diff options
Diffstat (limited to '7879.txt')
| -rw-r--r-- | 7879.txt | 7959 |
1 files changed, 7959 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/7879.txt b/7879.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..898917e --- /dev/null +++ b/7879.txt @@ -0,0 +1,7959 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Passages From the French and Italian +Notebooks, Volume 1, by Nathaniel Hawthorne + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Passages From the French and Italian Notebooks, Volume 1 + +Author: Nathaniel Hawthorne + + +Release Date: April, 2005 [EBook #7879] +[This file was first posted on May 29, 2003] +[Last updated on December 17, 2011] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PASSAGES FRENCH AND ITALIAN *** + + + + +Produced by Tapio Riikonen and David Widger + + + + + + + +PASSAGES FROM THE FRENCH AND ITALIAN NOTE-BOOKS + +OF + +NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE + + + +VOL. I. + + + + + +PASSAGES FROM HAWTHORNE'S NOTE-BOOKS IN FRANCE AND ITALY. + + + + +FRANCE. + + +Hotel de Louvre, January 6th, 1858.--On Tuesday morning, our dozen trunks +and half-dozen carpet-bags being already packed and labelled, we began to +prepare for our journey two or three hours before light. Two cabs were at +the door by half past six, and at seven we set out for the London Bridge +station, while it was still dark and bitterly cold. There were already +many people in the streets, growing more numerous as we drove city-ward; +and, in Newgate Street, there was such a number of market-carts, that we +almost came to a dead lock with some of them. At the station we found +several persons who were apparently going in the same train with us, +sitting round the fire of the waiting-room. Since I came to England +there has hardly been a morning when I should have less willingly +bestirred myself before daylight; so sharp and inclement was the +atmosphere. We started at half past eight, having taken through tickets +to Paris by way of Folkestone and Boulogne. A foot-warmer (a long, flat +tin utensil, full of hot water) was put into the carriage just before we +started; but it did not make us more than half comfortable, and the frost +soon began to cloud the windows, and shut out the prospect, so that we +could only glance at the green fields--immortally green, whatever winter +can do against them--and at, here and there, a stream or pool with the +ice forming on its borders. It was the first cold weather of a very mild +season. The snow began to fall in scattered and almost invisible flakes; +and it seemed as if we had stayed our English welcome out, and were to +find nothing genial and hospitable there any more. + +At Folkestone, we were deposited at a railway station close upon a +shingly beach, on which the sea broke in foam, and which J----- reported +as strewn with shells and star-fish; behind was the town, with an old +church in the midst; and, close, at hand, the pier, where lay the steamer +in which we were to embark. But the air was so wintry, that I had no +heart to explore the town, or pick up shells with J----- on the beach; so +we kept within doors during the two hours of our stay, now and then +looking out of the windows at a fishing-boat or two, as they pitched and +rolled with an ugly and irregular motion, such as the British Channel +generally communicates to the craft that navigate it. + +At about one o'clock we went on board, and were soon under steam, at a +rate that quickly showed a long line of the white cliffs of Albion behind +us. It is a very dusky white, by the by, and the cliffs themselves do +not seem, at a distance, to be of imposing height, and have too even an +outline to be picturesque. + +As we increased our distance from England, the French coast came more and +more distinctly in sight, with a low, wavy outline, not very well worth +looking at, except because it was the coast of France. Indeed, I looked +at it but little; for the wind was bleak and boisterous, and I went down +into the cabin, where I found the fire very comfortable, and several +people were stretched on sofas in a state of placid wretchedness. . . . +I have never suffered from sea-sickness, but had been somewhat +apprehensive of this rough strait between England and France, which seems +to have more potency over people's stomachs than ten times the extent of +sea in other quarters. Our passage was of two hours, at the end of which +we landed on French soil, and found ourselves immediately in the clutches +of the custom-house officers, who, however, merely made a momentary +examination of my passport, and allowed us to pass without opening even +one of our carpet-bags. The great bulk of our luggage had been +registered through to Paris, for examination after our arrival there. + +We left Boulogne in about an hour after our arrival, when it was already +a darkening twilight. The weather had grown colder than ever, since our +arrival in sunny France, and the night was now setting in, wickedly black +and dreary. The frost hardened upon the carriage windows in such +thickness that I could scarcely scratch a peep-hole through it; but, from +such glimpses as I could catch, the aspect of the country seemed pretty +much to resemble the December aspect of my dear native land,--broad, +bare, brown fields, with streaks of snow at the foot of ridges, and along +fences, or in the furrows of ploughed soil. There was ice wherever there +happened to be water to form it. + +We had feet-warmers in the carriage, but the cold crept in nevertheless; +and I do not remember hardly in my life a more disagreeable short journey +than this, my first advance into French territory. My impression of +France will always be that it is an Arctic region. At any season of the +year, the tract over which we passed yesterday must be an uninteresting +one as regards its natural features; and the only adornment, as far as I +could observe, which art has given it, consists in straight rows of very +stiff-looking and slender-stemmed trees. In the dusk they resembled +poplar-trees. + +Weary and frost-bitten,--morally, if not physically,--we reached Amiens +in three or four hours, and here I underwent much annoyance from the +French railway officials and attendants, who, I believe, did not mean to +incommode me, but rather to forward my purposes as far as they well +could. If they would speak slowly and distinctly I might understand them +well enough, being perfectly familiar with the written language, and +knowing the principles of its pronunciation; but, in their customary +rapid utterance, it sounds like a string of mere gabble. When left to +myself, therefore, I got into great difficulties. . . . It gives a +taciturn personage like myself a new conception as to the value of +speech, even to him, when he finds himself unable either to speak or +understand. + +Finally, being advised on all hands to go to the Hotel du Rhin, we were +carried thither in an omnibus, rattling over a rough pavement, through an +invisible and frozen town; and, on our arrival, were ushered into a +handsome salon, as chill as a tomb. They made a little bit of a +wood-fire for us in a low and deep chimney-hole, which let a hundred +times more heat escape up the flue than it sent into the room. + +In the morning we sallied forth to see the cathedral. + +The aspect of the old French town was very different from anything +English; whiter, infinitely cleaner; higher and narrower houses, the +entrance to most of which seeming to be through a great gateway, +affording admission into a central court-yard; a public square, with a +statue in the middle, and another statue in a neighboring street. We met +priests in three-cornered hats, long frock-coats, and knee-breeches; also +soldiers and gendarmes, and peasants and children, clattering over the +pavements in wooden shoes. + +It makes a great impression of outlandishness to see the signs over the +shop doors in a foreign tongue. If the cold had not been such as to dull +my sense of novelty, and make all my perceptions torpid, I should have +taken in a set of new impressions, and enjoyed them very much. As it +was, I cared little for what I saw, but yet had life enough left to enjoy +the cathedral of Amiens, which has many features unlike those of English +cathedrals. + +It stands in the midst of the cold, white town, and has a high-shouldered +look to a spectator accustomed to the minsters of England, which cover a +great space of ground in proportion to their height. The impression the +latter gives is of magnitude and mass; this French cathedral strikes one +as lofty. The exterior is venerable, though but little time-worn by the +action of the atmosphere; and statues still keep their places in numerous +niches, almost as perfect as when first placed there in the thirteenth +century. The principal doors are deep, elaborately wrought, pointed +arches; and the interior seemed to us, at the moment, as grand as any +that we had seen, and to afford as vast an idea of included space; it +being of such an airy height, and with no screen between the chancel and +nave, as in all the English cathedrals. We saw the differences, too, +betwixt a church in which the same form of worship for which it was +originally built is still kept up, and those of England, where it has +been superseded for centuries; for here, in the recess of every arch of +the side aisles, beneath each lofty window, there was a chapel dedicated +to some Saint, and adorned with great marble sculptures of the +crucifixion, and with pictures, execrably bad, in all cases, and various +kinds of gilding and ornamentation. Immensely tall wax candles stand +upon the altars of these chapels, and before one sat a woman, with a +great supply of tapers, one of which was burning. I suppose these were +to be lighted as offerings to the saints, by the true believers. +Artificial flowers were hung at some of the shrines, or placed under +glass. In every chapel, moreover, there was a confessional,--a little +oaken structure, about as big as a sentry-box, with a closed part for the +priest to sit in, and an open one for the penitent to kneel at, and +speak, through the open-work of the priest's closet. Monuments, mural +and others, to long-departed worthies, and images of the Saviour, the +Virgin, and saints, were numerous everywhere about the church; and in the +chancel there was a great deal of quaint and curious sculpture, fencing +in the Holy of Holies, where the High Altar stands. There is not much +painted glass; one or two very rich and beautiful rose-windows, however, +that looked antique; and the great eastern window which, I think, is +modern. The pavement has, probably, never been renewed, as one piece of +work, since the structure was erected, and is foot-worn by the successive +generations, though still in excellent repair. I saw one of the small, +square stones in it, bearing the date of 1597, and no doubt there are a +thousand older ones. It was gratifying to find the cathedral in such +good condition, without any traces of recent repair; and it is perhaps a +mark of difference between French and English character, that the +Revolution in the former country, though all religious worship disappears +before it, does not seem to have caused such violence to ecclesiastical +monuments, as the Reformation and the reign of Puritanism in the latter. +I did not see a mutilated shrine, or even a broken-nosed image, in the +whole cathedral. But, probably, the very rage of the English fanatics +against idolatrous tokens, and their smashing blows at them, were +symptoms of sincerer religious faith than the French were capable of. +These last did not care enough about their Saviour to beat down his +crucified image; and they preserved the works of sacred art, for the sake +only of what beauty there was in them. + +While we were in the cathedral, we saw several persons kneeling at their +devotions on the steps of the chancel and elsewhere. One dipped his +fingers in the holy water at the entrance: by the by, I looked into the +stone basin that held it, and saw it full of ice. Could not all that +sanctity at least keep it thawed? Priests--jolly, fat, mean-looking +fellows, in white robes--went hither and thither, but did not interrupt +or accost us. + +There were other peculiarities, which I suppose I shall see more of in my +visits to other churches, but now we were all glad to make our stay as +brief as possible, the atmosphere of the cathedral being so bleak, and +its stone pavement so icy cold beneath our feet. We returned to the +hotel, and the chambermaid brought me a book, in which she asked me to +inscribe my name, age, profession, country, destination, and the +authorization under which I travelled. After the freedom of an English +hotel, so much greater than even that of an American one, where they make +you disclose your name, this is not so pleasant. + +We left Amiens at half past one; and I can tell as little of the country +between that place and Paris, as between Boulogne and Amiens. The +windows of our railway carriage were already frosted with French breath +when we got into it, and the ice grew thicker and thicker continually. I +tried, at various times, to rub a peep-hole through, as before; but the +ice immediately shot its crystallized tracery over it again; and, indeed, +there was little or nothing to make it worth while to look out, so bleak +was the scene. Now and then a chateau, too far off for its +characteristics to be discerned; now and then a church, with a tall gray +tower, and a little peak atop; here and there a village or a town, which +we could not well see. At sunset there was just that clear, cold, wintry +sky which I remember so well in America, but have never seen in England. + +At five we reached Paris, and were suffered to take a carriage to the +hotel de Louvre, without any examination of the little luggage we had +with us. Arriving, we took a suite of apartments, and the waiter +immediately lighted a wax candle in each separate room. + +We might have dined at the table d'hote, but preferred the restaurant +connected with and within the hotel. All the dishes were very delicate, +and a vast change from the simple English system, with its joints, +shoulders, beefsteaks, and chops; but I doubt whether English cookery, +for the very reason that it is so simple, is not better for men's moral +and spiritual nature than French. In the former case, you know that you +are gratifying your animal needs and propensities, and are duly ashamed +of it; but, in dealing with these French delicacies, you delude yourself +into the idea that you are cultivating your taste while satisfying your +appetite. This last, however, it requires a good deal of perseverance to +accomplish. + +In the cathedral at Amiens there were printed lists of acts of devotion +posted on the columns, such as prayers at the shrines of certain saints, +whereby plenary indulgences might be gained. It is to be observed, +however, that all these external forms were necessarily accompanied with +true penitence and religious devotion. + + +Hotel de Louvre, January 8th.--It was so fearfully cold this morning that +I really felt little or no curiosity to see the city. . . . Until after +one o'clock, therefore, I knew nothing of Paris except the lights which I +had seen beneath our window the evening before, far, far downward, in the +narrow Rue St. Honore, and the rumble of the wheels, which continued +later than I was awake to hear it, and began again before dawn. I could +see, too, tall houses, that seemed to be occupied in every story, and +that had windows on the steep roofs. One of these houses is six stories +high. This Rue St. Honore is one of the old streets in Paris, and is +that in which Henry IV. was assassinated; but it has not, in this part of +it, the aspect of antiquity. + +After one o'clock we all went out and walked along the Rue de +Rivoli. . . . We are here, right in the midst of Paris, and close to +whatever is best known to those who hear or read about it,--the Louvre +being across the street, the Palais Royal but a little way off, the +Tuileries joining to the Louvre, the Place de la Concorde just beyond, +verging on which is the Champs Elysees. We looked about us for a +suitable place to dine, and soon found the Restaurant des Echelles, where +we entered at a venture, and were courteously received. It has a +handsomely furnished saloon, much set off with gilding and mirrors; and +appears to be frequented by English and Americans; its carte, a bound +volume, being printed in English as well as French. . . . + +It was now nearly four o'clock, and too late to visit the galleries of +the Louvre, or to do anything else but walk a little way along the +street. The splendor of Paris, so far as I have seen, takes me +altogether by surprise: such stately edifices, prolonging themselves in +unwearying magnificence and beauty, and, ever and anon, a long vista of a +street, with a column rising at the end of it, or a triumphal arch, +wrought in memory of some grand event. The light stone or stucco, wholly +untarnished by smoke and soot, puts London to the blush, if a blush could +be seen on its dingy face; but, indeed, London is not to be mentioned, +nor compared even, with Paris. I never knew what a palace was till I had +a glimpse of the Louvre and the Tuileries; never had my idea of a city +been gratified till I trod these stately streets. The life of the scene, +too, is infinitely more picturesque than that of London, with its +monstrous throng of grave faces and black coats; whereas, here, you see +soldiers and priests, policemen in cocked hats, Zonaves with turbans, +long mantles, and bronzed, half-Moorish faces; and a great many people +whom you perceive to be outside of your experience, and know them ugly to +look at, and fancy them villanous. Truly, I have no sympathies towards +the French people; their eyes do not win me, nor do their glances melt +and mingle with mine. But they do grand and beautiful things in the +architectural way; and I am grateful for it. The Place de la Concorde is +a most splendid square, large enough for a nation to erect trophies in of +all its triumphs; and on one side of it is the Tuileries, on the opposite +side the Champs Elysees, and, on a third, the Seine, adown which we saw +large cakes of ice floating, beneath the arches of a bridge. The Champs +Elysees, so far as I saw it, had not a grassy soil beneath its trees, but +the bare earth, white and dusty. The very dust, if I saw nothing else, +would assure me that I was out of England. + +We had time only to take this little walk, when it began to grow dusk; +and, being so pitilessly cold, we hurried back to our hotel. Thus far, I +think, what I have seen of Paris is wholly unlike what I expected; but +very like an imaginary picture which I had conceived of St. Petersburg,-- +new, bright, magnificent, and desperately cold. + +A great part of this architectural splendor is due to the present +Emperor, who has wrought a great change in the aspect of the city within +a very few years. A traveller, if he looks at the thing selfishly, ought +to wish him a long reign and arbitrary power, since he makes it his +policy to illustrate his capital with palatial edifices, which are, +however, better for a stranger to look at, than for his own people to pay +for. + +We have spent to-day chiefly in seeing some of the galleries of the +Louvre. I must confess that the vast and beautiful edifice struck me far +more than the pictures, sculpture, and curiosities which it contains,-- +the shell more than the kernel inside; such noble suites of rooms and +halls were those through which we first passed, containing Egyptian, and, +farther onward, Greek and Roman antiquities; the walls cased in +variegated marbles; the ceilings glowing with beautiful frescos; the +whole extended into infinite vistas by mirrors that seemed like vacancy, +and multiplied everything forever. The picture-rooms are not so +brilliant, and the pictures themselves did not greatly win upon me in +this one day. Many artists were employed in copying them, especially in +the rooms hung with the productions of French painters. Not a few of +these copyists were females; most of them were young men, picturesquely +mustached and bearded; but some were elderly, who, it was pitiful to +think, had passed through life without so much success as now to paint +pictures of their own. + +From the pictures we went into a suite of rooms where are preserved many +relics of the ancient and later kings of France; more relics of the elder +ones, indeed, than I supposed had remained extant through the Revolution. +The French seem to like to keep memorials of whatever they do, and of +whatever their forefathers have done, even if it be ever so little to +their credit; and perhaps they do not take matters sufficiently to heart +to detest anything that has ever happened. What surprised me most were +the golden sceptre and the magnificent sword and other gorgeous relics of +Charlemagne,--a person whom I had always associated with a sheepskin +cloak. There were suits of armor and weapons that had been worn and +handled by a great many of the French kings; and a religious book that +had belonged to St. Louis; a dressing-glass, most richly set with +precious stones, which formerly stood on the toilet-table of Catherine +de' Medici, and in which I saw my own face where hers had been. And +there were a thousand other treasures, just as well worth mentioning as +these. If each monarch could have been summoned from Hades to claim his +own relics, we should have had the halls full of the old Childerics, +Charleses, Bourbons and Capets, Henrys and Louises, snatching with +ghostly hands at sceptres, swords, armor, and mantles; and Napoleon would +have seen, apparently, almost everything that personally belonged to +him,--his coat, his cocked hats, his camp-desk, his field-bed, his +knives, forks, and plates, and even a lock of his hair. I must let it +all go. These things cannot be reproduced by pen and ink. + + +Hotel de Louvre, January 9th.--. . . . Last evening Mr. Fezaudie called. +He spoke very freely respecting the Emperor and the hatred entertained +against him in France; but said that he is more powerful, that is, more +firmly fixed as a ruler, than ever the first Napoleon was. We, who look +back upon the first Napoleon as one of the eternal facts of the past, a +great bowlder in history, cannot well estimate how momentary and +insubstantial the great Captain may have appeared to those who beheld his +rise out of obscurity. They never, perhaps, took the reality of his +career fairly into their minds, before it was over. The present Emperor, +I believe, has already been as long in possession of the supreme power as +his uncle was. I should like to see him, and may, perhaps, do--so, as he +is our neighbor, across the way. + +This morning Miss ------, the celebrated astronomical lady, called. She +had brought a letter of introduction to me, while consul; and her purpose +now was to see if we could take her as one of our party to Rome, whither +she likewise is bound. We readily consented, for she seems to be a +simple, strong, healthy-humored woman, who will not fling herself as a +burden on our shoulders; and my only wonder is that a person evidently so +able to take care of herself should wish to have an escort. + +We issued forth at about eleven, and went down the Rue St. Honore, which +is narrow, and has houses of five or six stories on either side, between +which run the streets like a gully in a rock. One face of our hotel +borders and looks on this street. After going a good way, we came to an +intersection with another street, the name of which I forget; but, at +this point, Ravaillac sprang at the carriage of Henry IV. and plunged his +dagger into him. As we went down the Rue St. Honore, it grew more and +more thronged, and with a meaner class of people. The houses still were +high, and without the shabbiness of exterior that distinguishes the old +part of London, being of light-colored stone; but I never saw anything +that so much came up to my idea of a swarming city as this narrow, +crowded, and rambling street. + +Thence we turned into the Rue St. Denis, which is one of the oldest +streets in Paris, and is said to have been first marked out by the track +of the saint's footsteps, where, after his martyrdom, he walked along it, +with his head under his arm, in quest of a burial-place. This legend may +account for any crookedness of the street; for it could not reasonably be +asked of a headless man that he should walk straight. + +Through some other indirections we at last found the Rue Bergere, down +which I went with J----- in quest of Hottinguer et Co., the bankers, +while the rest of us went along the Boulevards, towards the Church of the +Madeleine. . . . This business accomplished, J----- and I threaded our +way back, and overtook the rest of the party, still a good distance from +the Madeleine. I know not why the Boulevards are called so. They are a +succession of broad walks through broad streets, and were much thronged +with people, most of whom appeared to be bent more on pleasure than +business. The sun, long before this, had come out brightly, and gave us +the first genial and comfortable sensations which we have had in Paris. + +Approaching the Madeleine, we found it a most beautiful church, that +might have been adapted from Heathenism to Catholicism; for on each side +there is a range of magnificent pillars, unequalled, except by those of +the Parthenon. A mourning-coach, arrayed in black and silver, was drawn +up at the steps, and the front of the church was hung with black cloth, +which covered the whole entrance. However, seeing the people going in, +we entered along with them. Glorious and gorgeous is the Madeleine. The +entrance to the nave is beneath a most stately arch; and three arches of +equal height open from the nave to the side aisles; and at the end of the +nave is another great arch, rising, with a vaulted half-dome, over the +high altar. The pillars supporting these arches are Corinthian, with +richly sculptured capitals; and wherever gilding might adorn the church, +it is lavished like sunshine; and within the sweeps of the arches there +are fresco paintings of sacred subjects, and a beautiful picture covers +the hollow of the vault over the altar; all this, besides much sculpture; +and especially a group above and around the high altar, representing the +Magdalen smiling down upon angels and archangels, some of whom are +kneeling, and shadowing themselves with their heavy marble wings. There +is no such thing as making my page glow with the most distant idea of the +magnificence of this church, in its details and in its whole. It was +founded a hundred or two hundred years ago; then Bonaparte contemplated +transforming it into a Temple of Victory, or building it anew as one. +The restored Bourbons remade it into a church; but it still has a +heathenish look, and will never lose it. + +When we entered we saw a crowd of people, all pressing forward towards +the high altar, before which burned a hundred wax lights, some of which +were six or seven feet high; and, altogether, they shone like a galaxy of +stars. In the middle of the nave, moreover, there was another galaxy of +wax candles burning around an immense pall of black velvet, embroidered +with silver, which seemed to cover, not only a coffin, but a sarcophagus, +or something still more huge. The organ was rumbling forth a deep, +lugubrious bass, accompanied with heavy chanting of priests, out of which +sometimes rose the clear, young voices of choristers, like light flashing +out of the gloom. The church, between the arches, along the nave, and +round the altar, was hung with broad expanses of black cloth; and all the +priests had their sacred vestments covered with black. They looked +exceedingly well; I never saw anything half so well got up on the stage. +Some of these ecclesiastical figures were very stately and noble, and +knelt and bowed, and bore aloft the cross, and swung the censers in a way +that I liked to see. The ceremonies of the Catholic Church were a superb +work of art, or perhaps a true growth of man's religious nature; and so +long as men felt their original meaning, they must have been full of awe +and glory. Being of another parish, I looked on coldly, but not +irreverently, and was glad to see the funeral service so well performed, +and very glad when it was over. What struck me as singular, the person +who performed the part usually performed by a verger, keeping order among +the audience, wore a gold-embroidered scarf, a cocked hat, and, I +believe, a sword, and had the air of a military man. + +Before the close of the service a contribution-box--or, rather, a black +velvet bag--was handed about by this military verger; and I gave J----- a +franc to put in, though I did not in the least know for what. + +Issuing from the church, we inquired of two or three persons who was the +distinguished defunct at whose obsequies we had been assisting, for we +had some hope that it might be Rachel, who died last week, and is still +above ground. But it proved to be only a Madame Mentel, or some such +name, whom nobody had ever before heard of. I forgot to say that her +coffin was taken from beneath the illuminated pall, and carried out of +the church before us. + +When we left the Madeleine we took our way to the Place de la Concorde, +and thence through the Elysian Fields (which, I suppose, are the French +idea of heaven) to Bonaparte's triumphal arch. The Champs Elysees may +look pretty in summer; though I suspect they must be somewhat dry and +artificial at whatever season,--the trees being slender and scraggy, and +requiring to be renewed every few years. The soil is not genial to them. +The strangest peculiarity of this place, however, to eyes fresh from +moist and verdant England, is, that there is not one blade of grass in +all the Elysian Fields, nothing but hard clay, now covered with white +dust. It gives the whole scene the air of being a contrivance of man, in +which Nature has either not been invited to take any part, or has +declined to do so. There were merry-go-rounds, wooden horses, and other +provision for children's amusements among the trees; and booths, and +tables of cakes, and candy-women; and restaurants on the borders of the +wood; but very few people there; and doubtless we can form no idea of +what the scene might become when alive with French gayety and vivacity. + +As we walked onward the Triumphal Arch began to loom up in the distance, +looking huge and massive, though still a long way off. It was not, +however, till we stood almost beneath it that we really felt the grandeur +of this great arch, including so large a space of the blue sky in its +airy sweep. At a distance it impresses the spectator with its solidity; +nearer, with the lofty vacancy beneath it. There is a spiral staircase +within one of its immense limbs; and, climbing steadily upward, lighted +by a lantern which the doorkeeper's wife gave us, we had a bird's-eye +view of Paris, much obscured by smoke or mist. Several interminable +avenues shoot with painful directness right towards it. + +On our way homeward we visited the Place Vendome, in the centre of which +is a tall column, sculptured from top to bottom, all over the pedestal, +and all over the shaft, and with Napoleon himself on the summit. The +shaft is wreathed round and roundabout with representations of what, as +far as I could distinguish, seemed to be the Emperor's victories. It has +a very rich effect. At the foot of the column we saw wreaths of +artificial flowers, suspended there, no doubt, by some admirer of +Napoleon, still ardent enough to expend a franc or two in this way. + + +Hotel de Louvre, January 10th.--We had purposed going to the Cathedral +of Notre Dame to-day, but the weather and walking were too unfavorable +for a distant expedition; so we merely went across the street to the +Louvre. . . . . + +Our principal object this morning was to see the pencil drawings by +eminent artists. Of these the Louvre has a very rich collection, +occupying many apartments, and comprising sketches by Annibale Caracci, +Claude, Raphael, Leonardo da Vinci, Michel Angelo, Rubens, Rembrandt, and +almost all the other great masters, whether French, Italian, Dutch, or +whatever else; the earliest drawings of their great pictures, when they +had the glory of their pristine idea directly before their minds' eye,-- +that idea which inevitably became overlaid with their own handling of it +in the finished painting. No doubt the painters themselves had often a +happiness in these rude, off-hand sketches, which they never felt again +in the same work, and which resulted in disappointment, after they had +done their best. To an artist, the collection must be most deeply +interesting: to myself, it was merely curious, and soon grew wearisome. + +In the same suite of apartments, there is a collection of miniatures, +some of them very exquisite, and absolutely lifelike, on their small +scale. I observed two of Franklin, both good and picturesque, one of +them especially so, with its cloud-like white hair. I do not think we +have produced a man so interesting to contemplate, in many points of +view, as he. Most of our great men are of a character that I find it +impossible to warm into life by thought, or by lavishing any amount of +sympathy upon them. Not so Franklin, who had a great deal of common and +uncommon human nature in him. + +Much of the time, while my wife was looking at the drawings, I sat +observing the crowd of Sunday visitors. They were generally of a lower +class than those of week-days; private soldiers in a variety of uniforms, +and, for the most part, ugly little men, but decorous and well behaved. +I saw medals on many of their breasts, denoting Crimean service; some +wore the English medal, with Queen Victoria's head upon it. A blue +coat, with red baggy trousers, was the most usual uniform. Some had +short-breasted coats, made in the same style as those of the first +Napoleon, which we had seen in the preceding rooms. The policemen, +distributed pretty abundantly about the rooms, themselves looked +military, wearing cocked hats and swords. There were many women of the +middling classes; some, evidently, of the lowest, but clean and decent, +in colored gowns and caps; and laboring men, citizens, Sunday gentlemen, +young artists, too, no doubt looking with educated eyes at these +art-treasures, and I think, as a general thing, each man was mated with a +woman. The soldiers, however, came in pairs or little squads, +accompanied by women. I did not much like any of the French faces, and +yet I am not sure that there is not more resemblance between them and the +American physiognomy, than between the latter and the English. The women +are not pretty, but in all ranks above the lowest they have a trained +expression that supplies the place of beauty. + +I was wearied to death with the drawings, and began to have that dreary +and desperate feeling which has often come upon me when the sights last +longer than my capacity for receiving them. As our time in Paris, +however, is brief and precious, we next inquired our way to the galleries +of sculpture, and these alone are of astounding extent, reaching, I +should think, all round one quadrangle of the Louvre, on the basement +floor. Hall after hall opened interminably before us, and on either side +of us, paved and incrusted with variegated and beautifully polished +marble, relieved against which stand the antique statues and groups, +interspersed with great urns and vases, sarcophagi, altars, tablets, +busts of historic personages, and all manner of shapes of marble which +consummate art has transmuted into precious stones. Not that I really +did feel much impressed by any of this sculpture then, nor saw more than +two or three things which I thought very beautiful; but whether it be +good or no, I suppose the world has nothing better, unless it be a few +world-renowned statues in Italy. I was even more struck by the skill and +ingenuity of the French in arranging these sculptural remains, than by +the value of the sculptures themselves. The galleries, I should judge, +have been recently prepared, and on a magnificent system,--the adornments +being yet by no means completed,--for besides the floor and wall-casings +of rich, polished marble, the vaulted ceilings of some of the apartments +are painted in fresco, causing them to glow as if the sky were opened. +It must be owned, however, that the statuary, often time-worn and +darkened from its original brilliancy by weather-stains, does not suit +well as furniture for such splendid rooms. When we see a perfection of +modern finish around them, we recognize that most of these statues have +been thrown down from their pedestals, hundreds of years ago, and have +been battered and externally degraded; and though whatever spiritual +beauty they ever had may still remain, yet this is not made more apparent +by the contrast betwixt the new gloss of modern upholstery, and their +tarnished, even if immortal grace. I rather think the English have given +really the more hospitable reception to the maimed Theseus, and his +broken-nosed, broken-legged, headless companions, because flouting them +with no gorgeous fittings up. + +By this time poor J----- (who, with his taste for art yet undeveloped, is +the companion of all our visits to sculpture and picture galleries) was +wofully hungry, and for bread we had given him a stone,--not one stone, +but a thousand. We returned to the hotel, and it being too damp and raw +to go to our Restaurant des Echelles, we dined at the hotel. In my +opinion it would require less time to cultivate our gastronomic taste +than taste of any other kind; and, on the whole, I am not sure that a man +would not be wise to afford himself a little discipline in this line. It +is certainly throwing away the bounties of Providence, to treat them as +the English do, producing from better materials than the French have to +work upon nothing but sirloins, joints, joints, steaks, steaks, steaks, +chops, chops, chops, chops! We had a soup to-day, in which twenty kinds +of vegetables were represented, and manifested each its own aroma; a +fillet of stewed beef, and a fowl, in some sort of delicate fricassee. +We had a bottle of Chablis, and renewed ourselves, at the close of the +banquet, with a plate of Chateaubriand ice. It was all very good, and we +respected ourselves far more than if we had eaten a quantity of red roast +beef; but I am not quite sure that we were right. . . . + +Among the relics of kings and princes, I do not know that there was +anything more interesting than a little brass cannon, two or three inches +long, which had been a toy of the unfortunate Dauphin, son of Louis XVI. +There was a map,--a hemisphere of the world,--which his father had drawn +for this poor boy; very neatly done, too. The sword of Louis XVI., a +magnificent rapier, with a beautifully damasked blade, and a jewelled +scabbard, but without a hilt, is likewise preserved, as is the hilt of +Henry IV.'s sword. But it is useless to begin a catalogue of these +things. What a collection it is, including Charlemagne's sword and +sceptre, and the last Dauphin's little toy cannon, and so much between +the two! + + +Hotel de Louvre, January 11th.--This was another chill, raw day, +characterized by a spitefulness of atmosphere which I do not remember +ever to have experienced in my own dear country. We meant to have +visited the Hotel des Invalides, but J----- and I walked to the Tivoli, +the Place de la Concorde, the Champs Elysees, and to the Place de +Beaujou, and to the residence of the American minister, where I wished to +arrange about my passport. After speaking with the Secretary of +Legation, we were ushered into the minister's private room, where he +received me with great kindness. Mr. ------ is an old gentleman with a +white head, and a large, florid face, which has an expression of +amiability, not unmingled with a certain dignity. He did not rise from +his arm-chair to greet me,--a lack of ceremony which I imputed to the +gout, feeling it impossible that he should have willingly failed in +courtesy to one of his twenty-five million sovereigns. In response to +some remark of mine about the shabby way in which our government treats +its officials pecuniarily, he gave a detailed account of his own troubles +on that score; then expressed a hope that I had made a good thing out of +my consulate, and inquired whether I had received a hint to resign; to +which I replied that, for various reasons, I had resigned of my own +accord, and before Mr. Buchanan's inauguration. We agreed, however, in +disapproving the system of periodical change in our foreign officials; +and I remarked that a consul or an ambassador ought to be a citizen both +of his native country and of the one in which he resided; and that his +possibility of beneficent influence depended largely on his being so. +Apropos to which Mr. ------ said that he had once asked a diplomatic +friend of long experience, what was the first duty of a minister. "To +love his own country, and to watch over its interests," answered the +diplomatist. "And his second duty?" asked Mr. ------. "To love and to +promote the interests of the country to which he is accredited," said his +friend. This is a very Christian and sensible view of the matter; but it +can scarcely have happened once in our whole diplomatic history, that a +minister can have had time to overcome his first rude and ignorant +prejudice against the country of his mission; and if there were any +suspicion of his having done so, it would be held abundantly sufficient +ground for his recall. I like Mr. ------, a good-hearted, sensible old +man. + +J----- and I returned along the Champs Elysees, and, crossing the Seine, +kept on our way by the river's brink, looking at the titles of books on +the long lines of stalls that extend between the bridges. Novels, +fairy-tales, dream books, treatises of behavior and etiquette, +collections of bon-mots and of songs, were interspersed with volumes in +the old style of calf and gilt binding, the works of the classics of +French literature. A good many persons, of the poor classes, and of +those apparently well to do, stopped transitorily to look at these books. +On the other side of the street was a range of tall edifices with shops +beneath, and the quick stir of French life hurrying, and babbling, and +swarming along the sidewalk. We passed two or three bridges, occurring +at short intervals, and at last we recrossed the Seine by a bridge which +oversteps the river, from a point near the National Institute, and +reaches the other side, not far from the Louvre. . . . + +Though the day was so disagreeable, we thought it best not to lose the +remainder of it, and therefore set out to visit the Cathedral of Notre +Dame. We took a fiacre in the Place de Carousel, and drove to the door. +On entering, we found the interior miserably shut off from view by the +stagings erected for the purpose of repairs. Penetrating from the nave +towards the chancel, an official personage signified to us that we must +first purchase a ticket for each grown person, at the price of half a +franc each. This expenditure admitted us into the sacristy, where we +were taken in charge by a guide, who came down upon us with an avalanche +or cataract of French, descriptive of a great many treasures reposited in +this chapel. I understood hardly more than one word in ten, but gathered +doubtfully that a bullet which was shown us was the one that killed the +late Archbishop of Paris, on the floor of the cathedral. [But this was a +mistake. It was the archbishop who was killed in the insurrection of +1848. Two joints of his backbone were also shown.] Also, that some +gorgeously embroidered vestments, which he drew forth, had been used at +the coronation of Napoleon I. There were two large, full-length +portraits hanging aloft in the sacristy, and a gold or silver gilt, or, +at all events, gilt image of the Virgin, as large as life, standing on a +pedestal. The guide had much to say about these, but, understanding him +so imperfectly, I have nothing to record. + +The guide's supervision of us seemed not to extend beyond this sacristy, +on quitting which he gave us permission to go where we pleased, only +intimating a hope that we would not forget him; so I gave him half a +franc, though thereby violating an inhibition on the printed ticket of +entrance. + +We had been much disappointed at first by the apparently narrow limits +of the interior of this famous church; but now, as we made our way round +the choir, gazing into chapel after chapel, each with its painted window, +its crucifix, its pictures, its confessional, and afterwards came back +into the nave, where arch rises above arch to the lofty roof, we came to +the conclusion that it was very sumptuous. It is the greatest of pities +that its grandeur and solemnity should just now be so infinitely marred +by the workmen's boards, timber, and ladders occupying the whole centre +of the edifice, and screening all its best effects. It seems to have +been already most richly ornamented, its roof being painted, and the +capitals of the pillars gilded, and their shafts illuminated in fresco; +and no doubt it will shine out gorgeously when all the repairs and +adornments shall be completed. Even now it gave to my actual sight what +I have often tried to imagine in my visits to the English cathedrals,-- +the pristine glory of those edifices, when they stood glowing with gold +and picture, fresh from the architects' and adorners' hands. + +The interior loftiness of Notre Dame, moreover, gives it a sublimity +which would swallow up anything that might look gewgawy in its +ornamentation, were we to consider it window by window, or pillar by +pillar. It is an advantage of these vast edifices, rising over us and +spreading about us in such a firmamental way, that we cannot spoil them +by any pettiness of our own, but that they receive (or absorb) our +pettiness into their own immensity. Every little fantasy finds its place +and propriety in them, like a flower on the earth's broad bosom. + +When we emerged from the cathedral, we found it beginning to rain or +snow, or both; and, as we had dismissed our fiacre at the door, and could +find no other, we were at a loss what to do. We stood a few moments on +the steps of the Hotel Dieu, looking up at the front of Notre Dame, with +its twin towers, and its three deep-pointed arches, piercing through a +great thickness of stone, and throwing a cavern-like gloom around these +entrances. The front is very rich. Though so huge, and all of gray +stone, it is carved and fretted with statues and innumerable devices, as +cunningly as any ivory casket in which relics are kept; but its size did +not so much impress me. . . . + + +Hotel de Louvre, January 12th.--This has been a bright day as regards +weather; but I have done little or nothing worth recording. After +breakfast, I set out in quest of the consul, and found him up a court, at +51 Rue Caumartin, in an office rather smaller, I think, than mine at +Liverpool; but, to say the truth, a little better furnished. I was +received in the outer apartment by an elderly, brisk-looking man, in +whose air, respectful and subservient, and yet with a kind of authority +in it, I recognized the vice-consul. He introduced me to Mr. ------, who +sat writing in an inner room; a very gentlemanly, courteous, cool man of +the world, whom I should take to be an excellent person for consul at +Paris. He tells me that he has resided here some years, although his +occupancy of the consulate dates only from November last. Consulting him +respecting my passport, he gave me what appear good reasons why I should +get all the necessary vises here; for example, that the vise of a +minister carries more weight than that of a consul; and especially that +an Austrian consul will never vise a passport unless he sees his +minister's name upon it. Mr. ------ has travelled much in Italy, and +ought to be able to give me sound advice. His opinion was, that at this +season of the year I had better go by steamer to Civita Veechia, instead +of landing at Leghorn, and thence journeying to Rome. On this point I +shall decide when the time comes. As I left the office the vice-consul +informed me that there was a charge of five francs and some sous for the +consul's vise, a tax which surprised me,--the whole business of passports +having been taken from consuls before I quitted office, and the consular +fee having been annulled even earlier. However, no doubt Mr. ------ had +a fair claim to my five francs; but, really, it is not half so pleasant +to pay a consular fee as it used to be to receive it. + +Afterwards I walked to Notre Dame, the rich front of which I viewed with +more attention than yesterday. There are whole histories, carved in +stone figures, within the vaulted arches of the three entrances in this +west front, and twelve apostles in a row above, and as much other +sculpture as would take a month to see. We then walked quite round it, +but I had no sense of immensity from it, not even that of great height, +as from many of the cathedrals in England. It stands very near the +Seine; indeed, if I mistake not, it is on an island formed by two +branches of the river. Behind it, is what seems to be a small public +ground (or garden, if a space entirely denuded of grass or other green +thing, except a few trees, can be called so), with benches, and a +monument in the midst. This quarter of the city looks old, and appears +to be inhabited by poor people, and to be busied about small and petty +affairs; the most picturesque business that I saw being that of the old +woman who sells crucifixes of pearl and of wood at the cathedral door. +We bought two of these yesterday. + +I must again speak of the horrible muddiness, not only of this part of +the city, but of all Paris, so far as I have traversed it to-day. My +ways, since I came to Europe, have often lain through nastiness, but I +never before saw a pavement so universally overspread with mud-padding as +that of Paris. It is difficult to imagine where so much filth can come +from. + +After dinner I walked through the gardens of the Tuileries; but as dusk +was coming on, and as I was afraid of being shut up within the iron +railing, I did not have time to examine them particularly. There are +wide, intersecting walks, fountains, broad basins, and many statues; but +almost the whole surface of the gardens is barren earth, instead of the +verdure that would beautify an English pleasure-ground of this sort. In +the summer it has doubtless an agreeable shade; but at this season the +naked branches look meagre, and sprout from slender trunks. Like the +trees in the Champs Elysees, those, I presume, in the gardens of the +Tuileries need renewing every few years. The same is true of the human +race,--families becoming extinct after a generation or two of residence +in Paris. Nothing really thrives here; man and vegetables have but an +artificial life, like flowers stuck in a little mould, but never taking +root. I am quite tired of Paris, and long for a home more than ever. + + + +MARSEILLES. + + +Hotel d'Angleterre, January 15th.--On Tuesday morning, (12th) we took our +departure from the Hotel de Louvre. It is a most excellent and perfectly +ordered hotel, and I have not seen a more magnificent hall, in any +palace, than the dining-saloon, with its profuse gilding, and its +ceiling, painted in compartments; so that when the chandeliers are all +alight, it looks a fit place for princes to banquet in, and not very fit +for the few Americans whom I saw scattered at its long tables. + +By the by, as we drove to the railway, we passed through the public +square, where the Bastille formerly stood; and in the centre of it now +stands a column, surmounted by a golden figure of Mercury (I think), +which seems to be just on the point of casting itself from a gilt ball +into the air. This statue is so buoyant, that the spectator feels quite +willing to trust it to the viewless element, being as sure that it would +be borne up as that a bird would fly. + +Our first day's journey was wholly without interest, through a country +entirely flat, and looking wretchedly brown and barren. There were rows +of trees, very slender, very prim and formal; there was ice wherever +there happened to be any water to form it; there were occasional +villages, compact little streets, or masses of stone or plastered +cottages, very dirty and with gable ends and earthen roofs; and a +succession of this same landscape was all that we saw, whenever we rubbed +away the congelation of our breath from the carriage windows. Thus we +rode on, all day long, from eleven o'clock, with hardly a five minutes' +stop, till long after dark, when we came to Dijon, where there was a halt +of twenty-five minutes for dinner. Then we set forth again, and rumbled +forward, through cold and darkness without, until we reached Lyons at +about ten o'clock. We left our luggage at the railway station, and took +an omnibus for the Hotel de Provence, which we chose at a venture, among +a score of other hotels. + +As this hotel was a little off the direct route of the omnibus, the +driver set us down at the corner of a street, and pointed to some lights, +which he said designated the Hotel do Provence; and thither we proceeded, +all seven of us, taking along a few carpet-bags and shawls, our equipage +for the night. The porter of the hotel met us near its doorway, and +ushered us through an arch, into the inner quadrangle, and then up some +old and worn steps,--very broad, and appearing to be the principal +staircase. At the first landing-place, an old woman and a waiter or two +received us; and we went up two or three more flights of the same broad +and worn stone staircases. What we could see of the house looked very +old, and had the musty odor with which I first became acquainted at +Chester. + +After ascending to the proper level, we were conducted along a +corridor, paved with octagonal earthen tiles; on one side were +windows, looking into the courtyard, on the other doors opening into the +sleeping-chambers. The corridor was of immense length, and seemed still +to lengthen itself before us, as the glimmer of our conductor's candle +went farther and farther into the obscurity. Our own chamber was at a +vast distance along this passage; those of the rest of the party were on +the hither side; but all this immense suite of rooms appeared to +communicate by doors from one to another, like the chambers through which +the reader wanders at midnight, in Mrs. Radcliffe's romances. And they +were really splendid rooms, though of an old fashion, lofty, spacious, +with floors of oak or other wood, inlaid in squares and crosses, +and waxed till they were slippery, but without carpets. Our own +sleeping-room had a deep fireplace, in which we ordered a fire, and asked +if there were not some saloon already warmed, where we could get a cup of +tea. + +Hereupon the waiter led us back along the endless corridor, and down the +old stone staircases, and out into the quadrangle, and journeyed with us +along an exterior arcade, and finally threw open the door of the salle a +manger, which proved to be a room of lofty height, with a vaulted roof, a +stone floor, and interior spaciousness sufficient for a baronial hall, +the whole bearing the same aspect of times gone by, that characterized +the rest of the house. There were two or three tables covered with white +cloth, and we sat down at one of them and had our tea. Finally we wended +back to our sleeping-rooms,--a considerable journey, so endless seemed +the ancient hotel. I should like to know its history. + +The fire made our great chamber look comfortable, and the fireplace threw +out the heat better than the little square hole over which we cowered in +our saloon at the Hotel de Louvre. . . . + +In the morning we began our preparations for starting at ten. Issuing +into the corridor, I found a soldier of the line, pacing to and fro there +as sentinel. Another was posted in another corridor, into which I +wandered by mistake; another stood in the inner court-yard, and another +at the porte-cochere. They were not there the night before, and I know +not whence nor why they came, unless that some officer of rank may have +taken up his quarters at the hotel. Miss M------ says she heard at +Paris, that a considerable number of troops had recently been drawn +together at Lyons, in consequence of symptoms of disaffection that have +recently shown themselves here. + +Before breakfast I went out to catch a momentary glimpse of the city. +The street in which our hotel stands is near a large public square; in +the centre is a bronze equestrian statue of Louis XIV.; and the square +itself is called the Place de Louis le Grand. I wonder where this statue +hid itself while the Revolution was raging in Lyons, and when the +guillotine, perhaps, stood on that very spot. + +The square was surrounded by stately buildings, but had what seemed to be +barracks for soldiers,--at any rate, mean little huts, deforming its +ample space; and a soldier was on guard before the statue of Louis le +Grand. It was a cold, misty morning, and a fog lay throughout the area, +so that I could scarcely see from one side of it to the other. + +Returning towards our hotel, I saw that it had an immense front, along +which ran, in gigantic letters, its title,-- + + HOTEL DE PROVENCE ET DES AMBASSADEURS. + +The excellence of the hotel lay rather in the faded pomp of its +sleeping-rooms, and the vastness of its salle a manger, than in anything +very good to eat or drink. + +We left it, after a poor breakfast, and went to the railway station. +Looking at the mountainous heap of our luggage the night before, we had +missed a great carpet-bag; and we now found that Miss M------'s trunk had +been substituted for it, and, there being the proper number of packages +as registered, it was impossible to convince the officials that anything +was wrong. We, of course, began to generalize forthwith, and pronounce +the incident to be characteristic of French morality. They love a +certain system and external correctness, but do not trouble themselves to +be deeply in the right; and Miss M------ suggested that there used to be +parallel cases in the French Revolution, when, so long as the assigned +number were sent out of prison to be guillotined, the jailer did not much +care whether they were the persons designated by the tribunal or not. At +all events, we could get no satisfaction about the carpet-bag, and shall +very probably be compelled to leave Marseilles without it. + +This day's ride was through a far more picturesque country than that we +saw yesterday. Heights began to rise imminent above our way, with +sometimes a ruined castle wall upon them; on our left, the rail-track +kept close to the hills; on the other side there was the level bottom of +a valley, with heights descending upon it a mile or a few miles away. +Farther off we could see blue hills, shouldering high above the +intermediate ones, and themselves worthy to be called mountains. These +hills arranged themselves in beautiful groups, affording openings between +them, and vistas of what lay beyond, and gorges which I suppose held a +great deal of romantic scenery. By and by a river made its appearance, +flowing swiftly in the same direction that we were travelling,--a +beautiful and cleanly river, with white pebbly shores, and itself of a +peculiar blue. It rushed along very fast, sometimes whitening over +shallow descents, and even in its calmer intervals its surface was all +covered with whirls and eddies, indicating that it dashed onward in +haste. I do not now know the name of this river, but have set it down as +the "arrowy Rhone." It kept us company a long while, and I think we did +not part with it as long as daylight remained. I have seldom seen +hill-scenery that struck me more than some that we saw to-day, and the +old feudal towers and old villages at their feet; and the old churches, +with spires shaped just like extinguishers, gave it an interest +accumulating from many centuries past. + +Still going southward, the vineyards began to border our track, together +with what I at first took to be orchards, but soon found were plantations +of olive-trees, which grow to a much larger size than I supposed, and +look almost exactly like very crabbed and eccentric apple-trees. Neither +they nor the vineyards add anything to the picturesqueness of the +landscape. + +On the whole, I should have been delighted with all this scenery if it +had not looked so bleak, barren, brown, and bare; so like the wintry New +England before the snow has fallen. It was very cold, too; ice along the +borders of streams, even among the vineyards and olives. The houses are +of rather a different shape here than, farther northward, their roofs +being not nearly so sloping. They are almost invariably covered with +white plaster; the farm-houses have their outbuildings in connection with +the dwelling,--the whole surrounding three sides of a quadrangle. + +We travelled far into the night, swallowed a cold and hasty dinner at +Avignon, and reached Marseilles sorely wearied, at about eleven o'clock. +We took a cab to the Hotel d'Angleterre (two cabs, to be quite accurate), +and find it a very poor place. + +To go back a little, as the sun went down, we looked out of the window of +our railway carriage, and saw a sky that reminded us of what we used to +see day after day in America, and what we have not seen since; and, after +sunset, the horizon burned and glowed with rich crimson and orange +lustre, looking at once warm and cold. After it grew dark, the stars +brightened, and Miss M------ from her window pointed out some of the +planets to the children, she being as familiar with them as a gardener +with his flowers. They were as bright as diamonds. + +We had a wretched breakfast, and J----- and I then went to the railway +station to see about our luggage. On our walk back we went astray, +passing by a triumphal arch, erected by the Marseillais, in honor of +Louis Napoleon; but we inquired our way of old women and soldiers, who +were very kind and courteous,--especially the latter,--and were directed +aright. We came to a large, oblong, public place, set with trees, but +devoid of grass, like all public places in France. In the middle of it +was a bronze statue of an ecclesiastical personage, stretching forth his +hands in the attitude of addressing the people or of throwing a +benediction over them. It was some archbishop, who had distinguished +himself by his humanity and devotedness during the plague of 1720. At +the moment of our arrival the piazza was quite thronged with people, who +seemed to be talking amongst themselves with considerable earnestness, +although without any actual excitement. They were smoking cigars; +and we judged that they were only loitering here for the sake of the +sunshine, having no fires at home, and nothing to do. Some looked like +gentlemen, others like peasants; most of them I should have taken for the +lazzaroni of this Southern city,--men with cloth caps, like the classic +liberty-cap, or with wide-awake hats. There were one or two women of the +lower classes, without bonnets, the elder ones with white caps, the +younger bareheaded. I have hardly seen a lady in Marseilles; and I +suspect, it being a commercial city, and dirty to the last degree, +ill-built, narrow-streeted, and sometimes pestilential, there are few or +no families of gentility resident here. + +Returning to the hotel, we found the rest of the party ready to go +out; so we all issued forth in a body, and inquired our way to the +telegraph-office, in order to send my message about the carpet-bag. In a +street through which we had to pass (and which seemed to be the Exchange, +or its precincts), there was a crowd even denser, yes, much denser, than +that which we saw in the square of the archbishop's statue; and each man +was talking to his neighbor in a vivid, animated way, as if business were +very brisk to-day. + +At the telegraph-office, we discovered the cause that had brought out +these many people. There had been attempts on the Emperor's life,-- +unsuccessful, as they seem fated to be, though some mischief was done to +those near him. I rather think the good people of Marseilles were glad +of the attempt, as an item of news and gossip, and did not very greatly +care whether it were successful or no. It seemed to have roused their +vivacity rather than their interest. The only account I have seen of it +was in the brief public despatch from the Syndic (or whatever he be) of +Paris to the chief authority of Marseilles, which was printed and posted +in various conspicuous places. The only chance of knowing the truth with +any fulness of detail would be to come across an English paper. We have +had a banner hoisted half-mast in front of our hotel to-day as a token, +the head-waiter tells me, of sympathy and sorrow for the General and +other persons who were slain by this treasonable attempt. + +J----- and I now wandered by ourselves along a circular line of quays, +having, on one side of us, a thick forest of masts, while, on the +other, was a sweep of shops, bookstalls, sailors' restaurants and +drinking-houses, fruit-sellers, candy-women, and all manner of open-air +dealers and pedlers; little children playing, and jumping the rope, and +such a babble and bustle as I never saw or heard before; the sun lying +along the whole sweep, very hot, and evidently very grateful to those who +basked in it. Whenever I passed into the shade, immediately from too +warm I became too cold. The sunshine was like hot air; the shade, like +the touch of cold steel,--sharp, hard, yet exhilarating. From the broad +street of the quays, narrow, thread-like lanes pierced up between the +edifices, calling themselves streets, yet so narrow, that a person in the +middle could almost touch the houses on either hand. They ascended +steeply, bordered on each side by long, contiguous walls of high houses, +and from the time of their first being built, could never have had a +gleam of sunshine in them,--always in shadow, always unutterably nasty, +and often pestiferous. The nastiness which I saw in Marseilles exceeds +my heretofore experience. There is dirt in the hotel, and everywhere +else; and it evidently troubles nobody,--no more than if all the people +were pigs in a pigsty. . . . + +Passing by all this sweep of quays, J----- and I ascended to an elevated +walk, overlooking the harbor, and far beyond it; for here we had our +first view of the Mediterranean, blue as heaven, and bright with +sunshine. It was a bay, widening forth into the open deep, and bordered +with heights, and bold, picturesque headlands, some of which had either +fortresses or convents on them. Several boats and one brig were under +sail, making their way towards the port. I have never seen a finer +sea-view. Behind the town, there seemed to be a mountainous landscape, +imperfectly visible, in consequence of the intervening edifices. + + + +THE MEDITERRANEAN SEA. + + +Steamer Calabrese, January 17th.