increased.</p>
+<p>We returned to Les Echelles; from thence to Chamberry, and, instead
+of going through Aix, passed by Amecy; but nothing in all the route
+engaged my attention, nor had I any pleasing sensations till I beheld
+the glassy lake of Geneva, and its lovely environs.</p>
+<p>I rejoiced then because I knew of a retirement on its banks where
+I could sit and think of Valombr&eacute;.</p>
+<div class="GutenbergBlankLines2"><br /><br /></div>
+<p>Footnotes:</p>
+<p><a name="footnote110"></a><a href="#citation110">{110}</a>&nbsp;
+Hills in the neighbourhood of Quang-Tong</p>
+<p><a name="footnote127"></a><a href="#citation127">{127}</a>&nbsp;
+The Peries, inhabitants of Ginnistan, live upon perfumes, etc., etc.&nbsp;
+See Richardson&rsquo;s Dissertations.</p>
+<p><a name="footnote133"></a><a href="#citation133">{133}</a>&nbsp;
+Thisbe, a favourite greyhound torn to pieces by a mad dog.</p>
+<p><a name="footnote140"></a><a href="#citation140">{140}</a>&nbsp;
+See the description of the Grande Chartreuse.</p>
+<p><a name="footnote156"></a><a href="#citation156">{156}</a>&nbsp;
+The conduct of the emperor, since the death of his mother, seems to
+be accomplishing this prediction apace.</p>
+<p><a name="footnote170a"></a><a href="#citation170a">{170a}</a>&nbsp;
+It is reasonably conjectured that the sea formerly washed the walls
+of Padua.</p>
+<p><a name="footnote170b"></a><a href="#citation170b">{170b}</a>&nbsp;
+T. Livius, L. i., c. i.</p>
+<p><a name="footnote170c"></a><a href="#citation170c">{170c}</a>&nbsp;
+Lib. v., c. iv., p. 5.</p>
+<p><a name="footnote171"></a><a href="#citation171">{171}</a>&nbsp;
+Called Roscani in Venetian, and reduced to ashes for the glass manufactory
+at Murano.</p>
+<p><a name="footnote182"></a><a href="#citation182">{182}</a>&nbsp;
+A nephew of Bertoni, and worthy of his uncle.</p>
+<p><a name="footnote214"></a><a href="#citation214">{214}</a>&nbsp;
+Mentioned by Dante in his &ldquo;Purgatorio.&rdquo;</p>
+<p><a name="footnote240"></a><a href="#citation240">{240}</a>&nbsp;
+Mem. pour la Vie de Petrarque, vol. i., p. 439.</p>
+<p><a name="footnote284"></a><a href="#citation284">{284}</a>&nbsp;
+Angela are frequently represented, in legendary tales, as riding on
+the beams of the moon.</p>
+<div class="GutenbergBlankLines2"><br /><br /></div>
+<p>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK, DREAMS, WAKING THOUGHTS, ETC. ***</p>
+<pre>
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