--If I had remained at Marseilles, I +might have found many peculiarities and characteristics of that Southern +city to notice; but I fear that these will not be recorded if I leave +them till I touch the soil of Italy. Indeed, I doubt whether there be +anything really worth recording in the little distinctions between one +nation and another; at any rate, after the first novelty is over, new +things seem equally commonplace with the old. There is but one little +interval when the mind is in such a state that it can catch the fleeting +aroma of a new scene. And it is always so much pleasanter to enjoy this +delicious newness than to attempt arresting it, that it requires great +force of will to insist with one's self upon sitting down to write. I +can do nothing with Marseilles, especially here on the Mediterranean, +long after nightfall, and when the steamer is pitching in a pretty lively +way. + +(Later.)--I walked out with J----- yesterday morning, and reached the +outskirts of the city, whence we could see the bold and picturesque +heights that surround Marseilles as with a semicircular wall. They rise +into peaks, and the town, being on their lower slope, descends from them +towards the sea with a gradual sweep. Adown the streets that descend +these declivities come little rivulets, running along over the pavement, +close to the sidewalks, as over a pebbly bed; and though they look vastly +like kennels, I saw women washing linen in these streams, and others +dipping up the water for household purposes. The women appear very much +in public at Marseilles. In the squares and places you see half a dozen +of them together, sitting in a social circle on the bottoms of upturned +baskets, knitting, talking, and enjoying the public sunshine, as if it +were their own household fire. Not one in a thousand of them, probably, +ever has a household fire for the purpose of keeping themselves warm, but +only to do their little cookery; and when there is sunshine they take +advantage of it, and in the short season of rain and frost they shrug +their shoulders, put on what warm garments they have, and get through the +winter somewhat as grasshoppers and butterflies do,--being summer insects +like then. This certainly is a very keen and cutting air, sharp as a +razor, and I saw ice along the borders of the little rivulets almost at +noonday. To be sure, it is midwinter, and yet in the sunshine I found +myself uncomfortably warm, but in the shade the air was like the touch of +death itself. I do not like the climate. + +There are a great number of public places in Marseilles, several of +which are adorned with statues or fountains, or triumphal arches or +columns, and set out with trees, and otherwise furnished as a kind of +drawing-rooms, where the populace may meet together and gossip. I never +before heard from human lips anything like this bustle and babble, this +thousand-fold talk which you hear all round about you in the crowd of a +public square; so entirely different is it from the dulness of a crowd in +England, where, as a rule, everybody is silent, and hardly half a dozen +monosyllables will come from the lips of a thousand people. In +Marseilles, on the contrary, a stream of unbroken talk seems to bubble +from the lips of every individual. A great many interesting scenes take +place in these squares. From the window of our hotel (which looked into +the Place Royale) I saw a juggler displaying his art to a crowd, who +stood in a regular square about him, none pretending to press nearer than +the prescribed limit. While the juggler wrought his miracles his wife +supplied him with his magic materials out of a box; and when the +exhibition was over she packed up the white cloth with which his table +was covered, together with cups, cards, balls, and whatever else, and +they took their departure. + +I have been struck with the idle curiosity, and, at the same time, the +courtesy and kindness of the populace of Marseilles, and I meant to +exemplify it by recording how Miss S------ and I attracted their notice, +and became the centre of a crowd of at least fifty of them while doing no +more remarkable thing than settling with a cab-driver. But really this +pitch and swell is getting too bad, and I shall go to bed, as the best +chance of keeping myself in an equable state. + + + +ROME. + + +37 Palazzo Larazani, Via Porta Pinciana, January 24th.--We left +Marseilles in the Neapolitan steamer Calabrese, as noticed above, a week +ago this morning. There was no fault to be found with the steamer, which +was very clean and comfortable, contrary to what we had understood +beforehand; except for the coolness of the air (and I know not that this +was greater than that of the Atlantic in July), our voyage would have +been very pleasant; but for myself, I enjoyed nothing, having a cold upon +me, or a low fever, or something else that took the light and warmth out +of everything. + +I went to bed immediately after my last record, and was rocked to sleep +pleasantly enough by the billows of the Mediterranean; and, coming on +deck about sunrise next morning, found the steamer approaching Genoa. We +saw the city, lying at the foot of a range of hills, and stretching a +little way up their slopes, the hills sweeping round it in the segment of +a circle, and looking like an island rising abruptly out of the sea; for +no connection with the mainland was visible on either side. There was +snow scattered on their summits and streaking their sides a good way +down. They looked bold, and barren, and brown, except where the snow +whitened them. The city did not impress me with much expectation of size +or splendor. Shortly after coming into the port our whole party landed, +and we found ourselves at once in the midst of a crowd of cab-drivers, +hotel-runnets, and coin missionaires, who assaulted us with a volley of +French, Italian, and broken English, which beat pitilessly about our +ears; for really it seemed as if all the dictionaries in the world had +been torn to pieces, and blown around us by a hurricane. Such a pother! +We took a commissionaire, a respectable-looking man, in a cloak, who said +his name was Salvator Rosa; and he engaged to show us whatever was +interesting in Genoa. + +In the first place, he took us through narrow streets to an old church, +the name of which I have forgotten, and, indeed, its peculiar features; +but I know that I found it pre-eminently magnificent,--its whole interior +being incased in polished marble, of various kinds and colors, its +ceiling painted, and its chapels adorned with pictures. However, this +church was dazzled out of sight by the Cathedral of San Lorenzo, to which +we were afterwards conducted, whose exterior front is covered with +alternate slabs of black and white marble, which were brought, either in +whole or in part, from Jerusalem. Within, there was a prodigious +richness of precious marbles, and a pillar, if I mistake not, from +Solomon's Temple; and a picture of the Virgin by St. Luke; and others +(rather more intrinsically valuable, I imagine), by old masters, set in +superb marble frames, within the arches of the chapels. I used to try to +imagine how the English cathedrals must have looked in their primeval +glory, before the Reformation, and before the whitewash of Cromwell's +time had overlaid their marble pillars; but I never imagined anything at +all approaching what my eyes now beheld: this sheen of polished and +variegated marble covering every inch of its walls; this glow of +brilliant frescos all over the roof, and up within the domes; these +beautiful pictures by great masters, painted for the places which they +now occupied, and making an actual portion of the edifice; this wealth of +silver, gold, and gems, that adorned the shrines of the saints, before +which wax candles burned, and were kept burning, I suppose, from year's +end to year's end; in short, there is no imagining nor remembering a +hundredth part of the rich details. And even the cathedral (though I +give it up as indescribable) was nothing at all in comparison with a +church to which the commissionaire afterwards led us; a church that had +been built four or five hundred years ago, by a pirate, in expiation of +his sins, and out of the profit of his rapine. This last edifice, in its +interior, absolutely shone with burnished gold, and glowed with pictures; +its walls were a quarry of precious stones, so valuable were the marbles +out of which they were wrought; its columns and pillars were of +inconceivable costliness; its pavement was a mosaic of wonderful beauty, +and there were four twisted pillars made out of stalactites. Perhaps the +best way to form some dim conception of it is to fancy a little +casket, inlaid inside with precious stones, so that there shall not a +hair's-breadth be left unprecious-stoned, and then to conceive this +little bit of a casket iucreased to the magnitude of a great church, +without losing anything of the excessive glory that was compressed into +its original small compass, but all its pretty lustre made sublime by the +consequent immensity. At any rate, nobody who has not seen a church +like this can imagine what a gorgeous religion it was that reared it. + +In the cathedral, and in all the churches, we saw priests and many +persons kneeling at their devotions; and our Salvator Rosa, whenever we +passed a chapel or shrine, failed not to touch the pavement with one +knee, crossing himself the while; and once, when a priest was going +through some form of devotion, he stopped a few moments to share in it. + +He conducted us, too, to the Balbi Palace, the stateliest and most +sumptuous residence, but not more so than another which he afterwards +showed us, nor perhaps than many others which exist in Genoa, THE SUPERB. +The painted ceilings in these palaces are a glorious adornment; the walls +of the saloons, incrusted with various-colored marbles, give an idea of +splendor which I never gained from anything else. The floors, laid in +mosaic, seem too precious to tread upon. In the royal palace, many of +the floors were of various woods, inlaid by an English artist, and they +looked like a magnification of some exquisite piece of Tunbridge ware; +but, in all respects, this palace was inferior to others which we saw. I +say nothing of the immense pictorial treasures which hung upon the walls +of all the rooms through which we passed; for I soon grew so weary of +admirable things, that I could neither enjoy nor understand them. My +receptive faculty is very limited, and when the utmost of its small +capacity is full, I become perfectly miserable, and the more so the +better worth seeing are the things I am forced to reject. I do not know +a greater misery; to see sights, after such repletion, is to the mind +what it would be to the body to have dainties forced down the throat long +after the appetite was satiated. + +All this while, whenever we emerged into the vaultlike streets, +we were wretchedly cold. The commissionaire took us to a sort of +pleasure-garden, occupying the ascent of a hill, and presenting seven +different views of the city, from as many stations. One of the objects +pointed out to us was a large yellow house, on a hillside, in the +outskirts of Genoa, which was formerly inhabited for six months by +Charles Dickens. Looking down from the elevated part of the +pleasure-gardens, we saw orange-trees beneath us, with the golden fruit +hanging upon them, though their trunks were muffled in straw; and, still +lower down, there was ice and snow. + +Gladly (so far as I myself was concerned) we dismissed the +commissionaire, after he had brought us to the hotel of the Cross of +Malta, where we dined; needlessly, as it proved, for another dinner +awaited us, after our return on board the boat. + +We set sail for Leghorn before dark, and I retired early, feeling still +more ill from my cold than the night before. The next morning we were in +the crowded port of Leghorn. We all went ashore, with some idea of +taking the rail for Pisa, which is within an hour's distance, and might +have been seen in time for our departure with the steamer. But a +necessary visit to a banker's, and afterwards some unnecessary +formalities about our passports, kept us wandering through the streets +nearly all day; and we saw nothing in the slightest degree interesting, +except the tomb of Smollett, in the burial-place attached to the English +Chapel. It is surrounded by an iron railing, and marked by a slender +obelisk of white marble, the pattern of which is many times repeated over +surrounding graves. + +We went into a Jewish synagogue,--the interior cased in marbles, and +surrounded with galleries, resting upon arches above arches. There were +lights burning at the altar, and it looked very like a Christian church; +but it was dirty, and had an odor not of sanctity. + +In Leghorn, as everywhere else, we were chilled to the heart, except when +the sunshine fell directly upon us; and we returned to the steamer with a +feeling as if we were getting back to our home; for this life of +wandering makes a three days' residence in one place seem like home. + +We found several new passengers on board, and among others a monk, in a +long brown frock of woollen cloth, with an immense cape, and a little +black covering over his tonsure. He was a tall figure, with a gray +beard, and might have walked, just as he stood, out of a picture by one +of the old masters. This holy person addressed me very affably in +Italian; but we found it impossible to hold much conversation. + +The evening was beautiful, with a bright young moonlight, not yet +sufficiently powerful to overwhelm the stars, and as we walked the deck, +Miss M------ showed the children the constellations, and told their +names. J----- made a slight mistake as to one of them, pointing it out +to me as "O'Brien's belt!" + +Elba was presently in view, and we might have seen many other interesting +points, had it not been for our steamer's practice of resting by day, and +only pursuing its voyage by night. The next morning we found ourselves +in the harbor of Civita Vecchia, and, going ashore with our luggage, went +through a blind turmoil with custom-house officers, inspectors of +passports, soldiers, and vetturino people. My wife and I strayed a +little through Civita Vecchia, and found its streets narrow, like clefts +in a rock (which seems to be the fashion of Italian towns), and smelling +nastily. I had made a bargain with a vetturino to send us to Rome in a +carriage, with four horses, in eight hours; and as soon as the +custom-house and passport people would let us, we started, lumbering +slowly along with our mountain of luggage. We had heard rumors of +robberies lately committed on this route; especially of a Nova Scotia +bishop, who was detained on the road an hour and a half, and utterly +pillaged; and certainly there was not a single mile of the dreary and +desolate country over which we passed, where we might not have been +robbed and murdered with impunity. Now and then, at long distances, we +came to a structure that was either a prison, a tavern, or a barn, but +did not look very much like either, being strongly built of stone, with +iron-grated windows, and of ancient and rusty aspect. We kept along by +the seashore a great part of the way, and stopped to feed our horses at a +village, the wretched street of which stands close along the shore of the +Mediterranean, its loose, dark sand being made nasty by the vicinity. +The vetturino cheated us, one of the horses giving out, as he must have +known it would do, half-way on our journey; and we staggered on through +cold and darkness, and peril, too, if the banditti were not a myth,-- +reaching Rome not much before midnight. I perpetrated unheard-of +briberies on the custom-house officers at the gates, and was permitted to +pass through and establish myself at Spillman's Hotel, the only one where +we could gain admittance, and where we have been half frozen ever since. + +And this is sunny Italy, and genial Rome! + + +Palazzo Larazani, Via Porta Pinciana, February 3d.--We have been in Rome +a fortnight to-day, or rather at eleven o'clock to-night; and I have +seldom or never spent so wretched a time anywhere. Our impressions were +very unfortunate, arriving at midnight, half frozen in the wintry rain, +and being received into a cold and cheerless hotel, where we shivered +during two or three days; meanwhile seeking lodgings among the sunless, +dreary alleys which are called streets in Rome. One cold, bright day +after another has pierced me to the heart, and cut me in twain as with a +sword, keen and sharp, and poisoned at point and edge. I did not think +that cold weather could have made me so very miserable. Having caught a +feverish influenza, I was really glad of being muffled up comfortably in +the fever heat. The atmosphere certainly has a peculiar quality of +malignity. After a day or two we settled ourselves in a suite of ten +rooms, comprehending one flat, or what is called the second piano of this +house. The rooms, thus far, have been very uncomfortable, it being +impossible to warm them by means of the deep, old-fashioned, inartificial +fireplaces, unless we had the great logs of a New England forest to burn +in them; so I have sat in my corner by the fireside with more clothes on +than I ever wore before, and my thickest great-coat over all. In the +middle of the day I generally venture out for an hour or two, but have +only once been warm enough even in the sunshine, and out of the sun never +at any time. I understand now the force of that story of Diogenes when +he asked the Conqueror, as the only favor he could do him, to stand out +of his sunshine, there being such a difference in these Southern climes +of Europe between sun and shade. If my wits had not been too much +congealed, and my fingers too numb, I should like to have kept a minute +journal of my feelings and impressions during the past fortnight. It +would have shown modern Rome in an aspect in which it has never yet been +depicted. But I have now grown somewhat acclimated, and the first +freshness of my discomfort has worn off, so that I shall never be able to +express how I dislike the place, and how wretched I have been in it; and +soon, I suppose, warmer weather will come, and perhaps reconcile +me to Rome against my will. Cold, narrow lanes, between tall, ugly, +mean-looking whitewashed houses, sour bread, pavements most uncomfortable +to the feet, enormous prices for poor living; beggars, pickpockets, +ancient temples and broken monuments, and clothes hanging to dry about +them; French soldiers, monks, and priests of every degree; a shabby +population, smoking bad cigars,--these would have been some of the points +of my description. Of course there are better and truer things to be +said. . . . + +It would be idle for me to attempt any sketches of these famous sites and +edifices,--St. Peter's, for example,--which have been described by a +thousand people, though none of them have ever given me an idea of what +sort of place Rome is. . . . + +The Coliseum was very much what I had preconceived it, though I was not +prepared to find it turned into a sort of Christian church, with a pulpit +on the verge of the open space. . . . The French soldiers, who keep +guard within it, as in other public places in Rome, have an excellent +opportunity to secure the welfare of their souls. + + +February 7th.--I cannot get fairly into the current of my journal since +we arrived, and already I perceive that the nice peculiarities of Roman +life are passing from my notice before I have recorded them. It is a +very great pity. During the past week I have plodded daily, for an hour +or two, through the narrow, stony streets, that look worse than the worst +backside lanes of any other city; indescribably ugly and disagreeable +they are, . . . . without sidewalks, but provided with a line of larger +square stones, set crosswise to each other, along which there is somewhat +less uneasy walking. . . . Ever and anon, even in the meanest streets, +--though, generally speaking, one can hardly be called meaner than +another,--we pass a palace, extending far along the narrow way on a line +with the other houses, but distinguished by its architectural windows, +iron-barred on the basement story, and by its portal arch, through which +we have glimpses, sometimes of a dirty court-yard, or perhaps of a clean, +ornamented one, with trees, a colonnade, a fountain, and a statue in the +vista; though, more likely, it resembles the entrance to a stable, and +may, perhaps, really be one. The lower regions of palaces come to +strange uses in Rome. . . . In the basement story of the Barberini +Palace a regiment of French soldiers (or soldiers of some kind [we find +them to be retainers of the Barberini family, not French]) seems to be +quartered, while no doubt princes have magnificent domiciles above. Be +it palace or whatever other dwelling, the inmates climb through rubbish +often to the comforts, such as they may be, that await them above. I +vainly try to get down upon paper the dreariness, the ugliness, +shabbiness, un-home-likeness of a Roman street. It is also to be said +that you cannot go far in any direction without coming to a piazza, which +is sometimes little more than a widening and enlarging of the dingy +street, with the lofty facade of a church or basilica on one side, and a +fountain in the centre, where the water squirts out of some fantastic +piece of sculpture into a great stone basin. These fountains are often +of immense size and most elaborate design. . . . + +There are a great many of these fountain-shapes, constructed under the +orders of one pope or another, in all parts of the city; and only the +very simplest, such as a jet springing from a broad marble or porphyry +vase, and falling back into it again, are really ornamental. If an +antiquary were to accompany me through the streets, no doubt he would +point out ten thousand interesting objects that I now pass over +unnoticed, so general is the surface of plaster and whitewash; but often +I can see fragments of antiquity built into the walls, or perhaps a +church that was a Roman temple, or a basement of ponderous stones that +were laid above twenty centuries ago. It is strange how our ideas of +what antiquity is become altered here in Rome; the sixteenth century, in +which many of the churches and fountains seem to have been built or +re-edified, seems close at hand, even like our own days; a thousand +years, or the days of the latter empire, is but a modern date, and +scarcely interests us; and nothing is really venerable of a more recent +epoch than the reign of Constantine. And the Egyptian obelisks that +stand in several of the piazzas put even the Augustan or Republican +antiquities to shame. I remember reading in a New York newspaper an +account of one of the public buildings of that city,--a relic of "the +olden time," the writer called it; for it was erected in 1825! I am glad +I saw the castles and Gothic churches and cathedrals of England before +visiting Rome, or I never could have felt that delightful reverence for +their gray and ivy-hung antiquity after seeing these so much older +remains. But, indeed, old things are not so beautiful in this dry +climate and clear atmosphere as in moist England. . . . + +Whatever beauty there may be in a Roman ruin is the remnant of what was +beautiful originally; whereas an English ruin is more beautiful often in +its decay than even it was in its primal strength. If we ever build such +noble structures as these Roman ones, we can have just as good ruins, +after two thousand years, in the United States; but we never can have a +Furness Abbey or a Kenilworth. The Corso, and perhaps some other +streets, does not deserve all the vituperation which I have bestowed on +the generality of Roman vias, though the Corso is narrow, not averaging +more than nine paces, if so much, from sidewalk to sidewalk. But palace +after palace stands along almost its whole extent,--not, however, that +they make such architectural show on the street as palaces should. The +enclosed courts were perhaps the only parts of these edifices which the +founders cared to enrich architecturally. I think Linlithgow Palace, of +which I saw the ruins during my last tour in Scotland, was built, by an +architect who had studied these Roman palaces. There was never any idea +of domestic comfort, or of what we include in the name of home, at all +implicated in such structures, they being generally built by wifeless and +childless churchmen for the display of pictures and statuary in galleries +and long suites of rooms. + +I have not yet fairly begun the sight-seeing of Rome. I have been four +or five times to St. Peter's, and always with pleasure, because there is +such a delightful, summerlike warmth the moment we pass beneath the +heavy, padded leather curtains that protect the entrances. It is almost +impossible not to believe that this genial temperature is the result of +furnace-heat, but, really, it is the warmth of last summer, which will be +included within those massive walls, and in that vast immensity of space, +till, six months hence, this winter's chill will just have made its way +thither. It would be an excellent plan for a valetudinarian to lodge +during the winter in St. Peter's, perhaps establishing his household in +one of the papal tombs. I become, I think, more sensible of the size of +St. Peter's, but am as yet far from being overwhelmed by it. It is not, +as one expects, so big as all out of doors, nor is its dome so immense as +that of the firmament. It looked queer, however, the other day, to see a +little ragged boy, the very least of human things, going round and +kneeling at shrine after shrine, and a group of children standing on +tiptoe to reach the vase of holy water. . . . + +On coming out of St. Peter's at my last visit, I saw a great sheet of ice +around the fountain on the right hand, and some little Romans awkwardly +sliding on it. I, too, took a slide, just for the sake of doing what I +never thought to do in Rome. This inclement weather, I should suppose, +must make the whole city very miserable; for the native Romans, I am +told, never keep any fire, except for culinary purposes, even in the +severest winter. They flee from their cheerless houses into the open +air, and bring their firesides along with them in the shape of small +earthen vases, or pipkins, with a handle by which they carry them up and +down the streets, and so warm at least their hands with the lighted +charcoal. I have had glimpses through open doorways into interiors, and +saw them as dismal as tombs. Wherever I pass my summers, let me spend my +winters in a cold country. + +We went yesterday to the Pantheon. . . . + +When I first came to Rome, I felt embarrassed and unwilling to pass, with +my heresy, between a devotee and his saint; for they often shoot their +prayers at a shrine almost quite across the church. But there seems to +be no violation of etiquette in so doing. A woman begged of us in +the Pantheon, and accused my wife of impiety for not giving her an +alms. . . . People of very decent appearance are often unexpectedly +converted into beggars as you approach them; but in general they take a +"No" at once. + + +February 9th.--For three or four days it has been cloudy and rainy, which +is the greater pity, as this should be the gayest and merriest part of +the Carnival. I go out but little,--yesterday only as far as Pakenham's +and Hooker's bank in the Piazza de' Spagna, where I read Galignani and +the American papers. At last, after seeing in England more of my +fellow-compatriots than ever before, I really am disjoined from my +country. + +To-day I walked out along the Pincian Hill. . . . As the clouds still +threatened rain, I deemed it my safest course to go to St. Peter's for +refuge. Heavy and dull as the day was, the effect of this great world of +a church was still brilliant in the interior, as if it had a sunshine of +its own, as well as its own temperature; and, by and by, the sunshine of +the outward world came through the windows, hundreds of feet aloft, and +fell upon the beautiful inlaid pavement. . . . Against a pillar, on one +side of the nave, is a mosaic copy of Raphael's Transfiguration, fitly +framed within a great arch of gorgeous marble; and, no doubt, the +indestructible mosaic has preserved it far more completely than the +fading and darkening tints in which the artist painted it. At any rate, +it seemed to me the one glorious picture that I have ever seen. The +pillar nearest the great entrance, on the left of the nave, supports the +monument to the Stuart family, where two winged figures, with inverted +torches, stand on either side of a marble door, which is closed forever. +It is an impressive monument, for you feel as if the last of the race had +passed through that door. + +Emerging from the church, I saw a French sergeant drilling his men in the +piazza. These French soldiers are prominent objects everywhere about the +city, and make up more of its sight and sound than anything else that +lives. They stroll about individually; they pace as sentinels in all the +public places; and they march up and down in squads, companies, and +battalions, always with a very great din of drum, fife, and trumpet; ten +times the proportion of music that the same number of men would require +elsewhere; and it reverberates with ten times the noise, between the high +edifices of these lanes, that it could make in broader streets. +Nevertheless, I have no quarrel with the French soldiers; they are fresh, +healthy, smart, honest-looking young fellows enough, in blue coats and +red trousers; . . . . and, at all events, they serve as an efficient +police, making Rome as safe as London; whereas, without them, it would +very likely be a den of banditti. + +On my way home I saw a few tokens of the Carnival, which is now in full +progress; though, as it was only about one o'clock, its frolics had not +commenced for the day. . . . I question whether the Romans themselves +take any great interest in the Carnival. The balconies along the Corso +were almost entirely taken by English and Americans, or other foreigners. + +As I approached the bridge of St. Angelo, I saw several persons engaged, +as I thought, in fishing in the Tiber, with very strong lines; but on +drawing nearer I found that they were trying to hook up the branches, and +twigs, and other drift-wood, which the recent rains might have swept into +the river. There was a little heap of what looked chiefly like willow +twigs, the poor result of their labor. The hook was a knot of wood, with +the lopped-off branches projecting in three or four prongs. The Tiber +has always the hue of a mud-puddle; but now, after a heavy rain which has +washed the clay into it, it looks like pease-soup. It is a broad and +rapid stream, eddying along as if it were in haste to disgorge its +impurities into the sea. On the left side, where the city mostly is +situated, the buildings hang directly over the stream; on the other, +where stand the Castle of St. Angelo and the Church of St. Peter, the +town does not press so imminent upon the shore. The banks are clayey, +and look as if the river had been digging them away for ages; but I +believe its bed is higher than of yore. + + +February 10th.--I went out to-day, and, going along the Via Felice and +the Via delle Quattro Fontane, came unawares to the Basilica of Santa +Maria Maggiore, on the summit of the Esquiline Hill. I entered it, +without in the least knowing what church it was, and found myself in a +broad and noble nave, both very simple and very grand. There was a long +row of Ionic columns of marble, twenty or thereabouts on each side, +supporting a flat roof. There were vaulted side aisles, and, at the +farther end, a bronze canopy over the high altar; and all along the +length of the side aisles were shrines with pictures, sculpture, and +burning lamps; the whole church, too, was lined with marble: the roof was +gilded; and yet the general effect of severe and noble simplicity +triumphed over all the ornament. I should have taken it for a Roman +temple, retaining nearly its pristine aspect; but Murray tells us that it +was founded A. D. 342 by Pope Liberius, on the spot precisely marked out +by a miraculous fall of snow, in the month of August, and it has +undergone many alterations since his time. But it is very fine, and +gives the beholder the idea of vastness, which seems harder to attain +than anything else. On the right hand, approaching the high altar, there +is a chapel, separated from the rest of the church by an iron paling; +and, being admitted into it with another party, I found it most +elaborately magnificent. But one magnificence outshone another, and made +itself the brightest conceivable for the moment. However, this chapel +was as rich as the most precious marble could make it, in pillars and +pilasters, and broad, polished slabs, covering the whole walls (except +where there were splendid and glowing frescos; or where some monumental +statuary or bas-relief, or mosaic picture filled up an arched niche). +Its architecture was a dome, resting on four great arches; and in size it +would alone have been a church. In the centre of the mosaic pavement +there was a flight of steps, down which we went, and saw a group in +marble, representing the nativity of Christ, which, judging by the +unction with which our guide talked about it, must have been of peculiar +sanctity. I hate to leave this chapel and church, without being able to +say any one thing that may reflect a portion of their beauty, or of the +feeling which they excite. Kneeling against many of the pillars there +were persons in prayer, and I stepped softly, fearing lest my tread on +the marble pavement should disturb them,--a needless precaution, however, +for nobody seems to expect it, nor to be disturbed by the lack of it. + +The situation of the church, I should suppose, is the loftiest in Rome: +it has a fountain at one end, and a column at the other; but I did not +pay particular attention to either, nor to the exterior of the church +itself. + +On my return, I turned aside from the Via delle Quattro Fontane into the +Via Quirinalis, and was led by it into the Piazza di Monte Cavallo. The +street through which I passed was broader, cleanlier, and statelier than +most streets in Rome, and bordered by palaces; and the piazza had noble +edifices around it, and a fountain, an obelisk, and two nude statues in +the centre. The obelisk was, as the inscription indicated, a relic of +Egypt; the basin of the fountain was an immense bowl of Oriental granite, +into which poured a copious flood of water, discolored by the rain; the +statues were colossal,--two beautiful young men, each holding a fiery +steed. On the pedestal of one was the inscription, OPUS PHIDIAE; on the +other, OPUS PRAXITELIS. What a city is this, when one may stumble, by +mere chance,--at a street corner, as it were,--on the works of two such +sculptors! I do not know the authority on which these statues (Castor +and Pollux, I presume) are attributed to Phidias and Praxiteles; but they +impressed me as noble and godlike, and I feel inclined to take them for +what they purport to be. On one side of the piazza is the Pontifical +Palace; but, not being aware of this at the time, I did not look +particularly at the edifice. + +I came home by way of the Corso, which seemed a little enlivened by +Carnival time; though, as it was not yet two o'clock, the fun had not +begun for the day. The rain throws a dreary damper on the festivities. + + +February 13th.--Day before yesterday we took J----- and R----- in a +carriage, and went to see the Carnival, by driving up and down the Corso. +It was as ugly a day, as respects weather, as has befallen us since we +came to Rome,--cloudy, with an indecisive wet, which finally settled into +a rain; and people say that such is generally the weather in Carnival +time. There is very little to be said about the spectacle. Sunshine +would have improved it, no doubt; but a person must have very broad +sunshine within himself to be joyous on such shallow provocation. The +street, at all events, would have looked rather brilliant under a sunny +sky, the balconies being hung with bright-colored draperies, which were +also flung out of some of the windows. . . . Soon I had my first +experience of the Carnival in a handful of confetti, right slap in my +face. . . . Many of the ladies wore loose white dominos, and some of +the gentlemen had on defensive armor of blouses; and wire masks over the +face were a protection for both sexes,--not a needless one, for I +received a shot in my right eye which cost me many tears. It seems to be +a point of courtesy (though often disregarded by Americans and English) +not to fling confetti at ladies, or at non-combatants, or quiet +bystanders; and the engagements with these missiles were generally +between open carriages, manned with youths, who were provided with +confetti for such encounters, and with bouquets for the ladies. We had +one real enemy on the Corso; for our former friend Mrs. T------ was +there, and as often as we passed and repassed her, she favored us with a +handful of lime. Two or three times somebody ran by the carriage and +puffed forth a shower of winged seeds through a tube into our faces and +over our clothes; and, in the course of the afternoon, we were hit with +perhaps half a dozen sugar-plums. Possibly we may not have received our +fair share of these last salutes, for J----- had on a black mask, which +made him look like an imp of Satan, and drew many volleys of confetti +that we might otherwise have escaped. A good many bouquets were flung at +our little R-----, and at us generally. . . . This was what is called +masking-day, when it is the rule to wear masks in the Corso, but the +great majority of people appeared without them. . . . Two fantastic +figures, with enormous heads, set round with frizzly hair, came and +grinned into our carriage, and J----- tore out a handful of hair +(which proved to be sea-weed) from one of their heads, rather to +the discomposure of the owner, who muttered his indignation in +Italian. . . . On comparing notes with J----- and R-----, indeed with +U---- too, I find that they all enjoyed the Carnival much more than I +did. Only the young ought to write descriptions of such scenes. My cold +criticism chills the life out of it. + + +February 14th.--Friday, 12th, was a sunny day, the first that we had had +for some time; and my wife and I went forth to see sights as well as to +make some calls that had long been due. We went first to the church of +Santa Maria Maggiore, which I have already mentioned, and, on our return, +we went to the Piazza di Monte Cavallo, and saw those admirable ancient +statues of Castor and Pollux, which seem to me sons of the morning, and +full of life and strength. The atmosphere, in such a length of time, has +covered the marble surface of these statues with a gray rust, that +envelops both the men and horses as with a garment; besides which, there +are strange discolorations, such as patches of white moss on the elbows, +and reddish streaks down the sides; but the glory of form overcomes all +these defects of color. It is pleasant to observe how familiar some +little birds are with these colossal statues,--hopping about on their +heads and over their huge fists, and very likely they have nests in their +ears or among their hair. + +We called at the Barberini Palace, where William Story has established +himself and family for the next seven years, or more, on the third piano, +in apartments that afford a very fine outlook over Rome, and have the sun +in them through most of the day. Mrs. S---- invited us to her fancy +ball, but we declined. + +On the staircase ascending to their piano we saw the ancient Greek +bas-relief of a lion, whence Canova is supposed to have taken the idea of +his lions on the monument in St. Peter's. Afterwards we made two or +three calls in the neighborhood of the Piazza de' Spagna, finding only +Mr. Hamilton Fish and family, at the Hotel d'Europe, at home, and next +visited the studio of Mr. C. G. Thompson, whom I knew in Boston. He has +very greatly improved since those days, and, being always a man of +delicate mind, and earnestly desiring excellence for its own sake, he has +won himself the power of doing beautiful and elevated works. He is now +meditating a series of pictures from Shakespeare's "Tempest," the +sketches of one or two of which he showed us, likewise a copy of a small +Madonna, by Raphael, wrought with a minute faithfulness which it makes +one a better man to observe. . . . Mr. Thompson is a true artist, and +whatever his pictures have of beauty comes from very far beneath the +surface; and this, I suppose, is one weighty reason why he has but +moderate success. I should like his pictures for the mere color, even if +they represented nothing. His studio is in the Via Sistina; and at a +little distance on the other side of the same street is William Story's, +where we likewise went, and found him at work on a sitting statue of +Cleopatra. + +William Story looks quite as vivid, in a graver way, as when I saw him +last, a very young man. His perplexing variety of talents and +accomplishments--he being a poet, a prose writer, a lawyer, a painter, a +musician, and a sculptor--seems now to be concentrating itself into this +latter vocation, and I cannot see why he should not achieve something +very good. He has a beautiful statue, already finished, of Goethe's +Margaret, pulling a flower to pieces to discover whether Faust loves her; +a very type of virginity and simplicity. The statue of Cleopatra, now +only fourteen days advanced in the clay, is as wide a step from the +little maidenly Margaret as any artist could take; it is a grand subject, +and he is conceiving it with depth and power, and working it out with +adequate skill. He certainly is sensible of something deeper in his art +than merely to make beautiful nudities and baptize them by classic names. +By the by, he told me several queer stories of American visitors to his +studio: one of them, after long inspecting Cleopatra, into which he has +put all possible characteristics of her time and nation and of her own +individuality, asked, "Have you baptized your statue yet?" as if the +sculptor were waiting till his statue were finished before he chose the +subject of it,--as, indeed, I should think many sculptors do. Another +remarked of a statue of Hero, who is seeking Leander by torchlight, and +in momentary expectation of finding his drowned body, "Is not the face a +little sad?" Another time a whole party of Americans filed into his +studio, and ranged themselves round his father's statue, and, after much +silent examination, the spokesman of the party inquired, "Well, sir, what +is this intended to represent?" William Story, in telling these little +anecdotes, gave the Yankee twang to perfection. . . . + +The statue of his father, his first work, is very noble, as noble and +fine a portrait-statue as I ever saw. In the outer room of his studio a +stone-cutter, or whatever this kind of artisan is called, was at work, +transferring the statue of Hero from the plaster-cast into marble; and +already, though still in some respects a block of stone, there was a +wonderful degree of expression in the face. It is not quite pleasant to +think that the sculptor does not really do the whole labor on his +statues, but that they are all but finished to his hand by merely +mechanical people. It is generally only the finishing touches that are +given by his own chisel. + +Yesterday, being another bright day, we went to the basilica of St. John +Lateran, which is the basilica next in rank to St. Peter's, and has the +precedence of it as regards certain sacred privileges. It stands on a +most noble site, on the outskirts of the city, commanding a view of the +Sabine and Alban hills, blue in the distance, and some of them hoary with +sunny snow. The ruins of the Claudian aqueduct are close at hand. The +church is connected with the Lateran palace and museum, so that the whole +is one edifice; but the facade of the church distinguishes it, and is +very lofty and grand,--more so, it seems to me, than that of St. Peter's. +Under the portico is an old statue of Constantine, representing him as a +very stout and sturdy personage. The inside of the church disappointed +me, though no doubt I should have been wonderstruck had I seen it a month +ago. We went into one of the chapels, which was very rich in colored +marbles; and, going down a winding staircase, found ourselves among the +tombs and sarcophagi of the Corsini family, and in presence of a marble +Pieta very beautifully sculptured. On the other side of the church we +looked into the Torlonia Chapel, very rich and rather profusely gilded, +but, as it seemed to me, not tawdry, though the white newness of the +marble is not perfectly agreeable after being accustomed to the milder +tint which time bestows on sculpture. The tombs and statues appeared +like shapes and images of new-fallen snow. The most interesting thing +which we saw in this church (and, admitting its authenticity, there can +scarcely be a more interesting one anywhere) was the table at which the +Last Supper was eaten. It is preserved in a corridor, on one side of the +tribune or chancel, and is shown by torchlight suspended upon the wall +beneath a covering of glass. Only the top of the table is shown, +presenting a broad, flat surface of wood, evidently very old, and showing +traces of dry-rot in one or two places. There are nails in it, and the +attendant said that it had formerly been covered with bronze. As well as +I can remember, it may be five or six feet square, and I suppose would +accommodate twelve persons, though not if they reclined in the Roman +fashion, nor if they sat as they do in Leonardo da Vinci's picture. It +would be very delightful to believe in this table. + +There are several other sacred relics preserved in the church; for +instance, the staircase of Pilate's house up which Jesus went, and the +porphyry slab on which the soldiers cast lots for his garments. These, +however, we did not see. There are very glowing frescos on portions of +the walls; but, there being much whitewash instead of incrusted marble, +it has not the pleasant aspect which one's eye learns to demand in Roman +churches. There is a good deal of statuary along the columns of the +nave, and in the monuments of the side aisles. + +In reference to the interior splendor of Roman churches, I must say that +I think it a pity that painted windows are exclusively a Gothic ornament; +for the elaborate ornamentation of these interiors puts the ordinary +daylight out of countenance, so that a window with only the white +sunshine coming through it, or even with a glimpse of the blue Italian +sky, looks like a portion left unfinished, and therefore a blotch in the +rich wall. It is like the one spot in Aladdin's palace which he left for +the king, his father-in-law, to finish, after his fairy architects had +exhausted their magnificence on the rest; and the sun, like the king, +fails in the effort. It has what is called a porta santa, which we saw +walled up, in front of the church, one side of the main entrance. I know +not what gives it its sanctity, but it appears to be opened by the pope +on a year of jubilee, once every quarter of a century. + +After our return . . . . I took R----- along the Pincian Hill, and +finally, after witnessing what of the Carnival could be seen in the +Piazza del Popolo from that safe height, we went down into the Corso, and +some little distance along it. Except for the sunshine, the scene was +much the same as I have already described; perhaps fewer confetti and +more bouquets. Some Americans and English are said to have been brought +before the police authorities, and fined for throwing lime. It is +remarkable that the jollity, such as it is, of the Carnival, does not +extend an inch beyond the line of the Corso; there it flows along in a +narrow stream, while in the nearest street we see nothing but the +ordinary Roman gravity. + + +February 15th.--Yesterday was a bright day, but I did not go out till the +afternoon, when I took an hour's walk along the Pincian, stopping a good +while to look at the old beggar who, for many years past, has occupied +one of the platforms of the flight of steps leading from the Piazza de' +Spagna to the Triniti de' Monti. Hillard commemorates him in his book. +He is an unlovely object, moving about on his hands and knees, +principally by aid of his hands, which are fortified with a sort of +wooden shoes; while his poor, wasted lower shanks stick up in the air +behind him, loosely vibrating as he progresses. He is gray, old, ragged, +a pitiable sight, but seems very active in his own fashion, and bestirs +himself on the approach of his visitors with the alacrity of a spider +when a fly touches the remote circumference of his web. While I looked +down at him he received alms from three persons, one of whom was a young +woman of the lower orders; the other two were gentlemen, probably either +English or American. I could not quite make out the principle on which +he let some people pass without molestation, while he shuffled from one +end of the platform to the other to intercept an occasional individual. +He is not persistent in his demands, nor, indeed, is this a usual fault +among Italian beggars. A shake of the head will stop him when wriggling +towards you from a distance. I fancy he reaps a pretty fair harvest, and +no doubt leads as contented and as interesting a life as most people, +sitting there all day on those sunny steps, looking at the world, and +making his profit out of it. It must be pretty much such an occupation +as fishing, in its effect upon the hopes and apprehensions; and probably +he suffers no more from the many refusals he meets with than the angler +does, when he sees a fish smell at his bait and swim away. One success +pays for a hundred disappointments, and the game is all the better for +not being entirely in his own favor. + +Walking onward, I found the Pincian thronged with promenaders, as also +with carriages, which drove round the verge of the gardens in an unbroken +ring. + +To-day has been very rainy. I went out in the forenoon, and took a +sitting for my bust in one of a suite of rooms formerly occupied by +Canova. It was large, high, and dreary from the want of a carpet, +furniture, or anything but clay and plaster. A sculptor's studio has not +the picturesque charm of that of a painter, where there is color, warmth, +and cheerfulness, and where the artist continually turns towards you the +glow of some picture, which is resting against the wall. . . . I was +asked not to look at the bust at the close of the sitting, and, of +course, I obeyed; though I have a vague idea of a heavy-browed +physiognomy, something like what I have seen in the glass, but looking +strangely in that guise of clay. . . . + +It is a singular fascination that Rome exercises upon artists. There is +clay elsewhere, and marble enough, and heads to model, and ideas may be +made sensible objects at home as well as here. I think it is the +peculiar mode of life that attracts, and its freedom from the +inthralments of society, more than the artistic advantages which Rome +offers; and, no doubt, though the artists care little about one another's +works, yet they keep each other warm by the presence of so many of them. + +The Carnival still continues, though I hardly see how it can have +withstood such a damper as this rainy day. There were several people-- +three, I think--killed in the Corso on Saturday; some accounts say that +they were run over by the horses in the race; others, that they were +ridden down by the dragoons in clearing the course. + +After leaving Canova's studio, I stepped into the church of San Luigi de' +Francesi, in the Via di Ripetta. It was built, I believe, by Catherine +de' Medici, and is under the protection of the French government, and a +most shamefully dirty place of worship, the beautiful marble columns +looking dingy, for the want of loving and pious care. There are many +tombs and monuments of French people, both of the past and present,-- +artists, soldiers, priests, and others, who have died in Rome. It was so +dusky within the church that I could hardly distinguish the pictures in +the chapels and over the altar, nor did I know that there were any worth +looking for. Nevertheless, there were frescos by Domenichino, and +oil-paintings by Guido and others. I found it peculiarly touching to +read the records, in Latin or French, of persons who had died in this +foreign laud, though they were not my own country-people, and though I +was even less akin to them than they to Italy. Still, there was a sort +of relationship in the fact that neither they nor I belonged here. + + +February 17th.--Yesterday morning was perfectly sunny, and we went out +betimes to see churches; going first to the Capuchins', close by the +Piazza Barberini. + +["The Marble Faun" takes up this description of the church and of the +dead monk, which we really saw, just as recounted, even to the sudden +stream of blood which flowed from the nostrils, as we looked at him.-- +ED.] + +We next went to the Trinita de' Monti, which stands at the head of the +steps, leading, in several flights, from the Piazza de' Spagna. It is +now connected with a convent of French nuns, and when we rang at a side +door, one of the sisterhood answered the summons, and admitted us into +the church. This, like that of the Capuchins', had a vaulted roof over +the nave, and no side aisles, but rows of chapels instead. Unlike the +Capuchins', which was filthy, and really disgraceful to behold, this +church was most exquisitely neat, as women alone would have thought it +worth while to keep it. It is not a very splendid church, not rich in +gorgeous marbles, but pleasant to be in, if it were only for the sake of +its godly purity. There was only one person in the nave; a young girl, +who sat perfectly still, with her face towards the altar, as long as we +stayed. Between the nave and the rest of the church there is a high iron +railing, and on the other side of it were two kneeling figures in black, +so motionless that I at first thought them statues; but they proved to be +two nuns at their devotions; and others of the sisterhood came by and by +and joined them. Nuns, at least these nuns, who are French, and probably +ladies of refinement, having the education of young girls in charge, are +far pleasanter objects to see and think about than monks; the odor of +sanctity, in the latter, not being an agreeable fragrance. But these +holy sisters, with their black crape and white muslin, looked really pure +and unspotted from the world. + +On the iron railing above mentioned was the representation of a golden +heart, pierced with arrows; for these are nuns of the Sacred Heart. In +the various chapels there are several paintings in fresco, some by +Daniele da Volterra; and one of them, the "Descent from the Cross," has +been pronounced the third greatest picture in the world. I never should +have had the slightest suspicion that it was a great picture at all, so +worn and faded it looks, and so hard, so difficult to be seen, and so +undelightful when one does see it. + +From the Trinita we went to the Santa Maria del Popolo, a church built on +a spot where Nero is said to have been buried, and which was afterwards +made horrible by devilish phantoms. It now being past twelve, and all +the churches closing from twelve till two, we had not time to pay much +attention to the frescos, oil-pictures, and statues, by Raphael and other +famous men, which are to be seen here. I remember dimly the magnificent +chapel of the Chigi family, and little else, for we stayed but a short +time; and went next to the sculptor's studio, where I had another sitting +for my bust. After I had been moulded for about an hour, we turned +homeward; but my wife concluded to hire a balcony for this last afternoon +and evening of the Carnival, and she took possession of it, while I went +home to send to her Miss S------ and the two elder children. For my +part, I took R-----, and walked, by way of the Pincian, to the Piazza del +Popolo, and thence along the Corso, where, by this time, the warfare of +bouquets and confetti raged pretty fiercely. The sky being blue and the +sun bright, the scene looked much gayer and brisker than I had before +found it; and I can conceive of its being rather agreeable than +otherwise, up to the age of twenty. We got several volleys of confetti. +R----- received a bouquet and a sugar-plum, and I a resounding hit from +something that looked more like a cabbage than a flower. Little as I +have enjoyed the Carnival, I think I could make quite a brilliant sketch +of it, without very widely departing from truth. + + +February 19th.--Day before yesterday, pretty early, we went to St. +Peter's, expecting to see the pope cast ashes on the heads of the +cardinals, it being Ash-Wednesday. On arriving, however, we found no +more than the usual number of visitants and devotional people scattered +through the broad interior of St. Peter's; and thence concluded that the +ceremonies were to be performed in the Sistine Chapel. Accordingly, we +went out of the cathedral, through the door in the left transept, and +passed round the exterior, and through the vast courts of the Vatican, +seeking for the chapel. We had blundered into the carriage-entrance of +the palace; there is an entrance from some point near the front of the +church, but this we did not find. The papal guards, in the strangest +antique and antic costume that was ever seen,--a party-colored dress, +striped with blue, red, and yellow, white and black, with a doublet and +ruff, and trunk-breeches, and armed with halberds,--were on duty at the +gateways, but suffered us to pass without question. Finally, we reached +a large court, where some cardinals' red equipages and other carriages +were drawn up, but were still at a loss as to the whereabouts of the +chapel. At last an attendant kindly showed us the proper door, and led +us up flights of stairs, along passages and galleries, and through halls, +till at last we came to a spacious and lofty apartment adorned with +frescos; this was the Sala Regia, and the antechamber to the Sistine +Chapel. + +The attendant, meanwhile, had informed us that my wife could not be +admitted to the chapel in her bonnet, and that I myself could not enter +at all, for lack of a dress-coat; so my wife took off her bonnet, and, +covering her head with her black lace veil, was readily let in, while I +remained in the Sala Regia, with several other gentlemen, who found +themselves in the same predicament as I was. There was a wonderful +variety of costume to be seen and studied among the persons around me, +comprising garbs that have been elsewhere laid aside for at least three +centuries,--the broad, plaited, double ruff, and black velvet cloak, +doublet, trunk-breeches, and sword of Queen Elizabeth's time,--the papal +guard, in their striped and party-colored dress as before described, +looking not a little like harlequins; other soldiers in helmets and +jackboots; French officers of various uniform; monks and priests; +attendants in old-fashioned and gorgeous livery; gentlemen, some in black +dress-coats and pantaloons, others in wide-awake hats and tweed +overcoats; and a few ladies in the prescribed costume of black; so that, +in any other country, the scene might have been taken for a fancy ball. +By and by, the cardinals began to arrive, and added their splendid purple +robes and red hats to make the picture still more brilliant. They were +old men, one or two very aged and infirm, and generally men of bulk and +substance, with heavy faces, fleshy about the chin. Their red hats, +trimmed with gold-lace, are a beautiful piece of finery, and are +identical in shape with the black, loosely cocked beavers worn by the +Catholic ecclesiastics generally. Wolsey's hat, which I saw at the +Manchester Exhibition, might have been made on the same block, but +apparently was never cocked, as the fashion now is. The attendants +changed the upper portions of their master's attire, and put a little cap +of scarlet cloth on each of their heads, after which the cardinals, one +by one, or two by two, as they happened to arrive, went into the chapel, +with a page behind each holding up his purple train. In the mean while, +within the chapel, we heard singing and chanting; and whenever the +voluminous curtains that hung before the entrance were slightly drawn +apart, we outsiders glanced through, but could see only a mass of people, +and beyond them still another chapel, divided from the hither one by a +screen. When almost everybody had gone in, there was a stir among the +guards and attendants, and a door opened, apparently communicating with +the inner apartments of the Vatican. Through this door came, not the +pope, as I had partly expected, but a bulky old lady in black, with a red +face, who bowed towards the spectators with an aspect of dignified +complaisance as she passed towards the entrance of the chapel. I took +off my hat, unlike certain English gentlemen who stood nearer, and found +that I had not done amiss, for it was the Queen of Spain. + +There was nothing else to be seen; so I went back through the +antechambers (which are noble halls, richly frescoed on the walls and +ceilings), endeavoring to get out through the same passages that had let +me in. I had already tried to descend what I now supposed to be the +Scala Santa, but had been turned back by a sentinel. After wandering to +and fro a good while, I at last found myself in a long, long gallery, on +each side of which were innumerable inscriptions, in Greek and Latin, on +slabs of marble, built into the walls; and classic altars and tablets +were ranged along, from end to end. At the extremity was a closed iron +grating, from which I was retreating; but a French gentleman accosted me, +with the information that the custode would admit me, if I chose, and +would accompany me through the sculpture department of the Vatican. I +acceded, and thus took my first view of those innumerable art-treasures, +passing from one object to another, at an easy pace, pausing hardly a +moment anywhere, and dismissing even the Apollo, and the Laocoon, and the +Torso of Hercules, in the space of half a dozen breaths. I was well +enough content to do so, in order to get a general idea of the contents +of the galleries, before settling down upon individual objects. + +Most of the world-famous sculptures presented themselves to my eye with a +kind of familiarity, through the copies and casts which I had seen; but I +found the originals more different than I anticipated. The Apollo, for +instance, has a face which I have never seen in any cast or copy. I must +confess, however, taking such transient glimpses as I did, I was more +impressed with the extent of the Vatican, and the beautiful order in +which it is kept, and its great sunny, open courts, with fountains, +grass, and shrubs, and the views of Rome and the Campagna from its +windows,--more impressed with these, and with certain vastly capacious +vases, and two seat sarcophagi,--than with the statuary. Thus I went +round the whole, and was dismissed through the grated barrier into the +gallery of inscriptions again; and after a little more wandering, I made +my way out of the palace. . . . + +Yesterday I went out betimes, and strayed through some portion of ancient +Rome, to the Column of Trajan, to the Forum, thence along the Appian Way; +after which I lost myself among the intricacies of the streets, and +finally came out at the bridge of St. Angelo. The first observation +which a stranger is led to make, in the neighborhood of Roman ruins, is +that the inhabitants seem to be strangely addicted to the washing of +clothes; for all the precincts of Trajan's Forum, and of the Roman Forum, +and wherever else an iron railing affords opportunity to hang them, were +whitened with sheets, and other linen and cotton, drying in the sun. It +must be that washerwomen burrow among the old temples. The second +observation is not quite so favorable to the cleanly character of the +modern Romans; indeed, it is so very unfavorable, that I hardly know how +to express it. But the fact is, that, through the Forum, . . . . and +anywhere out of the commonest foot-track and roadway, you must look well +to your steps. . . . If you tread beneath the triumphal arch of Titus +or Constantine, you had better look downward than upward, whatever be the +merit of the sculptures aloft. . . . + +After a while the visitant finds himself getting accustomed to this +horrible state of things; and the associations of moral sublimity and +beauty seem to throw a veil over the physical meannesses to which I +allude. Perhaps there is something in the mind of the people of these +countries that enables them quite to dissever small ugliness from great +sublimity and beauty. They spit upon the glorious pavement of St. +Peter's, and wherever else they like; they place paltry-looking wooden +confessionals beneath its sublime arches, and ornament them with cheap +little colored prints of the crucifixion; they hang tin hearts and other +tinsel and trumpery at the gorgeous shrines of the saints, in chapels +that are incrusted with gems, or marbles almost as precious; they put +pasteboard statues of saints beneath the dome of the Pantheon; in short, +they let the sublime and the ridiculous come close together, and are not +in the least troubled by the proximity. It must be that their sense of +the beautiful is stronger than in the Anglo-Saxon mind, and that it +observes only what is fit to gratify it. + +To-day, which was bright and cool, my wife and I set forth immediately +after breakfast, in search of the Baths of Diocletian, and the church of +Santa Maria degl' Angeli. We went too far along the Via di Porta Pia, +and after passing by two or three convents, and their high garden walls, +and the villa Bonaparte on one side, and the villa Torlonia on the other, +at last issued through the city gate. Before us, far away, were the +Alban hills, the loftiest of which was absolutely silvered with snow and +sunshine, and set in the bluest and brightest of skies. We now retraced +our steps to the Fountain of the Termini, where is a ponderous heap of +stone, representing Moses striking the rock; a colossal figure, not +without a certain enormous might and dignity, though rather too evidently +looking his awfullest. This statue was the death of its sculptor, whose +heart was broken on account of the ridicule it excited. There are many +more absurd aquatic devices in Rome, however, and few better. + +We turned into the Piazza de' Termini, the entrance of which is at this +fountain; and after some inquiry of the French soldiers, a numerous +detachment of whom appear to be quartered in the vicinity, we found our +way to the portal of Santa Maria degl' Angeli. The exterior of this +church has no pretensions to beauty or majesty, or, indeed, to +architectural merit of any kind, or to any architecture whatever; for it +looks like a confused pile of ruined brickwork, with a facade resembling +half the inner curve of a large oven. No one would imagine that there +was a church under that enormous heap of ancient rubbish. But the door +admits you into a circular vestibule, once an apartment of Diocletian's +Baths, but now a portion of the nave of the church, and surrounded with +monumental busts; and thence you pass into what was the central hall; +now, with little change, except of detail and ornament, transformed into +the body of the church. This space is so lofty, broad, and airy, that +the soul forthwith swells out and magnifies itself, for the sake of +filling it. It was Michael Angelo who contrived this miracle; and I feel +even more grateful to him for rescuing such a noble interior from +destruction, than if he had originally built it himself. In the ceiling +above, you see the metal fixtures whereon the old Romans hung their +lamps; and there are eight gigantic pillars of Egyptian granite, standing +as they stood of yore. There is a grand simplicity about the church, +more satisfactory than elaborate ornament; but the present pope has paved +and adorned one of the large chapels of the transept in very beautiful +style, and the pavement of the central part is likewise laid in rich +marbles. In the choir there are several pictures, one of which was +veiled, as celebrated pictures frequently are in churches. A person, who +seemed to be at his devotions, withdrew the veil for us, and we saw a +Martyrdom of St. Sebastian, by Domenichino, originally, I believe, +painted in fresco in St. Peter's, but since transferred to canvas, and +removed hither. Its place at St. Peter's is supplied by a mosaic copy. +I was a good deal impressed by this picture,--the dying saint, amid the +sorrow of those who loved him, and the fury of his enemies, looking +upward, where a company of angels, and Jesus with them, are waiting to +welcome him and crown him; and I felt what an influence pictures might +have upon the devotional part of our nature. The nailmarks in the hands +and feet of Jesus, ineffaceable, even after he had passed into bliss and +glory, touched my heart with a sense of his love for us. I think this +really a great picture. We walked round the church, looking at other +paintings and frescos, but saw no others that greatly interested us. In +the vestibule there are monuments to Carlo Maratti and Salvator Rosa, and +there is a statue of St. Bruno, by Houdon, which is pronounced to be very +fine. I thought it good, but scarcely worthy of vast admiration. Houdon +was the sculptor of the first statue of Washington, and of the bust, +whence, I suppose, all subsequent statues have been, and will be, mainly +modelled. + +After emerging from the church, I looked back with wonder at the stack of +shapeless old brickwork that hid the splendid interior. I must go there +again, and breathe freely in that noble space. + + +February 20th.--This morning, after breakfast, I walked across the city, +making a pretty straight course to the Pantheon, and thence to the bridge +of St. Angelo, and to St. Peter's. It had been my purpose to go to the +Fontana Paolina; but, finding that the distance was too great, and being +weighed down with a Roman lassitude, I concluded to go into St. Peter's. +Here I looked at Michael Angelo's Pieta, a representation of the dead +Christ, in his mother's lap. Then I strolled round the great church, and +find that it continues to grow upon me both in magnitude and beauty, by +comparison with the many interiors of sacred edifices which I have lately +seen. At times, a single, casual, momentary glimpse of its magnificence +gleams upon my soul, as it were, when I happen to glance at arch opening +beyond arch, and I am surprised into admiration. I have experienced that +a landscape and the sky unfold the deepest beauty in a similar way; not +when they are gazed at of set purpose, but when the spectator looks +suddenly through a vista, among a crowd of other thoughts. Passing near +the confessional for foreigners to-day, I saw a Spaniard, who had just +come out of the one devoted to his native tongue, taking leave of his +confessor, with an affectionate reverence, which--as well as the benign +dignity of the good father--it was good to behold. . . . + +I returned home early, in order to go with my wife to the Barberini +Palace at two o'clock. We entered through the gateway, through the Via +delle Quattro Fontane, passing one or two sentinels; for there is +apparently a regiment of dragoons quartered on the ground-floor of the +palace; and I stumbled upon a room containing their saddles, the other +day, when seeking for Mr. Story's staircase. The entrance to the +picture-gallery is by a door on the right hand, affording us a sight of a +beautiful spiral staircase, which goes circling upward from the very +basement to the very summit of the palace, with a perfectly easy ascent, +yet confining its sweep within a moderate compass. We looked up through +the interior of the spiral, as through a tube, from the bottom to the +top. The pictures are contained in three contiguous rooms of the lower +piano, and are few in number, comprising barely half a dozen which I +should care to see again, though doubtless all have value in their way. +One that attracted our attention was a picture of "Christ disputing with +the Doctors," by Albert Duerer, in which was represented the ugliest, +most evil-minded, stubborn, pragmatical, and contentious old Jew that +ever lived under the law of Moses; and he and the child Jesus were +arguing, not only with their tongues, but making hieroglyphics, as it +were, by the motion of their hands and fingers. It is a very queer, as +well as a very remarkable picture. But we passed hastily by this, and +almost all others, being eager to see the two which chiefly make the +collection famous,--Raphael's Fornarina, and Guido's portrait of Beatrice +Cenci. These were found in the last of the three rooms, and as regards +Beatrice Cenci, I might as well not try to say anything; for its spell is +indefinable, and the painter has wrought it in a way more like magic than +anything else. . . . + +It is the most profoundly wrought picture in the world; no artist did it, +nor could do it, again. Guido may have held the brush, but he painted +"better than he knew." I wish, however, it were possible for some +spectator, of deep sensibility, to see the picture without knowing +anything of its subject or history; for, no doubt, we bring all our +knowledge of the Cenci tragedy to the interpretation of it. + +Close beside Beatrice Cenci hangs the Fornarina. . . . + +While we were looking at these works Miss M------ unexpectedly joined us, +and we went, all three together, to the Rospigliosi Palace, in the Piazza +di Monte Cavallo. A porter, in cocked hat, and with a staff of office, +admitted us into a spacious court before the palace, and directed us to a +garden on one side, raised as much as twenty feet above the level on +which we stood. The gardener opened the gate for us, and we ascended a +beautiful stone staircase, with a carved balustrade, bearing many marks +of time and weather. Reaching the garden-level, we found it laid out in +walks, bordered with box and ornamental shrubbery, amid which were +lemon-trees, and one large old exotic from some distant clime. In the +centre of the garden, surrounded by a stone balustrade, like that of the +staircase, was a fish-pond, into which several jets of water were +continually spouting; and on pedestals, that made part of the balusters, +stood eight marble statues of Apollo, Cupid, nymphs, and other such sunny +and beautiful people of classic mythology. There had been many more of +these statues, but the rest had disappeared, and those which remained had +suffered grievous damage, here to a nose, there to a hand or foot, and +often a fracture of the body, very imperfectly mended. There was a +pleasant sunshine in the garden, and a springlike, or rather a genial, +autumnal atmosphere, though elsewhere it was a day of poisonous Roman +chill. + +At the end of the garden, which was of no great extent, was an edifice, +bordering on the piazza, called the Casino, which, I presume, means a +garden-house. The front is richly ornamented with bas-reliefs, and +statues in niches; as if it were a place for pleasure and enjoyment, and +therefore ought to be beautiful. As we approached it, the door swung +open, and we went into a large room on the ground-floor, and, looking up +to the ceiling, beheld Guido's Aurora. The picture is as fresh and +brilliant as if he had painted it with the morning sunshine which it +represents. It could not be more lustrous in its lines, if he had given +it the last touch an hour ago. Three or four artists were copying it at +that instant, and positively their colors did not look brighter, though a +great deal newer than his. The alacrity and movement, briskness and +morning stir and glow, of the picture are wonderful. It seems impossible +to catch its glory in a copy. Several artists, as I said, were making +the attempt, and we saw two other attempted copies leaning against the +wall, but it was easy to detect failure in just essential points. My +memory, I believe, will be somewhat enlivened by this picture hereafter: +not that I remember it very distinctly even now; but bright things leave +a sheen and glimmer in the mind, like Christian's tremulous glimpse of +the Celestial City. + +In two other rooms of the Casino we saw pictures by Domenichino, Rubens, +and other famous painters, which I do not mean to speak of, because I +cared really little or nothing about them. Returning into the garden, +the sunny warmth of which was most grateful after the chill air and cold +pavement of the Casino, we walked round the laguna, examining the +statues, and looking down at some little fishes that swarmed at the stone +margin of the pool. There were two infants of the Rospigliosi family: +one, a young child playing with a maid and head-servant; another, the +very chubbiest and rosiest boy in the world, sleeping on its nurse's +bosom. The nurse was a comely woman enough, dressed in bright colors, +which fitly set off the deep lines of her Italian face. An old painter +very likely would have beautified and refined the pair into a Madonna, +with the child Jesus; for an artist need not go far in Italy to find a +picture ready composed and tinted, needing little more than to be +literally copied. + +Miss M------ had gone away before us; but my wife and I, after leaving +the Palazzo Rospigliosi, and on our way hone, went into the Church of St. +Andrea, which belongs to a convent of Jesuits. I have long ago exhausted +all my capacity of admiration for splendid interiors of churches, but +methinks this little, little temple (it is not more than fifty or sixty +feet across) has a more perfect and gem-like beauty than any other. Its +shape is oval, with an oval dome, and, above that, another little dome, +both of which are magnificently frescoed. Around the base of the larger +dome is wreathed a flight of angels, and the smaller and upper one is +encircled by a garland of cherubs,--cherub and angel all of pure white +marble. The oval centre of the church is walled round with precious and +lustrous marble of a red-veined variety interspersed with columns and +pilasters of white; and there are arches opening through this rich wall, +forming chapels, which the architect seems to have striven hard to make +even more gorgeous than the main body of the church. They contain +beautiful pictures, not dark and faded, but glowing, as if just from the +painter's hands; and the shrines are adorned with whatever is most rare, +and in one of them was the great carbuncle; at any rate, a bright, fiery +gem as big as a turkey's egg. The pavement of the church was one star of +various-colored marble, and in the centre was a mosaic, covering, I +believe, the tomb of the founder. I have not seen, nor expect to see, +anything else so entirely and satisfactorily finished as this small oval +church; and I only wish I could pack it in a large box, and send it home. + +I must not forget that, on our way from the Barberini Palace, we stopped +an instant to look at the house, at the corner of the street of the four +fountains, where Milton was a guest while in Rome. He seems quite a man +of our own day, seen so nearly at the hither extremity of the vista +through which we look back, from the epoch of railways to that of the +oldest Egyptian obelisk. The house (it was then occupied by the Cardinal +Barberini) looks as if it might have been built within the present +century; for mediaeval houses in Rome do not assume the aspect of +antiquity; perhaps because the Italian style of architecture, or +something similar, is the one more generally in vogue in most cities. + + +February 21st.--This morning I took my way through the Porta del Popolo, +intending to spend the forenoon in the Campagna; but, getting weary of +the straight, uninteresting street that runs out of the gate, I turned +aside from it, and soon found myself on the shores of the Tiber. It +looked, as usual, like a saturated solution of yellow mud, and eddied +hastily along between deep banks of clay, and over a clay bed, in which +doubtless are hidden many a richer treasure than we now possess. The +French once proposed to draw off the river, for the purpose of recovering +all the sunken statues and relics; but the Romans made strenuous +objection, on account of the increased virulence of malaria which would +probably result. I saw a man on the immediate shore of the river, fifty +feet or so beneath the bank on which I stood, sitting patiently, with an +angling rod; and I waited to see what he might catch. Two other persons +likewise sat down to watch him; but he caught nothing so long as I +stayed, and at last seemed to give it up. The banks and vicinity of the +river are very bare and uninviting, as I then saw them; no shade, no +verdure,--a rough, neglected aspect, and a peculiar shabbiness about the +few houses that were visible. Farther down the stream the dome of St. +Peter's showed itself on the other side, seeming to stand on the +outskirts of the city. I walked along the banks, with some expectation +of finding a ferry, by which I might cross the river; but my course was +soon interrupted by the wall, and I turned up a lane that led me straight +back again to the Porta del Popolo. I stopped a moment, however, to see +some young men pitching quoits, which they appeared to do with a good +deal of skill. + +I went along the Via di Ripetta, and through other streets, stepping into +two or three churches, one of which was the Pantheon. . . . + +There are, I think, seven deep, pillared recesses around the +circumference of it, each of which becomes a sufficiently capacious +chapel; and alternately with these chapels there is a marble structure, +like the architecture of a doorway, beneath which is the shrine of a +saint; so that the whole circle of the Pantheon is filled up with the +seven chapels and seven shrines. A number of persons were sitting or +kneeling around; others came in while I was there, dipping their fingers +in the holy water, and bending the knee, as they passed the shrines and +chapels, until they reached the one which, apparently, they had selected +as the particular altar for their devotions. Everybody seemed so devout, +and in a frame of mind so suited to the day and place, that it really +made me feel a little awkward not to be able to kneel down along with +them. Unlike the worshippers in our own churches, each individual here +seems to do his own individual acts of devotion, and I cannot but think +it better so than to make an effort for united prayer as we do. It is my +opinion that a great deal of devout and reverential feeling is kept alive +in people's hearts by the Catholic mode of worship. + +Soon leaving the Pantheon, a few minutes' walk towards the Corso brought +me to the Church of St. Ignazio, which belongs to the College of the +Jesuits. It is spacious and of beautiful architecture, but not +strikingly distinguished, in the latter particular, from many others; a +wide and lofty nave, supported upon marble columns, between which arches +open into the side aisles, and at the junction of the nave and transept a +dome, resting on four great arches. The church seemed to be purposely +somewhat darkened, so that I could not well see the details of the +ornamentation, except the frescos on the ceiling of the nave, which were +very brilliant, and done in so effectual a style, that I really could not +satisfy myself that some of the figures did not actually protrude from +the ceiling,--in short, that they were not colored bas-reliefs, instead +of frescos. No words can express the beautiful effect, in an upholstery +point of view, of this kind of decoration. Here, as at the Pantheon, +there were many persons sitting silent, kneeling, or passing from shrine +to shrine. + +I reached home at about twelve, and, at one, set out again, with my wife, +towards St. Peter's, where we meant to stay till after vespers. We +walked across the city, and through the Piazza de Navona, where we +stopped to look at one of Bernini's absurd fountains, of which the water +makes but the smallest part,--a little squirt or two amid a prodigious +fuss of gods and monsters. Thence we passed by the poor, battered-down +torso of Pasquin, and came, by devious ways, to the bridge of St. Angelo; +the streets bearing pretty much their weekday aspect, many of the shops +open, the market-stalls doing their usual business, and the people brisk +and gay, though not indecorously so. I suppose there was hardly a man or +woman who had not heard mass, confessed, and said their prayers; a thing +which--the prayers, I mean--it would be absurd to predicate of London, +New York, or any Protestant city. In however adulterated a guise, the +Catholics do get a draught of devotion to slake the thirst of their +souls, and methinks it must needs do them good, even if not quite so pure +as if it came from better cisterns, or from the original fountain-head. + +Arriving at St. Peter's shortly after two, we walked round the whole +church, looking at all the pictures and most of the monuments, . . . . +and paused longest before Guido's "Archangel Michael overcoming Lucifer." +This is surely one of the most beautiful things in the world, one of the +human conceptions that are imbued most deeply with the celestial. . . . + +We then sat down in one of the aisles and awaited the beginning of +vespers, which we supposed would take place at half past three. Four +o'clock came, however, and no vespers; and as our dinner-hour is +five, . . . . we at last cane away without hearing the vesper hymn. + + +February 23d.--Yesterday, at noon, we set out for the Capitol, and after +going up the acclivity (not from the Forum, but from the opposite +direction), stopped to look at the statues of Castor and Pollux, which, +with other sculptures, look down the ascent. Castor and his brother seem +to me to have heads disproportionately large, and are not so striking, in +any respect, as such great images ought to be. But we heartily admired +the equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, . . . . and looked at +a fountain, principally composed, I think, of figures representing the +Nile and the Tiber, who loll upon their elbows and preside over the +gushing water; and between them, against the facade of the Senator's +Palace, there is a statue of Minerva, with a petticoat of red porphyry. +Having taken note of these objects, we went to the museum, in an edifice +on our left, entering the piazza, and here, in the vestibule, we found +various old statues and relics. Ascending the stairs, we passed through +a long gallery, and, turning to our left, examined somewhat more +carefully a suite of rooms running parallel with it. The first of these +contained busts of the Caesars and their kindred, from the epoch of the +mightiest Julius downward; eighty-three, I believe, in all. I had seen a +bust of Julius Caesar in the British Museum, and was surprised at its +thin and withered aspect; but this head is of a very ugly old man +indeed,--wrinkled, puckered, shrunken, lacking breadth and substance; +careworn, grim, as if he had fought hard with life, and had suffered in +the conflict; a man of schemes, and of eager effort to bring his schemes +to pass. His profile is by no means good, advancing from the top of his +forehead to the tip of his nose, and retreating, at about the same angle, +from the latter point to the bottom of his chin, which seems to be thrust +forcibly down into his meagre neck,--not that he pokes his head forward, +however, for it is particularly erect. + +The head of Augustus is very beautiful, and appears to be that of a +meditative, philosophic man, saddened with the sense that it is not very +much worth while to be at the summit of human greatness after all. It is +a sorrowful thing to trace the decay of civilization through this series +of busts, and to observe how the artistic skill, so requisite at first, +went on declining through the dreary dynasty of the Caesars, till at +length the master of the world could not get his head carved in better +style than the figure-head of a ship. + +In the next room there were better statues than we had yet seen; but in +the last room of the range we found the "Dying Gladiator," of which I had +already caught a glimpse in passing by the open door. It had made all +the other treasures of the gallery tedious in my eagerness to come to +that. I do not believe that so much pathos is wrought into any other +block of stone. Like all works of the highest excellence, however, it +makes great demands upon the spectator. He must make a generous gift of +his sympathies to the sculptor, and help out his skill with all his +heart, or else he will see little more than a skilfully wrought surface. +It suggests far more than it shows. I looked long at this statue, and +little at anything else, though, among other famous works, a statue of +Antinous was in the same room. + +I was glad when we left the museum, which, by the by, was piercingly +chill, as if the multitude of statues radiated cold out of their marble +substance. We might have gone to see the pictures in the Palace of the +Conservatori, and S-----, whose receptivity is unlimited and forever +fresh, would willingly have done so; but I objected, and we went towards +the Forum. I had noticed, two or three times, an inscription over a +mean-looking door in this neighborhood, stating that here was the +entrance to the prison of the holy apostles Peter and Paul; and we soon +found the spot, not far from the Forum, with two wretched frescos of the +apostles above the inscription. We knocked at the door without effect; +but a lame beggar, who sat at another door of the same house (which +looked exceedingly like a liquor-shop), desired us to follow him, and +began to ascend to the Capitol, by the causeway leading from the Forum. +A little way upward we met a woman, to whom the beggar delivered us over, +and she led us into a church or chapel door, and pointed to a long flight +of steps, which descended through twilight into utter darkness. She +called to somebody in the lower regions, and then went away, leaving us +to get down this mysterious staircase by ourselves. Down we went, +farther and farther from the daylight, and found ourselves, anon, in a +dark chamber or cell, the shape or boundaries of which we could not make +out, though it seemed to be of stone, and black and dungeon-like. +Indistinctly, and from a still farther depth in the earth, we heard +voices,--one voice, at least,--apparently not addressing ourselves, but +some other persons; and soon, directly beneath our feet, we saw a +glimmering of light through a round, iron-grated hole in the bottom of +the dungeon. In a few moments the glimmer and the voice came up through +this hole, and the light disappeared, and it and the voice came +glimmering and babbling up a flight of stone stairs, of which we had not +hitherto been aware. It was the custode, with a party of visitors, to +whom he had been showing St. Peter's dungeon. Each visitor was provided +with a wax taper, and the custode gave one to each of us, bidding us wait +a moment while he conducted the other party to the upper air. During his +absence we examined the cell, as well as our dim lights would permit, and +soon found an indentation in the wall, with an iron grate put over it for +protection, and an inscription above informing us that the Apostle Peter +had here left the imprint of his visage; and, in truth, there is a +profile there,--forehead, nose, mouth, and chin,--plainly to be seen, an +intaglio in the solid rock. We touched it with the tips of our fingers, +as well as saw it with our eyes. + +The custode soon returned, and led us down the darksome steps, chattering +in Italian all the time. It is not a very long descent to the lower +cell, the roof of which is so low that I believe I could have reached it +with my hand. We were now in the deepest and ugliest part of the old +Mamertine Prison, one of the few remains of the kingly period of Rome, +and which served the Romans as a state-prison for hundreds of years +before the Christian era. A multitude of criminals or innocent persons, +no doubt, have languished here in misery, and perished in darkness. Here +Jugurtha starved; here Catiline's adherents were strangled; and, +methinks, there cannot be in the world another such an evil den, so +haunted with black memories and indistinct surmises of guilt and +suffering. In old Rome, I suppose, the citizens never spoke of this +dungeon above their breath. It looks just as bad as it is; round, only +seven paces across, yet so obscure that our tapers could not illuminate +it from side to side,-- the stones of which it is constructed being as +black as midnight. The custode showed us a stone post, at the side of +the cell, with the hole in the top of it, into which, he said, St. +Peter's chain had been fastened; and he uncovered a spring of water, in +the middle of the stone floor, which he told us had miraculously gushed +up to enable the saint to baptize his jailer. The miracle was perhaps +the more easily wrought, inasmuch as Jugurtha had found the floor of the +dungeon oozy with wet. However, it is best to be as simple and childlike +as we can in these matters; and whether St. Peter stamped his visage into +the stone, and wrought this other miracle or no, and whether or no he +ever was in the prison at all, still the belief of a thousand years and +more gives a sort of reality and substance to such traditions. The +custode dipped an iron ladle into the miraculous water, and we each of us +drank a sip; and, what is very remarkable, to me it seemed hard water and +almost brackish, while many persons think it the sweetest in Rome. I +suspect that St. Peter still dabbles in this water, and tempers its +qualities according to the faith of those who drink it. + +The staircase descending into the lower dungeon is comparatively modern, +there having been no entrance of old, except through the small circular +opening in the roof. In the upper cell the custode showed us an ancient +flight of stairs, now built into the wall, which used to lead from the +Capitol. The whole precincts are now consecrated, and I believe the +upper portion, perhaps both upper and lower, are a shrine or a chapel. + +I now left S------ in the Forum, and went to call on Mr. J. P. K------ at +the Hotel d'Europe. I found him just returned from a drive,--a gentleman +of about sixty, or more, with gray hair, a pleasant, intellectual face, +and penetrating, but not unkindly eyes. He moved infirmly, being on the +recovery from an illness. We went up to his saloon together, and had a +talk,--or, rather, he had it nearly all to himself,--and particularly +sensible talk, too, and full of the results of learning and experience. +In the first place, he settled the whole Kansas difficulty; then he made +havoc of St. Peter, who came very shabbily out of his hands, as regarded +his early character in the Church, and his claims to the position he now +holds in it. Mr. K------ also gave a curious illustration, from +something that happened to himself, of the little dependence that can be +placed on tradition purporting to be ancient, and I capped his story by +telling him how the site of my town-pump, so plainly indicated in the +sketch itself, has already been mistaken in the city council and in the +public prints. + + +February 24th.--Yesterday I crossed the Ponte Sisto, and took a short +ramble on the other side of the river; and it rather surprised me to +discover, pretty nearly opposite the Capitoline Hill, a quay, at which +several schooners and barks, of two or three hundred tons' burden, were +moored. There was also a steamer, armed with a large gun and two brass +swivels on her forecastle, and I know not what artillery besides. +Probably she may have been a revenue-cutter. + +Returning I crossed the river by way of the island of St. Bartholomew +over two bridges. The island is densely covered with buildings, and is a +separate small fragment of the city. It was a tradition of the ancient +Romans that it was formed by the aggregation of soil and rubbish brought +down by the river, and accumulating round the nucleus of some sunken +baskets. + +On reaching the hither side of the river, I soon struck upon the ruins of +the theatre of Marcellus, which are very picturesque, and the more so +from being closely linked in, indeed, identified with the shops, +habitations, and swarming life of modern Rome. The most striking portion +was a circular edifice, which seemed to have been composed of a row of +Ionic columns standing upon a lower row of Doric, many of the antique +pillars being yet perfect; but the intervening arches built up with +brickwork, and the whole once magnificent structure now tenanted by poor +and squalid people, as thick as mites within the round of an old cheese. +From this point I cannot very clearly trace out my course; but I passed, +I think, between the Circus Maximus and the Palace of the Caesars, and +near the Baths of Caracalla, and went into the cloisters of the Church of +San Gregorio. All along I saw massive ruins, not particularly +picturesque or beautiful, but huge, mountainous piles, chiefly of +brickwork, somewhat tweed-grown here and there, but oftener bare and +dreary. . . . All the successive ages since Rome began to decay have +done their best to ruin the very ruins by taking away the marble and the +hewn stone for their own structures, and leaving only the inner filling +up of brickwork, which the ancient architects never designed to be seen. +The consequence of all this is, that, except for the lofty and poetical +associations connected with it, and except, too, for the immense +difference in magnitude, a Roman ruin may be in itself not more +picturesque than I have seen an old cellar, with a shattered brick +chimney half crumbling down into it, in New England. + +By this time I knew not whither I was going, and turned aside from a +broad, paved road (it was the Appian Way) into the Via Latina, which I +supposed would lead to one of the city gates. It was a lonely path: on +my right hand extensive piles of ruin, in strange shapes or +shapelessness, built of the broad and thin old Roman bricks, such as may +be traced everywhere, when the stucco has fallen away from a modern Roman +house; for I imagine there has not been a new brick made here for a +thousand years. On my left, I think, was a high wall, and before me, +grazing in the road . . . . [the buffalo calf of the Marble Faun.--ED.]. +The road went boldly on, with a well-worn track up to the very walls of +the city; but there it abruptly terminated at an ancient, closed-up +gateway. From a notice posted against a door, which appeared to be the +entrance to the ruins on my left, I found that these were the remains of +Columbaria, where the dead used to be put away in pigeon-holes. Reaching +the paved road again, I kept on my course, passing the tomb of the +Scipios, and soon came to the gate of San Sebastiano, through which I +entered the Campagna. Indeed, the scene around was so rural, that I had +fancied myself already beyond the walls. As the afternoon was getting +advanced, I did not proceed any farther towards the blue hills which I +saw in the distance, but turned to my left, following a road that runs +round the exterior of the city wall. It was very dreary and solitary,-- +not a house on the whole track, with the broad and shaggy Campagna on one +side, and the high, bare wall, looking down over my head, on the other. +It is not, any more than the other objects of the scene, a very +picturesque wall, but is little more than a brick garden-fence seen +through a magnifying-glass, with now and then a tower, however, and +frequent buttresses, to keep its height of fifty feet from toppling over. +The top was ragged, and fringed with a few weeds; there had been +embrasures for guns and eyelet-holes for musketry, but these were +plastered up with brick or stone. I passed one or two walled-up gateways +(by the by, the Parts, Latina was the gate through which Belisarius first +entered Rome), and one of these had two high, round towers, and looked +more Gothic and venerable with antique strength than any other portion of +the wall. Immediately after this I came to the gate of San Giovanni, +just within which is the Basilica of St. John Lateran, and there I was +glad to rest myself upon a bench before proceeding homeward. + +There was a French sentinel at this gateway, as at all the others; for +the Gauls have always been a pest to Rome, and now gall her worse than +ever. I observed, too, that an official, in citizen's dress, stood there +also, and appeared to exercise a supervision over some carts with country +produce, that were entering just then. + + +February 25th.--We went this forenoon to the Palazzo Borghese, which is +situated on a street that runs at right angles with the Corso, and very +near the latter. Most of the palaces in Rome, and the Borghese among +them, were built somewhere about the sixteenth century; this in 1590, I +believe. It is an immense edifice, standing round the four sides of a +quadrangle; and though the suite of rooms comprising the picture-gallery +forms an almost interminable vista, they occupy only a part of the +ground-floor of one side. We enter from the street into a large court, +surrounded with a corridor, the arches of which support a second series +of arches above. The picture-rooms open from one into another, and have +many points of magnificence, being large and lofty, with vaulted ceilings +and beautiful frescos, generally of mythological subjects, in the flat +central part of the vault. The cornices are gilded; the deep embrasures +of the windows are panelled with wood-work; the doorways are of polished +and variegated marble, or covered with a composition as hard, and +seemingly as durable. The whole has a kind of splendid shabbiness thrown +over it, like a slight coating of rust; the furniture, at least the +damask chairs, being a good deal worn, though there are marble and mosaic +tables, which may serve to adorn another palace when this one crumbles +away with age. One beautiful hall, with a ceiling more richly gilded +than the rest, is panelled all round with large looking-glasses, on which +are painted pictures, both landscapes and human figures, in oils; so that +the effect is somewhat as if you saw these objects represented in the +mirrors. These glasses must be of old date, perhaps coeval with the +first building of the palace; for they are so much dimmed, that one's own +figure appears indistinct in them, and more difficult to be traced than +the pictures which cover them half over. It was very comfortless,-- +indeed, I suppose nobody ever thought of being comfortable there, since +the house was built,--but especially uncomfortable on a chill, damp day +like this. My fingers were quite numb before I got half-way through the +suite of apartments, in spite of a brazier of charcoal which was +smouldering into ashes in two or three of the rooms. There was not, so +far as I remember, a single fireplace in the suite. A considerable +number of visitors--not many, however--were there; and a good many +artists; and three or four ladies among them were making copies of the +more celebrated pictures, and in all or in most cases missing the +especial points that made their celebrity and value. The Prince Borghese +certainly demeans himself like a kind and liberal gentleman, in throwing +open this invaluable collection to the public to see, and for artists to +carry away with them, and diffuse all over the world, so far as their own +power and skill will permit. It is open every day of the week, except +Saturday and Sunday, without any irksome restriction or supervision; and +the fee, which custom requires the visitor to pay to the custode, has the +good effect of making us feel that we are not intruders, nor received in +an exactly eleemosynary way. The thing could not be better managed. + +The collection is one of the most celebrated in the world, and contains +between eight and nine hundred pictures, many of which are esteemed +masterpieces. I think I was not in a frame for admiration to-day, nor +could achieve that free and generous surrender of myself which I have +already said is essential to the proper estimate of anything excellent. +Besides, how is it possible to give one's soul, or any considerable part +of it, to a single picture, seen for the first time, among a thousand +others, all of which set forth their own claims in an equally good light? +Furthermore, there is an external weariness, and sense of a thousand-fold +sameness to be overcome, before we can begin to enjoy a gallery of the +old Italian masters. . . . I remember but one painter, Francia, who +seems really to have approached this awful class of subjects (Christs and +Madonnas) in a fitting spirit; his pictures are very singular and +awkward, if you look at them with merely an external eye, but they are +full of the beauty of holiness, and evidently wrought out as acts of +devotion, with the deepest sincerity; and are veritable prayers upon +canvas. . . . + +I was glad, in the very last of the twelve rooms, to come upon some Dutch +and Flemish pictures, very few, but very welcome; Rubens, Rembrandt, +Vandyke, Paul Potter, Teniers, and others,--men of flesh and blood, and +warm fists, and human hearts. As compared with them, these mighty +Italian masters seem men of polished steel; not human, nor addressing +themselves so much to human sympathies, as to a formed, intellectual +taste. + + +March 1st.--To-day began very unfavorably; but we ventured out at about +eleven o'clock, intending to visit the gallery of the Colonna Palace. +Finding it closed, however, on account of the illness of the custode, we +determined to go to the picture-gallery of the Capitol; and, on our way +thither, we stepped into Il Gesu, the grand and rich church of the +Jesuits, where we found a priest in white, preaching a sermon, with vast +earnestness of action and variety of tones, insomuch that I fancied +sometimes that two priests were in the agony of sermonizing at once. He +had a pretty large and seemingly attentive audience clustered round him +from the entrance of the church, half-way down the nave; while in the +chapels of the transepts and in the remoter distances were persons +occupied with their own individual devotion. We sat down near the chapel +of St. Ignazio, which is adorned with a picture over the altar, and with +marble sculptures of the Trinity aloft, and of angels fluttering at the +sides. What I particularly noted (for the angels were not very real +personages, being neither earthly nor celestial) was the great ball of +lapis lazuli, the biggest in the world, at the feet of the First Person +in the Trinity. The church is a splendid one, lined with a great variety +of precious marbles, . . . . but partly, perhaps, owing to the dusky +light, as well as to the want of cleanliness, there was a dingy effect +upon the whole. We made but a very short stay, our New England breeding +causing us to feel shy of moving about the church in sermon time. + +It rained when we reached the Capitol, and, as the museum was not yet +open, we went into the Palace of the Conservators, on the opposite side +of the piazza. Around the inner court of the ground-floor, partly under +two opposite arcades, and partly under the sky, are several statues and +other ancient sculptures; among them a statue of Julius Caesar, said to +be the only authentic one, and certainly giving an impression of him more +in accordance with his character than the withered old face in the +museum; also, a statue of Augustus in middle age, still retaining a +resemblance to the bust of him in youth; some gigantic heads and hands +and feet in marble and bronze; a stone lion and horse, which lay long at +the bottom of a river, broken and corroded, and were repaired by +Michel Angelo; and other things which it were wearisome to set down. +We inquired of two or three French soldiers the way into the +picture-gallery; but it is our experience that French soldiers in +Rome never know anything of what is around them, not even the name of +the palace or public place over which they stand guard; and though +invariably civil, you might as well put a question to a statue of an old +Roman as to one of them. While we stood under the loggia, however, +looking at the rain plashing into the court, a soldier of the Papal Guard +kindly directed us up the staircase, and even took pains to go with us to +the very entrance of the picture-rooms. Thank Heaven, there are but two +of them, and not many pictures which one cares to look at very long. + +Italian galleries are at a disadvantage as compared with English ones, +inasmuch as the pictures are not nearly such splendid articles of +upholstery; though, very likely, having undergone less cleaning and +varnishing, they may retain more perfectly the finer touches of the +masters. Nevertheless, I miss the mellow glow, the rich and mild +external lustre, and even the brilliant frames of the pictures I have +seen in England. You feel that they have had loving care taken of them; +even if spoiled, it is because they have been valued so much. But these +pictures in Italian galleries look rusty and lustreless, as far as the +exterior is concerned; and, really, the splendor of the painting, as a +production of intellect and feeling, has a good deal of difficulty in +shining through such clouds. + +There is a picture at the Capitol, the "Rape of Europa," by Paul +Veronese, that would glow with wonderful brilliancy if it were set in a +magnificent frame, and covered with a sunshine of varnish; and it is a +kind of picture that would not be desecrated, as some deeper and holier +ones might be, by any splendor of external adornment that could be +bestowed on it. It is deplorable and disheartening to see it in faded +and shabby plight,--this joyous, exuberant, warm, voluptuous work. There +is the head of a cow, thrust into the picture, and staring with wild, +ludicrous wonder at the godlike bull, so as to introduce quite a new +sentiment. + +Here, and at the Borghese Palace, there were some pictures by Garofalo, +an artist of whom I never heard before, but who seemed to have been a man +of power. A picture by Marie Subleyras--a miniature copy from one by her +husband, of the woman anointing the feet of Christ--is most delicately +and beautifully finished, and would be an ornament to a drawing-room; a +thing that could not truly be said of one in a hundred of these grim +masterpieces. When they were painted life was not what it is now, and +the artists had not the same ends in view. . . . It depresses the +spirits to go from picture to picture, leaving a portion of your vital +sympathy at every one, so that you come, with a kind of half-torpid +desperation, to the end. On our way down the staircase we saw several +noteworthy bas-reliefs, and among them a very ancient one of Curtius +plunging on horseback into the chasm in the Forum. It seems to me, +however, that old sculpture affects the spirits even more dolefully than +old painting; it strikes colder to the heart, and lies heavier upon it, +being marble, than if it were merely canvas. + +My wife went to revisit the museum, which we had already seen, on the +other side of the piazza; but, being cold, I left her there, and went out +to ramble in the sun; for it was now brightly, though fitfully, shining +again. I walked through the Forum (where a thorn thrust itself out and +tore the sleeve of my talma) and under the Arch of Titus, towards the +Coliseum. About a score of French drummers were beating a long, loud +roll-call, at the base of the Coliseum, and under its arches; and a score +of trumpeters responded to these, from the rising ground opposite the +Arch of Constantine; and the echoes of the old Roman ruins, especially +those of the Palace of the Caesars, responded to this martial uproar of +the barbarians. There seemed to be no cause for it; but the drummers +beat, and the trumpeters blew, as long as I was within hearing. + +I walked along the Appian Way as far as the Baths of Caracalla. The +Palace of the Caesars, which I have never yet explored, appears to be +crowned by the walls of a convent, built, no doubt, out of some of the +fragments that would suffice to build a city; and I think there is +another convent among the baths. The Catholics have taken a peculiar +pleasure in planting themselves in the very citadels of paganism, whether +temples or palaces. There has been a good deal of enjoyment in the +destruction of old Rome. I often think so when I see the elaborate pains +that have been taken to smash and demolish some beautiful column, for no +purpose whatever, except the mere delight of annihilating a noble piece +of work. There is something in the impulse with which one sympathizes; +though I am afraid the destroyers were not sufficiently aware of the +mischief they did to enjoy it fully. Probably, too, the early Christians +were impelled by religious zeal to destroy the pagan temples, before the +happy thought occurred of converting them into churches. + + +March 3d.--This morning was U----'s birthday, and we celebrated it by +taking a barouche, and driving (the whole family) out on the Appian Way +as far as the tomb of Cecilia Metella. For the first time since we came +to Rome, the weather was really warm,--a kind of heat producing languor +and disinclination to active movement, though still a little breeze which +was stirring threw an occasional coolness over us, and made us distrust +the almost sultry atmosphere. I cannot think the Roman climate healthy +in any of its moods that I have experienced. + +Close on the other side of the road are the ruins of a Gothic chapel, +little more than a few bare walls and painted windows, and some other +fragmentary structures which we did not particularly examine. U---- and +I clambered through a gap in the wall, extending from the basement of the +tomb, and thus, getting into the field beyond, went quite round the +mausoleum and the remains of the castle connected with it. The latter, +though still high and stalwart, showed few or no architectural features +of interest, being built, I think, principally of large bricks, and not +to be compared to English ruins as a beautiful or venerable object. + +A little way beyond Cecilia Metella's tomb, the road still shows a +specimen of the ancient Roman pavement, composed of broad, flat +flagstones, a good deal cracked and worn, but sound enough, probably, to +outlast the little cubes which make the other portions of the road so +uncomfortable. We turned back from this point and soon re-entered the +gate of St. Sebastian, which is flanked by two small towers, and just +within which is the old triumphal arch of Drusus,--a sturdy construction, +much dilapidated as regards its architectural beauty, but rendered far +more picturesque than it could have been in its best days by a crown of +verdure on its head. Probably so much of the dust of the highway has +risen in clouds and settled there, that sufficient soil for shrubbery to +root itself has thus been collected, by small annual contributions, in +the course of two thousand years. A little farther towards the city we +turned aside from the Appian Way, and came to the site of some ancient +Columbaria, close by what seemed to partake of the character of a villa +and a farm-house. A man came out of the house and unlocked a door in a +low building, apparently quite modern; but on entering we found ourselves +looking into a large, square chamber, sunk entirely beneath the surface +of the ground. A very narrow and steep staircase of stone, and evidently +ancient, descended into this chamber; and, going down, we found the walls +hollowed on all sides into little semicircular niches, of which, I +believe, there were nine rows, one above another, and nine niches in +each row. Thus they looked somewhat like the little entrances to a +pigeon-house, and hence the name of Columbarium. Each semicircular niche +was about a foot in its semidiameter. In the centre of this subterranean +chamber was a solid square column, or pier, rising to the roof, and +containing other niches of the same pattern, besides one that was high +and deep, rising to the height of a man from the floor on each of the +four sides. In every one of the semicircular niches were two round holes +covered with an earthen plate, and in each hole were ashes and little +fragments of bones,--the ashes and bones of the dead, whose names were +inscribed in Roman capitals on marble slabs inlaid into the wall over +each individual niche. Very likely the great ones in the central pier +had contained statues, or busts, or large urns; indeed, I remember that +some such things were there, as well as bas-reliefs in the walls; but +hardly more than the general aspect of this strange place remains in my +mind. It was the Columbarium of the connections or dependants of the +Caesars; and the impression left on me was, that this mode of disposing +of the dead was infinitely preferable to any which has been adopted since +that day. The handful or two of dry dust and bits of dry bones in each +of the small round holes had nothing disgusting in them, and they are no +drier now than they were when first deposited there. I would rather have +my ashes scattered over the soil to help the growth of the grass and +daisies; but still I should not murmur much at having them decently +pigeon-holed in a Roman tomb. + +After ascending out of this chamber of the dead, we looked down into +another similar one, containing the ashes of Pompey's household, which +was discovered only a very few years ago. Its arrangement was the same +as that first described, except that it had no central pier with a +passage round it, as the former had. + +While we were down in the first chamber the proprietor of the spot--a +half-gentlemanly and very affable kind of person--came to us, and +explained the arrangements of the Columbarium, though, indeed, we +understood them better by their own aspect than by his explanation. The +whole soil around his dwelling is elevated much above the level of the +road, and it is probable that, if he chose to excavate, he might bring to +light many more sepulchral chambers, and find his profit in them too, by +disposing of the urns and busts. What struck me as much as anything was +the neatness of these subterranean apartments, which were quite as fit to +sleep in as most of those occupied by living Romans; and, having +undergone no wear and tear, they were in as good condition as on the day +they were built. + +In this Columbarium, measuring about twenty feet square, I roughly +estimate that there have been deposited together the remains of at least +seven or eight hundred persons, reckoning two little heaps of bones and +ashes in each pigeon-hole, nine pigeon-holes in each row, and nine rows +on each side, besides those on the middle pier. All difficulty in +finding space for the dead would be obviated by returning to the ancient +fashion of reducing them to ashes,--the only objection, though a very +serious one, being the quantity of fuel that it would require. But +perhaps future chemists may discover some better means of consuming or +dissolving this troublesome mortality of ours. + +We got into the carriage again, and, driving farther towards the city, +came to the tomb of the Scipios, of the exterior of which I retain no +very definite idea. It was close upon the Appian Way, however, though +separated from it by a high fence, and accessible through a gateway, +leading into a court. I think the tomb is wholly subterranean, and that +the ground above it is covered with the buildings of a farm-house; but of +this I cannot be certain, as we were led immediately into a dark, +underground passage, by an elderly peasant, of a cheerful and affable +demeanor. As soon as he had brought us into the twilight of the tomb, he +lighted a long wax taper for each of us, and led us groping into blacker +and blacker darkness. Even little R----- followed courageously in the +procession, which looked very picturesque as we glanced backward or +forward, and beheld a twinkling line of seven lights, glimmering faintly +on our faces, and showing nothing beyond. The passages and niches of the +tomb seem to have been hewn and hollowed out of the rock, not built by +any art of masonry; but the walls were very dark, almost black, and our +tapers so dim that I could not gain a sufficient breadth of view to +ascertain what kind of place it was. It was very dark, indeed; the +Mammoth Cave of Kentucky could not be darker. The rough-hewn roof was +within touch, and sometimes we had to stoop to avoid hitting our heads; +it was covered with damps, which collected and fell upon us in occasional +drops. The passages, besides being narrow, were so irregular and +crooked, that, after going a little way, it would have been impossible to +return upon our steps without the help of the guide; and we appeared to +be taking quite an extensive ramble underground, though in reality I +suppose the tomb includes no great space. At several turns of our dismal +way, the guide pointed to inscriptions in Roman capitals, commemorating +various members of the Scipio family who were buried here; among them, a +son of Scipio Africanus, who himself had his death and burial in a +foreign land. All these inscriptions, however, are copies,--the +originals, which were really found here, having been removed to the +Vatican. Whether any bones and ashes have been left, or whether any were +found, I do not know. It is not, at all events, a particularly +interesting spot, being such shapeless blackness, and a mere dark hole, +requiring a stronger illumination than that of our tapers to distinguish +it from any other cellar. I did, at one place, see a sort of frieze, +rather roughly sculptured; and, as we returned towards the twilight of +the entrance-passage, I discerned a large spider, who fled hastily away +from our tapers,--the solitary living inhabitant of the tomb of the +Scipios. + +One visit that we made, and I think it was before entering the city +gates, I forgot to mention. It was to an old edifice, formerly called +the Temple of Bacchus, but now supposed to have been the Temple of Virtue +and Honor. The interior consists of a vaulted hall, which was converted +from its pagan consecration into a church or chapel, by the early +Christians; and the ancient marble pillars of the temple may still be +seen built in with the brick and stucco of the later occupants. There is +an altar, and other tokens of a Catholic church, and high towards the +ceiling, there are some frescos of saints or angels, very curious +specimens of mediaeval, and earlier than mediaeval art. Nevertheless, +the place impressed me as still rather pagan than Christian. What is +most remarkable about this spot or this vicinity lies in the fact that +the Fountain of Egeria was formerly supposed to be close at hand; indeed, +the custode of the chapel still claims the spot as the identical one +consecrated by the legend. There is a dark grove of trees, not far from +the door of the temple; but Murray, a highly essential nuisance on such +excursions as this, throws such overwhelming doubt, or rather +incredulity, upon the site, that I seized upon it as a pretext for not +going thither. In fact, my small capacity for sight-seeing was already +more than satisfied. + +On account of ------ I am sorry that we did not see the grotto, for her +enthusiasm is as fresh as the waters of Egeria's well can be, and she has +poetical faith enough to light her cheerfully through all these mists of +incredulity. + +Our visits to sepulchral places ended with Scipio's tomb, whence we +returned to our dwelling, and Miss M------ came to dine with us. + + +March 10th.--On Saturday last, a very rainy day, we went to the Sciarra +Palace, and took U---- with us. It is on the Corso, nearly opposite to +the Piazza Colonna. It has (Heaven be praised!) but four rooms of +pictures, among which, however, are several very celebrated ones. Only a +few of these remain in my memory,--Raphael's "Violin Player," which I am +willing to accept as a good picture; and Leonardo da Vinci's "Vanity and +Modesty," which also I can bring up before my mind's eye, and find it +very beautiful, although one of the faces has an affected smile, which I +have since seen on another picture by the same artist, Joanna of Aragon. +The most striking picture in the collection, I think, is Titian's "Bella +Donna,"--the only one of Titian's works that I have yet seen which makes +an impression on me corresponding with his fame. It is a very splendid +and very scornful lady, as beautiful and as scornful as Gainsborough's +Lady Lyndoch, though of an entirely different type. There were two +Madonnas by Guido, of which I liked the least celebrated one best; and +several pictures by Garofalo, who always produces something noteworthy. +All the pictures lacked the charm (no doubt I am a barbarian to think it +one) of being in brilliant frames, and looked as if it were a long, long +while since they were cleaned or varnished. The light was so scanty, +too, on that heavily clouded day, and in those gloomy old rooms of the +palace, that scarcely anything could be fairly made out. + +[I cannot refrain from observing here, that Mr. Hawthorne's inexorable +demand for perfection in all things leads him to complain of grimy +pictures and tarnished frames and faded frescos, distressing beyond +measure to eyes that never failed to see everything before him with the +keenest apprehension. The usual careless observation of people both of +the good and the imperfect is much more comfortable in this imperfect +world. But the insight which Mr. Hawthorne possessed was only equalled +by his outsight, and he suffered in a way not to be readily conceived, +from any failure in beauty, physical, moral, or intellectual. It is not, +therefore, mere love of upholstery that impels him to ask for perfect +settings to priceless gems of art; but a native idiosyncrasy, which +always made me feel that "the New Jerusalem," "even like a jasper stone, +clear as crystal," "where shall in no wise enter anything that defileth, +neither what worketh abomination nor maketh a lie," would alone satisfy +him, or rather alone not give him actual pain. It may give an idea of +this exquisite nicety of feeling to mention, that one day he took in his +fingers a half-bloomed rose, without blemish, and, smiling with an +infinite joy, remarked, "This is perfect. On earth a flower only can be +perfect."--ED.] + +The palace is about two hundred and fifty years old, and looks as if it +had never been a very cheerful place; most shabbily and scantily +furnished, moreover, and as chill as any cellar. There is a small +balcony, looking down on the Corso, which probably has often been filled +with a merry little family party, in the carnivals of days long past. It +has faded frescos, and tarnished gilding, and green blinds, and a few +damask chairs still remain in it. + +On Monday we all went to the sculpture-gallery of the Vatican, and saw as +much of the sculpture as we could in the three hours during which the +public are admissible. There were a few things which I really enjoyed, +and a few moments during which I really seemed to see them; but it is in +vain to attempt giving the impression produced by masterpieces of art, +and most in vain when we see them best. They are a language in +themselves, and if they could be expressed as well any way except by +themselves, there would have been no need of expressing those particular +ideas and sentiments by sculpture. I saw the Apollo Belvedere as +something ethereal and godlike; only for a flitting moment, however, and +as if he had alighted from heaven, or shone suddenly out of the sunlight, +and then had withdrawn himself again. I felt the Laocoon very +powerfully, though very quietly; an immortal agony, with a strange +calmness diffused through it, so that it resembles the vast rage of the +sea, calm on account of its immensity; or the tumult of Niagara, which +does not seem to be tumult, because it keeps pouring on for ever and +ever. I have not had so good a day as this (among works of art) since we +came to Rome; and I impute it partly to the magnificence of the +arrangements of the Vatican,--its long vistas and beautiful courts, and +the aspect of immortality which marble statues acquire by being kept free +from dust. A very hungry boy, seeing in one of the cabinets a vast +porphyry vase, forty-four feet in circumference, wished that he had it +full of soup. + +Yesterday, we went to the Pamfili Doria Palace, which, I believe, is the +most splendid in Rome. The entrance is from the Corso into a court, +surrounded by a colonnade, and having a space of luxuriant verdure and +ornamental shrubbery in the centre. The apartments containing pictures +and sculptures are fifteen in number, and run quite round the court in +the first piano,--all the rooms, halls, and galleries of beautiful +proportion, with vaulted roofs, some of which glow with frescos; and all +are colder and more comfortless than can possibly be imagined without +having been in them. The pictures, most of them, interested me very +little. I am of opinion that good pictures are quite as rare as good +poets; and I do not see why we should pique ourselves on admiring any but +the very best. One in a thousand, perhaps, ought to live in the applause +of men, from generation to generation, till its colors fade or blacken +out of sight, and its canvas rots away; the rest should be put in +garrets, or painted over by newer artists, just as tolerable poets are +shelved when their little day is over. Nevertheless, there was one long +gallery containing many pictures that I should be glad to see again under +more favorable circumstances, that is, separately, and where I might +contemplate them quite undisturbed, reclining in an easy-chair. At one +end of the long vista of this gallery is a bust of the present Prince +Doria, a smooth, sharp-nosed, rather handsome young man, and at the other +end his princess, an English lady of the Talbot family, apparently a +blonde, with a simple and sweet expression. There is a noble and +striking portrait of the old Venetian admiral, Andrea Doria, by Sebastian +del Piombo, and some other portraits and busts of the family. + +In the whole immense range of rooms I saw but a single fireplace, and +that so deep in the wall that no amount of blaze would raise the +atmosphere of the room ten degrees. If the builder of the palace, or any +of his successors, have committed crimes worthy of Tophet, it would be a +still worse punishment for him to wander perpetually through this suite +of rooms on the cold floors of polished brick tiles or marble or mosaic, +growing a little chiller and chiller through every moment of eternity,-- +or, at least, till the palace crumbles down upon him. + +Neither would it assuage his torment in the least to be compelled to gaze +up at the dark old pictures,--the ugly ghosts of what may once have been +beautiful. I am not going to try any more to receive pleasure from a +faded, tarnished, lustreless picture, especially if it be a landscape. +There were two or three landscapes of Claude in this palace, which I +doubt not would have been exquisite if they had been in the condition of +those in the British National Gallery; but here they looked most forlorn, +and even their sunshine was sunless. The merits of historical painting +may be quite independent of the attributes that give pleasure, and a +superficial ugliness may even heighten the effect; but not so of +landscapes. + + +Via Porta, Palazzo Larazani, March 11th.--To-day we called at Mr. +Thompson's studio, and . . . . he had on the easel a little picture of +St. Peter released from prison by the angel, which I saw once before. It +is very beautiful indeed, and deeply and spiritually conceived, and I +wish I could afford to have it finished for myself. I looked again, too, +at his Georgian slave, and admired it as much as at first view; so very +warm and rich it is, so sensuously beautiful, and with an expression of +higher life and feeling within. I do not think there is a better painter +than Mr. Thompson living,--among Americans at least; not one so earnest, +faithful, and religious in his worship of art. I had rather look at his +pictures than at any except the very finest of the old masters, and, +taking into consideration only the comparative pleasure to be derived, I +would not except more than one or two of those. In painting, as in +literature, I suspect there is something in the productions of the day +that takes the fancy more than the works of any past age,--not greater +merit, nor nearly so great, but better suited to this very present time. + +After leaving him, we went to the Piazza de' Termini, near the Baths of +Diocletian, and found our way with some difficulty to Crawford's studio. +It occupies several great rooms, connected with the offices of the Villa +Negroni; and all these rooms were full of plaster casts and a few works +in marble,--principally portions of his huge Washington monument, which +he left unfinished at his death. Close by the door at which we entered +stood a gigantic figure of Mason, in bag-wig, and the coat, waistcoat, +breeches, and knee and shoe buckles of the last century, the enlargement +of these unheroic matters to far more than heroic size having a very odd +effect. There was a figure of Jefferson on the same scale; another of +Patrick Henry, besides a horse's head, and other portions of the +equestrian group which is to cover the summit of the monument. In one of +the rooms was a model of the monument itself, on a scale, I should think, +of about an inch to afoot. It did not impress me as having grown out of +any great and genuine idea in the artist's mind, but as being merely an +ingenious contrivance enough. There were also casts of statues that +seemed to be intended for some other monument referring to Revolutionary +times and personages; and with these were intermixed some ideal statues +or groups,--a naked boy playing marbles, very beautiful; a girl with +flowers; the cast of his Orpheus, of which I long ago saw the marble +statue; Adam and Eve; Flora,--all with a good deal of merit, no doubt, +but not a single one that justifies Crawford's reputation, or that +satisfies me of his genius. They are but commonplaces in marble and +plaster, such as we should not tolerate on a printed page. He seems to +have been a respectable man, highly respectable, but no more, although +those who knew him seem to have rated him much higher. It is said that +he exclaimed, not very long before his death, that he had fifteen years +of good work still in him; and he appears to have considered all his life +and labor, heretofore, as only preparatory to the great things that he +was to achieve hereafter. I should say, on the contrary, that he was a +man who had done his best, and had done it early; for his Orpheus is +quite as good as anything else we saw in his studio. + +People were at work chiselling several statues in marble from the plaster +models,--a very interesting process, and which I should think a doubtful +and hazardous one; but the artists say that there is no risk of mischief, +and that the model is sure to be accurately repeated in the marble. +These persons, who do what is considered the mechanical part of the +business, are often themselves sculptors, and of higher reputation than +those who employ them. + +It is rather sad to think that Crawford died before he could see his +ideas in the marble, where they gleam with so pure and celestial a light +as compared with the plaster. There is almost as much difference as +between flesh and spirit. + +The floor of one of the rooms was burdened with immense packages, +containing parts of the Washington monument, ready to be forwarded to its +destination. When finished, and set up, it will probably make a very +splendid appearance, by its height, its mass, its skilful execution; and +will produce a moral effect through its images of illustrious men, and +the associations that connect it with our Revolutionary history; but I do +not think it will owe much to artistic force of thought or depth of +feeling. It is certainly, in one sense, a very foolish and illogical +piece of work,--Washington, mounted on an uneasy steed, on a very narrow +space, aloft in the air, whence a single step of the horse backward, +forward, or on either side, must precipitate him; and several of his +contemporaries standing beneath him, not looking up to wonder at his +predicament, but each intent on manifesting his own personality to the +world around. They have nothing to do with one another, nor with +Washington, nor with any great purpose which all are to work out +together. + + +March 14th.--On Friday evening I dined at Mr. T. B. Read's, the poet and +artist, with a party composed of painters and sculptors,--the only +exceptions being the American banker and an American tourist who has +given Mr. Read a commission. Next to me at table sat Mr. Gibson, the +English sculptor, who, I suppose, stands foremost in his profession at +this day. He must be quite an old man now, for it was whispered about +the table that he is known to have been in Rome forty-two years ago, and +he himself spoke to me of spending thirty-seven years here, before he +once returned home. I should hardly take him to be sixty, however, +his hair being more dark than gray, his forehead unwrinkled, his +features unwithered, his eye undimmed, though his beard is somewhat +venerable. . . . + +He has a quiet, self-contained aspect, and, being a bachelor, has +doubtless spent a calm life among his clay and marble, meddling little +with the world, and entangling himself with no cares beyond his studio. +He did not talk a great deal; but enough to show that he is still an +Englishman in many sturdy traits, though his accent has something foreign +about it. His conversation was chiefly about India, and other topics of +the day, together with a few reminiscences of people in Liverpool, where +he once resided. There was a kind of simplicity both in his manner and +matter, and nothing very remarkable in the latter. . . . + +The gist of what he said (upon art) was condemnatory of the +Pre-Raphaelite modern school of painters, of whom he seemed to spare +none, and of their works nothing; though he allowed that the old +Pre-Raphaelites had some exquisite merits, which the moderns entirely +omit in their imitations. In his own art, he said the aim should be to +find out the principles on which the Greek sculptors wrought, and to do +the work of this day on those principles and in their spirit; a fair +doctrine enough, I should think, but which Mr. Gibson can scarcely be +said to practise. . . . The difference between the Pre-Raphaelites and +himself is deep and genuine, they being literalists and realists, in a +certain sense, and he a pagan idealist. Methinks they have hold of the +best end of the matter. + + +March 18th.--To-day, it being very bright and mild, we set out, at noon, +for an expedition to the Temple of Vesta, though I did not feel much +inclined for walking, having been ill and feverish for two or three days +past with a cold, which keeps renewing itself faster than I can get rid +of it. We kept along on this side of the Corso, and crossed the Forum, +skirting along the Capitoline Hill, and thence towards the Circus +Maximus. On our way, looking down a cross street, we saw a heavy arch, +and, on examination, made it out to be the Arch of Janus Quadrifrons, +standing in the Forum Boarium. Its base is now considerably below the +level of the surrounding soil, and there is a church or basilica close +by, and some mean edifices looking down upon it. There is something +satisfactory in this arch, from the immense solidity of its structure. +It gives the idea, in the first place, of a solid mass constructed of +huge blocks of marble, which time can never wear away, nor earthquakes +shake down; and then this solid mass is penetrated by two arched +passages, meeting in the centre. There are empty niches, three in a row, +and, I think, two rows on each face; but there seems to have been very +little effort to make it a beautiful object. On the top is some +brickwork, the remains of a mediaeval fortress built by the Frangipanis, +looking very frail and temporary being brought thus in contact with the +antique strength of the arch. + +A few yards off, across the street, and close beside the basilica, is +what appears to be an ancient portal, with carved bas-reliefs, and an +inscription which I could not make out. Some Romans were lying dormant +in the sun, on the steps of the basilica; indeed, now that the sun is +getting warmer, they seem to take advantage of every quiet nook to bask +in, and perhaps to go to sleep. + +We had gone but a little way from the arch, and across the Circus +Maximus, when we saw the Temple of Vesta before us, on the hank of the +Tiber, which, however, we could not see behind it. It is a most +perfectly preserved Roman ruin, and very beautiful, though so small that, +in a suitable locality, one would take it rather for a garden-house than +an ancient temple. A circle of white marble pillars, much time-worn and +a little battered, though but one of them broken, surround the solid +structure of the temple, leaving a circular walk between it and the +pillars, the whole covered by a modern roof which looks like wood, and +disgraces and deforms the elegant little building. This roof resembles, +as much as anything else, the round wicker cover of a basket, and gives a +very squat aspect to the temple. The pillars are of the Corinthian +order, and when they were new and the marble snow-white and sharply +carved and cut, there could not have been a prettier object in all Rome; +but so small an edifice does not appear well as a ruin. + +Within view of it, and, indeed, a very little way off, is the Temple of +Fortuna Virilis, which likewise retains its antique form in better +preservation than we generally find a Roman ruin, although the Ionic +pillars are now built up with blocks of stone and patches of brickwork, +the whole constituting a church which is fixed against the side of a tall +edifice, the nature of which I do not know. + +I forgot to say that we gained admittance into the Temple of Vesta, and +found the interior a plain cylinder of marble, about ten paces across, +and fitted up as a chapel, where the Virgin takes the place of Vesta. + +In very close vicinity we came upon the Ponto Rotto, the old Pons Emilius +which was broken down long ago, and has recently been pieced out by +connecting a suspension bridge with the old piers. We crossed by this +bridge, paying a toll of a baioccho each, and stopped in the midst of the +river to look at the Temple of Vesta, which shows well, right on the +brink of the Tiber. We fancied, too, that we could discern, a little +farther down the river, the ruined and almost submerged piers of the +Sublician bridge, which Horatius Cocles defended. The Tiber here whirls +rapidly along, and Horatius must have had a perilous swim for his life, +and the enemy a fair mark at his head with their arrows. I think this is +the most picturesque part of the Tiber in its passage through Rome. + +After crossing the bridge, we kept along the right bank of the river, +through the dirty and hard-hearted streets of Trastevere (which have in +no respect the advantage over those of hither Rome), till we reached St. +Peter's. We saw a family sitting before their door on the pavement in +the narrow and sunny street, engaged in their domestic avocations,--the +old woman spinning with a wheel. I suppose the people now begin to live +out of doors. We entered beneath the colonnade of St. Peter's and +immediately became sensible of an evil odor,--the bad odor of our fallen +nature, which there is no escaping in any nook of Rome. . . . + +Between the pillars of the colonnade, however, we had the pleasant +spectacle of the two fountains, sending up their lily-shaped gush, with +rainbows shining in their falling spray. Parties of French soldiers, as +usual, were undergoing their drill in the piazza. When we entered the +church, the long, dusty sunbeams were falling aslantwise through the dome +and through the chancel behind it. . . . + + +March 23d.--On the 21st we all went to the Coliseum, and enjoyed +ourselves there in the bright, warm sun,--so bright and warm that we were +glad to get into the shadow of the walls and under the arches, though, +after all, there was the freshness of March in the breeze that stirred +now and then. J----- and baby found some beautiful flowers growing round +about the Coliseum; and far up towards the top of the walls we saw tufts +of yellow wall-flowers and a great deal of green grass growing along the +ridges between the arches. The general aspect of the place, however, is +somewhat bare, and does not compare favorably with an English ruin both +on account of the lack of ivy and because the material is chiefly brick, +the stone and marble having been stolen away by popes and cardinals to +build their palaces. While we sat within the circle, many people, of +both sexes, passed through, kissing the iron cross which stands in the +centre, thereby gaining an indulgence of seven years, I believe. In +front of several churches I have seen an inscription in Latin, +"INDULGENTIA PLENARIA ET PERPETUA PRO CUNCTIS MORTUIS ET VIVIS"; than +which, it seems to me, nothing more could be asked or desired. The terms +of this great boon are not mentioned. + +Leaving the Coliseum, we went and sat down in the vicinity of the Arch of +Constantine, and J----- and R----- went in quest of lizards. J----- soon +caught a large one with two tails; one, a sort of afterthought, or +appendix, or corollary to the original tail, and growing out from it +instead of from the body of the lizard. These reptiles are very +abundant, and J----- has already brought home several, which make their +escape and appear occasionally darting to and fro on the carpet. Since +we have been here, J----- has taken up various pursuits in turn. First +he voted himself to gathering snail-shells, of which there are many +sorts; afterwards he had a fever for marbles, pieces of which he found on +the banks of the Tiber, just on the edge of its muddy waters, and in the +Palace of the Caesars, the Baths of Caracalla, and indeed wherever else +his fancy led him; verde antique, rosso antico, porphyry, giallo antico, +serpentine, sometimes fragments of bas-reliefs and mouldings, bits of +mosaic, still firmly stuck together, on which the foot of a Caesar had +perhaps once trodden; pieces of Roman glass, with the iridescence glowing +on them; and all such things, of which the soil of Rome is full. It +would not be difficult, from the spoil of his boyish rambles, to furnish +what would be looked upon as a curious and valuable museum in America. + +Yesterday we went to the sculpture-galleries of the Vatican. I think I +enjoy these noble galleries and their contents and beautiful arrangement +better than anything else in the way of art, and often I seem to have a +deep feeling of something wonderful in what I look at. The Laocoon on +this visit impressed me not less than before; it is such a type of human +beings, struggling with an inextricable trouble, and entangled in a +complication which they cannot free themselves from by their own efforts, +and out of which Heaven alone can help them. It was a most powerful +mind, and one capable of reducing a complex idea to unity, that imagined +this group. I looked at Canova's Perseus, and thought it exceedingly +beautiful, but, found myself less and less contented after a moment or +two, though I could not tell why. Afterwards, looking at the Apollo, the +recollection of the Perseus disgusted me, and yet really I cannot explain +how one is better than the other. + +I was interested in looking at the busts of the Triumvirs, Antony, +Augustus, and Lepidus. The first two are men of intellect, evidently, +though they do not recommend themselves to one's affections by their +physiognomy; but Lepidus has the strangest, most commonplace countenance +that can be imagined,--small-featured, weak, such a face as you meet +anywhere in a man of no mark, but are amazed to find in one of the three +foremost men of the world. I suppose that it is these weak and shallow +men, when chance raises them above their proper sphere, who commit +enormous crimes without any such restraint as stronger men would feel, +and without any retribution in the depth of their conscience. These old +Roman busts, of which there are so many in the Vatican, have often a most +lifelike aspect, a striking individuality. One recognizes them as +faithful portraits, just as certainly as if the living originals were +standing beside them. The arrangement of the hair and beard too, in many +cases, is just what we see now, the fashions of two thousand years ago +having come round again. + + +March 25th.--On Tuesday we went to breakfast at William Story's in the +Palazzo Barberini. We had a very pleasant time. He is one of the most +agreeable men I know in society. He showed us a note from Thackeray, an +invitation to dinner, written in hieroglyphics, with great fun and +pictorial merit. He spoke of an expansion of the story of Blue Beard, +which he himself had either written or thought of writing, in which the +contents of the several chambers which Fatima opened, before arriving at +the fatal one, were to be described. This idea has haunted my mind ever +since, and if it had but been my own I am pretty sure that it would +develop itself into something very rich. I mean to press William Story +to work it out. The chamber of Blue Beard, too (and this was a part of +his suggestion), might be so handled as to become powerfully interesting. +Were I to take up the story I would create an interest by suggesting a +secret in the first chamber, which would develop itself more and more in +every successive hall of the great palace, and lead the wife irresistibly +to the chamber of horrors. + +After breakfast, we went to the Barberini Library, passing through the +vast hall, which occupies the central part of the palace. It is the most +splendid domestic hall I have seen, eighty feet in length at least, and +of proportionate breadth and height; and the vaulted ceiling is entirely +covered, to its utmost edge and remotest corners, with a brilliant +painting in fresco, looking like a whole heaven of angelic people +descending towards the floor. The effect is indescribably gorgeous. On +one side stands a Baldacchino, or canopy of state, draped with scarlet +cloth, and fringed with gold embroidery; the scarlet indicating that the +palace is inhabited by a cardinal. Green would be appropriate to a +prince. In point of fact, the Palazzo Barberini is inhabited by a +cardinal, a prince, and a duke, all belonging to the Barberini family, +and each having his separate portion of the palace, while their servants +have a common territory and meeting-ground in this noble hall. + +After admiring it for a few minutes, we made our exit by a door on the +opposite side, and went up the spiral staircase of marble to the library, +where we were received by an ecclesiastic, who belongs to the Barberini +household, and, I believe, was born in it. He is a gentle, refined, +quiet-looking man, as well he may be, having spent all his life among +these books, where few people intrude, and few cares can come. He showed +us a very old Bible in parchment, a specimen of the earliest printing, +beautifully ornamented with pictures, and some monkish illuminations of +indescribable delicacy and elaboration. No artist could afford to +produce such work, if the life that he thus lavished on one sheet of +parchment had any value to him, either for what could be done or enjoyed +in it. There are about eight thousand volumes in this library, and, +judging by their outward aspect, the collection must be curious and +valuable; but having another engagement, we could spend only a little +time here. We had a hasty glance, however, of some poems of Tasso, in +his own autograph. + +We then went to the Palazzo Galitzin, where dwell the Misses Weston, with +whom we lunched, and where we met a French abbe, an agreeable man, and an +antiquarian, under whose auspices two of the ladies and ourselves took +carriage for the Castle of St. Angelo. Being admitted within the +external gateway, we found ourselves in the court of guard, as I presume +it is called, where the French soldiers were playing with very dirty +cards, or lounging about, in military idleness. They were well behaved +and courteous, and when we had intimated our wish to see the interior of +the castle, a soldier soon appeared, with a large unlighted torch in his +hand, ready to guide us. There is an outer wall, surrounding the solid +structure of Hadrian's tomb; to which there is access by one or two +drawbridges; the entrance to the tomb, or castle, not being at the base, +but near its central height. The ancient entrance, by which Hadrian's +ashes, and those of other imperial personages, were probably brought into +this tomb, has been walled up,--perhaps ever since the last emperor was +buried here. We were now in a vaulted passage, both lofty and broad, +which circles round the whole interior of the tomb, from the base to the +summit. During many hundred years, the passage was filled with earth and +rubbish, and forgotten, and it is but partly excavated, even now; +although we found it a long, long and gloomy descent by torchlight to the +base of the vast mausoleum. The passage was once lined and vaulted with +precious marbles (which are now entirely gone), and paved with fine +mosaics, portions of which still remain; and our guide lowered his +flaming torch to show them to us, here and there, amid the earthy +dampness over which we trod. It is strange to think what splendor and +costly adornment were here wasted on the dead. + +After we had descended to the bottom of this passage, and again retraced +our steps to the highest part, the guide took a large cannon-ball, and +sent it, with his whole force, rolling down the hollow, arched way, +rumbling, and reverberating, and bellowing forth long thunderous echoes, +and winding up with a loud, distant crash, that seemed to come from the +very bowels of the earth. + +We saw the place, near the centre of the mausoleum, and lighted from +above, through an immense thickness of stone and brick, where the ashes +of the emperor and his fellow-slumberers were found. It is as much as +twelve centuries, very likely, since they were scattered to the winds, +for the tomb has been nearly or quite that space of time a fortress; The +tomb itself is merely the base and foundation of the castle, and, being +so massively built, it serves just as well for the purpose as if it were +a solid granite rock. The mediaeval fortress, with its antiquity of more +than a thousand years, and having dark and deep dungeons of its own, is +but a modern excrescence on the top of Hadrian's tomb. + +We now ascended towards the upper region, and were led into the vaults +which used to serve as a prison, but which, if I mistake not, are +situated above the ancient structure, although they seem as damp and +subterranean as if they were fifty feet under the earth. We crept down +to them through narrow and ugly passages, which the torchlight would not +illuminate, and, stooping under a low, square entrance, we followed the +guide into a small, vaulted room,--not a room, but an artificial cavern, +remote from light or air, where Beatrice Cenci was confined before her +execution. According to the abbe, she spent a whole year in this +dreadful pit, her trial having dragged on through that length of time. +How ghostlike she must have looked when she came forth! Guido never +painted that beautiful picture from her blanched face, as it appeared +after this confinement. And how rejoiced she must have been to die at +last, having already been in a sepulchre so long! + +Adjacent to Beatrice's prison, but not communicating with it, was that of +her step-mother; and next to the latter was one that interested me almost +as much as Beatrice's,--that of Benvenuto Cellini, who was confined here, +I believe, for an assassination. All these prison vaults are more +horrible than can be imagined without seeing them; but there are worse +places here, for the guide lifted a trap-door in one of the passages, and +held his torch down into an inscrutable pit beneath our feet. It was an +oubliette, a dungeon where the prisoner might be buried alive, and never +come forth again, alive or dead. Groping about among these sad +precincts, we saw various other things that looked very dismal; but at +last emerged into the sunshine, and ascended from one platform and +battlement to another, till we found ourselves right at the feet of the +Archangel Michael. He has stood there in bronze for I know not how many +hundred years, in the act of sheathing a (now) rusty sword, such being +the attitude in which he appeared to one of the popes in a vision, in +token that a pestilence which was then desolating Rome was to be stayed. + +There is a fine view from the lofty station over Rome and the whole +adjacent country, and the abbe pointed out the site of Ardea, of +Corioli, of Veii, and other places renowned in story. We were ushered, +too, into the French commandant's quarters in the castle. There is +a large hall, ornamented with frescos, and accessible from this a +drawing-room, comfortably fitted up, and where we saw modern furniture, +and a chess-board, and a fire burning clear, and other symptoms that the +place had perhaps just been vacated by civilized and kindly people. But +in one corner of the ceiling the abbe pointed out a ring, by which, in +the times of mediaeval anarchy, when popes, cardinals, and barons were +all by the ears together, a cardinal was hanged. It was not an +assassination, but a legal punishment, and he was executed in the best +apartment of the castle as an act of grace. + +The fortress is a straight-lined structure on the summit of the immense +round tower of Hadrian's tomb; and to make out the idea of it we must +throw in drawbridges, esplanades, piles of ancient marble balls for +cannon; battlements and embrasures, lying high in the breeze and +sunshine, and opening views round the whole horizon; accommodation for +the soldiers; and many small beds in a large room. + +How much mistaken was the emperor in his expectation of a stately, solemn +repose for his ashes through all the coming centuries, as long as the +world should endure! Perhaps his ghost glides up and down disconsolate, +in that spiral passage which goes from top to bottom of the tomb, while +the barbarous Gauls plant themselves in his very mausoleum to keep the +imperial city in awe. + +Leaving the Castle of St. Angelo, we drove, still on the same side of the +Tiber, to the Villa Pamfili, which lies a short distance beyond the +walls. As we passed through one of the gates (I think it was that of San +Pancrazio) the abbe pointed out the spot where the Constable de Bourbon +was killed while attempting to scale the walls. If we are to believe +Benvenuto Cellini, it was he who shot the constable. The road to the +villa is not very interesting, lying (as the roads in the vicinity of +Rome often do) between very high walls, admitting not a glimpse of the +surrounding country; the road itself white and dusty, with no verdant +margin of grass or border of shrubbery. At the portal of the villa we +found many carriages in waiting, for the Prince Doria throws open the +grounds to all comers, and on a pleasant day like this they are probably +sure to be thronged. We left our carriage just within the entrance, and +rambled among these beautiful groves, admiring the live-oak trees, and +the stone-pines, which latter are truly a majestic tree, with tall +columnar stems, supporting a cloud-like density of boughs far aloft, and +not a straggling branch between there and the ground. They stand in +straight rows, but are now so ancient and venerable as to have lost the +formal look of a plantation, and seem like a wood that might have +arranged itself almost of its own will. Beneath them is a flower-strewn +turf, quite free of underbrush. We found open fields and lawns, +moreover, all abloom with anemones, white and rose-colored and purple and +golden, and far larger than could be found out of Italy, except in +hot-houses. Violets, too, were abundant and exceedingly fragrant. When +we consider that all this floral exuberance occurs in the midst of March, +there does not appear much ground for complaining of the Roman climate; +and so long ago as the first week of February I found daisies among the +grass, on the sunny side of the Basilica of St. John Lateran. At this +very moment I suppose the country within twenty miles of Boston may be +two feet deep with snow, and the streams solid with ice. + +We wandered about the grounds, and found them very beautiful indeed; +nature having done much for them by an undulating variety of surface, and +art having added a good many charms, which have all the better effect now +that decay and neglect have thrown a natural grace over them likewise. +There is an artificial ruin, so picturesque that it betrays itself; +weather-beaten statues, and pieces of sculpture, scattered here and +there; an artificial lake, with upgushing fountains; cascades, and +broad-bosomed coves, and long, canal-like reaches, with swans taking +their delight upon them. I never saw such a glorious and resplendent +lustre of white as shone between the wings of two of these swans. It was +really a sight to see, and not to be imagined beforehand. Angels, no +doubt, have just such lustrous wings as those. English swans partake of +the dinginess of the atmosphere, and their plumage has nothing at all to +be compared to this; in fact, there is nothing like it in the world, +unless it be the illuminated portion of a fleecy, summer cloud. + +While we were sauntering along beside this piece of water, we were +surprised to see U---- on the other side. She had come hither with E---- +S------ and her two little brothers, and with our R-----, the whole under +the charge of Mrs. Story's nursery-maids. U---- and E---- crossed, not +over, but beneath the water, through a grotto, and exchanged greetings +with us. Then, as it was getting towards sunset and cool, we took our +departure; the abbe, as we left the grounds, taking me aside to give me a +glimpse of a Columbarium, which descends into the earth to about the +depth to which an ordinary house might rise above it. These grounds, it +is said, formed the country residence of the Emperor Galba, and he was +buried here after his assassination. It is a sad thought that so much +natural beauty and long refinement of picturesque culture is thrown away, +the villa being uninhabitable during all the most delightful season of +the year on account of malaria. There is truly a curse on Rome and all +its neighborhood. + +On our way home we passed by the great Paolina fountain, and were +assailed by many beggars during the short time we stopped to look at it. +It is a very copious fountain, but not so beautiful as the Trevi, taking +into view merely the water-gush of the latter. + + +March 26th.--Yesterday, between twelve and one, our whole family went to +the Villa Ludovisi, the entrance to which is at the termination of a +street which passes out of the Piazza Barberini, and it is no very great +distance from our own street, Via Porta Pinciana. The grounds, though +very extensive, are wholly within the walls of the city, which skirt +them, and comprise a part of what were formerly the gardens of Sallust. +The villa is now the property of Prince Piombini, a ticket from whom +procured us admission. A little within the gateway, to the right, is a +casino, containing two large rooms filled with sculpture, much of which +is very valuable. A colossal head of Juno, I believe, is considered the +greatest treasure of the collection, but I did not myself feel it to be +so, nor indeed did I receive any strong impression of its excellence. I +admired nothing so much, I think, as the face of Penelope (if it be her +face) in the group supposed also to represent Electra and Orestes. The +sitting statue of Mars is very fine; so is the Arria and Paetus; so are +many other busts and figures. + +By and by we left the casino and wandered among the grounds, threading +interminable alleys of cypress, through the long vistas of which we could +see here and there a statue, an urn, a pillar, a temple, or garden-house, +or a bas-relief against the wall. It seems as if there must have been a +time, and not so very long ago,--when it was worth while to spend money +and thought upon the ornamentation of grounds in the neighborhood of +Rome. That time is past, however, and the result is very melancholy; for +great beauty has been produced, but it can be enjoyed in its perfection +only at the peril of one's life. . . . For my part, and judging from my +own experience, I suspect that the Roman atmosphere, never wholesome, is +always more or less poisonous. + +We came to another and larger casino remote from the gateway, in which +the Prince resides during two months of the year. It was now under +repair, but we gained admission, as did several other visitors, and saw +in the entrance-hall the Aurora of Guercino, painted in fresco on the +ceiling. There is beauty in the design; but the painter certainly was +most unhappy in his black shadows, and in the work before us they give +the impression of a cloudy and lowering morning which is likely enough to +turn to rain by and by. After viewing the fresco we mounted by a spiral +staircase to a lofty terrace, and found Rome at our feet, and, far off, +the Sabine and Alban mountains, some of them still capped with snow. In +another direction there was a vast plain, on the horizon of which, could +our eyes have reached to its verge, we might perhaps have seen the +Mediterranean Sea. After enjoying the view and the warm sunshine we +descended, and went in quest of the gardens of Sallust, but found no +satisfactory remains of them. + +One of the most striking objects in the first casino was a group by +Bernini,--Pluto, an outrageously masculine and strenuous figure, heavily +bearded, ravishing away a little, tender Proserpine, whom he holds aloft, +while his forcible gripe impresses itself into her soft virgin flesh. It +is very disagreeable, but it makes one feel that Bernini was a man of +great ability. There are some works in literature that bear an analogy +to his works in sculpture, when great power is lavished a little outside +of nature, and therefore proves to be only a fashion,--and not +permanently adapted to the tastes of mankind. + + +March 27th.--Yesterday forenoon my wife and I went to St. Peter's to see +the pope pray at the chapel of the Holy Sacrament. We found a good many +people in the church, but not an inconvenient number; indeed, not so many +as to make any remarkable show in the great nave, nor even in front of +the chapel. A detachment of the Swiss Guard, in their strange, +picturesque, harlequin-like costume, were on duty before the chapel, in +which the wax tapers were all lighted, and a prie-dieu was arranged near +the shrine, and covered with scarlet velvet. On each side, along the +breadth of the side aisle, were placed seats, covered with rich tapestry +or carpeting; and some gentlemen and ladies--English, probably, or +American--had comfortably deposited themselves here, but were compelled +to move by the guards before the pope's entrance. His Holiness should +have appeared precisely at twelve, but we waited nearly half an hour +beyond that time; and it seemed to me particularly ill-mannered in the +pope, who owes the courtesy of being punctual to the people, if not to +St. Peter. By and by, however, there was a stir; the guard motioned to +us to stand away from the benches, against the backs of which we had been +leaning; the spectators in the nave looked towards the door, as if they +beheld something approaching; and first, there appeared some cardinals, +in scarlet skull-caps and purple robes, intermixed with some of the Noble +Guard and other attendants. It was not a very formal and stately +procession, but rather straggled onward, with ragged edges, the +spectators standing aside to let it pass, and merely bowing, or perhaps +slightly bending the knee, as good Catholics are accustomed to do when +passing before the shrines of saints. Then, in the midst of the purple +cardinals, all of whom were gray-haired men, appeared a stout old man, +with a white skull-cap, a scarlet, gold-embroidered cape falling over +his shoulders, and a white silk robe, the train of which was borne up by +an attendant. He walked slowly, with a sort of dignified movement, +stepping out broadly, and planting his feet (on which were red shoes) +flat upon the pavement, as if he were not much accustomed to locomotion, +and perhaps had known a twinge of the gout. His face was kindly +and venerable, but not particularly impressive. Arriving at the +scarlet-covered prie-dieu, he kneeled down and took off his white +skull-cap; the cardinals also kneeled behind and on either side of him, +taking off their scarlet skull-caps; while the Noble Guard remained +standing, six on one side of his Holiness and six on the other. The pope +bent his head upon the prie-dieu, and seemed to spend three or four +minutes in prayer; then rose, and all the purple cardinals, and bishops, +and priests, of whatever degree, rose behind and beside him. Next, he +went to kiss St. Peter's toe; at least I believe he kissed it, but I was +not near enough to be certain; and lastly, he knelt down, and directed +his devotions towards the high altar. This completed the ceremonies, and +his Holiness left the church by a side door, making a short passage into +the Vatican. + +I am very glad I have seen the pope, because now he may be crossed out of +the list of sights to be seen. His proximity impressed me kindly and +favorably towards him, and I did not see one face among all his cardinals +(in whose number, doubtless, is his successor) which I would so soon +trust as that of Pio Nono. + +This morning I walked as far as the gate of San Paolo, and, on +approaching it, I saw the gray sharp pyramid of Caius Cestius pointing +upward close to the two dark-brown, battlemented Gothic towers of the +gateway, each of these very different pieces of architecture looking the +more picturesque for the contrast of the other. Before approaching the +gateway and pyramid, I walked onward, and soon came in sight of Monte +Testaccio, the artificial hill made of potsherds. There is a gate +admitting into the grounds around the hill, and a road encircling its +base. At a distance, the hill looks greener than any other part of the +landscape, and has all the curved outlines of a natural hill, resembling +in shape a headless sphinx, or Saddleback Mountain, as I used to see it +from Lenox. It is of very considerable height,--two or three hundred +feet at least, I should say,--and well entitled, both by its elevation +and the space it covers, to be reckoned among the hills of Rome. Its +base is almost entirely surrounded with small structures, which seem to +be used as farm-buildings. On the summit is a large iron cross, the +Church having thought it expedient to redeem these shattered pipkins from +the power of paganism, as it has so many other Roman ruins. There was a +pathway up the hill, but I did not choose to ascend it under the hot sun, +so steeply did it clamber up. There appears to be a good depth of soil +on most parts of Monte Testaccio, but on some of the sides you observe +precipices, bristling with fragments of red or brown earthenware, or +pieces of vases of white unglazed clay; and it is evident that this +immense pile is entirely composed of broken crockery, which I should +hardly have thought would have aggregated to such a heap had it all been +thrown here,--urns, teacups, porcelain, or earthen,--since the beginning +of the world. + +I walked quite round the hill, and saw, at no great distance from it, the +enclosure of the Protestant burial-ground, which lies so close to the +pyramid of Caius Cestius that the latter may serve as a general monument +to the dead. Deferring, for the present, a visit to the cemetery, or to +the interior of the pyramid, I returned to the gateway of San Paolo, and, +passing through it, took a view of it from the outside of the city wall. +It is itself a portion of the wall, having been built into it by the +Emperor Aurelian, so that about half of it lies within and half without. +The brick or red stone material of the wall being so unlike the marble of +the pyramid, the latter is as distinct, and seems as insulated, as if it +stood alone in the centre of a plain; and really I do not think there is +a more striking architectural object in Rome. It is in perfect +condition, just as little ruined or decayed as on the day when the +builder put the last peak on the summit; and it ascends steeply from its +base, with a point so sharp that it looks as if it would hardly afford +foothold to a bird. The marble was once white, but is now covered with a +gray coating like that which has gathered upon the statues of Castor and +Pollux on Monte Cavallo. Not one of the great blocks is displaced, nor +seems likely to be through all time to come. They rest one upon another, +in straight and even lines, and present a vast smooth triangle, ascending +from a base of a hundred feet, and narrowing to an apex at the height of +a hundred and twenty-five, the junctures of the marble slabs being so +close that, in all these twenty centuries, only a few little tufts of +grass, and a trailing plant or two, have succeeded in rooting themselves +into the interstices. + +It is good and satisfactory to see anything which, being built for an +enduring monument, has endured so faithfully, and has a prospect of such +an interminable futurity before it. Once, indeed, it seemed likely to be +buried; for three hundred years ago it had become covered to the depth of +sixteen feet, but the soil has since been dug away from its base, which +is now lower than that of the road which passes through the neighboring +gate of San Paolo. Midway up the pyramid, cut in the marble, is an +inscription in large Roman letters, still almost as legible as when first +wrought. + +I did not return through the Paolo gateway, but kept onward, round the +exterior of the wall, till I came to the gate of San Sebastiano. It was +a hot and not a very interesting walk, with only a high bare wall of +brick, broken by frequent square towers, on one side of the road, and a +bank and hedge or a garden wall on the other. Roman roads are most +inhospitable, offering no shade, and no seat, and no pleasant views of +rustic domiciles; nothing but the wheel-track of white dust, without a +foot path running by its side, and seldom any grassy margin to refresh +the wayfarer's feet. + + +April 3d.--A few days ago we visited the studio of Mr. ------, an +American, who seems to have a good deal of vogue as a sculptor. We found +a figure of Pocahontas, which he has repeated several times; another, +which he calls "The Wept of the Wish-ton-Wish," a figure of a smiling +girl playing with a cat and dog, and a schoolboy mending a pen. These +two last were the only ones that gave me any pleasure, or that really had +any merit; for his cleverness and ingenuity appear in homely subjects, +but are quite lost in attempts at a higher ideality. Nevertheless, he +has a group of the Prodigal Son, possessing more merit than I should have +expected from Mr. ------, the son reclining his head on his father's +breast, with an expression of utter weariness, at length finding perfect +rest, while the father bends his benign countenance over him, and seems +to receive him calmly into himself. This group (the plaster-cast +standing beside it) is now taking shape out of an immense block of +marble, and will be as indestructible as the Laocoon; an idea at once +awful and ludicrous, when we consider that it is at best but a +respectable production. I have since been told that Mr. ------ had +stolen, adopted, we will rather say, the attitude and idea of the group +from one executed by a student of the French Academy, and to be seen +there in plaster. (We afterwards saw it in the Medici Casino.) + +Mr. ------ has now been ten years in Italy, and, after all this time, he +is still entirely American in everything but the most external surface of +his manners; scarcely Europeanized, or much modified even in that. He is +a native of ------, but had his early breeding in New York, and might, +for any polish or refinement that I can discern in him, still be a +country shopkeeper in the interior of New York State or New England. How +strange! For one expects to find the polish, the close grain and white +purity of marble, in the artist who works in that noble material; but, +after all, he handles club, and, judging by the specimens I have seen +here, is apt to be clay, not of the finest, himself. Mr. ------ is +sensible, shrewd, keen, clever; an ingenious workman, no doubt; with tact +enough, and not destitute of taste; very agreeable and lively in his +conversation, talking as fast and as naturally as a brook runs, without +the slightest affectation. His naturalness is, in fact, a rather +striking characteristic, in view of his lack of culture, while yet his +life has been concerned with idealities and a beautiful art. What degree +of taste he pretends to, he seems really to possess, nor did I hear a +single idea from him that struck me as otherwise than sensible. + +He called to see us last evening, and talked for about two hours in a +very amusing and interesting style, his topics being taken from his own +personal experience, and shrewdly treated. He spoke much of Greenough, +whom he described as an excellent critic of art, but possessed of not the +slightest inventive genius. His statue of Washington, at the Capitol, is +taken precisely from the Plodian Jupiter; his Chanting Cherubs are copied +in marble from two figures in a picture by Raphael. He did nothing that +was original with himself To-day we took R-----, and went to see Miss +------, and as her studio seems to be mixed up with Gibson's, we had an +opportunity of glancing at some of his beautiful works. We saw a Venus +and a Cupid, both of them tinted; and, side by side with them, other +statues identical with these, except that the marble was left in its pure +whiteness. + +We found Miss ------ in a little upper room. She has a small, brisk, +wide-awake figure, not ungraceful; frank, simple, straightforward, and +downright. She had on a robe, I think, but I did not look so low, my +attention being chiefly drawn to a sort of man's sack of purple or +plum-colored broadcloth, into the side-pockets of which her hands were +thrust as she came forward to greet us. She withdrew one hand, however, +and presented it cordially to my wife (whom she already knew) and to +myself, without waiting for an introduction. She had on a shirt-front, +collar, and cravat like a man's, with a brooch of Etruscan gold, and on +her curly head was a picturesque little cap of black velvet, and her face +was as bright and merry, and as small of feature as a child's. It looked +in one aspect youthful, and yet there was something worn in it too. +There never was anything so jaunty as her movement and action; she was +very peculiar, but she seemed to be her actual self, and nothing affected +or made up; so that, for my part, I gave her full leave to wear what may +suit her best, and to behave as her inner woman prompts. I don't quite +see, however, what she is to do when she grows older, for the decorum of +age will not be consistent with a costume that looks pretty and excusable +enough in a young woman. + +Miss ------ led us into a part of the extensive studio, or collection of +studios, where some of her own works were to be seen: Beatrice Cenci, +which did not very greatly impress me; and a monumental design, a female +figure,--wholly draped even to the stockings and shoes,--in a quiet +sleep. I liked this last. There was also a Puck, doubtless full of fun; +but I had hardly time to glance at it. Miss ------ evidently has good +gifts in her profession, and doubtless she derives great advantage from +her close association with a consummate artist like Gibson; nor yet does +his influence seem to interfere with the originality of her own +conceptions. In one way, at least, she can hardly fail to profit,--that +is, by the opportunity of showing her works to the throngs of people who +go to see Gibson's own; and these are just such people as an artist would +most desire to meet, and might never see in a lifetime, if left to +himself. I shook hands with this frank and pleasant little person, and +took leave, not without purpose of seeing her again. + +Within a few days, there have been many pilgrims in Rome, who come hither +to attend the ceremonies of holy week, and to perform their vows, and +undergo their penances. I saw two of them near the Forum yesterday, with +their pilgrim staves, in the fashion of a thousand years ago. . . . I +sat down on a bench near one of the chapels, and a woman immediately came +up to me to beg. I at first refused; but she knelt down by my side, and +instead of praying to the saint prayed to me; and, being thus treated as +a canonized personage, I thought it incumbent on me to be gracious to the +extent of half a paul. My wife, some time ago, came in contact with a +pickpocket at the entrance of a church; and, failing in his enterprise +upon her purse, he passed in, dipped his thieving fingers in the holy +water, and paid his devotions at a shrine. Missing the purse, he said +his prayers, in the hope, perhaps, that the saint would send him better +luck another time. + + +April 10th.--I have made no entries in my journal recently, being +exceedingly lazy, partly from indisposition, as well as from an +atmosphere that takes the vivacity out of everybody. Not much has +happened or been effected. Last Sunday, which was Easter Sunday, I went +with J----- to St. Peter's, where we arrived at about nine o'clock, and +found a multitude of people already assembled in the church. The +interior was arrayed in festal guise, there being a covering of scarlet +damask over the pilasters of the nave, from base to capital, giving an +effect of splendor, yet with a loss as to the apparent dimensions of the +interior. A guard of soldiers occupied the nave, keeping open a wide +space for the passage of a procession that was momently expected, and +soon arrived. The crowd was too great to allow of my seeing it in +detail; but I could perceive that there were priests, cardinals, Swiss +guards, some of them with corselets on, and by and by the pope himself +was borne up the nave, high over the heads of all, sitting under a +canopy, crowned with his tiara. He floated slowly along, and was set +down in the neighborhood of the high altar; and the procession being +broken up, some of its scattered members might be seen here and there, +about the church,--officials in antique Spanish dresses; Swiss guards, in +polished steel breastplates; serving-men, in richly embroidered liveries; +officers, in scarlet coats and military boots; priests, and divers other +shapes of men; for the papal ceremonies seem to forego little or nothing +that belongs to times past, while it includes everything appertaining to +the present. I ought to have waited to witness the papal benediction +from the balcony in front of the church; or, at least, to hear the famous +silver trumpets, sounding from the dome; but J----- grew weary (to say +the truth, so did I), and we went on a long walk, out of the nearest city +gate, and back through the Janiculum, and, finally, homeward over the +Ponto Rotto. Standing on the bridge, I saw the arch of the Cloaca +Maxima, close by the Temple of Vesta, with the water rising within two or +three feet of its keystone. + +The same evening we went to Monte Cavallo, where, from the gateway of the +Pontifical Palace, we saw the illumination of St. Peter's. Mr. Akers, +the sculptor, had recommended this position to us, and accompanied us +thither, as the best point from which the illumination could be witnessed +at a distance, without the incommodity of such a crowd as would be +assembled at the Pincian. The first illumination, the silver one, as it +is called, was very grand and delicate, describing the outline of the +great edifice and crowning dome in light; while the day was not yet +wholly departed. As ------ finally remarked, it seemed like the +glorified spirit of the Church, made visible, or, as I will add, it +looked as this famous and never-to-be-forgotten structure will look to +the imaginations of men, through the waste and gloom of future ages, +after it shall have gone quite to decay and ruin: the brilliant, though +scarcely distinct gleam of a statelier dome than ever was seen, shining +on the background of the night of Time. This simile looked prettier in +my fancy than I have made it look on paper. + +After we had enjoyed the silver illumination a good while, and when all +the daylight had given place to the constellated night, the distant +outline of St. Peter's burst forth, in the twinkling of an eye, into a +starry blaze, being quite the finest effect that I ever witnessed. I +stayed to see it, however, only a few minutes; for I was quite ill and +feverish with a cold,--which, indeed, I have seldom been free from, since +my first breathing of the genial atmosphere of Rome. This pestilence +kept me within doors all the next day, and prevented me from seeing the +beautiful fireworks that were exhibited in the evening from the platform +on the Pincian, above the Piazza del Popolo. + +On Thursday, I paid another visit to the sculpture-gallery of the +Capitol, where I was particularly struck with a bust of Cato the Censor, +who must have been the most disagreeable, stubborn, ugly-tempered, +pig-headed, narrow-minded, strong-willed old Roman that ever lived. The +collection of busts here and at the Vatican are most interesting, many of +the individual heads being full of character, and commending themselves +by intrinsic evidence as faithful portraits of the originals. These +stone people have stood face to face with Caesar, and all the other +emperors, and with statesmen, soldiers, philosophers, and poets of the +antique world, and have been to them like their reflections in a mirror. +It is the next thing to seeing the men themselves. + +We went afterwards into the Palace of the Conservatori, and saw, among +various other interesting things, the bronze wolf suckling Romulus and +Remus, who sit beneath her dugs, with open mouths to receive the milk. + +On Friday, we all went to see the Pope's Palace on the Quirinal. There +was a vast hall, and an interminable suite of rooms, cased with marble, +floored with marble or mosaics or inlaid wood, adorned with frescos on +the vaulted ceilings, and many of them lined with Gobelin tapestry; not +wofully faded, like almost all that I have hitherto seen, but brilliant +as pictures. Indeed, some of them so closely resembled paintings, that I +could hardly believe they were not so; and the effect was even richer +than that of oil-paintings. In every room there was a crucifix; but I +did not see a single nook or corner where anybody could have dreamed of +being comfortable. Nevertheless, as a stately and solemn residence for +his Holiness, it is quite a satisfactory affair. Afterwards, we went +into the Pontifical Gardens, connected with the palace. They are very +extensive, and laid out in straight avenues, bordered with walls of box, +as impervious as if of stone,--not less than twenty feet high, and +pierced with lofty archways, cut in the living wall. Some of the avenues +were overshadowed with trees, the tops of which bent over and joined one +another from either side, so as to resemble a side aisle of a Gothic +cathedral. Marble sculptures, much weather-stained, and generally +broken-nosed, stood along these stately walks; there were many fountains +gushing up into the sunshine; we likewise found a rich flower-garden, +containing rare specimens of exotic flowers, and gigantic cactuses, and +also an aviary, with vultures, doves, and singing birds. We did not see +half the garden, but, stiff and formal as its general arrangement is, it +is a beautiful place,--a delightful, sunny, and serene seclusion. +Whatever it may be to the pope, two young lovers might find the Garden of +Eden here, and never desire to stray out of its precincts. They might +fancy angels standing in the long, glimmering vistas of the avenues. + +It would suit me well enough to have my daily walk along such straight +paths, for I think them favorable to thought, which is apt to be +disturbed by variety and unexpectedness. + + +April 12th.--We all, except R-----, went to-day to the Vatican, where we +found our way to the Stanze of Raphael, these being four rooms, or halls, +painted with frescos. No doubt they were once very brilliant and +beautiful; but they have encountered hard treatment since Raphael's time, +especially when the soldiers of the Constable de Bourbon occupied these +apartments, and made fires on the mosaic floors. The entire walls and +ceilings are covered with pictures; but the handiwork or designs of +Raphael consist of paintings on the four sides of each room, and include +several works of art. The School of Athens is perhaps the most +celebrated; and the longest side of the largest hall is occupied by a +battle-piece, of which the Emperor Constantine is the hero, and which +covers almost space enough for a real battle-field. There was a +wonderful light in one of the pictures,--that of St. Peter awakened in +his prison, by the angel; it really seemed to throw a radiance into the +hall below. I shall not pretend, however, to have been sensible of any +particular rapture at the sight of these frescos; so faded as they are, +so battered by the mischances of years, insomuch that, through all the +power and glory of Raphael's designs, the spectator cannot but be +continually sensible that the groundwork of them is an old plaster wall. +They have been scrubbed, I suppose,--brushed, at least,--a thousand times +over, till the surface, brilliant or soft, as Raphael left it, must have +been quite rubbed off, and with it, all the consummate finish, and +everything that made them originally delightful. The sterner features +remain, the skeleton of thought, but not the beauty that once clothed it. +In truth, the frescos, excepting a few figures, never had the real touch +of Raphael's own hand upon them, having been merely designed by him, and +finished by his scholars, or by other artists. + +The halls themselves are specimens of antique magnificence, paved with +elaborate mosaics; and wherever there is any wood-work, it is richly +carved with foliage and figures. In their newness, and probably for a +hundred years afterwards, there could not have been so brilliant a suite +of rooms in the world. + +Connected with them--at any rate, not far distant--is the little Chapel +of San Lorenzo, the very site of which, among the thousands of apartments +of the Vatican, was long forgotten, and its existence only known by +tradition. After it had been walled up, however, beyond the memory of +man, there was still a rumor of some beautiful frescos by Fra Angelico, +in an old chapel of Pope Nicholas V., that had strangely disappeared out +of the palace, and, search at length being made, it was discovered, and +entered through a window. It is a small, lofty room, quite covered over +with frescos of sacred subjects, both on the walls and ceiling, a good +deal faded, yet pretty distinctly preserved. It would have been no +misfortune to me, if the little old chapel had remained still hidden. + +We next issued into the Loggie, which consist of a long gallery, or +arcade or colonnade, the whole extent of which was once beautifully +adorned by Raphael. These pictures are almost worn away, and so defaced +as to be untraceable and unintelligible, along the side wall of the +gallery; although traceries of Arabesque, and compartments where there +seem to have been rich paintings, but now only an indistinguishable waste +of dull color, are still to be seen. In the coved ceiling, however, +there are still some bright frescos, in better preservation than any +others; not particularly beautiful, nevertheless. I remember to have +seen (indeed, we ourselves possess them) a series of very spirited and +energetic engravings, old and coarse, of these frescos, the subject being +the Creation, and the early Scripture history; and I really think that +their translation of the pictures is better than the original. On +reference to Murray, I find that little more than the designs is +attributed to Raphael, the execution being by Giulio Romano and other +artists. + +Escaping from these forlorn splendors, we went into the +sculpture-gallery, where I was able to enjoy, in some small degree, two +or three wonderful works of art; and had a perception that there were a +thousand other wonders around me. It is as if the statues kept, for the +most part, a veil about them, which they sometimes withdraw, and let +their beauty gleam upon my sight; only a glimpse, or two or three +glimpses, or a little space of calm enjoyment, and then I see nothing but +a discolored marble image again. The Minerva Medica revealed herself +to-day. I wonder whether other people are more fortunate than myself, +and can invariably find their way to the inner soul of a work of art. I +doubt it; they look at these things for just a minute, and pass on, +without any pang of remorse, such as I feel, for quitting them so soon +and so willingly. I am partly sensible that some unwritten rules of +taste are making their way into my mind; that all this Greek beauty has +done something towards refining me, though I am still, however, a very +sturdy Goth. . . . + + +April 15th.--Yesterday I went with J----- to the Forum, and descended +into the excavations at the base of the Capitol, and on the site of the +Basilica of Julia. The essential elements of old Rome are there: +columns, single, or in groups of two or three, still erect, but battered +and bruised at some forgotten time with infinite pains and labor; +fragments of other columns lying prostrate, together with rich capitals +and friezes; the bust of a colossal female statue, showing the bosom and +upper part of the arms, but headless; a long, winding space of pavement, +forming part of the ancient ascent to the Capitol, still as firm and +solid as ever; the foundation of the Capitol itself, wonderfully massive, +built of immense square blocks of stone, doubtless three thousand years +old, and durable for whatever may be the lifetime of the world; the Arch +of Septimius, Severus, with bas-reliefs of Eastern wars; the Column of +Phocas, with the rude series of steps ascending on four sides to its +pedestal; the floor of beautiful and precious marbles in the Basilica of +Julia, the slabs cracked across,--the greater part of them torn up and +removed, the grass and weeds growing up through the chinks of what +remain; heaps of bricks, shapeless bits of granite, and other ancient +rubbish, among which old men are lazily rummaging for specimens that a +stranger may be induced to buy,--this being an employment that suits the +indolence of a modern Roman. The level of these excavations is about +fifteen feet, I should judge, below the present street, which passes +through the Forum, and only a very small part of this alien surface has +been removed, though there can be no doubt that it hides numerous +treasures of art and monuments of history. Yet these remains do not make +that impression of antiquity upon me which Gothic ruins do. Perhaps it +is so because they belong to quite another system of society and epoch of +time, and, in view of them, we forget all that has intervened betwixt +them and us; being morally unlike and disconnected with them, and not +belonging to the same train of thought; so that we look across a gulf to +the Roman ages, and do not realize how wide the gulf is. Yet in that +intervening valley lie Christianity, the Dark Ages, the feudal system, +chivalry and romance, and a deeper life of the human race than Rome +brought to the verge of the gulf. + +To-day we went to the Colonna Palace, where we saw some fine pictures, +but, I think, no masterpieces. They did not depress and dishearten me so +much as the pictures in Roman palaces usually do; for they were in +remarkably good order as regards frames and varnish; indeed, I rather +suspect some of them had been injured by the means adopted to preserve +their beauty. The palace is now occupied by the French Ambassador, who +probably looks upon the pictures as articles of furniture and household +adornment, and does not choose to have squares of black and forlorn +canvas upon his walls. There were a few noble portraits by Vandyke; a +very striking one by Holbein, one or two by Titian, also by Guercino, and +some pictures by Rubens, and other forestieri painters, which refreshed +my weary eyes. But--what chiefly interested me was the magnificent and +stately hall of the palace; fifty-five of my paces in length, besides a +large apartment at either end, opening into it through a pillared space, +as wide as the gateway of a city. The pillars are of giallo antico, and +there are pilasters of the same all the way up and down the walls, +forming a perspective of the richest aspect, especially as the broad +cornice flames with gilding, and the spaces between the pilasters are +emblazoned with heraldic achievements and emblems in gold, and there are +Venetian looking-glasses, richly decorated over the surface with +beautiful pictures of flowers and Cupids, through which you catch the +gleam of the mirror; and two rows of splendid chandeliers extend from end +to end of the hall, which, when lighted up, if ever it be lighted up, +now-a-nights, must be the most brilliant interior that ever mortal eye +beheld. The ceiling glows with pictures in fresco, representing scenes +connected with the history of the Colonna family; and the floor is paved +with beautiful marbles, polished and arranged in square and circular +compartments; and each of the many windows is set in a great +architectural frame of precious marble, as large as the portal of a door. +The apartment at the farther end of the hall is elevated above it, and is +attained by several marble steps, whence it must have been glorious in +former days to have looked down upon a gorgeous throng of princes, +cardinals, warriors, and ladies, in such rich attire as might be worn +when the palace was built. It is singular how much freshness and +brightness it still retains; and the only objects to mar the effect were +some ancient statues and busts, not very good in themselves, and now made +dreary of aspect by their corroded surfaces,--the result of long burial +under ground. + +In the room at the entrance of the hall are two cabinets, each a wonder +in its way,--one being adorned with precious stones; the other with ivory +carvings of Michael Angelo's Last Judgment, and of the frescos of +Raphael's Loggie. The world has ceased to be so magnificent as it once +was. Men make no such marvels nowadays. The only defect that I remember +in this hall was in the marble steps that ascend to the elevated +apartment at the end of it; a large piece had been broken out of one of +them, leaving a rough irregular gap in the polished marble stair. It is +not easy to conceive what violence can have done this, without also doing +mischief to all the other splendor around it. + + +April 16th.--We went this morning to the Academy of St. Luke (the Fine +Arts Academy at Rome) in the Via Bonella, close by the Forum. We rang +the bell at the house door; and after a few moments it was unlocked or +unbolted by some unseen agency from above, no one making his appearance +to admit us. We ascended two or three flights of stairs, and entered a +hall, where was a young man, the custode, and two or three artists +engaged in copying some of the pictures. The collection not being vastly +large, and the pictures being in more presentable condition than usual, I +enjoyed them more than I generally do; particularly a Virgin and Child by +Vandyke, where two angels are singing and playing, one on a lute and the +other on a violin, to remind the holy infant of the strains he used to +hear in heaven. It is one of the few pictures that there is really any +pleasure in looking at. There were several paintings by Titian, mostly +of a voluptuous character, but not very charming; also two or more by +Guido, one of which, representing Fortune, is celebrated. They did not +impress me much, nor do I find myself strongly drawn towards Guido, +though there is no other painter who seems to achieve things so magically +and inscrutably as he sometimes does. Perhaps it requires a finer taste +than mine to appreciate him; and yet I do appreciate him so far as to see +that his Michael, for instance, is perfectly beautiful. . . . In the +gallery, there are whole rows of portraits of members of the Academy of +St. Luke, most of whom, judging by their physiognomies, were very +commonplace people; a fact which makes itself visible in a portrait, +however much the painter may try to flatter his sitter. Several of the +pictures by Titian, Paul Veronese, and other artists, now exhibited in +the gallery, were formerly kept in a secret cabinet in the Capitol, being +considered of a too voluptuous character for the public eye. I did not +think them noticeably indecorous, as compared with a hundred other +pictures that are shown and looked at without scruple;--Calypso and her +nymphs, a knot of nude women by Titian, is perhaps as objectionable as +any. But even Titian's flesh-tints cannot keep, and have not kept their +warmth through all these centuries. The illusion and lifelikeness +effervesces and exhales out of a picture as it grows old; and we go on +talking of a charm that has forever vanished. + +From St. Luke's we went to San Pietro in Vincoli, occupying a fine +position on or near the summit of the Esquiline mount. A little abortion +of a man (and, by the by, there are more diminutive and ill-shapen men +and women in Rome than I ever saw elsewhere, a phenomenon to be accounted +for, perhaps, by their custom of wrapping the new-born infant in +swaddling-clothes), this two-foot abortion hastened before us, as we drew +nigh, to summon the sacristan to open the church door. It was a needless +service, for which we rewarded him with two baiocchi. San Pietro is a +simple and noble church, consisting of a nave divided from the side +aisles by rows of columns, that once adorned some ancient temple; and its +wide, unencumbered interior affords better breathing-space than most +churches in Rome. The statue of Moses occupies a niche in one of the +side aisles on the right, not far from the high altar. I found it grand +and sublime, with a beard flowing down like a cataract; a truly majestic +figure, but not so benign as it were desirable that such strength should +be. The horns, about which so much has been said, are not a very +prominent feature of the statue, being merely two diminutive tips rising +straight up over his forehead, neither adding to the grandeur of the +head, nor detracting sensibly from it. The whole force of this statue is +not to be felt in one brief visit, but I agree with an English gentleman, +who, with a large party, entered the church while we were there, in +thinking that Moses has "very fine features,"--a compliment for which the +colossal Hebrew ought to have made the Englishman a bow. + +Besides the Moses, the church contains some attractions of a pictorial +kind, which are reposited in the sacristy, into which we passed through a +side door. The most remarkable of these pictures is a face and bust of +Hope, by Guido, with beautiful eyes lifted upwards; it has a grace which +artists are continually trying to get into their innumerable copies, but +always without success; for, indeed, though nothing is more true than the +existence of this charm in the picture, yet if you try to analyze it, or +even look too intently at it, it vanishes, till you look again with more +trusting simplicity. + +Leaving the church, we wandered to the Coliseum, and to the public +grounds contiguous to them, where a score and more of French drummers +were beating each man his drum, without reference to any rub-a-dub but +his own. This seems to be a daily or periodical practice and point of +duty with them. After resting ourselves on one of the marble benches, we +came slowly home, through the Basilica of Constantine, and along the +shady sides of the streets and piazzas, sometimes, perforce, striking +boldly through the white sunshine, which, however, was not so hot as to +shrivel us up bodily. It has been a most beautiful and perfect day as +regards weather, clear and bright, very warm in the sunshine, yet +freshened throughout by a quiet stir in the air. Still there is +something in this air malevolent, or, at least, not friendly. The Romans +lie down and fall asleep in it, in any vacant part of the streets, and +wherever they can find any spot sufficiently clean, and among the ruins +of temples. I would not sleep in the open air for whatever my life may +be worth. + +On our way home, sitting in one of the narrow streets, we saw an old +woman spinning with a distaff; a far more ancient implement than the +spinning-wheel, which the housewives of other nations have long since +laid aside. + + +April 18th.--Yesterday, at noon, the whole family of us set out on a +visit to the Villa Borghese and its grounds, the entrance to which is +just outside of the Porta del Popolo. After getting within the grounds, +however, there is a long walk before reaching the casino, and we found +the sun rather uncomfortably hot, and the road dusty and white in the +sunshine; nevertheless, a footpath ran alongside of it most of the way +through the grass and among the young trees. It seems to me that the +trees do not put forth their leaves with nearly the same magical rapidity +in this southern land at the approach of summer, as they do in more +northerly countries. In these latter, having a much shorter time to +develop themselves, they feel the necessity of making the most of it. +But the grass, in the lawns and enclosures along which we passed, looked +already fit to be mowed, and it was interspersed with many flowers. + +Saturday being, I believe, the only day of the week on which visitors are +admitted to the casino, there were many parties in carriages, artists on +foot, gentlemen on horseback, and miscellaneous people, to whom the door +was opened by a custode on ringing a bell. The whole of the basement +floor of the casino, comprising a suite of beautiful rooms, is filled +with statuary. The entrance hall is a very splendid apartment, brightly +frescoed, and paved with ancient mosaics, representing the combats with +beasts and gladiators in the Coliseum, curious, though very rudely and +awkwardly designed, apparently after the arts had begun to decline. Many +of the specimens of sculpture displayed in these rooms are fine, but none +of them, I think, possess the highest merit. An Apollo is beautiful; a +group of a fighting Amazon, and her enemies trampled under her horse's +feet, is very impressive; a Faun, copied from that of Praxiteles, and +another, who seems to be dancing, were exceedingly pleasant to look at. +I like these strange, sweet, playful, rustic creatures, . . . . linked so +prettily, without monstrosity, to the lower tribes. . . . Their +character has never, that I know of, been wrought out in literature; and +something quite good, funny, and philosophical, as well as poetic, might +very likely be educed from them. . . . The faun is a natural and +delightful link betwixt human and brute life, with something of a divine +character intermingled. + +The gallery, as it is called, on the basement floor of the casino, is +sixty feet in length, by perhaps a third as much in breadth, and is +(after all I have seen at the Colonna Palace and elsewhere) a more +magnificent hall than I imagined to be in existence. It is floored with +rich marble in beautifully arranged compartments, and the walls are +almost entirely eased with marble of various sorts, the prevailing kind +being giallo antico, intermixed with verd antique, and I know not what +else; but the splendor of the giallo antico gives the character to the +room, and the large and deep niches along the walls appear to be lined +with the same material. Without coming to Italy, one can have no idea of +what beauty and magnificence are produced by these fittings up of +polished marble. Marble to an American means nothing but white +limestone. + +This hall, moreover, is adorned with pillars of Oriental alabaster, and +wherever is a space vacant of precious and richly colored marble it is +frescoed with arabesque ornaments; and over the whole is a coved and +vaulted ceiling, glowing with picture. There never can be anything +richer than the whole effect. As to the sculpture here it was not very +fine, so far as I can remember, consisting chiefly of busts of the +emperors in porphyry; but they served a good purpose in the upholstery +way. There were also magnificent tables, each composed of one great slab +of porphyry; and also vases of nero antico, and other rarest substance. +It remains to be mentioned that, on this almost summer day, I was quite +chilled in passing through these glorious halls; no fireplace anywhere; +no possibility of comfort; and in the hot season, when their coolness +might be agreeable, it would be death to inhabit them. + +Ascending a long winding staircase, we arrived at another suite of rooms, +containing a good many not very remarkable pictures, and a few more +pieces of statuary. Among the latter, is Canova's statue of Pauline, the +sister of Bonaparte, who is represented with but little drapery, and in +the character of Venus holding the apple in her hand. It is admirably +done, and, I have no doubt, a perfect likeness; very beautiful too; but +it is wonderful to see how the artificial elegance of the woman of this +world makes itself perceptible in spite of whatever simplicity she could +find in almost utter nakedness. The statue does not afford pleasure in +the contemplation. + +In one of these upper rooms are some works of Bernini; two of them, +Aeneas and Anchises, and David on the point of slinging a stone at +Goliath, have great merit, and do not tear and rend themselves quite out +of the laws and limits of marble, like his later sculpture. Here is also +his Apollo overtaking Daphne, whose feet take root, whose, finger-tips +sprout into twigs, and whose tender body roughens round about with bark, +as he embraces her. It did not seem very wonderful to me; not so good as +Hillard's description of it made me expect; and one does not enjoy these +freaks in marble. + +We were glad to emerge from the casino into the warm sunshine; and, for +my part, I made the best of my way to a large fountain, surrounded by a +circular stone seat of wide sweep, and sat down in a sunny segment of the +circle. Around grew a solemn company of old trees,--ilexes, I believe,-- +with huge, contorted trunks and evergreen branches, . . . . deep groves, +sunny openings, the airy gush of fountains, marble statues, dimly visible +in recesses of foliage, great urns and vases, terminal figures, temples, +--all these works of art looking as if they had stood there long enough +to feel at home, and to be on friendly and familiar terms with the grass +and trees. It is a most beautiful place, . . . . and the Malaria is its +true master and inhabitant! + + +April 22d.--We have been recently to the studio of Mr. Brown [now dead], +the American landscape-painter, and were altogether surprised and +delighted with his pictures. He is a plain, homely Yankee, quite +unpolished by his many years' residence in Italy; he talks +ungrammatically, and in Yankee idioms; walks with a strange, awkward gait +and stooping shoulders; is altogether unpicturesque; but wins one's +confidence by his very lack of grace. It is not often that we see an +artist so entirely free from affectation in his aspect and deportment. +His pictures were views of Swiss and Italian scenery, and were most +beautiful and true. One of them, a moonlight picture, was really +magical,-- the moon shining so brightly that it seemed to throw a light +even beyond the limits of the picture,--and yet his sunrises and sunsets, +and noontides too, were nowise inferior to this, although their +excellence required somewhat longer study, to be fully appreciated. I +seemed to receive more pleasure front Mr. Brown's pictures than from any +of the landscapes by the old masters; and the fact serves to strengthen +me in the belief that the most delicate if not the highest charm of a +picture is evanescent, and that we continue to admire pictures +prescriptively and by tradition, after the qualities that first won +them their fame have vanished. I suppose Claude was a greater +landscape-painter than Brown; but for my own pleasure I would prefer one +of the latter artist's pictures,--those of the former being quite changed +from what he intended them to be by the effect of time on his pigments. +Mr. Brown showed us some drawings from nature, done with incredible care +and minuteness of detail, as studies for his paintings. We complimented +him on his patience; but he said, "O, it's not patience,--it's love!" In +fact, it was a patient and most successful wooing of a beloved object, +which at last rewarded him by yielding itself wholly. + +We have likewise been to Mr. B------'s [now dead] studio, where we saw +several pretty statues and busts, and among them an Eve, with her wreath +of fig-leaves lying across her poor nudity; comely in some points, but +with a frightful volume of thighs and calves. I do not altogether see +the necessity of ever sculpturing another nakedness. Man is no longer a +naked animal; his clothes are as natural to him as his skin, and +sculptors have no more right to undress him than to flay him. + +Also, we have seen again William Story's Cleopatra,--a work of genuine +thought and energy, representing a terribly dangerous woman; quiet enough +for the moment, but very likely to spring upon you like a tigress. It is +delightful to escape to his creations from this universal prettiness, +which seems to be the highest conception of the crowd of modern +sculptors, and which they almost invariably attain. + +Miss Bremer called on us the other day. We find her very little changed +from what she was when she came to take tea and spend an evening at our +little red cottage, among the Berkshire hills, and went away so +dissatisfied with my conversational performances, and so laudatory of my +brow and eyes, while so severely criticising my poor mouth and chin. She +is the funniest little old fairy in person whom one can imagine, with a +huge nose, to which all the rest of her is but an insufficient appendage; +but you feel at once that she is most gentle, kind, womanly, sympathetic, +and true. She talks English fluently, in a low quiet voice, but with +such an accent that it is impossible to understand her without the +closest attention. This was the real cause of the failure of our +Berkshire interview; for I could not guess, half the time, what she was +saying, and, of course, had to take an uncertain aim with my responses. +A more intrepid talker than myself would have shouted his ideas across +the gulf; but, for me, there must first be a close and unembarrassed +contiguity with my companion, or I cannot say one real word. I doubt +whether I have ever really talked with half a dozen persons in my life, +either men or women. + +To-day my wife and I have been at the picture and sculpture galleries of +the Capitol. I rather enjoyed looking at several of the pictures, though +at this moment I particularly remember only a very beautiful face of a +man, one of two heads on the same canvas by Vandyke. Yes; I did look +with new admiration at Paul Veronese's "Rape of Europa." It must have +been, in its day, the most brilliant and rejoicing picture, the most +voluptuous, the most exuberant, that ever put the sunshine to shame. The +bull has all Jupiter in him, so tender and gentle, yet so passionate, +that you feel it indecorous to look at him; and Europa, under her thick +rich stuffs and embroideries, is all a woman. What a pity that such a +picture should fade, and perplex the beholder with such splendor shining +through such forlornness! + +We afterwards went into the sculpture-gallery, where I looked at the Faun +of Praxiteles, and was sensible of a peculiar charm in it; a sylvan +beauty and homeliness, friendly and wild at once. The lengthened, but +not preposterous ears, and the little tail, which we infer, have an +exquisite effect, and make the spectator smile in his very heart. This +race of fauns was the most delightful of all that antiquity imagined. It +seems to me that a story, with all sorts of fun and pathos in it, might +be contrived on the idea of their species having become intermingled with +the human race; a family with the faun blood in them, having prolonged +itself from the classic era till our own days. The tail might have +disappeared, by dint of constant intermarriages with ordinary mortals; +but the pretty hairy ears should occasionally reappear in members of the +family; and the moral instincts and intellectual characteristics of the +faun might be most picturesquely brought out, without detriment to the +human interest of the story. Fancy this combination in the person of a +young lady! + +I have spoken of Mr. Gibson's colored statues. It seems (at least Mr. +Nichols tells me) that he stains them with tobacco juice. . . . Were he +to send a Cupid to America, he need not trouble himself to stain it +beforehand. + + +April 25th.--Night before last, my wife and I took a moonlight ramble +through Rome, it being a very beautiful night, warm enough for comfort, +and with no perceptible dew or dampness. We set out at about nine +o'clock, and, our general direction being towards the Coliseum, we soon +came to the Fountain of Trevi, full on the front of which the moonlight +fell, making Bernini's sculptures look stately and beautiful, though the +semicircular gush and fall of the cascade, and the many jets of the +water, pouring and bubbling into the great marble basin, are of far more +account than Neptune and his steeds, and the rest of the figures. . . . + +We ascended the Capitoline Hill, and I felt a satisfaction in placing my +hand on those immense blocks of stone, the remains of the ancient +Capitol, which form the foundation of the present edifice, and will make +a sure basis for as many edifices as posterity may choose to rear upon +it, till the end of the world. It is wonderful, the solidity with which +those old Romans built; one would suppose they contemplated the whole +course of Time as the only limit of their individual life. This is not +so strange in the days of the Republic, when, probably, they believed in +the permanence of their institutions; but they still seemed to build for +eternity, in the reigns of the emperors, when neither rulers nor people +had any faith or moral substance, or laid any earnest grasp on life. + +Reaching the top of the Capitoline Hill, we ascended the steps of the +portal of the Palace of the Senator, and looked down into the piazza, +with the equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius in the centre of it. The +architecture that surrounds the piazza is very ineffective; and so, in my +opinion, are all the other architectural works of Michael Angelo, +including St. Peter's itself, of which he has made as little as could +possibly be made of such a vast pile of material. He balances everything +in such a way that it seems but half of itself. + +We soon descended into the piazza, and walked round and round the statue +of Marcus Aurelius, contemplating it from every point and admiring it in +all. . . . On these beautiful moonlight nights, Rome appears to keep +awake and stirring, though in a quiet and decorous way. It is, in fact, +the pleasantest time for promenades, and we both felt less wearied than +by any promenade in the daytime, of similar extent, since our residence +in Rome. In future, I mean to walk often after nightfall. + +Yesterday, we set out betimes, and ascended the dome of St. Peter's. The +best view of the interior of the church, I think, is from the first +gallery beneath the dome. The whole inside of the dome is set with +mosaic-work, the separate pieces being, so far as I could see, about half +an inch square. Emerging on the roof, we had a fine view of all the +surrounding Rome, including the Mediterranean Sea in the remote distance. +Above us still rose the whole mountain of the great dome, and it made an +impression on me of greater height and size than I had yet been able to +receive. The copper ball at the summit looked hardly bigger than a man +could lift; and yet, a little while afterwards, U----, J-----, and I +stood all together in that ball, which could have contained a dozen more +along with us. The esplanade of the roof is, of course, very extensive; +and along the front of it are ranged the statues which we see from below, +and which, on nearer examination, prove to be roughly hewn giants. There +is a small house on the roof, where, probably, the custodes of this part +of the edifice reside; and there is a fountain gushing abundantly into a +stone trough, that looked like an old sarcophagus. It is strange where +the water comes from at such a height. The children tasted it, and +pronounced it very warm and disagreeable. After taking in the prospect +on all sides we rang a bell, which summoned a man, who directed us +towards a door in the side of the dome, where a custode was waiting to +admit us. Hitherto the ascent had been easy, along a slope without +stairs, up which, I believe, people sometimes ride on donkeys. The rest +of the way we mounted steep and narrow staircases, winding round within +the wall, or between the two walls of the dome, and growing narrower and +steeper, till, finally, there is but a perpendicular iron ladder, by +means of which to climb into the copper ball. Except through small +windows and peep-holes, there is no external prospect of a higher point +than the roof of the church. Just beneath the ball there is a circular +room capable of containing a large company, and a door which ought to +give access to a gallery on the outside; but the custode informed us that +this door is never opened. As I have said, U----, J-----, and I +clambered into the copper ball, which we found as hot as an oven; and, +after putting our hands on its top, and on the summit of St. Peter's, +were glad to clamber down again. I have made some mistake, after all, in +my narration. There certainly is a circular balcony at the top of the +dome, for I remember walking round it, and looking, not only across the +country, but downwards along the ribs of the dome; to which are attached +the iron contrivances for illuminating it on Easter Sunday. . . . + +Before leaving the church we went to look at the mosaic copy of the +"Transfiguration," because we were going to see the original in the +Vatican, and wished to compare the two. Going round to the entrance of +the Vatican, we went first to the manufactory of mosaics, to which we had +a ticket of admission. We found it a long series of rooms, in which the +mosaic artists were at work, chiefly in making some medallions of the +heads of saints for the new church of St. Paul's. It was rather coarse +work, and it seemed to me that the mosaic copy was somewhat stiffer and +more wooden than the original, the bits of stone not flowing into color +quite so freely as paint from a brush. There was no large picture now in +process of being copied; but two or three artists were employed on small +and delicate subjects. One had a Holy Family of Raphael in hand; and the +Sibyls of Guercino and Domenichino were hanging on the wall, apparently +ready to be put into mosaic. Wherever great skill and delicacy, on the +artists' part were necessary, they seemed quite adequate to the occasion; +but, after all, a mosaic of any celebrated picture is but a copy of a +copy. The substance employed is a stone-paste, of innumerable different +views, and in bits of various sizes, quantities of which were seen in +cases along the whole series of rooms. + +We next ascended an amazing height of staircases, and walked along I know +not what extent of passages, . . . . till we reached the picture-gallery +of the Vatican, into which I had never been before. There are but three +rooms, all lined with red velvet, on which hung about fifty pictures, +each one of them, no doubt, worthy to be considered a masterpiece. In +the first room were three Murillos, all so beautiful that I could have +spent the day happily in looking at either of them; for, methinks, of all +painters he is the tenderest and truest. I could not enjoy these +pictures now, however, because in the next room, and visible through the +open door, hung the "Transfiguration." Approaching it, I felt that the +picture was worthy of its fame, and was far better than I could at once +appreciate; admirably preserved, too, though I fully believe it must have +possessed a charm when it left Raphael's hand that has now vanished +forever. As church furniture and an external adornment, the mosaic copy +is preferable to the original, but no copy could ever reproduce all the +life and expression which we see here. Opposite to it hangs the +"Communion of St. Jerome," the aged, dying saint, half torpid with death +already, partaking of the sacrament, and a sunny garland of cherubs in +the upper part of the picture, looking down upon him, and quite +comforting the spectator with the idea that the old man needs only to be +quite dead in order to flit away with them. As for the other pictures I +did but glance at, and have forgotten them. + +The "Transfiguration" is finished with great minuteness and detail, the +weeds and blades of grass in the foreground being as distinct as if they +were growing in a natural soil. A partly decayed stick of wood with the +bark is likewise given in close imitation of nature. The reflection of a +foot of one of the apostles is seen in a pool of water at the verge of +the picture. One or two heads and arms seem almost to project from the +canvas. There is great lifelikeness and reality, as well as higher +qualities. The face of Jesus, being so high aloft and so small in the +distance, I could not well see; but I am impressed with the idea that it +looks too much like human flesh and blood to be in keeping with the +celestial aspect of the figure, or with the probabilities of the scene, +when the divinity and immortality of the Saviour beamed from within him +through the earthly features that ordinarily shaded him. As regards the +composition of the picture, I am not convinced of the propriety of its +being in two so distinctly separate parts,--the upper portion not +thinking of the lower, and the lower portion not being aware of the +higher. It symbolizes, however, the spiritual short-sightedness of +mankind that, amid the trouble and grief of the lower picture, not a +single individual, either of those who seek help or those who would +willingly afford it, lifts his eyes to that region, one glimpse of which +would set everything right. One or two of the disciples point upward, +but without really knowing what abundance of help is to be had there. + + +April 27th.--To-day we have all been with Mr. Akers to some studios of +painters; first to that of Mr. Wilde, an artist originally from Boston. +His pictures are principally of scenes from Venice, and are miracles of +color, being as bright as if the light were transmitted through rubies +and sapphires. And yet, after contemplating them awhile, we became +convinced that the painter had not gone in the least beyond nature, but, +on the contrary, had fallen short of brilliancies which no palette, or +skill, or boldness in using color, could attain. I do not quite know +whether it is best to attempt these things. They may be found in nature, +no doubt, but always so tempered by what surrounds them, so put out of +sight even while they seem full before our eyes, that we question the +accuracy of a faithful reproduction of them on canvas. There was a +picture of sunset, the whole sky of which would have outshone any gilded +frame that could have been put around it. There was a most gorgeous +sketch of a handful of weeds and leaves, such as may be seen strewing +acres of forest-ground in an American autumn. I doubt whether any other +man has ever ventured to paint a picture like either of these two, the +Italian sunset or the American autumnal foliage. Mr. Wilde, who is still +young, talked with genuine feeling and enthusiasm of his art, and is +certainly a man of genius. + +We next went to the studio of an elderly Swiss artist, named Mueller, I +believe, where we looked at a great many water-color and crayon drawings +of scenes in Italy, Greece, and Switzerland. The artist was a quiet, +respectable, somewhat heavy-looking old gentleman, from whose aspect one +would expect a plodding pertinacity of character rather than quickness of +sensibility. He must have united both these qualities, however, to +produce such pictures as these, such faithful transcripts of whatever +Nature has most beautiful to show, and which she shows only to those who +love her deeply and patiently. They are wonderful pictures, compressing +plains, seas, and mountains, with miles and miles of distance, into the +space of a foot or two, without crowding anything or leaving out a +feature, and diffusing the free, blue atmosphere throughout. The works +of the English watercolor artists which I saw at the Manchester +Exhibition seemed to me nowise equal to these. Now, here are three +artists, Mr. Brown, Mr. Wilde, and Mr. Mueller, who have smitten me with +vast admiration within these few days past, while I am continually +turning away disappointed from the landscapes of the most famous among +the old masters, unable to find any charm or illusion in them. Yet I +suppose Claude, Poussin, and Salvator Rosa must have won their renown by +real achievements. But the glory of a picture fades like that of a +flower. + +Contiguous to Mr. Mueller's studio was that of a young German artist, not +long resident in Rome, and Mr. Akers proposed that we should go in there, +as a matter of kindness to the young man, who is scarcely known at all, +and seldom has a visitor to look at his pictures. His studio comprised +his whole establishment; for there was his little bed, with its white +drapery, in a corner of the small room, and his dressing-table, with its +brushes and combs, while the easel and the few sketches of Italian scenes +and figures occupied the foreground. I did not like his pictures very +well, but would gladly have bought them all if I could have afforded it, +the artist looked so cheerful, patient, and quiet, doubtless amidst huge +discouragement. He is probably stubborn of purpose, and is the sort of +man who will improve with every year of his life. We could not speak his +language, and were therefore spared the difficulty of paying him any +compliments; but Miss Shepard said a few kind words to him in German. +and seemed quite to win his heart, insomuch that he followed her with +bows and smiles a long way down the staircase. It is a terrible +business, this looking at pictures, whether good or bad, in the presence +of the artists who paint them; it is as great a bore as to hear a poet +read his own verses. It takes away all my pleasure in seeing the +pictures, and even remakes me question the genuineness of the impressions +which I receive from them. + +After this latter visit Mr. Akers conducted us to the shop of the +jeweller Castellani, who is a great reproducer of ornaments in the old +Roman and Etruscan fashion. These antique styles are very fashionable +just now, and some of the specimens he showed us were certainly very +beautiful, though I doubt whether their quaintness and old-time +curiousness, as patterns of gewgaws dug out of immemorial tombs, be not +their greatest charm. We saw the toilet-case of an Etruscan lady,--that +is to say, a modern imitation of it,--with her rings for summer and +winter, and for every day of the week, and for thumb and fingers; her +ivory comb; her bracelets; and more knick-knacks than I can half +remember. Splendid things of our own time were likewise shown us; a +necklace of diamonds worth eighteen thousand scudi, together with +emeralds and opals and great pearls. Finally we came away, and my wife +and Miss Shepard were taken up by the Misses Weston, who drove with them +to visit the Villa Albani. During their drive my wife happened to raise +her arm, and Miss Shepard espied a little Greek cross of gold which had +attached itself to the lace of her sleeve. . . . Pray heaven the +jeweller may not discover his loss before we have time to restore the +spoil! He is apparently so free and careless in displaying his precious +wares,--putting inestimable genes and brooches great and small into the +hands of strangers like ourselves, and leaving scores of them strewn on +the top of his counter,--that it would seem easy enough to take a diamond +or two; but I suspect there must needs be a sharp eye somewhere. Before +we left the shop he requested me to honor him with my autograph in a +large book that was full of the names of his visitors. This is probably +a measure of precaution. + + +April 30th.--I went yesterday to the sculpture-gallery of the Capitol, +and looked pretty thoroughly through the busts of the illustrious men, +and less particularly at those of the emperors and their relatives. I +likewise took particular note of the Faun of Praxiteles, because the idea +keeps recurring to me of writing a little romance about it, and for that +reason I shall endeavor to set down a somewhat minutely itemized detail +of the statue and its surroundings. . . . + +We have had beautiful weather for two or three days, very warm in the +sun, yet always freshened by the gentle life of a breeze, and quite cool +enough the moment you pass within the limit of the shade. . . . + +In the morning there are few people there (on the Pincian) except the +gardeners, lazily trimming the borders, or filling their watering-pots +out of the marble-brimmed basin of the fountain; French soldiers, in +their long mixed-blue surtouts, and wide scarlet pantaloons, chatting +with here and there a nursery-maid and playing with the child in her +care; and perhaps a few smokers, . . . . choosing each a marble seat or +wooden bench in sunshine or shade as best suits him. In the afternoon, +especially within an hour or two of sunset, the gardens are much more +populous, and the seats, except when the sun falls full upon them, are +hard to come by. Ladies arrive in carriages, splendidly dressed; +children are abundant, much impeded in their frolics, and rendered stiff +and stately by the finery which they wear; English gentlemen and +Americans with their wives and families; the flower of the Roman +population, too, both male and female, mostly dressed with great nicety; +but a large intermixture of artists, shabbily picturesque; and other +persons, not of the first stamp. A French band, comprising a great many +brass instruments, by and by begins to play; and what with music, +sunshine, a delightful atmosphere, flowers, grass, well-kept pathways, +bordered with box-hedges, pines, cypresses, horse-chestnuts, flowering +shrubs, and all manner of cultivated beauty, the scene is a very lively +and agreeable one. The fine equipages that drive round and round through +the carriage-paths are another noticeable item. The Roman aristocracy +are magnificent in their aspect, driving abroad with beautiful horses, +and footmen in rich liveries, sometimes as many as three behind and one +sitting by the coachman. + + +May 1st.--This morning, I wandered for the thousandth time through some +of the narrow intricacies of Rome, stepping here and there into a church. +I do not know the name of the first one, nor had it anything that in Rome +could be called remarkable, though, till I came here, I was not aware +that any such churches existed,--a marble pavement in variegated +compartments, a series of shrines and chapels round the whole floor, each +with its own adornment of sculpture and pictures, its own altar with tall +wax tapers before it, some of which were burning; a great picture over +the high altar, the whole interior of the church ranged round with +pillars and pilasters, and lined, every inch of it, with rich yellow +marble. Finally, a frescoed ceiling over the nave and transepts, and a +dome rising high above the central part, and filled with frescos brought +to such perspective illusion, that the edges seem to project into the +air. Two or three persons are kneeling at separate shrines; there are +several wooden confessionals placed against the walls, at one of which +kneels a lady, confessing to a priest who sits within; the tapers are +lighted at the high altar and at one of the shrines; an attendant is +scrubbing the marble pavement with a broom and water, a process, I should +think, seldom practised in Roman churches. By and by the lady finishes +her confession, kisses the priest's hand, and sits down in one of the +chairs which are placed about the floor, while the priest, in a black +robe, with a short, white, loose jacket over his shoulders, disappears by +a side door out of the church. I, likewise, finding nothing attractive +in the pictures, take my departure. Protestantism needs a new apostle to +convert it into something positive. . . . + +I now found my way to the Piazza Navona. It is to me the most +interesting piazza in Rome; a large oblong space, surrounded with tall, +shabby houses, among which there are none that seem to be palaces. The +sun falls broadly over the area of the piazza, and shows the fountains in +it;--one a large basin with great sea-monsters, probably of Bernini's +inventions, squirting very small streams of water into it; another of the +fountains I do not at all remember; but the central one is an immense +basin, over which is reared an old Egyptian obelisk, elevated on a rock, +which is cleft into four arches. Monstrous devices in marble, I know not +of what purport, are clambering about the cloven rock or burrowing +beneath it; one and all of them are superfluous and impertinent, the only +essential thing being the abundant supply of water in the fountain. This +whole Piazza Navona is usually the scene of more business than seems to +be transacted anywhere else in Rome; in some parts of it rusty iron is +offered for sale, locks and keys, old tools, and all such rubbish; in +other parts vegetables, comprising, at this season, green peas, onions, +cauliflowers, radishes, artichokes, and others with which I have never +made acquaintance; also, stalls or wheelbarrows containing apples, +chestnuts (the meats dried and taken out of the shells), green almonds in +their husks, and squash-seeds,--salted and dried in an oven,--apparently +a favorite delicacy of the Romans. There are also lemons and oranges; +stalls of fish, mostly about the size of smelts, taken from the Tiber; +cigars of various qualities, the best at a baioccho and a half apiece; +bread in loaves or in small rings, a great many of which are strung +together on a long stick, and thus carried round for sale. Women and men +sit with these things for sale, or carry them about in trays or on boards +on their heads, crying them with shrill and hard voices. There is a +shabby crowd and much babble; very little picturesqueness of costume or +figure, however, the chief exceptions being, here and there, an old +white-bearded beggar. A few of the men have the peasant costume,--a +short jacket and breeches of light blue cloth and white stockings,--the +ugliest dress I ever saw. The women go bareheaded, and seem fond of +scarlet and other bright colors, but are homely and clumsy in form. The +piazza is dingy in its general aspect, and very dirty, being strewn with +straw, vegetable-tops, and the rubbish of a week's marketing; but there +is more life in it than one sees elsewhere in Rome. + +On one side of the piazza is the Church of St. Agnes, traditionally said +to stand on the site of the house where that holy maiden was exposed to +infamy by the Roman soldiers, and where her modesty and innocence were +saved by miracle. I went into the church, and found it very splendid, +with rich marble columns, all as brilliant as if just built; a frescoed +dome above; beneath, a range of chapels all round the church, ornamented +not with pictures but bas-reliefs, the figures of which almost step and +struggle out of the marble. They did not seem very admirable as works of +art, none of them explaining themselves or attracting me long enough to +study out their meaning; but, as part of the architecture of the church, +they had a good effect. Out of the busy square two or three persons had +stepped into this bright and calm seclusion to pray and be devout, for a +little while; and, between sunrise and sunset of the bustling market-day, +many doubtless snatch a moment to refresh their souls. + +In the Pantheon (to-day) it was pleasant looking up to the circular +opening, to see the clouds flitting across it, sometimes covering it +quite over, then permitting a glimpse of sky, then showing all the circle +of sunny blue. Then would come the ragged edge of a cloud, brightened +throughout with sunshine, passing and changing quickly,--not that the +divine smile was not always the same, but continually variable through +the medium of earthly influences. The great slanting beam of sunshine +was visible all the way down to the pavement, falling upon motes of dust, +or a thin smoke of incense imperceptible in the shadow. Insects were +playing to and fro in the beam, high up toward the opening. There is a +wonderful charm in the naturalness of all this, and one might fancy a +swarm of cherubs coming down through the opening and sporting in the +broad ray, to gladden the faith of worshippers on the pavement beneath; +or angels bearing prayers upward, or bringing down responses to them, +visible with dim brightness as they pass through the pathway of heaven's +radiance, even the many hues of their wings discernible by a trusting +eye; though, as they pass into the shadow, they vanish like the motes. +So the sunbeam would represent those rays of divine intelligence which +enable us to see wonders and to know that they are natural things. + +Consider the effect of light and shade in a church where the windows are +open and darkened with curtains that are occasionally lifted by a breeze, +letting in the sunshine, which whitens a carved tombstone on the pavement +of the church, disclosing, perhaps, the letters of the name and +inscription, a death's-head, a crosier, or other emblem; then the curtain +falls and the bright spot vanishes. + + +May 8th.--This morning my wife and I went to breakfast with Mrs. William +Story at the Barberini Palace, expecting to meet Mrs. Jameson, who has +been in Rome for a month or two. We had a very pleasant breakfast, but +Mrs. Jameson was not present on account of indisposition, and the only +other guests were Mrs. A------ and Mrs. H------, two sensible American +ladies. Mrs. Story, however, received a note from Mrs. Jameson, asking +her to bring us to see her at her lodgings; so in the course of the +afternoon she called on us, and took us thither in her carriage. Mrs. +Jameson lives on the first piano of an old palazzo on the Via di Ripetta, +nearly opposite the ferry-way across the Tiber, and affording a pleasant +view of the yellow river and the green bank and fields on the other side. +I had expected to see an elderly lady, but not quite so venerable a one +as Mrs. Jameson proved to be; a rather short, round, and massive +personage, of benign and agreeable aspect, with a sort of black skullcap +on her head, beneath which appeared her hair, which seemed once to have +been fair, and was now almost white. I should take her to be about +seventy years old. She began to talk to us with affectionate +familiarity, and was particularly kind in her manifestations towards +myself, who, on my part, was equally gracious towards her. In truth, I +have found great pleasure and profit in her works, and was glad to hear +her say that she liked mine. We talked about art, and she showed us a +picture leaning up against the wall of the room; a quaint old Byzantine +painting, with a gilded background, and two stiff figures (our Saviour +and St. Catherine) standing shyly at a sacred distance from one another, +and going through the marriage ceremony. There was a great deal of +expression in their faces and figures; and the spectator feels, moreover, +that the artist must have been a devout man,--an impression which we +seldom receive from modern pictures, however awfully holy the subject, or +however consecrated the place they hang in. Mrs. Jameson seems to be +familiar with Italy, its people and life, as well as with its +picture-galleries. She is said to be rather irascible in her temper; but +nothing could be sweeter than her voice, her look, and all her +manifestations to-day. When we were coming away she clasped my hand in +both of hers, and again expressed the pleasure of having seen me, and her +gratitude to me for calling on her; nor did I refrain from responding +Amen to these effusions. . . . + +Taking leave of Mrs. Jameson, we drove through the city, and out of the +Lateran Gate; first, however, waiting a long while at Monaldini's +bookstore in the Piazza de' Spagna for Mr. Story, whom we finally took up +in the street, after losing nearly an hour. + +Just two miles beyond the gate is a space on the green campagna where, +for some time past, excavations have been in progress, which thus far +have resulted in the discovery of several tombs, and the old, buried, and +almost forgotten church or basilica of San Stefano. It is a beautiful +spot, that of the excavations, with the Alban hills in the distance, and +some heavy, sunlighted clouds hanging above, or recumbent at length upon +them, and behind the city and its mighty dome. The excavations are an +object of great interest both to the Romans and to strangers, and there +were many carriages and a great many visitors viewing the progress of the +works, which are carried forward with greater energy than anything else I +have seen attempted at Rome. A short time ago the ground in the vicinity +was a green surface, level, except here and there a little hillock, or +scarcely perceptible swell; the tomb of Cecilia Metella showing itself a +mile or two distant, and other rugged ruins of great tombs rising on the +plain. Now the whole site of the basilica is uncovered, and they have +dug into the depths of several tombs, bringing to light precious marbles, +pillars, a statue, and elaborately wrought sarcophagi; and if they were +to dig into almost every other inequality that frets the surface of the +campagna, I suppose the result might be the same. You cannot dig six +feet downward anywhere into the soil, deep enough to hollow out a grave, +without finding some precious relic of the past; only they lose somewhat +of their value when you think that you can almost spurn them out of the +ground with your foot. It is a very wonderful arrangement of Providence +that these things should have been preserved for a long series of coming +generations by that accumulation of dust and soil and grass and trees and +houses over them, which will keep them safe, and cause their reappearance +above ground to be gradual, so that the rest of the world's lifetime may +have for one of its enjoyments the uncovering of old Rome. + +The tombs were accessible by long flights of steps going steeply +downward, and they were thronged with so many visitors that we had to +wait some little time for our own turn. In the first into which we +descended we found two tombs side by side, with only a partition wall +between; the outer tomb being, as is supposed, a burial-place constructed +by the early Christians, while the adjoined and minor one was a work of +pagan Rome about the second century after Christ. The former was much +less interesting than the latter. It contained some large sarcophagi, +with sculpture upon them of rather heathenish aspect; and in the centre +of the front of each sarcophagus was a bust in bas-relief, the features +of which had never been wrought, but were left almost blank, with only +the faintest indications of a nose, for instance. It is supposed that +sarcophagi were kept on hand by the sculptors, and were bought ready +made, and that it was customary to work out the portrait of the deceased +upon the blank face in the centre; but when there was a necessity for +sudden burial, as may have been the case in the present instance, this +was dispensed with. + +The inner tomb was found without any earth in it, just as it had been +left when the last old Roman was buried there; and it being only a week +or two since it was opened, there was very little intervention of +persons, though much of time, between the departure of the friends of the +dead and our own visit. It is a square room, with a mosaic pavement, and +is six or seven paces in length and breadth, and as much in height to the +vaulted roof. The roof and upper walls are beautifully ornamented with +frescos, which were very bright when first discovered, but have rapidly +faded since the admission of the air, though the graceful and joyous +designs, flowers and fruits and trees, are still perfectly discernible. +The room must have been anything but sad and funereal; on the contrary, +as cheerful a saloon, and as brilliant, if lighted up, as one could +desire to feast in. It contained several marble sarcophagi, covering +indeed almost the whole floor, and each of them as much as three or four +feet in length, and two much longer. The longer ones I did not +particularly examine, and they seemed comparatively plainer; but the +smaller sarcophagi were covered with the most delicately wrought and +beautiful bas-reliefs that I ever beheld; a throng of glad and lovely +shapes in marble clustering thickly and chasing one another round the +sides of these old stone coffins. The work was as perfect as when the +sculptor gave it his last touch; and if he had wrought it to be placed in +a frequented hall, to be seen and admired by continual crowds as long as +the marble should endure, he could not have chiselled with better skill +and care, though his work was to be shut up in the depths of a tomb +forever. This seems to me the strangest thing in the world, the most +alien from modern sympathies. If they had built their tombs above +ground, one could understand the arrangement better; but no sooner had +they adorned them so richly, and furnished them with such exquisite +productions of art, than they annihilated them with darkness. It was an +attempt, no doubt, to render the physical aspect of death cheerful, but +there was no good sense in it. + +We went down also into another tomb close by, the walls of which were +ornamented with medallions in stucco. These works presented a numerous +series of graceful designs, wrought by the hand in the short space of +(Mr. Story said it could not have been more than) five or ten minutes, +while the wet plaster remained capable of being moulded; and it was +marvellous to think of the fertility of the artist's fancy, and the +rapidity and accuracy with which he must have given substantial existence +to his ideas. These too--all of them such adornments as would have +suited a festal hall--were made to be buried forthwith in eternal +darkness. I saw and handled in this tomb a great thigh-bone, and +measured it with my own; it was one of many such relics of the guests who +were laid to sleep in these rich chambers. The sarcophagi that served +them for coffins could not now be put to a more appropriate use than as +wine-coolers in a modern dining-room; and it would heighten the enjoyment +of a festival to look at them. + +We would gladly have stayed much longer; but it was drawing towards +sunset, and the evening, though bright, was unusually cool, so we drove +home; and on the way, Mr. Story told us of the horrible practices of the +modern Romans with their dead,--how they place them in the church, where, +at midnight, they are stripped of their last rag of funeral attire, put +into the rudest wooden coffins, and thrown into a trench,--a half-mile, +for instance, of promiscuous corpses. This is the fate of all, except +those whose friends choose to pay an exorbitant sum to have them buried +under the pavement of a church. The Italians have an excessive dread of +corpses, and never meddle with those of their nearest and dearest +relatives. They have a horror of death, too, especially of sudden death, +and most particularly of apoplexy; and no wonder, as it gives no time for +the last rites of the Church, and so exposes them to a fearful risk of +perdition forever. On the whole, the ancient practice was, perhaps, the +preferable one; but Nature has made it very difficult for us to do +anything pleasant and satisfactory with a dead body. God knows best; but +I wish he had so ordered it that our mortal bodies, when we have done +with them, might vanish out of sight and sense, like bubbles. A person +of delicacy hates to think of leaving such a burden as his decaying +mortality to the disposal of his friends; but, I say again, how +delightful it would be, and how helpful towards our faith in a blessed +futurity, if the dying could disappear like vanishing bubbles, leaving, +perhaps, a sweet fragrance diffused for a minute or two throughout the +death-chamber. This would be the odor of sanctity! And if sometimes the +evaporation of a sinful soul should leave an odor not so delightful, a +breeze through the open windows would soon waft it quite away. + +Apropos of the various methods of disposing of dead bodies, William Story +recalled a newspaper paragraph respecting a ring, with a stone of a new +species in it, which a widower was observed to wear upon his finger. +Being questioned as to what the gem was, he answered, "It is my wife." +He had procured her body to be chemically resolved into this stone. I +think I could make a story on this idea: the ring should be one of the +widower's bridal gifts to a second wife; and, of course, it should have +wondrous and terrible qualities, symbolizing all that disturbs the quiet +of a second marriage,--on the husband's part, remorse for his +inconstancy, and the constant comparison between the dead wife of his +youth, now idealized, and the grosser reality which he had now adopted +into her place; while on the new wife's finger it should give pressures, +shooting pangs into her heart, jealousies of the past, and all such +miserable emotions. + +By the by, the tombs which we looked at and entered may have been +originally above ground, like that of Cecilia Metella, and a hundred +others along the Appian Way; though, even in this case, the beautiful +chambers must have been shut up in darkness. Had there been windows, +letting in the light upon the rich frescos and exquisite sculptures, +there would have been a satisfaction in thinking of the existence of so +much visual beauty, though no eye had the privilege to see it. But +darkness, to objects of sight, is annihilation, as long as the darkness +lasts. + + +May 9th.--Mrs. Jameson called this forenoon to ask us to go and see her +this evening; . . . . so that I had to receive her alone, devolving part +of the burden on Miss Shepard and the three children, all of whom I +introduced to her notice. Finding that I had not been farther beyond the +walls of Rome than the tomb of Cecilia Metella, she invited me to take a +drive of a few miles with her this afternoon. . . . The poor lady seems +to be very lame; and I am sure I was grateful to her for having taken the +trouble to climb up the seventy steps of our staircase, and felt pain at +seeing her go down them again. It looks fearfully like the gout, the +affection being apparently in one foot. The hands, by the way, are +white, and must once have been, perhaps now are, beautiful. She must +have been a perfectly pretty woman in her day,--a blue or gray eyed, +fair-haired beauty. I think that her hair is not white, but only flaxen +in the extreme. + +At half past four, according to appointment, I arrived at her lodgings, +and had not long to wait before her little one-horse carriage drove up to +the door, and we set out, rumbling along the Via Scrofa, and through the +densest part of the city, past the theatre of Marcellus, and thence along +beneath the Palatine Hill, and by the Baths of Caracalla, through the +gate of San Sebastiano. After emerging from the gate, we soon came to +the little Church of "Domine, quo vadis?" Standing on the spot where St. +Peter is said to have seen a vision of our Saviour bearing his cross, +Mrs. Jameson proposed to alight; and, going in, we saw a cast from +Michael Angelo's statue of the Saviour; and not far from the threshold of +the church, yet perhaps in the centre of the edifice, which is extremely +small, a circular stone is placed, a little raised above the pavement, +and surrounded by a low wooden railing. Pointing to this stone, Mrs. +Jameson showed me the prints of two feet side by side, impressed into its +surface, as if a person had stopped short while pursuing his way to Rome. +These, she informed me, were supposed to be the miraculous prints of the +Saviour's feet; but on looking into Murray, I am mortified to find that +they are merely facsimiles of the original impressions, which are +treasured up among the relics of the neighboring Basilica of San +Sebastiano. The marks of sculpture seemed to me, indeed, very evident in +these prints, nor did they indicate such beautiful feet as should have +belonged to the hearer of the best of glad tidings. + +Hence we drove on a little way farther, and came to the Basilica of San +Sebastiano, where also we alighted, and, leaning on my arm, Mrs. Jameson +went in. It is a stately and noble interior, with a spacious +unencumbered nave, and a flat ceiling frescoed and gilded. In a chapel +at the left of the entrance is the tomb of St. Sebastian,--a sarcophagus +containing his remains, raised on high before the altar, and beneath it a +recumbent statue of the saint pierced with gilded arrows. The sculpture +is of the school of Bernini,--done after the design of Bernini himself, +Mrs. Jameson said, and is more agreeable and in better taste than most of +his works. We walked round the basilica, glancing at the pictures in the +various chapels, none of which seemed to be of remarkable merit, although +Mrs. Jameson pronounced rather a favorable verdict on one of St. Francis. +She says that she can read a picture like the page of a book; in fact, +without perhaps assuming more taste and judgment than really belong to +her, it was impossible not to perceive that she gave her companion no +credit for knowing one single simplest thing about art. Nor, on the +whole, do I think she underrated me; the only mystery is, how she came to +be so well aware of my ignorance on artistical points. + +In the basilica the Franciscan monks were arranging benches on the floor +of the nave, and some peasant children and grown people besides were +assembling, probably to undergo an examination in the catechism, and we +hastened to depart, lest our presence should interfere with their +arrangements. At the door a monk met us, and asked for a contribution in +aid of his church, or some other religious purpose. Boys, as we drove +on, ran stoutly along by the side of the chaise, begging as often as they +could find breath, but were constrained finally to give up the pursuit. +The great ragged bulks of the tombs along the Appian Way now hove in +sight, one with a farm-house on its summit, and all of them +preposterously huge and massive. At a distance, across the green +campagna on our left, the Claudian aqueduct strode away over miles of +space, and doubtless reached even to that circumference of blue hills +which stand afar off, girdling Rome about. The tomb of Cecilia Metella +came in sight a long while before we reached it, with the warm buff hue +of its travertine, and the gray battlemented wall which the Caetanis +erected on the top of its circular summit six hundred years ago. After +passing it, we saw an interminable line of tombs on both sides of the +way, each of which might, for aught I know, have been as massive as that +of Cecilia Metella, and some perhaps still more monstrously gigantic, +though now dilapidated and much reduced in size. Mrs. Jameson had an +engagement to dinner at half past six, so that we could go but a little +farther along this most interesting road, the borders of which are strewn +with broken marbles; fragments of capitals, and nameless rubbish that +once was beautiful. Methinks the Appian Way should be the only entrance +to Rome,--through an avenue of tombs. + +The day had been cloudy, chill, and windy, but was now grown calmer and +more genial, and brightened by a very pleasant sunshine, though great +dark clouds were still lumbering up the sky. We drove homeward, looking +at the distant dome of St. Peter's and talking of many things,--painting, +sculpture, America, England, spiritualism, and whatever else came up. +She is a very sensible old lady, and sees a great deal of truth; a good +woman, too, taking elevated views of matters; but I doubt whether she has +the highest and finest perceptions in the world. At any rate, she +pronounced a good judgment on the American sculptors now in Rome, +condemning them in the mass as men with no high aims, no worthy +conception of the purposes of their art, and desecrating marble by the +things they wrought in it. William Story, I presume, is not to be +included in this censure, as she had spoken highly of his sculpturesque +faculty in our previous conversation. On my part, I suggested that the +English sculptors were little or nothing better than our own, to which +she acceded generally, but said that Gibson had produced works equal to +the antique,--which I did not dispute, but still questioned whether the +world needed Gibson, or was any the better for him. We had a great +dispute about the propriety of adopting the costume of the day in modern +sculpture, and I contended that either the art ought to be given up +(which possibly would be the best course), or else should be used for +idealizing the man of the day to himself; and that, as Nature makes us +sensible of the fact when men and women are graceful, beautiful, and +noble, through whatever costume they wear, so it ought to be the test of +the sculptor's genius that he should do the same. Mrs. Jameson decidedly +objected to buttons, breeches, and all other items of modern costume; +and, indeed, they do degrade the marble, and make high sculpture utterly +impossible. Then let the art perish as one that the world has done with, +as it has done with many other beautiful things that belonged to an +earlier time. + +It was long past the hour of Mrs. Jameson's dinner engagement when we +drove up to her door in the Via Ripetta. I bade her farewell with much +good-feeling on my own side, and, I hope, on hers, excusing myself, +however, from keeping the previous engagement to spend the evening with +her, for, in point of fact, we had mutually had enough of one another for +the time being. I am glad to record that she expressed a very favorable +opinion of our friend Mr. Thompson's pictures. + + +May 12th.--To-day we have been to the Villa Albani, to which we had a +ticket of admission through the agency of Mr. Cass (the American +Minister). We set out between ten and eleven o'clock, and walked through +the Via Felice, the Piazza Barberini, and a long, heavy, dusty range of +streets beyond, to the Porta Salara, whence the road extends, white and +sunny, between two high blank walls to the gate of the villa, which is at +no great distance. We were admitted by a girl, and went first to the +casino, along an aisle of overshadowing trees, the branches of which met +above our heads. In the portico of the casino, which extends along its +whole front, there are many busts and statues, and, among them, one of +Julius Caesar, representing him at an earlier period of life than others +which I have seen. His aspect is not particularly impressive; there is a +lack of chin, though not so much as in the older statues and busts. +Within the edifice there is a large hall, not so brilliant, perhaps, with +frescos and gilding as those at the Villa Borghese, but lined with the +most beautiful variety of marbles. But, in fact, each new splendor of +this sort outshines the last, and unless we could pass from one to +another all in the same suite, we cannot remember them well enough to +compare the Borghese with the Albani, the effect being more on the fancy +than on the intellect. I do not recall any of the sculpture, except a +colossal bas-relief of Antinous, crowned with flowers, and holding +flowers in his hand, which was found in the ruins of Hadrian's Villa. +This is said to be the finest relic of antiquity next to the Apollo and +the Laocoon; but I could not feel it to be so, partly, I suppose, because +the features of Autinous do not seem to me beautiful in themselves; and +that heavy, downward look is repeated till I am more weary of it than of +anything else in sculpture. We went up stairs and down stairs, and saw a +good many beautiful things, but none, perhaps, of the very best and +beautifullest; and second-rate statues, with the corroded surface of old +marble that has been dozens of centuries under the ground, depress the +spirits of the beholder. The bas-relief of Antinous has at least the +merit of being almost as white and fresh, and quite as smooth, as if it +had never been buried and dug up again. The real treasures of this +villa, to the number of nearly three hundred, were removed to Paris by +Napoleon, and, except the Antinous, not one of them ever came back. + +There are some pictures in one or two of the rooms, and among them I +recollect one by Perugino, in which is a St. Michael, very devout and +very beautiful; indeed, the whole picture (which is in compartments, +representing the three principal points of the Saviour's history) +impresses the beholder as being painted devoutly and earnestly by a +religious man. In one of the rooms there is a small bronze Apollo, +supposed by Winckelmann to be an original of Praxiteles; but I could not +make myself in the least sensible of its merit. + +The rest of the things in the casino I shall pass over, as also those in +the coffee-house,--an edifice which stands a hundred yards or more from +the casino, with an ornamental garden, laid out in walks and flower-plats +between. The coffee-house has a semicircular sweep of porch with a good +many statues and busts beneath it, chiefly of distinguished Romans. In +this building, as in the casino, there are curious mosaics, large vases +of rare marble, and many other things worth long pauses of admiration; +but I think that we were all happier when we had done with the works of +art, and were at leisure to ramble about the grounds. The Villa Albani +itself is an edifice separate from both the coffee-house and casino, and +is not opened to strangers. It rises, palace-like, in the midst of the +garden, and, it is to be hoped, has some possibility of comfort amidst +its splendors.--Comfort, however, would be thrown away upon it; for +besides that the site shares the curse that has fallen upon every +pleasant place in the vicinity of Rome, . . . . it really has no occupant +except the servants who take care of it. The Count of Castelbarco, its +present proprietor, resides at Milan. The grounds are laid out in the +old fashion of straight paths, with borders of box, which form hedges of +great height and density, and as even as a brick wall at the top and +sides. There are also alleys forming long vistas between the trunks and +beneath the boughs of oaks, ilexes, and olives; and there are shrubberies +and tangled wildernesses of palm, cactus, rhododendron, and I know not +what; and a profusion of roses that bloom and wither with nobody to pluck +and few to look at them. They climb about the sculpture of fountains, +rear themselves against pillars and porticos, run brimming over the +walls, and strew the path with their falling leaves. We stole a few, and +feel that we have wronged our consciences in not stealing more. In one +part of the grounds we saw a field actually ablaze with scarlet poppies. +There are great lagunas; fountains presided over by naiads, who squirt +their little jets into basins; sunny lawns; a temple, so artificially +ruined that we half believed it a veritable antique; and at its base a +reservoir of water, in which stone swans seemed positively to float; +groves of cypress; balustrades and broad flights of stone stairs, +descending to lower levels of the garden; beauty, peace, sunshine, and +antique repose on every side; and far in the distance the blue hills that +encircle the campagna of Rome. The day was very fine for our purpose; +cheerful, but not too bright, and tempered by a breeze that seemed even a +little too cool when we sat long in the shade. We enjoyed it till three +o'clock. . . . + +At the Capitol there is a sarcophagus with a most beautiful bas-relief of +the discovery of Achilles by Ulysses, in which there is even an +expression of mirth on the faces of many of the spectators. And to-day +at the Albani a sarcophagus was ornamented with the nuptials of Peleus +and Thetis. + +Death strides behind every man, to be sure, at more or less distance, +and, sooner or later, enters upon any event of his life; so that, in this +point of view, they might each and all serve for bas-reliefs on a +sarcophagus; but the Romans seem to have treated Death as lightly and +playfully as they could, and tried to cover his dart with flowers, +because they hated it so much. + + +May 15th.--My wife and I went yesterday to the Sistine Chapel, it being +my first visit. It is a room of noble proportions, lofty and long, +though divided in the midst by a screen or partition of white marble, +which rises high enough to break the effect of spacious unity. There are +six arched windows on each side of the chapel, throwing down their light +from the height of the walls, with as much as twenty feet of space (more +I should think) between them and the floor. The entire walls and ceiling +of this stately chapel are covered with paintings in fresco, except the +space about ten feet in height from the floor, and that portion was +intended to be adorned by tapestries from pictures by Raphael, but, the +design being prevented by his premature death, the projected tapestries +have no better substitute than paper-hangings. The roof, which is flat +at top, and coved or vaulted at the sides, is painted in compartments by +Michael Angelo, with frescos representing the whole progress of the world +and of mankind from its first formation by the Almighty . . . . till +after the flood. On one of the sides of the chapel are pictures by +Perugino, and other old masters, of subsequent events in sacred history; +and the entire wall behind the altar, a vast expanse from the ceiling to +the floor, is taken up with Michael Angelo's summing up of the world's +history and destinies in his "Last Judgment." + +There can be no doubt that while these frescos continued in their +perfection, there was nothing else to be compared with the magnificent +and solemn beauty of this chapel. Enough of ruined splendor still +remains to convince the spectator of all that has departed; but methinks +I have seen hardly anything else so forlorn and depressing as it is now, +all dusky and dim, even the very lights having passed into shadows, and +the shadows into utter blackness; so that it needs a sunshiny day, under +the bright Italian heavens, to make the designs perceptible at all. As +we sat in the chapel there were clouds flitting across the sky; when the +clouds came the pictures vanished; when the sunshine broke forth the +figures sadly glimmered into something like visibility,--the Almighty +moving in chaos,--the noble shape of Adam, the beautiful Eve; and, +beneath where the roof curves, the mighty figures of sibyls and prophets, +looking as if they were necessarily so gigantic because the thought +within them was so massive. In the "Last Judgment" the scene of the +greater part of the picture lies in the upper sky, the blue of which +glows through betwixt the groups of naked figures; and above sits Jesus, +not looking in the least like the Saviour of the world, but, with +uplifted arm, denouncing eternal misery on those whom he came to save. I +fear I am myself among the wicked, for I found myself inevitably taking +their part, and asking for at least a little pity, some few regrets, and +not such a stern denunciatory spirit on the part of Him who had thought +us worth dying for. Around him stand grim saints, and, far beneath, +people are getting up sleepily out of their graves, not well knowing what +is about to happen; many of them, however, finding themselves clutched by +demons before they are half awake. It would be a very terrible picture +to one who should really see Jesus, the Saviour, in that inexorable +judge; but it seems to me very undesirable that he should ever be +represented in that aspect, when it is so essential to our religion to +believe him infinitely kinder and better towards us than we deserve. At +the last day--I presume, that is, in all future days, when we see +ourselves as we are--man's only inexorable judge will be himself, and the +punishment of his sins will be the perception of them. + +In the lower corner of this great picture, at the right hand of the +spectator, is a hideous figure of a damned person, girdled about with a +serpent, the folds of which are carefully knotted between his thighs, so +as, at all events, to give no offence to decency. This figure represents +a man who suggested to Pope Paul III. that the nudities of the "Last +Judgment" ought to be draped, for which offence Michael Angelo at once +consigned him to hell. It shows what a debtor's prison and dungeon of +private torment men would make of hell if they had the control of it. As +to the nudities, if they were ever more nude than now, I should suppose, +in their fresh brilliancy, they might well have startled a not very +squeamish eye. The effect, such as it is, of this picture, is much +injured by the high altar and its canopy, which stands close against the +wall, and intercepts a considerable portion of the sprawl of nakedness +with which Michael Angelo has filled his sky. However, I am not +unwilling to believe, with faith beyond what I can actually see, that the +greatest pictorial miracles ever yet achieved have been wrought upon the +walls and ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. + +In the afternoon I went with Mr. Thompson to see what bargain could be +made with vetturinos for taking myself and family to Florence. We talked +with three or four, and found them asking prices of various enormity, +from a hundred and fifty scudi down to little more than ninety; but Mr. +Thompson says that they always begin in this way, and will probably come +down to somewhere about seventy-five. Mr. Thompson took me into the Via +Portoghese, and showed me an old palace, above which rose--not a very +customary feature of the architecture of Rome--a tall, battlemented +tower. At one angle of the tower we saw a shrine of the Virgin, with a +lamp, and all the appendages of those numerous shrines which we see at +the street-corners, and in hundreds of places about the city. Three or +four centuries ago, this palace was inhabited by a nobleman who had an +only son and a large pet monkey, and one day the monkey caught the infant +up and clambered to this lofty turret, and sat there with him in his arms +grinning and chattering like the Devil himself. The father was in +despair, but was afraid to pursue the monkey lest he should fling down +the child from the height of the tower and make his escape. At last he +vowed that if the boy were safely restored to him he would build a shrine +at the summit of the tower, and cause it to be kept as a sacred place +forever. By and by the monkey came down and deposited the child on the +ground; the father fulfilled his vow, built the shrine, and made it +obligatory, on all future possessors of the palace to keep the lamp +burning before it. Centuries have passed, the property has changed +hands; but still there is the shrine on the giddy top of the tower, far +aloft over the street, on the very spot where the monkey sat, and there +burns the lamp, in memory of the father's vow. This being the tenure by +which the estate is held, the extinguishment of that flame might yet turn +the present owner out of the palace. + +May 21st.--Mamma and I went, yesterday forenoon, to the Spada Palace, +which we found among the intricacies of Central Rome; a dark and massive +old edifice, built around a court, the fronts giving on which are adorned +with statues in niches, and sculptured ornaments. A woman led us up a +staircase, and ushered us into a great gloomy hall, square and lofty, and +wearing a very gray and ancient aspect, its walls being painted in +chiaroscuro, apparently a great many years ago. The hall was lighted by +small windows, high upward from the floors, and admitting only a dusky +light. The only furniture or ornament, so far as I recollect, was the +colossal statue of Pompey, which stands on its pedestal at one side, +certainly the sternest and severest of figures, and producing the most +awful impression on the spectator. Much of the effect, no doubt, is due +to the sombre obscurity of the hall, and to the loneliness in which the +great naked statue stands. It is entirely nude, except for a cloak that +hangs down from the left shoulder; in the left hand, it holds a globe; +the right arm is extended. The whole expression is such as the statue +might have assumed, if, during the tumult of Caesar's murder, it had +stretched forth its marble hand, and motioned the conspirators to give +over the attack, or to be quiet, now that their victim had fallen at its +feet. On the left leg, about midway above the ankle, there is a dull, +red stain, said to be Caesar's blood; but, of course, it is just such a +red stain in the marble as may be seen on the statue of Antinous at the +Capitol. I could not see any resemblance in the face of the statue to +that of the bust of Pompey, shown as such at the Capitol, in which there +is not the slightest moral dignity, or sign of intellectual eminence. I +am glad to have seen this statue, and glad to remember it in that gray, +dim, lofty hall; glad that there were no bright frescos on the walls, and +that the ceiling was wrought with massive beams, and the floor paved with +ancient brick. + +From this anteroom we passed through several saloons containing pictures, +some of which were by eminent artists; the Judith of Guido, a copy of +which used to weary me to death, year after year, in the Boston +Athenaeum; and many portraits of Cardinals in the Spada family, and other +pictures, by Guido. There were some portraits, also of the family, by +Titian; some good pictures by Guercino; and many which I should have been +glad to examine more at leisure; but, by and by, the custode made his +appearance, and began to close the shutters, under pretence that the +sunshine would injure the paintings,--an effect, I presume, not very +likely to follow after two or three centuries' exposure to light, air, +and whatever else might hurt them. However, the pictures seemed to be in +much better condition, and more enjoyable, so far as they had merit, than +those in most Roman picture-galleries; although the Spada Palace itself +has a decayed and impoverished aspect, as if the family had dwindled from +its former state and grandeur, and now, perhaps, smuggled itself into +some out-of-the-way corner of the old edifice. If such be the case, +there is something touching in their still keeping possession of Pompey's +statue, which makes their house famous, and the sale of which might give +them the means of building it up anew; for surely it is worth the whole +sculpture-gallery of the Vatican. + +In the afternoon Mr. Thompson and I went, for the third or fourth time, +to negotiate with vetturinos. . . . So far as I know them they are a +very tricky set of people, bent on getting as much as they can, by hook +or by crook, out of the unfortunate individual who falls into their +hands. They begin, as I have said, by asking about twice as much as they +ought to receive; and anything between this exorbitant amount and the +just price is what they thank heaven for, as so much clear gain. +Nevertheless, I am not quite sure that the Italians are worse than other +people even in this matter. In other countries it is the custom of +persons in trade to take as much as they can get from the public, +fleecing one man to exactly the same extent as another; here they take +what they can obtain from the individual customer. In fact, Roman +tradesmen do not pretend to deny that they ask and receive different +prices from different people, taxing them according to their supposed +means of payment; the article supplied being the same in one case as in +another. A shopkeeper looked into his books to see if we were of the +class who paid two pauls, or only a paul and a half for candles; a +charcoal-dealer said that seventy baiocchi was a very reasonable sum for +us to pay for charcoal, and that some persons paid eighty; and Mr. +Thompson, recognizing the rule, told the old vetturino that "a hundred +and fifty scudi was a very proper charge for carrying a prince to +Florence, but not for carrying me, who was merely a very good artist." +The result is well enough; the rich man lives expensively, and pays a +larger share of the profits which people of a different system of +trade-morality would take equally from the poor man. The effect on the +conscience of the vetturino, however, and of tradesmen of all kinds, +cannot be good; their only intent being, not to do justice between man +and man, but to go as deep as they can into all pockets, and to the very +bottom of some. + +We had nearly concluded a bargain, a day or two ago, with a vetturino to +take or send us to Florence, via Perugia, in eight days, for a hundred +scudi; but he now drew back, under pretence of having misunderstood the +terms, though, in reality, no doubt, he was in hopes of getting a better +bargain from somebody else. We made an agreement with another man, whom +Mr. Thompson knows and highly recommends, and immediately made it sure +and legally binding by exchanging a formal written contract, in which +everything is set down, even to milk, butter, bread, eggs, and coffee, +which we are to have for breakfast; the vetturino being to pay every +expense for himself, his horses, and his passengers, and include it +within ninety-five scudi, and five crowns in addition for +buon-mano. . . . . + + +May 22d.--Yesterday, while we were at dinner, Mr. ------ called. I never +saw him but once before, and that was at the door of our little red +cottage in Lenox; he sitting in a wagon with one or two of the +Sedgewicks, merely exchanging a greeting with me from under the brim of +his straw hat, and driving on. He presented himself now with a long +white beard, such as a palmer might have worn as the growth of his long +pilgrimages, a brow almost entirely bald, and what hair he has quite +hoary; a forehead impending, yet not massive; dark, bushy eyebrows and +keen eyes, without much softness in them; a dark and sallow complexion; a +slender figure, bent a little with age; but at once alert and infirm. It +surprised me to see him so venerable; for, as poets are Apollo's kinsmen, +we are inclined to attribute to them his enviable quality of never +growing old. There was a weary look in his face, as if he were tired of +seeing things and doing things, though with certainly enough still to see +and do, if need were. My family gathered about him, and he conversed +with great readiness and simplicity about his travels, and whatever other +subject came up; telling us that he had been abroad five times, and was +now getting a little home-sick, and had no more eagerness for sights, +though his "gals" (as he called his daughter and another young lady) +dragged him out to see the wonders of Rome again. His manners and whole +aspect are very particularly plain, though not affectedly so; but it +seems as if in the decline of life, and the security of his position, he +had put off whatever artificial polish he may have heretofore had, and +resumed the simpler habits and deportment of his early New England +breeding. Not but what you discover, nevertheless, that he is a man of +refinement, who has seen the world, and is well aware of his own place in +it. He spoke with great pleasure of his recent visit to Spain. I +introduced the subject of Kansas, and methought his face forthwith +assumed something of the bitter keenness of the editor of a political +newspaper, while speaking of the triumph of the administration over the +Free-Soil opposition. I inquired whether he had seen S------, and he +gave a very sad account of him as he appeared at their last meeting, +which was in Paris. S------, he thought, had suffered terribly, and +would never again be the man he was; he was getting fat; he talked +continually of himself, and of trifles concerning himself, and seemed to +have no interest for other matters; and Mr. ------ feared that the shock +upon his nerves had extended to his intellect, and was irremediable. He +said that S------ ought to retire from public life, but had no friend +true enough to tell him so. This is about as sad as anything can be. I +hate to have S------ undergo the fate of a martyr, because he was not +naturally of the stuff that martyrs are made of, and it is altogether by +mistake that he has thrust himself into the position of one. He was +merely, though with excellent abilities, one of the best of fellows, and +ought to have lived and died in good fellowship with all the world. + +S------ was not in the least degree excited about this or any other +subject. He uttered neither passion nor poetry, but excellent good +sense, and accurate information on whatever subject transpired; a very +pleasant man to associate with, but rather cold, I should imagine, if one +should seek to touch his heart with one's own. He shook hands kindly all +round, but not with any warmth of gripe; although the ease of his +deportment had put us all on sociable terms with him. + +At seven o'clock we went by invitation to take tea with Miss Bremer. +After much search, and lumbering painfully up two or three staircases in +vain, and at last going about in a strange circuity, we found her in a +small chamber of a large old building, situated a little way from the +brow of the Tarpeian Rock. It was the tiniest and humblest domicile that +I have seen in Rome, just large enough to hold her narrow bed, her +tea-table, and a table covered with books,--photographs of Roman ruins, +and some pages written by herself. I wonder whether she be poor. +Probably so; for she told us that her expense of living here is only five +pauls a day. She welcomed us, however, with the greatest cordiality and +lady-like simplicity, making no allusion to the humbleness of her +environment (and making us also lose sight of it, by the absence of all +apology) any more than if she were receiving us in a palace. There is +not a better bred woman; and yet one does not think whether she has any +breeding or no. Her little bit of a round table was already spread for +us with her blue earthenware teacups; and after she had got through an +interview with the Swedish Minister, and dismissed him with a hearty +pressure of his hand between both her own, she gave us our tea, and some +bread, and a mouthful of cake. Meanwhile, as the day declined, there had +been the most beautiful view over the campagna, out of one of her +windows; and, from the other, looking towards St. Peter's, the broad +gleam of a mildly glorious sunset; not so pompous and magnificent as many +that I have seen in America, but softer and sweeter in all its changes. +As its lovely hues died slowly away, the half-moon shone out brighter and +brighter; for there was not a cloud in the sky, and it seemed like the +moonlight of my younger days. In the garden, beneath her window, verging +upon the Tarpeian Rock, there was shrubbery and one large tree, softening +the brow of the famous precipice, adown which the old Romans used to +fling their traitors, or sometimes, indeed, their patriots. + +Miss Bremer talked plentifully in her strange manner,--good English +enough for a foreigner, but so oddly intonated and accented, that it is +impossible to be sure of more than one word in ten. Being so little +comprehensible, it is very singular how she contrives to make her +auditors so perfectly certain, as they are, that she is talking the best +sense, and in the kindliest spirit. There is no better heart than hers, +and not many sounder heads; and a little touch of sentiment comes +delightfully in, mixed up with a quick and delicate humor and the most +perfect simplicity. There is also a very pleasant atmosphere of +maidenhood about her; we are sensible of a freshness and odor of the +morning still in this little withered rose,--its recompense for never +having been gathered and worn, but only diffusing fragrance on its stem. +I forget mainly what we talked about,--a good deal about art, of course, +although that is a subject of which Miss Bremer evidently knows nothing. +Once we spoke of fleas,--insects that, in Rome, come home to everybody's +business and bosom, and are so common and inevitable, that no delicacy is +felt about alluding to the sufferings they inflict. Poor little Miss +Bremer was tormented with one while turning out our tea. . . . She +talked, among other things, of the winters in Sweden, and said that she +liked them, long and severe as they are; and this made me feel ashamed of +dreading the winters of New England, as I did before coming from home, +and do now still more, after five or six mild English Decembers. + +By and by, two young ladies came in,--Miss Bremen's neighbors, it +seemed,--fresh from a long walk on the campagna, fresh and weary at the +same time. One apparently was German, and the other French, and they +brought her an offering of flowers, and chattered to her with +affectionate vivacity; and, as we were about taking leave, Miss Bremer +asked them to accompany her and us on a visit to the edge of the Tarpeian +Rock. Before we left the room, she took a bunch of roses that were in a +vase, and gave them to Miss Shepard, who told her that she should make +her six sisters happy by giving one to each. Then we went down the +intricate stairs, and, emerging into the garden, walked round the brow of +the hill, which plunges headlong with exceeding abruptness; but, so far +as I could see in the moonlight, is no longer quite a precipice. Then +we re-entered the house, and went up stairs and down again, through +intricate passages, till we got into the street, which was still peopled +with the ragamuffins who infest and burrow in that part of Rome. We +returned through an archway, and descended the broad flight of steps into +the piazza of the Capitol; and from the extremity of it, just at the head +of the long graded way, where Castor and Pollux and the old milestones +stand, we turned to the left, and followed a somewhat winding path, till +we came into the court of a palace. This court is bordered by a parapet, +leaning over which we saw the sheer precipice of the Tarpeian Rock, about +the height of a four-story house. . . . + +On the edge of this, before we left the court, Miss Bremer bade us +farewell, kissing my wife most affectionately on each cheek, . . . . and +then turning towards myself, . . . . she pressed my hand, and we parted, +probably never to meet again. God bless her good heart! . . . . She is a +most amiable little woman, worthy to be the maiden aunt of the whole +human race. I suspect, by the by, that she does not like me half so well +as I do her; it is my impression that she thinks me unamiable, or that +there is something or other not quite right about me. I am sorry if it +be so, because such a good, kindly, clear-sighted, and delicate person is +very apt to have reason at the bottom of her harsh thoughts, when, in +rare cases, she allows them to harbor with her. + +To-day, and for some days past, we have been in quest of lodgings for +next winter; a weary search, up interminable staircases, which seduce us +upward to no successful result. It is very disheartening not to be able +to place the slightest reliance on the integrity of the people we are to +deal with; not to believe in any connection between their words and their +purposes; to know that they are certainly telling you falsehoods, while +you are not in a position to catch hold of the lie, and hold it up in +their faces. + +This afternoon we called on Mr. and Mrs. ------ at the Hotel de l'Europe, +but found only the former at home. We had a pleasant visit, but I made +no observations of his character save such as I have already sufficiently +recorded; and when we had been with him a little while, Mrs. Chapman, the +artist's wife, Mr. Terry, and my friend, Mr. Thompson, came in. ------ +received them all with the same good degree of cordiality that he did +ourselves, not cold, not very warm, not annoyed, not ecstatically +delighted; a man, I should suppose, not likely to have ardent individual +preferences, though perhaps capable of stern individual dislikes. But I +take him, at all events, to be a very upright man, and pursuing a narrow +track of integrity; he is a man whom I would never forgive (as I would a +thousand other men) for the slightest moral delinquency. I would not be +bound to say, however, that he has not the little sin of a fretful and +peevish habit; and yet perhaps I am a sinner myself for thinking so. + + +May 23d.--This morning I breakfasted at William Story's, and met there +Mr. Bryant, Mr. T------ (an English gentleman), Mr. and Mrs. Apthorp, +Miss Hosmer, and one or two other ladies. Bryant was very quiet, and +made no conversation audible to the general table. Mr. T------ talked of +English politics and public men; the "Times" and other newspapers, +English clubs and social habits generally; topics in which I could well +enough bear my part of the discussion. After breakfast, and aside from +the ladies, he mentioned an illustration of Lord Ellenborough's lack of +administrative ability,--a proposal seriously made by his lordship in +reference to the refractory Sepoys. . . . + +We had a very pleasant breakfast, and certainly a breakfast is much +preferable to a dinner, not merely in the enjoyment, while it is passing, +but afterwards. I made a good suggestion to Miss Hosmer for the design +of a fountain,--a lady bursting into tears, water gushing from a thousand +pores, in literal translation of the phrase; and to call the statue +"Niobe, all Tears." I doubt whether she adopts the idea; but Bernini +would have been delighted with it. I should think the gush of water +might be so arranged as to form a beautiful drapery about the figure, +swaying and fluttering with every breath of wind, and rearranging itself +in the calm; in which case, the lady might be said to have "a habit of +weeping." . . . . Apart, with William Story, he and I talked of the +unluckiness of Friday, etc. I like him particularly well. . . . + +We have been plagued to-day with our preparations for leaving Rome +to-morrow, and especially with verifying the inventory of furniture, +before giving up the house to our landlord. He and his daughter have +been examining every separate article, down even to the kitchen skewers, +I believe, and charging us to the amount of several scudi for cracks and +breakages, which very probably existed when we came into possession. It +is very uncomfortable to have dealings with such a mean people (though +our landlord is German),--mean in their business transactions; mean even +in their beggary; for the beggars seldom ask for more than a mezzo +baioccho, though they sometimes grumble when you suit your gratuity +exactly to their petition. It is pleasant to record that the Italians +have great faith in the honor of the English and Americans, and never +hesitate to trust entire strangers, to any reasonable extent, on the +strength of their being of the honest Anglo-Saxon race. + +This evening, U---- and I took a farewell walk in the Pincian Gardens to +see the sunset; and found them crowded with people, promenading and +listening to the music of the French baud. It was the feast of +Whitsunday, which probably brought a greater throng than usual abroad. + +When the sun went down, we descended into the Piazza del Popolo, and +thence into the Via Ripetta, and emerged through a gate to the shore of +the Tiber, along which there is a pleasant walk beneath a grove of trees. +We traversed it once and back again, looking at the rapid river, which +still kept its mud-puddly aspect even in the clear twilight, and beneath +the brightening moon. The great bell of St. Peter's tolled with a deep +boom, a grand and solemn sound; the moon gleamed through the branches of +the trees above us; and U---- spoke with somewhat alarming fervor of her +love for Rome, and regret at leaving it. We shall have done the child no +good office in bringing her here, if the rest of her life is to be a +dream of this "city of the soul," and an unsatisfied yearning to come +back to it. On the other hand, nothing elevating and refining can be +really injurious, and so I hope she will always be the better for Rome, +even if her life should be spent where there are no pictures, no statues, +nothing but the dryness and meagreness of a New England village. + + + +JOURNEY TO FLORENCE. + + +Civita Castellana, May 24th.--We left Rome this morning, after troubles +of various kinds, and a dispute in the first place with Lalla, our female +servant, and her mother. . . . Mother and daughter exploded into a +livid rage, and cursed us plentifully,--wishing that we might never come +to our journey's end, and that we might all break our necks or die of +apoplexy,--the most awful curse that an Italian knows how to invoke upon +his enemies, because it precludes the possibility of extreme unction. +However, as we are heretics, and certain of damnation therefore, anyhow, +it does not much matter to us; and also the anathemas may have been blown +back upon those who invoked them, like the curses that were flung out +from the balcony of St Peter's during Holy Week and wafted by heaven's +breezes right into the faces of some priests who stood near the pope. +Next we had a disagreement, with two men who brought down our luggage, +and put it on the vettura; . . . . and, lastly, we were infested with +beggars, who hung round the carriages with doleful petitions, till we +began to move away; but the previous warfare had put me into too stern a +mood for almsgiving, so that they also were doubtless inclined to curse +more than to bless, and I am persuaded that we drove off under a perfect +shower of anathemas. + +We passed through the Porta del Popolo at about eight o'clock; and after +a moment's delay, while the passport was examined, began our journey +along the Flaminian Way, between two such high and inhospitable walls of +brick or stone as seem to shut in all the avenues to Rome. We had not +gone far before we heard military music in advance of us, and saw the +road blocked up with people, and then the glitter of muskets, and soon +appeared the drummers, fifers, and trumpeters, and then the first +battalion of a French regiment, marching into the city, with two mounted +officers at their head; then appeared a second and then a third +battalion, the whole seeming to make almost an army, though the number on +their caps showed them all to belong to one regiment,--the 1st; then came +a battery of artillery, then a detachment of horse,--these last, by the +crossed keys on their helmets, being apparently papal troops. All were +young, fresh, good-looking men, in excellent trim as to uniform and +equipments, and marched rather as if they were setting out on a campaign +than returning from it; the fact being, I believe, that they have been +encamped or in barracks within a few miles of the city. Nevertheless, it +reminded me of the military processions of various kinds which so often, +two thousand years ago and more, entered Rome over the Flaminian Way, and +over all the roads that led to the famous city,--triumphs oftenest, but +sometimes the downcast train of a defeated army, like those who retreated +before Hannibal. On the whole, I was not sorry to see the Gauls still +pouring into Rome; but yet I begin to find that I have a strange +affection for it, and so did we all,--the rest of the family in a greater +degree than myself even. It is very singular, the sad embrace with which +Rome takes possession of the soul. Though we intend to return in a few +months, and for a longer residence than this has been, yet we felt the +city pulling at our heartstrings far more than London did, where we shall +probably never spend much time again. It may be because the intellect +finds a home there more than in any other spot in the world, and wins the +heart to stay with it, in spite of a good many things strewn all about to +disgust us. + +The road in the earlier part of the way was not particularly +picturesque,--the country undulated, but scarcely rose into hills, and +was destitute of trees; there were a few shapeless ruins, too indistinct +for us to make out whether they were Roman or mediaeval. Nothing struck +one so much, in the forenoon, as the spectacle of a peasant-woman riding +on horseback as if she were a man. The houses were few, and those of a +dreary aspect, built of gray stone, and looking bare and desolate, with +not the slightest promise of comfort within doors. We passed two or +three locandas or inns, and finally came to the village (if village it +were, for I remember no houses except our osteria) of Castel Nuovo di +Porta, where we were to take a dejeuner a la fourchette, which was put +upon the table between twelve and one. On this journey, according to the +custom of travellers in Italy, we pay the vetturino a certain sum, and +live at his expense; and this meal was the first specimen of his catering +on our behalf. It consisted of a beefsteak, rather dry and hard, but not +unpalatable, and a large omelette; and for beverage, two quart bottles of +red wine, which, being tasted, had an agreeable acid flavor. . . . The +locanda was built of stone, and had what looked like an old Roman altar +in the basement-hall, and a shrine, with a lamp before it, on the +staircase; and the large public saloon in which we ate had a brick floor, +a ceiling with cross-beams, meagrely painted in fresco, and a scanty +supply of chairs and settees. + +After lunch, we wandered out into a valley or ravine near the house, +where we gathered some flowers, and J----- found a nest with the young +birds in it, which, however, he put back into the bush whence he took it. + +Our afternoon drive was more picturesque and noteworthy. Soracte rose +before us, bulging up quite abruptly out of the plain, and keeping itself +entirely distinct from a whole horizon of hills. Byron well compares it +to a wave just on the bend, and about to break over towards the +spectator. As we approached it nearer and nearer, it looked like the +barrenest great rock that ever protruded out of the substance of the +earth, with scarcely a strip or a spot of verdure upon its steep and gray +declivities. The road kept trending towards the mountain, following the +line of the old Flaminian Way, which we could see, at frequent intervals, +close beside the modern track. It is paved with large flag-stones, laid +so accurately together, that it is still, in some places, as smooth and +even as the floor of a church; and everywhere the tufts of grass find it +difficult to root themselves into the interstices. Its course is +straighter than that of the road of to-day, which often turns aside to +avoid obstacles which the ancient one surmounted. Much of it, probably, +is covered with the soil and overgrowth deposited in later years; and, +now and then, we could see its flag-stones partly protruding from the +bank through which our road has been cut, and thus showing that the +thickness of this massive pavement was more than a foot of solid stone. +We lost it over and over again; but still it reappeared, now on one side +of us, now on the other; perhaps from beneath the roots of old trees, or +the pasture-land of a thousand years old, and leading on towards the base +of Soracte. I forget where we finally lost it. Passing through a town +called Rignano, we found it dressed out in festivity, with festoons of +foliage along both sides of the street, which ran beneath a triumphal +arch, bearing an inscription in honor of a ducal personage of the Massimi +family. I know no occasion for the feast, except that it is Whitsuntide. +The town was thronged with peasants, in their best attire, and we met +others on their way thither, particularly women and girls, with heads +bare in the sunshine; but there was no tiptoe jollity, nor, indeed, +any more show of festivity than I have seen in my own country at a +cattle-show or muster. Really, I think, not half so much. + +The road still grew more and more picturesque, and now lay along ridges, +at the bases of which were deep ravines and hollow valleys. Woods were +not wanting; wilder forests than I have seen since leaving America, of +oak-trees chiefly; and, among the green foliage, grew golden tufts of +broom, making a gay and lovely combination of hues. I must not forget to +mention the poppies, which burned like live coals along the wayside, and +lit up the landscape, even a single one of them, with wonderful effect. +At other points, we saw olive-trees, hiding their eccentricity of boughs +under thick masses of foliage of a livid tint, which is caused, I +believe, by their turning their reverse sides to the light and to the +spectator. Vines were abundant, but were of little account in the scene. +By and by we came in sight, of the high, flat table-land, on which stands +Civita Castellana, and beheld, straight downward, between us and the +town, a deep level valley with a river winding through it; it was the +valley of the Treja. A precipice, hundreds of feet in height, falls +perpendicularly upon the valley, from the site of Civita Castellana; +there is an equally abrupt one, probably, on the side from which we saw +it; and a modern road, skilfully constructed, goes winding down to the +stream, crosses it by a narrow stone bridge, and winds upward into the +town. After passing over the bridge, I alighted, with J----- and R-----, +. . . . and made the ascent on foot, along walls of natural rock, in +which old Etruscan tombs were hollowed out. There are likewise antique +remains of masonry, whether Roman or of what earlier period, I cannot +tell. At the summit of the acclivity, which brought us close to the +town, our vetturino took us into the carriage again and quickly brought +us to what appears to be really a good hotel, where all of us are +accommodated with sleeping-chambers in a range, beneath an arcade, +entirely secluded from the rest of the population of the hotel. After a +splendid dinner (that is, splendid, considering that it was ordered by +our hospitable vetturino), U----, Miss Shepard, J-----, and I walked out +of the little town, in the opposite direction from our entrance, and +crossed a bridge at the height of the table-land, instead of at its base. +On either side, we had a view down into a profound gulf, with sides of +precipitous rock, and heaps of foliage in its lap, through which ran the +snowy track of a stream; here snowy, there dark; here hidden among the +foliage, there quite revealed in the broad depths of the gulf. This was +wonderfully fine. Walking on a little farther, Soracte came fully into +view, starting with bold abruptness out of the middle of the country; and +before we got back, the bright Italian moon was throwing a shower of +silver over the scene, and making it so beautiful that it seemed +miserable not to know how to put it into words; a foolish thought, +however, for such scenes are an expression in themselves, and need not be +translated into any feebler language. On our walk we met parties of +laborers, both men and women, returning from the fields, with rakes and +wooden forks over their shoulders, singing in chorus. It is very +customary for women to be laboring in the fields. + + + +TO TERNI.--BORGHETTO. + + +May 25th.--We were aroused at four o'clock this morning; had some eggs +and coffee, and were ready to start between five and six; being thus +matutinary, in order to get to Terni in time to see the falls. The road +was very striking and picturesque; but I remember nothing particularly, +till we came to Borghetto, which stands on a bluff, with a broad valley +sweeping round it, through the midst of which flows the Tiber. There is +an old castle on a projecting point; and we saw other battlemented +fortresses, of mediaeval date, along our way, forming more beautiful +ruins than any of the Roman remains to which we have become accustomed. +This is partly, I suppose, owing to the fact that they have been +neglected, and allowed to mantle their decay with ivy, instead of being +cleaned, propped up, and restored. The antiquarian is apt to spoil the +objects that interest him. + +Sometimes we passed through wildernesses of various trees, each +contributing a different hue of verdure to the scene; the vine, also, +marrying itself to the fig-tree, so that a man might sit in the shadow of +both at once, and temper the luscious sweetness of the one fruit with the +fresh flavor of the other. The wayside incidents were such as meeting a +man and woman borne along as prisoners, handcuffed and in a cart; two men +reclining across one another, asleep, and lazily lifting their heads to +gaze at us as we passed by; a woman spinning with a distaff as she walked +along the road. An old tomb or tower stood in a lonely field, and +several caves were hollowed in the rocks, which might have been either +sepulchres or habitations. Soracte kept us company, sometimes a little +on one side, sometimes behind, looming up again and again, when we +thought that we had done with it, and so becoming rather tedious at last, +like a person who presents himself for another and another leave-taking +after the one which ought to have been final. Honeysuckles sweetened the +hedges along the road. + +After leaving Borghetto, we crossed the broad valley of the Tiber, and +skirted along one of the ridges that border it, looking back upon the +road that we had passed, lying white behind us. We saw a field covered +with buttercups, or some other yellow flower, and poppies burned along +the roadside, as they did yesterday, and there were flowers of a +delicious blue, as if the blue Italian sky had been broken into little +bits, and scattered down upon the green earth. Otricoli by and by +appeared, situated on a bold promontory above the valley, a village of a +few gray houses and huts, with one edifice gaudily painted in white and +pink. It looked more important at a distance than we found it on our +nearer approach. As the road kept ascending, and as the hills grew to be +mountains, we had taken two additional horses, making six in all, with a +man and boy running beside them, to keep them in motion. The boy had two +club feet, so inconveniently disposed that it seemed almost inevitable +for him to stumble over them at every step; besides which, he seemed to +tread upon his ankles, and moved with a disjointed gait, as if each of +his legs and thighs had been twisted round together with his feet. +Nevertheless, he had a bright, cheerful, intelligent face, and was +exceedingly active, keeping up with the horses at their trot, and +inciting them to better speed when they lagged. I conceived a great +respect for this poor boy, who had what most Italian peasants would +consider an enviable birthright in those two club feet, as giving him a +sufficient excuse to live on charity, but yet took no advantage of them; +on the contrary, putting his poor misshapen hoofs to such good use as +might have shamed many a better provided biped. When he quitted us, he +asked no alms of the travellers, but merely applied to Gaetano for some +slight recompense for his well-performed service. This behavior +contrasted most favorably with that of some other boys and girls, who ran +begging beside the carriage door, keeping up a low, miserable murmur, +like that of a kennel-stream, for a long, long way. Beggars, indeed, +started up at every point, when we stopped for a moment, and whenever a +hill imposed a slower pace upon us; each village had its deformity or its +infirmity, offering his wretched petition at the step of the carriage; +and even a venerable, white-haired patriarch, the grandfather of all the +beggars, seemed to grow up by the roadside, but was left behind from +inability to join in the race with his light-footed juniors. No shame is +attached to begging in Italy. In fact, I rather imagine it to be held an +honorable profession, inheriting some of the odor of sanctity that used +to be attached to a mendicant and idle life in the days of early +Christianity, when every saint lived upon Providence, and deemed it +meritorious to do nothing for his support. + +Murray's guide-book is exceedingly vague and unsatisfactory along this +route; and whenever we asked Gaetano the name of a village or a castle, +he gave some one which we had never heard before, and could find nothing +of in the book. We made out the river Nar, however, or what I supposed +to be such, though he called it Nera. It flows through a most stupendous +mountain-gorge; winding its narrow passage between high hills, the broad +sides of which descend steeply upon it, covered with trees and shrubbery, +that mantle a host of rocky roughnesses, and make all look smooth. Here +and there a precipice juts sternly forth. We saw an old castle on a +hillside, frowning down into the gorge; and farther on, the gray tower of +Narni stands upon a height, imminent over the depths below, and with its +battlemented castle above now converted into a prison, and therefore kept +in excellent repair. A long winding street passes through Narni, +broadening at one point into a market-place, where an old cathedral +showed its venerable front, and the great dial of its clock, the figures +on which were numbered in two semicircles of twelve points each; one, I +suppose, for noon, and the other for midnight. The town has, so far as +its principal street is concerned, a city-like aspect, with large, fair +edifices, and shops as good as most of those at Rome, the smartness of +which contrasts strikingly with the rude and lonely scenery of mountain +and stream, through which we had come to reach it. We drove through +Narni without stopping, and came out from it on the other side, where a +broad, level valley opened before us, most unlike the wild, precipitous +gorge which had brought us to the town. The road went winding down into +the peaceful vale, through the midst of which flowed the same stream that +cuts its way between the impending hills, as already described. We +passed a monk and a soldier,--the two curses of Italy, each in his way,-- +walking sociably side by side; and from Narni to Terni I remember nothing +that need be recorded. + +Terni, like so many other towns in the neighborhood, stands in a high and +commanding position, chosen doubtless for its facilities of defence, in +days long before the mediaeval warfares of Italy made such sites +desirable. I suppose that, like Narni and Otricoli, it was a city of the +Umbrians. We reached it between eleven and twelve o'clock, intending to +employ the afternoon on a visit to the famous falls of Terni; but, after +lowering all day, it has begun to rain, and we shall probably have to +give them up. + + +Half past eight o'clock.--It has rained in torrents during the afternoon, +and we have not seen the cascade of Terni; considerably to my regret, for +I think I felt the more interest in seeing it, on account of its being +artificial. Methinks nothing was more characteristic of the energy and +determination of the old Romans, than thus to take a river, which they +wished to be rid of, and fling it over a giddy precipice, breaking it +into ten million pieces by the fall. . . . We are in the Hotel delle +tre Colonne, and find it reasonably good, though not, so far as we are +concerned, justifying the rapturous commendations of previous tourists, +who probably travelled at their own charges. However, there is nothing +really to be complained of, either in our accommodations or table, and +the only wonder is how Gaetano contrives to get any profit out of our +contract, since the hotel bills would alone cost us more than we pay him +for the journey and all. It is worth while to record as history of +vetturino commissary customs, that for breakfast this morning we had +coffee, eggs, and bread and butter; for lunch an omelette, some stewed +veal, and a dessert of figs and grapes, besides two decanters of a +light-colored acid wine, tasting very like indifferent cider; for dinner, +an excellent vermicelli soup, two young fowls, fricasseed, and a hind +quarter of roast lamb, with fritters, oranges, and figs, and two more +decanters of the wine aforesaid. + +This hotel is an edifice with a gloomy front upon a narrow street, and +enterable through an arch, which admits you into an enclosed court; +around the court, on each story, run the galleries, with which the +parlors and sleeping-apartments communicate. The whole house is dingy, +probably old, and seems not very clean; but yet bears traces of former +magnificence; for instance, in our bedroom, the door of which is +ornamented with gilding, and the cornices with frescos, some of which +appear to represent the cascade of Terni, the roof is crossed with carved +beams, and is painted in the interstices; the floor has a carpet, but +rough tiles underneath it, which show themselves at the margin. The +windows admit the wind; the door shuts so loosely as to leave great +cracks; and, during the rain to-day, there was a heavy shower through our +ceiling, which made a flood upon the carpet. We see no chambermaids; +nothing of the comfort and neatness of an English hotel, nor of the smart +splendors of an American one; but still this dilapidated palace affords +us a better shelter than I expected to find in the decayed country towns +of Italy. In the album of the hotel I find the names of more English +travellers than of any other nation except the Americans, who, I think, +even exceed the former; and, the route being the favorite one for +tourists between Rome and Florence, whatever merit the inns have is +probably owing to the demands of the Anglo-Saxons. I doubt not, if we +chose to pay for it, this hotel would supply us with any luxury we might +ask for; and perhaps even a gorgeous saloon and state bedchamber. + +After dinner, J----- and I walked out in the dusk to see what we could of +Terni. We found it compact and gloomy (but the latter characteristic +might well enough be attributed to the dismal sky), with narrow streets, +paved from wall to wall of the houses, like those of all the towns in +Italy; the blocks of paving-stone larger than the little square torments +of Rome. The houses are covered with dingy stucco, and mostly low, +compared with those of Rome, and inhospitable as regards their dismal +aspects and uninviting doorways. The streets are intricate, as well as +narrow; insomuch that we quickly lost our way, and could not find it +again, though the town is of so small dimensions, that we passed through +it in two directions, in the course of our brief wanderings. There are +no lamp-posts in Terni; and as it was growing dark, and beginning to rain +again, we at last inquired of a person in the principal piazza, and found +our hotel, as I expected, within two minutes' walk of where we stood. + + + +FOLIGNO. + + +May 26th.--At six o'clock this morning, we packed ourselves into our +vettura, my wife and I occupying the coupe, and drove out of the city +gate of Terni. There are some old towers near it, ruins of I know not +what, and care as little, in the plethora of antiquities and other +interesting objects. Through the arched gateway, as we approached, we +had a view of one of the great hills that surround the town, looking +partly bright in the early sunshine, and partly catching the shadows of +the clouds that floated about the sky. Our way was now through the Vale +of Terni, as I believe it is called, where we saw somewhat of the +fertility of Italy: vines trained on poles, or twining round mulberry and +other trees, ranged regularly like orchards; groves of olives and fields +of grain. There are interminable shrines in all sorts of situations; +some under arched niches, or little penthouses, with a brick-tiled roof, +just large enough to cover them; or perhaps in some bit of old Roman +masonry, on the wall of a wayside inn, or in a shallow cavity of the +natural rock, or high upward in the deep cuts of the road; everywhere, in +short, so that nobody need be at a loss when he feels the religious +sentiment stir within him. Our way soon began to wind among the hills, +which rose steep and lofty from the scanty, level space that lay between; +they continually thrust themselves across the passage, and appeared as if +determined to shut us completely in. A great hill would put its foot +right before us; but, at the last moment, would grudgingly withdraw it, +and allow us just room enough to creep by. Adown their sides we +discerned the dry beds of mountain torrents, which had lived too fierce a +life to let it be a long one. On here and there a hillside or promontory +we saw a ruined castle or a convent, looking from its commanding height +upon the road, which very likely some robber-knight had formerly infested +with his banditti, retreating with his booty to the security of such +strongholds. We came, once in a while, to wretched villages, where there +was no token of prosperity or comfort; but perhaps there may have been +more than we could appreciate, for the Italians do not seem to have any +of that sort of pride which we find in New England villages, where every +man, according to his taste and means, endeavors to make his homestead an +ornament to the place. We miss nothing in Italy more than the neat +doorsteps and pleasant porches and thresholds and delightful lawns or +grass-plots, which hospitably invite the imagination into a sweet +domestic interior. Everything, however sunny and luxuriant may be the +scene around, is especially dreary and disheartening in the immediate +vicinity of an Italian home. + +At Strettura (which, as the name indicates, is a very narrow part of the +valley) we added two oxen to our horses, and began to ascend the Monte +Somma, which, according to Murray, is nearly four thousand feet high +where we crossed it. When we came to the steepest part of the ascent, +Gaetano, who exercises a pretty decided control over his passengers, +allowed us to walk; and we all, with one exception, alighted, and began +to climb the mountain on foot. I walked on briskly, and soon left the +rest of the party behind, reaching the top of the pass in such a short +time that I could not believe it, and kept onward, expecting still +another height to climb. But the road began to descend, winding among +the depths of the hills as heretofore; now beside the dry, gravelly bed +of a departed stream, now crossing it by a bridge, and perhaps passing +through some other gorge, that yet gave no decided promise of an outlet +into the world beyond. A glimpse might occasionally be caught, through a +gap between the hill-tops, of a company of distant mountain-peaks, +pyramidal, as these hills are apt to be, and resembling the camp of an +army of giants. The landscape was not altogether savage; sometimes a +hillside was covered with a rich field of grain, or an orchard of +olive-trees, looking not unlike puffs of smoke, from the peculiar line of +their foliage; but oftener there was a vast mantle of trees and shrubbery +from top to bottom, the golden tufts of the broom shining out amid the +verdure, and gladdening the whole. Nothing was dismal except the houses; +those were always so, whether the compact, gray lines of village hovels, +with a narrow street between, or the lonely farm-house, standing far +apart from the road, built of stone, with window-gaps high in the wall, +empty of glass; or the half-castle, half-dwelling, of which I saw a +specimen or two, with what looked like a defensive rampart, drawn around +its court. I saw no look of comfort anywhere; and continually, in this +wild and solitary region, I met beggars, just as if I were still in the +streets of Rome. Boys and girls kept beside me, till they delivered me +into the hands of others like themselves; hoary grandsires and +grandmothers caught a glimpse of my approach, and tottered as fast as +they could to intercept me; women came out of the cottages, with rotten +cherries on a plate, entreating me to buy them for a mezzo baioccho; a +man, at work on the road, left his toil to beg, and was grateful for the +value of a cent; in short, I was never safe from importunity, as long as +there was a house or a human being in sight. + +We arrived at Spoleto before noon, and while our dejeuner was being +prepared, looked down from the window of the inn into the narrow street +beneath, which, from the throng of people in it, I judged to be the +principal one: priests, papal soldiers, women with no bonnets on their +heads; peasants in breeches and mushroom hats; maids and matrons, drawing +water at a fountain; idlers, smoking on a bench under the window; a talk, +a bustle, but no genuine activity. After lunch we walked out to see the +lions of Spoleto, and found our way up a steep and narrow street that led +us to the city gate, at which, it is traditionally said, Hannibal sought +to force an entrance, after the battle of Thrasymene, and was repulsed. +The gateway has a double arch, on the inner one of which is a tablet, +recording the above tradition as an unquestioned historical fact. From +the gateway we went in search of the Duomo, or cathedral, and were kindly +directed thither by an officer, who was descending into the town from the +citadel, which is an old castle, now converted into a prison. The +cathedral seemed small, and did not much interest us, either by the +Gothic front or its modernized interior. We saw nothing else in Spoleto, +but went back to the inn and resumed our journey, emerging from the city +into the classic valley of the Clitumnus, which we did not view under the +best of auspices, because it was overcast, and the wind as chill as if it +had the cast in it. The valley, though fertile, and smilingly +picturesque, perhaps, is not such as I should wish to celebrate, either +in prose or poetry. It is of such breadth and extent, that its frame of +mountains and ridgy hills hardly serve to shut it in sufficiently, and +the spectator thinks of a boundless plain, rather than of a secluded +vale. After passing Le Vene, we came to the little temple which Byron +describes, and which has been supposed to be the one immortalized by +Pliny. It is very small, and stands on a declivity that falls +immediately from the road, right upon which rises the pediment of the +temple, while the columns of the other front find sufficient height to +develop themselves in the lower ground. A little farther down than the +base of the edifice we saw the Clitumnus, so recently from its source in +the marble rock, that it was still as pure as a child's heart, and as +transparent as truth itself. It looked airier than nothing, because it +had not substance enough to brighten, and it was clearer than the +atmosphere. I remember nothing else of the valley of Clitumnus, except +that the beggars in this region of proverbial fertility are wellnigh +profane in the urgency of their petitions; they absolutely fall down on +their knees as you approach, in the same attitude as if they were praying +to their Maker, and beseech you for alms with a fervency which I am +afraid they seldom use before an altar or shrine. Being denied, they ran +hastily beside the carriage, but got nothing, and finally gave over. + +I am so very tired and sleepy that I mean to mention nothing else +to-night, except the city of Trevi, which, on the approach from Spoleto, +seems completely to cover a high, peaked hill, from its pyramidal tip to +its base. It was the strangest situation in which to build a town, +where, I should suppose, no horse can climb, and whence no inhabitant +would think of descending into the world, after the approach of age +should begin to stiffen his joints. On looking back on this most +picturesque of towns (which the road, of course, did not enter, as +evidently no road could), I saw that the highest part of the hill was +quite covered with a crown of edifices, terminating in a church-tower; +while a part of the northern side was apparently too steep for building; +and a cataract of houses flowed down the western and southern slopes. +There seemed to be palaces, churches, everything that a city should have; +but my eyes are heavy, and I can write no more about them, only that I +suppose the summit of the hill was artificially tenured, so as to prevent +its crumbling down, and enable it to support the platform of edifices +which crowns it. + + +May 27th.--We reached Foligno in good season yesterday afternoon. Our +inn seemed ancient; and, under the same roof, on one side of the +entrance, was the stable, and on the other the coach-house. The house is +built round a narrow court, with a well of water at bottom, and an +opening in the roof at top, whence the staircases are lighted that wind +round the sides of the court, up to the highest story. Our dining-room +and bedrooms were in the latter region, and were all paved with brick, +and without carpets; and the characteristic of the whole was all +exceeding plainness and antique clumsiness of fitting up. We found +ourselves sufficiently comfortable, however; and, as has been the case +throughout our journey, had a very fair and well-cooked dinner. It +shows, as perhaps I have already remarked, that it is still possible to +live well in Italy, at no great expense, and that the high prices charged +to the forestieri at Rome and elsewhere are artificial, and ought to be +abated. . . . + +The day had darkened since morning, and was now ominous of rain; but as +soon as we were established, we sallied out to see whatever was worth +looking at. A beggar-boy, with one leg, followed us, without asking for +anything, apparently only for the pleasure of our company, though he kept +at too great a distance for conversation, and indeed did not attempt to +speak. + +We went first to the cathedral, which has a Gothic front, and a +modernized interior, stuccoed and whitewashed, looking as neat as a New +England meeting-house, and very mean, after our familiarity with the +gorgeous churches in other cities. There were some pictures in the +chapels, but, I believe, all modern, and I do not remember a single one +of them. Next we went, without any guide, to a church attached to a +convent of Dominican monks, with a Gothic exterior, and two hideous +pictures of Death,--the skeleton leaning on his scythe, one on each side +of the door. This church, likewise, was whitewashed, but we understood +that it had been originally frescoed all over, and by famous hands; but +these pictures, having become much injured, they were all obliterated, as +we saw,--all, that is to say, except a few specimens of the best +preserved, which were spared to show the world what the whole had been. +I thanked my stars that the obliteration of the rest had taken place +before our visit; for if anything is dreary and calculated to make the +beholder utterly miserable, it is a faded fresco, with spots of the white +plaster dotted over it. + +Our one-legged boy had followed us into the church and stood near the +door till he saw us ready to come out, when he hurried on before us, and +waited a little way off to see whither we should go. We still went on at +random, taking the first turn that offered itself, and soon came to +another old church,--that of St. Mary within the Walls,--into which we +entered, and found it whitewashed, like the other two. This was +especially fortunate, for the doorkeeper informed us that, two years ago, +the whole church (except, I suppose, the roof, which is of timber) had +been covered with frescos by Pinturicchio, all of which had been +ruthlessly obliterated, except a very few fragments. These he proceeded +to show us; poor, dim ghosts of what may once have been beautiful,--now +so far gone towards nothingness that I was hardly sure whether I saw a +glimmering of the design or not. By the by, it was not Pinturicchio, as +I have written above, but Giotto, assisted, I believe, by Cimabue, who +painted these frescos. Our one-legged attendant had followed us also +into this church, and again hastened out of it before us; and still we +heard the dot of his crutch upon the pavement, as we passed from street +to street. By and by a sickly looking man met us, and begged for +"qualche cosa"; but the boy shouted to him, "Niente!" whether intimating +that we would give him nothing, or that he himself had a prior claim to +all our charity, I cannot tell. However, the beggar-man turned round, +and likewise followed our devious course. Once or twice we missed him; +but it was only because he could not walk so fast as we; for he appeared +again as we emerged from the door of another church. Our one-legged +friend we never missed for a moment; he kept pretty near us,--near enough +to be amused by our indecision whither to go; and he seemed much +delighted when it began to rain, and he saw us at a loss how to find our +way back to the hotel. Nevertheless, he did not offer to guide us; but +stumped on behind with a faster or slower dot of his crutch, according to +our pace. I began to think that he must have been engaged as a spy upon +our movements by the police who had taken away my passport at the city +gate. In this way he attended us to the door of the hotel, where the +beggar had already arrived. The latter again put in his doleful +petition; the one-legged boy said not a word, nor seemed to expect +anything, and both had to go away without so much as a mezzo baioccho out +of our pockets. The multitude of beggars in Italy makes the heart as +obdurate as a paving-stone. + +We left Foligno this morning, and, all ready for us at the door of the +hotel, as we got into the carriage, were our friends, the beggar-man and +the one-legged boy; the latter holding out his ragged hat, and smiling +with as confident an air as if he had done us some very particular +service, and were certain of being paid for it, as from contract. It was +so very funny, so impudent, so utterly absurd, that I could not help +giving him a trifle; but the man got nothing,--a fact that gives me a +twinge or two, for he looked sickly and miserable. But where everybody +begs, everybody, as a general rule, must be denied; and, besides, they +act their misery so well that you are never sure of the genuine article. + + + +PERUGIA. + + +May 25th.--As I said last night, we left Foligno betimes in the morning, +which was bleak, chill, and very threatening, there being very little +blue sky anywhere, and the clouds lying heavily on some of the +mountain-ridges. The wind blew sharply right in U----'s face and mine, +as we occupied the coupe, so that there must have been a great deal of +the north in it. We drove through a wide plain--the Umbrian valley, I +suppose--and soon passed the old town of Spello, just touching its +skirts, and wondering how people, who had this rich and convenient plain +from which to choose a site, could think of covering a huge island of +rock with their dwellings,--for Spello tumbled its crooked and narrow +streets down a steep descent, and cannot well have a yard of even space +within its walls. It is said to contain some rare treasures of ancient +pictorial art. + +I do not remember much that we saw on our route. The plains and the +lower hillsides seemed fruitful of everything that belongs to Italy, +especially the olive and the vine. As usual, there were a great many +shrines, and frequently a cross by the wayside. Hitherto it had been +merely a plain wooden cross; but now almost every cross was hung with +various instruments, represented in wood, apparently symbols of the +crucifixion of our Saviour,--the spear, the sponge, the crown of thorns, +the hammer, a pair of pincers, and always St. Peter's cock, made a +prominent figure, generally perched on the summit of the cross. + +From our first start this morning we had seen mists in various quarters, +betokening that there was rain in those spots, and now it began to +spatter in our own faces, although within the wide extent of our prospect +we could see the sunshine falling on portions of the valley. A rainbow, +too, shone out, and remained so long visible that it appeared to have +made a permanent stain in the sky. + +By and by we reached Assisi, which is magnificently situated for +pictorial purposes, with a gray castle above it, and a gray wall around +it, itself on a mountain, and looking over the great plain which we had +been traversing, and through which lay our onward way. We drove through +the Piazza Grande to an ancient house a little beyond, where a hospitable +old lady receives travellers for a consideration, without exactly keeping +an inn. + +In the piazza we saw the beautiful front of a temple of Minerva, +consisting of several marble pillars, fluted, and with rich capitals +supporting a pediment. It was as fine as anything I had seen at Rome, +and is now, of course, converted into a Catholic church. + +I ought to have said that, instead of driving straight to the old lady's, +we alighted at the door of a church near the city gate, and went in to +inspect some melancholy frescos, and thence clambered up a narrow street +to the cathedral, which has a Gothic front, old enough, but not very +impressive. I really remember not a single object that we saw within, +but am pretty certain that the interior had been stuccoed and +whitewashed. The ecclesiastics of old time did an excellent thing in +covering the interiors of their churches with brilliant frescos, thus +filling the holy places with saints and angels, and almost with the +presence of the Divinity. The modern ecclesiastics do the next best +thing in obliterating the wretched remnants of what has had its day and +done its office. These frescos might be looked upon as the symbol of the +living spirit that made Catholicism a true religion, and glorified it as +long as it did live; now the glory and beauty have departed from one and +the other. + +My wife, U----, and Miss Shepard now set out with a cicerone to visit the +great Franciscan convent, in the church of which are preserved some +miraculous specimens, in fresco and in oils, of early Italian art; but as +I had no mind to suffer any further in this way, I stayed behind with +J----- and R-----, who we're equally weary of these things. + +After they were gone we took a ramble through the city, but were almost +swept away by the violence of the wind, which struggled with me for my +hat, and whirled R----- before it like a feather. The people in the +public square seemed much diverted at our predicament, being, I suppose, +accustomed to these rude blasts in their mountain-home. However, the +wind blew in momentary gusts, and then became more placable till another +fit of fury came, and passed as suddenly as before. We walked out of the +same gate through which we had entered,--an ancient gate, but recently +stuccoed and whitewashed, in wretched contrast to the gray, venerable +wall through which it affords ingress,--and I stood gazing at the +magnificent prospect of the wide valley beneath. It was so vast that +there appeared to be all varieties of weather in it at the same instant; +fields of sunshine, tracts of storm,--here the coming tempest, there the +departing one. It was a picture of the world on a vast canvas, for there +was rural life and city life within the great expanse, and the whole set +in a frame of mountains,--the nearest bold and dust-net, with the rocky +ledges showing through their sides, the distant ones blue and dim,--so +far stretched this broad valley. + +When I had looked long enough,--no, not long enough, for it would take a +great while to read that page,--we returned within the gate, and we +clambered up, past the cathedral and into the narrow streets above it. +The aspect of everything was immeasurably old; a thousand years would be +but a middle age for one of those houses, built so massively with huge +stones and solid arches, that I do not see how they are ever to tumble +down, or to be less fit for human habitation than they are now. The +streets crept between them, and beneath arched passages, and up and down +steps of stone or ancient brick, for it would be altogether impossible +for a carriage to ascend above the Grand Piazza, though possibly a donkey +or a chairman's mule might find foothold. The city seems like a stony +growth out of the hillside, or a fossilized city,--so old and singular it +is, without enough life and juiciness in it to be susceptible of decay. +An earthquake is the only chance of its ever being ruined, beyond its +present ruin. Nothing is more strange than to think that this now dead +city--dead, as regards the purposes for which men live nowadays--was, +centuries ago, the seat and birthplace almost of art, the only art in +which the beautiful part of the human mind then developed itself. How +came that flower to grow among these wild mountains? I do not conceive, +however, that the people of Assisi were ever much more enlightened or +cultivated on the side of art than they are at present. The +ecclesiastics were then the only patrons; and the flower grew here +because there was a great ecclesiastical garden in which it was sheltered +and fostered. But it is very curious to think of Assisi, a school of art +within, and mountain and wilderness without. + +My wife and the rest of the party returned from the convent before noon, +delighted with what they had seen, as I was delighted not to have seen +it. We ate our dejeuner, and resumed our journey, passing beneath the +great convent, after emerging from the gate opposite to that of our +entrance. The edifice made a very good spectacle, being of great extent, +and standing on a double row of high and narrow arches, on which it is +built up from the declivity of the hill. + +We soon reached the Church of St. Mary of the Angels, which is a modern +structure, and very spacious, built in place of one destroyed by an +earthquake. It is a fine church, opening out a magnificent space in its +nave and aisles; and beneath the great dome stands the small old chapel, +with its rude stone walls, in which St. Francis founded his order. This +chapel and the dome appear to have been the only portions of the ancient +church that were not destroyed by the earthquake. The dwelling of St. +Francis is said to be also preserved within the church; but we did not +see it, unless it were a little dark closet into which we squeezed to see +some frescos by La Spagna. It had an old wooden door, of which U---- +picked off a little bit of a chip, to serve as a relic. There is a +fresco in the church, on the pediment of the chapel, by Overbeck, +representing the Assumption of the Virgin. It did not strike me as +wonderfully fine. The other pictures, of which there were many, were +modern, and of no great merit. + +We pursued our way, and came, by and by, to the foot of the high hill on +which stands Perugia, and which is so long and steep that Gaetano took a +yoke of oxen to aid his horses in the ascent. We all, except my wife, +walked a part of the way up, and I myself, with J----- for my companion, +kept on even to the city gate,--a distance, I should think, of two or +three miles, at least. The lower part of the road was on the edge of the +hill, with a narrow valley on our left; and as the sun had now broken +out, its verdure and fertility, its foliage and cultivation, shone forth +in miraculous beauty, as green as England, as bright as only Italy. +Perugia appeared above us, crowning a mighty hill, the most picturesque +of cities; and the higher we ascended, the more the view opened before +us, as we looked back on the course that we had traversed, and saw the +wide valley, sweeping down and spreading out, bounded afar by mountains, +and sleeping in sun and shadow. No language nor any art of the pencil +can give an idea of the scene. When God expressed himself in the +landscape to mankind, he did not intend that it should be translated into +any tongue save his own immediate one. J----- meanwhile, whose heart is +now wholly in snail-shells, was rummaging for them among the stones and +hedges by the roadside; yet, doubtless, enjoyed the prospect more than he +knew. The coach lagged far behind us, and when it came up, we entered +the gate, where a soldier appeared, and demanded my passport. We drove +to the Grand Hotel de France, which is near the gate, and two fine little +boys ran beside the carriage, well dressed and well looking enough to +have been a gentleman's sons, but claiming Gaetano for their father. He +is an inhabitant of Perugia, and has therefore reached his own home, +though we are still little more than midway to our journey's end. + +Our hotel proves, thus far, to be the best that we have yet met with. We +are only in the outskirts of Perugia; the bulk of the city, where the +most interesting churches and the public edifices are situated, being far +above us on the hill. My wife, U----, Miss Shepard, and R----- streamed +forth immediately, and saw a church; but J-----, who hates them, and I +remained behind; and, for my part, I added several pages to this volume +of scribble. + +This morning was as bright as morning could be, even in Italy, and in +this transparent mountain atmosphere. We at first declined the services +of a cicerone, and went out in the hopes of finding our way to whatever +we wished to see, by our own instincts. This proved to be a mistaken +hope, however; and we wandered about the upper city, much persecuted by a +shabby old man who wished to guide us; so, at last, Miss Shepard went +back in quest of the cicerone at the hotel, and, meanwhile, we climbed to +the summit of the hill of Perugia, and, leaning over a wall, looked forth +upon a most magnificent view of mountain and valley, terminating in some +peaks, lofty and dim, which surely must be the Apennines. There again a +young man accosted us, offering to guide us to the Cambio or Exchange; +and as this was one of the places which we especially wished to see, we +accepted his services. By the by, I ought to have mentioned that we had +already entered a church (San Luigi, I believe), the interior of which we +found very impressive, dim with the light of stained and painted windows, +insomuch that it at first seemed almost dark, and we could only see the +bright twinkling of the tapers at the shrines; but, after a few minutes, +we discerned the tall octagonal pillars of the nave, marble, and +supporting a beautiful roof of crossed arches. The church was neither +Gothic nor classic, but a mixture of both, and most likely barbarous; yet +it had a grand effect in its tinted twilight, and convinced me more than +ever how desirable it is that religious edifices should have painted +windows. + +The door of the Cambio proved to be one that we had passed several times, +while seeking for it, and was very near the church just mentioned, which +fronts on one side of the same piazza. We were received by an old +gentleman, who appeared to be a public officer, and found ourselves in a +small room, wainscoted with beautifully carved oak, roofed with a coved +ceiling, painted with symbols of the planets, and arabesqued in rich +designs by Raphael, and lined with splendid frescos of subjects, +scriptural and historical, by Perugino. When the room was in its first +glory, I can conceive that the world had not elsewhere to show, within so +small a space, such magnificence and beauty as were then displayed here. +Even now, I enjoyed (to the best of my belief, for we can never feel sure +that we are not bamboozling ourselves in such matters) some real pleasure +in what I saw; and especially seemed to feel, after all these ages, the +old painter's devout sentiment still breathing forth from the religious +pictures, the work of a hand that had so long been dust. + +When we had looked long at these, the old gentleman led us into a chapel, +of the same size as the former room, and built in the same fashion, +wainscoted likewise with old oak. The walls were also frescoed, entirely +frescoed, and retained more of their original brightness than those we +had already seen, although the pictures were the production of a somewhat +inferior hand, a pupil of Perugino. They seemed to be very striking, +however, not the less so, that one of them provoked an unseasonable +smile. It was the decapitation of John the Baptist; and this holy +personage was represented as still on his knees, with his hands clasped +in prayer, although the executioner was already depositing the head in a +charger, and the blood was spouting from the headless trunk, directly, as +it were, into the face of the spectator. + +While we were in the outer room, the cicerone who first offered his +services at the hotel had come in; so we paid our chance guide, and +expected him to take his leave. It is characteristic of this idle +country, however, that if you once speak to a person, or connect yourself +with him by the slightest possible tie, you will hardly get rid of him by +anything short of main force. He still lingered in the room, and was +still there when I came away; for, having had as many pictures as I could +digest, I left my wife and U---- with the cicerone, and set out on a +ramble with J-----. We plunged from the upper city down through some of +the strangest passages that ever were called streets; some of them, +indeed, being arched all over, and, going down into the unknown darkness, +looked like caverns; and we followed one of them doubtfully, till it +opened out upon the light. The houses on each side were divided only by +a pace or two, and communicated with one another, here and there, by +arched passages. They looked very ancient, and may have been inhabited +by Etruscan princes, judging from the massiveness of some of the +foundation stones. The present inhabitants, nevertheless, are by no +means princely,--shabby men, and the careworn wives and mothers of the +people,--one of whom was guiding a child in leading-strings through these +antique alleys, where hundreds of generations have trod before those +little feet. Finally we came out through a gateway, the same gateway at +which we entered last night. + +I ought to have mentioned, in the narrative of yesterday, that we crossed +the Tiber shortly before reaching Perugia, already a broad and rapid +stream, and already distinguished by the same turbid and mud-puddly +quality of water that we see in it at Rome. I think it will never be so +disagreeable to me hereafter, now that I find this turbidness to be its +native color, and not (like that of the Thames) accruing from city sewers +or any impurities of the lowlands. + +As I now remember, the small Chapel of Santa Maria degl' Angeli seems to +have been originally the house of St. Francis. + + +May 29th.--This morning we visited the Church of the Dominicans, where we +saw some quaint pictures by Fra Angelico, with a good deal of religious +sincerity in them; also a picture of St. Columba by Perugino, which +unquestionably is very good. To confess the truth, I took more interest +in a fair Gothic monument, in white marble, of Pope Benedict XII., +representing him reclining under a canopy, while two angels draw aside +the curtain, the canopy being supported by twisted columns, richly +ornamented. I like this overflow and gratuity of device with which +Gothic sculpture works out its designs, after seeing so much of the +simplicity of classic art in marble. + +We then tried to find the Church of San Pietro in Martire, but without +success, although every person of whom we inquired immediately attached +himself or herself to us, and could hardly be got rid of by any efforts +on our part. Nobody seemed to know the church we wished for, but all +directed us to another Church of San Pietro, which contains nothing of +interest; whereas the right church is supposed to contain a celebrated +picture by Perugino. + +Finally, we ascended the hill and the city proper of Perugia (for our +hotel is in one of the suburbs), and J----- and I set out on a ramble +about the city. It was market-day, and the principal piazza, with the +neighboring streets, was crowded with people. . . . + +The best part of Perugia, that in which the grand piazzas and the +principal public edifices stand, seems to be a nearly level plateau on +the summit of the hill; but it is of no very great extent, and the +streets rapidly run downward on either side. J----- and I followed one +of these descending streets, and were led a long way by it, till we at +last emerged from one of the gates of the city, and had another view of +the mountains and valleys, the fertile and sunny wilderness in which this +ancient civilization stands. + +On the right of the gate there was a rude country-path, partly overgrown +with grass, bordered by a hedge on one side, and on the other by the gray +city wall, at the base of which the track kept onward. We followed it, +hoping that it would lead us to some other gate by which we might +re-enter the city; but it soon grew so indistinct and broken, that it +was evidently on the point of melting into somebody's olive-orchard or +wheat-fields or vineyards, all of which lay on the other side of the +hedge; and a kindly old woman of whom I inquired told me (if I rightly +understood her Italian) that I should find no further passage in that +direction. So we turned back, much broiled in the hot sun, and only now +and then relieved by the shadow of an angle or a tower. + +A lame beggar-man sat by the gate, and as we passed him J----- gave him +two baiocchi (which he himself had begged of me to buy an orange with), +and was loaded with the pauper's prayers and benedictions as we entered +the city. A great many blessings can be bought for very little money +anywhere in Italy; and whether they avail anything or no, it is pleasant +to see that the beggars have gratitude enough to bestow them in such +abundance. + +Of all beggars I think a little fellow, who rode beside our carriage on a +stick, his bare feet scampering merrily, while he managed his steed with +one hand, and held out the other for charity, howling piteously the +while, amused me most. + + + +PASSIGNANO. + + +May 29th.--We left Perugia at about three o'clock to-day, and went down a +pretty steep descent; but I have no particular recollection of the road +till it again began to descend, before reaching the village of Magione. +We all, except my wife, walked up the long hill, while the vettura was +dragged after us with the aid of a yoke of oxen. Arriving first at the +village, I leaned over the wall to admire the beautiful paese ("le bel +piano," as a peasant called it, who made acquaintance with me) that lay +at the foot of the hill, so level, so bounded within moderate limits by a +frame of hills and ridges, that it looked like a green lake. In fact, I +think it was once a real lake, which made its escape from its bed, as I +have known some lakes to have done in America. + +Passing through and beyond the village, I saw, on a height above the +road, a half-ruinous tower, with great cracks running down its walls, +half-way from top to bottom. Some little children had mounted the hill +with us, begging all the way; they were recruited with additional members +in the village; and here, beneath the ruinous tower, a madman, as it +seemed, assaulted us, and ran almost under the carriage-wheels, in his +earnestness to get a baioccho. Ridding ourselves of these annoyances, we +drove on, and, between five and six o'clock, came in sight of the Lake of +Thrasymene, obtaining our first view of it, I think, in its longest +extent. There were high hills, and one mountain with its head in the +clouds, visible on the farther shore, and on the horizon beyond it; but +the nearer banks were long ridges, and hills of only moderate height. +The declining sun threw a broad sheen of brightness over the surface of +the lake, so that we could not well see it for excess of light; but had a +vision of headlands and islands floating about in a flood of gold, and +blue, airy heights bounding it afar. When we first drew near the lake, +there was but a narrow tract, covered with vines and olives, between it +and the hill that rose on the other side. As we advanced, the tract grew +wider, and was very fertile, as was the hillside, with wheat-fields, and +vines, and olives, especially the latter, which, symbol of peace as it +is, seemed to find something congenial to it in the soil stained long ago +with blood. Farther onward, the space between the lake and hill grew +still narrower, the road skirting along almost close to the water-side; +and when we reached the town of Passignano there was but room enough for +its dirty and ugly street to stretch along the shore. I have seldom +beheld a lovelier scene than that of the lake and the landscape around +it; never an uglier one than that of this idle and decaying village, +where we were immediately surrounded by beggars of all ages, and by men +vociferously proposing to row us out upon the lake. We declined their +offers of a boat, for the evening was very fresh and cool, insomuch that +I should have liked an outside garment,--a temperature that I had not +anticipated, so near the beginning of June, in sunny Italy. Instead +of a row, we took a walk through the village, hoping to come upon the +shore of the lake, in some secluded spot; but an incredible number of +beggar-children, both boys and girls, but more of the latter, rushed out +of every door, and went along with us, all howling their miserable +petitions at the same moment. + +The village street is long, and our escort waxed more numerous at every +step, till Miss Shepard actually counted forty of these little +reprobates, and more were doubtless added afterwards. At first, no +doubt, they begged in earnest hope of getting some baiocchi; but, by and +by, perceiving that we had determined not to give them anything, they +made a joke of the matter, and began to laugh and to babble, and turn +heels over head, still keeping about us, like a swarm of flies, and now +and then begging again with all their might. There were as few pretty +faces as I ever saw among the same number of children; and they were as +ragged and dirty little imps as any in the world, and, moreover, tainted +the air with a very disagreeable odor from their rags and dirt; rugged +and healthy enough, nevertheless, and sufficiently intelligent; certainly +bold and persevering too; so that it is hard to say what they needed to +fit them for success in life. Yet they begin as beggars, and no doubt +will end so, as all their parents and grandparents do; for in our walk +through the village, every old woman and many younger ones held out their +hands for alms, as if they had all been famished. Yet these people kept +their houses over their heads; had firesides in winter, I suppose, and +food out of their little gardens every day; pigs to kill, chickens, +olives, wine, and a great many things to make life comfortable. The +children, desperately as they begged, looked in good bodily ease, and +happy enough; but, certainly, there was a look of earnest misery in the +faces of some of the old women, either genuine or exceedingly well acted. + +I could not bear the persecution, and went into our hotel, determining +not to venture out again till our departure; at least not in the +daylight. My wife and the rest of the family, however, continued their +walk, and at length were relieved from their little pests by three +policemen (the very images of those in Rome, in their blue, long-skirted +coats, cocked chapeaux-bras, white shoulder-belts, and swords), who boxed +their ears, and dispersed them. Meanwhile, they had quite driven away +all sentimental effusion (of which I felt more, really, than I expected) +about the Lake of Thrasymene. + +The inn of Passignano promised little from its outward appearance; a +tall, dark old house, with a stone staircase leading us up from one +sombre story to another, into a brick-paved dining-room, with our +sleeping-chambers on each side. There was a fireplace of tremendous +depth and height, fit to receive big forest-logs, and with a queer, +double pair of ancient andirons, capable of sustaining them; and in a +handful of ashes lay a small stick of olive-wood,--a specimen, I suppose, +of the sort of fuel which had made the chimney black, in the course of a +good many years. There must have been much shivering and misery of cold +around this fireplace. However, we needed no fire now, and there was +promise of good cheer in the spectacle of a man cleaning some lake-fish +for our dinner, while the poor things flounced and wriggled under the +knife. + +The dinner made its appearance, after a long while, and was most +plentiful, . . . . so that, having measured our appetite in anticipation +of a paucity of food, we had to make more room for such overflowing +abundance. + +When dinner was over, it was already dusk, and before retiring I opened +the window, and looked out on Lake Thrasymene, the margin of which lies +just on the other side of the narrow village street. The moon was a day +or two past the full, just a little clipped on the edge, but gave light +enough to show the lake and its nearer shores almost as distinctly as by +day; and there being a ripple on the surface of the water, it made a +sheen of silver over a wide space. + + + +AREZZO. + + +May 30th.--We started at six o'clock, and left the one ugly street of +Passignano, before many of the beggars were awake. Immediately in the +vicinity of the village there is very little space between the lake in +front and the ridge of hills in the rear; but the plain widened as we +drove onward, so that the lake was scarcely to be seen, or often quite +hidden among the intervening trees, although we could still discern the +summits of the mountains that rise far beyond its shores. The country +was fertile, presenting, on each side of the road, vines trained on +fig-trees; wheat-fields and olives, in greater abundance than any other +product. On our right, with a considerable width of plain between, was +the bending ridge of hills that shut in the Roman army, by its close +approach to the lake at Passignano. In perhaps half all hour's drive, we +reached the little bridge that throws its arch over the Sanguinetto, and +alighted there. The stream has but about a yard's width of water; and +its whole course, between the hills and the lake, might well have been +reddened and swollen with the blood of the multitude of slain Romans. +Its name put me in mind of the Bloody Brook at Deerfield, where a company +of Massachusetts men were massacred by the Indians. + +The Sanguinetto flows over a bed of pebbles; and J----- crept under the +bridge, and got one of them for a memorial, while U----, Miss Shepard, +and R----- plucked some olive twigs and oak leaves, and made them into +wreaths together,--symbols of victory and peace. The tower, which is +traditionally named after Hannibal, is seen on a height that makes part +of the line of enclosing hills. It is a large, old castle, apparently of +the Middle Ages, with a square front, and a battlemented sweep of wall. +The town of Torres (its name, I think), where Hannibal's main army is +supposed to have lain while the Romans came through the pass, was in full +view; and I could understand the plan of the battle better than any +system of military operations which I have hitherto tried to fathom. +Both last night and to-day, I found myself stirred more sensibly than I +expected by the influences of this scene. The old battle-field is still +fertile in thoughts and emotions, though it is so many ages since the +blood spilt there has ceased to make the grass and flowers grow more +luxuriantly. I doubt whether I should feel so much on the field of +Saratoga or Monmouth; but these old classic battle-fields belong to the +whole world, and each man feels as if his own forefathers fought them. +Mine, by the by, if they fought them at all, must have been on the side +of Hannibal; for, certainly, I sympathized with him, and exulted in the +defeat of the Romans on their own soil. They excite much the same +emotion of general hostility that the English do. Byron has written some +very fine stanzas on the battle-field,--not so good as others that he has +written on classical scenes and subjects, yet wonderfully impressing his +own perception of the subject on the reader. Whenever he has to deal +with a statue, a ruin, a battle-field, he pounces upon the topic like a +vulture, and tears out its heart in a twinkling, so that there is nothing +more to be said. + +If I mistake not, our passport was examined by the papal officers at the +last custom-house in the pontifical territory, before we traversed the +path through which the Roman army marched to its destruction. Lake +Thrasymene, of which we took our last view, is not deep set among the +hills, but is bordered by long ridges, with loftier mountains receding +into the distance. It is not to be compared to Windermere or Loch Lomond +for beauty, nor with Lake Champlain and many a smaller lake in my own +country, none of which, I hope, will ever become so historically +interesting as this famous spot. A few miles onward our passport was +countersigned at the Tuscan custom-house, and our luggage permitted to +pass without examination on payment of a fee of nine or ten pauls, +besides two pauls to the porters. There appears to be no concealment on +the part of the officials in thus waiving the exercise of their duty, and +I rather imagine that the thing is recognized and permitted by their +superiors. At all events, it is very convenient for the traveller. + +We saw Cortona, sitting, like so many other cities in this region, on its +hill, and arrived about noon at Arezzo, which also stretches up a high +hillside, and is surrounded, as they all are, by its walls or the remains +of one, with a fortified gate across every entrance. + +I remember one little village, somewhere in the neighborhood of the +Clitumnus, which we entered by one gateway, and, in the course of two +minutes at the utmost, left by the opposite one, so diminutive was this +walled town. Everything hereabouts bears traces of times when war was +the prevalent condition, and peace only a rare gleam of sunshine. + +At Arezzo we have put up at the Hotel Royal, which has the appearance of +a grand old house, and proves to be a tolerable inn enough. After lunch, +we wandered forth to see the town, which did not greatly interest me +after Perugia, being much more modern and less picturesque in its aspect. +We went to the cathedral,--a Gothic edifice, but not of striking +exterior. As the doors were closed, and not to be opened till three +o'clock, we seated ourselves under the trees, on a high, grassy space +surrounded and intersected with gravel-walks,--a public promenade, in +short, near the cathedral; and after resting ourselves here we went in +search of Petrarch's house, which Murray mentions as being in this +neighborhood. We inquired of several people, who knew nothing about the +matter; one woman misdirected us, out of mere fun, I believe, for she +afterwards met us and asked how we had succeeded. But finally, through +------'s enterprise and perseverance, we found the spot, not a +stone's-throw from where we had been sitting. + +Petrarch's house stands below the promenade which I have just mentioned, +and within hearing of the reverberations between the strokes of the +cathedral bell. It is two stories high, covered with a light-colored +stucco, and has not the slightest appearance of antiquity, no more than +many a modern and modest dwelling-house in an American city. Its only +remarkable feature is a pointed arch of stone, let into the plastered +wall, and forming a framework for the doorway. I set my foot on the +doorsteps, ascended them, and Miss Shepard and J----- gathered some weeds +or blades of grass that grew in the chinks between the steps. There is a +long inscription on a slab of marble set in the front of the house, as is +the fashion in Arezzo when a house has been the birthplace or residence +of a distinguished man. + +Right opposite Petrarch's birth-house--and it must have been the well +whence the water was drawn that first bathed him--is a well which +Boccaccio has introduced into one of his stories. It is surrounded with +a stone curb, octagonal in shape, and evidently as ancient as Boccaccio's +time. It has a wooden cover, through which is a square opening, and +looking down I saw my own face in the water far beneath. + +There is no familiar object connected with daily life so interesting as a +well; and this well or old Arezzo, whence Petrarch had drunk, around +which he had played in his boyhood, and which Boccaccio has made famous, +really interested me more than the cathedral. It lies right under the +pavement of the street, under the sunshine, without any shade of trees +about it, or any grass, except a little that grows in the crevices of its +stones; but the shape of its stone-work would make it a pretty object in +an engraving. As I lingered round it I thought of my own town-pump in +old Salem, and wondered whether my townspeople would ever point it out to +strangers, and whether the stranger would gaze at it with any degree of +such interest as I felt in Boccaccio's well. O, certainly not; but yet I +made that humble town-pump the most celebrated structure in the good +town. A thousand and a thousand people had pumped there, merely to water +oxen or fill their teakettles; but when once I grasped the handle, a rill +gushed forth that meandered as far as England, as far as India, besides +tasting pleasantly in every town and village of our own country. I like +to think of this, so long after I did it, and so far from home, and am +not without hopes of some kindly local remembrance on this score. + +Petrarch's house is not a separate and insulated building, but stands in +contiguity and connection with other houses on each side; and all, when I +saw them, as well as the whole street, extending down the slope of the +hill, had the bright and sunny aspect of a modern town. + +As the cathedral was not yet open, and as J----- and I had not so much +patience as my wife, we left her and Miss Shepard, and set out to return +to the hotel. We lost our way, however, and finally had to return to the +cathedral, to take a fresh start; and as the door was now open we went +in. We found the cathedral very stately with its great arches, and +darkly magnificent with the dim rich light coming through its painted +windows, some of which are reckoned the most beautiful that the whole +world has to show. The hues are far more brilliant than those of any +painted glass I saw in England, and a great wheel window looks like a +constellation of many-colored gems. The old English glass gets so smoky +and dull with dust, that its pristine beauty cannot any longer be even +imagined; nor did I imagine it till I saw these Italian windows. We saw +nothing of my wife and Miss Shepard; but found afterwards that they had +been much annoyed by the attentions of a priest who wished to show them +the cathedral, till they finally told him that they had no money with +them, when he left them without another word. The attendants in churches +seem to be quite as venal as most other Italians, and, for the sake of +their little profit, they do not hesitate to interfere with the great +purposes for which their churches were built and decorated; hanging +curtains, for instance, before all the celebrated pictures, or hiding +them away in the sacristy, so that they cannot be seen without a fee. + +Returning to the hotel, we looked out of the window, and, in the street +beneath, there was a very busy scene, it being Sunday, and the whole +population, apparently, being astir, promenading up and down the smooth +flag-stones, which made the breadth of the street one sidewalk, or at +their windows, or sitting before their doors. + +The vivacity of the population in these parts is very striking, after the +gravity and lassitude of Rome; and the air was made cheerful with the +talk and laughter of hundreds of voices. I think the women are prettier +than the Roman maids and matrons, who, as I think I have said before, +have chosen to be very uncomely since the rape of their ancestresses, by +way of wreaking a terrible spite and revenge. + +I have nothing more to say of Arezzo, except that, finding the ordinary +wine very bad, as black as ink, and tasting as if it had tar and vinegar +in it, we called for a bottle of Monte Pulciano, and were exceedingly +gladdened and mollified thereby. + + + +INCISA. + + +We left Arezzo early on Monday morning, the sun throwing the long shadows +of the trees across the road, which at first, after we had descended the +hill, lay over a plain. As the morning advanced, or as we advanced, the +country grew more hilly. We saw many bits of rustic life,--such as old +women tending pigs or sheep by the roadside, and spinning with a distaff; +women sewing under trees, or at their own doors; children leading goats, +tied by the horns, while they browse; sturdy, sunburnt creatures, in +petticoats, but otherwise manlike, at work side by side with male +laborers in the fields. The broad-brimmed, high-crowned hat of Tuscan +straw is the customary female head-dress, and is as unbecoming as can +possibly be imagined, and of little use, one would suppose, as a shelter +from the sun, the brim continually blowing upward from the face. Some of +the elder women wore black felt hats, likewise broad-brimmed; and the men +wore felt hats also, shaped a good deal like a mushroom, with hardly any +brim at all. The scenes in the villages through which we passed were +very lively and characteristic, all the population seeming to be out of +doors: some at the butcher's shop, others at the well; a tailor sewing in +the open air, with a young priest sitting sociably beside him; children +at play; women mending clothes, embroidering, spinning with the distaff +at their own doorsteps; many idlers, letting the pleasant morning pass in +the sweet-do-nothing; all assembling in the street, as in the common room +of one large household, and thus brought close together, and made +familiar with one another, as they can never be in a different system +of society. As usual along the road we passed multitudes of shrines, +where the Virgin was painted in fresco, or sometimes represented in +bas-reliefs, within niches, or under more spacious arches. It would be a +good idea to place a comfortable and shady seat beneath all these wayside +shrines, where the wayfarer might rest himself, and thank the Virgin for +her hospitality; nor can I believe that it would offend her, any more +than other incense, if he were to regale himself, even in such +consecrated spots, with the fragrance of a pipe or cigar. + +In the wire-work screen, before many of the shrines, hung offerings of +roses and other flowers, some wilted and withered, some fresh with that +morning's dew, some that never bloomed and never faded,--being +artificial. I wonder that they do not plant rose-trees and all kinds of +fragrant and flowering shrubs under the shrines, and twine and wreathe +them all around, so that the Virgin may dwell within a bower of perpetual +freshness; at least put flower-pots, with living plants, into the niche. +There are many things in the customs of these people that might be made +very beautiful, if the sense of beauty were as much alive now as it must +have been when these customs were first imagined and adopted. + +I must not forget, among these little descriptive items, the spectacle of +women and girls bearing huge bundles of twigs and shrubs, or grass, with +scarlet poppies and blue flowers intermixed; the bundles sometimes so +huge as almost to hide the woman's figure from head to heel, so that she +looked like a locomotive mass of verdure and flowers; sometimes reaching +only half-way down her back, so as to show the crooked knife slung +behind, with which she had been reaping this strange harvest-sheaf. A +Pre-Raphaelite painter--the one, for instance, who painted the heap of +autumnal leaves, which we saw at the Manchester Exhibition--would find an +admirable subject in one of these girls, stepping with a free, erect, and +graceful carriage, her burden on her head; and the miscellaneous herbage +and flowers would give him all the scope he could desire for minute and +various delineation of nature. + +The country houses which we passed had sometimes open galleries or +arcades on the second story and above, where the inhabitants might +perform their domestic labor in the shade and in the air. The houses +were often ancient, and most picturesquely time-stained, the plaster +dropping in spots from the old brickwork; others were tinted of pleasant +and cheerful lines; some were frescoed with designs in arabesques, or +with imaginary windows; some had escutcheons of arms painted on the +front. Wherever there was a pigeon-house, a flight of doves were +represented as flying into the holes, doubtless for the invitation and +encouragement of the real birds. + +Once or twice I saw a bush stuck up before the door of what seemed to be +a wine-shop. If so, it is the ancient custom, so long disused in +England, and alluded to in the proverb, "Good wine needs no bush." +Several times we saw grass spread to dry on the road, covering half the +track, and concluded it to have been cut by the roadside for the winter +forage of his ass by some poor peasant, or peasant's wife, who had no +grass land, except the margin of the public way. + +A beautiful feature of the scene to-day, as the preceding day, were the +vines growing on fig-trees (?) [This interrogation-mark must mean that +Mr. Hawthorne was not sure they were fig-trees.--ED.], and often wreathed +in rich festoons from one tree to another, by and by to be hung with +clusters of purple grapes. I suspect the vine is a pleasanter object of +sight under this mode of culture than it can be in countries where it +produces a more precious wine, and therefore is trained more +artificially. Nothing can be more picturesque than the spectacle of an +old grapevine, with almost a trunk of its own, clinging round its tree, +imprisoning within its strong embrace the friend that supported its +tender infancy, converting the tree wholly to its own selfish ends, as +seemingly flexible natures are apt to do, stretching out its innumerable +arms on every bough, and allowing hardly a leaf to sprout except its own. +I must not yet quit this hasty sketch, without throwing in, both in the +early morning, and later in the forenoon, the mist that dreamed among the +hills, and which, now that I have called it mist, I feel almost more +inclined to call light, being so quietly cheerful with the sunshine +through it. Put in, now and then, a castle on a hilltop; a rough ravine, +a smiling valley; a mountain stream, with a far wider bed than it at +present needs, and a stone bridge across it, with ancient and massive +arches;--and I shall say no more, except that all these particulars, and +many better ones which escape me, made up a very pleasant whole. + +At about noon we drove into the village of Incisa, and alighted at the +albergo where we were to lunch. It was a gloomy old house, as much like +my idea of an Etruscan tomb as anything else that I can compare it to. +We passed into a wide and lofty entrance-hall, paved with stone, and +vaulted with a roof of intersecting arches, supported by heavy columns of +stuccoed-brick, the whole as sombre and dingy as can well be. This +entrance-hall is not merely the passageway into the inn, but is likewise +the carriage-house, into which our vettura is wheeled; and it has, on one +side, the stable, odorous with the litter of horses and cattle, and on +the other the kitchen, and a common sitting-room. A narrow stone +staircase leads from it to the dining-room, and chambers above, +which are paved with brick, and adorned with rude frescos instead of +paper-hangings. We look out of the windows, and step into a little +iron-railed balcony, before the principal window, and observe the scene +in the village street. The street is narrow, and nothing can exceed the +tall, grim ugliness of the village houses, many of them four stories +high, contiguous all along, and paved quite across; so that nature is as +completely shut out from the precincts of this little town as from the +heart of the widest city. The walls of the houses are plastered, gray, +dilapidated; the windows small, some of them drearily closed with wooden +shutters, others flung wide open, and with women's heads protruding, +others merely frescoed, for a show of light and air. It would be a +hideous street to look at in a rainy day, or when no human life pervaded +it. Now it has vivacity enough to keep it cheerful. People lounge round +the door of the albergo, and watch the horses as they drink from a stone +trough, which is built against the wall of the house, and filled with the +unseen gush of a spring. + +At first there is a shade entirely across the street, and all the +within-doors of the village empties itself there, and keeps up a +babblement that seems quite disproportioned even to the multitude of +tongues that make it. So many words are not spoken in a New England +village in a whole year as here in this single day. People talk about +nothing as if they were terribly in earnest, and laugh at nothing as if +it were all excellent joke. + +As the hot noon sunshine encroaches on our side of the street, it grows a +little more quiet. The loungers now confine themselves to the shady +margin (growing narrower and narrower) of the other side, where, directly +opposite the albergo, there are two cafes and a wine-shop, "vendita di +pane, vino, ed altri generi," all in a row with benches before them. The +benchers joke with the women passing by, and are joked with back again. +The sun still eats away the shadow inch by inch, beating down with such +intensity that finally everybody disappears except a few passers-by. + +Doubtless the village snatches this half-hour for its siesta. There is a +song, however, inside one of the cafes, with a burden in which several +voices join. A girl goes through the street, sheltered under her great +bundle of freshly cut grass. By and by the song ceases, and two young +peasants come out of the cafe, a little affected by liquor, in their +shirt-sleeves and bare feet, with their trousers tucked up. They resume +their song in the street, and dance along, one's arm around his fellow's +neck, his own waist grasped by the other's arm. They whirl one another +quite round about, and come down upon their feet. Meeting a village maid +coming quietly along, they dance up and intercept her for a moment, but +give way to her sobriety of aspect. They pass on, and the shadow soon +begins to spread from one side of the street, which presently fills +again, and becomes once more, for its size, the noisiest place I ever +knew. + +We had quite a tolerable dinner at this ugly inn, where many preceding +travellers had written their condemnatory judgments, as well as a few +their favorable ones, in pencil on the walls of the dining-room. + + + +TO FLORENCE. + + +At setting off [from Incisa], we were surrounded by beggars as usual, the +most interesting of whom were a little blind boy and his mother, who had +besieged us with gentle pertinacity during our whole stay there. There +was likewise a man with a maimed hand, and other hurts or deformities; +also, an old woman who, I suspect, only pretended to be blind, keeping +her eyes tightly squeezed together, but directing her hand very +accurately where the copper shower was expected to fall. Besides these, +there were a good many sturdy little rascals, vociferating in proportion +as they needed nothing. It was touching, however, to see several +persons--themselves beggars for aught I know--assisting to hold up the +little blind boy's tremulous hand, so that he, at all events, might not +lack the pittance which we had to give. Our dole was but a poor one, +after all, consisting of what Roman coppers we had brought into Tuscany +with us; and as we drove off, some of the boys ran shouting and whining +after us in the hot sunshine, nor stopped till we reached the summit of +the hill, which rises immediately from the village street. We heard +Gaetano once say a good thing to a swarm of beggar-children, who were +infesting us, "Are your fathers all dead?"--a proverbial expression, I +suppose. The pertinacity of beggars does not, I think, excite the +indignation of an Italian, as it is apt to do that of Englishmen or +Americans. The Italians probably sympathize more, though they give less. +Gaetano is very gentle in his modes of repelling them, and, indeed, never +interferes at all, as long as there is a prospect of their getting +anything. + +Immediately after leaving Incisa, we saw the Arno, already a considerable +river, rushing between deep banks, with the greenish line of a duck-pond +diffused through its water. Nevertheless, though the first impression +was not altogether agreeable, we soon became reconciled to this line, and +ceased to think it an indication of impurity; for, in spite of it, the +river is still to a certain degree transparent, and is, at any rate, a +mountain stream, and comes uncontaminated from its source. The pure, +transparent brown of the New England rivers is the most beautiful color; +but I am content that it should be peculiar to them. + +Our afternoon's drive was through scenery less striking than some which +we had traversed, but still picturesque and beautiful. We saw deep +valleys and ravines, with streams at the bottom; long, wooded hillsides, +rising far and high, and dotted with white dwellings, well towards the +summits. By and by, we had a distant glimpse of Florence, showing its +great dome and some of its towers out of a sidelong valley, as if we were +between two great waves of the tumultuous sea of hills; while, far +beyond, rose in the distance the blue peaks of three or four of the +Apennines, just on the remote horizon. There being a haziness in the +atmosphere, however, Florence was little more distinct to us than the +Celestial City was to Christian and Hopeful, when they spied at it from +the Delectable Mountains. + +Keeping steadfastly onward, we ascended a winding road, and passed a +grand villa, standing very high, and surrounded with extensive grounds. +It must be the residence of some great noble; and it has an avenue of +poplars or aspens, very light and gay, and fit for the passage of the +bridal procession, when the proprietor or his heir brings home his bride; +while, in another direction from the same front of the palace, stretches +an avenue or grove of cypresses, very long, and exceedingly black and +dismal, like a train of gigantic mourners. I have seen few things more +striking, in the way of trees, than this grove of cypresses. + +From this point we descended, and drove along an ugly, dusty avenue, with +a high brick wall on one side or both, till we reached the gate of +Florence, into which we were admitted with as little trouble as +custom-house officers, soldiers, and policemen can possibly give. They +did not examine our luggage, and even declined a fee, as we had already +paid one at the frontier custom-house. Thank heaven, and the Grand Duke! + +As we hoped that the Casa del Bello had been taken for us, we drove +thither in the first place, but found that the bargain had not been +concluded. As the house and studio of Mr. Powers were just on the +opposite side of the street, I went to it, but found him too much +engrossed to see me at the moment; so I returned to the vettura, and we +told Gaetano to carry us to a hotel. He established us at the Albergo +della Fontana, a good and comfortable house. . . . Mr. Powers called in +the evening,--a plain personage, characterized by strong simplicity and +warm kindliness, with an impending brow, and large eyes, which kindle as +he speaks. He is gray, and slightly bald, but does not seem elderly, nor +past his prime. I accept him at once as an honest and trustworthy man, +and shall not vary from this judgment. Through his good offices, the +next day, we engaged the Casa del Bello, at a rent of fifty dollars a +month, and I shall take another opportunity (my fingers and head being +tired now) to write about the house, and Mr. Powers, and what appertains +to him, and about the beautiful city of Florence. At present, I shall +only say further, that this journey from Rome has been one of the +brightest and most uncareful interludes of my life; we have all enjoyed +it exceedingly, and I am happy that our children have it to look back +upon. + + +June 4th.--At our visit to Powers's studio on Tuesday, we saw a marble +copy of the fisher-boy holding a shell to his ear, and the bust of +Proserpine, and two or three other ideal busts; various casts of most of +the ideal statues and portrait busts which he has executed. He talks +very freely about his works, and is no exception to the rule that an +artist is not apt to speak in a very laudatory style of a brother artist. +He showed us a bust of Mr. Sparks by Persico,--a lifeless and thoughtless +thing enough, to be sure,--and compared it with a very good one of the +same gentleman by himself; but his chiefest scorn was bestowed on a +wretched and ridiculous image of Mr. King, of Alabama, by Clark Mills, of +which he said he had been employed to make several copies for Southern +gentlemen. The consciousness of power is plainly to be seen, and the +assertion of it by no means withheld, in his simple and natural +character; nor does it give me an idea of vanity on his part to see and +hear it. He appears to consider himself neglected by his country,--by +the government of it, at least,--and talks with indignation of the byways +and political intrigue which, he thinks, win the rewards that ought to be +bestowed exclusively on merit. An appropriation of twenty-five thousand +dollars was made, some years ago, for a work of sculpture by him, to be +placed in the Capitol; but the intermediate measures necessary to render +it effective have been delayed; while the above-mentioned Clark Mills-- +certainly the greatest bungler that ever botched a block of marble--has +received an order for an equestrian statue of Washington. Not that Mr. +Powers is made bitter or sour by these wrongs, as he considers them; he +talks of them with the frankness of his disposition when the topic comes +in his way, and is pleasant, kindly, and sunny when he has done with it. + +His long absence from our country has made him think worse of us than we +deserve; and it is an effect of what I myself am sensible, in my shorter +exile: the most piercing shriek, the wildest yell, and all the ugly +sounds of popular turmoil, inseparable from the life of a republic, being +a million times more audible than the peaceful hum of prosperity and +content which is going on all the while. + +He talks of going home, but says that he has been talking of it every +year since he first came to Italy; and between his pleasant life of +congenial labor, and his idea of moral deterioration in America, I think +it doubtful whether he ever crosses the sea again. Like most exiles of +twenty years, he has lost his native country without finding another; but +then it is as well to recognize the truth,--that an individual country is +by no means essential to one's comfort. + +Powers took us into the farthest room, I believe, of his very extensive +studio, and showed us a statue of Washington that has much dignity and +stateliness. He expressed, however, great contempt for the coat and +breeches, and masonic emblems, in which he had been required to drape the +figure. What would he do with Washington, the most decorous and +respectable personage that ever went ceremoniously through the realities +of life? Did anybody ever see Washington nude? It is inconceivable. He +had no nakedness, but I imagine he was born with his clothes on, and his +hair powdered, and made a stately bow on his first appearance in the +world. His costume, at all events, was a part of his character, and must +be dealt with by whatever sculptor undertakes to represent him. I wonder +that so very sensible a man as Powers should not see the necessity of +accepting drapery, and the very drapery of the day, if he will keep his +art alive. It is his business to idealize the tailor's actual work. But +he seems to be especially fond of nudity, none of his ideal statues, so +far as I know them, having so much as a rag of clothes. His statue of +California, lately finished, and as naked as Venus, seemed to me a very +good work; not an actual woman, capable of exciting passion, but +evidently a little out of the category of human nature. In one hand she +holds a divining-rod. "She says to the emigrants," observed Powers, +"'Here is the gold, if you choose to take it.'" But in her face, and in +her eyes, very finely expressed, there is a look of latent mischief, +rather grave than playful, yet somewhat impish or sprite-like; and, in +the other hand, behind her back, she holds a bunch of thorns. Powers +calls her eyes Indian. The statue is true to the present fact and +history of California, and includes the age-long truth as respects the +"auri sacra fames." . . . . + +When we had looked sufficiently at the sculpture, Powers proposed that we +should now go across the street and see the Casa del Bello. We did so in +a body, Powers in his dressing-gown and slippers, and his wife and +daughters without assuming any street costume. + +The Casa del Bello is a palace of three pianos, the topmost of which is +occupied by the Countess of St. George, an English lady, and two lower +pianos are to be let, and we looked at both. The upper one would have +suited me well enough; but the lower has a terrace, with a rustic +summer-house over it, and is connected with a garden, where there are +arbors and a willow-tree, and a little wilderness of shrubbery and roses, +with a fountain in the midst. It has likewise an immense suite of rooms, +round the four sides of a small court, spacious, lofty, with frescoed +ceilings and rich hangings, and abundantly furnished with arm-chairs, +sofas, marble tables, and great looking-glasses. Not that these last are +a great temptation, but in our wandering life I wished to be perfectly +comfortable myself, and to make my family so, for just this summer, and +so I have taken the lower piano, the price being only fifty dollars per +month (entirely furnished, even to silver and linen). Certainly this is +something like the paradise of cheapness we were told of, and which we +vainly sought in Rome. . . . + +To me has been assigned the pleasantest room for my study; and when I +like I can overflow into the summer-house or an arbor, and sit there +dreaming of a story. The weather is delightful, too warm to walk, but +perfectly fit to do nothing in, in the coolness of these great rooms. +Every day I shall write a little, perhaps,--and probably take a brief nap +somewhere between breakfast and tea,--but go to see pictures and statues +occasionally, and so assuage and mollify myself a little after that +uncongenial life of the consulate, and before going back to my own hard +and dusty New England. + +After concluding the arrangement for the Casa del Bello, we stood talking +a little while with Powers and his wife and daughter before the door of +the house, for they seem so far to have adopted the habits of the +Florentines as to feel themselves at home on the shady side of the +street. The out-of-door life and free communication with the pavement, +habitual apparently among the middle classes, reminds me of the plays of +Moliere and other old dramatists, in which the street or the square +becomes a sort of common parlor, where most of the talk and scenic +business of the people is carried on. + + +June 5th.--For two or three mornings after breakfast I have rambled a +little about the city till the shade grew narrow beneath the walls of the +houses, and the heat made it uncomfortable to be in motion. To-day I +went over the Ponte Carraja, and thence into and through the heart of the +city, looking into several churches, in all of which I found people +taking advantage of the cool breadth of these sacred interiors to refresh +themselves and say their prayers. Florence at first struck me as having +the aspect of a very new city in comparison with Rome; but, on closer +acquaintance, I find that many of the buildings are antique and massive, +though still the clear atmosphere, the bright sunshine, the light, +cheerful hues of the stucco, and--as much as anything else, perhaps--the +vivacious character of the human life in the streets, take away the sense +of its being an ancient city. The streets are delightful to walk in +after so many penitential pilgrimages as I have made over those little +square, uneven blocks of the Roman pavement, which wear out the boots and +torment the soul. I absolutely walk on the smooth flags of Florence for +the mere pleasure of walking, and live in its atmosphere for the mere +pleasure of living; and, warm as the weather is getting to be, I never +feel that inclination to sink down in a heap and never stir again, which +was my dull torment and misery as long as I stayed in Rome. I hardly +think there can be a place in the world where life is more delicious for +its own simple sake than here. + +I went to-day into the Baptistery, which stands near the Duomo, and, like +that, is covered externally with slabs of black and white marble, now +grown brown and yellow with age. The edifice is octagonal, and on +entering, one immediately thinks of the Pantheon,--the whole space within +being free from side to side, with a dome above; but it differs from the +severe simplicity of the former edifice, being elaborately ornamented +with marble and frescos, and lacking that great eye in the roof that +looks so nobly and reverently heavenward from the Pantheon. I did little +more than pass through the Baptistery, glancing at the famous bronze +doors, some perfect and admirable casts of which I had already seen at +the Crystal Palace. + +The entrance of the Duomo being just across the piazza, I went in there +after leaving the Baptistery, and was struck anew--for this is the third +or fourth visit--with the dim grandeur of the interior, lighted as it is +almost exclusively by painted windows, which seem to me worth all the +variegated marbles and rich cabinet-work of St. Peter's. The Florentine +Cathedral has a spacious and lofty nave, and side aisles divided from it +by pillars; but there are no chapels along the aisles, so that there is +far more breadth and freedom of interior, in proportion to the actual +space, than is usual in churches. It is woful to think how the vast +capaciousness within St. Peter's is thrown away, and made to seem smaller +than it is by every possible device, as if on purpose. The pillars and +walls of this Duomo are of a uniform brownish, neutral tint; the +pavement, a mosaic work of marble; the ceiling of the dome itself is +covered with frescos, which, being very imperfectly lighted, it is +impossible to trace out. Indeed, it is but a twilight region that is +enclosed within the firmament of this great dome, which is actually +larger than that of St. Peter's, though not lifted so high from the +pavement. But looking at the painted windows, I little cared what +dimness there might be elsewhere; for certainly the art of man has never +contrived any other beauty and glory at all to be compared to this. + +The dome sits, as it were, upon three smaller domes,--smaller, but still +great,--beneath which are three vast niches, forming the transepts of the +cathedral and the tribune behind the high altar. All round these hollow, +dome-covered arches or niches are high and narrow windows crowded with +saints, angels, and all manner of blessed shapes, that turn the common +daylight into a miracle of richness and splendor as it passes through +their heavenly substance. And just beneath the swell of the great +central dome is a wreath of circular windows quite round it, as brilliant +as the tall and narrow ones below. It is a pity anybody should die +without seeing an antique painted window, with the bright Italian +sunshine glowing through it. This is "the dim, religious light" that +Milton speaks of; but I doubt whether he saw these windows when he was in +Italy, or any but those faded or dusty and dingy ones of the English +cathedrals, else he would have illuminated that word "dim" with some +epithet that should not chase away the dimness, yet should make it shine +like a million of rubies, sapphires, emeralds, and topazes,--bright in +themselves, but dim with tenderness and reverence because God himself was +shining through them. I hate what I have said. + +All the time that I was in the cathedral the space around the high altar, +which stands exactly under the dome, was occupied by priests or acolytes +in white garments, chanting a religious service. + +After coming out, I took a view of the edifice from a corner of the +street nearest to the dome, where it and the smaller domes can be seen at +once. It is greatly more satisfactory than St. Peter's in any view I +ever had of it,--striking in its outline, with a mystery, yet not a +bewilderment, in its masses and curves and angles, and wrought out with a +richness of detail that gives the eyes new arches, new galleries, new +niches, new pinnacles, new beauties, great and small, to play with when +wearied with the vast whole. The hue, black and white marbles, like the +Baptistery, turned also yellow and brown, is greatly preferable to the +buff travertine of St. Peter's. + +From the Duomo it is but a moderate street's length to the Piazza del +Gran Duca, the principal square of Florence. It is a very interesting +place, and has on one side the old Governmental Palace,--the Palazzo +Vecchio,--where many scenes of historic interest have been enacted; for +example, conspirators have been hanged from its windows, or precipitated +from them upon the pavement of the square below. + +It is a pity that we cannot take as much interest in the history of +these Italian Republics as in that of England, for the former is much the +more picturesque and fuller of curious incident. The sobriety of the +Anglo-Saxon race--in connection, too, with their moral sense--keeps them +from doing a great many things that would enliven the page of history; +and their events seem to come in great masses, shoved along by the agency +of many persons, rather than to result from individual will and +character. A hundred plots for a tragedy might be found in Florentine +history for one in English. + +At one corner of the Palazzo Vecchio is a bronze equestrian statue of +Cosmo de' Medici, the first Grand Duke, very stately and majestic; there +are other marble statues--one of David, by Michael Angelo--at each side +of the palace door; and entering the court I found a rich antique arcade +within, surrounded by marble pillars, most elaborately carved, supporting +arches that were covered with faded frescos. I went no farther, but +stepped across a little space of the square to the Loggia di Lanzi, which +is broad and noble, of three vast arches, at the end of which, I take it, +is a part of the Palazzo Uffizi fronting on the piazza. I should call it +a portico if it stood before the palace door; but it seems to have been +constructed merely for itself, and as a shelter for the people from sun +and rain, and to contain some fine specimens of sculpture, as well +antique as of more modern times. Benvenuto Cellini's Perseus stands +here; but it did not strike me so much as the cast of it in the Crystal +Palace. + +A good many people were under these great arches; some of whom were +reclining, half or quite asleep, on the marble seats that are built +against the back of the loggia. A group was reading an edict of the +Grand Duke, which appeared to have been just posted on a board, at the +farther end of it; and I was surprised at the interest which they +ventured to manifest, and the freedom with which they seemed to discuss +it. A soldier was on guard, and doubtless there were spies enough to +carry every word that was said to the ear of absolute authority. +Glancing myself at the edict, however, I found it referred only to the +furtherance of a project, got up among the citizens themselves, for +bringing water into the city; and on such topics, I suppose there is +freedom of discussion. + + +June 7th.--Saturday evening we walked with U---- and J----- into the +city, and looked at the exterior of the Duomo with new admiration. Since +my former view of it, I have noticed--which, strangely enough, did not +strike me before--that the facade is but a great, bare, ugly space, +roughly plastered over, with the brickwork peeping through it in spots, +and a faint, almost invisible fresco of colors upon it. This front was +once nearly finished with an incrustation of black and white marble, like +the rest of the edifice; but one of the city magistrates, Benedetto +Uguccione, demolished it, three hundred years ago, with the idea of +building it again in better style. He failed to do so, and, ever since, +the magnificence of the great church has been marred by this unsightly +roughness of what should have been its richest part; nor is there, I +suppose, any hope that it will ever be finished now. + +The campanile, or bell-tower, stands within a few paces of the cathedral, +but entirely disconnected from it, rising to a height of nearly three +hundred feet, a square tower of light marbles, now discolored by time. +It is impossible to give an idea of the richness of effect produced by +its elaborate finish; the whole surface of the four sides, from top to +bottom, being decorated with all manner of statuesque and architectural +sculpture. It is like a toy of ivory, which some ingenious and pious +monk might have spent his lifetime in adorning with scriptural designs +and figures of saints; and when it was finished, seeing it so beautiful, +he prayed that it might be miraculously magnified from the size of one +foot to that of three hundred. This idea somewhat satisfies me, as +conveying an impression how gigantesque the campanile is in its mass and +height, and how minute and varied in its detail. Surely these mediaeval +works have an advantage over the classic. They combine the telescope and +the microscope. + +The city was all alive in the summer evening, and the streets humming +with voices. Before the doors of the cafes were tables, at which people +were taking refreshment, and it went to my heart to see a bottle of +English ale, some of which was poured foaming into a glass; at least, it +had exactly the amber hue and the foam of English bitter ale; but perhaps +it may have been merely a Florentine imitation. + +As we returned home over the Arno, crossing the Ponte di Santa Trinita, +we were struck by the beautiful scene of the broad, calm river, with the +palaces along its shores repeated in it, on either side, and the +neighboring bridges, too, just as perfect in the tide beneath as in the +air above,--a city of dream and shadow so close to the actual one. God +has a meaning, no doubt, in putting this spiritual symbol continually +beside us. + +Along the river, on both sides, as far as we could see, there was a row +of brilliant lamps, which, in the far distance, looked like a cornice of +golden light; and this also shone as brightly in the river's depths. The +lilies of the evening, in the quarter where the sun had gone down, were +very soft and beautiful, though not so gorgeous as thousands that I have +seen in America. But I believe I must fairly confess that the Italian +sky, in the daytime, is bluer and brighter than our own, and that the +atmosphere has a quality of showing objects to better advantage. It is +more than mere daylight; the magic of moonlight is somehow mixed up with +it, although it is so transparent a medium of light. + +Last evening, Mr. Powers called to see us, and sat down to talk in a +friendly and familiar way. I do not know a man of more facile +intercourse, nor with whom one so easily gets rid of ceremony. His +conversation, too, is interesting. He talked, to begin with, about +Italian food, as poultry, mutton, beef, and their lack of savoriness as +compared with our own; and mentioned an exquisite dish of vegetables +which they prepare from squash or pumpkin blossoms; likewise another +dish, which it will be well for us to remember when we get back to +the Wayside, where we are overrun with acacias. It consists of the +acacia-blossoms in a certain stage of their development fried in +olive-oil. I shall get the receipt from Mrs. Powers, and mean to deserve +well of my country by first trying it, and then making it known; only I +doubt whether American lard, or even butter, will produce the dish quite +so delicately as fresh Florence oil. + +Meanwhile, I like Powers all the better, because he does not put his life +wholly into marble. We had much talk, nevertheless, on matters of +sculpture, for he drank a cup of tea with us, and stayed a good while. + +He passed a condemnatory sentence on classic busts in general, saying +that they were conventional, and not to be depended upon as trite +representations of the persons. He particularly excepted none but the +bust of Caracalla; and, indeed, everybody that has seen this bust must +feel the justice of the exception, and so be the more inclined to accept +his opinion about the rest. There are not more than half a dozen--that +of Cato the Censor among the others--in regard to which I should like to +ask his judgment individually. He seems to think the faculty of making a +bust an extremely rare one. Canova put his own likeness into all the +busts he made. Greenough could not make a good one; nor Crawford, nor +Gibson. Mr. Harte, he observed,--an American sculptor, now a resident in +Florence,--is the best man of the day for making busts. Of course, it is +to be presumed that he excepts himself; but I would not do Powers the +great injustice to imply that there is the slightest professional +jealousy in his estimate of what others have done, or are now doing, in +his own art. If he saw a better man than himself, he would recognize him +at once, and tell the world of him; but he knows well enough that, in +this line, there is no better, and probably none so good. It would not +accord with the simplicity of his character to blink a fact that stands +so broadly before him. + +We asked him what he thought, of Mr. Gibson's practice of coloring his +statues, and he quietly and slyly said that he himself had made wax +figures in his earlier days, but had left off making them now. In short, +he objected to the practice wholly, and said that a letter of his on the +subject had been published in the London "Athenaeum," and had given great +offence to some of Mr. Gibson's friends. It appeared to me, however, +that his arguments did not apply quite fairly to the case, for he seems +to think Gibson aims at producing an illusion of life in the statue, +whereas I think his object is merely to give warmth and softness to the +snowy marble, and so bring it a little nearer to our hearts and +sympathies. Even so far, nevertheless, I doubt whether the practice is +defensible, and I was glad to see that Powers scorned, at all events, the +argument drawn from the use of color by the antique sculptors, on which +Gibson relies so much. It might almost be implied, from the contemptuous +way in which Powers spoke of color, that he considers it an impertinence +on the face of visible nature, and would rather the world had been made +without it; for he said that everything in intellect or feeling can be +expressed as perfectly, or more so, by the sculptor in colorless marble, +as by the painter with all the resources of his palette. I asked him +whether he could model the face of Beatrice Cenci from Guido's picture so +as to retain the subtle expression, and he said he could, for that the +expression depended entirely on the drawing, "the picture being a badly +colored thing." I inquired whether he could model a blush, and he said +"Yes"; and that he had once proposed to an artist to express a blush in +marble, if he would express it in picture. On consideration, I believe +one to be as impossible as the other; the life and reality of the blush +being in its tremulousness, coming and going. It is lost in a settled +red just as much as in a settled paleness, and neither the sculptor nor +painter can do more than represent the circumstances of attitude and +expression that accompany the blush. There was a great deal of truth in +what Powers said about this matter of color, and in one of our +interminable New England winters it ought to comfort us to think how +little necessity there is for any hue but that of the snow. + +Mr. Powers, nevertheless, had brought us a bunch of beautiful roses, and +seemed as capable of appreciating their delicate blush as we were. The +best thing he said against the use of color in marble was to the effect +that the whiteness removed the object represented into a sort of +spiritual region, and so gave chaste permission to those nudities which +would otherwise suggest immodesty. I have myself felt the truth of this +in a certain sense of shame as I looked at Gibson's tinted Venus. + +He took his leave at about eight o'clock, being to make a call on the +Bryants, who are at the Hotel de New York, and also on Mrs. Browning, at +Casa Guidi. + + +END OF VOL. I. + + + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Passages From the French and Italian +Notebooks, Volume 1, by Nathaniel Hawthorne + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PASSAGES FRENCH AND ITALIAN *** + +***** This file should be named 7879.txt or 7879.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/7/8/7/7879/ + +Produced by Tapio Riikonen and David Widger + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, +set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to +copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to +protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project +Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you +charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you +do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the +rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose +such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and +research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do +practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is +subject to the trademark license, especially commercial +redistribution. + + + +*** START: FULL LICENSE *** + +THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE +PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK + +To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free +distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work +(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project +Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project +Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at +http://gutenberg.org/license). + + +Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic works + +1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to +and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property +(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all +the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy +all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession. +If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the +terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or +entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8. + +1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be +used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who +agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few +things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works +even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See +paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement +and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. See paragraph 1.E below. + +1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation" +or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the +collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an +individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are +located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from +copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative +works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg +are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project +Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by +freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of +this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with +the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by +keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project +Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others. + +1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern +what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in +a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check +the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement +before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or +creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project +Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning +the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United +States. + +1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: + +1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate +access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently +whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the +phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project +Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, +copied or distributed: + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + +1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived +from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is +posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied +and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees +or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work +with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the +work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 +through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the +Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or +1.E.9. + +1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted +with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution +must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional +terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked +to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the +permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work. + +1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this +work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. + +1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this +electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without +prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with +active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project +Gutenberg-tm License. + +1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, +compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any +word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or +distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than +"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version +posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org), +you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a +copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon +request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other +form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. + +1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, +performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works +unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. + +1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing +access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided +that + +- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from + the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method + you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is + owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he + has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the + Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments + must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you + prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax + returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and + sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the + address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to + the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation." + +- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies + you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he + does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm + License. You must require such a user to return or + destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium + and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of + Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any + money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the + electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days + of receipt of the work. + +- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free + distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set +forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from +both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael +Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the +Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. + +1.F. + +1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable +effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread +public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm +collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain +"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or +corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual +property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a +computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by +your equipment. + +1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right +of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project +Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all +liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal +fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT +LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE +PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE +TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE +LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR +INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH +DAMAGE. + +1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a +defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can +receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a +written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you +received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with +your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with +the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a +refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity +providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to +receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy +is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further +opportunities to fix the problem. + +1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth +in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS' WITH NO OTHER +WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO +WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. + +1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied +warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. +If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the +law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be +interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by +the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any +provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions. + +1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the +trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone +providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance +with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, +promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works, +harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, +that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do +or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm +work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any +Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause. + + +Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm + +Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of +electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers +including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists +because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from +people in all walks of life. + +Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the +assistance they need, are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's +goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will +remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure +and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations. +To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation +and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 +and the Foundation web page at http://www.pglaf.org. + + +Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive +Foundation + +The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit +501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the +state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal +Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification +number is 64-6221541. Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at +http://pglaf.org/fundraising. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent +permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. + +The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S. +Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered +throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at +809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email +business@pglaf.org. Email contact links and up to date contact +information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official +page at http://pglaf.org + +For additional contact information: + Dr. Gregory B. Newby + Chief Executive and Director + gbnewby@pglaf.org + + +Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation + +Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide +spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of +increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be +freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest +array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations +($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt +status with the IRS. + +The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating +charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United +States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a +considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up +with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations +where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To +SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any +particular state visit http://pglaf.org + +While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we +have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition +against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who +approach us with offers to donate. + +International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make +any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from +outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. + +Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation +methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other +ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. +To donate, please visit: http://pglaf.org/donate + + +Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. + +Professor Michael S. Hart is the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm +concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared +with anyone. For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project +Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support. + + +Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S. +unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + + +Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: + + http://www.gutenberg.org + +This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, +including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to +subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. |